The Campaign in the East - A 1941 Germany AAR

[NeuGemi]

Preparations​

The German forces across the Soviet front consisted of three Army Groups, Heeresgruppe Nord (Army Group North), Heeresgruppe Mitte (Army Group Center) and Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South).

Standing next to the Soviet border was 82 Infantry Divisions, each equipped with two anti-tank battalions and one artillery battalion.

A total of 21 Panzer divisions were to participate at the start of Operation Barbarossa. 14 light tank divisions and 7 medium-tank divisions. Also, 5 Motorized SS-regiments and 7 Motorized Infantry were to participate.

Army Group North

The German "Heeresgruppe Nord", located at Eastern Prussia, commanded by Field Marshall Willhelm Ritter von Leeb, consisted of the German Eighteenth Army, Sixteenth Army and Panzergruppe 4. Army Group North fielded 318k men, or 23 Divisions.

-18th Army - Commanded by Colonel General Georg von Küchler, was deployed at Memel and consisted of 7 Infantry Divisions.

-16th Army - Commanded by Colonel General Ernst Busch, was located near the Polish town Suwatki and consisted of 8 Infantry Divisions.

-Panzergruppe 4 - Commanded by Colonel General Erich Hoepner, based between Army 18th and 16th, consisted of 3 Panzer Divisions, 3 Motorised Divisions and 2 Infantry Divisions.

In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, Army Group C was renamed to Army Group North on 22 June 1941. It's strategic goal was leningrad, with other territorial objectives such as the Baltic and securing Army Group Center northern flank

Army Group Center

In the center was "Heeresgruppe Mitte". located at Central Poland and commanded by Field Marshall Feodor von Bock, it consisted of the German Ninth Army, Fourth Army, Panzergruppe 3 and Panzergruppe 2. Army Group Center fielded 594k men, or 44 Divisions.

- 9th Army - Commanded by Colonel General Adolf Strauss, based near the Polish town of Bialystok, consisted of 9 Infantry Divisions.

- 4th Army - Commanded by Colonel General Gunther von Kluge, deployed near Warsaw, consisted of 12 Infantry Divisions.

- Panzergruppe 3 - Commanded by Colonel General Hermann Hoth, located between the Polish towns of Bialystok and Suwatki, consisted of 3 Motorised Divisions and 4 Panzer Divisions

- Panzergruppe 2 - Commanded by Colonel General Heinz Guderian, based near the Polish town of Brzesc Litewski, consisted of 7 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division, 2 Motorised Divisions and 6 Panzer Divisions.

Army Group Centre's strategic goal was to defeat the Soviet armies in Belarus and to occupy Smolensk. Army Group Centre's other objectives was to support the other Army Group's northern and southern flank

Army Group South

In the south was “Heeresgruppe Süd” drawn along Eastern Poland, Hungary and Romania, it was to be the largest army group of the three. Commanded by Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, it commanded the German Sixth Army, Panzergruppe I, Seventeenth Army, Eleventh Army and the Romanian Fourth Army. Army Group South fielded 874k men, or 69 Divisions.

- 6th Army - Commanded by Friedrich Paulus, based in the far east of the Polish/German - Soviet Border, consisted of 11 Infantry Divisions

- Panzergruppe I - Commanded by Ewald von Kleist, near Lwow, consisted of 5 Medium Tank Divisions, 1 Motorized Infantry Division and 3 SS Divisions.

- 17th Army - Commanded by Johannes Blaskowitz, located near Slovakia, consisted of 19 Infantry Divisions (Including 3 Slovakian and 3 Hungarian Divisions) and 1 Mountain Division.

- 11th Army - Commanded by Gotthard Heinrici, deployed in Romania, consisted of 13 Infantry Divisions.

- 4th Romanian Army - Commanded by Ion Antonescu, based in Romania, consisted of 10 Infantry Divisions, 2 Mountain Divisions and 2 Light Armour Divisions.

Army Group South's strategic goal was to capture Kiev and Sevastopol. It was to also secure Army Group Centre's southern flank.

Starting Positions:

The Luftwaffe is also to play a vital role in this Operation. Supported by 2000 fighters, 500 CAS and 600 Tactical Bombers.

 

[NeuGemi]

Initial Advances

​

On 21 June 1941 Army Group North (Heeresgruppe Nord) received the codeword Düsseldorf, signaling Operation Barbarossa would begin the next morning. Army Group North then sent it's own codeword, Dortmund.

The following day, an all frontal attack begun. the 18th Army crossed the border in modern day Lithuania, capturing the vital harbours in Siauliai and Kurzeme. With the ports captured, Panzergruppe IV, supported by the 16th Army, thrusted forward to Riga in an attempt to trap the troops in Lithuania.

In Army Group Center, the same was to happen in Bialystok. Panzergruppe II and III were to capture Grodno and Brzec Litewski and then link up in Baranowicze, trapping 15 Soviet Divisions. But before Panzergruppe II could push forward, Panzergruppe II had to attack the same fort they attacked two years earlier in the Battle of Poland. To aid in capturing it, 4 infantry divisions had been temporarily assigned to Panzergruppe II.

The Bialystok Pocket.​

Panzergruppe I was to attempt and capture Lwow and then Stanislawow in an attempt to encircle all Soviet Divisions along the Hungarian border. If successful, it could neutralize two whole armies.

