Battlefield Europe v2.2 - General/Realistic

[JimmyC]

Its been a couple of years since I played this mod and it seems that there have been a lot of small tweaks and changes. I therefore decided to play cautiously and aim for a marginal victory. As I’m currently in 2 week quarantine (thank you COVID) I have plenty of time available and so have written up a brief AAR with some pic’s highlighting my strategy and key events.

[JimmyC]

Taking a defensive stance against the western allies, we aim to crush all of the soviet forces until they surrender.
1941 - Africa Corps will be evacuated back to Europe and Africa abandoned. We will aim to encircle and force the surrender of the Russian border armies. Our forces will attempt to capture Moscow whilst it is poorly defended.
1942 – Focus on the Caucuses and their oilfields. The main thrust of our attack will be here. Leningrad will be mostly ignored.
1943 – Hopefully we will have captured the oilfields. Leningrad will be stormed and captured. We will advance further east to the banks of the Volga. No effort will be made to hold Tunisia. Instead, troops will be positioned in Sicily as well as a substantial air core and the Regia Marina to defend against possible Allied landings in Italy.
1944 – We hope to have captured enough Russian towns and cities to force their surrender, allowing us to transfer our troops to the western front to defend against the landings in France.
1945 – defeat the allied attacks and enter into an armistice with the western allies to end the war.


The plan for 1941. Blue arrows mark areas of advance, red arrows mark areas of retreat, green circles are the encirclements and the star is the main objective - Moscow.

[JimmyC]

North Africa
The Africa Corps were caught up in a fight vs Commonwealth forces south-west of Tobruk. By engaging in an active defense, they were able to withdraw mostly intact towards Benghazi, with only 1 Italian infantry division being annihilated.



The Regia Marina patrolled the shipping route between Benghazi and Greece, so that our vulnerable transports would not be intercepted by enemy vessels.

Eastern Front
Our forces streamed east, easily encircling the Soviet 13th, 3rd and 50th armies at the Bryansk pocket and resulting in approximately 600,000 Soviet troops being captured. This was performed by a combination of army group centre and north. Once completed, the majority of our forces continued on towards Moscow, whilst a part broke off towards Chernigov to assist in closing the Kiev Pocket.

Greater difficulty was encountered in trying to perform the massive encirclement of several Soviet armies near Kiev, with the southern pincer experiencing delays due to the entrenched soviet forces. By utilising our mechanised forces, we could close the pocket in the nick of time, just as the enemy armies were starting to adopt an offensive stance. Another 450,000 Soviet troops surrendered.



After completing the encirclement at Kiev and taking the Soviet prisoners, army group south and the southern part of army group centre withdrew back to behind the borders so as to avoid the harsh winter. Army group north/centre pushed on towards Moscow, capturing Kaluga, Mozhaysk, Rzhev and Kalinin and reaching the final defences at the gates of Moscow just before the new year.

[faos333]

Excellent AAR good maps and strategic analysis.
Also very good progress in Moscow, When you take city drive to Gorky.
I think your plan is an interesting one, leaving Afrika.
In 1942 you should hardly push to Rostov and try to take or reach Grozny oil field

[PeteMitchell]

I had read all your AARs before I wrote my turn-by-turn AAR on version 1.9 some time ago: viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481

I am very glad to have the chance to read a new one from you, this is very nice!

[JimmyC]

Excellent AAR good maps and strategic analysis.
Also very good progress in Moscow, When you take city drive to Gorky.
I think your plan is an interesting one, leaving Afrika.
In 1942 you should hardly push to Rostov and try to take or reach Grozny oil field

Thanks, I thought my progress to Moscow was very good too, although was in for a surprise in January...

Abandoning North Africa lets you free up additional resources for other fronts. Also, You dont have to spend prestige repairing the Regia Marina and there are no negative short-term implications (you get about 1.5 years until Torch/Husky). So it definitely makes it easier early on.

I had read all your AARs before I wrote my turn-by-turn AAR on version 1.9 some time ago: viewtopic.php?f=145&t=86481

I am very glad to have the chance to read a new one from you, this is very nice!

