The Four Faction War: A(nother) German AAR

[TehDarkMiner]

Part IV: In Preparation
19th of September, 1939

'This is boring! I want WAR!' Hitler whined in his chair.
His generals looked up at him, eyebrows firmly down.
'We have taken over Czechoslovakia in two brilliant political strategies, leader! You forced over Memel to Germany, and you got Italy to join the Axis war machine. And your inspired non-aggression pact with the Communist scum!' Rommel recounted.
'Yes, I know that! But are we ready to invade?' Hitler sighed.
'Well, here are our armies. Decide for yourself.' Rommel said, showing Hitler the armies.

'Here are our western forces. I'm not sure if they're ready for an assault on France yet.' Rommel admitted.

'Here are our Polish invasion forces.' he continued.

'And here are our African corps!' Rommel smiled, 'I hear their leader is a brilliant strategist!'.
'Looks good. What about our allies' power?' Hitler asked.

'I have that right here!' Rommel said.

'Do you think we're ready?' another commander asked.
'Yes. Attack tomorrow!' Hitler demanded, 'I have prepared some battleplans already. Take a look. I have called it Fall Sonnenuntergang - Plan Sunset' he added.

[Blue indicates first phase, green indicates second phase, red indicates in this case a complete encirclement]
Hitler pointed out that he wanted to keep East Prussia away from becoming a driving force in the attack - the divisions were pure infantry and there weren't many of them. Pushing the Polish back a little would create a small buffer in case the Polish unexpectedly bring up divisions. The attack on Danzig would come on two points, supported by strong tactical bombers, multi-roles and close air support.
The driving force would come in the centre of Poland:

Two powerful corps, supported by the airforce, would strike the Polish at their heart, Warsaw, splitting their western armies to north and south. Hitler envisioned a quick strike at their heart. Some of the commanders said a slow push would be a better idea, explaining it would take six weeks. Hitler laughed. Six weeks? What pathetic doctrine would take six weeks to take over this pushover country?
No. Hitler would use Blitzkrieg! A lightning-fast strike at their heart.

Not a lot was planned for southern Poland; most important Polish cities were centre or north, not south. A division would attack at Krakow when the Polish divisions there were redeployed to Warsaw, north.
Under a more powerful country like France, Hitler would not even have considered such risky assaults on major, garrisoned and forted cities. But this was Poland. And the German high command doubted Poland's ability to fight.

Hitler stood up. 'Men, this is it. Tomorrow, it is war. I'll demand Danzig from them; they'll undoubtedly refuse. We'll make up some story of the Polish mistreating German minorities - those foolish British won't realise it's the same excuse we used on Czechoslovakia! The Polish see undefended provinces to the south! No large stacks of divisions anywhere! They won't realise our individually superior men until Warsaw is taken and the Reich is expanded!' Hitler chuckled.

Poland was about to become the first victim of Germany's armies.

 

[sebas379]

This is your final warning, back down now or I will cut Bordeaux-wine export to Germany by 20% as well!
---------------

The plan looks solid to me, but isn't the army a bit small? I don't see any divisions in Slovakia, you aren't pushing into southeast Poland for that VP there? I always like sending a unit from Slovakia to Lvov, though I'm not sure it's needed.
I see you put faith in the Luftwaffe, good. How large is she by the way? Is she in shape to obliterate the Poles and pave the way to Warsaw for the glorious panzers? This is gonna be fun.

 

[TehDarkMiner]

This is your final warning, back down now or I will cut Bordeaux-wine export to Germany by 20% as well!
---------------

The plan looks solid to me, but isn't the army a bit small? I don't see any divisions in Slovakia, you aren't pushing into southeast Poland for that VP there? I always like sending a unit from Slovakia to Lvov, though I'm not sure it's needed.
I see you put faith in the Luftwaffe, good. How large is she by the way? Is she in shape to obliterate the Poles and pave the way to Warsaw for the glorious panzers? This is gonna be fun.

NOT THE WINE! *dramatic chipmunk music here*
Nice to see you've taken a bit of an interest in this AAR, thanks . Out of interest, do you feel the narrative style (this sort of generals explaining to Hitler stuff) is nice, or would you prefer something different? I want to make the AAR as good as I can!
I have managed to defeat Poland with half the divisions that I am fielding, in previous games (losing some of them in the process, and needing every air unit I had, but it worked in the end). I know I should have gotten a few units in Slovakia, but I forgot to deploy units there until the very end. Hopefully if I can take Warsaw quickly, they should lose their supply stores, halting any advance/attack.

