-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
I second that. I find maps and plans always more interesting than tables (although they are a nice thing to have as well. They just shouldn't be your priority, IMHO).
I'll see what I can do. I think a mix should be ok but we'll see.
Here's a first attempt. I guess I'm going to need a few updates to find the right way.
Ansatz 'Barbarossa'
June 22nd-June 30th
June 22nd-June 30th
When Barbarossa commences...
ErsatzHeer Hauptquartier, Berlin - 1941, June the 22nd - 0930
Meeting between Generaloberst Fromm, Befehlshaber der ErsatzsArmee and General von Oven, General Inspekteur der ErsatzsInfanterie.
[] Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt... []
- Well... It looks like we're not out of the woods, yet, mein lieber von Oven. England is still standing and now we're fully commited to the East.
Have you issued the orders ?
- My adjudant already had his instructions. As soon as the codeword came last night, marching orders have been issued to all divisions and corps belonging to the OKH reserve. 6 IDs, incl. the 60. ID (mot.), and 2 PzDs are on the way tothe eastern front.
- 6 ? I thought they were 7 of them...?
- 707. Festungs-Division is not marching east. Instead, it's going to Naples, Italy. Apparently, Reichsmarschall Göring succeded in persuading the Führer to launch an airborne operation against Malta and the 707. will be used as garrisonforce over there. Student's XI. Fliegerkorps has been ordered to redeploy in southern Italy too but that's all I know, Herr Generaloberst.
- It's not my concern anymore, mein lieber von Oven. Let's focus on our job and leave the strategy to the OKW. At least, we're going to have more men to our disposal as we planned.
- I'm afraid we're going to need them..."
Hauptquartier der Heeresgruppe 'Nord', Koenigsberg - 1941, June the 26th - 0600
Meeting between Generalfeldmarschall von Leeb, CO HGr. 'Nord', and Generalleutnant Brennecke, his Chief of Staff.
- Herr Feldmarschall... Sorry to wake you up but this is important.
- Mhmmmmmgrrrrblll... It better has !!!
- We just received the last report of the Luftwaffe ; the aerial reconnaissance you ordered along the Dvina.
Look !
Ivan is approaching
- F... me !!! What's that ?
- According to the Luftwaffe, apparently 20 soviet divisions crossed, or are about to cross, the Dvina. And they come towards us...
The FHO warned that a big redeployment of soviet forces in the north was occuring ; I guess, we see here the vanguards, Herr Feldmarschall.
- Yeah... And the FHO also told us that we shouldn't be worried before at least 2 to 3 weeks.
- In this case, Herr Feldmarschall, they barked at the wrong tree.
And what should we do now ? If all 100 divisions are coming straight to us, we won't be able to hold.
- Don't lose your temper, Brennecke. As far as I know, Von Bock and von Rundstedt have achieved some success in the south. Our buddy Ivan will be forced to react and to send a non-negligible part of his forces against them.
However, this new situation requires new actions : give a "Go" to von Manstein's proposal. His corps and the biggest part of Reinhardt's XXXXI. AK (mot.) are authorized to cross the Niemen at Sopockinie so as to flank the soviet defendersof Daugai. Once there we will be able to resume our progression : the soviet reinforcements arrive in loose order. We're going to beat them one after the other.
- The traffic regulation units will have a lot to do : General Hoth's 3. Panzergruppe also use the roads in this sector...
- They're not on vacation, Brennecke, and neither do we.
But yes, you're right. Get me Generalfeldmarschall von Bock on the phone : I need to clear this with him in person."
OKH Hauptquartier, Poznan - 1941, June the 30th - 1930
Meeting between Feldmarschall von Brauchitsch, Chief of the OKH, and General Halder, Chief of the General Staff.
- "So, mein lieber Halder. I'll have to report to the OKW tomorrow. What's the sitution on the front.
Do you have the last updates ? Any notable changes ?
- According to what we saw in the last days, this campaign won't be the walk in the park that some of us expected. And it is being confirmed every day, Herr Feldmarschall.