Thanks Pete. I read most of your AAR at the time you posted it before i took a break from PzC and these forums. Your report was so detailed. Really impressive the time and effort you put into it! I don't have the time for that, so make much briefer ones. Personally, my favorite AAR's for this mod are General Werner's. He has a story writing style that is really creative and interesting. I tried to emulate that style in the AAR that McGuba added to the library of the BE mod. But for this AAR i don't write in such a style. Anyway, i hope you enjoy it.

[JimmyC]

North Africa
Whilst the majority of our forces were evacuated from Benghazi, the Commonwealth forces pushed forward, forcing our towed AT and an Italian infantry division to make the long retreat to Tripoli, where they were then safely evacuated to Sicily. We no longer have any presence in Africa.

Moscow
Throwing caution to the wind, our forces made a final desperate attempt to break through the infantry divisions entrenched at the gates of Moscow. However, the snowfall hid from view the heavy artillery defending the Russian entrenchments and our attacking infantry were severely mauled with little to show for the effort. The Russians then went on the counter attack, driving us back with the dreaded T34’s attacking from the north, backed up by infantry and other support units. In just a 2-week period, 5 of our elite divisions were annihilated, consisting of Panzerjager, Fallshminjaeger, Brandenburgers, Panzer 38(t) and Gebirgsjäger divisions.



The Soviets recaptured Kalinin, however we were able to form a defensive line along the entrenchments from Kaluga, through Mozhaysk and towards Kalinin. The freezing weather and Soviet counterattacks sapped our reserves, however we stubbornly held this line until Spring. With the weather clearing, the Luftwaffe sprung into action and targeted the T34’s that had proved so impervious to our own armour. We also brought up further reinforcements (particularly artillery) and by early summer were able to break through the defences and obtain a foothold in Moscow, consolidating and fully capturing it by late Summer.


Rommel’s PzIII tank division had the honour of being the first to break into Moscow

Army Group Centre
After taking Orel and Kursk, we focused on clearing all enemy forces between the Oka and Don Rivers. This will allow us to use the natural defenses of the Don River to repel any Soviet attacks. The capture of the city of Tula was prioritised as its strong defenses will help secure our northern flank.


Army Group South
With the end of the freezing weather, Army Group South jumped off once again from their start lines and headed east, with Odesk being captured. The Crimean Peninsula was bypassed so that our troops wouldn’t get bogged down and we reached Rostov in the south and the Donnets River.

[faos333]

By, 5 of our elite divisions were annihilated, you mean permanent loss? Or heavy losses?

[JimmyC]

By, 5 of our elite divisions were annihilated, you mean permanent loss? Or heavy losses?

Permanently lost. The first winter in Russia is really harsh, with -1 strength each turn from the weather and counterattacks by T34's, Katyushas, etc. Also, the terrain is rough and the ground becomes almost impassable. So they just trap and annihilate your units without them being able to retreat. I also didnt realise that the entrenched troops at Moscow were backed up by heavy artillery from all angles, so I suffered a lot of damage initially attacking them with my own infantry.

[JimmyC]

Army Group North
The majority of forces involved in the capture of Moscow transferred north to attack Leningrad. A significant amount of time was spent clearing out the enemy forces East of Leningrad, with much close range fighting in dense terrain. After eliminating this threat, we commenced our attack on the city itself. Taking advantage of the cover provided by the falling snow, we launched a surprise attack at the south-east defences, destroying the Soviet troops and pushing into the city proper. The city would soon fall in the new year.



In the extreme North, our Finnish forces have advanced all the way to Archangelsk and combined with a German artillery division commenced the final assault across the Dvina river. Archangelsk would also soon be captured in the new year.



Army Group Centre
After capturing Moscow, a mostly defensive stance was adopted, with our troops occupying defensive positions in the forests to the east. Our reserves were instead diverted further south, where a major Soviet counterattack was expected towards Kursk. We massed our forces along the west bank of the Don River, entrenching in anticipation of an attack.