Well you'll see the Luftwaffe in action in the next update. It consists of 39 planes in total, 10 more than Germany in the Blitzkrieg historical start. So that's something
I have 7 close air support stukas, 4 multi-roles, 13 interceptors (most of these won't be used against Poland, but to stop strategic bombing of my cities), 18 tactical bombers and 1 transport plane. Currently producing 2 multiroles, 2 interceptors and two tactical bombers, but none of these will be finished by the time Poland is crushed.

Also, I think I'm going to try to update at least once every two days. Proper updates - this pre-war stuff is awful, boring but necessary.

 

[sebas379]

NOT THE WINE! *dramatic chipmunk music here*
Nice to see you've taken a bit of an interest in this AAR, thanks . Out of interest, do you feel the narrative style (this sort of generals explaining to Hitler stuff) is nice, or would you prefer something different? I want to make the AAR as good as I can!
I have managed to defeat Poland with half the divisions that I am fielding, in previous games (losing some of them in the process, and needing every air unit I had, but it worked in the end). I know I should have gotten a few units in Slovakia, but I forgot to deploy units there until the very end. Hopefully if I can take Warsaw quickly, they should lose their supply stores, halting any advance/attack.

Well you'll see the Luftwaffe in action in the next update. It consists of 39 planes in total, 10 more than Germany in the Blitzkrieg historical start. So that's something
I have 7 close air support stukas, 4 multi-roles, 13 interceptors (most of these won't be used against Poland, but to stop strategic bombing of my cities), 18 tactical bombers and 1 transport plane. Currently producing 2 multiroles, 2 interceptors and two tactical bombers, but none of these will be finished by the time Poland is crushed.

Also, I think I'm going to try to update at least once every two days. Proper updates - this pre-war stuff is awful, boring but necessary.

well, I'm just not a fan of large narrative stories (though some are very well thought out and written), just not my cup of tea.
However, you integrated this bit nicely with the rest, that certainly works well, I liked that. Mixing different styles keeps it lively and interesting so if you feel like it, please continue to do so. I might actually learn something about writing stuff from it, hahaha.

 

[TehDarkMiner]

well, I'm just not a fan of large narrative stories (though some are very well thought out and written), just not my cup of tea.
However, you integrated this bit nicely with the rest, that certainly works well, I liked that. Mixing different styles keeps it lively and interesting so if you feel like it, please continue to do so. I might actually learn something about writing stuff from it, hahaha.

Thanks
I'll try and mix a few different styles around then. See how it all goes. Perhaps some different perspectives (like an American-themed one, at the beginning of the US entry of war or something). I'm not sure you'd learn a lot from me, except how not to write narratives XD

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Chapter Three: Poland No More
Part V: The Battle for Danzig (Fall Sonnenuntergang I)
19th of September, 1939 - 24th of September, 1939

Adolf Hitler was no military strategist. His plan to attack Poland was ambitious, but risky to say the least. Fall Sonnenuntergang, if successful, would be an excellent show of German aerial and military might. However, Poland was prepared for an attack. The divisions were mobilised and ready for war.

Hitler couldn't be bothered coming up with any half-decent excuse. The Allies probably weren't going to intervene much, regardless of promises. Their indecisiveness would give Hitler's Heeresgruppe Polen time to defeat their eastern enemy. And they would not take much time. For they had the mighty doctrine of Blitzkrieg!

The French would be too busy garrisoning the front line! No static defences would really be useful against Hitler's armies. Only a mobile, elastic commander could stop his Panzers, and the Allies were preparing for a new round of trench warfare! It was time to send the divisions to their attacks.

East Prussia wasn't gaining the successes found in East Germany. Suwalki in particular - crucial to the capture of Grodno, was a failing attack. It's already clear more divisions should have been sent to the eastern front, East Prussia may be surrounded if they are not connected in time. Danzig was alright, hopefully with the help of the strong tactical bombers it would quickly fall.

Some battles have been won, and the divisions are moving to consolidate won ground. Crucially, battles in the provinces which would form the push to Warsaw were successful. East Prussia is looking better now, too - Hitler would not be losing those units so easily to the Polish.