- Too late to change mind. Go on with your SitRep !
- In Finland, the situation gives satisfaction for now and this, despite the huge disproportion of forces in favour of the Russians.
Unternehmen 'Polarfuchs' is almost completed : our troops seized Njamozero yesterday and it won't take long before we can definitly cut off the communication and supply lines to the Kola Peninsula ; Pz.-Abt. 211 is on its way to Kandalaksa.
'Silberfuchs'
- Well done, Dietl !!!
- He did well, I grant you that, Herr Feldmarschall. However, the Soviets counter-attacked at Tulomges with an armoured division. All Luftwaffen assets have been commited to support the 3. Gebirgs-Division but if it can hold is open to question... I have to point out that the support of our finish friends is quite doubtful. They have many divisions in the area but not even one is coming up to help.
- It was to be expected and I warned Feldmarschall Keitel about that. They fight their own war...
Gulf of Finland - Carelian Front
However, they still managed to eliminate all the soviet forces in Hanko, 9 to 12 divisions no less, to take Viipuri and their troops are marching through the soviet fortifications line of the Carelian Isthmus towards Leningrad. I guess the Russians underestimated them once again.
- If the finish threat to Leningrad is big enough, may be the Soviets will reconsider their current redeployment... I hope.
On the main front, we meet the most serious difficulties in the area north of the Pripet Marshes and many more are to come because of the amount of soviet troops that keep coming up from the north.
- Von Leeb is still stuck in front of the Niemen defense line ?
- For the moment yes. But the situation is getting slightly better : 18. Armee's I. AK is slowly fighting its way at Marijampole though it won't bring us very much until Alytus falls. For 7 days now, the 16. Armee is trying to break through... to no avail.
- What about the Luftwaffe ?
- The I. Fliegerkorps flew an average of 1200 sorties a day over Alytus ! They keep hammering the soviet defenses but these peasants are fighting with tooth and nail. The good news is that the 4. Panzergruppe is regrouping its forces at Daugai. As soon as it's being done, Hoepner will be able to make a flank attack on Alytus and the "bolt" will be blown away.
- Mhmmmm... And the 16. Armee will be able to resume its advance towards Wilno together with the 4. Panzergruppe.
- Exactly, Herr Feldmarschall. Plus, the XXXX. AK (mot.) will soon be there. Do you still want to assign it to the 4. Panzergruppe, Herr Feldmarschall ?
- For the moment, yes. We don't know what Hoepner will have to face further north and I don't want to take any chance.
Carry on !
- Feldmarschall von Bock is confronted to the same harsh resistance but he made some satisfactory progress : pushing south by east, his 9. Armee is about to cross the Niemen at Wolkowysk. On the other side, his 3. Panzergruppe is up against a brick wall at Lipinski and Lida. General Hoth will eventually succeed but when...?
- May be this delay isn't that bad after all. Look Halder : all soviet divisions seem willing to cross the Niemen, heading south-west as if they wanted to reinforce the Bialystok Salient.
- So you want General Hoth to hold his blows until the main body of soviet forces crossed the Niemen...?
- In order to better trapped them afterwards... Exactly !
- A dangerous bet, Herr Feldmarschall, assuming no more soviet divisions keep coming up... In any case, it seems that it's up to Guderian to do the main job now.
Situation Report - June 30th, 1941
- How are the things going for our "Schneller Heinz" ?
- It took him 3 days to defeat the soviet forces at Luboml. He left his XII. AK to the 4. Armee in order to widden the corridor on his left but since then, his Panzer are moving forward without much concerns. The vanguards of the 2. Panzergruppe are at Kolki, ca. 150km deep inside soviet territory and they keep moving on. The 18. PzD should be in Wlodzinierz by tomorrow and GD-Rgt at Kostopol the day after.
The newly formed 2. Armee is right behind it and it's progressing well too. It's taking care of an enemy division encircled in the Wlodzimierz-Wolynski pocket.
The 4. Armee has a hard time crossing the bug but the Soviets won't last very long now and von Kluge will be able to move towards the Prypiat River as planned.
