The History of the Second World War (UK AAR 1936 1.2)

[enigmamcmxc]

Operation Goodwood

During our offensive two motorised infantry divisions exploited the hole in the German line north of Amsterdam, before the city was captured, and crossed the Afsluitdijk dyke into Friesland. One division halted to form a solid base while the other carried on the advance towards Germany; initial plans called for an advance to Wilhelmshaven however as German reserves moved west the division was pulled back to the current frontline to serve as a base to build up our force for a new offensive. The new offensive, Operation Goodwood (a little larger than its historical counterpart) will unleash nine infantry divisions, one airbone (in a ground role) division, four armoured divisions and four tank brigades: 150,000 men and 1,700 tanks; into the rear of the German lines.

Due to the Germans already attacking us in the north we know that three divisions are facing us and we believe a further two are also manning the northern frontline – a total of roughly 45,000 men with no tanks. Likewise due to our forces already engaging the Germans along our main frontline we know that there are 13 divisions facing us supported by at least 1,000 tanks. The French have not supplied us with intelligence, in regards to the Germans manning the West Wall, but we estimate at least 15 divisions and 600 tanks are positioned there. The German Army is also engaged fighting in southern Sweden; if only a few divisions are fighting there, that would account for all 38 formations our intelligence branch has identified meaning once we achieve success here, the Army Group should be able to drive - leaving a strong southern force to mask the advance - straight for Berlin; the war could be over by Christmas!

The operation is simple, the armoured divisions supported by the tank brigades, will spearhead the assault. They will penetrate through the northern most section of the German line and then race south looking to capture the northern end of the West Wall by coup de main. The supporting motorised infantry will follow in the attacks wake and form the cordon of the pocket. The operation should trap two German divisions in the north within the first day or two of exploitation but we expect most if not all of the three divisions we initially engage to escape eastwards. We expect the attack to also encircle at least half of the German frontline forces, if the opportunity presents itself the advance will be carry on further south to the Luxembourg border to encircle the entire force.

 

[unmerged(34917)]

Cool AAR, but I found in my US game that the German overall strategic AI is not very impressive in the opening stages of the war. It declared war on every neighbour in sight, but failed to beat the Frenchies. It just has so many distractions and it keeps half the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front that the French campaign just gets completely screwed up and the Germans are pushed back.

So by August 41 half of Germany was under French control while half the Wehrmacht was standing idle in the East. No fun in that, i think.

Anyways, seems Germany is yours!

 

[enigmamcmxc]

The AI has behaved rather wierdly; after taking Poland out it concentrated on the netherlands and mopped them up before moving on Belgium but as you said it seemed to be holding something back so i was able to stem the tide.

The AI did declare war on Norway and Sweden but has really left them alone expect for air attacks. Denmark and Yougoslavia were next and the AI rolled them over very quickly. With the land connection with Sweden that has distracted them a little but the AI is acting very aggresively.

I have tons of savegames so am going to have a good nosey around once the game is finished and see whats happened - i also really want to know where there capital ships keep disappearing to! :rofl:

 

[Myth]

Now you're beginning to make good progress against the Germans. No more pinpricks, now it's more like lopping fingers off!

 

[enigmamcmxc]

The end of the beginning?

On 7 August the Third Army is activated and General Alexander is placed in command. Auchinleck is promoted and placed in command of Second Army; Richard O’Connor, a Corps commander from the Eighth Army, takes his place at I Corps HQ.

The Germans have kept up their attacks on our line in central Holland, thinning out the frontline so that troops can be transferred to one battle to another has led to the Germans pushing our men back and arriving on the doorsteps of Amsterdam. On the 15th an assault on Amsterdam is launched before troops can be rushed to defend the city. Meanwhile massive aerial battles are underway above the Netherlands decimating both British and German air wings. At 1100 on the 15th Operation Goodwood is launched; 111,000 British soldiers and our entire tank force pounce upon a single German division of 9,000 men. Regardless of the overwhelming superiority, the German infantry hold the line for two days before collapsing. On the 21st the first pocket is created, the remaining elements of Third Army immediately attack.

