• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Great job, very informative update. I love your OOB, it has a real historical flavour.
 
@ Cybvep: They're brigaded in a rather random fashion, only thing I can say for sure is that all heavy armour brigades are on infantry units. The rest are just arty/AT on infantry units, mobile arty/AT/cars on mobile units, engineers and MP on random units. But all units do have brigades, even ships and air units.

In any case, I may scramble the brigades once the enemy force concentration becomes obvious, but for now, I can't concentrate anything to anywhere. :(

@ Karaiskandar: That's my goal. Depth depth depth depth depth.
 
I miss the intelligence aspect of warfare that is not really present in AOD. I would love to have the possibility of "predicting" enemy attacks and troop concentration. Sometimes it seems to me that in AOD you do too many things in a random fashion and there is too little strategy or tactics involved.
 
ooboobooboob, great work! :D

A good tool btw for managing OOBs might be Freemind. Basically you can do mindmaps real fast. I always use it for my OOBs.

Once I had a 500 div Soviet Army written in. Then it's really impressive to see the full command chain from Theatre -> Army Group -> Army -> Corps -> Divs. Both massive and impressive at the same time. Every little div has it's job in the big picture. Makes you feel proud to be their commander. :)

Also even more fun is trying to construct an Enemy OOB with just the intel you got. Hmmm, I wonder where we last saw the 7th 'Ghost' Panzer Division? What is their background, where have they fought previously? Their strenght, org, xp, equiptment? The only solution is to bring the 27th Guards Tank Corps to face them! :cool:

So keep up the good work, can't wait to finally see an organized Barba.
 
So spread out fairly evenly with space to fall back?

Nice work promoting Zhukov and Konev, and building all that airforce.

Are you really going to try airdrops with the paratroops?
 
Storm - We'll find the 7th Panzer once we have access to the Wehrmacht documents in Berlin!

RGB - Zhukov and Konev can start their arcade game know as the Great Patriotic War in 1941. Let's see them try to beat eachother to objectives all the time. As for paratroops, I don't even have any troop carrier planes. :( For now, they'll rack up experience at the places where backup is most needed, and once I finally manage to get some transport planes, they'll hopefully be truly elite units that can easily take territory and hold it. No Vyazma disaster for my paras.

Also, why didnt anyone tell me I listed the 1st bomber fleet thrice! I wish I had all those bombers. :(
 
22nd of June - First day

Hostilies!

Massive reports of german attacks flooded field commands at the middle of the warm summer night of the 22nd of June. All along the front, german guns pounded away at presumed soviet positions, diversionaries infiltrated the soviet perimetre and immediately set up contacts with local partisans, effectively setting into motion a general uprising, though little provocation from the germans was necessary for it. With a couple of hours left till dawn, soviet commanders scrambled to contact Stavka for instructions on how to deal with the doom that approached. The airforce was the first to respond - the first Soviet fighters were in air before dawn, setting out to provide a protective umbrella for the Red Army troops below.

20uboya.jpg

The 1st Mechanized Army was the only Soviet formation that was completely ready for combat. With supply stockpiles having arrived the previous day, it had all it needed for a successful offensive. Marshal Konev, in a shocking display of autonomy, order his troops to advance southwards into Suwalki, calling the two belorussian fronts in the area for assistance. Still, it being the middle of the night, the men and equipment would not be moving out for some hours. However, an hour later, news started pouring in from higher up. The first problem Stavka was presented was that Marshal Zhukov's 2nd Mechanized Army was not yet in position around Lwow. The Army had been ordered to move forward later than the 1st, and as a result, it was presumed to be ready for action by late 23rd. While Stavka was debating whether Konev should proceed with his offensive now that Zhukov will be a day late, a new wave of emergency came sweeping in.

357nbxl.jpg

At 3 o'clock, massive german formations descended upon the Soviet 2nd Army around Siauliau, and the 8th Army based around Kowel. Despite the latter being protected by the Bug, it was in a far worse position, since unlike the baltic offensive, the attack at Kowel included an estimated 9 german tank divisions. With the Second Mechanized Army out of action for one more day, holding the Bug seemed impossible. However, Zhukov's assurance that his mechanized armada would crush the opposing german Panzergruppe prompted the commander of Western Front, General Shtern, to send the 31st and 39th Corps, kept in reserves, immediately to Kowel, in hopes of stalling the german offensive long enough for a mechanized counterattack. General Belov, the officer in charge of the 8th Army, was very skeptical about holding out for the necessary amount of time, which was almost two days.

zn6ct1.jpg

20zd9qb.jpg

1071etf.jpg

With Zhukovs Army being switched from an offensive mission to a supporting one, a wide sweep into Poland was obviously impossible. Konev recieved new orders at 4 o'clock, after the german attack into Lithuania was identified, to move against the german flank and strike towards Königsberg, while the two Belorussian Fronts would start a massive infantry-based attack at Suwalki, aimed to draw away resources that would go to support the german baltic offensive. Konev had two air fleets to call to his aid at East Prussia, as well as the 12th Army in Latvia to strike against Memel and relieve some pressure off the hardly hit 2nd Army. It was hoped that the baltic offensive could be blunted entirely by a determined attack on East Prussia, as well as it serving as a point of distress to the German command, drawing away resources from the Panzergruppen in Poland.

