The Might of the Fatherland: A DWI Barbarossa AAR

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 2, 2015

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 2, 2015

State of Affairs

"War it is then"
These were the words spoken by Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt upon hearing the result of Minsk accords.

Starting out as an attempt to settle disputes over Soviet territorial demands, the Minsk accords quickly devolved into heated debate and argument. German foreign minister Constantin von Neurath had given his Soviet counterpart, Maksim Litvinov, an ultimatum demanding an end to the Karelian war. The request was simple, withdraw all forces from Finnish Karelia and Lappland, return all captured territory, and cease all expansion on the European Continent. Instead, with orders straight from the desk of Stalin, Litvinov refused. The Soviets had already launched an offensive that would crush Finland, and all plans for peaceful expansion had been completed.

If a state of war were to occur, the Red Army was more than confident in it's ability to win. It numbered nearly 5 million men at arms, possessed more planes than the next 2 air forces combined, and could call on the largest industrial capacity in the world. After defeating both Japan and FInland, the word overconfidence couldn't begin to describe the mood in the STAVKA high command.

"Comrades! Attention! Today, we strike hard at the Fascist dogs of the west. Great Stalin, our leader, has proposed a master plan. While the west grows in turmoil, with our capitalist and fascist enemies slicing at each others throats, we, the glorious army of the proletariat, the Red army, shall lead a crusade against our western advisories and usher in a new age of Socialism in Europe! We shall liberate the people of Europe under our crimson banner and together, we shall march against the oppression and hierarchy of the west! We shall march from Warsaw, to Königsberg. From Berlin to Paris. From Belgrade to Rome! Our red flag shall fly high! All of Europe will bow to the will of the Soviets! To the will of the Proletariat! We shall bring honor and glory to our motherland and to the working class. Now, forward comrades! Raise high our sacred banner! March westward as we purge the world through the fires of industry! For Stalin! For the Soviet Union! "

~Speech given at Red Square by Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov

Even after witnessing Poland fall in a week, Belgium in 3, and the mighty France in just 2 months, key members of the Soviet leadership still believed the Wehrmacht could be easily defeated. The 2 1/2 million men of the German Heer would disagree with this, believing superior men, equipment, and leadership would be the key to victory.

"The Soviets have betrayed us. By moving forces to our border, they have forced our hand. We will soon embark upon the great crusade. Your task is a glorious one. However, it will not be easy, the Soviet soldier is strong, the Soviet soldier is hardened from fighting in Manchuria and Finland. He will show you no mercy, will give no quarter. However I have every confidence in your abilities as soldiers, your officers are all experienced and able. You will be the iron fist that crushes their armies, you will be the sword and shield that will lead Germany to victory. Brandenburg is with you, Bavaria is with you. The whole of the fatherland is with you. The fate of the Reich as we know is in your hands. Only you, the men on the ground, can save it from the red menace. What you do now, will echo in eternity. Every German will hear of the men of Army Group South and be instilled with the same feelings of courage and audacity that you will exemplify today. Forward, hail victory!"

~General Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, broadcast to Army Group South upon start of Operation Barbarossa

Hawke0 · May 2, 2015

Looking good.

AridTalons · May 2, 2015

Mother Russia will never fall !!!
I'll be following

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 2, 2015

AridTalons said:
Mother Russia will never fall !!!
I'll be following

Thank you, but we'll see, from what I've played so far, it is like Stalingrad all along the front.

Hawke0 · May 2, 2015

Is there any good tank country (few rivers, open plains) left where you could concentrate your forces, break through and surround/destroy a large force or at least unhinge the Soviet defensive line?

Nicegil · May 2, 2015

Subbed !

Hawke0 said:
Is there any good tank country (few rivers, open plains) left where you could concentrate your forces, break through and surround/destroy a large force or at least unhinge the Soviet defensive line?

The invasion "roads" are well known. All depends how he set-up his troops along the border.