The next the Germans win a battle against the Second Army and push a little further into the Netherlands; in this one battle 10,000 of our own men were lost. Two days later the first pocket formed, is cleared: 7,000 prisoners have been taken. German resistance to our spearhead is mounting and the advance is crawling to a halt, each push south is contested; German forces are pulling back from the line, facing the Second Army, to halt Third Army’s attack however the former is in no state to launch assaults to pin the German forces in place and First Army must remain inactive as they are the ones who will be used to clear the pocket.

In early September the advance is able to pick up speed as the spearhead is split in two to negotiate around a German blocking force, and by leaving some forces out of battle so they can launch the new strike once the ground has been captured by the vanguard – to save waiting several days for all formations to regroup between attacks. On the 8th the lead British forces enter Germany and are 48 hours away from completing the initial objective; the capture of portions of the West Wall. It is at this time the realisation hits us that the First and Second Army are completely out of supplies; they have bled the Belgium and Dutch stockpiles dry and are not being supplied from the UK.

While the push south is being pursued by most of our force, the few divisions in the north have attacked eastwards to push the Germans back and provide Third Army’s lines of communications with some buffer space; however the Germans launch a counterattack and push one division back while engulfing the green 76th Infantry Division – 10,000 of our men are taken prisoner.

On the 11th our forces capture the north end of the West Wall and two days later the lead division captures Koln. On the 15th the pocket is finally closed; six divisions and an Army headquarters is trapped, in a further pocket around one of the West Wall forts a further three divisions have been trapped however at least five divisions were able to escape eastwards during the advance.

After several days fighting 18,600 men, the remnants of three divisions, surrender their fortress. With most forces concentrated in the south and the rest of the Army Group immobilised, the Germans launch numerous strikes against the light covering forces; in a series of battles up and down the line heavy losses are inflicted on both sides but no gains are made. In the latter part of the month, once supplies had reached Second Army, the attacks on the pocket begin – the divisions of First Army being in no place to launch attacks into the pocket; those who did receive supplies launched an unsuccessful attack on the Germans positions at the Eupen forest. Our bombers and fighter-bombers have suffered horrendous losses in supporting these attacks as have the fighters attempting to keep the Luftwaffe from bombing our troops – they are withdrawn back to the United Kingdom. After a fortnight of fighting the pocket is closed taking 40,000 prisoners however German counterattacks in the south recapture Koln.

The operation, taking much longer than expected, has liberated practically the rest of occupied Holland. It has however cost the Army Group 42,797 casualties including 10,000 prisoners while it has inflicted 113,682 casualties, upon the Germans, of which 65,000 are prisoners.

The next British move is to reorganise; First Army will be assigned the southern sector with Second Army taking the eastern sector – to ensure we have enough men to hold the entire frontline and provide enough men to carry on offensive actions; the frontline will be spread out to be held by only two divisions per province. Third Army will remain the Army Group’s strike force, its next mission is to advance to the River Weser and secure the port of Wilhelmshaven.

After two years of fighting and heavy losses, the German Heer bled white; the French have now launched their own assault into German while facing little resistance. The government will be damned if they are allowed to capture Berlin!

 

[unmerged(62857)]

Voila! Maintenant que les Anglais ont accompli le dur labeur et les Allemands ne font laisser rien, nous pouvons émerger de se recroqueviller en nos trous profonds et tirer profit du fait que les Allemands nous considéreraient jamais même aurait n'importe quelle sorte de courage intestinal!

 

[Myth]

Ahh, the conquest begins at last!

Voila! Maintenant que les Anglais ont accompli le dur labeur et les Allemands ne font laisser rien, nous pouvons émerger de se recroqueviller en nos trous profonds et tirer profit du fait que les Allemands nous considéreraient jamais même aurait n'importe quelle sorte de courage intestinal!

English please.

 

[unmerged(62857)]

Ahh, the conquest begins at last!


English please.

sorry, it was merely my attempt to be humourous...

 

[Agamemnon_1781]

Subscribed!!

 

[Agamemnon_1781]

Voila! Maintenant que les Anglais ont accompli le dur labeur et les Allemands ne font laisser rien, nous pouvons émerger de se recroqueviller en nos trous profonds et tirer profit du fait que les Allemands nous considéreraient jamais même aurait n'importe quelle sorte de courage intestinal!

