Slitherine

Berlin – June 20 1941 – Hauptquartier der Deutschen Wehrmacht

Secret meeting between Generalfeldmarschall Ludwig Werner, his military advisors and the leaders of the German Heer, Marine and Luftwaffe to explain the new global Wehrmacht strategy.

Generalfeldmarschall Werner talking:
“Meine Herren,
in these days we face a great historical challenge that will finally prove the outstanding military power of the German Wehrmacht.

The attack on the Soviet Union is well prepared and our secret service tells us that we will surprise the Red Army completely. Our troops are ready and there is no alternative to attack immediately.

The overall military goal in the east will be to capture the whole European part of the Soviet Union and push back Stalin behind the Ural mountains. The main risks for our plans are the enormous distances and the harsh climatic conditions in the east especially in rain time and winter. This will slow down our successful Blitzkrieg. There is the danger that we will win battle after battle but loose the war because our forward rushing armies become too exhausted. Remember Napoleon 1812. He has even captured Moscow and this did not help him in any way to defeat the Russian Bear. We will not make the same fault.

We decided to use our forces in the east to capture as quickly as possible the Caucasus region and the oil fields. We will not rush for Moscow or Leningrad this year. We will start attacking the Soviets on the whole frontline. The Finnish army will advance in the far north. Primary goal is to destroy the Russian air force and to defeat and capture as many unorganized units of the Red Army as possible. After this Blitzkrieg attack into Russian territory we will regroup our forces, search good defensive positions in the north and center and start a massive attack with our best infantry and tank brigades in the south on the line Odessa -> Rostov. From there we move south to capture Grozny and Baku with their valuable oil fields latest summer 42. This will guarantee the mobility of our motorized forces for the rest of this war. Our Romanian ally will support this attack and help to secure our supply routes.


Our foreign minister will make every effort to convince the Japanese emperor to attack the Soviet Union, binding the Siberian forces far in the east.

Next year from the Caucasus region we can decide to attack north in the direction of Stalingrad or to move south to search the Persian oil fields.

This attack will focus all our offensive resources. Other offensive actions are not planned for the next months.

The Afrika Corps will hold the siege of Tobruk. We will ask our Italian ally to support with his fleet.

The operation Sealion against England has no realistic chance for success and will not be started. Like last year we again see no chance against the British Home Fleet. Most of our heavy battleships need repair and resupply. Also the Royal Air Force has proven to be a more serious enemy as expected. We will repair our fleet and strengthen our U-Boot weapon to attack British convoys in the North Sea. We will stop British bomber raids with our fighters and flak batteries. Concerning the army we will stay on our side of the channel and Churchill will stay on his side. England is standing alone and if we show them our power against Russia in the next months, Churchill will finally become rational and starts negotiations with us. And if not … we have top secret developments of new fighters and bombers running that will change the air battle of England to our advantage. Then and only then an invasion of England could be discussed again.

That’s all for today. You have your orders.

Auf guten Erfolg, meine Herren!”

I’m looking forward to seeing how you fare, as you are taking a very different strategy to me. Also, we are both playing on General difficulty, so it should be easily comparable. I decided to rush Moscow and then prioritise Sea Lion, whereas you are steering clear of both those objectives early on. It should be great to compare our respective progress and success.

I will not offer any hints or tips as I wouldn’t want to ruin any surprises for you (I’m now around summer of ’42). But I eagerly await news of your progress as I am eager to compare it with my ongoing campaign. I also like the way that your narrative stays in character and references some of the German names (and quotes in German language). I hope you can keep it up.

By the way, have you thought of how often you will update the post? I was thinking to update the progress on my thread every half year including the plan for the next half year.

Hello,
it was my intention to make a comparable AAR after I have seen yours. But using a quite different strategy. I have not played this mod before and used the last days to play the first three scenarios to become familiar with this huge maps. Reporting in a six month interval sounds reasonable.

Odessa at the Black Sea – January 03 1942 – Hotel Ritz, temporary headquarter of Heeresgruppe Süd

Generalfeldmarschall Werner is standing at the open window staring at the black sea. The water is nearly hidden in the heavy snowfall. Werner is tired and smoking his cigarette. The last six months were really tough and the cold and snowy weather became more and more a serious problem for the Wehrmacht. Then he looks at the ruins of Odessa throwing away his cigarette. He is going back to his desk to meet Oberst Steiner who is waiting there.

“Welcome, Oberst Steiner. As I see you recovered completely from the injuries you got in operation Mercury?”

“That was really tough fighting on Crete, Herr Generalfeldmarschall.”

“I know. Your commanding officer was killed immediately by British snipers when he landed with his parachute. Well, Oberst. Now it is your turn! Your commando! Are you ready for another jump in the hell?”

“Jawoll, Herr Generalfeldmarschall.”

“Oberst, I will now inform you about our top secret mission, operation Jupiter … We have tricked Stalin. He is thinking the Wehrmacht is rushing towards Moscow but that is not our primary goal in the moment. We will conquer the weakly defended Caucasus region. It is essential for our plan that we conquer the Grosny area as soon as possible. And here you come in the play. We have two powerful and well trained Fallschirmjäger divisions. The best of the best. You will jump and conquer the airport of Grosny. It is a risky and dangerous move, Oberst. But if we succeed we can shorten the Caucasus campaign for several weeks. You will take the airport and you will hold it! You will hold it under any circumstances until our infantry and light artillery is landing! You will not retreat! You will not surrender! Did you understand me, Oberst Steiner?”

“Jawoll mein F… äh … Herr Generalfeldmarschall. I will immediately fly to Crete to prepare my soldiers.”

