A Historical Invasion of Poland - AAR

[General Von Trapp]

Introduction​

This report will be a Hearts of Iron 4 AAR (after action report) for an historical invasion of Poland. My aim was to focus on the actual battle itself, although it will also include a lot of background details along with extensive information about the sides involved. I would play as Germany, starting a normal game on the 1st January 1936 and letting the AI deal with Poland up to the battle in 1939. I would make all the decisions for Germany, building up my industry, army etc and would not tag (switch to) Poland to make alterations.

To focus on historical accuracies I would adhere to the following.

Division Templates: These were researched extensively from actual German division’s of the time and sources will be cited. I attempted to use correct support companies/divisions/battalions, tried to get the manpower of the divisions to match real life along with roughly the correct number of artillery, panzer’s, anti tank guns etc. I also had to compromise in some cases because of equipment shortages and having to spend army XP to make changes to division templates to mimic the real life counterparts. Templates were also duplicated for the purpose of being Historically accurate, for instance I duplicated my Leichte-Division template so it could be my Panzer-Division kempf as an example, even though it was not entirely the same structure.

Division Names: As I trained my divisions, the game gave them the historical names (which really helped) but for ones that maybe were missing, I renamed them to ones that would participate in the battle. I also brought in the reserve divisions for the battle, just to bump them up the numbers for maximum firepower. I thought this would be considered acceptable, otherwise they would just be sitting idle in Berlin or somewhere for no reason.

Combat Width: This was completely ignored to just focus on the structure of a German division in 1939-1940. I know it’s not great for a normal game but I had to hone in on the historical accuracy plus it really felt as though the shackles had been released (be great for Paradox Interactive to sort this).

German Generals: I used the actual German generals where applicable but obviously some generals are not in the game i.e Walther Von Reichenau. These were replaced with fitting generals that had the traits that would actually help me in the battle.

Army Management: I used the supported Army Groups and Armies that Hearts of Iron 4 provides however I went a little further. For the Armoured units I usually picked a Corps in said Army and renamed it so. This is basically what everybody does for tanks but in some cases, certain Panzer or Motorised divisions that were in another Corp’s were just brought into one to make things easier. For instance I had an Army called XV Corps commanded by Hermann Hoth (as in real life) but that had the Panzer Divisions from XVI Corps and the Motorised Divisions from XIV Corps for simplicity.

The Plan: I studied maps of the plan from various sources and attempted a replication of it. In some cases it’s not the same and this is usually because it would not have made sense to do so i.e the positioning of Polish forces on the front. Changes to the plan would obviously develop towards the end, as I am scrambling for victory points or adjusting manoeuvres based of what the AI is doing.

As I was playing Germany I will mention some statistics about Poland for the purposes of correlation however the AI was playing them so their division structure and army management would be obviously erratic.

Also I have put italics around the text when I am in role play mode or telling the story. Underneath this I may have some written text without the italics to put context to the information.

Just to point out that this is not a challenge to see how quickly I can capitulate Poland. I would like it to end in roughly in the same time, with the same casualties and I will NOT be exploiting the AI.

All in all, my aim is to produce a fantastic, highly detailed historical AAR that focuses on the necessary details of battle. I hope you enjoy my Hearts of Iron 4 AAR… A Historical Invasion of Poland.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. A Prelude To The Battle
3. The Wehrmacht
4. German Order of Battle
5. German Men, Equipment and Strength
7. The Strategy of Poland
8. The Plan - Operation Fall Weiss
9. The Luftwaffe & Kriegsmarine

 

[stnylan]

I never try to optimise width - maybe "poorer" gameplay but always more enjoyable

 

[General Von Trapp]

A Prelude To The Battle​

On the 12th March 1938, Hitler sent his armies into Austria and annexed it into the reich. International response to what would be known as the “Anschluss” was moderate, encouraging Hitler later to turn his attention towards Czechoslovakia.

German troops march into Austria
​

Then on the 10th October 1938, Hitler began demanding the return of the Sudetenland to Germany, remarking that a significant number of Germans resided there. The resulting political tension would later lead up to what would be known as the “Munich Conference”. In Munich, Britain, France, Italy and Germany would reach an agreement where Germany annexes the Sudetenland but would not be allowed to pursue any further territorial gains in Europe. Neville Chamberlain remarked after arriving back in London, “I believe it is peace for our time”.

Adolf Hitler watches on as Benito Mussolini shakes hands with Neville Chamberlain​

On the 16th March 1939, German forces began marching into Czechoslovakia, completely ignoring the stipulations agreed upon at the Munich conference. The western powers were appalled by this manoeuvre and would soon abandon their policy of appeasement.

