“Same plan as last time. Hit those bastards as hard as possible for as long as possible. They have to be getting near the end.”
Borislav went over Nikolai’s assignment in the familiar setting of the regiment’s command tent. Some familiar faces were missing. Alexei had been killed in the attack yesterday. Now the 8th was doing it all over again the next day. ‘This is madness.’ Thought Nikolai.
“Our tanks will go in ahead, like last time, and try to close within range of their armor to try and break it up as best they can. Then we’ll head out behind them. I’m sure you all know what to do after that.” Explained Borislav. No one in the tent said anything. Everyone was just looking down at the battle lines drawn on the map of Radom. The soldiers called it Fortress Radom, The Meat Grinder, even Hell itself. Countless men had died trying to break the German forces guarding the corridor to Warsaw, preventing the cities encirclement by Red Army forces.
“I trust you will all do your duty for the Rodina.” Said Borislav, not looking up from the map. He couldn’t look into the eyes anymore. So many had been lost…
The men shuffled out of the tent with quite resolve. The attack would begin in the morning.
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In November of 1941 Red Army forces clawed their way across the river and into Danzig and by December were in Stettin. The Red Army was poised to take Berlin. But before the Red Army could launch its final assault on the German capital the German forces around Warsaw had to be dealt with to prevent them from cutting off the North’s thrust. Dubbed the Warsaw Pocket, the German troops around the devastated Polish capital had defeated numerous Soviet attempts to encircle the city. The most notable Soviet attempt was its unrelenting attacks on Radom.148 Soviet divisions from three Fronts were locked in constant combat against as many as 30 German divisions for over 3 months. From December of February the two sides fought desperately to defeat the other; the result was the longest constant engagement of the war. 73% of all Soviet casualties during the war came from this battle. The world had seen nothing like it.
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Soviet Front Lines, Radom province, January 13th, 1941. 05:00 hours
“Ready?” asked Nikolai.
The tanker looked down at Nikolai from the top of the turret and said with a smile, “I’m not sure anyone can be truly ready for what I’m about to do, but I think I am.”
“Best of luck comrade.”
“Thank you Lieutenant.” The tanker disappeared into the iron beast. The engine turned over, breaking the morning silence. Hundreds of other T-34 engines turned over. The entire Red Army’s force of tanks was present for this day’s assault on Radom. Over 1,300 tanks would participate in today’s action. The sight was disturbingly breathtaking. Nikolai knew that maybe half of these men would return.
Just as the war began the German war machine had begun turning out new weapons. The infantry was first. Then new tanks began appearing. The huge Panzer IV dwarfed the tiny T-34 in more than just size. The Panzer’s main gun could shoot farther and penetrate deeper than the T-34’s. The range wasn’t even comparable; easily twice the distance of the Russian tank. This was what the tanks Nikolai was looking at were going up against. Within minutes they would be racing across the open plain at full throttle straight into the muzzles of the panzers. It would be slaughter, at first. But when the T-34 closed within range the increased maneuverability and speed would outweigh the panzer IV’s superior firepower and range.
A whistle blew in the distance. The attack began.
1,300 T-34’s surged forward in a staggered line. Within minutes flashes appeared on the ridge in front of them. Shells rained down on the concentrated armor. Earth was being thrown everywhere. The T-34’s began exploding. The tanks just swerved around the burning wreckage and continued their charge.
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“Almost there! 700 meters until we’re within range!” shouted Dimitry. He was at the very front of the line. Explosions were going off all around him, the muffled sounds barely reaching his ears through his tanks armor. Because speed and maneuverability was paramount, Dimitry’s driver was driving with his hatch open, his head exposed to the open. When they closed within range the driver would close the hatch and be dependent on Dimitry for instructions. Right now, all Dimitry was doing was trying to keep his eyes in the sights while the tank bounced and jostled him around as it raced across the landscape.
Suddenly a tank just ahead of Dimitry and to the right exploded. It quickly disappeared from sight in a fireball.
“Faster!”
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“Alright comrades, lets move out!”
The entire 8th infantry division began advancing forward across the plain behind the T-34’s. Everything from T-34s, trucks, and motorcycles were used to carry troops into battle. Nikolai was riding on a T-34 along with what was left of his platoon.
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“We’re within range! Firing!” Dimitry fired his tank’s gun. He didn’t aim the shot well; he was just determined to get a shot off before his tank was knocked out.
“HE round, reload now!” screamed Dimitry.
“Ready!”
“Firing!”
This time the shell hit something. Before the track slid off the Panzer IV’s wheels another round struck it in the side. The panzer fired its main gun at some distant target, Dimitry didn’t know. He tapped the driver’s right shoulder. The T-34 jerked right and began approaching the immobile Panzer at a slight angle, slowly coming up on its right side. The turret began rotating towards Dimitry’s tank. The sound of hundred of tanks exploding and firing was distant through the armor.