“Not necessary, Oberst Steiner. Your divisions are already reinforced, supplied and are currently flying from Crete to Romania. You will meet your men at the airport near Chisinau west from here. The weather is the big problem. We will transport you as soon as possible when the weather forecast predicts us better conditions. You will be protected by fighters, Stukas and Heinkels. If possible they will bomb the area first but do not count on that. Grosny is far, far away from our airports. The Stukas and Heinkels can’t stay for long time over the target area if the airport is not taken. Your men have to do the work.”

“Jawoll, Herr Generalfeldmarschall. We will be successful or die.”

“We understand each other, Oberst. Now go to the airport and wait for your men. And Oberst Steiner … the Grosny territory is the land where the iron crosses are growing. You can go now.”

Odessa at the Black Sea – January 18 1942 – Hotel Ritz, temporary headquarter of Heeresgruppe Süd

Generalfeldmarschall Werner is sitting at his desk and while artillery fire from far in the east can be heard he is reading the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) reports that summarize the actions of the last six month since the start of operation Barbarossa.

Heeresgruppe West and the Kriegsmarine
Our submarines are attacking successfully the British merchant routes in the Atlantic. The U-Boot-Flottille from Norway was lost early on its way north around England. They were intercepted by strong British destroyer forces. We can only hope they have destroyed their Enigma machine before they were captured. The scientist claim that it is nearly impossible to crack the code. Nearly!

British fighters and bombers pay a high price attacking French cities in the west and in the north. We have concentrated many flak batteries to the French coast and together with our fighter squads they blast Churchill’s planes out of the sky. Nevertheless their attacks on the west coast harm us delaying the repairs of our battleships. In the last weeks there was no fighting at all because of bad weather. The British Home Fleet stays hidden.

For the next six month we plan no change in our strategy in the west.

Germany, Das Reich
Nothing to report.

For the next six month nothing special planned.

Italy
The Italian fleet was supplied and went south west in the direction of Crete. In the sea between Crete and Tobruk there was heavy fighting with British cruisers and submarines. The Italians were victorious and started to bombard Tobruk with the heavy ship artillery. Near Malta one of our submarines attacked a British carrier and could damage it. The submarine came under heavy fire from destroyers and currently tries to escape to Sicilia.

For the next six month it is planned to support further the Afrika Korps in Tobruk with the fleet.

Balkan
Damn partisans! But we get rid of them.

Nothing special planned for the next six month.

Afrika Korps
The siege of Tobruk is going on. British tanks approached from the east and forced us to retreat from Halfaya Pass. But with the help of the Italian ships and (during summer and fall) the Italian bombers we have nearly destroyed the British forces in Tobruk. The Korps will retreat to Tobruk and entrench there. We need better weather to fight against the British tanks with our bombers. The 8,8 flak is awesome as tank killer but we do not have sufficient of them in Tobruk.

In the next months we plan to clear the last British troops in Tobruk and to withstand the British tank attack from the east (named operation Crusader). The order is to hold Tobruk and wait.
Heeresgruppe Nord and Finnish troops
The first weeks of Barbarossa were an outstanding success. We destroyed many Soviet planes, Red Army infantry, tanks and artillery. Complete armies of the Soviets surrendered to our troops. We reached Riga, Mink, Vitebsk and Gomel. Near Kiev we tried to encircle three armies of the enemy together with Heeresgruppe Mitte. But this failed. The rain time and the winter hindered us. Heavy snow kept our planes on ground. We nearly closed the pocket of Kiev when suddenly we were attacked by strong infantry and tank forces out of the pocket. The Soviets used their T34-tanks to cut off our Panzerspitzen and destroyed them. We lost several light tanks, recon units and cavalry. The OKW ordered a retreat to save positions that can be defended against the T34. Why did our secret service not inform us about this T34 tank? We have nothing comparable in the moment. We need urgently better weather to fight the tanks with our Stukas. In the far north the Finnish troops are slowly approaching east.

The plan for the next six month is to hold the lines against the counter attacks of the Red Army, to resupply and upgrade especially our Panzer- and Panzerjägertruppen.

Heeresgruppe Mitte
Similar to Heeresgruppe Nord we made outstanding approach and destroyed many enemy units. We reached Kiev, Uman and Kremenchuk quickly. The closing of the Kiev pocket finally failed. Too many troops were transferred to the south to support our Caucasus campaign. Also here we had casualties from surprisingly attacking Soviet infantry and tanks. We now fight the enemy in a tactical retreat.
The Red Army heavily attacked the Heeresgruppe Mitte around Kiev.
Also heavy fighting is ongoing around the airport of Dnipropetrovsk. We have to hold him, or all our planes coming back from operation Jupiter will be out of fuel and crash down. The bad weather is still our biggest problem.

The plan for the next six month is to hold the lines against the counter attacks of the Red Army, to resupply and upgrade especially our Panzer-and Panzerjägertruppen.

Heeresgruppe Süd, Romanian&Hungarian Allies
As planned, we attacked Odessa and captured the city and the fort after heavy fighting. The artillery and infantry is now approaching the Krim and starting the siege of Sevastopol. The tanks, the Karl mortar and the quick motorized units are pressing east in direction Mariupol. Also here the Soviet counter attack came with the snow but they could not stop us. No T34 seen in this area yet. We hope to reach our primary target Rostov in the next weeks. Forces will be send south to Grosny to support operation Jupiter.
The Romanian fleet was lost in the black sea but also the Soviets have lost many ships mainly to our strategic bombers.
Our air superiority is worthless because of the snow in the last weeks.