My French is pretty awful but if i get the gist right:

Here it is, now that the English have done all the hard work and the Germans have done nothing, we can emerge from cowering in our deep holes, and take advantage that the Germans would never think we'd have this courage within us.

I think:wacko:

 

[enigmamcmxc]

My French is pretty awful but if i get the gist right:

Here it is, now that the English have done all the hard work and the Germans have done nothing, we can emerge from cowering in our deep holes, and take advantage that the Germans would never think we'd have this courage within us.

I think:wacko:

:rofl: I love it!

 

[enigmamcmxc]

To the Baltic...

Throughout the rest of October the Army Group started a new process of reorganisation. The first major step was the promotion of Alexander to take command of the Army Group while Gort was sent back home to take command of Home Command. In Alexander’s place, Miles Dempsey was promoted to take command of Third Army.

Several Corp HQs soon found themselves without troops and are sent to the rear, as at least four divisions are placed under Corps HQ; with two divisions manning each province in place of the usual three. To create a simpler order of battle several divisions were also redesignated during this process; the 1st Infantry Division was renamed the 77th, the 6th became the 70th while the 7th was redesignated the 6th*. The Guards Infantry was reorganised into the 16th (2nd Guards) Armoured Division while the 6th Armoured became the 10th, the 2nd the 11th, the 9th the 14th and the 8th the 17th Armoured Division.

Additionally the move of Eighth Army and East African Command’s divisions has now started. The 1st and 7th Armoured Divisions as well as eight infantry divisions will be transferred from Africa to northern Europe; the tank brigade, in the role of the Iceland Garrison, is also to be transferred. It is also decided that our armoured divisions will be reorganised; they will go from comprising two armoured brigades and a lorried infantry brigade to one armoured brigade and two lorried infantry brigades – to help achieve this, one of the motorised divisions being brought over from Egypt will be restructured with an existing armoured division; a process that will most likely happen to other divisions.

As this process was being undertaken the Germans kept up their attacks along the frontline delaying the Army Groups will to attack as troops were being rushed around to react to each new threat. Violent resistance was met on the southern flank as the Germans threw in as many troops as they could to expel British forces from German soil, however they were only able to make small gains. With supply problems persisting and in fact getting worse; the new attack was launched before the reinforcements, from Africa, could arrive. Late on the 21st the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, supported by four tank brigades formed into a temporary formation called the 79th Armoured Division, launch their attack. This attack, intended to capture the German North Sea ports at all costs from a strike from the bulge created by our advance into Germany, incorporates previous lessons learnt: punch through the frontline with one force and following the creation of the gap, exploit with another – this way the advance can be kept as rapid as possible.

Following five days of fighting the two divisions create the breech in the German line and the armoured divisions are unleashed! Four armoured divisions, with limited infantry support strike north – later supported by a further two armoured divisions – and rapidly advance half way to their objective before German troops halt the advance. The German counterattacks continue along our frontline – but away from our advance – the Germans seem preoccupied with the liberation of the ground captured rather than halt further advances into their homeland.

The German resistance facing our advance is brushed aside and the armoured divisions break though into open ground; however they are then in need of 60-72 hours of rest and reorganisation before they can carry on. With the German forces in occupied Holland in a position to relocate and halt this advance, Second Army launches a minimal attack to pin these forces down to allow the armoured and motorised formations to recover and carry on the advance – encircling them. Additionally supporting attacks are launched near the jumping off point to secure the base of the advance and the forces lines of communications, as well as to secure the ground lost in previous German counterattacks.

Meanwhile the French infantry divisions have made rapid gains and have advanced into eastern Austria facing limited German opposition.

7th November, the advance north resumes; with no opposition facing the advance, the armoured divisions are ordered to secure bridgeheads over the Weser while a much smaller force captures Wilhelmshaven. The next day the Guards Armoured Division enters the city while the Home Fleet has already taken up positions offshore to engage the fleeing German fleet – several cruisers are destroyed for the loss of only one destroyer in the resulting battles. With the city secure, 40,000 Germans have been trapped in the Netherlands. The same day a bridgehead is secured across the river and four days later British troops enter Bremen.