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 2, 2015

Build up

Each army had been building up their forces along the common border for months. Even as the Battle for France raged in the west, the Soviets built up 3.7 million men in the east. There were 400k under the Arkhangelsk command, with a further 200k reserves under the Stalingrad command. Another 200k were stationed in the far east against the combined Japanese and Manchurian might of 400k.

On the Axis side of things, there were 1.8 million German men, nearly all of exemplary quality. The Italians had provided 200k men, for the most part the cream of the entire Italian army. There were also 1 million Finns, Danes, Romanians, Hungarians, Slovakians, and Bulgarians of varying quality. Most divisions lacked artillery. Antitank and antiaircraft were a true rarity. Armor and motorized transport were completely nonexistent. These units would prove to be nearly useless in the face of Soviet material superiority.

After the battle of France, the Wehrmacht had a large coastline to defend, Heeres Gruppe C was now converted to Heeres Gruppe West, with 3 Armees on the Atlantic coast. All units from Heeres Gruppe A and B were transferred East to the counter the Soviet movements. Gruppes A and B were redesignated as Heeres Gruppe Nord and Sud (North and South). The previously deployed Heeres Gruppe Ost became Heeres Gruppe Mitte. During the winter, Army High Command redirected all industry to the continued development of the Panzer arm. In fact, the number of motorized and armored divisions increased twofold. Combined with the motorized divisions of the SS, the army now possessed 16 panzer divisions and 17 motorized divisions. Throughout 1940 and 1941 the army would also be expanded with numerous "reserve" divisions, 2nd class troops fit for only garrison duty. These would free up more valuable units for frontline service. By the start of the invasion, the 9th Armee would be committed to Heeres Gruppe Nord, with 7th Armee held as an OKH reserve force.

Lonfield · May 2, 2015

I'm in, let's see how do you do versus the mighty soviets. For my experience, short by the way, as you said, all the front is like Stalingrad