We delivered the package to Grosny area (operation Jupiter). The bombers could not bomb the area due to snow but stay in the area hoping for better weather. But Oberst Steiner has landed and we expect his attack on the airport of Grosny every hour.

The plan for the next six month is to hold the lines in the north Caucasus against the counter attacks of the Red Army that may come from the area of Kharkov or from Stalingrad and to approach further south to capture the whole Caucasus region. If Steiner can capture the air field near Grosny we will fly in infantry and light artillery immediately. In that case after the area of Grosny is save we plan to make a similar second landing operation of Fallschirmjägers in the Baku area in 42.

Global summary
The OKW is confident that our overall strategy is working and we will capture the whole Caucasus region until summer 42. Depending on the situation in summer 42 we will make the plan for the time until summer 43. The German industry is working under high pressure to support our soldiers with better tanks.
Blue: Defending / Red: Attacking / Yellow: Air force moves
A: Steiner’s attack to Grosny airport.
B: Second bomber fleet to support Steiner’s attack.
C: Heeresgruppe Süd pressing to the east.
D: This airport has to be defended or half the air fleet of the east front (operation Jupiter) will crash down out of fuel.
E: Red Army trying to recapture Kiev.

We are now in war with America together with our ally Japan.
But Japan did not attack the Soviet Union in the far east. Again Ribbentrop failed.

Steiner’s fight – Caucasus, Grosny area – spring 1942

In the dawn of a long day Oberst Steiner is shooting his Panzerschreck with a furious blast on the last Soviet tank. A perfect hit at the turret and the tank explodes with a bright fireball enlighten the whole Grosny airport area that is scattered with countless Soviet tank wrecks. Victory! The Fallschirmjägers have finally captured the airport and start immediately to clear the runway to support the Luftwaffe. From the south deep thunder is rolling over the plain. Since hours the carpet bombing of Grosny and the surrounding mountains is going on. The Soviet flak in Grosny is answering in continuous fire but the intensity is slowly decreasing.

Steiner is exhausted. The last week was the hardest time he ever had in his military career. When they jumped down near the airport in light snowfall, immediately the roaring of Red Army tanks was approaching. The airport was heavily defended. In all the briefings they had spoken about some weak infantry divisions, maybe some light tanks or a flak battery. But after the landing approaching were the dreaded T34 tanks.

Steiner’s men did not even get a chance to reach the airport. They were attacked from three sides by enemy battle-, light- and scout-tanks and even infantry was on the way to finish them. The Falschirmjägers were tough guys and had the weapons and expertise to fight tanks but they were simply swept away. They had to retreat, fighting back (and running for their lives) to the frozen Kuma river. They crossed the river and were able to hide in the mountains. They had lost a lot of men but more of them were only scattered in the area and so they could reinforce. But this took days. Supplies were delivered via the air. And the weather became better, like it was forecasted. Even the icy river was broken up by the sun (and the German bombs).

The next days, Steiner’s men could see from their hidings like the Deutsche Luftwaffe bombed from the first light in the morning until dawn the whole area around Grosny. In the plain terrain the Red Army tanks were easy targets and nearly no Soviet fighter plane showed up to intercept. Finally the Fallschirmjägers crossed the river, destroyed the last weakened tanks and infantry and conquered the airport. Now they are preparing for the final assault on Grosny and the target they were coming for: the Grosny oil field.

Kiev – September 22 1942 – Kiewer Festung, temporary headquarter of Heeresgruppe Mitte and the whole eastern front

Generalfeldmarschall Werner is sitting at his desk reading the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) reports that summarize the actions of the last six month.

Heeresgruppe West and the Kriegsmarine
The British have started a bombing campaign against French and even German cities. In Nurnberg the Reichsparteitagsgelände was bombed and destroyed (saving us a lot of money to demolish this place of shame on our own). But it is completely inacceptable that British bombers can reach German cities. One fighter fleet was ordered from the east front back to Germany. A second one will be put in operation soon. With the already existing fighters we now have 5 fleets of FW 190a and many flak batteries in France to hunt down the British bombers and fighters.

Our victorious submarines were coming back from the Atlantic for resupplies. All their Aale (torpedos) were gone sinking many of Churchill’s ships.

Several thousand Canadian troops surprisingly tried to land near Dieppe (Operation Jubilee) equipped with Churchill tanks but were immediately encircled at the beaches by our troops and wiped out. Nevertheless General von Rundstedt takes this as a sign that on the other side of the channel they really think about invading France.

To answer the thread of an invasion in France the OKW have sent two fleets with battleships, cruisers and destroyers to the western and eastern entrance of the channel. Let the invasion come. We will stop them in the English Channel and at the beaches of France.

Our whole U-Boot-Waffe is back on the way to the north Atlantic to sink more British ships.

For the next six month we stay alerted in the west but plan no offensive.

Germany, Das Reich
We have suffered sporadic bombing of German cities. This has to be stopped by all means! Our troops have conquered great parts of Europe, Scandinavia, are on the way to push the communists behind the Ural and Montgommery in the Suez Channel. And we can’t protect German cities from allied bombing? Inacceptable!

For the next six month: Air defence!

Italy
The Italians have provided a new expedition army. The OKW has decided not to send these troops to the east but to send them to the south to reinforce the Afrika Korps in its new campaign in Egypt. Infantry and Pak (anti-tank) was transported with planes to North Afrika.

For the next six month it is planned to support further the Afrika Korps with the Italien fleet and Italian troops in Egypt.

Balkan
Partisans from time to time. But we get rid of them.

Nothing special planned for the next six month.