The German Wehrmacht move into the remainder of Czechoslovakia
​

Initially however, Britain and France stayed quiet, unsure on their next political steps with Germany. An encouraged Hitler turned his attention towards territories in the east. On the 25th May 1939, Adolf Hitler issued an ultimatum to Poland and Lithuania to cede territory to the Reich. Poland was expected to ignore these Demands but shortly thereafter, Lithuania ceded Memel to Germany.
​

Memel Harbour where Adolf Hitler would later deliver a roaring speech
​

On the 5th August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union announced a pact of non-aggression that would shock the western world through a treaty called the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact. It would include a secret protocol that defined the borders of Soviet and German “spheres of Influence” which would include the partitioning of Poland on a German Invasion.
​

Foreign ministers Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop ​

Later that day after the announcement, the French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier worried about increasing international tensions with Germany, guaranteed the independence of Poland. Neville Chamberlain would follow suit on the 7th August ensuring that if Germany declared war on Poland then they would offer their full support. With the Soviets now dealt with, Hitler ordered his generals to draw up plans for Poland's destruction, which would be known as Operation Fall Weiss (Case White).
​

French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier​

On the 14th October 1939, Hitler again pressured Poland by calling for Danzig to be reunited with Germany. He told the Polish Foreign minister Józef Beck. “Danzig was German, Danzig has remained German, and Danzig shall be German from now on! If Poland does not cede the territory, we must prepare the German people for the inevitable war. Danzig and the surrounding lands will return to Germany!”
​

Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck​

Poland promptly rejected these demands and labelled them preposterous. Hitler was furious although not surprised and so gave the order for his troops to begin moving to positions along the Polish border, Slovakia and East Prussia.​

 

[stnylan]

And so (presumably) to war

 

[General Von Trapp]

The Wehrmacht

Supreme Commander of the German Army Walter Von Brauchitsch
​

Commanding the “Wehrmacht” (Germany Army) was 58 year old Walter Von Brauchitsch. Although opposing Hitler's annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia, he had a good relationship with the Fuhrer and would be in charge of operational affairs during the coming Polish campaign. Although he would oversee plans for the Invasion, he would have very little influence as a whole.

Apart from adding the +10% division speed of course!

The Wehrmacht was constructed as follows.

• Infantry-Division
• Panzer-Division
• Motorized-Division
• Mountain-Division (Gebirgs)
• Cavalry-Brigade
• Light-Division (Leichte)
• SS-Division (Motorized)

Infantry-Division

​

The Infantry Division would be the backbone of the Germany army and was designed to have three infantry regiments consisting of a minimum of three battalions. One artillery battalion with thirty six artillery guns and an anti tank regiment consisting of seventy two anti tank guns. The division also would have an engineer battalion, reconnaissance battalion, medical battalion and signal battalion. In reality the division would have only the one anti tank battalion and would not include a signal battalion for the invasion of Poland because of equipment shortages. In total each division would field 13,300 men.

I had done extensive research trying to get close to what a real German Infantry division was like in 1939. I added the extra two battalions to increase the manpower because it was just too low otherwise.

Sources

1. HOI4 Wiki Historical Divisions
2. German Infantry Division in World War 2
3. HOI4 Historical Division Layouts
4. 1st Army Corps

Panzer-Division

​

The Panzer Division would be the key element in Heinz Guderian’s “Blitzkrieg” doctrine and was designed to have a brigade consisting of four battalions, two battalions consisting of mainly panzer I and panzer II’s whereas the other two consisting of the newer panzer III’s and the recently produced panzer IV (as of Guderian’s wishes ). Along with the tank battalions would be a regiment of motorized infantry of three battalions along with a battalion of motorized artillery. The division would also have a reconnaissance, engineer and signal battalion. The signal battalion being especially important in communicating with the Luftwaffe for close air support. All in all the division would have 220 tanks and field 7,400 men.

This one was a tricky one but I think I did pretty well correlating from many sources it’s structure. I also wanted it to fall in the 50-50 hardness, especially at this time in the war when that soft attack would be needed. Heinz Guderian was also my theorist.

Sources

1. HOI4 Wiki Historical Divisions
2. German Panzer Division Structure
3. German Tank Division (World War 2)
4. Motorized & Panzer Divisions 1939
5. 15th Army Corps

Motorized-Division

​

The Motorized Division would be used in conjunction with the armoured divisions as infantry support. These were designed to have three regiments of infantry, each consisting of three battalions (one battalion was later replaced to motorized artillery though). In support would be an engineer battalion, reconnaissance battalion and signal battalion. The signal battalion however was not available for the beginning of the campaign and was kept as an artillery support company. The motorized division would be designed to accompany the panzer division’s and field 11,200 men and include 450 trucks.

