Slitherine

Operation Odin’s belt, the defense of Norway … ongoing
The British search the decision in the battle of Norway near Oslo. The Wehrmacht is resisting.


Operation Barbarossa, the Ostfront … overloaded

Erich von Manstein is on the way east but the reports about destroyed or damaged German military equipment and the losses of the Ostheer become more and more dramatic. The Russians fight a battle of attrition against the Wehrmacht. The German reserves in the east are nearly exhausted. Ongoing fighting in Sicily, England, Norway, Russia and against partisans will overstrain the Wehrmacht. It is mandatory to force a decision in the east to free troops for the western battle fields.
Von Manstein’s plan is to take a defensive position in the west at the Oka and the Don River (blue line) and to strike with strong Panzer and mobile infantry forces east (red). If the Russians turn around to fight the Wehrmacht in their back the western German frontline will go to attack, too.

The next 6 months will be decisive for the fate of the Reich.

GeneralWerner wrote: 180.000 men infantry, four artillery divisions, three anti tank divisions, four flak divisions and three Panzer divisions including a Tiger and a Panther divisions are lost.

Ouch! I am surprised that with such a force you couldn't succeed in the defense of Tunisia.

Regarding Husky, just be aware that the shores of Sicily will be bombarded each turn, so your forces there will be damaged, similar to Operation Neptune. As long as you have sufficient air support and the Regia Marina ready to pick off outlying vessels, you should be ok though i guess. You will also get some Italian reserves to assist your defense.

Nice. It is one of the most dramatic AAR's that I have read. It is very interesting that even after several replays this mod can surprise such a seasoned veteran player. It might sound evil, but I am kind of happy that the British landing in Norway plays out as intended as I did not have the time/chance to test it - apart from that tank unit which landed on an island, though... which indicates that the British commander might also have some sleeping problems

And I am also surprised that the defense of Tunisia failed despite the considerable forces that were commited to it. I guess the increase of the movement speed might had an effect as now the British tanks can move faster on the dry roads and can reach Tunisia at the same time with the US forces. Which is good, as it is fully historical.

Hopefully you will be able to hold Scotland and finish off the SU in the east. I do not worry about Sicily that much because even if it falls, you will still get some units to hold Italy and the Allies will not have enough time to make their way through the rugged Italian mainland in just a bit more than one year.

Berlin – March 05 1944 – Deutscher Reichstag

Two 88er Flak batteries are protecting the city. Thus very often the OKW can make their daily war meetings in the Reichstag.
Oberst Rittling is handing over a paper to Generalfeldmarschall Werner. It is named “Deutsche Vergeltungswaffen V1 und V2” and written by a young officer named Werner von Braun.

The Generalfeldmarschall is looking in the paper.
“So Oberst Rittling, what do you think about this new rocket technology?”

“Herr Generalfeldmarschall, this will be an important new weapon in this war. Von Braun can finish his development of the V1 in the next six months. We can produce 100 of these rocket weapons per month. Our enemies will be shocked.”

“Hmmm, what is the accuracy of this V1 weapon?”

“12 …, Herr Generalfeldmarschall!”

“12 meters? That is very impressive, Herr Oberst.”

“One moment, Herr Generalfeldmarschall, I will have a look in the paper. Yes … here … a here … yes it is … 12 … ähm … 12 kilometers”

Ludwig Werner is astonished: “Did I hear right? 12.000 meters?”

“Jawoll, Herr Generalfeldmarschall!”

Ludwig Werner is leaning back, thinking. After a minute he says: “So, Herr Oberst, you will tell this young engineer von Braun that this technology is not of interest for the German Wehrmacht. Tell him, he should try to reach the moon with his rockets. It is big enough, he will have a chance to hit it.”

Oberst Rittling is laughing: “Good joke, Herr Generalfeldmarschall, good joke”

Then looks in the face of Generalfeldmarschall Werner.
The Oberst understands, stops laughing and quickly leaves the room to follow the orders he got from his highest military commander.

After Rittling has left the room, Werner is looking around: “12 kilometers! Anybody else here with a strange message?”

Major Förster is standing up: “Yes, Herr Generalfeldmarschall, newest report from General Kesselring about Norway. He is hunting the British infantry divisions and reached the northern Norwegian coast. Our recon report some few British damaged and given up destroyers. But really creepy is that a complete British tank division and an artillery division are caught on Norwegian islands. Both given up, no British soldiers in the area anymore. Here the map of the area. Nobody here can understand why the British have landed on this unmanned islands.”
For the second time Ludwig Werner is looking astonished: “I understand, Major … somebody made a fatal error … but it was not a member of the German Wehrmacht. Good news from Norway … good news.”

