Panzer, MaaAARsch ! An (almost) historical AAR

[Enewald]

Nice AAR. Having read probably a hundred HoI Germany AARs, some old-school German Blitzkrieg never gets old.

 

[Nicegil]

Great news from Greece... too bad you still need to send an entire Panzerkorps and one of your best Panzergeneral to Africa

Well... I was so totally absorbed by the situation in the Atlantic and the redeployment of the Wehrmacht that I completely forgot to check the Balkans and North Africa.
Yes, the situation seems ok in Greece but with the Italians (under AI !), who knows what could possibly happen...
A month ago, I had the impression that the Afrika-Korps would be useless over there but now, I'm afraid it will be mandatory (as well as historical).

Well, Greece seems to be going well. That big stack needs to be cut off or the Italians might have a surprise coming.
Hopefully one full panzerkorps will be enough. Nice update.

Fully right ! Now I keep a watchful eye on Greece. In a previous game, I saw the Italians spending to much time while progressing and the Greeks had the opportunity to build a huuuuge defense in Athens. I had to intervene with the Wehrmacht and I was almost behind schedule for 'Barbarossa'.
The Afrika-Korps MUST be sufficient, at least to stop the Brits. I have no other forces available for the moment... The problem will be to send it across the Mediterranean.

Will you still attack Yugoslavia if Greece falls?

Actually, it depends mostly of the events being fired in the next months. Right now, all the forces for 'Marita' are taking positions in Germany, Hungary and Roumania while the build-up continues "East"...
Will Bulgaria come into the Axis ?
Will Yugoslavia too ? If yes, will there be a coup or not ?
Some questions without answers for now. I just get ready for everything... just in case.

Nice AAR. Having read probably a hundred HoI Germany AARs, some old-school German Blitzkrieg never gets old.

Thanks !
Well, in these early years of WWII, the german historical OoB and strategy is a good choice. We're going to see if it stays the same in 5 months...

 

[Nicegil]

Chapter 32 : Unternehmen 'Marita'
​

Panzerschiff "Scharnhorst", Brest - 1941, February the 11th - 1930
Kapitän-zur-see Hoffmann, CO "Scharnhorst", meets Generaladmiral Saalwächter, CO MarineGruppenKommando West.

- "Willkommen an bord der "Scharnhorst", Admiral !
- Thanks a lot, Kapitän. It has been reported to me that you had a successful trip ?
- That's a way to formulate it, Admiral. Considering the little amount of time we spent on sea...
But, yes : Unternehmen "Berlin I" could be considered as a success.
- This operation was merely a test, Kapitän. As you know, it's important for GrossAdmiral Raeder to show that surface warships can contribute to the 'Battle of Atlantic', other than on a symbolic manner. The Battleship 'Bismarck' and heavy cruiser 'Prinz Eugen' are to be rebased very soon in Bergen for a major sortie in North Atlantic. Your Geschwader will operate in the same time to divide the Royal Navy's attention.

Unternehmen 'Berlin I'
​

- We haven't seen any british warships in our patrol zone, Admiral. We just met one escorted convoy but it was no match for us. The 6 days we spent on sea were merely a turkey shooting...
- How many "kills" ?
- 11 freighters and one escort. And scratched paint on some of our destroyers...
- Things might differ a bit if you meet some british battleships next time. I'm going to meet General Sperrle of the Luftflotte 3 to make sure MY ships will have the proper air support."


AussenMinisterium (State Department), Berlin - 1941, March the 2nd - 1400
Meeting between Foreign Minister von Ribbentropp and Admiral Canaris, Abwehr Chef (Head of Intelligence).

- "Ahh ! Admiral ! How nice to see you. I wanted to tell you that your analysis concerning Bulgaria was correct.
- They finally joined our side ?
- Indeed. Prime minister Bogdan Filov signed a non-aggression pact with us two weeks ago and yesterday, Bulgaria became a new member of the Tripartite Pact. We are free to move our troops on bulgarian soil and we have a new ally !