This may have been too many trucks but the default motorized template is actually pretty good and would save me Army XP in not actually changing it.

Sources

1. Motorized & Panzer Divisions 1939
2. 14th Army Corps

Mountain-Division

​

The Mountain or Gebirgs Division would contain two regiments of three battalions of highly trained mountain infantry. A third regiment was also considered however was not finalised upon. In support would be an engineer battalion. The division would field between 6,300 and 9,000 men.

This is my way of saying that I actually have a mountain division with an extra regiment but there was no point in training for more (army xp waste) because I got hold of some Austrian skiing divisions instead!
​

Cavalry-Brigade

​

The Cavalry Brigade would hold four battalions and be designed for garrison (although the 1st cavalry brigade would be used in the Polish invasion). It would also have a reconnaissance battalion, and if lucky an artillery company. A standard cavalry brigade would field 4,500 to 4,800 men.​

Light-Division

​

The Light Division or Leichte-Division would be a division primarily for light tanks (panzer I and panzer II). These were basically divisions formed before the advent of the panzer III but could still be used against infantry without anti tank capabilities. The division consisted of one regiment containing two battalions of light tanks and two motorized infantry regiments of two battalions each. In support was a reconnaissance battalion, an engineer battalion and artillery company. Due to the Wehrmacht focusing on tanks with heavier armour, these division would be converted to panzer divisions later but were still useful as mentioned before for the Polish campaign. The division would have 120 tanks and field 6,900 men.

I tried to visualise a lighter version of my panzer template that I had researched so I replaced the medium tanks with motorized which emphasized a soft attack a soft attack greater than 70% which I think would be close to what those divisions would have been like for Hearts of Iron 4. I also looked at Wikipedia for the actual light divisions used in Poland, looking at the organisation and then translating that to the game but still being realistic because of having to spend army xp.
​

SS-Division

​

The SS Divisions would be elite motorized infantry units about half the size of a normal motorized division. They would consist of one regiment of three battalions. In support would be a reconnaissance battalion and artillery company. Entry standards for the SS were meticulous with only 7 being accepted out of every 100 applications. Although these SS divisions were highly mistrusted by members of the Wehrmacht, they would later prove themselves in Poland.

I do NOT or will never condone the actions of the SS in Poland, or anytime during World War 2 and they are here only for historical reasons. As a source I used Wikipedia to look at the structure of the few SS Divisions in Poland.

With that out of the way, we now need to look at the Order of Battle for the Polish invasion...

By the way if anyone has any extra information on structure of any army during World War 2, please let me know because I would be very interested. Most of my research was done through the Internet but I am adamant there are hundreds if not thousands of books, papers published that could clarify a lot of that information.

 

[General Von Trapp]

And so (presumably) to war

Not quite yet... we need to assess both sides involved for it

 

[Pieter Bruegel]

Looks interesting. It's a shame the Polish AI doesn't share your meticulous historical accuracy.

 

[General Von Trapp]

Looks interesting. It's a shame the Polish AI doesn't share your meticulous historical accuracy.

Yeh but I will explain how the AI constructed Poland later.

 

[Forster]

Looks interesting. The Germans were definitely not min/maxing.

 

[General Von Trapp]

German Order of Battle​

The German forces assembled along the Polish front were divided into two Army Groups.​

Army Group North​

Field Marshal Fedor Von Bock
​

In the north was “Army Group North”, commanded by 58 year old Field Marshal Fedor Von Bock. His forces consisted of 4th Army facing eastward across the base of the polish corridor and 3rd Army based in East Prussia. Army Group North totalled 26 Divisions, 4 of which were Armoured and 2 Motorized.​

General Gunther Von Kluge of 4th Army and General Heinz Guderian of XIX Corps
​

4th Army was commanded by 56 year old Gunther Von Kluge and consisted of a total of 7 Infantry Divisions, 2 Panzer Divisions and 2 Motorized Divisions. Listed below are the divisions of 4th Army.

- 3rd Infantry Division
- 32nd Infantry Division
- 50th Infantry Division
- 207th Infantry Division
- 73rd Infantry Division (Reserve)
- 206th Infantry Division (Reserve)
- 208th Infantry Division (Reserve)

Within 4th Army was XIX Corps which was commanded by 51 year old Heinz Guderian. His Corps consisted of all the armour and motorized units of the 4th Army which was 2 Panzer Divisions and 2 Motorized Divisions. Listed below are the divisions of XIX Corps.

