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June 1940: The Fall of France
EUROPEAN POLITICS:
(above) Germany is currently influencing Sweden, while Romania and Finland are aligning towards the Axis. All the unaligned countries, except for Switzerland, are leaning towards the Axis. On August 15, Italy DOW'd Greece. On Sep 2d, Romania joined the Axis—this was a major war goal for the future Eastern Front.
GERMANY GOVERNMENT: Jodl is replaced by Franze Halder in order to improve attack reinforcement.
OPERATION FALL GLEB--Debrief: France lost 42 divisions in Belgium, and currently stands at 73 divisions total including Italian front and colonies. Britain lost an estimated 24 divisions in Belgium, and is now down to 73 divisions including colonies and units in Norway.
OPERATION FALL ROTT--Execution: Assault on Maginot Line and advance on Paris.
(above) Opening moves in Operation Fall Rott call for assault on the northern flank of the Maginot Line.
(above) Armored Units crush all opposition in the north-west of France, arriving on the outskirts of Paris on 10 July. The French Government capitulated just two weeks later on July 23.
OPERATION WESERUBUNG--Execution:
(above) Invasion of Norway was begun on 9 July with four (4) divisions capturing Oslo and holds a line just to the north (white line). A second infantry corps moving along the coast captures the rest of the Atlantic ports, while the specialized Mountain Army swings northward to cover the flanks of the advance.
OPERATION SEALION--Execution:
*
(above) Invasion of Britain was begun on 21 July, with four (4) divisions invading the coast near Dover. On the same day that France capitulated, airborne troops capture London.
Following the capture of Dover and link-up to London, all the UK's strategic resources (rares, metals, etc.) were transferred to Germany, and Germany changed its Economic Laws to “Total Economic Mobilization.”
*
(above) Capture of channel ports. Two armys (24 corps) establish the defensive line along the river Thames
During the above campaigns the German army reached the status of, “Veteran Army,” with the effects of:
+5% Leadership,
+5% Organization Regain, and
+5% Land organization.
Next Time: Planning for the Eastern Front
EUROPEAN POLITICS:
(above) Germany is currently influencing Sweden, while Romania and Finland are aligning towards the Axis. All the unaligned countries, except for Switzerland, are leaning towards the Axis. On August 15, Italy DOW'd Greece. On Sep 2d, Romania joined the Axis—this was a major war goal for the future Eastern Front.
GERMANY GOVERNMENT: Jodl is replaced by Franze Halder in order to improve attack reinforcement.
OPERATION FALL GLEB--Debrief: France lost 42 divisions in Belgium, and currently stands at 73 divisions total including Italian front and colonies. Britain lost an estimated 24 divisions in Belgium, and is now down to 73 divisions including colonies and units in Norway.
OPERATION FALL ROTT--Execution: Assault on Maginot Line and advance on Paris.
(above) Opening moves in Operation Fall Rott call for assault on the northern flank of the Maginot Line.
(above) Armored Units crush all opposition in the north-west of France, arriving on the outskirts of Paris on 10 July. The French Government capitulated just two weeks later on July 23.
OPERATION WESERUBUNG--Execution:
(above) Invasion of Norway was begun on 9 July with four (4) divisions capturing Oslo and holds a line just to the north (white line). A second infantry corps moving along the coast captures the rest of the Atlantic ports, while the specialized Mountain Army swings northward to cover the flanks of the advance.
OPERATION SEALION--Execution:
(above) Invasion of Britain was begun on 21 July, with four (4) divisions invading the coast near Dover. On the same day that France capitulated, airborne troops capture London.
Following the capture of Dover and link-up to London, all the UK's strategic resources (rares, metals, etc.) were transferred to Germany, and Germany changed its Economic Laws to “Total Economic Mobilization.”
(above) Capture of channel ports. Two armys (24 corps) establish the defensive line along the river Thames
During the above campaigns the German army reached the status of, “Veteran Army,” with the effects of:
+5% Leadership,
+5% Organization Regain, and
+5% Land organization.
Next Time: Planning for the Eastern Front
Thanks. I'm back in action. The big story is that our internet was knocked-out by construction, and then it was decided to cancel our existing service and upgrade to a faster connection. It was not my decision--I just share the line.