Willkommen im Club !
​

- I don't want to be a mood killer, Herr Reichsminister, but on a military point of view, Bulgaria is a joke.
Besides, if we achieved this diplomatic "success", it's only because Germany still have a non-aggression pact with the USSR. Bulgarians are Slavs, don't forget it !
- What do you mean ?
- It's quite simple, Herr Reichsminister. Shall we attack the USSR as it is planned, I can pretty much guarantee you that they won't even lift a finger to help us to fight their "brethrens". I'm not even sure they would ever directly participate in a war against Greece or Yugoslavia...
They have some territorial interest in Yugoslav Macedonia and Greek Western Thrace but they expect us to do the dirty job and then, they will turn the situation to their advantage.
- At least, with Bulgaria on our side, Turkey will remain quiet.
- For now, Herr Reichsminister... just for now."


ReichsFührung der SS, Berlin - 1941, March the 20th - 1000
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler meets Brigadeführer Gottlob Berger, Chef des SS-Hauptamtes.

- "Berger ! In my office, NOW !!!
.........................
- So. As you know, hostilities will soon begin against the Soviet Union and I want my SS to be the spearhead of this modern crusade.
What's the status of the Waffen-SS units right now ?
- Herr Reichsführer, We currently have 4 complete divisions, plus the Leibstandarte, which is merely a strong brigade and...

LSSAH will be a full division
​

- We should change that and make it a full division too !
- I'm already working on it, Herr Reichsführer, but it will take some time. This Summer may be...
It's one thing to create a division on paper, it's an other one to find the men and the equipment, you know.
- Ja, ja, Berger. I know the song !
And what about this new unit you are setting-up in Norway ?

One division more...
​

- Kampfgruppe 'Nord' ? On paper, the unit is ready since the end of February. But I seriously doubt of its efficiency. Not enough training, not enough equipment. Do you really want to send it against the Soviets ?
- If Finland joins us, yes. We need the SS-banner up to the Arctic Circle !
- Well... Still, don't expect too much from them. Right now, the SS-units are mostly devoted for second-line duties. Roughly 10 brigade-sized formations, including a cavalry brigade, habe been raised and trained for anti-partisan and security operations.
- I will change that, Berger, you'll see !!!"


Hauptquartier des Afrika-Korps, Benghazi - 1941, March the 31st - 1630
General Rommel, CO DAK, meets Generalmajor Gause, his Chief of Staff.

- "Generalmajor Gause reporting for duty, Sir !
- Ach, Gause. Don't be so formal. Na ? How was your meeting with our italian friends ?
- The Governor-General of Libya Gariboldi sends his regards and wants to know the state of our readiness. He seemed surprized it took so long to move our 3 divisions across the Mediterranean.

Berlin... the DAK has landed.
​

- The Deutsches Afrika-Korps is now fully combat-ready. I grant you it could have been faster but, unfortunatly, the Regia Marina didn't lend us enough transport ships. A general just has to sit in a plane and a few hours later, he's in Africa. Moving an entire corps, 30.000 troops and nearly 500 tanks is an other story !
- That's exactly what I answered him, Herr General, but it seemed he took our criticism personally. If you want my opinion, he was expecting to see YOU instead of me, a simple "underling", for our first contact on african soil.
- Ja, ja... I know. However, first, you're not an "underling" but my Chief of Staff and, second, if officially we are subordonated to him, Berlin still gave me very clear directives : the DAK stays under MY sole authority. I just have to be "diplomatic" with our brothers-in-arms i.e. to take care not to hurt their pride. And it's going to be tough, mein lieber Gause !
- Even more than you think, Herr General...
- Explain yourself !

Italian army under pressure...
​

- Governor-General Gariboldi told me that the italian army is in dire straits in Egypt. 2 weeks ago, the Brits took back Abu Keifu and now, they're attacking the italian main defense line at El Hammam. According to the reports from the front, our friends and allies won't be able to hold very long ; some units already started to retreat towards El Alamein...
- Well... Not a big surprise, isn't it ? General Halder told me to expect such a situation just before I came here.
All right ! The vacation is over, Gause. Let's start moving the Afrika-Korps to Tobruk. It's time to greet our british friends..."