Afrika Korps
General Rommel was able to stop the British tanks and in parallel to conquer Tobruk. Outstanding performance. It was a short-term decision of the OKW to order the Afrika Korps and the Italian Fleet to attack the British in Egypt.

The Korps has a lack of Panzers. They were all destroyed in the former battles.

Rommel is urgently asking at the OKW for replacement of modern tanks IIIJ or IVG but currently all equipment is reserved for the eastern front. To overwhelm the British entrenchments at Egypt the infantry, artillery and bombers will be more useful.
A Gebirgsjäger division from Greece was ordered to reinforce the Afrika Korps.

For the next six month it is planned to invade Egypt and reach the Suez Channel.

Heeresgruppe Nord and Finnish Allies
The OKW has decided to open a second main campaign in the east. The target is to capture the city of Leningrad and to destroy all Soviet forces in the area. Leningrad is heavily protected with deep entrenched troops. So a lot of artillery and a huge bomber fleet is transported to the north. OKW expects the siege to take several months before our infantry and tanks can enter the city.
The Finnish slowly move east in difficult terrain.

The plan for the next six month is to capture and hold Leningrad.

Heeresgruppe Mitte
As our target in the east is currently not to attack Moscow, a lot of equipment was transferred to Heeresgruppe Nord for the Leningrad siege and Heeresgruppe Süd for the Caucasus campaign. Only a reduced force is guarding strategic points like cities, main roads and fords. Also all planes were temporarily withdrawn from Heeresgruppe Mitte.

The plan for the next six month is to hold the lines in the center of the east front.

Heeresgruppe Süd, Romanian&Hungarian Allies
End of the winter 41/42 the main core arrived at Rostov, crossed the river and moved south east in the direction of Grosny. This terrain is perfect for our Blitzkrieg and the troops leaded by our most modern Panzer and Panzerjäger forces commanded by Generaloberst Hoth rolled with high speed in direction of Grosny.

But after intensive discussions with General List the OKW decided to let the Panzers swing to the north east towards the Volga river. Secret service reports told about very strong tank forces in this area. With the begin of the winter 42/43 we expect a strong counter attack from the Stalingrad region to the south trying to cut of Heersgruppe Süd in the Caucasus from the rest of our army. General List suggested to destroy at least all enemy forces south east of Stalingrad in the summer to weaken this counter attack.

The infantry and artillery moved to Grosny to capture the city and the oil field together with Oberst Steiner’s Falschirmjäger that are already operating in the area for some time. Continuous support by the bomber fleet is given.

Oberst Steiner was able to capture and hold the Grosny airport. This was essential for our ongoing air attacks in the Grosny area.
The plan for the next six month is to hold the lines in the north Caucasus against the counter attacks of the Red Army that may come from the area of Kharkov or from Stalingrad and to attack the Baku area with Falschirmjäger / bombers by the air and infantry /artillery on the ground. The scouts report about a nearly undefended road from Grosny to Baku. After that we will secure the whole Caucasus region.

Global summary
The OKW is confident that our overall strategy is working well. New Panzer models are more powerful than the T34. With the improved Panzer our troops gain back the necessary attacking power. Under good weather conditions we have the clear air superiority in the east.

Primary goal is to capture and hold Leningrad and the Caucasus area. Also tank and infantry forces should be prepared to reach Stalingrad in a few days.

The long-term strategy in the east is operation Niederschlag (knock out). From Leningrad and Stalingrad it seems possible to blitz with strong forces in the area east of Moscow, encircling the heavily guarded main capital and attack it mainly from the east. In that case Stalin will surely surrender. This ambitious plan could be realized until end of 43 and will be the keystone to win the war. After that the troops can be sent to France and will make any offensive action from the British side in Europe impossible.

From the Caucasus an expedition is planned to move south to secure the oil fields of Bagdad for the Reich.

A thinkable British invasion in France in 43 has to be stopped by our fleet and our troops at the coast. Our submarines intercept the British merchant roads in the Atlantic.

I have been distracted by OOBP, so haven’t had time to update my own post or read yours until now. Maybe I will update it this weekend, but I give you some hint of my progress – SLOW! Haha, I seem to be wildly optimistic with my original objectives and deadlines.

As for your progress, I’m quite surprised that you managed to capture Grozny airport and city with only the 2 Fallshminjager and air support. I wouldn’t have thought it is possible. Congratulations on that. A very high risk strategy, but you made it work! A shame you couldn’t close the Kiev pocket in time for the Soviet counterattack though. It must have hurt a lot being trapped in between the pocket and advancing Soviet troops.

You seem to be doing really well though. Better than I expected when I read your plan! Please keep up with your interesting updates. And I will try to do the same.

And one tip from me - beware the Winter!

Hello,
Steiner had a lucky day. I would not try it again. Not with only two Fallschirmjäger (but the game/mod does not allow me to buy more or upgrade infantry). If I could I would use 4 or 5 of them. (The city of Grosny could not be captured with the two Fallschirmjägers because there is a river between. They have to wait for the artillery.)

Not closing the Kiev pocket in time was the first big fault and I had to pay for that loosing the tanks that tried to close the pocket.

About second big fault I will report in the next chapter (begin of winter 42/43).

The map above is around round 28 and the next map is coming for round 42. I have played currently until round 51. It does not look good in mid of 43. The winter of 42/43 seems not to end It looks still good in the north but the south... the south! And in the west the western allies also show up now.

Hi, I am reading this AAR with great interest.

Steiner had a lucky day. I would not try it again. Not with only two Fallschirmjäger (but the game/mod does not allow me to buy more or upgrade infantry). If I could I would use 4 or 5 of them.