GeneralWerner wrote: Our recon report some few British damaged and given up destroyers. But really creepy is that a complete British tank division and an artillery division are caught on Norwegian islands. Both given up, no British soldiers in the area anymore. Here the map of the area. Nobody here can understand why the British have landed on this unmanned islands.”

Maybe a strategy similar to the German occupation of the channel islands? To help protect Britain from an invasion out of northern Norway...

Glasgow – May 23 1944 – southern battle front

Feldmarschall Steiner is checking that his wounded soldiers are transported as quickly as possible to Glasgow military hospital.
The British attack the German beachhead with massive forces from the south and with weaker forces from the north. Thanks to last two years intense fighting on the convoy routes there are no surviving British battleships in the area that could support the British attack with bombardment. The Scottish airspace belongs to the German Luftwaffe also preventing the British to bombard the German troops in the beach head.
The German beachhead (blue) is defending. There is no chance to transport the second wave of the invasion forces (including the valuable anti air divisions) to England. They are still stuck near Belfast. The British have defeated all German submarines and block the sea route from Ireland to Scotland. In the far north three U-Boot Flottillen leaded by U96 try to break through the British North Sea defense belt (yellow).

Palermo – May 23 1944 – Rommel’s command post

Only two month ago General Patton and Field Marshall Montgomery have kicked out General Rommel from Tunis capturing the whole Afrika Korps, inflicting the largest defeat to the German Wehrmacht since World War 1. Now in May Rommel payed back. The Allied invasion of Sicily is repelled. The Allied bombed each square meter of Sicily’s beaches but the brave Axis soldiers stayed in their entrenchment not allowing the Allies to land their troops. With five bomber and six fighter fleets the Axis air force is sinking one transport ship of the Allies after the other.
For Generalfeldmarschall Werner in Berlin this is the second important military success after the victory in Norway. To protect Sicily Werner had ordered nearly all troops from the Balkan and Greece to Italy. Partisans and British commandos used this vacuum to capture nearly the whole Balkan. It was necessary to set up a front near Graz and near Venezia to prevent the partisans to enter Austria or Italy. Generalfeldmarschall Werner has decided that this is not acceptable and Rommel has to return the countries of south east Europe to the German Reich.

Berlin – May 23 1944 – Werner’s Office

Generalfeldmarschall Werner is looking at the huge strategical map showing him the main battle fields of the Axis troops.
Blue: Defending Scotland, Ireland, Sicily, the border of the Balkan and the Ostfront at the Don and Oka River
Red: Recapturing Norway, attacking Stalingrad and Stavropol
Yellow: Lost terrain on the Balkan and in Greece

The Wehrmacht is clearly overloaded on too many battlefields. Hopefully in some weeks troops from Norway and from Sicily can be transported to other theaters.

Werner is very excited because in the next few weeks the decision of the war will be seen. Steiner is holding back the western Allies from building a second front in Western Europe. But if he is beaten Werner has to send experienced troops from Russia to France. Then the Wehrmacht will lose the initiative in Russia for the first time in this war or even worse, if the Red Army tank forces break through the German overstretched frontline, there are no serious military forces that could stop them before reaching the Oder River. Werner is talking to himself: “Steiner has to hold Glasgow! He has to!”

Even with more worries Werner is looking to the right border of the map where von Manstein’s risky plan takes shape. In the south General Guderian is moving to Stalingrad. And in the north General Hoth moves quickly on the northern side of the Volga River and now is reaching Stavropol. If he can capture Stavropol and Ulyanovsk he will block an important support route of the Red Army.

Stalin realized the danger and has started a counter offensive to Ryazan and Gorky (green). This endangers Hoth’s complete armies to be cut off. Last night the Red Army has taken Gorky airport. If it can’t be recaptured Hoth will lose all air support from the Luftwaffe. If Hoth is cut off with all his experienced troops far in the east, Moscow will fall and later Leningrad. This would be a real catastrophe.

Volga River – July 22 1944 – Ostfront

Hoth’s escape

General Hoth is sitting in a Panther-A tank that is shooting down a T43-85. The Panthers try to cover the German retreat. After intensive fighting the Germans were able to repair five of the Panthers again but there was a lack of tank commanders.

The Russians attacked Hoth’s armies in the moment when the German troops were split in two parts crossing the Kama River.

The German Panzerspitzen including two Panzer IIIM and two Panther-A divisions near Stavropol were overrun by strong Russian T34/43, T34-85 and ISU-152 tank forces. From the wooden north another Russian tank army attacked the northern half of Hoth’s troops including the artillery and infantry main core. General Hoth decided to retreat over the Kama River to unite his troops but while doing this he lost a Panzer IIIM, a Panther-A, two Grenadier and the Flak division.