No. NO. Hitler would NOT accept THIS. What if the British started attack the yeast convoys? No beer! It's a fate Hitler could not imagine in its terribleness.
Hitler stormed across the Reichstag, furious. He picked up the phone. 'Navy? Stop all convoys immediately. This is an order. We must save them for more important things!' he shouted.

Reich Befehl Eins, as it would be known, had begun to take shape. Hitler had worried about his weak navy for a while, but he would worry about that after the Polish campaign. He was more worried about Danzig.

Danzig wasn't looking particularly awful - it was well defended against his Panzers, but the small garrison would hardly suffice for long against the combined tanks and planes. On the next day, the battle swinged a bit in the favour of Poland.

Okay, there IS another garrison now. Luckily the 7. Panzer Division was suffering no real organisation or strength losses in this time, or things would have become hairy. Meanwhile, in the rest of Poland, more ground was being taken by the Germans. A few retreating divisions were bombed for a while, and a gallant, but pathetic, river defence was made. However, Suwalki was not looking so excellent.

A close air support fleet was taken out of Berlin and taken to Koenigsberg, and quickly was assigned to the fighting. The attacks were successful at times, killing hundreds of soldiers and providing some help to the underpowered cavalry division. However,

Success in Danzig! With Danzig fallen, German territory was united as one great Reich. Suddenly, a mass retreat occurred in the northern front - presumably to defend the remaining cities. Hopefully the Polish will send their divisions on the border with East Prussia to defend Warsaw! And yes!

Suwalki was finally won.

Germany had taken Danzig, was ready to begin pushing to Warsaw, and could push to Grodno. Things were not looking good for the Polish with less than a week of fighting.

 

[Pelican Sam]

Yeah! Take that, Poland! :laugh:

Great update!

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Yeah! Take that, Poland! :laugh:

Great update!

Thanks

 

[sebas379]

Hurray, the war has begun Looks like the Heer is manhandling Poland like it should, exellent.

Do you only have some 70-odd convoys though? That's going to hurt massively if you get involved in something like Weserubung, 70 convoys can be gone in absolutely no time at all. I wouldn't feel too happy attacking Scandinavia and stuff with only 70 convoys in reserve (what if the Allies counterattack there) let alone do something crazy against the Brits. I'd recommend you build some more of those. Maybe just have 2 or 3 production lines of convoys run continues. that only costs 6 IC and grants what, 60 convoys every 100 days? You don't want to run out of those in the middle of an invasion.

Other than that though, nice update, good going!

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Hurray, the war has begun Looks like the Heer is manhandling Poland like it should, exellent.

Do you only have some 70-odd convoys though? That's going to hurt massively if you get involved in something like Weserubung, 70 convoys can be gone in absolutely no time at all. I wouldn't feel too happy attacking Scandinavia and stuff with only 70 convoys in reserve (what if the Allies counterattack there) let alone do something crazy against the Brits. I'd recommend you build some more of those. Maybe just have 2 or 3 production lines of convoys run continues. that only costs 6 IC and grants what, 60 convoys every 100 days? You don't want to run out of those in the middle of an invasion.

Other than that though, nice update, good going!

Thanks
70 convoys is pathetic, I know. But I'm not focusing on the UK yet, if I recall correctly the SU automatically DOWs you when you take London. Though, maybe I'll get a few convoys, like you suggest. It would be good for Norway.

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Part VI: The Road to Warsaw (Fall Sonnenuntergang II)
25th of September, 1939 to 6th of October, 1939

It was time for the Germans to take Warsaw. Hitler ordered his assault corps to quickly strike and push to Warsaw.

The Polish put up a weak, but time-consuming defence in Gniezno. The commanders of Heeresgruppe Polen knew that any disruptions to the capture of Warsaw could be potentially devastating; the Polish may be able to field their divisions properly and mount a true defence.

More divisions were brought in to fight from both sides. The Polish division had already been in battle, it seemed. The push to Warsaw could continue. Over in Prussia, the cavalry division was able to push again, getting dangerously close (for the Polish) to its target - the important province of Grodno. It had defeated a small division, but were reporting daily and nightly bombings overhead. A close air support group, although not designed for the role, were nonetheless dispatched to take care of this threat.

The Germans were hoping the Polish had no interceptors waiting for just this sort of moment.