“HE Round!” Dimitry tried to aim the turret as best he could. He judged his current speed and adjusted accordingly.
“Ready!”
“Firing!”
The shell missed.
“Damn! Load another HE! Hurry up!” shouted Dimitry into the bell of the tank. He could make out the loader franticly scrambling to load another round. He put his eyes up to the sights again just in time to see the Panzer’s muzzle flash.
The round tore through the T-34’s armor and entered the left corner of the tank and exploded in the crew compartment. Liquid metal shot through the driver and loader, killing them instantly. Because Dimitry was up in the turret he was spared most of the blast, however he looked down at his left foot to see it missing. Blood was everywhere.
Instinct took over. He unlatched the hatch and scrambled out the top as quickly as he could. The sound of battle raged all round him. Burnt T-34’s were everywhere. Scattered among the Russian tanks was the occasional panzer. Smoke poured from his tank as Dimitry dragged himself as far away from his tank as possible before the ammunition went. He turned over on his back and looked at the sky. The sun was just coming up and the last remnants of night hung on, trying to hold back the inevitable sunrise. Then everything went black.
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Nikolai didn’t give the German a chance to surrender and shot him outright.
Reloading his rifle, Nikolai moved down the trench. The fortification was deep enough for him to stand upright. It was narrow, so his men had to file in single file behind him. If a German was waiting around a corner, Nikolai would be the first to get it.
Pulling a grenade from his side, Nikolai threw it into a concrete bunker. He heard some shouts and then the explosion. Running in after the blast he was met with a scene that will be with him for the rest of his life. The entire room was covered in gore. Shocked, Nikolai was pushed aside by his comrades from behind him and they pushed on deeper into the labyrinth that was the German fortification.
Nikolai was done. He couldn’t take anymore of this. He’d seen enough, done enough; he was just tired of it all. Resting his back against the blood soaked concrete wall he slid down to the floor. The soldiers rushing past him barely noticed their lieutenant sitting wearily on the floor. Nikolai was exhausted.
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By the time the Soviet offensive was complete in March, 1.3 million soldiers had been killed, millions more wounded. 14,444 soldiers died every day for 3 months straight. When the smoke cleared, the Red Army was victorious and the Wehrmacht utterly defeated. The Germans would put up no more meaningful resistance.
By April the Red Army was massing for the final assault on Hitler’s Reich.
In the south the Red Army advances into Austria and eastern Czechoslovakia. A breakout of Italian forces in the Balkans is quickly put down and soon Italian forces in the area are completely annihilated.
On May 11th, after 3 weeks of bitter fighting around the German capital Berlin is taken. The 2nd Armored Corps are the first Red Army troops to enter the city.
The war is over.
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Nikolai Vladislav would recover from his “battle fatigue” at Radom and go on to fight with the rest of the 8th infantry division. He was wounded outside of Berlin and didn’t take place in the storming of the city. Nikolai’s company suffered over 100% casualties during the war, the most of any company in the entire Red Army. Nikolai received the Hero of the Soviet Union medal for his actions at Suwalki, Radom and Finland.
Nikolai died in 1958 at the age of 47 from complications of his wounds he suffered outside Berlin. He is survived by his wife and 3 children.
Dimitry Pavlov would loose his foot but survive the Charge of Radom and the war. He was the only survivor of his tank and company. He received the Distinguished Military Service award for his actions in Radom and was honorably discharged from military service following his recovery.
Dimitry died in 1988 at the age of 68. He is survived by his wife.
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I have to admit, this whole thing was a bit anti-climactic. I thought I was going to be battling on the gates of Moscow, not Berlin, in early 1942. I’m sorry if this AAR seemed short, but so was the game! For my next AAR I plan on playing an axis country, probably Germany, using HSR v2.07. Whether my next AAR will be co-op, like I mentioned earlier, is still to be decided. I hope you all enjoyed the show and hope you shall return for part two!
I would like to mention one thing about the battle at Radom. I fought a constant battle (as in there was a battle in Radom in the battle tab) for 3 solid months. I’ve never fought one for that long and which drained my manpower so much. I couldn’t even imagine fighting a battle like that as Germany with limited manpower. No wonder they lost! I accomplished this by constantly cycling out disorganized Armies and putting fresh ones in, each time holding on just enough to keep the fight going and just long enough for my other armies to re-organize and go back in. Having a massive amount of supplies and oil which allowed me to have 150+ divisions in offensive supply mode for 3 months helped a lot
I could go on and conquer the whole of Europe but I feel I’m done with this AAR and want to move one to better and brighter things. I hope my readers understand. I guess this is it for War Stories of the Great Patriotic War. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did writing it. Any feed back is still appreciated!
) a Co-op. However, I don't think this AAR will make a good one seeing as I've already taken Berlin and the game is pretty much over. 