The reinforcements from Egypt – XXX Corps – are reassigned to VIII Corps and an ambitious plan is considered; VIII Corps will launch an attack, on their own, deep into Germany to capture Nurenburg and place themselves in a position to link up with the French. On the 20th this attack is launched by two armoured divisions, supported by a tank brigade, and two motorised infantry divisions.

On the 15th British forces capture Hanover and the next day enter Hamburg; two armoured divisions are closing in on Kiel – the ultimate objective – to cut off all German forces in northwest Germany and in Denmark. Over the coming days the Keil garrison, a single infantry division, holds off this assault and in the end it is called off. The 2nd Guards are then ordered to proceed to the North Sea coast and seal off the German retreat route; on the 24th they complete their objective, which results in the encirclement of around 15,000 men. This advance, almost to the Baltic, has resulted in a thin vulnerable supply line; attacks were launched to widen the corridor and further heavy fighting erupted. The 47th (London) Division was the unit leading this attack, it became embroiled with German forces and overwhelmed; on the 25th around 7,000 men of this division were taken into captivity.

After a 230 mile advance in five days, Nuremberg is captured; the armoured divisions half way there are ordered to head east as far as possible while the vanguard infantry division swings west to link up with the French.

The British wang is much bigger than the French une.

On the 28th, after several days of hard fighting, 34,000 Germans are taken prisoner in the Netherlands pocket while a further 8,500 are taken in the Bremen pocket. An infantry division, brought over from Egypt, is reorganised to form a new armoured division – the 19th. The Army now has 9 armoured divisions, excluding the 79th. The following day our troops link up with the French and trap, what we believed to be, at least 14 divisions – 140,000 men in the “Ruhr Pocket”.
*The last two, as per real life

 

[unmerged(62857)]

Excellent progress!!! Phallic reference noted...

 

[enigmamcmxc]

The Victory Campaign

On 5 December 5,300 Germans are taken prisoner as a mini pocket is closed; however the Germans start to reposition their troops within the Ruhr pocket and attempt to break out. Over the next few days the attacks grow in strength and violence. With few troops along the eastern cordon more troops are stripped from the northern border and ordered to bolster the eastern side. Meanwhile two divisions drive deep into German lines: the 7th Armoured Division heading for Dresden while the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division head towards Prague; at the same time the 2nd Guards Armour are heading to capture Copenhagen and link up with the Swedish Army.

The new British offensive had not been scheduled for at least another two-three months to allow time for the reinforcement and supply situation to calm down however facing determined German efforts to break out of the Ruhr Pocket the army found itself bogged down fighting in the snow to destroy the pocket.* As this battle was taking place Third Army was able to assemble itself in the Hamburg area without contest.

On the 9th the 50th Division was halted by a German counterattack on the outskirts of Prague; battling with the German troops it was brought to our attention that we were now in a race with the French to capture the city. The following day the 7th Armoured Division captured Leipzig but were halted by a Panzer Division attempting to drive on Dresden.

On the 15th, 30,000 German troops walked into British captivity and the following day British troops linked up with the Swedish Army at Copenhagen taking a further 7,500 men captive.

The 7th Armoured Division captured Dresden on the 17th however German tanks counterattacked making our gain look not so secure. Likewise on the 20th the 50th Divison was forced to pull back westwards from the outskirts of Prague following heavy losses.

On the 24th, Christmas Eve, after a week of fighting the city of Koln is finally retaken by British troops inflicting heavy losses in the German forces. There was no chance we were going to allow the French to capture this city.
The next day we launch the final offensive towards Berlin; two corps of the Third Army launch an attack at midday. Due to supply problems a third of the army’s armoured and motorised forces are forced to be left behind unable to take part in the offensive. Currently, due to most of the country’s industry geared towards new production and construction of replacement machines and supplies, less than one third of the 14 armoured brigades are equipped with the most modern Comet tanks. The armoured division’s majority tank is still the Crusaders we started the war with, likewise at least 2/5 of the tank brigades are still equipped with Matilda tanks in place of our newer Churchill tanks.

On 29 December the 50th Division finally liberate Prague, a day or so ahead of the advancing French who then turn south.