The Germans were lucky. No interceptors left to fight in Poland - they must have escaped to Britain before the war began. The cavalry division was clear to keep moving. The German High Command took note of this, however: more interceptors would clearly be needed. A campaign against France or Russia would be far less forgiving. But the Polish were proving themselves to have some capabilities. They launched a counter-attack on Germany in Prussia.
The generals laughed at this feeble attempt.
'This is the great counter-attack Prussia has been dreading!' one joked. Hitler ordered two divisions on either side of the attacked division to put pressure off the 71. Infanterie Division

The counterattack was soon ended, and the Germans counter-attacked the counter-attack.

Northern Poland was in disarray. Not only was the force north of Warsaw under serious attack, but the divisions from Danzig that had fallen back were in very real danger of being cut off. The Chelmno Pocket had begun - a pocket created from the taking of Danzig and the push to Warsaw. The German divisions were ready for another push to Warsaw. The Polish had barely any organisation. This was going to be a quick battle.

A whole corps full of divisions are about to fall in the Chelmno Pocket.

And only a few hours after the battle began, the Germans were victorious again. The push to Warsaw continued. They weren't far now.

Meanwhile, southern Poland was holding pretty well. Mainly because there were no German divisions stationed there.
Except for a motorised division that had noticed the Polish garrisons had moved North, to cover the advancing German armies. It was a perfect opportunity for a quick strike at Krakow.

The division was finding initial success. And so was the cavalry division.

The Polish division hadn't even retreated, and Grodno was part of the Reich! A great example of the quickness of the German armies!
Hitler knew that the only challenge would be in Warsaw. The success of the close air support units in North-East Poland showed the Polish could mount no real air defence. Hitler decided to bomb Warsaw in preparation from his quickly advancing armies.

Polish divisions from East Prussia were retreating to the relative safety of Warsaw; the river formed a natural defence that the German divisions could cross. The attack had to come from the divisions to the West. They had only a few provinces to go.

 

[Pelican Sam]

Warszawa or bust!

Nice encirclement at Chelmno, too.

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Warszawa or bust!

Nice encirclement at Chelmno, too.

Thanks. I'm surprised how much this actually went to plan. The encirclement was very close to where I hoped it to be.

 

[sebas379]

Nice, it looks like you have broken their effective resistance and it's just a case of mopping up!

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Nice, it looks like you have broken their effective resistance and it's just a case of mopping up!

I have no idea what happened in some places - those divisions previously garrisoning the southern border don't seem to have appeared anywhere |:

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Part VII: A Case of Mopping Up (Fall Sonnenuntergang III)
7th of October, 1939 to 19th of October, 1939

Poland saw the bombing and realised what was happening. Warsaw was quickly garrisoned. That's where those southern divisions got to.

Poland had realised that it's doom was near. A final counterattack was ordered by Polish Supreme Command on the armies advancing on Warsaw. This would, in theory, buy the Polish enough time to convince the French to launch a massive assault, supported by British landings and aircraft. It was too late though. Germany had just finished production of a new line of tanks. Tanks the French and British knew their AT capabilities fell woefully short of.

The heavy tanks were a symbol of the German powerhouse. They were instantly assigned to the Western front, terrifying the French and British to continue garrisoning their borders, rather than attack. Hitler made no attempt to hide these behemoths. The Polish counterattack was launched regardless of Allied intervention in Germany. German bombers flying back from Warsaw reported movements before the attacks had even started, giving the Germans a slight advantage. The counter-attack had begun.

The counterattack was brutal but not for the Germans. However, it lasted nearly a week - the German corps there were halted for a while. The Polish divisions soon had given up and retreated. The Germans made one final push. Simultaneously, an attack was launched on Lodz.

This was it. The Germans were at the gates of Warsaw one week later than predicted.

A few divisions were sent in advance to test the power of the garrison, but they had all fled! They must have been part of that counterattack, the German High Command assumed. There was little resistance, and the advance divisions were ordered to finish off Warsaw. And this was not the end of the troubles for Poland.

Krakow was taken - there was barely any defence in the city. And a few hours afterwards, Lodz had fallen!

Most of Poland had just given up at this point. France and Britain were preparing for similar fates. A few divisions were uselessly sent to defend Warsaw from the Polish eastern front (presumably). They had just arrived and had barely started fighting when the German bombers heralded the inevitable defeat. The divisions retreated one by one. The final division put up a strong defence, holding up for a few more hours. The Germans pushed through the final defences quickly. Warsaw was won.

