Totaler Krieg: Germany, 1943

[unmerged(223024)]

Northern offensive stalled and southern offensive nearly acheiving success.
and
If you fail, you loose the strategic initiative forever (at least if it wasn't a dumb IA)

All of these are true. Yet another similarity is that von Manstein believe that if Zitadelle were to be launched in April it would be a success and so far my Zitadelle, launched in April, is looking like it'll be successful.

Unwise. Pocket them faster!
or lure them!

Don't worry, the encirclement and destruction of all Red Army forces in the Nord-Mitte slalient is the objective of Zitadelle. I was just thinking out loud about what I might do after a successful Zitadelle.

very impressive AAR, detailed and well wrote, but then not OTT on the battles! nice balance

Danke.


As a celebration of the 100th post of "Totaler Krieg", here is some bonus content:

 

[Stuyvesant]

Not sure I'm making out all the detail correctly, but assuming those screenshots go chronologically from top to bottom, it looks like you end up losing quite a chunk of the Soviet Union. Though you seem to be expanding your position in North Africa...

 

[Enewald]

Blood shall be shed. And that is all I know I can interpret from those maps.

 

[Aelendil]

Very nice AAR, will be following! I sure hope you can end the advance of the red tide soon.

 

[unmerged(223024)]

Not sure I'm making out all the detail correctly, but assuming those screenshots go chronologically from top to bottom, it looks like you end up losing quite a chunk of the Soviet Union. Though you seem to be expanding your position in North Africa...

Until Zitadelle, the Germans have, with a single exception in Heeresgruppe Nord, been been going in one direction: West. So I have lost a good amount of land, something Herr Hitler is not so pleased about.

In North Africa, I have not gained any ground at this point, but have forced the Allies back to the original borders.

Blood shall be shed. And that is all I know I can interpret from those maps.

A lot of it, actually.

Very nice AAR, will be following! I sure hope you can end the advance of the red tide soon.

You are not the only one.

There will be an update on the OOB in North Africa that I will post once I get back online.

 

[unmerged(223024)]

Order of Battle
North Africa
April, 1943

Generalfeldmarshall Rommel gives an interview about the status of Afrikakorps in Tunisia after the victory at Gabès; in the dark month of April, that victory enabled Göbbel's Ministry to take the spotlight off of the Eastern front and shine it where the Reich was actually victorious.​

Heeesgruppe Nord Afrika (Generalfeldmarshall Rommel)

KG4 (Generalfeldmarshall von Richtofen); 46%, 71/76​

4 Tactical Bombers
1 Twin-Engined Fighter​

Wach Regiment Tunis; 100%, 90/90 [1]​

1 Garrison​

5. Panzerarmee (Generaloberst von Arnis)​

10. Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Krappe); 92%, 37/90​

1 Armored Division
2 Mechanized​

21. Panzer-Division (Generalmajor von Eberbach); 95%, 43/90​

1 Armored Division
2 Mechanized​

14. Panzer-Division (Brigadeführer Simon); 97%, 30/90​

3 Motorized
1 Heavy Armor​

“Hermann Göring” Division (Generalmajor Conrath); 96%, 27/90​

1 Armored
3 Motorized
1 Light Infantry​

90. lei Infantrie Division (Generalmajor von Sponeck T.) 100%, 18/60​

3 Motorized​

La Armata (Maresciallo d'Italia Messe)​

XX Corpo d'Armata (Generale di Corpo d'Armata Barbasettini Prun)​

101a Divisione “Triesta” ( Generale di Brigata Giota); 100%, 15/50​

4 Infantry​

136a Divisione “Giovani Fascisti”(Generale di Brigata Utili); 100%, 13/50​

3 Infantry
1 Airborne​

131a Divisione “Centauro” ( Generale di Brigata Malimero)​

1 Armored
3 Motorized​

Afrikakorps is as of late April recovering from heavy fighting in the two previous months. Though no divisions took damage that would threaten their integrity as a fighting force, the wear of battle is evident in the coherence of each unit and down-time is necessary to run drills to once again bring many divisions back to battle-readiness. It could take a month before Afrikakorps is ready to launch operations. In the meantime, Afrikakorps will be limited to limited skirmishes in Libya and a defensive stance along the Algerian border.