Hauptquartier OberKommando 'Norwegen', Oslo - 1941, April the 1st - 1500
Meeting between Konteradmiral Cilliax, BefehlsHaber OK 'Norwegen', and General von Falkenhorst, Befehlsstelle 'Finnland'.

- "You wanted to see me, Admiral ?
- In der Tat, General von Falkenhorst. It's now time for you to pack your gear.
- May I ask where I'm supposed to go ?
- Oulu... In Finland. Don't forget a fur-lined swimsuit ; the water in Gulf of Bothnia is a bit cold...
- I understand... The Finns are on our side, then ?

Finns are tough in business
​

- Exactly. I just received the confirmation from General Jodl himself. They are our allies now.
- If they want to recover the lost territories, they don't have many options left. I assume they didn't sign the treaty for free...
- Right once again. The Reich will deliver them huge quantities of war equipment to modernize their armed forces. As if we didn't have enough issues to supply our own units... Anyhow, it's not my concern.
From now on, General von Falkenhorst, you're no longer my subordonate. You'll take your orders directly from the OKW in Berlin. Move your divisions by train to Kirkenes and once done, it's up to you, the OKW and the finnish High-Command.
- I'm still missing one unit, the 169. ID.
- Check this with General Jodl... You can dismiss."


OKH Hauptquartier, Berlin-Wünsdorf - 1941, April the 4th - 1130
Meeting between Feldmarschall von Brauchitsch, Chief of the OKH, and General Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff.

- "Morgen, Herr Feldmarschall.
- Mmmhmmmmm... ja, ja... 'Morgen, General Halder.
- Hooo... You saw the Führer, haven't you ? Is he still in a fury ?
- More than ever, Halder, more than ever. He's simply mad at what he calls "the yugoslavian betrayal"...

What the Hell is going on here ?
​

- Well... Who could have guessed what happened ? From neutral to Axis to Allies. All in less than 3 days...
What are we going to do ? The Italians controlled Greece now, with the exception of Crete. What could the Brits possibly do ? To land on the yugoslavian coast ?
- Marita has been cancelled. Instead, 'Weisung 25' is now on schedule. We're going to attack Yugoslavia with all our armed forces in the Balkans.
- When ?
- April, 6th. In the same time, General Löhr, CO Luftflotte 4, will launch 'Unternehmen Strafgericht' ('retribution' NotA). Series of massive carpet bombing of Belgrad with 500 aircrafts... It is expected to destroy most of the industrial installations in the Yugoslavian capital as well as the AAA defenses. Their morale is going to take a hit in the same time.
- Quite brutal but it might be useful to our plans.
- Let's review these, General Halder.
- Jawohl, Herr Feldmarschall !

OKH, allies and Luftwaffe
​

For this operation, we're going to have a strong Hungarian participation, with their 3. Hadsereg : 14 divisions and one airborne regiment. It will be under your direct command.
Air support will be provided by General Löhr's Luftflotte 4. Its components are already largely spread throughout the region : all together, 900 bombers, 400 'stukas' and 700 fighters from type Me-109 or Me-110. It's more than enough to achieve total air superiority and to support our ground forces.

OKH High-Commands
​

The ground elements consist of 2 Armies and one Panzergruppe. All together, 33 divisions among them 11 armored and 3 motorized divisions. To this sum, we should also had 3 motorized brigade-sized formations. Our allies included, it represents a fighting force of over 500.000 men.
Considering the low state of preparation of the Yugoslavian armed forces, the multiplication of our axis of attack, it shouldn't take long, Herr Feldmarschall.
- I'm aware of that. But on the eve of 'Barbarossa', we must avoid unnecessary casualties, mostly among our armoured units !!!
This being said, carry on, please.

AOK 2
​

Initially thought to be a ressource pool for 'Marita', the 2. Armee of General von Weichs will participate directly to this campaign. To its original 10 divisions, it will be reinforced with the LII. AK of the 11. Armee, currently forming. Our reserve divisions will also be assigned in its operation area. All together, over 160.000 men in 16 divisions, incl. 6 mot./arm.