Yes, the recon armor units run ahead of the pack at around 9KPM.
Their will be some upgrades to the armored forces in near future, generally up-gunning and better engines.
I'll be highlighting the armored corps next during planing for Barbarossa!
BTW MOO2 is one of my all-time fav's.
Thanks. I've made some improvements in the July update such as:
a) Dashboard at top, so one can ascess the overall situation.
b) Battle scenes now run vertically down the page for more detailed viewing.
Oct 1940: OOB Planning for Eastern Europe
GERMANY GEOPOLITICS: As war with the USSR is inevitable, it would be best to get it over with as soon as possible, that is, while the army enjoys superiority in technology and doctrine. The invasion of the Soviet Union will be called Operation Barbarossa.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA--Intellegence: The USSR has an estimated 125 divisions, with about 85 divisions along the Western border with Germany, Austria, and Romania. A radar station (lvl.5) was built in Memel to keep an eye on SU movements.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA—Production: The military is requesting one infantry corps (4 divisions) for every province bordering the USSR from Memel down to (and including) the Hungarian border. This would necessitate 25 corps, or a total of 100 divisions. Armored forces currently consist of one panzer army, and that number should be doubled to insure that sufficient forces are available for the drive on Moscow.
(above) Revised OOB plan for Operation Barbarossa. All current forces will be used, as well some 68 new divisions (green) will be built. Reserve army's will otherwise cover all the Atlantic ports and guard all strategic provinces on the Western Front. The Mountain Army will be kept in reserve as a rapid deployment force in case of Allied invasion, or any other threat anywhere in Western Europe.
(above) In order to capture Moscow by the end of the year (1941) and avoid winter conditions, it is imperative that Barbarossa begin no later than July 1. Any further delay will give the Soviets more time to prepare and may cause the War to drag-on unacceptably.
Production planning for Barbarossa calls for 420 IC's, which is just enough to get all necessary infantry and the majority of armor ready within 180 days. This effort will require total exploitation of occupied territories, and that cannot occur until the reserve army is in place. Therefore, production of new units for Barbarossa will be pushed off until Jan 1, 1941.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA:--Diplomacy: Germany has only 11% of the brigades necessary on the border with Soviets to break the non-agression pact. However, for the sake of secrecy the final build-up won't occurs until a few days before the actual invasion.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA—Military Upgrades: German military is currently in need of upgrading, and so about 50 ICs will be devoted to this task. Infantry will receive improved small arms, while armor and artillery formations will be up-gunned. Mobile units will receive engine upgrades, and engineers will be given newer assault weapons and bridging equipment. The German Airforce will also be completely upgraded to latest weapons and designs.
In addition to upgrades, new armored infantry formations will enter the OOB. The following is a summary of the main panzer-led divisions designed for the Eastern Front:
(above) Panzergrenadier Division. As engineer units will generally not be needed on the Eastern front, no new light mobile infantry divisions will be built. A faster light mobile infantry formation will be deployed instead, this division having improved hard and soft attack numbers, as well as better armored defences.
(above) Armored Infantry: The new armored infantry division will become the main armored battle formation of the army. In order to improve overall firepower and provide better armored defences the new formations will employ an additional panzer brigade in lieu of a motorized infantry. In this revised configuration soft attack remains quite good, while hard attack is significantly improved. This unit should be able to handle any threat, armored or no.
(above) Light Armor. The light armored formations that blitzed through Poland, France and the low countries will receive bigger guns and improved engines. These units are primarily designed to move ahead of the main column and establish defences against potential counter-attack.
(above) Medium Armor. The panther arrived too late for the war in the west, but will become the main battle tank for the remainder of conflict. The medium armor formation is designed with hard attack in mind--its primary mission being to engage enemy armor.
(above) Recon armor. Recon formations will get new engines for additional speed and rocket artillery for better soft attack. The purpose of these units is to move ahead of the main column and exploit any gaps in the line. All existing formations will be upgraded with SP rockets (with left-over armored car brigades distributed among existing light infantry formations).
FRANCE—Occupation: Northern France and the coast must be defended against any possible counterattack, and that job will fall to the 8th Panzer Army until they can be relieved by the reserve army.
