Battlefield Europe - Operation Zitadelle Redux (General)

[GeneralWerner]

Heeresgruppe Süd, Romanian&Hungarian Allies
We have repelled all Russian counter attacks on Stalingrad in the last months. Now it is time to strike north.

1944 September 05. The attack (red) from Stalingrad to the north to reach Saratov has started on the eastern shore. In parallel Stalingrad is defended (blue) against ongoing Russian attacks on the western shore.

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The last occupied city in the Caucasus at the Black Sea – Novorossiysk – was defended by German and Romanian troops. The troops were able to break the pocket and even defeated the Russian troops in the area. Together with infantry from Rostov the Axis is now moving south and east to capture more area in the Caucasus.

An attack on the oil fields near Grozny or Baku is not planned. The Caucasus is cut off and the main core of our troops will move to Stalingrad.

The plan for the next six month is to reach Astrakhan and Saratov at the Volga River.


Global summary:
The OKW worries about the extremely strong resistance of the Red Army in the battle of Moscow that changed to a battle of attrition for the Wehrmacht. Additionally a strong Russian attack east of Kursk is ongoing. The Red Army still seems to have countless (and well trained) divisions of tanks and infantry.

The Wehrmacht holds the Free Republic of Scotland. Thus the Anglo American invasion of Western Europe in the year 1944 is canceled and Churchill has retreated. That means our initial plan worked to destabilize the western allies. Thus nearly all our heavy battle troops can stay and operate at the eastern front.

In Italy the Gustav line is under strong pressure by the Americans but holding.

Soon the battle in southern France will begin.

The resource situation is difficult. The oil fields of the Caucasus are out of range. The Anglo Americans permanently bomb German cities and Partisans are able to block our railways from time to time. We urgently need a victory in Moscow for fresh resupplies and reinforcements. And we need more soldiers to protect the captured land and the long Russian frontline. Minister Speer was ordered to organize and equip 30 new divisions out of the Reich. The mobilized divisions will be named “Volkssturm” and shall support our troops at the eastern front to force the decision in Russia.

Order of battle in September 1944. Blue: Defending / Red: Attacking / Orange: Strong attacks of the Allies.

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[JimmyC]

Hm, I really did not mean to make that fortress naval transportable. I guess its the one from Königsberg... Anyway, I do not think that it made a difference, you would have done the landing without it as well, it is just kinda strange and unexpected. I will fix it in the next version.

I did not realise this could be moved, so just left it at Konigsberg in both my playthroughs!

[McGuba]

France
Due to the failure of an allied invasion in northern France and the successful defense of Italy by the Axis the Allies have decided to make an invasion in the south of France.
...
The Americans have landed with parachute troops north of Marseille and will now land their heavy battle troops at the beaches unharmed by Axis defense.
...
To relieve the German troops the Hungarian supreme commander Admiral Horty has promised to take over the defense of Lyon and to crush the allied beachhead with mainly Hungarian troops.

Hm... I never really understood why Hungary, a small landlocked Eastern-European country declared war on the mighty USA on 12 December, 1941. But now everything is crystal clear, it did have a purpose: America, fear the Hungarians, here they come!

Germany, Das Reich
Intensified carpet bombing of German cities. In the moment the Wehrmacht can’t do much against these bombing raids. The main core of the Luftwaffe and the Flak batteries in Western Europe are fighting in Scotland, in Italy and soon also in southern France.
For the next six month nothing special planned.

I just wanted to warn you that neglecting the air defense of the Reich and not having any oil fields would drastically reduce your prestige. However,

The resource situation is difficult. The oil fields of the Caucasus are out of range. The Anglo Americans permanently bomb German cities and Partisans are able to block our railways from time to time. We urgently need a victory in Moscow for fresh resupplies and reinforcements. And we need more soldiers to protect the captured land and the long Russian frontline. Minister Speer was ordered to organize and equip 30 new divisions out of the Reich. The mobilized divisions will be named “Volkssturm” and shall support our troops at the eastern front to force the decision in Russia.

you seem to be aware of the problem and I think you are right: the influx of the Volkssturm and the coming capture of Moscow would eventually turn the tide. But still it looks like another all-or-nothing gamble to me. I am interested to learn how it turns out in the end.

