Unternehmen Taifun
("Operation Typhoon" or "the Battle of Moscow")
1941-09-04
Operation Barbarossa has had a complete success. We are now in control of almost the entire Balkans and have advanced deep into the Soviet's territory. Our recent "Operation Northern Lights" is also going very well and we have broken the stalemate in Finland, forcing the Soviets to retreat. Tomorrow will start our next big operation on the eastern front: Unternehmen Taifun.
The main goal of the operation is to capture the Soviet capital before the mud and snow of the Russian winter can stop our advance. We had enough time to reorganize our troops into two separate army groups: Army Group South and Army Group Center. The latter has been reinforced with tanks from the south and the majority of our available bombers from the Luftwaffe. The Soviets also had time to consolidate their front line and can, at least on paper, field an estimated 90 divisions, which also includes the front in Finland and their reserves in the Urals. Many of these units however are either ill equipped, disorganized or scattered in the hinterland as their reorganization of the massive front is still incomplete. We expect that the real fighting strength of the Red Army is significantly lower and their tank formations suffered great losses in the previous operation, giving us for the first time the numerical superiority in number of tank divisions.
The main thrust of the upcoming operation will come from the 3rd and 6th army, supported by the 5th army. General Paulus will break through the Soviet lines east of Minsk and advance towards Smolensk. General von Reichenau starts north east of Kiev and will push towards Bryansk. Their northern Flank is secured by General Jodel. These three armies will combine their spearheads before encircling and finally sacking Moscow. The two armies of Army Group South will cover the southern flank of the thrust towards Moscow, shortening the front line and allowing the advancing forces to concentrate on their push eastwards. General Pfeifer's 8th army will push towards Kursk and Orel while the 9th army will capture the vast grain fields south of Kharkov. They will establish temporary defensive positions on the Oka river in the north and the Donets in the south until we have captured Moscow some time in mid October.
After the loss of their capital we don't expect that the Soviet Union will collapse but the combat effectiveness of such a centralized country should drop significantly, allowing us to push back the enemy even further. Army Group South will halt on the river Don by mid November and elements of Army Group North will swing north towards Leningrad, fortifying their positions on the Volkhov river. The push towards Leningrad will be supported by an amphibious landing in Estonia from our capable marine infantry divisions which by that time should have returned from their fighting in Finland. Once these goals are reached by mid November, we will entrench our front line units and hope for a quiet winter to replenish our losses.
All units are standing by for Unternehmen Taifun.
1941-09-05
In the early morning our troops started to engage the enemy at the designated points where we have concentrated most of our troops. The resistance we've encountered is stiffer than expected and we were unable to achieve a breakthrough on the first day, but once we do I'm certain that our armored spearhead tactics will prevail again.
An interesting side note of little consequence to us at the moment: Afghanistan joined the Comintern today.
Despite unexpected heavy resistance, General Hoth's 4th Panzer Division is on the verge of breaking through the enemy lines.
1941-09-11
It's almost been a week since we started Operation Typhoon and so far our progress is minimal. We've managed to break tough the lines in some areas but we had to pay quite a heavy toll to do it. I hope that once we have soften up the enemy front line the advance will go quicker and we can keep our ambitious timetable.
The campaign on the Balkans on the other hand is nearing it's end. We've captured the Bulgarian capital Sofia, have engaged the first British expedition troops in Greece and are standing on the border of Turkey. Interestingly enough we have observed Bulgarian troops retreating onto Turkish soil. I've given the order to invade Turkey and advance towards the Bosporus and Istanbul, much to the protest of the Turks and some members of my general staff who were quick to remind me that the Ottomans had been our allies in the last great war.
General Rommel discussing the advance into Bulgaria with the staff of his 1st Panzer Corps.
1941-09-13
Good news from the Balkans today: After short, weak resistance the Bulgarians have capitulated and the only remaining antagonist (besides the Turks) on this front are the Greeks. Due to the geography of the country the front line is ever shortening, freeing up more and more divisions. These units are earmarked to be transferred to Croatia and northern Italy as soon as the front against Greece is under control. The situation in Italy on the other hand is worsening. The British have established a sizable foothold in southern Italy and are about to capture the most important Mediterranean naval base of the Italians in Taranto. I was unable to get a status update from Mussolini but today I received a communique in which he explained that he finally got all his troops on the southern front line and will hopefully be able to push the British back or at least hold the line.
1941-09-16
After heavy fighting our attack on the eastern front is finally gaining momentum and our Panzer formations are pushing aside the retreating Red Army units. Today we've reached the first important stepping stone on the road towards Moscow: Smolensk.
The enemy has finally been overwhelmed by our concentrated firepower.