OPERATION WESERUBUNG:
(above) Allied resistance was fairly minimal, the advance only slowed by terrain. Regular infantry corps will all be recalled, leaving the Mountain Army to make the final push over rough terrain in the far north.
OPERATION SEALION:
(above) The British army was too thinly spread and had insufficient armored support to prevent multiple breakthroughs. East Anglica was captured with relative ease, while airborne landings were made in Northern Ireland. After Wales was secured, the battle lines proceeded northward to Scotland. As fighting in the far north will be mostly over rough terrain, all armored formations have been pulled out of the line.
Next Time: Battle plans for Barbarossa
GERMANY GEOPOLITICS: As war with the USSR is inevitable, it would be best to get it over with as soon as possible, that is, while the army enjoys superiority in technology and doctrine. The invasion of the Soviet Union will be called Operation Barbarossa.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA--Intellegence: The USSR has an estimated 125 divisions, with about 85 divisions along the Western border with Germany, Austria, and Romania. A radar station (lvl.5) was built in Memel to keep an eye on SU movements.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA—Production: The military is requesting one infantry corps (4 divisions) for every province bordering the USSR from Memel down to (and including) the Hungarian border. This would necessitate 25 corps, or a total of 100 divisions. Armored forces currently consist of one panzer army, and that number should be doubled to insure that sufficient forces are available for the drive on Moscow.
(above) Revised OOB plan for Operation Barbarossa. All current forces will be used, as well some 68 new divisions (green) will be built. Reserve army's will otherwise cover all the Atlantic ports and guard all strategic provinces on the Western Front. The Mountain Army will be kept in reserve as a rapid deployment force in case of Allied invasion, or any other threat anywhere in Western Europe.
(above) In order to capture Moscow by the end of the year (1941) and avoid winter conditions, it is imperative that Barbarossa begin no later than July 1. Any further delay will give the Soviets more time to prepare and may cause the War to drag-on unacceptably.
Production planning for Barbarossa calls for 420 IC's, which is just enough to get all necessary infantry and the majority of armor ready within 180 days. This effort will require total exploitation of occupied territories, and that cannot occur until the reserve army is in place. Therefore, production of new units for Barbarossa will be pushed off until Jan 1, 1941.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA:--Diplomacy: Germany has only 11% of the brigades necessary on the border with Soviets to break the non-agression pact. However, for the sake of secrecy the final build-up won't occurs until a few days before the actual invasion.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA—Military Upgrades: German military is currently in need of upgrading, and so about 50 ICs will be devoted to this task. Infantry will receive improved small arms, while armor and artillery formations will be up-gunned. Mobile units will receive engine upgrades, and engineers will be given newer assault weapons and bridging equipment. The German Airforce will also be completely upgraded to latest weapons and designs.
In addition to upgrades, new armored infantry formations will enter the OOB. The following is a summary of the main panzer-led divisions designed for the Eastern Front:
(above) Panzergrenadier Division. As engineer units will generally not be needed on the Eastern front, no new light mobile infantry divisions will be built. A faster light mobile infantry formation will be deployed instead, this division having improved hard and soft attack numbers, as well as better armored defences.
(above) Armored Infantry: The new armored infantry division will become the main armored battle formation of the army. In order to improve overall firepower and provide better armored defences the new formations will employ an additional panzer brigade in lieu of a motorized infantry. In this revised configuration soft attack remains quite good, while hard attack is significantly improved. This unit should be able to handle any threat, armored or no.
(above) Light Armor. The light armored formations that blitzed through Poland, France and the low countries will receive bigger guns and improved engines. These units are primarily designed to move ahead of the main column and establish defences against potential counter-attack.
(above) Medium Armor. The panther arrived too late for the war in the west, but will become the main battle tank for the remainder of conflict. The medium armor formation is designed with hard attack in mind--its primary mission being to engage enemy armor.
(above) Recon armor. Recon formations will get new engines for additional speed and rocket artillery for better soft attack. The purpose of these units is to move ahead of the main column and exploit any gaps in the line. All existing formations will be upgraded with SP rockets (with left-over armored car brigades distributed among existing light infantry formations).