[GeneralWerner]

I just wanted to warn you that neglecting the air defense of the Reich and not having any oil fields would drastically reduce your prestige. However,

Definitely true.

you seem to be aware of the problem and I think you are right: the influx of the Volkssturm and the coming capture of Moscow would eventually turn the tide. But still it looks like another all-or-nothing gamble to me. I am interested to learn how it turns out in the end.

Yes another all-or-nothing gamble. I hope to have enough power in the east to hunt down the Russian bear before round 99 ... but I made a decisision in the setup for the battle of Moscow that shows to be a drawback by postponing the capturing of Moscow for some months (compared to my first Zitadelle-AAR). And time is critical at the end.

Hm... I never really understood why Hungary, a small landlocked Eastern-European country declared war on the mighty USA on 12 December, 1941. But now everything is crystal clear, it did have a purpose: America, fear the Hungarians, here they come!

So let us listen to the tale of General Zsombor Horvat, commander of the Hungarian expedition force in France.

[GeneralWerner]

Lyon – October 20 1944 – headquarter of General Zsombor Horvat, commander of the Hungarian expedition force in France
In the early morning of a cold but sunny day General Horvat is standing on a mountain west of Lyon looking south following with his eyes the long valley of the Rhone River. Like the German supreme command has predicted the Americans are coming up the Rhone River valley and will try to capture Lyon.

The Germans have quickly built a western front at Montpellier and an eastern front near Nice.

Seems the Americans have decided that fighting the Hungarian troops at Lyon is the easier task. General Horvat has planned to show the Americans that they are wrong!

1944 October 20. The invasion of southern France. The Americans mainly strike north to Lyon on the eastern shore of the Rhone River (orange). The Wehrmacht has set up a defense in the east and in the west of the landing zones. The Hungarian expedition army (yellow) at Lyon is planned to repel the main strike of the Americans. The first fights have already started. The Germans will support this army with a 88er and a tank division soon.

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Stalingrad – November 04 1944 – retreating German army commanded by General Hoth
The attack of a German army on the eastern shore of the Volga River to Saratov ended in a defeat. Russian troops destroyed the complete German Hornisse antitank division. Then the Red Army broke the German infantry front line to attack the supporting artillery. General Hoth has ordered the immediate retreat to Stalingrad covered by the Panther division.

1944 November 04. The attack on Saratov was repelled by the Red Army. General Hoth has to retreat.

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[JimmyC]

Stalingrad – November 04 1944 – retreating German army commanded by General Hoth
The attack of a German army on the eastern shore of the Volga River to Saratov ended in a defeat. Russian troops destroyed the complete German Hornisse antitank division. Then the Red Army broke the German infantry front line to attack the supporting artillery. General Hoth has ordered the immediate retreat to Stalingrad covered by the Panther division.

Sounds rough. I am actually planning exactly this move with Army Group South once i consolidate my position in the Caucuses. Fingers crossed that the resistance i meet isn't as tough as what you are seeing.

[GeneralWerner]

This is a very open area east of the Volga and tanks can move very far. The AI is using this cleverly to bypass my armour to reach the vulnerable infantry or artillery in open terrain. As protection I brought a Panther and a Hornisse anti tank unit. You see a second tank unit in Stalingrad waiting for upgrade to a Panther. But with low prestige this can take a while. So I started without them.

The Russians focused on the Hornisse destroyed it quickly and a single Panther could not protect the other units in this area. So I had to move them back and try it later with more tanks. But later will mean in winter and then the Volga is frozen and the terrain is even more open to be surprised also from the west.

I think in this mod the last step for victory to reach the cities at the Volga is really a challenge even after being victorious at Moscow, Leningrad, Kursk, Stalingrad.

[GeneralWerner]

Moscow – November 04 1944 – captured city
After several months of hardest battles the Wehrmacht finally captured Moscow. But it was only a short celebration in the ruins of the Kremlin. The final targets at the Volga River are still far away and the Russians immediately showed that they will not allow the German Panzers to reach the Volga without a hard fight.

1944 November 04. Moscow is finally captured by the Wehrmacht but the further approach to the north east is blocked by two IS-2 heavy tank divisions. Advantage for the Germans is the air superiority around Moscow and the Axis bombers will hit the Russian tanks before the German Panzers will start the fight.

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Lyon – December 19 1944 – headquarter of General Zsombor Horvat, commander of the Hungarian expedition force in France
General Horvat has prepared everything for the decisive clash with the Americans. Until today there were only some weak battles at the Rhone River. It seems the Americans wait for the freezing of the Rhone River. And indeed this will be a problem for the Hungarian defense.