123v41k.jpg

General Boldin's 12th Army struck the german troops in Memel at 8 o'clock, and was stunned to see the size of the german formation present. The force, that included a panzer division, could easily spare the resources to both carry on the offensive into Lithuania as well as repulse the weak Soviet counterattack from Latvia. Boldin's orders were to continue the attack at least until nightfall, however.

2v2z5vo.jpg

The first coordinated counterattacks hit the germans at 10 o'clock, as the 1st Mechanized Army struck at the german force in Königsberg, and the two Belorussian Fronts combined their strength to attack the outnumbered germans in Suwalki. Königsberg had a sizable Wehrmacht force in it, and despite lack of armour, it was a sufficiently strong formation to withstand Konev's massive offensive. Still, the goal was not to force the germans out of East Prussia, but to just take off pressure from the 2nd Army in Lithuania. The operation would be counted as a success if the german attack on 2nd Army would be called off. In the meanwhile, the offensive at Suwalki would involve over 30 divisions, and a numerical superiority of 3 to 1 was achieved. It was not impossible that Suwalki would be the first victory for the Red Army, and an important one at that - the german Panzer division in the area could present a credible threat otherwise.

xf573b.jpg

35by3co.jpg

As the sun set, it was becoming increasingly obvious that neither Kowel or Siauliau could be saved. Stavka would have to make a decision whether to start a strategic retreat to the Stalin line, or slug it out against a superior foe in hopes of a stalemate. The orders that reached Konev at 7 o'clock PM would clarify the direction Stavka was taking - his Mechanized Army would disengage and cover the retreat of the 2nd Army to its north. The german baltic offensive would continue for now. Despite this, Konev's forces were still a strong foe for the Wehrmacht, and was waiting for any sign of overextension by the germans. The same order would be given to Boldin's 12th Army in Latvia, but it was in a far worse shape than Konev's force and would have no operational offensive capability for a while - it had lost over a thousand men in the day long counterattack. Konev's casualites were under a thousand, but the Mechanized Army managed to inflict an equal amount of casualities to the forces in East Prussia as well. The 2nd Army was badly battered however, having lost one and a half thousand troops in the struggle to hold their position, though german casualities were not light either. While the situation in the baltic left the Red Army with little strength to achieve strategic initiative, it did not cripple it either.

2hpqe05.jpg

In Poland, things were different. No counterattack were launched yet, and the troops trying to hold the Bug were taking horrendous casualities. Help was still a day away, though the first division was expected to arrive before the dawn of the 23rd. Here, however, Stavka would not allow a retreat. Meretskov did not wish to fall back without attempting a counterattack first, but this policy would put the center in grave danger, as it would require great sarcifices from the 8th Army at Kowel.

At the end of the first day of combat, soviet losses were at ten thousand men. Despite this, an estimated six thousand germans would be casualities for the Wehrmacht. So far, the german offensive was not too wide, and an organized retreat was entirely possible.
 
Bleed them wite ! soon they'll find themselves on the defensive.
 
They're massed in Memel?

Time for encriclement attempts?
 
They're massed in Memel?

Time for encriclement attempts?

This. Grand encirclements with no telephone or telegraph lines!

The communication lines were cut by paras leaving the entire Soviet Western front with no contact to Moscow as far back as Kiev.
 
23rd June - The Battle of Suwalki

The Second Day

At midnight, the germans called off their attack on Kowel. Despite a few forward units still remaining engaged, the mighty german attack into Ukraine was halted at a critical period. Whether this was because of the Soviet counterattack further north at Suwalki, the arrival of new reserves to Kowel or the massing of armour south towards Lwow, noone but the OKW knew. It was a strange situation - one day into the war, just one German offensive was in progress, namely the drive into Lithuania. Even though Soviet commanders had no clue as to why would the Wehrmacht cease its offensive just like that, they were prepared to exploit it to the fullest. Yet despite this, the 8th Army had taken heavy battering and was out of commission for a while - rendering all soviet operations across the Bug impossible for a week at the least. Once the germans realize their position, the 8th Army would again be shattered by the mighty Panzergruppen present in Poland.