While on the topic of operations, the focal point for Rommel's Heeresgruppe will change from southern Tunisia to Algeria. The reason for this is that after the Anglo-American force's devastating defeat at Gabès, the only remaining Allied divisions on the border are two divisions of armored cars that are in headlong retreat. 10. and 21. Panzer-Divisionem are on that border and have been order to chase those armored cars into Libya until an order to the contrary is given. Despite this, a further push into British-occupied Libya because it is imperative that Axis forces deal with the Allied forces in Algeria before leaving Tunisia and therefore diluting its forces. Instead, the Axis forces will shift their focus to Algeria in hope that it will be possible to strike a crushing blow to the Allies there, but the exact plan will be formulated once the conditions for operations within Afrikakorps are present.


[1]The former figure is the total strength of the unit and the latter is its organization expressed as a fraction of its maximum.

 

[Morrell8]

Onto Cairo!

 

[NERFGEN]

what abou tthe oob in the east? (no really .. i'm joking...) i'd just really want to know how the Zitadelle is going.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

An SS general with Rommel and commanding a regular panzerdivision? Erwin must be swearing inwardly...

 

[Enewald]

To Baku?

 

[Stuyvesant]

You have some choice divisions in Africa, it seems. Although that Italian division of infantry with some airborne troops looks odd...

So, on to Algeria. Do you know what kind of opposition you're facing in that direction?

 

[unmerged(223024)]

Onto Cairo!

Onwards!

what abou tthe oob in the east? (no really .. i'm joking...) i'd just really want to know how the Zitadelle is going.

There will be an Order of Battle for the Ostfront after Zitadelle, I dread the thought of having to compile it though. As for Zitadelle's progress, I will have another update dedicated to it late next week, I have two more updates that I want to post before I play the game further.

An SS general with Rommel and commanding a regular panzerdivision? Erwin must be swearing inwardly...

Pretty much my own thoughts on the matter. I have a roleplaying rule myself that officers with the S.S. trait can only command S.S. units and vice versa (though exceptions are made in difficult situations, an example is that I have a Wermacht Panzer-Division attached to Oberstgruppenführer Hausser's S.S. Panzerkorps). Nevertheless, Brigadeführer Simon was there in the beginning so there he shall remain, despite Rommel's misgivings.

To Baku?

Next stop fantasy island?

You have some choice divisions in Africa, it seems. Although that Italian division of infantry with some airborne troops looks odd...

So, on to Algeria. Do you know what kind of opposition you're facing in that direction?

I have come out of writing the OoB with a far greater confidence of Afrikakorp's capabilities, it truly does have some capable units- the question is: are the enough?

As far as the Italians, any Italian unit is odd and not worthy of serving alongside the superior Wehrmacht. But it is peculiar that I have an airborne division there, makes me kind of wish I didn't misplace the transport plane I had in the beginning....


There is scant intelligence about the Allied strength in Algeria right now, there's a good chance I might be able to push all the way to Casablanca if I wanted. What I do know is that over half of the American divisions are sitting on the Eastern Seaboard, I have yet to decide whether that is good or bad. Most likely, because of the AI, it is a good sign.

 

[NERFGEN]

I really was joking about the East OOB. I think we can all load a game from 1943 and look at it ourselves.

 

[Surt]

You have over 2000 manpower .. the soviets are toast!!!

 

[darthkommandant]

Looks like the Afrikakorps has pulled itself out of the frying pan, hopefully it did not get into the fire. However the units there should be enought ot hols on to tunisia. I think you should split the Tac,s and the twin engined fighter. I would than send two more twin engined fighters to take over from the Tacs and use the heavy fighters as a fast strike bomber. ON thbe naval side you should research naval optics and they make ships much more effecyive if you havent already ( hell research any unresearched optics technologies you have) thasn when you have some extra IC build subs and BC's as they work wonders against the British convoy system.

PS i think tose are maps of the global situation from the start to now in the AAR.

 

[unmerged(223024)]

Fire in the Ukraine​

If the month of March brought Heeresgruppen B and Don to the brink of disaster, then during April they were holding on to the edge with their fingers. By early April, the Red Army had not only taken the city of Kursk, but they had also crossed the Seversky Donets in force and this time the S.S. Panzerkorps could not force them back across. Furthermore, all units within Don were in headlong retreat to the banks of the Dnieper hoping that they could regain their cohesion fast enough to be able to prevent the Soviets from reaching it. That was not all and during the last days of march, Soviet infantry divisions had commenced an attack across the Sea of Azov against the German battalions in Kerch, threatening the southern flank of the Wehrmacht in the Ukraine. In the early months of 1943, the Wehrmacht had been treading down a knife's edge in the hope of avoiding a calamitous defeat, whether it was along the banks of the Don River or in the desert of Tunisia, and now it was treading that same path in the grasslands of the Ukraine. Even though a debacle had been averted so far, but after playing with knives enough times anyone would get cut eventually.