- Good. What about Feldmarschall von Rundstedt and the Heeresgruppe 'Süd' ?
- The combined assault of both 6. Armee and 1. Panzergruppe in Tomaszow-Lubelski smashed the soviet defenses to smithereens. They tried some delaying actions after that but without much success. The 6. Armee is now having a hard time to follow the advance of the 1. Panzergruppe. Von Kleist's vanguards have reached Shepetivka, ca. 250 km deep inside soviet territory, and Lanowce (150 km). Right now, we can't see what could possibly stop von Kleist from taking Vinnytsya in the very next days.
- At last, something's happening according to the plan !
- That's not all, Heer Feldmarschall. The 17. Armee finally managed to take Zolkiev after days of ferocious fighting and it's now assaulting Lwow while some elements are by passing the city from the north : The right flank of our breakthrough can be considered secure.
Further south, the Hungarians succeded in moving forward too : they paid a hard price for that but Stanislawow has fallen and Skalat is now in sight.
- I see the 11. PzD is in striking distance of Tarnopol. Why not ordering Crüwell to move south ?
- It's too early, Herr Feldmarschall. The Hungarians didn't take Skalat already and if we attack at Tarnopol, the Soviets will bear down on them. No it's better to let them take Skalat and to let them have some time to rest and to entrench themselves. Meanwhile, the 1. Panzergruppe will be in Vinnytsya and it willl close the pocket from there.
- It sounds reasonnable. Any news from Antonescu ?
- You mean from General von Schobert, gell ?
- Mein lieber Halder, officialy, Mareșalul Antonescu is in charge... But yes, I grant you that.
So, what happens down there ?
- It could have been worse, Herr Feldmarschall. We were aware that the Romanians weren't ready but it seems the Soviets knew it too. From the second day of the invasion, they launched a counter-attack at Dorohoi against the left flank of the 3. Armata. Despite the advantage of being behind the Prut, the Romanians almost gave up. Only the quick arrival of the 50. ID saved the situation. General von Schobert also asked the 22. LLD to be commited over there to secure the position.
- Not a brilliant start. Carry on...
Romanian Front - June 30th, 1941
- The 4. Armata, on the right, didn't performed very well either. General Ciuperca was even close to call off the attack across the Prut but the OKW sent him the 72. ID from the Deutsche Heeresmission. Here too, the situation has been stabilized but it's still not very promising.
Thanks God, the sector of the 11. Armee looks better. After one week of hard fighting, von Schobert managed to cross the Prut at Orhei and he even started to have some bridgeheads across the Dniestr at Kotovsk. From Orhei, he's launching flank attacks left and right to widden the corridor as well as to help the crossing of the Prut for his other corps.
- Very good ! From Kotovsk, he will be able to strike towards Balta : all the soviet defenses will fall apart in this sector !!!
- Fully right, Herr Feldmarschall. The good news is that the XXXXII. AK we assigned him is almost there. Von Schobert will soon have 4 IDs more at the right place, at the right moment.
- Let me see our new Order of Battle : after all these modifications, I'm a little bit confused...
New OoB - June 30th, 1941
- Here it is, Herr Feldmarschall. Not a lot of changes actually. It's just that most of the reserves have been assigned to our Heeresgruppen.
- Mhmmm... Having half a dozen divisions more in the northern area wouldn't hurt, would it ?
- Surely not, Herr Feldmarschall, but we don't have them. I'll give a call to General Fromm to see what he can do.
- As we speak about Fromm, I'm pretty sure he must be eager to know the amount of casualties we sustained...
- I've got them, Herr Feldmarschall. Nothing comparable with our former campaigns. This time, it's going to be really tough...
Casualties - June 30th, 1941
- I see. The ratio is still very much in our favour... for now.
- The Luftwaffe did a fantastic job but it won't last forever. During the Western Campaign, they had to stop their operations from time to time.
- They'll have to wait until the pockets are sealed ! Right now, we need them to achieve the required breakthroughs.