For now, Stavka had to make a hard decision at the only active region - Lithuania. The counterattack into Suwalki was well underway, where Chuikov lead over 30 divisions against a foe only a third of the size, yet little progress was made other than disturbing the plans in the area. The 1st Mechanized Army that had conducted a small venture into German territory the previous day, was reorganizing, and they would be expected to reach full battle readiness within 18 hours. Their position was directly between the two hotbeds of action - Suwalki and Siauliau. The 2nd Army was well on their way on retreating from Siauliau to a new defensive position near Jekapils, and their forced retreat meant that a considerable gap was opening in Lithuania. The 1st Mechanized Army would be necessary to combat the German attack into that gap, sinceit was doubtful the two infantry armies in the vicinity could handle such a task. On the other hand, a successful offensive into German-held territory at Suwalki would not only be a terrific morale booster, but would also eliminate one of the strategically unsightly bulges of the germans in Poland. The forces engaged in the offensive at 00:00 23rd June (1st, 10th, 13th and the 3rd Armies) were formations that had difficulty in sustaining a continued offensive, yet would fare well enough in defense. Stavka would have 18 hours to decide whether to allocate the mechanized formation to the offensive in Suwalki or the counterattack in Lithuania.

The offensive to Suwalki itself seemed to catch the defending forces by some degree of suprise. The German 199th Infantry division, stationed at the far northeast in the area, was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of attacking Red Army troops, and cut off from central command of General Jacob. However, despite the initial shock, there was little the Red Army could do to exploit their success, barring intervention from the 1st Mechanized Army, of course. All defenders of Suwalki were still in good shape, and the attackers had little tactical finesse. Another issue the attackers noted was the inconsitency of equipment of select divisions - the german 293rd Infantry Division was equipped with the latest weaponry as well as 88 AA/AT cannons, while the 206th and 15th Infantry Divisions on their flanks were using equipment obsolete years ago.

4gqluw.jpg

Effectively, the attack had stalemated. There was no chance of the soviets pushing back the defenders should the status quo remain, and no chance of the germans pushing back the soviets with the resources in their hand at the moment. With that in mind, Chuikov called for massive air support from the First Bomber and Second CAS fleets at Riga, previously concentrated at Lithuania. Only time would tell if the situation would improve or deteriorate. Stavka would postpone the decision regarding the 1st Mechanized Army until the afternoon, but immediate orders were given to the Strategic Reserve at Mogilev to start moving to Minsk in preparation of a possible german breakthrough in Lithuania, as well as the 1st Air Descente Corps in Kiev to spread out in Western Ukraine to act as delaying elements against possible german breakthroughs.

At 12 o'clock, the soviet attack eased a bit, as the previously encircled german 199th division was relieved by the 14th Panzer division after taking heavy casualities (the division had lost over 500 men during 12 hours). Despite this setback, the two soviet air fleets descended on the german troops almost immediately, striking at supply depots and communication lines. The most important development was however the arrival of the 2nd Mechanized Army in Lwow - it was now fully operational and ready to strike at enemy troops. For the time being, it would be kept in reserve to attack the germans on their way to Styrj, an area not covered by soviet defenses.

2mxr1g0.jpg

By dusk at 20 o'clock, the decision was finally made - the 1st Mechanized Army would be included in the offensive at Suwalki. They would strike en masse down the rear of the Suwalki bulge, creating enormous confusion and hopefully encircling the 10 divisions present completely. It was a risky choice, but would have high payoff should it succeed. The formation would start moving in before dawn, and 2 o'clock on the 24th. It was still in good condition despite the botched offensive a day earlier, and hopes were high that a stinging blow against the Wehrmacht would be given.
 
Last edited:
Oh that wacky AI, cancelling offensives that could win it miles and miles of territory... probably because I reloaded the game, but surely such a bug should be fixed sooner. :(

As for any counterattacks against Memel, not likely. I'm having difficulties sustaining an offensive in which everything is going correctly, striking Königsberg is out of my power for now.
 
So you're still taking risks even containing them, let along pushing on.

If the 1st Mechanised gets stopped, what is Plan B?
 
Well, tinypic pulled a massive dick move and stopped hosting pictures for all foreigners without any warning. The pictures all still exist, so if anyone would be kind enough to refer me to a free image host that's half-reliable, I'd be grateful and start restoring the AAR slowly.

Also, new update too in a day or two.

Cybvep, Karaiskander - It's odd, because the AI is set to aggressive as well. Still, even the few attacks he has are keeping me busy.

RGB - Plan B is run like hell. Literally. If I should fail massively, I wont stay in the Pripyat to see what happens, no, I'll bug out. As I am playing the game while updating, I have no clue what will come next.
 
RGB - Plan B is run like hell. Literally. If I should fail massively, I wont stay in the Pripyat to see what happens, no, I'll bug out. As I am playing the game while updating, I have no clue what will come next.
Somehow I think that this add to the atmosphere. More things seem uncertain;)