The Red Army's offensives during the first week of April in the Ukraine.​

The greatest concern to OKH in the Ukraine was that Kharkov would be lost to the Red Army divisions that had advanced all the way to its suburbs. Generalobert Jodl, who was sent by the Führer to ensure that operations in B were in concert with his wishes, was one of those who strongly argued that a loss of Kharkov would be an unacceptable defeat and that if Kharkov was lost then Kiev would follow soon after. Furthermore, Jodl argued, Kharkov was an important position to hold to ensure that Don would not be outflanked from the north and that any far advance by the Red Army in that sector could be outflanked by Heeresgruppe B. As a result, Hitler order that Kharkov be held at all costs and proclaimed that the will of the German defenders there would be able to weather any storm that would befall them. However, such words had little effect upon the commander of B, Generalfeldmarshall Weichs, and even Oberstgruppenführer Hausser knew that B's position around Kharkov was precarious. However, OKH had not removed the S.S. Panzerkorps from the Heeresgruppe during the build-up to Zitadelle so at least the two could be confident that they had some of the most experienced and capable units along the entire Eastern Front under their command. Miracles had been worked before along the Seversky Donets river, the Battle of Belgorod being a prime example, but the months of heavy fighting were taking their toll and now Weichs could not even count on a stable northern front to protect his flank.

Der Führer being briefed on the situation in Heeresgruppe B.​

Within Kharkov, the primary garrison were two S.S. Divisions of Hauser's Panzerkorps, both armored and mechanized elements: 3rd SS Panzer-Division “Totenkopf” and 5th SS Panzer-Division “Wiking”. These were supported by a division of regular infantry and Weich's headquarters had evacuated once it became certain that the counterattack against the Red Army bridgeheads would not be pushed back across the Seversky Donets. In the first week of April, Gruppenführer Gille of Totenkopf led an attack supported by Hungarian infantry to the west against the Soviet positions to the south of Kharkov. This was a quick success, the haphazard and quickly secured Soviet positions stood no chance against the élite and mechanized force of the “Totenkopf.” For a few days it even appeared like the lines in the northern Ukraine were stabilizing after the defeat at Kursk; however, a sudden defeat at Belgorod soon brought the Red Army just miles beyond the northern boundary of the city. Once again it became certain that the German forces were facing two possibilities at Kharkov: either retreat or be forcefully evicted at a great loss by the Red Army. The reality of that did not seem to reach the Wolfsschanze though, and the Führer once again ordered Weichs to make a stand at Kharkov to finally break the surging Red tide.

Soldiers of the S.S. "Wiking" scouting the front-lines during the offensive just south of Kharkov.​

To the south, Generalobert Guderian's Heeresgruppe Don was in the most vulnerable position that could be found across the entire front. Throughout the previous month, due to not only the harsh winter but also since the Russian offensive had wreaked havoc railroad with important junctures like that at Bryansk having been lost, even the most necessary supplies had only erratically been satisfied. As winter turned to spring and the ground to mud, that situation was not to improve anytime soon. The result of these adverse conditions was a Heeresgruppe whose divisions were simply not capable of carrying out combat-operations and that would break on contact with a enemy assault without much resistance. Any chance to repair the dam before it broke had failed and by April all units within Don, whose name had come to be a bad joke to all within it, were retreating with their tails well secured behind their backs to the Dnieper and the hope for safety it provided. Guderian based his strategy on the bet that his forces would be able to retreat and reestablish a defensive perimeter before the advancing Red Army would reach them. The basis of this was the inference that just as the Wehrmacht was stricken by logistical problems in this area of the front so would the Red Army hence hampering their movements. To worsen their logistical situation, Bülowius's V. Fliegerkorps, and then after that air group was reduced to half strength, Sperrle's KG 27 was order to bomb all railroad junctures in the Soviet-occupied Ukraine in order to force the movement of provisions by road. It was hoped that with both terrain and the Luftwaffe working in concert, that the Red Army's offensive could be slowed to a crawl.