3. Hadsereg
​

Hungarian 3. Hadsereg is already facing the bulk of the Yugoslavian armed forces. General Novak's mission is merely to fix them while we strike deep in the Yugaslavian territory, by-passing them. In addition to his infantry divisions, General Novak has a Rapid Corps, GyorHadtest, at his disposal. Of course, should a breakthrough opportunity ever occur, he's free to exploit it.

Both 2. Armee and 3. Hadsereg will strike from the North. As I previously mentioned, the role of the Hungarian Army is merely static.
General von Weichs's mission is to occupy Ljubljana, Zagreb, and then to drive south towards the coast to take Split.
- Weren't the Italians supposed to help us ?
- They were, Herr Feldmarschall. In the original Plan, their 2. Armata was supposed to participate but with all their forces mostly commited in Greece and North Africa, we really don't know what they're going to do.
- Well... Not a very big issue. Go on !

Weisung 25 : the invasion of Yugoslavia
​

Eastern and Southern parts of Yugoslavia will be attacked by the 1. Panzergruppe and the 12. Armee.
General Kleist's 1. Panzergruppe has the task to take Belgrad as General List's 12. Armee has been ordered to seize Skopje and to strike deep inside Yugoslavia with Sarajevo and the port of Dubrovnik as final objective.

1. Panzergruppe
​

The 1. Panzergruppe has only 6 divisions and one mot. regiment but half of them are elite formations with proven combat experience. Furthermore, the terrain is quite favourable for motorized formation and the distance to their objective, Belgrad, isn't that great. They will also benefit of strong air support from our air units in Roumania and Bulgaria.

AOK 12
​

Further south is the 12. Armee. Nearly 130.000 men within 11 divisions, and 2 mot. regiments. With 4 arm./mot. formations, it's a good mix to operate in this region. I have total faith in General List's skills to fulfill his mission.
- What about our airborne forces ?
- I spoke with General Jeschonnek, Luftwaffen Chief of Staff. According to him, the XI. Fliegerkorps is to be send in Athens for "special assignment"...
- Probably something that has to do with Crete.
- It's also my opinion, Herr Feldmarschall.
However, I managed to get back our 22. Luftlande-Division, originally an 'Heeres' formation. It's now resting in Budapest under the authority of the 11. Armee and it's available for any mission.
- Like an air assault on Belgrad's airfield for instance ?
- I already gave instructions to General von Sponeck, its Commanding Officer, to study such an eventuality..."

Back to war summary​

 

[guillec87]

first ahistorical move... let's see how it affects Barbarossa...

 

[Enewald]

Well, if you are lucky and able to still begin Barbarossa in June, expect first snow to fall in August and mud to begin in July.

 

[Nicegil]

first ahistorical move... let's see how it affects Barbarossa...

Well... Not totally ahistorical. The invasion of Yugoslavia really took place after the british coup of March 27th.
The only difference, here, is that I can throw both 1. Panzergruppe and 12. Armee with their full strenght against Yugoslavia since Greece is out of play... almost (they still hold Crete).

Well, if you are lucky and able to still begin Barbarossa in June, expect first snow to fall in August and mud to begin in July.

It has been said that Summer will fall on a week-end this year 1941... :laugh:
Joke aside, I really don't think the Yougoslavian "intermission" will affect the starting date of Barbarossa. They're outnumbered in a 3 to 1 ratio (rather 5 to 1, considering the low state of readiness). In this configuration, I could send the Balkans occupation forces I've planned and it still would do the trick, although it would take longer.

The only concern is casualties ! My MP is close to 0 and I still need over 200 to be at full strenght.

 

[Forster]

Are you going to help the Italians with Crete? Hopefully, you will clean up that British problem in North Africa fairly fast.

 

[misterbean]

Funny story about one SF/ICE playthrough of mine. I send the Afrikakorps on a dash towards Alexandria and Cairo. Do you know where they ran out of gas (literally speaking!)? El Alamein

 

[Nicegil]

Are you going to help the Italians with Crete? Hopefully, you will clean up that British problem in North Africa fairly fast.

I guess I'll have to take care of Crete by myself. The Regia Marina is quite short on transport ships to make a landing down there (assuming the AI simply thinks about it...)
North Africa is another issue...