The reason for I denied the purchase of further paratrooper units is exactly what you are writing here. Originally this possible problem was spotted by Uhu, it would be way too easy to capture distant airfields or even victory objectives in the huge map due to the AI's limited situational awareness. Also, historically the Germans never had more than 500 Ju-52s at the same time and only fielded a limited number of real paratrooper units during the war. And after the near-defeat at Crete further large scale paratrooper operations were avoided for a good reason. After all the Allies also misjugded possible enemy resistance in Market Garden which led to a humiliating defeat.

I still think that your original strategy to capture the Caucasus only, while being on the defensive in the centre might work well, but only if you prepare the defense of your flanks with well placed up to date AT guns and dug in infantry units in close terrain. You might also need to keep some "fire birgades": effective mobile units at hand, ready to be sent wherever the Soviets might try to break through. However, the planned pincer move to encircle pretty much all of central Russia is a bit too ambitious in my view. After all it is not the Low Countries and the year is not 1940.

Alexandru Vasileskus’ last call – Rostov, the gate to the Caucasus – 27. February 1943

Alexandru Vasilesku, communication officer of the Romanian army is sitting in the high tower of a beautiful orthodox church in the northern part of Rostov. He is investigating the northern plains and using his HF radio he currently reports to a German Major somewhere in the south that is trying to reach Rostov as quick as possible with his Panzer IVF/2 battalion.

The Russians are coming! They smashed away the whole German defence in the north at the Donets River. Izyum, Stalino, Voroshilovgrad, Kharkov, Belgorod. All these cities were hold by Romanian and Hungarian troops after the main core of the Germans moved to the Caucasus. And to all of this cities Alexandru has lost the communication links in the last days.

And now Rostov. Since the morning the bombs were falling on the city and now the Soviet tanks are coming from the north. Many of them. Alexandru can already see the smoke from the tank engines and the first tank grenades hit the defenders of Rostov. The German planes showing up were all moving to the west where, as the radio has told Alexandru, a huge tank and air battle south of Kursk was ongoing. Several times Alexandru has heard in his Radio that German "Tigers" are fighting near Kursk but he does not know what these "Tigers" are.

Suddenly the German Major calls again telling: “Liegen unter schwerem Feuer nördlich von Mariupol fest. Feindliche Panzer und Tiefflieger. Wir werden Rostov nicht mehr erreichen. Viel Glück!“

Alexandru understands. The German tanks are not coming and the Romanians will fight the Soviets on their own. In that moment a tank grenade - was it by chance or was it a perfect shot of a Soviet gunner - hits the tower of the church that is collapsing immediately. For Alexandru the war is over.


Mario DiPioli’s landing – Tunis, airfield - 27. February 1943

Mario DiPioli is landing his Junkers safely on the airfield of Tunis. In the early sunny morning they started near Rome to transport Italian infantry to Tunis. A dangerous flight. British and American fighters rules the skies over Malta and Sicily. But they made it. Other Italian troops were arriving at the beach of Tripolis and west in Annaba via landing ships.

They will build up a bridge head in Tunesia to stop the American invasion that has landed near Cassablanca and Rabat some days ago. The Americans rush forward to the east and if DiPioli and his comrades will not stop them here in Tunesia the German/Italian Africa Corps fighting the British in Egypt will be in serious danger.

As DiPioli’s plane is unloaded the sirens of Tunis are starting. The Italian pilot puts on his sun glasses and looks at the northern horizon. Enemy planes approaching.

Kiev – March 01 1943 – Kiewer Festung, temporary headquarter of Heeresgruppe Mitte and the whole eastern front

Generalfeldmarschall Werner is standing at the window and throwing away his cigarette. He is smoking too much, that’s clear. But the situation is critical, even more than critical. Many exited voices can be heard in the room shouting news and messages. Werner is turning around and looking at the big map at the wall showing the order of battle of the whole eastern front. The Red Army stroke back and the strike was so hard that the whole southern half of the eastern front is shaking. If the front will break then the successful Blitzkrieg in the east will be over. Heeresgruppe Mitte would be defeated and Kiev would be lost soon. Heeresgruppe Süd would be cut off in the Caucasus and Heeresgruppe Nord would be forced to retreat to the west. Generalfeldmarschall Werner is shouting: “Hauptmann Rottmann. Here are my orders. Dnipropetrovsk is the key point in the center. Send in the Tigers and our StuGs together with Grenadier divisions. Close this hole immediately. Rostov is the second key point in the south. Hoth’s Panzer have to capture it back by all means.” After these orders were given, Werner is calming down and reading the OKW reports.

Heeresgruppe West and the Kriegsmarine
It is more or less quiet in the west. The fighters and flak batteries in France have shot down many British bombers and fighters. And since some weeks there was no serious attempt of the British to bomb French or German cities.
Our submarines are again doing good work sinking many of Churchill’s ships. But they report about more and more British destroyers in the North Atlantic. Currently 8 Flottilles are in fight and one additional Flottille is on the way to the area of operation.

For the next six month we stay alerted in the west but plan no offensive. To be able to stop the Soviet counter attack near Kursk and Rostov we will mobilize all our reserves (mainly Grenadiers and modern AT-Sturmgeschütze) in France and send them to the east.

Germany, Das Reich
Everything quiet.

For the next six month: To be able to stop the Soviet counter attack near Kursk and Rostov we will mobilize all our reserves (mainly Grenadiers and modern AT-Sturmgeschütze) in Germany and send them to the east.

Italy
The Italians have provided a new expedition army and have sent it to Tunis. The Tunis bridge head has to stop the Anglo-American invasion troops that landed surprisingly near Cassablanca.