The inglorious retreat of Heeresgruppe Don to the Dnieper.​

Back in the north, the S.S. Panzer-Division “Wiking” was forced to retreat from the sector south of Kharkov after being overwhelmed by the massive formations that STAVKA had deployed there. Once again Soviet infantrymen were advancing upon Kharkov's southern suburbs, but the situation was worse than it was just a week and a half before since the line protecting the north had collapsed. On April 14th the Soviets finally commenced the long-awaited attack on the city along all fronts thus starting the fierce battle of Kharkov. Though the Soviets had superiority in both position and numbers, Generalfeldmarshall Weichs had both “Totenkopf” and “Wiking” as defenders there thus ensuring that the Soviets would have to pay a great toll for every street they took. The battle was quick to turn into a brutal fight over the northern suburbs with Soviet commanders, promised glory and recognition for being first to the city-center, throwing inexperienced conscripts in waves against the battle-hardened S.S. soldiers. Despite the slaughter, the Red Army was gaining ground and after three brutal days had secured the northern suburbs while slowly eroding the two divisions already strained strength. Nevertheless, Weichs echoed Hitler's opinion that the will of the German defenders would be able to defeat the Soviet horde and continued to emphasize the need of a decisive battle in order to turn the tide of the strategic initiative in the region. Though when pressed Weichs also brought up the argument that even if the Second Battle of Kharkov were lost, it would delay the Soviet advance long enough for Heeresgruppe B to fortify a new line. However, after a week of severe combat, Oberstgruppenführer Hausser, citing his authority over S.S. Divisions as being above that of a Heer commander, finally ordered all Schutzstaffel units to retreat despite the protests from Generalfeldmarshall Weichs. After “Totenkopf” and “Wiking” withdrew, the Wehrmacht elements in Kharkov had no choice but to follow suit. On April 19th, after five days of some of the most horrific combat since Stalingrad and after tens of thousands of soldiers laid dead, the city of Kharkov was finally occupied by the Red Army.

Vicious fighting in the streets of Kharkov.​

To make matters even worse, the slow slog that was Battle of Kerch in the Crimea was beginning to turn against the German defenders. At first, the Wehrmacht there, though facing acute shortages of rations and ammunition, had been able to fight a Soviet attack across the Sea of Azov to a standstill. Even though make-shift crafts were still crossing the sea, the Soviets were not making any ground and were inflicting barely any damaged upon the Germans. Though this was a precarious position, it was one that OKH accepted because soldiers were needed elsewhere on the front hence there were no reserve divisions that could be sent to Kerch to crush the Soviet attack. However, by the middle of April, STAKA, understanding the disastrous effect that capturing Crimea allocated more divisions and resources to the assault against Kerch. Before long, the exhausted garrison was facing fresh Soviet and the Red Army even managed to land a handful of T-34s in the slowly expanding Russian beachhead. By the time that Kharkov had fallen, the fate of Kerch was dubious However, some solace could be taken in the fact that in response to the redoubled Soviet effort, the OKH had finally reassigned a couple of divisions from across the front to rebuff the defenders there.

The Battle of Kerch, a small but strategically important struggle.​

By the time that Unternehmen Zitadelle had met success in its first stages to the north, Kharkov had fallen, Heeresgruppe Don was barely holding the Red Army off in the sectors bordering the Dnieper, and the situation in the Ukraine had only gotten worse. Then again, the Soviets had yet to manage a decisive victory that could smash the Wehrmacht there, so optimists within the OKH were confident Zitadelle would provide a necessary victory to shift the war to Germany's favor. Pessimists felt that the defeat at Kharkov was yet another stark piece of evidence proving that from now until Germany's inevitable defeat, its course would be a slow retreat back to the Fatherland. Nevertheless, just as the Germans' fortunes had melted to nothing during the Battle of Stalingrad so could the Soviets' for Fortune is, like the moon, always waxing or waning.

O Fortuna
velut luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis
aut decrescis​

 

[TheBromgrev]

I like the quote from the Carmina Burana opening and closing song, O Fortuna, although the source was the old medieval poem you have pictured. It sums up what happened pretty well.

 

[Enewald]

How many casualties in Kharkov?
Thrice conquered, thrice lost.
Forth time shall come...

 

[Stuyvesant]

Win some, lose some. Clearly the Eastern Front is still very much in the balance. Let's see how it plays out...

 

[NERFGEN]

Let's see how it plays out...

ehm .. i second that ^^ I hope we'll see some