1944 December 19. American scouts are spotting the Axis defense at Lyon. For sure soon the attack of the US invasion core will start. The Hungarians have finished their setup. A German 88 Flak / antitank was stationed backhand near Lyon because it is known that the Americans have strong tank forces and the German and Finnish tanks (yellow) have still not arrived at Lyon.

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[captainjack]

In one of the Kaiserschlacht maps it is possible to move bunkers on trains.

I could never quite understand why that was possible in, but then as you had intended it left room for some entertaining creativity.

[GeneralWerner]

Das Reich – January 03 1945
In a last act of preparedness the German Reich has set up 15 Volkssturm units. All these units are immediately transported to the battlefields in the east to force the decision in the battle of Russia.

Kursk – January 18 1945 – Headquarter of Heeresgruppe Mitte
Since the capturing of Kursk in fall 1943 the Heeresgruppe Mitte successfully defended the captured areas at the Don River.

When the winter 44/45 came the front line stayed stable and General Guderian already had the opinion that the Russians are exhausted in this front sector and that he can soon cross the Don east. What a mistake!

It was a snowy day mid of January 45 when the Red Army showed its true power and suddenly overran the German defense at the Don River. General Guderian reacted immediately and ordered to take back the front line.

1945 January 18. The Russians are coming. The Tiger division in the north has to retreat to avoid immediate destruction. In the south also the Panther division is facing strong opponents. The Axis front line will be taken back to the line Orel – Kursk – Belgorod (yellow). The goal of the attacking Red Army (orange) is clear. Recapture Kursk and breakthrough west to the weakly defended German hinterland. In case of success the Wehrmacht has to stop its successful offensive in the north. Guderian has requested the main core of the German Luftwaffe in Russia to strike against the attacking Russians when the snowfall stops.

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Lyon – February 02 1945 – a small forest in the deeply snow covered hills somewhere west of Lyon
The sun is rising on an icy cold day and General Horvat has given the leader of the German Panzer IVH division the last information about the necessary direction of attack. The Panzer IVHs are urgently needed to defeat the American M4A3 tank division south of Lyon.

General Horvat and his staff had to leave Lyon at 01:30 o’clock in the morning after American Engineer troops have entered the city.

Horvat has a broken ankle from a jump out of a window when his troops tried to fight back the Americans in the night. His surgeon wants to send him to the hospital but General Horvat still has no time for that. He has to start his counter attack to kick the Americans out of his Lyon.

It was heavy fighting in the last snowy days. The Americans used the frozen Rhone River to attack Lyon from south west. The Hungarian defense at the western shore was defeated first. The Hungarian artillery did their best until the last grenades were shot on the attackers. But the Americans also brought their powerful artillery with them. The German 88er was moved to Lyon and it was intense fighting with the American tanks.

In the end the tanks won and opened the way for the American infantry to capture Lyon.

1945 February 02. Start of the Hungarian/German/Finnish counter attack to recapture Lyon from the Americans.

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In parallel at the coast the Americans have captured the city of Montpellier in the west while the Germans have recaptured and now defend the city of Nice in the east.

[GeneralWerner]

Kursk – February 02 1945 – Headquarter of Heeresgruppe Mitte
General Guderian is packing. It could happen that he has to leave Kursk soon because the Russian offensive is quickly approaching west. Guderian's tanks are out of the game in the moment but as an experienced Panzergeneral Guderian knows how to stop an attacking tank army even without own tanks.

1945 February 02. Even more Russian troops enter the battlefield from the east. But now German infantry will enter Kursk and Belgorod to close the front line again. The gathering of the German Luftwaffe in this sector is ongoing and the weather forecast tells clear weather. In the north the first trains with the Volkssturm divisions are arriving.

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Lyon – February 17 1945 – headquarter of General Zsombor Horvat, commander of the Hungarian expedition force in France
General Horvat is sitting at his desk, the injured leg lying on a stool. With the help of the Panzer IVH division the Americans were kicked out of Lyon but the Panzer division was nearly destroyed. The Americans are now forced to retreat south because Horvat has set his troops on the eastern shores of the Rhone River to attack. Supported by the Hungarian artillery the infantry and Huszar troops press the Americans back south.