FRANCE—Occupation: Northern France and the coast must be defended against any possible counterattack, and that job will fall to the 8th Panzer Army until they can be relieved by the reserve army.
OPERATION WESERUBUNG:
(above) Allied resistance was fairly minimal, the advance only slowed by terrain. Regular infantry corps will all be recalled, leaving the Mountain Army to make the final push over rough terrain in the far north.
OPERATION SEALION:
(above) The British army was too thinly spread and had insufficient armored support to prevent multiple breakthroughs. East Anglica was captured with relative ease, while airborne landings were made in Northern Ireland. After Wales was secured, the battle lines proceeded northward to Scotland. As fighting in the far north will be mostly over rough terrain, all armored formations have been pulled out of the line.
Next Time: Battle plans for Barbarossa
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how did you annex Czechoslovakia without releasing Slovakia as a puppet?
Well, I don't know how it happened, but it happened. Slovokia is a puppet!
April 1941: War Planning for Barbarossa
OPERATION WESERUBUNG—Victory: Norway capitulated on May 9, and is now a puppet of Germany.
OPERATION SEALION—Victory. The last British naval port in the British Isles was captured on May 9. Occupation forces are largely in place, and the rest of the regular army forces were withdrawn to the Continent.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA—Production:
(above) Production was proceeding on schedule, but our Administrative Genius (+10% production) was sacked due to a scandal on June 6. The blow was softened somewhat by six factories already in the build queue that will complete in less than a month. Otherwise, resources are beginning to run low, and so production will be scaled back dramatically after final forces for Barbarossa are completed.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA:--Planning: The army will be divided into three army groups to cover the North, Central, and Southern regions. All aircraft and ships, except submarines, will be transferred east.
(above) In the north, infantry corps will attack all along the line (red arrows) except in the far north where they will assume defensive positions (white double arrows). Panzers will then breakthrough to Kaunas (purple arrows), then swing north to Riga to encircle all Soviet forces in the region. A separate pincer will then travel south to hook-up with panzers moving north of Brzesc to create a second pocket. With all Soviet forces in the region neutralized the road to Moscow and Leningrad should be wide open.
(above) In the south, infantry corps will attack all along the line (red arrows) except in the far south (in Hungary) where they will assume defensive positions (white double arrows). Panzers in the south will breakthrough just north of Lwow and feign towards Kyiv. Panzers will then split to swing south to the Romanian border to create a pocket around Lwow, while a second thrust to the north will attempt to encircle remaining Soviet forces south of Brzesc.
(Note: Due to the ten image limit, this post will be continued tomorrow.)
Next Time: War Planning for Barbarossa (continued).
OPERATION WESERUBUNG—Victory: Norway capitulated on May 9, and is now a puppet of Germany.
OPERATION SEALION—Victory. The last British naval port in the British Isles was captured on May 9. Occupation forces are largely in place, and the rest of the regular army forces were withdrawn to the Continent.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA—Production:
(above) Production was proceeding on schedule, but our Administrative Genius (+10% production) was sacked due to a scandal on June 6. The blow was softened somewhat by six factories already in the build queue that will complete in less than a month. Otherwise, resources are beginning to run low, and so production will be scaled back dramatically after final forces for Barbarossa are completed.
OPERATION BARBAROSSA:--Planning: The army will be divided into three army groups to cover the North, Central, and Southern regions. All aircraft and ships, except submarines, will be transferred east.
(above) In the north, infantry corps will attack all along the line (red arrows) except in the far north where they will assume defensive positions (white double arrows). Panzers will then breakthrough to Kaunas (purple arrows), then swing north to Riga to encircle all Soviet forces in the region. A separate pincer will then travel south to hook-up with panzers moving north of Brzesc to create a second pocket. With all Soviet forces in the region neutralized the road to Moscow and Leningrad should be wide open.
(above) In the south, infantry corps will attack all along the line (red arrows) except in the far south (in Hungary) where they will assume defensive positions (white double arrows). Panzers in the south will breakthrough just north of Lwow and feign towards Kyiv. Panzers will then split to swing south to the Romanian border to create a pocket around Lwow, while a second thrust to the north will attempt to encircle remaining Soviet forces south of Brzesc.