Twenty years ago, Germany would not have been able to mount an offensive on Poland. In less than a generation, Germany was able to slice through Poland's defences in four weeks.
The next day, Poland surrendered completely.

German High Command decided that for the time being, a collaboration government would be best. Manpower and leadership would be useful, especially in the upcoming war against the USA, France and the communists. This would change if Germany did not have enough IC or resources to adequately fight. The Reich was expanded once more. Poland was an annoying little fly, and it had been sprayed.

The title was definitely not inspired by the previous post by sebas379. Where do you people get your ideas from?

 

[TehDarkMiner]

Intermission 1: The Polish Campaign

There were celebrations and cheering in the German capital. Berlin had secured its first major victory. Poland, and it's 400 thousand strong army disbanded, was in the hands of Germany. Its resources, manpower and industry would fuel German production for war. Heeresgruppe Polen was not so happy, however. It knew that the victory was lucky. If Poland had secured the road behind the Warsaw attack force, Germany would have been forced to bring in divisions from the west, by all means inviting France into German territory. If the British and French had used Polish airbases to bomb German cities or counter critical German bombing, key locations could have remained in Polish hands. There were so many potential failures.
Germany was spared by the inability of Polish command to fight effectively. And now the French knew that Germany might create massive bridgeheads, deep into French soil. A solid, less mobile front would have to be used against France. Pockets would have to be strategically made, rather than made from separate attacks. All of this information would help Germany to succeed in France. And Germany needed much more anti-aircraft ability. Multiroles and interceptors were now prioritised.

The actual gains in Poland were not too significant.

The leadership barely gave room for a single technology to be developed. The extra manpower, however, was an excellent addition to Germany. The less Russia could rely on a war of attrition, the less Russia could survive. Extra IC was not substantial, but gave room for a few more planes to be built, relieving German factories of this important pressure.

The convoy strikes showed Hitler another massive flaw in his plan. The navy had been overlooked - Hitler himself had said 'A bit of metal floating on water is hardly a threat to our survival' just months before. It was too late to build up the Kriegsmarine, and industry had to be devoted to air and land units.

Convoys, at the suggestion of a foreign naval strategist, were to be slowly built in Polish factories in Danzig. The IC there would be enough to produce a steady stream of one to two simultaneous strings of convoys for use in Norway.

Hitler toyed with the ideas of submarines. He had heard U-Boots would wreak havoc with enemy supply routes, but he was too worried the British navy could very easily spot and destroy them. A waste of industry. The few U-Boots he had were only sent on occasional attacking missions, and instantly sent home with the slightest threat, or after a few convoy raids. They would not be replaced.

'If Britain decides to attack, what will our light cruisers and destroyers be good for? They have carriers! Battleships! Ships our research hasn't even discovered yet!' the Chief of the Navy raged.
'It's too late to build up any reasonable navy. We need to prepare for the communist scum and democratic filth,' Hitler responded. He knew a reasonable fleet of ships would be needed to take out the US, if it ever joined the war. But that was an issue for later. He also knew this meant he could not invade Britain for a long while. Many interceptors would have to be kept in Germany, rather than helping in Russia. Those strategic bombers would hurt German industry severely. This may turn out to be a devastating decision.

Wow, I've updated a lot recently. I might be a little bit slower in the future!

 

[Pelican Sam]

Wow, I've updated a lot recently. I might be a little bit slower in the future!

You say it like updating a lot is a bad thing!

 

[TehDarkMiner]

You say it like updating a lot is a bad thing!

I love updating

For a week I'm just a bit busy, that's all. And I might be slower . Not sure - if I can play through tonight and perhaps get up to the invasion of France or something then I will be able to update at the same at least once a day frequency I currently am at. It really depends, I much more like not playing in advance, but I think I may have to.

 

[sebas379]

That's how I like to see it, well done!
I'll await the royalties on that ^^
the gains might not be massive, though the leadership is very useful and for the moment your eastern flank is secure, that is worth a lot.
Am I right the campaign lasted exactly 1 month? that's not bad at all I'd say.

And don't worry about the rate of updates. If there is little time, we just have to wait a little longer. Such is the life of AAr readers, haha. Which reminds me, I should look into my own AAR this weekend.