1945 February 17. The winter ending early splits off a doomed part of the American army on the western shore of the Rhone River. On the eastern shore the main enemy core is pressed back south by the Hungarians (red) and a Finnish light tank division. Bad surprise for the Americans. A German Gebirgsjäger division (yellow) has crossed the Alps from Italy and will soon attack in the flank of the American army.

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[JimmyC]

The Russian attack on Kursk looks insane! So many uber tanks! And whilst your entrenched infantry may be able to hold off the tanks for a while, once the supporting Russian infantry/artillery arrives, surely that will spell the end for your defending troops?

Congrats at least on beating back the American invasion of Southern France. It looks like you have that one under control and will soon be able to drive them back into the sea.

[McGuba]

Hm... seeing the previous pictures maybe too many German heavy tanks have been concentrated in the Moscow area. And looks like the south have been neglected a bit. Just my impression.

[GeneralWerner]

The Russian attack on Kursk looks insane! So many uber tanks! And whilst your entrenched infantry may be able to hold off the tanks for a while, once the supporting Russian infantry/artillery arrives, surely that will spell the end for your defending troops?

Congrats at least on beating back the American invasion of Southern France. It looks like you have that one under control and will soon be able to drive them back into the sea.

I was not in worry about Southern France when I realized that the Americans moved north to Lyon due to the terrain that can be defended very well with infantry. I was more in fear that they move west in open terrain along the French coast supported by their Air Force. Or east to Northern Italy trying to cut off my Gustav line. But they decided to cross the weapons with the Huzsars at Lyon

Kursk looks very dangerous. Again I was surprised by the mod (a little bit; I have left the Tigers in the area because I know how dangerous this part of the front is; but the strength of the attack surprised me)
But:
- the entrenched area around Kursk is good to repel or at least slow down tanks
- I have very good tactical bombers in the area and the Russian air force is weak, so the Russians will pay for this attack
- my two tank divisions are still alive, can be repaired and brought back into battle soon

Hm... seeing the previous pictures maybe too many German heavy tanks have been concentrated in the Moscow area. And looks like the south have been neglected a bit. Just my impression.

True. I had mainly anti tank units in the south but the Red Army was very successful to destroy them (4 or 5 units including this sad Hornissen) with multiple fierce tank attacks and tactical bombers.

[GeneralWerner]

Kursk – February 17 1945 – Headquarter of Heeresgruppe Mitte
General Guderian is unpacking. Kursk is safe again even as the Red Army is still standing at the eastern border of the city. But they couldn’t defeat the German defenders of Kursk and the bombs of the Luftwaffe are dismantling the Russian attack. Now Guderian is commanding his two Panzer divisions to counter attack.

1945 February 17. The Red Army is brought to a halt at Kursk and most of their tank divisions are exhausted. Continuous bombing of the Axis tactical bombers from Germany, Hungary and Finland weakens the Russians further while the counter attack of the German Panzers starts.

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[GeneralWerner]

Berlin – April 03 1945 – ruins of the German Reichstag
Reichsfeldmarschall Werner is standing near the German Reichstag that was destroyed in fall 1944 by Allied bombers. The reconstruction will begin after this war has ended. And it seems that this day is not far away. The climax of Allied bomber raids against German cities was in the second half of 1944 but then after the winter 44/45 the Allied bombers nearly did not enter the airspace of the Reich any more but stayed near the English channel attacking our coastal defense. Seems that the British and Americans slowly realize the futility of further fighting against the Axis in Europe.

Free Republic of Scotland
Scotland stays in German hand and the British more or less stopped all attacks.

Germany, Das Reich
With the end of the snowfall the Allies have not restarted carpet bombing of German cities.

Italy
The Allies still try to break the Gustav line with their tanks and infantry but fail again and again. We have now a German Bf 109G-14 and an Italian Bf 109G-6 squad in the area that successfully supress Allied air attacks on the troops in the Gustav line.

France
The Americans are retreating to Marseille. The Hungarians are continuously attacking the enemy.

Balkan
Weak partisan activity.

Heeresgruppe Nord and Finnish troops
Our Kampfgruppe with 2 artilleries and 3 Finnish infantries is on the way to Archangelsk and reached the Onega River. It is planned that the troops will be supported by German bombers soon. Leningrad is safe.

Heeresgruppe Mitte
Guderian’s troops finally have reached the Volga River north east of Moscow. In the north currently they are crossing the Volga to start the attack on the key objective Vologda. In the east the attack on the key objective Gorky has already begun. In both cases the brave men of the fresh Volkssturm divisions build the spearhead of the attacks.