General Hoth desperately tried to build a defense north of the Volga and Kama River but without air support and air defense his troops came under merciless fire from Red Army tactical bombers. To avoid total annihilation the Germans have to retreat to Gorky. But in the meantime the Red Army has captured Gorky.
Hoth’s armies nearly destroyed. While some Wehrmacht divisions (green) try to recapture Gorky to open the road for the fleeing Wehrmacht, Hoth’s main core is rushing back west from the lost battle of Stavropol (yellow) while Russian tank armies (red) try to hunt them down.

But even if Gorky can be recaptured in the meantime Moscow is in danger.
The Red Army is crossing the Oka River in great numbers. Due to Hoth’s attack to the east in this sector there are currently not enough German divisions to prevent the Russians from crossing the river.

The Red Army is trying to break the German Wehrmacht down. Also in the Kursk area a strong attack of the Russians is ongoing preventing the Germans to send enforcements north.

In the south the German attack on Stalingrad is going on.

England – July 22 1944 – German beachhead

The British mobilize a huge force against the German beachhead. Feldmarschall Steiner’s hope that the German U-Boote could drive away the British and American naval vessels did diminish. The German submarines are chanceless against the new modern American destroyers. U96 nearly sunk but “Der Alte” was able to save the damaged boat sneaking back to Kiel.
To decrease the pressure on the German beachhead (blue), Feldmarschall Steiner decided to use the idle troops in Belfast to make a second landing operation more in the south (yellow) avoiding the Allied destroyers.
The Wehrmacht was able to surprise the British again. Troops landed near Liverpool and will try to capture and hold the city.

Looks like Stalin's revenge unfolds in the east. There must be heavy fighting since most of the German units are understrength. And I guess fighting on different fronts depledted the resources of the Axis as several units (Pz.III, Marder, etc.) were not upgraded to the latest types. Or maybe there just is no time to withdraw these from the frontline?

I should have known it. The mod always pays back if you advance too quickly.

I should have stayed for a while on the northern Kama river side where there is a good defense position. To the north with infantry in the woods and to the south with tanks over the river. But after loosing the airport of Gorky I hoped to catch the airport of Stavropol quickly to support my troops.

Prestige currently is always low (no prestige from the convoy routes anymore, bombing of German cities and Romanian oilfields, Tunis lost). After making my mandatory repairs most times there is not enough prestige left to upgrade. Some upgrades are very cheap or even for free but often time is not enough to take out a unit for two rounds.

But I do not despair yet. In winter the resource situation will become much better. I know where I find good defense positions in the east. And I have taken away the Allies a lot of prestige by capturing Moscow early, Leningrad one year later and sitting for a long time on the convoy routes. So hopefully the AI also has a resource problem.

Berlin – September 20 1944 02:30 am – Werner’s desk

Generalfeldmarschall Ludwig Werner is reading the last reports about the Ostfront. For a long time he had closed his eyes thinking. In front of the desk General von Manstein is waiting. Then Werner is opening his eyes: “Erich, it looks … it looks like defeat in the East.”

“Herr Generalfeldmarschall. Iwan has attacked successfully on all front lines with superior equipment and number. We did not expect the Red Army to have such immense reserves. Here you can see the order of battle in the north.”
The defense line is splintered. Hoth’s tanks are still trying to reach Moscow but are hindered by an IS-2 heavy tank division. Iwan will soon recapture Gorky opening the way for more Russian tanks to Moscow. East of Orel der Russe is moving south trying to cut off our troops.

Erich von Manstein is showing a second map.
“Here in the south General Guderian failed with the attack on Stalingrad. Strong Red Army tank forces have isolated and pressed two of our Panzer divisions to the south. They try to hide until the Volga River is frozen to cross the river back to the west.

The only positive fact is that we have broken Iwan’s air supremacy. The six Flak divisions from France and Germany and the five fighter plane fleets from Sicily help a lot to cover our troops.”

“Yes, Erich, but this weakened our anti air defense of the Reich. German cities are bombed every day. Also the Romanian oil fields are bombed. The convoy routes in the Atlantic are unreachable for us. Our resources are decreasing day by day. And the next winter is coming. Can you hold the frontlines if the rivers are frozen, Erich?”

“Nein, Herr Generalfeldmarschall!”