For the next six month it is planned to send more troops to Italy to be able to defend the country against a possible allied invasion.

Balkan
Partisans from time to time. But we get rid of them.

Nothing special planned for the next six month.

Afrika Korps
General Rommel has decided to prepare the evacuation of the Afrika Korps to Italy. Near Alexandria the Korps is under heaviest pressure from fresh British troops with tanks and artillery that landed near the Suez Channel.
If the Italian Tunis bridgehead can’t stop the Anglo-Americans the Afrika Korps can’t fight further in North Africa. Thus naval and air transport is prepared covered by the Italian fleet and the Italian air force.

For the next six month it is planned to give up the campaign in North Africa. OKW decided to send General Rommel to France to organize the Atlantikwall against a possible allied invasion.

Heeresgruppe Nord and Finnish Allies
Victory! Leningrad was taken by German troops. After several month the siege of Leningrad was successful.

The Finnish slowly move east in difficult terrain.

The plan for the next six month is to prepare the operation “knock down” in the north. As the situation in the south is critical and it is unclear whether Stalingrad can be captured in time the OKW thinks about an alternative plan to make a direct attack from Leningrad to Moscow. The troops are now resting, reorganized, reinforced and upgraded to be prepared for both alternatives. The attack should start latest in the summer

Heeresgruppe Mitte
The Heeresgruppe Mitte came under heavy attack and had to retreat on a long segment of the front between Kursk and Rostov. The defensive line at the Donets River failed. The Soviets attacked with more than 10 tank divisions, Stalinorgel artillery, infantry and even strong fighter and bomber forces. We have also lost air superiority at the eastern front. Rostov is overrun by the Red Army and that means that the Heeresgruppe Süd is cut off in the Caucasus. Heeresgruppe Mitte started a counter attack from Kremenchuk in the direction of Dnipropetrovsk with the new Tiger Panzer, Panzer IVF, Panzer IVG and StuG IIG anti tank. Infantry troops from Germany and France are ordered to the east to close the front line again.

The OKW will investigate how it was possible for the Red Army to break through our defensive line so quickly though the OKW expected this attack exactly from the area where is was coming from. Commanders that have neglected their duties will be called to account. As an immediate action the OKW orders to replace or at least to accompany all Romanian, Hungarian, Slovakian infantry at the front line with German infantry.

The plan for the next six month is to reinforce with fresh troops coming from Germany and France, mainly Grenadiere, Panzerjäger and Flak. The lost area has to be recaptured and a stable defense for the next winter has to be organized in time.

Heeresgruppe Süd, Romanian&Hungarian Allies
The Heeresgruppe Süd has captured huge parts of the Caucasus and destroyed several Soviet armies south east of Stalingrad. This opened the possibility to attack Stalingrad from the south. The breakthrough of the Red Army at Rostov has cut off the Heeresgruppe Süd. Rostov has to be recaptured immediately. Generaloberst Hoth’s Panzers are moving back to clean the area of Rostov and to establish again the connection with the Heeresgruppe Mitte. This will delay our attack on Stalingrad. Meanwhile the attack on Baku is going on and we are confident to capture the city and the oil field very soon.
The plan for the next six month is to defeat the Soviet counter attack and to recapture Rostov. After the capturing of Baku the Caucasus will be finally in German hand. The infantry, artillery and tanks will then be ordered to the plain south of Stalingrad to prepare for the storm on Stalingrad. The Karl mortar will be used, too. The OKW das decided to stop all preparations to attack the oil fields of Bagdad. The Afrika Korps can’t hinder the British anymore to send more troops to Iraq. Stalingrad has to be captured before the next winter offensive of the Red army is starting.

Global summary
The OKW is confident that our overall strategy is working. The important victories in Leningrad and on the Caucasus give strong hope that this war in the east can be ended in 1944. The extremely strong Soviet counter attack in this winter is rated by the majority of the German Generals as the last desperate attempt of Stalin to stop the German war of conquest in the east with all of his remaining troops. After these troops are defeated the initiative will go back to the German army.

The long-term strategy in the east is operation Niederschlag (knock out). From Leningrad and Stalingrad it seems possible to blitz with strong forces in the area east of Moscow, encircling the heavily guarded main capital and attack it mainly from the east.

A British invasion in France in 43 is not expected anymore.

Our submarines intercept the British merchant roads in the Atlantic but the losses are increasing.

We expect to be forced to retreat in North Africa and will evacuate the troops back to Italy. The OKW fears an invasion on Sicily or even the mainland of Italy if the bridgehead of Tunis is not stable. The Italian fleet and air force will be ordered to fend off these invasions. In case of an allied invasion of the mainland of Italy troops have to be transported from the east front to Italy to secure the southern flank.

I really love the in-character stuff! It makes it a much more interesting read. Thankyou for putting such effort into this area. It is very enjoyable!

It seems that the Russians really hit you back hard! The minor Axis nation troops are ok against infantry, but i find they really struggle against armour.

Your capture of Leningrad was much faster than mine! Which is surprising as it was one of my key objectives. How did you approach defeating the defences? What units did you mainly use?

Good luck protecting Tunis. If you lose it, it will be very difficult for you i feel. But if you can hold it, then you can focus on just the Eastern front.

It is interesting comparing your progress. I can see that your front line during the Russian winter offensive was much longer than mine, as you had pushed so far South East. As mine was much shorter, i see to have found it less difficult to deal with their offensive, as i could concentrate my troops more. Instead, it is with Operation Sea Lion that i am suffering!

Your post has inspired me to update my progress. I will do so tonight.