Army Group South
Having taken Rostov, we used this as a strongpoint to meet the strong Russian counterattacks that commenced with the onset of winter. The Donets River, which had previously formed a strong natural barrier, was now frozen and Soviet troops attacked across the frozen river. Reinforcements were brought in to help stabilise our position.

[JimmyC]

Originally i had intended to strike out towards the Caucuses/oilfields from the Spring/Summer of '42, whilst simply containing the enemy at Leningrad. However i changed my strategic objectives after the capture of Moscow. Instead of striking out to the oilfields i decided to storm Leningrad and build up a strong defense around Kursk and Rostov in preparation for the upcoming Soviet winter offensive.

I did this for a couple of reasons:
1. As my troops were already massed around Moscow, it was relatively easy to divert them to the attack on Leningrad, given the relatively close distance. This compares to Rostov, which is quite far away and therefore much more time consuming to reach.
2. My forces were really stung by the Soviet counterattack from Moscow of the previous winter and as noted earlier, i lost some really good units as i was unprepared for the ferocity of the attacks. I knew there would be Soviet counterattacks around Kursk and Rostov for the upcoming winter, so wanted to be prepared for them so as not to suffer the same casualties. I therefore took a conservative approach and delayed my advance on the oilfields. This also allowed me time to clear out the Crimean peninsula, which i had previously bypassed.

[faos333]

Thanks for the AAR update, all the best in Leningrad siege

[JimmyC]

Army Group North
Leningrad was captured early in the new year, allowing us to transfer our forces to army group centre, both to assist them in defeating the Soviet counterattacks around Kursk and also to push east from Moscow to Gorky and beyond. The valiant Finns captured Archangelsk. Army group north has now achieved all objectives.


With Spring approaching our troops prepare to advance from Moscow towards Gorky

Army Group Centre
The Soviet forces attacked in waves across the Don River. Whilst our forces had time to prepare and were entrenched, we still experienced significant difficulty in dealing with the new T34/43 medium tanks, with our own medium tanks being unable to stand up to their Russian counterparts. Thankfully, several experienced towed AT divisions were upgraded to our own new StuG IIIF/8. This self propelled AT could match the Russian armour and its maneuverability compared to towed AT allows it to get to where it is needed most.



We were able to blunt and defeat the attacks and with the weather clearing in Spring, the Luftwaffe were able to mercilessly pound the Soviet forces and allow us to switch to an offensive stance. Our forces both attacked directly across the Don river via Voronezh and also circled north of the Don via Tula. In this way we were able to flank the Soviet entrenched forces on the east bank of the Don concentrated around Lipetsk and started penetrating towards the Volga



Army Group South
Having held off the counterattacks around Rostov and Voroshilovgrad during winter, with the assistance of the Luftwaffe in Spring, we were able to defeat the attacking forces. Our goal was now to advance to the Caucus oilfields. We were held up for 2 months as the Russians launched desperate counterattacks to prevent our breakout from Rostov, however this was defeated and our forces now stream towards the oilfields.



A portion of Army group south has also advanced to Stalingrad and will soon start assaulting it. However the main objective is the oilfields of the Caucuses.



Mediterranean Theatre
With the commencement of Operation Torch (allied invasion of North Africa), we diverted some token forces to Tunis, consisting of 1 Italian SPAT and 2 infantry divisions. These troops were sacrificed to hold Tunis slightly longer and delay Operation Husky (allied invasion of Sicily).



We have also stationed a combined arms force in Sicily, ready to fend off any attempted landings. Whilst consisting mostly of inferior Italian troops, there is also a Panzer III and Fallshminjaeger division for some hard hitting. The Regia Marina are massed to the north of Sicily and 3 Fw-190’s, 3 strategic bombers and 1 tactical bomber are waiting to interdict any allied landing forces.

Our fighters interdict the enemy fighters and bombers, whilst also providing escorts for our own bombers. Our bombers target both the enemy capital ships and landing craft, whilst the Regia Marina target the landing craft. The Italian infantry brave the enemy barrages to block off access to the beaches for enemy landing craft and only those landing craft that have been significantly depleted are allowed to land.