- 3rd Panzer Division
- 2nd Motorized Division
- 20th Motorized Division
- 1st Light Division (Represents the Panzer Lehr Regiment)

The 23rd and 218th Infantry Divisions were moved to 3rd Army as there were rumours of Polish strength increasing in the area of East Prussia.

General Georg Von Kuchler of 3rd Army and General Friedrich Paulus of I Corps​

3rd Army was commanded by 58 year old Georg Von Kuchler and consisted of a total of 12 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division and 2 Panzer Divisions. Listed below are the divisions of 3rd Army.

- 1st Infantry Division
- 12th Infantry Division
- 13th Infantry Division (Support)
- 15th Infantry Division (Support)
- 16th Infantry Division (Support)
- 21st Infantry Division
- 217th Infantry Division
- 228th Infantry Division
- 1st Cavalry Division
- 23rd Infantry Division (Reserve)
- 218th Infantry Division (Reserve)

Within the 3rd Army was I Corps which was commanded by 49 year old Friedrich Paulus. I Corps consisted of 2 Infantry Divisions of the 3rd Army and the 2 Panzer Divisions, most notably Panzer Division “Kemp” which was half the size of a normal Panzer Division. Listed below are the divisions of I Corps.

- 11th Infantry Division
- 61st Infantry Division
- Panzer Division Kempf
- 10th Panzer Division (Reserve)

Army Group South

Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt
​

In the south was “Army Group South” commanded by 53 Year Old Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt. His command was made up of 8th Army, 10th Army and 14th Army, with the latter working in conjunction with Slovakian forces. Altogether Army Group South would consist of 36 Divisions, 7 of which were Armoured and 4 Motorized.
​

General Johannes Blaskowitz of 8th Army and General Gotthard Heinrici of 10th Army
​

8th Army was commanded by 56 year old Johannes Blaskowitz and consisted of 7 Infantry Divisions along with the SS Motorized Division “Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler”. Listed below are the divisions of 8th Army.

- 10th Infantry Division
- 17th Infantry Division
- 24th Infantry Division
- 30th Infantry Division
- SS Motorized Division Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler"
- 62nd Infantry Division (Reserve)
- 213th Infantry Division (Reserve)
- 221st Infantry Division (Reserve)

10th Army was commanded by 52 year old Gotthard Heinrici and consisted of 7 Infantry Divisions, 4 Panzer Divisions and 2 Motorized Divisions. Listed below are the divisions of 10th Army.

- 4th Infantry Division
- 14th Infantry Division
- 18th Infantry Division
- 19th Infantry Division
- 31st Infantry Division
- 46th Infantry Division
- 27th Infantry Division (Reserve)

General Hermann Hoth of XV Corps​

Within 10th Army was XV Corps which was commanded by 54 year old Hermann Hoth. His command consisted of all the armour and motorized units of 10th Army which was 4 Panzer Divisions and 2 Motorized Divisions. Listed below are the divisions of XV Corps.

- 1st Panzer Division
- 4th Panzer Division
- 2nd Light Division
- 3rd Light Division
- 13th Motorized Division
- 29th Motorized Division

General Wilhelm List of 14th Army and General Ewald Von Kleist of VIII Corps
​

14th Army was commanded by 59 Year Old Wilhelm List and consisted of 7 Infantry Divisions, 3 Gebirgs Brigades, 1 Mountain Division, 3 Panzer Divisions and 1 Motorized Division. Listed below are the divisions of 14th Army.

- 7th Infantry Division
- 8th Infantry Division
- 28th Infantry Division
- 44th Infantry Division
- 45th Infantry Division
- 239th Infantry Division
- 2nd Mountain Division
- 1st Gebirgs Brigade
- 3rd Gebirgs Brigade
- 5th Gebirgs Brigade
- 68th Infantry Division (Reserve)

There are more Mountain Divisions listed here than the real invasion but I thought I needed to buff up the Slovakian front because of the Polish positions. I had a few extra Mountain Brigades so I thought I would use them instead of Infantry Divisions because of the terrain.

Within 14th Army was VIII Corps which was commanded by 58 year old Ewald Von Kleist. Von Kleist’s Corps consisted of all the armour and motorized units of the 14th Army which was 3 Panzer Divisions and 1 Motorized Division. Listed below are the divisions of VIII Corps.