- Don't be worried, Herr Feldmarschall. I personnaly spoke with Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring, the CO of Luftflotte 2 : his casualties are low, his boys highly motivated so he assured me he'll be able to keep the pace for at least two other weeks.
- Hopefully he's right : without the Luftwaffe, it won't work..."
Last edited:
Looking good, but you're facing some stiff resistance. Did you consider deploying some armor to the Romanian Front, to help take Odessa and create a pocket, or are you going with the historic plan as well as OoB? I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out, and if you do enough damage to the Red Army to assure victory, or if they survive until winter and you're left with no choice but to launch an offensive towards Stalingrad 
Whelp, wondering if the Finns get Leningrad before Soviets spawn some troops there via some events?
As for Finns in Lappland, they might not advance due to supply issues, no point going to a point of land where you cannot supply more than few small formations.
As for Finns in Lappland, they might not advance due to supply issues, no point going to a point of land where you cannot supply more than few small formations.
Finally caught up...a.simply incredible effort. Great idea for your AAR and glad you stayed with it. Your research efforts are very impressive!
A couple of questions about the Afrika Korps;
What is that 2nd brigade-symbol in the Leichte Div? and I'm new, so this might be a silly Q. but Since the 15th Pzr has no leader how will you use that unit? i.e; Will it only support the other two officer-led divs?
Anyway, again great work! Looking forward to see how your plans unfold.
<LOL>Polor-Bear all the way.
A couple of questions about the Afrika Korps;
What is that 2nd brigade-symbol in the Leichte Div? and I'm new, so this might be a silly Q. but Since the 15th Pzr has no leader how will you use that unit? i.e; Will it only support the other two officer-led divs?
Anyway, again great work! Looking forward to see how your plans unfold.
About Romania, I don't plan any changes for the moment. I grant you that the progress of both romanian armies are tedious, at best, but the 'Schwerpunkt' is the 11. Armee and everything goes as planned. There's a lack of armored units but with the arrival of the XXXXII. AK, I'll have enough mot./cav. units free to achieve my objectives... I hope.Looking good, but you're facing some stiff resistance. Did you consider deploying some armor to the Romanian Front, to help take Odessa and create a pocket, or are you going with the historic plan as well as OoB? I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out, and if you do enough damage to the Red Army to assure victory, or if they survive until winter and you're left with no choice but to launch an offensive towards Stalingrad
For the front as a whole, I originally planned to take Leningrad and Moscow before the end of the year ; then a "winter break" (to gather troops and supplies) and finally, in spring '42, the final offensive towards the Caucasus, the Volga, Gorky and Arkhangelsk.
In ICE, as soon as enemy units come within one (or two ?) province(s) of a (some) soviet city, workers militias appear. So, there's no way to take a city "by surprise"... unless, may be, through an airborne assault (never tried this... too gamey).
Mhmmm... Finns... though I do understand the logistical issues in the Arctic, I firmly believe they could have sent one or two divisions without much concerns. I assume, they had other priorities until now (Hanko !) and that they were more interested in gaining ground in Karelia. That can be helpful too.
Welcome on board !
I confess it requires "some" time to gather all informations.
Afrika-Korps :
1) You meant the "Afrika-Division", I assume... The second symbol is "Jäger" (or "light infantry"). Originally deployed as "light unit", the 361. Afrika-Regiment has been reinforced afterwards.
2) The 15. PzD is now led by Generalmajor Neumann-Silkow (see OoB, page 21, Part 2 - OB Süd).
During Unternehmen "Marita" he was leading the 8. PzD. At that time, the Afrika-Korps just landed in Afrika and since it had nothing to do so I didn't assign Generalmajor von Esebeck (the Commanding Officer of the 15. PzD until to May '41).
Last edited:
Thanks for the additional Afrika-Korps info. ICE looks pretty cool. Also, I'm glad the 15th has a head now.<L>
So true but <imo> that's the main ingredient to telling great stories. I still cannot believe this is your first AAR. I'm finding there are many good ones about the place and yours is right with them. Seems you're a natural!