(Note: Due to the ten image limit, this post will be continued tomorrow.)
Next Time: War Planning for Barbarossa (continued).
Is the image limit down to 10? I thought it was 20 hmm I better check the rules again.
Nice plans, Only the northern attack across the rivers could be problematic, but if you make it please show what forces you used for the breakthrough.
Nice plans, Only the northern attack across the rivers could be problematic, but if you make it please show what forces you used for the breakthrough.
AXIS NAVAL STRATEGY: Due to overwhelming strength of the combined English-French fleets, the Kreigsmarine will be unable to sortie out of bases into the North Atlantic. A temporary measure to divert the Allies attention is to send surface raiders into the South Atlantic. Three Hipper-class heavy cruisers, based out of Sardinia, are anchored off the coast of Africa. Here the ships will rely on safe harbors provided by Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Re-creating this German strategy is a bit risky. When war starts, and the straits of Gibraltar will be closed, the ships will loose their basing. They could be forced to return to Germany, which may be disasterious. But, if this strategy does work, even temporarily, it is worth the effort since the Allied fleets will be quickly divered away from the North Sea.
GERMANY DECISION POINT—Sudentenland Agreement: The allied powers have conceded the situation in the former Czechoslovakia, therefore the Sudetenland is ceded to Germany immediately.
GERMANY DECISION POINT--1st Vienna Award: In order to further our relations with Hungary, and to gain control over the Automotive Industry at Rakonvnik, the 1st Vienna Award is granted. The former Czechoslovakia is now a puppet of Germany.
Note the diplomatic situation in Europe at this time; countries are about evenly divided between Axis and Allies, with Poland drifting in between.
ITALY DECISION POINT: As of the 1st of January, 1939, Italy has annexed Albania.
OPERATION FALL WEISS—Production:
(above) The added IC's to Germany were more than expected, therefore 176 IC's are now devoted to production instead of 160. Still, not quite out of the woods, however, as about a quarter (26%) of the force cannot be built in time. So, it is still necessary to use basic training, and to create small runs of parallel builds in order to improve production practicals.
[Note the baseline used for German troops is specialized training-which will be used on elite forces (paratroops, mountain, etc.) regardless]
The first batch of light tanks (total 7) to be completed in early January. This will boost armor practical to above ten (10). After that, strategic effects from automotive plant at Rakovnilk will speed up production a further 15%. This will come in very handy in building the remainder of the light and medium panzers.
OPERATION FALL WEISS—East Prussia Strategy: Four corps are assigned General Student's army of East Prussia with Field Marshall Von Rundstedt in overall command. Infantry corps under Lt. General von Roques and Schorner to hold the line (white arrows), and wait to be relieved.
Note: Preference in this case is for defensive skills and commando leades, especially on the far right of the line, which will be the last to be relieved. It will otherwise be very difficult for the Poles to defeat two full German corps before relief arrives.
Motorized infantry corps (1.) under Lt. General von Kuchler supported by infantry corps (2.) under Lt. General Halder to crack the Polish line at Danzig, then roll-up the enemy defenses all along the East Prussian pocket (purple arrows). Two corps is deemed sufficient since Danzig is virtually undefendable if attacked from two sides.
I have loaded up this scenario in 3.05 vanilla and I cannot see any German fleet in Bissau(West Africa) which is Portuguese territory. How did they get there, Portugal is not an axis member at that time. None in Sardinia either prior to Italy being Axix. Am I missing something? There is no explanation as to how this movement was carried out?
He got military access from Portugal. So the ships are not based there, simply visiting. Once Italy joined the Axis, he could base his ships in an Italian port, and shelter them in a Portugese one.
War Planning for Barbarossa (continued)
OPERATION BARBAROSSA: Final Order of Battle
PRELIMINARY: Getting all these units into position was a complicated process (to be explained), but pre-planning seems to have paid off as infantry corps have filled-out the frontier quite nicely with no left-overs.
RESERVES: One armored infantry corps (still in build queue) will be stationed in France to oppose any potential landings there, while the Mountain Army is still in Norway making its way south to Oslo. Three paratroops divisions are still in the north of England (Scapa and Leeward Is.) awaiting relief from reserve units, but everything else has been moved to the border with the Soviet Union.