In this way, we were able to defeat the invasion, although the Regia Marina are mostly now at the bottom of the Med. None of our defending ground forces were annihilated and we forced the surrender of many Allied units that landed, depleted, on the shores of Sicily. This is a resounding victory for the German and Italian forces.

[faos333]

I see your approach in Sicily working quite well so far, good job

[JimmyC]

I see your approach in Sicily working quite well so far, good job

When you consider that if you were to try and hold North Africa, you would need at least 3 times more forces, compared to just defeating Husky. By taking this approach you can use those extra forces to assist in the east. So i think that this is the easiest way to deal with this front if you are going for a minor victory by defeating the Soviets.

[McGuba]

I see your approach in Sicily working quite well so far, good job

When you consider that if you were to try and hold North Africa, you would need at least 3 times more forces, compared to just defeating Husky. By taking this approach you can use those extra forces to assist in the east. So i think that this is the easiest way to deal with this front if you are going for a minor victory by defeating the Soviets.

Which is probably true, and actually I also think that it was probably a great mistake to commit so many units and efforts to the adventure in North Africa in reality, especially sendig a whole army to Tunisia to its almost certain loss in late 1942.

On the other hand, losing Tunis without a fight has the following disadvantages:
- 50 prestige points less per turn following the loss of Tunis, which from turn 50 to 99 means like 2500 prestige points which is significant (however it may be compensated by capturing the Caucasus oil fields earlier, but those need to get repaired so...)
- more Allied air units will spawn in North Africa and attack towards Italy and the Balkans since the 15th USAAF is then created there
- holding Sicily requires some units being sent there anyway

But yes, possibly the advantages outweigh these

[JimmyC]

Army Group North
Gorky is captured and our forces advance along both banks of the Volga River. They are met by significant Soviet counterattacks on the northern side, slowing progress. However, we are able to make use of the dense forested terrain to trap and annihilate the Soviet armour, whilst our artillery softens the enemy infantry before they are attacked and destroyed.


Army Group Center
The Soviets attack in a piecemeal fashion against our forces advancing towards the Volga. Although they have some very strong units, the uncoordinated nature of their attacks allows us to defeat them. By winter of ’43 we are able to cross the Volga and are ready to make the final push on Stavropol and Stalin’s bunker at Kuybyshev.


Army Group South
Artillery is brought in to soften up the defences at Stalingrad and our infantry forces make some tentative attacks to weaken the heavily entrenched defenders. In late Autumn we commence our final attack, with our forces assaulting from both the west and south, capturing the city as winter sets in.


Army Group - Caucus
Our forces divide into 2 groups. One advances along the coast of the Black Sea towards Poti, whilst the other advances towards the oilfields of Baku.

Our Baltic Sea force is held up by the fortress at Novorossiysk. Bringing up artillery, we are forced to heavily bombard the defenders before assaulting across the Kuban river. Clearing the enemy forces defending the river crossing, we are finally able to assault the city itself and the adjoining fortress that has been bombarding us as we approach.


Taking the city in late Autumn, we then advance south down the coast, however are met by heavily entrenched soviet forces, which have been reinforced by some British armour, severely delaying our progress. We were originally hoping this force would be able to take Poti before linking up with our other army to assist with the attack on Baku, however it is unlikely they will reach it in time.


Our oilfields force is held up by the mountainous terrain and rivers, with the Soviet forces taking advantage of the natural terrain to hold formidable defensive positions. We send German, Italian and Romanian mountain troops across the mountains west of the Terrek River to assist in dislodging the artillery that is so stubbornly protecting the entrenched Soviet forces. Meanwhile, our armour attacks along the Caspian Sea towards Makhachkala, before swinging west and attacking Grozny. Grozny and its oilfield will be captured early in the new year, allowing us to advance on Baku

[faos333]

keep it up, what turn are these reports?

[JimmyC]

keep it up, what turn are these reports?

Sorry for the late reply. My pc is a laptop and some of the keys stopped working. Around 20% of the keys dont work. So its quite difficult to write an AAR! I bought a keyboard which i have plugged into the laptop, so can finally type again!! I am around turn 62 now in my report. Will have another update shortly.