1945 April 03. Volga River near Moscow. Attacks on two key objectives are ongoing.

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Voronezh – April 03 1945 – German Panther division crossing the Don River to the east
Game over for the Red Army offensive at the Kursk - Don front line. The weakened Russian tank divisions were hunted down one after the other at the gates of Kursk. In the northern part of the battlefield the Tiger division is still fighting the last Red Army tanks trying to cross the Don. In the south of the battlefield General Guderian is crossing the Don River east with his Panther division followed by infantry and artillery.

Heeresgruppe Süd, Romanian&Hungarian Allies
General Hoth has defended Stalingrad for the whole winter. Many Red Army divisions tried to attack the city from west. Now Hoth is testing again the Russian defense of Saratov by moving north with his Panzers. But still the Red Army is standing between Hoth and his target.

1945 April 03. The Red Army is continuously attacking the Wehrmacht in Stalingrad (orange). General Hoth again tries to reach the key objective Saratov at the eastern shore of the Volga River (red).

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Global summary:
The Wehrmacht is struggling to reach all the cities at the Volga River. Especially in the Stalingrad area the Russians still provide a successful resistance.

The OKW does not expect that our troops at Stalingrad can make a successful attack to the north in the next months. Thus it is planned to use the troops from the Moscow area that already reached the Volga River to attack along the Volga River to the east.

The Wehrmacht holds the Free Republic of Scotland.

In Italy the Gustav line is under strong pressure by the Americans but holding.

The battle of southern France is nearly won and the Hungarians are following the American troops that are fleeing back to the coast.

The 15 new Volkssturm are a valuable support of the Axis’ armies at the eastern front giving our regular infantry divisions a chance to recover before the last rush to the Volga River is done.

Order of battle in April 1945. Blue: Defending / Red: Attacking / Orange: Attacks of the Allies.

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[JimmyC]

It sounds like you have been very successful. But do you think you can defeat Russia before turn 100? Considering you are not attacking the Caucuses, what remaining objectives do you have to capture in order to beat them?

[GeneralWerner]

I try to capture all the key objectives at the Volga River. I think this are eight including Stalingrad.

My goal is of course to defeat Russia in time but it looks like I will fail. I will not capture all of this key objectives until turn 99 and that will lead to a draw.

Main cause is that I needed much, much longer to capture Moscow in this Zitadelle-Redux than in the first play. Instead of capturing Moscow in summer 44 I needed approx. 6 months longer postponing all the other moves to reach all key objectives at the Volga in time. How this happened I will report when the AAR is finished. I made a decision that should make it easier for me to defeat the Red Army at Moscow but it showed to be a drawback: It made it easier for the Red Army to defend Moscow for a longer time.

But in total after preventing D-Day and holding the Gustav line in Italy successfully (for the first time) it is a safe battle. Thus the result (occupied territory) will be much better than in the first play.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I try to capture all the key objectives at the Volga River. I think this are eight including Stalingrad.

My goal is of course to defeat Russia in time but it looks like I will fail. I will not capture all of this key objectives until turn 99 and that will lead to a draw.

Hope you win.

The rest of the world awaits! (I look forward to seeing you attempt WotW2)

- BNC

[GeneralWerner]

Marseille – May 03 1945 – headquarter of General Zsombor Horvat, commander of the Hungarian expedition force in France
After the Americans were stopped at Lyon in February General Horvat gave them no time anymore to recover from this defeat. His Hungarian troops followed the Americans down the Rhone River and finally hunted them down. Begin of May all cities of southern France are again in the hand of the Axis. Immediately the German troops are loaded on trains to be transported to Italy and to the east while the victorious Hungarian troops will stay here to guard the coast and to recover from the heavy fights.

Italy – June 17 1945 – Gustav defense line
The Allied commander in Italy tried everything in the last year to break through the Gustav defense line. The Italian Bersagliere and German Wehrmacht supported by Italian artillery repelled each attack and closed immediately each gap that the Allies opened. Now the first Axis enforcements from the Southern France battlefield arrive: German tanks and antitank divisions. For the Allied commander it is clear now that the time ran out for his mission to conquer Italy and Rome for the Allies.

1945 June 17. Gustav defense line. No come through for the American tanks.

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