Btw, After seeing the A.I. using Rommel and Guderian <sp?> for INF or GARs it's nice to see them used correctly. <L>
Edit =
Also; I agree with everyone else Maps and plans foremost. All info is good though depending on what folks want to know. Like myself; I was just thinking "wonder what is happening around the world? However it's not important unless something in Asia impacts you.
So true but <imo> that's the main ingredient to telling great stories. I still cannot believe this is your first AAR. I'm finding there are many good ones about the place and yours is right with them. Seems you're a natural!
Btw, After seeing the A.I. using Rommel and Guderian <sp?> for INF or GARs it's nice to see them used correctly. <L>
Edit =
Going there now.
Also; I agree with everyone else Maps and plans foremost. All info is good though depending on what folks want to know. Like myself; I was just thinking "wonder what is happening around the world? However it's not important unless something in Asia impacts you.
Last edited:
Interesting. You start further South with Panzergruppe 2 than I usually do. Then again, you do have more men to fill the gap between Guderian and Hoth.
Thanks for the compliment.
This art of play isn't everybody's cup of tea but that's how I like it. I must "feel" the situation, the context, instead of just moving counters and tasteless stats on a PC screen.
I keep an eye on the rest of the world obviously.
The Battle of Atlantic keeps raging but otherwise, nothing new. North Africa is quiet (DAK redeployed in Marsa-Matruh, just in case...) and I don't expect anything significant in Asia before December, 7th...
I knew you would notice that.
I should have placed the 2. PzGr. just south of Brest-Litovsk and then attacked N/N-E (as they did IRL=> Bialystock Pocket). However, it would have implied that most of the soviet forces south of Brest-Litovsk would have been simply pushed back eastwards.
My intend was (is !) to destroy them. ALL of them !!!
Therefore, I'm using the "domino effect" :
First, the combined assault 6. Armee/1. PzGr. to punch a hole into the soviet defenses (Tomaszow Lub.), forcing them to retreat north and south from the breakthrough point.
Second, the 2. PzGr. attacked north (Luboml.) to widden the gap and to keep the soviet units reatreating further north (Switaz) while it pushed its own PzDs eastwards.
Third, the 4. Armee carried on with this strategy by attacking soviet units (both defending and retreating) in Switaz. With the 2. PzGr. already south of their position and moving a lot faster eastwards than themselves, the soviet units have only one option left : retreat north, N-E.
In the same time, the 2. Armee is in the wake of the 2. PzGr. to take care of the isolated soviet divisions.
I grant you that this drive through the Pripyat Marshes is a big gamble but hey... they're 30-40 soviet divisions in the Bialystock Salient : it's worth taking some risks, isn't it ?
I'm 800.000 men and ca. 100 divisions shorter : I simply MUST return to balance before winter !
Last edited:
Just read the entire AAR today, so amazing! It really shows how much time and effort you put into these incredible maps and graphs. I don't think I have ever seen an AAR where someone was so committed to make it look really nice!
I remember getting one incredible pocket as Poland once during my invasion of the Soviet Union (... long story), where they massed a huge force against Romania while being tied down in wars in Finland and Manchuria. A joint breakthrough from the Black Sea and south of the Pripet Marshes bagged a fifth of the entire Soviet Army, and probably a third of their forces in the western theater, then the mighty Polish-Romanian commonwealth proceeded to march on Moscow and Stalingrad.
Ok... THAT's very nice to read. You've made my day (despite the IRS "love" letter I get today).Just read the entire AAR today, so amazing! It really shows how much time and effort you put into these incredible maps and graphs. I don't think I have ever seen an AAR where someone was so committed to make it look really nice!
Still, they're here a lot of guys who are also really commited to their work, each in their particular field, I really don't want to know how many hours each one of them spent on their AAR...
Right on the top of my mind :
- [MM], Tomorrow the World (the dream of every "German" player !)
- Avindian, Tukhachevsky's Army and the Politburo (Very interesting interactive AAR)
- enigmamcmxc, The German Reich and the Second World War (VERY enjoyable reading !)