Hello,
yes I look forward to read more from your progress. Leningrad was easier than I expected. I will look for the setup later. The whole north is (until now) somehow quiet while in the southern half of the eastern front the fighting is fiercy.

@McGuba: Thank you for this mod. I am vey well entertained. The Donets river defend was simply too weak. The infantry (Romanian, Hungary, ...) was kicked out of the cities by enemy armour too quickly and the fire brigade in the second row was also overwhelmed when the Red Army tanks broke through in big numbers at several parts of the front line. Now in summer 43 everything is repaired again but the lost time and the lost units will of course count double negatively in the next winter.

Ike McCollin’s big jump – Tyrhennian Sea – 26. August 1943

A perfect day! The sun is shining over the dark blue Tyrhennian Sea. Ike is descending to land his P40-Warhawk fighter plane on the British carrier Eagle. He and his whole fighter squad is nearly out of fuel after they made several attacks on German troops south of Rome. Now it is time to come home and refuel.

Suddenly Ike’s radio is shouting: “Bandits! Bandits! They come from the north!”

Ike is looking north and really … enemy planes are surprisingly coming out of a cloud formation and approach quickly to the carrier. Ike is cursing: “Damn Axis planes. Why are they coming exactly in this moment?” Ike is pressing full throttle and the engine of his plane is roaring up. He is in a very bad position low over the sea and has to climb up immediately if he does not want to be an easy target. Some more fighters try to restart again from the carrier. The rest of Ike’s squad that is still in the air is moving towards the intruders.

Suddenly the dog fight has started. Friendly and enemy planes everywhere, MG fire and bullets everywhere, explosions everywhere. The attackers are Italian Centauro and Bf 109K fighter planes and they outnumber the Americans by factor two. Ike is still much too low and an enemy plane is immediately at his tale. Ike tries to roll then suddenly his right wing is blasted away in a MG salvo and the whole plane is rotating uncontrollable. Last chance to get out of here now!

Ike is using his ejection seat. The whole world is chaotically turning around and then the parachute opens. Ike is hanging 500 meters over the blue and warm sea and from now on he has a lot of time to look around and to think about. Far in the east he can see the Italian main land. Somewhere there hidden in the dust must be the capital Rome. Near the beaches he sees the Anglo-American fleet bombarding the Axis troops south of Rome.

Looking around, Ike sees that the Italian fighters are victorious. The whole American squad was shot down. Two planes try to flee to the east but they will never reach the coast with nearly empty tanks. The loud high noise of the fighter engines is slowly overruled by the deep growling of new planes approaching: Axis bombers.

The carrier Eagle that was already damaged in the sea battle against the Italian fleet some weeks ago tries to change the course but it is senseless. The Italian bombs blast the ship and the proud Eagle starts to sink. 3000 men are going in the boats now.

Ike is again cursing. Damn invasion in South Italy! Sicily was captured easily but then the Italian fleet and air force attacked and blasted away the Ark Royal, one of the two British carriers supporting the invasion. And now the Eagle is gone, too. In the south of Italy there are already some airports in allied hands but without the carriers it will not become easier to kick out the Krauts from Italy. They are sitting in their Gustav Line and block all ways north. German infantry and artillery in the mountains. Yesterday a whole Sherman tank battalion that tried to break through to Rome was wiped out. And rumors talk about more tanks and air defense coming from northern Italy. Damn!

Ike is looking down on the burning sea and the dying carrier: “Seems to be a perfect day to take a bath…”

I can see that the Allies captured Tunis and launched their invasion of Italy. I'm looking forward to reading about it!

You are much further into the game than me. I am yet in early winter of '42. I will have to play some more!

Germany, near the Alps – September 25 1943 – Secret place, OKW conference with all leading heads from the eastern, western and southern fronts.

Reichsfeldmarschall Werner is standing at the window and looks at the silhouette of Germany’s largest mountain, the Zugspitze. He is drinking coffee. A lot of coffee because some weeks ago he gave up smoking. The last days the leading Generals and experts of the German Wehrmacht, the German industry and the German government have discussed the current situation and how to bring this war to a successful end. The discussions gave a clear picture. It is not a matter of winning any more. It is a matter of not loosing!

This is the new strategy:

I) The Blitzkrieg in the east has failed. There is no chance any more to defeat Stalin in a quick attack. The Red Army has proven to be much stronger than expected. Due to this fact Generalfeldmarschall Werner will hand over the command of the whole eastern front to Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein and will command the battles on all fronts from Berlin. He will from now on hold the title Reichsfeldmarschall. Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein will change the military targets of Heeresgruppe Nord, Mitte and Süd immediately.

II) The new southern front in Italy against the Anglo-Americans requires to move the focus from the east to the center of Europe. Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring will command our troops in Italy.

III) The British are preparing an invasion on the French coast. In the unbelievable case of success this third front would change the balance of power in Europe completely. The invasion has to be repelled at all means. The Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe have to be prepared to carry out a crucial strike against the British fleet. Generalfeldmarschall Rommel has the command in the west.

IV) The big economic advantages of the allied countries against the Axis countries will be more and more decisive for the war. Germany can’t fight longer than the end of 1945 against the Soviets and the Anglo-Americans. It is the duty of Reichsfeldmarschall Werner to end at least one of this conflicts in time or the German Reich will be defeated.

Werner is thinking about one question. Where and when happened the initial error that has led to this situation? The Wehrmacht is winning battle after battle in the east but can’t defeat the Russian bear. Was it the failure at the Kiev pocket or the decision not to rush for Moscow? Should they have strengthen the Afrika Korps and focus on destroying the British forces in the Mediterranean area? Or even try to make operation Seelöwe against England? Werner does not have an answer yet. He is sitting down with a coffee, reading the OKW reports.