MAKING OF THE OOB: Essentially, to catch the SU unaware, all corps were rushed to start positions by July 1 without regard to OOB. Then, to create these snapshots a back-up game (a game-week old) was used, and every corps and army HQ carefully positioned as you see here. Next, a number of changes were made such as; leaders were designated for promotion, while others were selected for divisional assignment on the basis of their potential. Even while creating these snapshots several assignments seem out of place (ie. fortress busters s/b opposite fortresses, and engineers at river crossings), so these are still not the final assignments, but close enough.
The final step will be to take the July 1 save game (noted above), and make final assignments based on detailed snapshots (not shown) from the back-up. The attack order will be given immediately, that is, as soon as the option becomes available in the diplomacy screen. The Germans are attempting to surprise the Soviets, and as a result many HQ's will not yet be in position. However, divisions should still be in radio range of their respective commanders, which is all that counts.
SNAPSHOTS: Here the army is broken into three groups, noted here under their historical titles. Game-wise, army groups and theatre HQ's (abbreviated HQ and AG) are labeled according to the cities they are stationed in.
Northern Army Group:
(above) Command of the northern armies will fall under recently promoted Field Marshal Model, whose headquarters is in Konigsberg. The 3d Armee of 20 divisions facing east is headed by General von Bock. This army is tasked with cracking the front lines to allow the panzers to begin their encirclement.
(above) The 8th Panzer Army consisting of 25 divisions is now under command of the recently promoted General Rommel. These are all veteran units that saw service in Poland and France, and will now be tasked with destroying the entire Soviet army in the Baltic region.
(above) General Student's 2d Armee has 16 divisions, and it will support the eastward assault as well as hold the northern flank at Memel.
Central Army Group:
(above) Field Marshall von Manstein, perhaps the most capable officer in the army, will command the center of the line from his headquarters in Warsaw. The newly created 4th Panzer army under recently promoted General Hausser will be tasked with linking up with the 8th Panzer Army in the north, and the 14th Panzer Army in the south. Fourth Panzer will begin short-handed with just 12 divisions as two corps are still in the production queue (but s/b done within a month).
(above) The sixteen divisions of the 1st Armee under General von Leeb have the most difficult task of attacking eastward across the river Vistula. The success of this mission will ultimately seal the fate of dozens of Soviet divisions who are overly exposed in a pocket north of Brzesc.
(above) General List and the 12th Armee has the most important goal of cracking the Soviet line opposite Zamosc and Jaroslaw (lower right). This is the most advantegous place for panzers to move through because it is clear terrain and has no river crossings. Although the screen-shot shows just three corps, a fourth will be be moved into position bringing 12th army up to strength with 16 divisions total.
Southern Army Group:
(above) Field Marshall von Rundstedt will command the south from his headquarters in Krakow. The 7th Army under General von Wilzlerben consists of 16 divisions, and it will push eastward to keep Soviet forces from disengaging while the panzers move around their rear. Note, the IX ArmeeKorps is out of position (at Gorlice), and will instead be assigned to General List and the 12th army to the north.
(above) The newly formed 14th Panzer Army will be under the command of newly promoted General Guderian. This army of 20 divisions (awaiting 3 more divisions still in build queue) will dash through the Soviet line at Jaroslaw and feint towards Kyiv before making for the Romainian border in the south to cut off all Soviet forces facing Hungary. A second pincer will then travel north to hook-up with 4th Panzer Armee.
The far southern flank of the line extending into Hungary consists of 16 divisions under the command of General Busch. The 72d army will keep up the pressure on the Soviets to prevent them from escaping encirclement, but must also protect the southern-most flank.
Next Time: War with the Soviet Union
OPERATION BARBAROSSA: Final Order of Battle
PRELIMINARY: Getting all these units into position was a complicated process (to be explained), but pre-planning seems to have paid off as infantry corps have filled-out the frontier quite nicely with no left-overs.
RESERVES: One armored infantry corps (still in build queue) will be stationed in France to oppose any potential landings there, while the Mountain Army is still in Norway making its way south to Oslo. Three paratroops divisions are still in the north of England (Scapa and Leeward Is.) awaiting relief from reserve units, but everything else has been moved to the border with the Soviet Union.