- misterbean, Germany Tutorial: Take 2. (a MUST for HOI3 newbies -and even for more experienced players- !)
- robw963, AMERICA Saves the World! (amazing graphism and charts !!!)
- Uriah, Doppelgänger: the Untold Story of the Third Reich (Very -I mean, VERY- well written !!!)
two special mentions (according to my own taste) :
- guillec87, Glauben! Kämpfen! Siegen!
- tommylotto The Fox and the Lion
and many more...
Pocketting the soviet forces is mandatory if you want to survive in the long run. It's even more true in the south because of the logistical difficulties. As in your game with Poland, the destruction of soviet forces along the Hungarian and Romanian borders is a priority !
In my particular case, here, I really need to eliminate 80-100 soviet divisions AND to get some bridgeheads across the Dniepr and the Dvina. If I failed, I will be up against a wall of enemy units, forced into a sort of attrition war without the necessary MP ressources to win it. And only 6 months remain before the USA get involved...
Last edited:
Yeah, the terrain there is very inviting for a pocket - they tend to mass their troops in that region, and the plains are excellent tank country. LARM+MEC+AC+AC flies across it.
In my experience as Italy and Germany, the USA never managed to be a problem directly, are they more aggressive in BICE?
In my experience as Italy and Germany, the USA never managed to be a problem directly, are they more aggressive in BICE?
I think the advance pace and the loss ratio is really great for the first week, and the good news in the North are simply great... say good by to British and US lend lease uncle Joe... btw, are you really planing the assault on Malta, or just doing a historical deployment? I mean for the FLiegerkorps and the FEstung-Division... must confess I did not find any reference about such movements once Barbarossa started
I grant you that. However, as I'm playing historical, I don't really care about units stats and performances so I don't build these kind of units and stay with the "real" ones.
I'm playing ICE 3.3.4 (not BICE) !
And yes, the USA are quiet agressive after a while. For some reasons, they love Denmark and northern Germany for a landing and their huuuuge fleet is a real pain in the b...
I was really amazed (and pleased !) by the success in Murmansk. However, the most important part is 'Polarfuchs' and my troops over there have a very hard time. If I can't cut the supply lines to the Kola Peninsula, the soviet forces will recover and kick me out of Murmansk in less time to say "do svidaniya".
The big soviet redeployment, and its speed, was a very unpleasant surprise and the operations of HGr. Nord are behind schedule. I hope the arrival of the XXXX. AK (mot.) will change that !
Otherwise, south of the Pripyat Marshes, everything is working according to the Plan (more or less...).
My main concern remains... ManPower. After I gave back the 500 MP advance (see intro), I get 250 unexpected MP from the Barbarossa event, which allowed me to have all my '42 units in the production queue (890 IC pts !) but I'm now down to 60 MP (and already in need of 240 MP to reinforce everything !).
IRL, the OKW planned two airborne operations in early 1941 : Malta, first, and possibly Crete. Because he thought it was more important, the Führer choosed Crete but after the tremendous casualties sustained by the Fallschirmjäger, he decided to avoid all big scale airborne operation in the future.
The 7. Flieger-Division was sent on the eastern front in September '41, as well as the 707. ID (Festung), then in France for R&R. In summer '42, it has been ordered to get prepared for Unternehmen 'Herkules', the invasion of Malta.
Point is, in game, there have been some ahistorical events already. The quick, and bloodless, success in Crete being one of them. This means that the Führer's "ban" on airborne operations can be lifted.
Although it's not a major threat for the moment, Malta remains a concern for the Italian supply lines to Africa (as it was IRL) and with the DAK deployed over there, I don't want to take a chance. However, the XI. Fliegerkorps is still strategically redeploying (in Yugoslavia right now) and it will take some time before it can get to Naples. Besides, the 80a Div. "La Spezia" is still in the italian production queue and it won't be ready before the end of July.
Last edited:
Seems then your detailed-historical-build is giving an accurate result? Or is the MP shortage happening too early?