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 3, 2015

Order of Battle

Heeres Gruppe Nord
- 2. Armee
  - IV. Armeekorps
    - 14. Infanterie-Division
    - 24. Infanterie-Division
    - 4. Sturm-Division
    - 95. Infanterie-Division
  - XIV. Armeekorps
    - 68. Infanterie-Division
    - 69. Infanterie-Division
    - 70.Infanterie-Division
- 6. Armee
  - XI. Armeekorps
    - 31. Infanterie-Division
    - 22.Infanterie-Division
    - 9. Sturm-Division
    - 25. Infanterie-Division
  - VI. Armeekorps
    - 6. Infanterie-Division
    - 26. Infanterie-Division
    - 163. Infanterie-Division
- 4. Panzerarmee
  - XLII. Panzerkorps
    - 18. Panzer-Division
    - 16. Panzer-Division
    - 345. Infanterie-Division (mot)
  - XLI. Panzerkorps
    - 14. Panzer-Division
    - 17. Panzer-Division
    - 386. Infanterie-Division (mot)
  - 1. SS-Korps (mot)
    - Leibstandarte-SS "Adolf Hitler"
    - SS-Division "Das Reich"
- 5. Armee
  - I. Armeekorps
    - 11. Infanterie-Division
    - 21. Infanterie-Division
    - 1. Sturm-Division
    - 168. Infanterie-Division
  - XVII. Armeekorps
    - 59. Infanterie-Division
    - 57. Infanterie-Division
    - 58. Infanterie-Division
- 9. Armee
  - V. Armeekorps
    - 5. Infanterie-Division
    - 35. Infanterie-Division
    - 6. Sturm-Division
    - 161. Infanterie-Division
  - XVIII. Armeekorps
    - 61. Infanterie-Division
    - 62. Infanterie-Division
    - 73. Infanterie-Division
Heeres Gruppe Mitte
- 1. Armee
  - XIII. Armeekorps
    - 3. Infanterie-Division
    - 23. Infanterie-Division
    - 7. Infanterie-Division
    - 5. Sturm-Division
  - XXVIII. Armeekorps
    - 98. Infanterie-Division
    - 143. Infanterie-Division
    - Polizei-Division
- 3. Panzerarmee
  - XXIX. Panzerkorps
    - 19. Panzer-Division
    - 16. Infanterie-Division (mot)
    - 4. Leichte Division
  - XL. Panzerkorps
    - 12. Panzer-Division
    - Infanterie-Regiment Großdeutscheland
    - 13. Panzer-Division
  - XLIV. Armeekorps (mot)
    - 14. Infanterie-Division (mot)
    - 18. Infanterie-Division (mot)
- 4. Armee
  - II. Armeekorps
    - 12. Infanterie-Division
    - 32. Infanterie-Division
    - 2. Sturm-Division
    - 64. Infanterie-Division
  - XVI. Armeekorps
    - 50. Infanterie-Division
    - 52. Infanterie-Division
    - 56. Infanterie-Division
- 8a Armata
  - I. Corpo d'Armata
    - 3a Divisione Fanteria
    - 36a Divisione Fanteria
    - 38a Divisione Fanteria
    - 11a Divisione Fanteria
  - XIII. Corpo d'Armata
    - 48a Divisione Fanteria
    - 58a Divisione Fanteria
    - 212a Divisione Fanteria
    - 14a Divisione Fanteria
  - III. Corpo d'Armata
    - 40a Divisione Fanteria
    - 211a Divisione Fanteria
    - 205a Divisione Fanteria
    - 47a Divisione Fanteria
  - Corpo d'Armata Alpino
    - 17a Divisione Alpina
    - 19a Divisione Alpina
    - 16a Divisione Alpina
    - 13a Divisione Alpina
    - 7a Divisione Alpina
  - Corpo d'Armata Celere
    - 131a Divisione Corazzata
    - 10a Divisione Celere
    - 34a Divisione Celere
    - 1a Divisione Celere
Heeres Gruppe Sud
- 3. Armee
  - VIII. Armeekorps
    - 8. Infanterie-Division
    - 18. Infanterie-Division
    - 28. Infanterie-Division
    - 3. Sturm-Division
  - XV. Armeekorps
    - 71. Infanterie-Division
    - 72. Infanterie-Division
    - 46. Infanterie-Division
- 1. Panzerarmee
  - III. Panzerkorps
    - 1. Panzer-Division
    - 2. Panzer-Division
    - 29. Infanterie-Division (mot)
  - XXIV. Panzerkorps
    - 3. Panzer-Division
    - 4. Panzer-Division
    - 60. Infanterie-Division (mot)
  - X. Armeekorps (mot)
    - 10. Infanterie-Division (mot)
    - 25. Infanterie-Division (mot)
- 2. Panzerarmee
  - XXIII. Panzerkorps
    - 5. Panzer-Division
    - 6. Panzer-Division
    - 20. Infanterie-Division (mot)
  - XXV. Panzerkorps
    - 10. Panzer-Division
    - 7. Panzer-Division
    - 3. Infanterie-Division (mot)
  - XXVI. Armeekorps (mot)
    - 15. Infanterie-Division (mot)
    - 35. Infanterie-Division (mot)

son of liberty · May 3, 2015

You aren't using army groups at all?

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 3, 2015

son of liberty said:
You aren't using army groups at all?

Heeres Gruppe: German for Army Group.

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 3, 2015

Krieg

After a series of standby orders, the entire Wehrmacht was put on high alert the evening of June 21st. The declaration of war followed early the next day, though frontline soldiers didn't receive it until 12:00. Soviets received their notification an hour later, but they were prepared well in advance. By the next day, Operation Barbarossa was in full swing, bloody fighting erupted from Petsamo to Odessa. Initial actions resulted in a front wide stalemate, with more than 100k axis casualties in the first week alone.