- 2nd Panzer Division
- 5th Panzer Division
- 4th Light Division
- SS Motorized Division "Das Reich" (Germania)

Next we will have a look at the men, equipment and strength of the German Invasion force.

 

[stnylan]

Some of those German officers really did perfect "the stare" in their photographs

 

[ijzervuist]

Looking forward to the invasion. ( That sounds so lurid!)

 

[General Von Trapp]

German Men, Equipment and Strength
​

Army Group North

In total, “Army Group North” would field a total of 308k men, 386 Pak Anti Tank Guns (with some divisions using captured Czech Cannon model 30 guns), 770 10.5 cm LeFH 18 Artillery Guns, 460 Panzer II’s, 179 Panzer III’s, 21 Panzer IVs and 2,100 Opel Trucks.
​

The Army Group would only be at 88% strength. The infantry being 85%, Motorised was 98% and the armoured units would be at 67% strength.

Inspection of Panzer II being conducted on the border

10.5 cm LeFH Howitzer being used in training exercises

​

Army Group South

In total “Army Group South” would field a total of 395k men, 437 Pak Anti Tank Guns (with some divisions using captured Czech Cannon model 30 guns), 1,047 10.5 cm LeFH 18 Artillery Guns, 663 Panzer II’s, 357 Panzer III’s, 43 Panzer IVs and 3,060 Opel Trucks.

The Army Group was at 90% strength. The Infantry being 87% strength, 97% Motorised and 96% Armoured.

German soldier posing against one of the Panzer IV's

German Infantry looking out over the horizon with one of the Pak Anti Tank Guns​

Infantry weapons were mainly the Karabiner 98k carbines although some divisions, especially the elite SS were issued the new MP38 submachine guns. Captured Czech VZ .24 bolt action rifles, artillery and Austrian Mannlicher M1895 infantry weapons were also given to German divisions to get them up to strength. Captured Czech LT vz 35 tanks were also used to bolster Light Divisions.

German Soldiers catching a break with the new MP38 sub machine gun
​

So next we need to look at Poland's Strategy for Defence against the reich...

 

[Forster]

What happened to Army Group Center?

 

[General Von Trapp]

What happened to Army Group Center?

Don’t tell the Führer...

 

[General Von Trapp]

The Strategy of Poland

President of Poland Ignacy Mościcki
​

Riding on the coattails of a coup coup d'état in 1926 by Józef Piłsudski's, Ignacy Mościcki became president of Poland. However after Józef Piłsudski's death in 1935, his successor, General Edward Rydz-Śmigły would conclude an agreement in which Mościcki could continue to stay on as president if he was allowed to be the new leader. Ignacy Mościcki agreed and would work together to eliminate their rivals by the end of the year.

Polish Armies

Poland’s strategy of defense was to deploy it’s forces directly along the western border as prompted by the Polish-British common defense pact. The Polish forces were divided into two Army Groups.

Stationed against 4th Army, 8th Army, 10th and 14th Army in the south and the west, would be Polish forces under the command of 47 year old General Wladyslaw Anders. Altogether his forces were made up of 19 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division and 1 Mountain Division.

General Wladyslaw Anders​

In the north facing East Prussia, would be Polish forces under the command of Field Marshall Wladyslaw Bortnowski and would consist of 6 Cavalry Divisions, 8 Infantry Divisions and 1 Mountain Division.

Field Marshall Wladyslaw Bortnowski​

Men, Equipment and Strength

In total General Wladyslaw Anders forces would field a total of 200k men in 24 Divisions and Field Marshall Wladyslaw Bortnowski fielded a total of 106k in 16 Divisions, so 40 Divisions in total. The infantry weapon of choice would be the Kbsp wz. 1938M Semi-automatic rifle although the WZ 38 mors submachine gun (among other modern equipment) was rolling of the production lines. Both generals would be at 100% strength, all Infantry and Cavalry of course.

Polish infantry on high alert​

Next time we will be looking at the German plan of attack for Operation Fall Weiss....

 

[Forster]

Wonder why the field marshal got roughly half of the forces that the general got? Was the filed marshal a political appointment or was he a really bad leader?

 

[General Von Trapp]

Wonder why the field marshal got roughly half of the forces that the general got? Was the filed marshal a political appointment or was he a really bad leader?

Would have to ask the Artificial Intelligence...maybe he has got better stats.

 

[stnylan]

Poland's situation, as ever, is rather unenviable.

 

[General Von Trapp]

Poland's situation, as ever, is rather unenviable.

Yeh I suppose in that sense it’s rather unexciting but I guess my point was to try and replicate the divisions, generals and plan and then write a narration on what happens in the game.