Funny story about one SF/ICE playthrough of mine. I send the Afrikakorps on a dash towards Alexandria and Cairo. Do you know where they ran out of gas (literally speaking!)? El Alamein

Well... That's exactly my problem. The infrastructure in Libya/Egypt is usually quite low but now, it's even worse with the war. No need to send the DAK if it's to see it stuck or (worse !) out of supply/fuel.

 

[Nicegil]

Chapter 33 : Weisung 25
​

Hauptquartier der Luftflotte 4, Wien - 1941, April the 7th - 1230
General Löhr, CO Luftflotte 4, on the phone with General Jeschonnek, Luftwaffen Chief of Staff.

- "Jawohl, Herr General. Unternehmen 'Strafgericht' has been a complete success. We've conducted nearly 1500 sorties over Belgrad in the last 36 hours.
The city and most of its industrial installations lay in ruins and the AAA defenses have been destroyed.

'Retribution'
​

- Casualties on our side ? You know how critical the replacement situation is !!!
- We've lost only one bomber over Belgrad, Herr General.
- Glad to hear that, mein lieber Löhr. I was expecting a little bit more.
- The bulk of the Yugoslavian air defense fighters has been met yesterday in the Knjanevac sector : they tried to counter the air support to our ground troops over there.
- And ?
- To no avail, Herr General. General von Richthofen kicked them in the b...
Over 60 enemy fighters have been shot down while we lost 6 Ju-87, 1 Me-110 and 4 Me-109. If you want my opinion, we won't see any enemy fighters ever again. Everything will be over before they could recover from such a desaster.
The VIII. Fliegerkorps bombed Yugoslavian positions in Knjanevac all morning and now, 5. and 11. PzD are moving forward without meeting any serious resistance.

VIII. Fliegerkorps in action
​

- That's a very good news ! Congrats General von Richthofen and his boys for me, please.
Yet, another topic-related question...
- I'm all ears, Herr General.
- Do you have any transport aircrafts available right now ? General von Sponneck, the CO of the 22. Luftlande-Division, intends to launch an air-landing assault on Belgrad's airfield...
- I'm aware of that, Herr General. Von Sponneck and I already spoke about it. A bold plan but very interesting.
- So ?
- All my Ju-52 are currently transporting General Student's XI. Fliegerkorps to Athens for Unternehmen 'Merkur' and he will need them to conduct the operation...
- I just spoke with General Halder and we both agree : 'Merkur' will have to wait until the conclusion of our operations in Yugoslavia. As soon as the XI. Fliegerkorps will have completed his transfer to Athens, you're ordered to send back your transport Geschwader to Budapest at the disposal of General von Sponneck. Do you read me ?
- Loud and clear, Herr General. Just keep in mind my aircrafts won't be available before 36 hours from now... at best.
- It will be ok. Good job, Löhr, carry on !"


Föhadiszállás Gyorhadtest, Baja - 1941, April the 8th - 0930
General Miklos, CO Gyorhadtest, on the phone with General Novak, CO 3. Hadsereg.

- "I'm glad to have you on the phone, Miklos. How's the situation in your sector ?
- Nothing to complain about, General. Thanks to the air support of our german allies, the enemy in on the run. It seems the Yugoslavian army wasn't prepared at all for a war.
- More likely, they have divisions of different quality. In the sector of IV. Hadtest, on your right, General Horvath is facing a stiff resistance at Valpovo.

Hungarian advance
​

- Tell him not to worry about, General. The vanguards of my 1. gépesített gyalogsági dandár reached Osijek.
- This far away already ? But it's at least 60km inside enemy territory !!!
- The 2. gépesített gyalogsági dandár is at Sombor too. I'll now move this two units along the Danub towards Belgrad.
- What are your casualties ?
- Not even 50 men KIA in my entire corps for now. I hope it will stay the same...
- I hope so too. Good luck, Miklos."


GefechtsStab der 22. Luftlande-Division, Belgrad's airfield - 1941, April the 09th - 1100
Oberst von Choltitz, CO Inf.-Rgt 16, greets General von Sponneck, CO 22. LLD.