Along the Baltic section of the front, German strength was expended in futile attacks on heavily concentrated Soviet divisions in fortified positions. The 2nd and 6th armies were subsequently forced back to within a few miles of Konigsberg. At the same time 4th Panzerarmee, supported by 5th Armee, began making gains in Northeast Poland. To prevent the imminent disaster developing in East Prussia, 7th Army was committed to Konigsberg to throw the reds back. In the center, 3rd Panzerarmee also began making gains in Eastern Poland. 1st Armee completely stalled in it's attack on Brest-Litovsk, the 8th Italian was then thrown into action to reinforce attacks.

In the South, Feldmarchall von Manstein also found Soviet resistance to be stout. By July 1st, the two Panzerarmees of Heeres Gruppe Sud had barely advanced past their starting points. 10th Army lacked sufficient numbers of troops to mount any large scale attack. Germany's allies in the south were even less successful, with formations being smashed and routed all across the line. OKH has now decided to prioritize Heeres Gruppe Sud for reinforcement, meaning the first new korps will be delivered to 10th and 4th Armees.

In the far North the situation is critical, the Danish Korps was smashed trying to defend Helsinki, and only the timely arrival of XXVII. Korps saved the city. The SS-Nord Division made initial gains but was soon destroyed by a Soviet armored counter-attack. The 11. Gebirgsarmee is now en route to Helsinki to bolster Finland's defenses. The 2 korps of professional troops should prove decisive, and they are estimated to reach Leningrad by mid-August.

In light of the difficulties on the Eastern Front Feldmarchall von Reichenau, Commander-in-Chief of OKH, has expressed an air of negativity and defeatism. After repeated arguments Hitler sacked him, replacing him with the Chief of the General Staff, General Zeitler. Only time will tell if this appointment will prove to be a good decision.

After this series of disappointments some good news has finally come about. Our friends in the Far East have just surprised their British adversaries by landing behind them in India. They have been caught completely caught off guard, and there appears to be a road clear to Delhi. Combined with their Manchurian allies they have also made advances into Mongolia and Siberia.

Hawke0 · May 3, 2015

Weird, any idea why there's such stiff resistance?

Nicegil · May 3, 2015

Whaoo... Never seen that before ?!! Quite an uncomfortable start...

How long before the offensive did you put your troops on the border ?

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 3, 2015

Wintertime, but they had their forces deployed a year before mine.

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 3, 2015

I am guessing very hard difficulty has something to do with it.

Gormytorysh · May 4, 2015

ErwinRommel7Pzr said:
I am guessing very hard difficulty has something to do with it.

Very Hard Difficulty

Manpower: +0%
Revolt Risk: -0%
Industrial Capacity: -25%
Resources: -25%
Supply Throughput: -50%
Naval Base Efficiency: -50%
Combat Efficiency: -40%
AI Industrial Capacity: +100%
AI Resources: +100%
AI Supply Throughput: +50%
AI Naval Base Efficiency: +50%

The -40% combat efficiency might be your problem in combat, at the same time supply throughput reduction is a pain as well in advancing, especially in the stretched lands of the SU.

Oh and I am subbed by the way. Wondering how this baby will turn out

.

ErwinRommel7Pzr · May 4, 2015

Gormytorysh said:
Oh and I am subbed by the way. Wondering how this baby will turn out .

Is that defeatism I hear? Someone is about to be sacked by the Fuhrer.

Gormytorysh · May 4, 2015

ErwinRommel7Pzr said:
Is that defeatism I hear? Someone is about to be sacked by the Fuhrer.

Wow, the Fuhrer actually sacked people? I thought he had other methods of persuasion

. Oh and he cannot sack anyone not working for him.... I work for the US government at the moment (see my AAR

), so in that sense I say.... bring it on! lol

The Might of the Fatherland: A DWI Barbarossa AAR

First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

Major

Corporal

First Lieutenant

Major

Major

First Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

3%

First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

Major

Major

First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

Captain

First Lieutenant

Captain