Generalfeldmarschall Werner is standing up: “Herr General von Manstein. Here you get your new orders. You immediately take back the current Ostfront marked in blue to the line I will mark on the map in yellow.”
Werner is talking: “You will set up this defense line until the rivers are frozen in November. If necessary you are allowed to further retreat but let the Russians pay for each step they make further to the west. You can use the 88er flak as anti tank weapon. Rommel made good experiences in Afrika. I will send you enforcements from Norway and Italy but do not expect too much. We are currently setting up several new divisions named “Volkssturm”. I will also send them to the east. You have to stop the Russian steamroller. If they break through at one point I fear the whole Ostfront could collapse. You leave immediately to Moscow, Herr General.”

“Jawoll, Herr Generalfeldmarschall!”

January 02 1945 – several battlefields

Kursk defense line
In the last moment the Wehrmacht was able to build a working defense line at Kursk to fight the Russian winter offensive that is concentrated to the northern and middle front segment. The new cheap but powerful Hetzer helps a lot to hinder the Russian tank divisions.

Moscow defense line
The Red Army is trying to recapture Moscow from the east. The Wehrmacht is defending every feet of Russian soil.
German PAK stopping T34 tanks near Moscow.

Zagreb
Rommel has left Sicily and transferred his weaker divisions to Zagreb to build an invasion force for the Balkan.

Really exciting AAR. I'm surprised things went south so quickly, as it seemed like you were on top of things. I guess the loss of troops in Tunisia, combined with the troops tied up in Sealion really cost you.

Berlin – April 02 1945 – Deutscher Reichstag

The Reichstags building is damaged by British bombs. The Brandenburger Tor was completely destroyed by a direct hit. But in the Reichstag music can be heard: “Lili Marleen – Unter der Laterne”. The OKW is celebrating! Werner is standing in the garden with a glass of Champagne and a cigar in his hands, relieved that on two important battle fields after several month of hardest fighting und doubtfulness the Wehrmacht has finally proven to be superior.


Glasgow – Steiner’s trap

Feldmarschall Steiner finally got some help from Ireland. Irish volunteers have landed in Scotland and helped the Germans fighting the British. In the meantime whole Scotland is in German/Irish hands. With new resources Steiner was able to setup two Nebelwerfer divisions.
With now four artillery divisions in barrage fire and strategic bombers the Wehrmacht was shooting the British troops south of Glasgow to pieces forcing complete infantry and armored divisions to surrender. Soon Steiner will give the command to attack south.
There is nearly no presence of British fighter forces anymore. Thus Feldmarschall Steiner has ordered his bomber fleet to sink the rest of the British Home Fleet north east of London. The bombers will be supported by a new wonder weapon, the U-Boote type XXI (yellow).


Moscow - Stalin running out of breath

General Erich von Manstein has ordered his troops in the northern, middle and southern frontlines to attack. The Red Army offensive on the whole Ostfront broke apart in some few days. Throwing back Hoth’s and Guderian’s attacks in autumn 44 followed by a tough German defense in winter 44/45 seems to have completely exhausted the Red Army on the whole frontline. The German troops counter attacked end of the winter, overran the remaining unprotected Russian artilleries and move east now.
German Grenadiers in close fight at the border of Stalingrad.

German Skijäger supported by a STuG III and a Tiger Panzer fighting near Gorky.
The Wehrmacht (again) on the way to Gorky, Ryazan, Voronezh and Stalingrad


North Sea – April 27 1945 – U96+

The U-Boote type XXI are attacking the rest of the British fleet east of England supported by German bomber fleets.
HMS King George V burning. Without air support and technically inferior to the new German submarine Wolfsrudel the British fleet is destroyed ship by ship.

what date does the mod end 1946/47? This is very entertaining

July 1945 – it is over!

After a successful test of a German atomic bomb on Helgoland and the US atomic explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the USA and Germany agreed an armistice. In a secret meeting in Lissabon Generalfeldmarschall Werner tried to negotiate with President Eisenhower to exclude the Soviet Union from this armistice but Eisenhower insisted that World War 2 has to end globally und finally Werner agreed.
Historically the outcome of World War 2 for Germany and the Axis will be rated as a draw but it felt like a victory especially after the dramatic situation at the Ostfront in summer/autumn 44.

Now as one of the two states in the world possessing atomic weapons Germany competes with the USA for the world leadership in the upcoming cold war.


England – August 02 1945 – a small village near Newcastle

Feldmarschall Steiner talking to an American General near Newcastle after the armistice between the Axis and the Allies became active. The Americans have landed in southern England to have a foot in the European theater.

Berlin – April 04 1946 – Deutscher Reichstag

Finally Generalfeldmarschall Ludwig Werner handed over the military leadership of the German Wehrmacht to Generalfeldmarschall Rolf Steiner and retired.

Wow! I really want to play this mod. I wish I knew how to make this work on my game on my computer.