Heeresgruppe West and the Kriegsmarine
The British and the Americans start more and more successful bomber raids on the coastal areas of France. Clearly the preparation of the invasion. The Luftwaffe is fighting back but the machines and pilots reach their limits.
Our U-Boot-Krieg against Churchill and Roosevelt in the Atlantic is lost. Only one of the Flottillen came back to the French harbors. The other 8 Flottillen were sunk by overwhelming Anglo-American destroyer forces. New Flottillen are built up. We keep them secret.

For the next six month Generalfeldmarschall Rommel plans to finish the Atlantikwall. The German fleets including the submarines are hiding on the Atlantic and in the Skagerrak. The carrier Graf Zeppelin is operational and will be the backbone against the Anglo-American invasion forces. The strategic bombers in France are sent south to Italy for operation Neptun. They have to come back before the winter starts.

Germany, Das Reich
Cities in western Germany are bombed more and more often. The flak does not show the potency against these attacks that we expected.

For the next six month: It can be foreseen that the Anglo-Americans will try to destroy the successful German fighter squads in France in preparation of the invasion. The German Luftwaffe in France will be transferred to western German cities. This will avoid to get in heavy fighting near the English Channel and will increase the chances to repel bomber attacks.

Italy
The Anglo-Americans have captured Tunis, Sicily and landed in the southern part of Italy. Italy has left the Axis and thus the German Wehrmacht has conquered the country. Currently the Anglo-Americans are fended off south of Rome at the Gustav line.

For the next six month Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring plans to strengthen the Gustav line with artillery, Panther Panzern and air defense. Operation Neptun will be a heavy blow of our strategic bomber fleet against the complete Anglo-American fleet in the Tyrhennian Sea that is continuously bombarding the Gustav line. The bomber fleet is ordered from France to Italy to strike before the bad weather is coming. It is a big advantage that the two British carriers in the Tyrhennian Sea were already destroyed in the last weeks.

Balkan
More and more Partisans. But we get rid of them.

Nothing special planned for the next six month.

Afrika Korps
Resolved.

Heeresgruppe Nord and Finnish Allies
Due to Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein’s new strategy for the eastern front the Heeresgruppe Nord is attacking in the direction of Moscow to lure out the Red Army troops. We get more and more reports about Soviet tank forces that are on the way to the northern battlefield.

The Finnish slowly move east in difficult terrain. (It has to be specifically mentioned that the Finnish now since two years are on their way from Vipuri to Archangelsk. Extraordinary endurance!)

The plan for the next six month is to destroy as many Red Army forces northwest of Moscow as possible. In case of success the city of Moscow will be attacked in summer 44. Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein will be prioritized for the next deliveries of schwere Kampfpanzer (Tiger, Panther), Panzerjäger (Nashorn, Elefant) and Grenadier divisions.

Heeresgruppe Mitte
The Heeresgruppe Mitte has recaptured all the territory that was lost in winter 42/43. The new strategy in the east is not to capture wide territories but to destroy as many Soviet forces as possible. If the casualties on the Red Army side become higher and higher, Stalin will accept a peace agreement. Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein has prepared a huge trap (operation “Schlag aus der Nachhand”) in the area west and south of Kharkov. All troops were withdrawn out of this area but leaving back heavily entrenched infantry and hidden AT guns in forests and cities. We will allow the Red Army to enter this area and then we will crush them from both sides with Tiger and Panther Panzern, Sturmgeschützen and Marder AT units.
The plan for the next six month is to crush the Soviet winter offensive in the Kharkov trap. If that is successful Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein will check in spring 44 whether the Russian front is weak enough to break through to Kursk.
Breaking news: It seems that the Soviet counter attack already is starting end of September 43! We have reports about first Red Army units entering the trapped area.

Heeresgruppe Süd, Romanian&Hungarian Allies
Victory! The whole Caucasus is in our hands. Generaloberst Hoth’s Panzers were moving back to clean the area of Rostov and to establish again the connection with the Heeresgruppe Mitte.

Even after Hoth has destroyed so many Red Army units south east of Stalingrad there was in parallel to the heavy Soviet counter attack near Rostov a second astonishing strong counter attack from the Stalingrad area to the south to recapture Grosny.
Finally we attacked Stalingrad from the south.
The plan for the next six month is to capture Stalingrad and set up to stable defense. Free troops especially Panzertruppen will be transferred to other fronts via train transport. Priority has the Heeresgruppe Nord attacking Moscow.

Global summary
The OKW has a new strategy. In the east we want to hold Leningrad, Stalingrad, the Caucasus and Moscow. These areas will be defended to destroy approaching Red Army forces. The long-term strategy operation Niederschlag (knock out) is canceled.

German troops have to defend Italy against the Anglo-Americans.

A British invasion in France is expected for 44. To fight this invasion, troops from the east have to be transported to France. Thus the capability for great further offensives in the east will be lost. We want to spare our Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine to be ready for day X.

North Africa is out of reach.

The U-Boot-Krieg in the Atlantic is stopped.

Oh wow, it sounds like you are really suffering.

Its a shame that you couldn't protect Tunis from being taken. If you had held off the Allies there, it would have saved you Italy. I am into Jan of '43 now, so have just started dealing with Operation Torch, but i am giving it high priority as i dont want to see the Allies landing in Italy.

I just noticed that you overstrengthed some of your units. Generally speaking, i dont think its such a good idea to overstrength your troops in this mod as i feel that prestige is better used for elite replacements or purchasing new units.

I feel that 1944 will be a very hard year for you. Good luck!