MAKING OF THE OOB: Essentially, to catch the SU unaware, all corps were rushed to start positions by July 1 without regard to OOB. Then, to create these snapshots a back-up game (a game-week old) was used, and every corps and army HQ carefully positioned as you see here. Next, a number of changes were made such as; leaders were designated for promotion, while others were selected for divisional assignment on the basis of their potential. Even while creating these snapshots several assignments seem out of place (ie. fortress busters s/b opposite fortresses, and engineers at river crossings), so these are still not the final assignments, but close enough.
The final step will be to take the July 1 save game (noted above), and make final assignments based on detailed snapshots (not shown) from the back-up. The attack order will be given immediately, that is, as soon as the option becomes available in the diplomacy screen. The Germans are attempting to surprise the Soviets, and as a result many HQ's will not yet be in position. However, divisions should still be in radio range of their respective commanders, which is all that counts.
SNAPSHOTS: Here the army is broken into three groups, noted here under their historical titles. Game-wise, army groups and theatre HQ's (abbreviated HQ and AG) are labeled according to the cities they are stationed in.
Northern Army Group:
(above) Command of the northern armies will fall under recently promoted Field Marshal Model, whose headquarters is in Konigsberg. The 3d Armee of 20 divisions facing east is headed by General von Bock. This army is tasked with cracking the front lines to allow the panzers to begin their encirclement.
(above) The 8th Panzer Army consisting of 25 divisions is now under command of the recently promoted General Rommel. These are all veteran units that saw service in Poland and France, and will now be tasked with destroying the entire Soviet army in the Baltic region.
(above) General Student's 2d Armee has 16 divisions, and it will support the eastward assault as well as hold the northern flank at Memel.
Central Army Group:
(above) Field Marshall von Manstein, perhaps the most capable officer in the army, will command the center of the line from his headquarters in Warsaw. The newly created 4th Panzer army under recently promoted General Hausser will be tasked with linking up with the 8th Panzer Army in the north, and the 14th Panzer Army in the south. Fourth Panzer will begin short-handed with just 12 divisions as two corps are still in the production queue (but s/b done within a month).
(above) The sixteen divisions of the 1st Armee under General von Leeb have the most difficult task of attacking eastward across the river Vistula. The success of this mission will ultimately seal the fate of dozens of Soviet divisions who are overly exposed in a pocket north of Brzesc.
(above) General List and the 12th Armee has the most important goal of cracking the Soviet line opposite Zamosc and Jaroslaw (lower right). This is the most advantegous place for panzers to move through because it is clear terrain and has no river crossings. Although the screen-shot shows just three corps, a fourth will be be moved into position bringing 12th army up to strength with 16 divisions total.
Southern Army Group:
(above) Field Marshall von Rundstedt will command the south from his headquarters in Krakow. The 7th Army under General von Wilzlerben consists of 16 divisions, and it will push eastward to keep Soviet forces from disengaging while the panzers move around their rear. Note, the IX ArmeeKorps is out of position (at Gorlice), and will instead be assigned to General List and the 12th army to the north.
(above) The newly formed 14th Panzer Army will be under the command of newly promoted General Guderian. This army of 20 divisions (awaiting 3 more divisions still in build queue) will dash through the Soviet line at Jaroslaw and feint towards Kyiv before making for the Romainian border in the south to cut off all Soviet forces facing Hungary. A second pincer will then travel north to hook-up with 4th Panzer Armee.
The far southern flank of the line extending into Hungary consists of 16 divisions under the command of General Busch. The 72d army will keep up the pressure on the Soviets to prevent them from escaping encirclement, but must also protect the southern-most flank.
Next Time: War with the Soviet Union
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Looking good, can't wait to see how it works.
What are you researching ahead of time there?
And could you present us an overview of your resources and production queue?
What are you researching ahead of time there?
And could you present us an overview of your resources and production queue?
Romania is in the Axis, but the strategy is to hold them out of the war until the right moment. First soften-up the Soviet lines, then hit them hard on the flanks. Same goes for Finland. It's best to have them join the war at a point where their contribution will do the most good.