- " Welcome to hell, Herr General !
- Thanks, colonel. How nice to see what a wonderful reception you've organized for me...
- You should have been there two hour ago ; that was real funny !!!!
In any case, I have to say that the guys of the Luftwaffe did a very good job, Herr General. Most AAA installations were already destroyed when we landed with our gliders. We got the defenders by surprize and the airfield's perimeter was under our control in less than an hour.
- We must now expend our bridgehead for the rest of the division. What's the OpFor ?
- We're facing 2 Yugoslavian divisions but they seem disorganized and/or understrenght. However, they started some heavy counter-attacks and they're giving us a hard time !
Are you sure it was really a good idea to land right on the top of the anthill, Herr General ?
- Mein lieber von Scholtitz... If you want to be 100% sure, you grow turnips ; you don't make war !
I'm not concerned that much about our current situation. We have enough firepower to stop the enemy, at least for a while, and rescue will come pretty soon.

Air assault on Belgrad
​

North-east, the division 'Das Reich' is about to attack as soon as the Luftwaffe will have cleared the way and "Papa Hausser's" boys are very much eager to fight...
South, that's General Kuhn's 13. PzD which is coming to us. According to the last reports, the division was in Cuprija at 0200 this morning and it should reach Arandelovac tomorrow during the night. That leaves us only two days to wait and hold.
- And if the enemy is being reinforced before that ?
- Not a chance, colonel. One infantry division was effectively withdrawing towards Belgrad but Rgt 'Großdeutschland' is currently attacking it at Zrejamin to avoid this. Our Hungarian allies are doing a good job too and most Yugoslavian forces are facing them without possibilities to disengage. Some service units might still reach the Capital but their military value is negligible.
All right... enough talking, colonel. Let's move our guys : there's a battle going on and I intend to win it !"


12. Armee Hauptquartier, Berkovica - 1941, April the 9th - 1500
General List, CO 12. Armee, meets Generalmajor von Greiffenberg, his Chief of Staff.

- "Von Greiffenberg, do we have any news von Oberst Petersen ?
- We just got his last report; Herr General. His IR 125 (mot.) just took Skopje. According to the report, the regiment is facing an enemy counter-attack from the south-west, at least one infantry division.
- That may be too much for a single regiment.
- Don't worry, Herr General : 6. Geb.-Division is on its way to reinforce him and 72. ID is not that far away either. With the aircrafts of the VIII. Fliegerkorps newly rebased in Tirana, Petersen will have enough firepower to hold until reinforcements arrive.
- Good. What else ?

Armored advances in eastern Yugoslavia
​

- Everything is fine, Herr General. Our armored and motorized formations are moving fast deep inside enemy territory.
We expect both 2. and 9. PzD to reach the line Plav-Sjenica by the 11th and Diettrich is eager to fight and seems unstoppable.
- Mhmmmm... Not bad soldiers this SS-guys after all. But keep an eye on him !"


OKH Front Hauptquartier, Wien - 1941, April the 11th - 2000
Meeting between Feldmarschall von Brauchitsch, Chief of the OKH, and General Halder, Chief of the General Staff.

- "Na, General Halder. Things are looking quite good so far, aren't they ?
- That's pretty much what we expected, Herr Feldmarschall. From the very beginning, we knew the Yugoslavians couldn't resist us very long. So much for glory...
- My main concern is the casualties. How many so far ?
- 250 men at most. Surprisingly, most of them have been inflicted by some air strikes south of Zagreb. The enemy planes probably took off from Split and we don't have fighter cover in this area. Our columns moved too fast.

PzDs roaring in the west
​

- That's the side effect of the Blitzkrieg...
- Right. This being said, you can see that in the western sector, the enemy has nothing to oppose us. Our 4 Panzer-Divisionen are roaring towards the coast.
- I've been taught that the Italians have some difficulties in Karlobag. Should we divert the 19. PzD to help them ?
- No need to, Herr Feldmarschall. Our Brandenburger unit can do the job. They will be in Otocac bei tomorrow.
- Good. What's the situation in the eastern sector ?