The start of the New Year sees the continuation of heavy fighting; Third Army’s attack as brushed aside all opposition and engulfs a headquarters unit taking 2,200 prisoners on 8 January. The following day the lead elements of the Army – now reinforced by the third corps of armoured and motorised forces – encircle Berlin. Later in the day the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division leads the assault on the city, followed up by the 61st Infantry and the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division. The armoured divisions soon lend a hand but it will be a tough fight taking the city although it is only defended by around 15,000 men.

13 January, the 7th Armoured Division – abandoning the fight near Dresden, has conducted a march south- reaches the Slovakian border and attacks the countries capital.

Up to this point the French have collapsed the bottom section of the Ruhr pocket and we estimated they have taken 50,000 prisoners. On the17th our own forces close a pocket to the north of the main Ruhr Pocket; this contained the elements of the German forces who had attempted to break out northwards to “Germany”. Following a month of fighting and heavy losses on both sides, 6,800 Germans walk into captivity.

The frontline following the fall of Berlin

Two days later following a ten day battle for the city; Berlin falls! 7,500 men are captured. Fortunately losses were much lower than expected, we believe mostly due to the server losses the Heer has suffered up to this point leaving few formations to defend the city. Within a four hour period on the 20th 3 armoured divisions cross into Poland on a wide front, one capturing Danzig while the other two head towards Warsaw and Lodz. At the same time Dresden is finally secured, the new capital of the Reich, captured within 24 hours of Berlin. Intel suggests that there are still 35 German divisions in the fields – anywhere up to 350,000 men. Two days later the capital of Slovakia is captured, the countries government refuses to surrender and Britain fully occupies it. On the last day of the month the Slovakian government-in-exile signs a non-aggression pact with Germany.

February started off well, the remnants of the Heer near Berlin were forced into a pocket at Brandeburg; this force surrendered on the 2nd, with 12,300 men laying down their arms. The next day, after heavy fighting the eastern end of the Ruhr pocket was finally cleared and on the 4th the main pocket was secured – nearly 87,000 prisoners were taken within 48 hours within the Ruhr area. This leaves around 25,000 German soldiers manning the remaining section of the West Wall and the Eupen forest; where no British soldier dare set another foot. With this pocket closed, four divisions were left to mask the remaining German positions while the majority of the force moved east to combat the remaining German divisions.

On the 7th, after a fortnight of fighting, four Indian divisions – supported by several British divisions – finally take Kiel; the port city had eluded our control since the previous year. Nearly 12,000 men were captured. Our intelligence service indicates that 26 divisions are still in the field to oppose our armed forces. With no troops under its command, the Eighth Army is looking at making a landing in the Balkans to capture as many German key points as possible while the BEF reorganises itself to take on the remaining German forces.


*One does not like fighting in the snow; in a previous HOI2 campaign i launched a massive encirclement battle around the West Wall in the autumn and ended up attempting clear the pocket before the onset of Winter but failed. I decided to push ahead, fighting fortified provinces in the middle of winter – blizzards, fog, frozen ground, everything! When the fighting was done, practically all of the troops involved – at least half my army – was near enough wiped out. In a gruelling 5 year campaign i had basically used my manpower up completely and couldn’t rebuilt half my army. So i hate fighting in winter!

 

[unmerged(62857)]

What amazing progress! AND you have kept the prime spoils for yourself... Although the French OWE you everything!

 

[Myth]

Certainly very good progress there! I suggest driving south and cutting the French off from future conquests.

 

[enigmamcmxc]

The final battles...

Following the capture of Kiel I Indian Corp advanced into Denmark with two objectives; encircle and destroy the German forces operating there, and to capture the airfields in north of the country. Elsewhere British forces continue to swarm eastwards across Germany to man the new frontline.

On 13 February the French announce an alliance with the Swiss however the later do not join the war. Around this time we are informed Dominion forces have finally entered the conflict; several Australian and New Zealand divisions are based within France undertaking lines of communication duties, including garrison duties in one French Atlantic port.

Over the next few days the I Indian Corps advanced into Denmark with troops circling around the German force positioned on the Danish-German border; most of the Corps was launched against the trapped German troops and on the 18th, after several days of fighting, 7,000 men were taken prisoner. The same day, within the French occupation zone, in the late hours the French finally closed the sole pocket of German resistance left in central Germany taking similar numbers of prisoners. On the diplomatic stage Germany declared war on Yugoslavia, although it has been a nation in exile since the German conquest the previous year.