Battle for Belgrad
​

- The battle is still raging in Belgrad. The 22. LLD holds its position at the airfield while Hausser and Kuhn are tightening their grips around the city. Heavy fighting in the suburbs but it is doubtful that the Yugoslavians could hold for very long. We just learned that their gouvernment fled the Capital. A good sign for us.
South of Belgrad, the motorized units of the 12. Armee keep advancing. The LSSAH will soon be in position to move north to close the ring around Belgrad, so if we...
- No ! We stick to the plan. Diettrich's objective remains Sarajevo ! Leave this to the 60. ID (mot.) and 16. PzD.
- All right. The LSSAH will reach Uzice by tomorrow and the 9. PzD will be at Kolasin in the same time. Sarajevo will then be threatened from two directions. Veiel and his 2. PzD covers this manoeuver by attacking and fixing the enemy at Plav.
- Well... we just have to wait, now..."

Situation in Yugoslavia, April the 13th, 1941 - 0900
​

Hauptquartier des XI. Fliegerkorps, Athens - 1941, April the 15th - 0930
General Student, CO XI. Fliegerkorps meets General Löhr, CO Luftflotte 4.

- "Na, mein lieber Student.. The time has come, gell ?
- Indeed, Herr General. Unternehmen 'Merkur' will start tomorrow at dawn.
Unfortunatly, due to the lack of transport planes, my airborne troops will have to come in two waves.
The first one, consisting of the full 7. Flieger-Division will take care of the main objective : Irakleio. From this port oriented south, the Brits would have the closest and safest way shall they decide to reinforce the garrison.
- Did you expect some british troops on Crete ?

Unternehmen 'Merkur'
​

- So far, we haven't spotted any. My S2 thinks it's because they want to deal in priority with the Italian threat in north Africa. Therefore, we have to handle very quikly before they understand their mistake and change their mind. Crete is the key position which controls all the eastern Mediterranean.
The second wave will consist of the Sturm-Rgt and will jump on Chania. Only service units have been identified up there so it shouldn't be that hard.
In case of real problem, the 5. Geb.-Division is ready to be sealifted. It was anyhow scheduled to be deployed on the island as occupation force afterward.

Fallschirmjäger over Crete
​

- For my part, I'll have the X. Fliegerkorps as well as FliegerFührer 'Afrika' to provide you air support and fighter cover.
- Well... We'll see what happen. "Kamerad, da gibt es kein Zurück"...


ErsatzsArmee Hauptquartier, Berlin - 1941, April the 17th - 0930
Meeting between GeneralOberst Fromm, Befehlshaber der ErsatzsArmee and General von Oven, General Inspekteur der ErsatzsInfanterie.

- "I assume you already heard the news, mein lieber von Oven...
- I did, Herr GeneralOberst.
I'm not complaining but I was expecting something more difficult. According to the Rundfunk, this episode was merely a walk in the park for our Fallschirmjäger.
- You're right. It was an easy job for Student and his boys.
I just got General Jeschonnek on the phone : As soon as the 7. Flieger-Division landed in Irakleio, the Greeks surrendered. For their defense, they only had service units over there.

Crete is ours !
​

It took a bit longer for the Sturm-Rgt to achieve success in Chania. 10 hours of fighting but I think the Greeks didn't see the point of further bloodshed.
Funny thing that the Brits didn't left a finger to help them. Africa isn't that far and the Royal Navy still rules the waves in the Mediterranean.
- May be it's because they're quite busy with our Italian friends...
- Probably, yes.
So, we have some work to do. General Jeschonnek wants to withdraw his XI. Fliegerkorps from Crete ASAP. It's up to us to send some troops over there.
What do we have in our drawers, von Oven ?
- They look quite empty, Herr GeneralOberst. Anticipating such measures, I set-up a corps-sized command to take command of all troops on the island : the Festungs-Kommandantur 'Kreta'.
We can send one armoured detachment, only Beutepanzer I have to point out, the 212. Pz.-Abt. and we should have one garrison unit, in Nürnberg, without current assignment, the 713. Festungs-Division.
- That's all ?
- I'm sorry, Herr GeneralOberst but that's pretty much all I can do for now. Don't forget we just sent 4 other Festungs-Divisionen in Yugoslavia...
- Well, I guess General List will have to be satisfied with that."


AussenMinisterium (State Department), Berlin - 1941, April the 19th - 1400
Meeting between Foreign Minister von Ribbentropp and Reichsminister Fritz Todt.

- "Nice to see you, mein lieber Todt. How are you doing ?
- I'm doing fine, thanks for asking.
- You wanted to see mee before we met the Führer to celebrate our recent victory ?

Yugoslavia fully occupied
​

- Yes, indeed.
I was curious about the ressources newly acquired in Yugoslavia. As you know, our industrial capacity has reached its limits so any help will be more than welcome.
- I see your point, mein lieber Todt. Unfortunatly, the occupation of Yugoslavia won't bring us very much.

some small benefits still...
​

It is true that some large stocks of supply and gasoline have been seized over there but they won't last very long. It's nothing comparable to France for example. Even the quantities of rare materials and oil we've found are insignificant too.
The only real gain is the huge amount of gold stored in the Royal Bank. This will allow us to purchase some material from other countries.
- And what about industrial facilities ?
- Again, Yugoslavia isn't France nor Belgium. Furthermore, Belgrad has been so heavily bombed that it will take months to get back to its pre-war potential. If we're lucky, may be, and I really say "may be", we would be then able to increase our industrial potential by 1%...
- That's it ? All those expenditure and bloodshed for only 1% !!!
- At least, we haven't lost a lot of men.

and a low price to pay
​

Here's the casualty report I received from General Halder.
- 1.016 KIAs only ? At least, General Fromm will be happy ; he won't have to provide that many replacements..."

Back to war summary​

 

[misterbean]

A nice, clean operation. Well done.

 

[Enewald]

A small overkill in Yugoslavia?

 

[guillec87]

a great victory!! maybe since there was no dissaster in Crete the OKH will dare some airlandings in Russia?

 

[Nicegil]

A nice, clean operation. Well done.

Thanks. I love when everything goes as planned. Too bad for Clausewitz.
Serious things can now begin...

A small overkill in Yugoslavia?

Well... I grant you there was no merit here. The Balkan campaign is much more interesting when Greece is still fighting.
I'm pretty satisfied with the low casualties. That's all what matters to me right now. MP, MP, MP !!!

a great victory!! maybe since there was no dissaster in Crete the OKH will dare some airlandings in Russia?

Mhmmmm... Pretty tempting, I have to say but it will be a little bit "gamey" to use them right at the beginning of 'Barbarossa', don't you think ?

At least, the Führer will now give a "Go" to Unternehmen 'Herkules'... Air assault on Malta !!!
With the XI. Fliegerkorps (and some Italian units) commited to this operation, the 22. LLD in Roumania, it leaves me only the Rgt 'Hermann Göring' for an airborne operation in Russia.

 

[misterbean]

At least you'll have plenty of time to get everyone into the right launching positions.

 

[guillec87]

with the unit left you can simulate the commandos that acted at the very beginning conquering some important bridges for the Wehrmacht... if used in low number, then it wont be gamey... at least that's mi humble opinion

 

[Nicegil]

At least you'll have plenty of time to get everyone into the right launching positions.

I started the redeployment in September 1940 (18. Armee) so most units scheduled for 'Barbarossa' are in place for weeks now but I won't tell you how tedious it is to check and re-check if nothing's really missing. One division here, one air unit there...
The real pain in the b... are all these HQ attachments (NbW, StG and such...), moving from one HQ to the other. Therefore, I won't complain having now two months of tranquility to perfect OoB and positionning.

with the unit left you can simulate the commandos that acted at the very beginning conquering some important bridges for the Wehrmacht... if used in low number, then it wont be gamey... at least that's mi humble opinion

A valid point. There was a lot of spec. ops done by the Brandenburger units in the first days of 'Barbarossa'. May be I will consider ONE airborne operation (regimental-size and near a river obviously) to simulate this. I'll have to plan this unique opportunity very carefully...

 

[darthkommandant]

At least the Italians invaded Greece properly.

 

[guillec87]

looking for the next update!

 

[Nicegil]

I'm on it but this new forum causes some issues with the internal links. Currently fixing all this...