Over the next few days, the reconstructed Belgian Army launched an assault to recapture Eupen – the sole remaining occupied Belgian territory. Even after the complete encirclement of the last two positions of German resistance in Western Europe we had refused to attack, too many men had been lost in the fighting over the Eupen forest and attacking German fortified positions. However now, the German stores had run out, their position was weakened. Eventually a single division was ordered into action to support the Belgian assault and on the 26th Eupen was retaken for the final time in this war; the rest of I Corps, two divisions, was then ordered to assault Aachen – the final German holdout in western Germany.

In the final fortnight of the month armoured forces linked up with our trapped men in East Prussia and enough divisions had been repositioned and reorganised within Third Army, based within the northern bulge of our line, that the final assault was launched; an operation to liberate Warsaw from the west as our advance north lacked men and was facing mounting German resistance.

While the British Army Group – reinforced with the bayonet strength of Eighth Army and East African Command – had faced the majority of the German Heer and advanced across the continent the French, facing much limited resistance, had managed to advance into the Balkans and defeat the very much reduced army of Slovakia. Not wanting to allow the French to capture more than their fair share, the lines of communication and administration troops of Eighth Army were landed in Montenegro on the 28th. These 3,000 rear area personal turned Expeditionary Force, following a successful and unopposed landing then started a march for Belgrade. While the landing went unopposed German submarines moved into the landing area and were engaged by the Mediterranean Fleet suffering heavy losses. Several hours later Croatia surrendered to France however their government went into exile, fleeing to Italy like the Slovakian government had done before them.
On the same day the I Indian Corps successfully completed their objective – liberating Denmark of German forces – and took an additional 7,600 men prisoner. In northern Germany, near the Polish border, nearly 15,000 Germans were taken prisoner as their position was engulfed in supporting attacks to the north of the main drive for Warsaw. However the main drive was slow going as the armoured divisions bludgeon their way forward through determined German infantry resistance.

The next day, the 1st of March, British forces completed the liberation of Denmark bar the single island in the Baltic and the Balkan Expeditionary Force liberated Belgrade. While fighting continued along the frontline in eastern German and within the borders of Poland, the most important battle was taking place at Aachen; the final important city of Germany, and the temporary capital. Following four days of fighting the fortress was taken with a further 14,000 prisoners taken.

British positions following the capture of Aachen

With the capture of the city all offensive operations were called off excluding non-combat movements however 386 British and 691 German casualties were sustained throughout the day following the conclusion of the West Wall battle. As the clock struck midnight, entering the 4 March 1942, the Wehrmacht laid down its weapons and surrendered to Field Marshal Alexander on the outskirts of Hamburg, where the Army Group headquarters was based. However the Kreigsmarine scuttled its ships and the Luftwaffe destroyed its remaining aircraft that numbered in the thousands.

British officers accepting the German surrender

The war is over, it has not been as costly as the Great War but it has certainly left an impact. The British Army has suffered 395,873 casualties, including 17,000 prisoners of war. The total casualties sustained by the country during this war come close to 500,000 when including naval, merchant marine, and air force losses. The Heer suffered 901,575 casualties, including 417,300 prisoners, combating the British Army; a further 250,000 prisoners were taken when the Germans laid down their arms. While total Wehrmacht losses are not known, if one includes their losses fighting the other Allied nations, the losses of the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe; German losses are estimated to be around 1.5 million men. As part of the surrender, Germany was split into two occupation zones based on the gains made by the United Kingdom and France; Poland was re-established while Denmark was left in British hands along with a vast chunk of Yugoslavia. Croatia and Slovakia, remaining at war with the alliance, were to remain under military occupation by the French and British respectfully.

The two occupation zones

 

[unmerged(62857)]

I think the Soviets called you weak... I think that insult should not be tolerated!

BTW, fantastic destruction of the Germans!

 

[stnylan]

A very well run affair it looks to me.

 

[Myth]

Certainly quite a cheap war, given who you were fighting and the recent past of that extended conflict (IE WW1)!