On 15 July, Ewald von Kleist radioed that the divisions were fully encircled, although a significant majority managed to escape. Panzergruppe I later circumvented the pocket and drove on towards Kiev, leaving it to the infantry.

The Stanislawow Pocket​

By 25th July, German High Command reported that 557k Soviet soldiers had been killed. In comparison to that, 111k German soldiers were killed. Although the number of Germans killed seemed high at first, especially in comparison to the Battle of France and Poland, it was to be expected.

On 31 July, Army Group North received 4 divisions as reinforcements to help with the increased frontline.

There was also a serious lack of oil now in the german army. With only days until the reserves run out. To combat this, the Kriegsmarine was to only perform missions of the highest priority, and suspend all other missions and operations deemed unnecessary. All heavy and light ships were to stay in port, with only U-Boats operating in the Atlantic and arctic route. The luftwaffe also stopped with Air Superiority missions, and instead focused on interception and placed a heavier emphasis on tactical bombing and close air support

 

[NeuGemi]

Breakthrough

With the Lithuanian pocket finished, Army Group North continued their push onward to Tallinn and Leningrad, capturing Tartu and Pskov on their way and encircling another 3 divisions. By 15th August they were advancing with practically zero resistance. The way to Leningrad so far looked like an easy task.

In Army Group Center, the two Panzergroups had captured Minsk and were on their way towards Smolensk and Gomel. They were expected to reach Moscow in at least two months.

7. Panzer Division capturing a strategically important airfield​

Panzergruppe I, assigned to Army Group South had just reached Kiev. It was uncertain whether or not they capture it in a time fast enough that their advancement wasn’t halted. But, by 20th August, they had captured Kiev

In the farer south, the 11th Army have just entered Crimea, and were on their way to capture Sevastopol. They were hard-pressed and had a difficult time advancing.

On 25th August, the German High Command reported again that the Axis losses were 272k against a reported loss of 1.43 million Soviet losses.

By 13th October it was becoming all more clear that Army Group Center would not reach their goals by the end of October, and perhaps not by November. The Soviet Union had reportedly managed to raise and additional 60 divisions to slow down the German advance, most of it deployed to fight Army Group North and Center.

Army Group North was now only a few kilometers from Leningrad however, so hopefully they would capture it before an organized Soviet resistance was formed.

15th August, Overview​

 

[NeuGemi]

At the Gates of Moscow
12th November

Gates of Moscow​

Army Group Center’s attacks to Moscow had been halted for now by the Soviets. To ensure it is under Axis control before winter, 2 Panzer Divisions had been diverted from Norway to Panzergruppe II.

The divisions at the front had been suffering heavy organization losses due to repeated Soviet attacks. The question now is, should they wait and reorganize, and possibly not have Moscow by December. Or should they divert forces from the other army groups and make a hasty attack?

14th November

Operation Typhoon​

Panzer Divisions from Panzergruppe I and IV were diverted to Army Group Center. The operation, called ’Operation Typhoon’ was to begin on 20th November.

The hastily drawn plan was to attack Moscow from 3 different directions. Panzergruppe II and III was to attack Moscow from the Northern and Southern side, leaving the center to the 4th Army, consisting of 14 infantry divisions. The 9th and 17th Army would protect the Army Groups flanks. The attack would be supported by 940 Fighters and 939 CAS or Tactical Bombers.

20th November
Operation Typhoon commences
​

With everything prepared, the attack begun.

Immediately upon attacking, Panzergruppe II and I were making some small advances until the attack came to a halt. They were having heavy troubles in breaking the defence. After all, they were outnumbered 1:2. It was in fact the infantry in the center that was making the advances. They had already broken through in one sector and were now hours away from breaking through in another sector. Hopefully it would pave the way for the panzers.

It was also today that a very disturbing report reached the High Command. Japan had attacked an American fleet in Pearl Harbor, causing USA to join the Allies. The German Reich was now at war with USA. It had become all clearer that attacking Britain was but a fantasy by now.

28th November

As the events unfold​

The infantry had now assisted in attacking the Soviet forces near Panzergruppe III, opening up a way for the panzers to advance. With only some kilometers to Moscow, and the Soviet resistance in the area nearly beaten, the generals sighed with relief.

That was, until disaster struck. On the 8th December the russian winter hit hard, severely disrupting the Axis attack.

The attack came to a grinding halt. Panzers stopped working if you didn’t regularly maintain them. Soldiers, equipped with only summer clothing froze to death. And, probably the most surprising of them all, Germany was now being pushed back from Moscow. To combat this, the bulk of the forces in the west had been withdrawn to the east and was slotted in as they came. Even Panzers from Army Group South reinforced Army Group Center. That, and combined with the infantry from the west, Kampfgruppe Jodl was raised to help protect the 4th Army. With the 17th Army and most of Panzergruppe I being deployed in Moscow, Army Group South was now at a skeleton strength. To prevent another Soviet attack, but this time in the South, Hitler ordered several of Romania’s troops to be transported to the east.

Despite lacking 25 000 Infantry Equipment, Hitler also ordered 9 Infantry Divisions to be hastily raised and immediately deployed in the East. Equipped with only heavy artillery and anti tank guns, it was mainly used as cannon fodder.

 

[NeuGemi]

Between the Operations
1st April, 1942​

With the crushing defeat for Army Group Center, having lost ground until March. And with the High Command seeing no realistic way of regaining the grounds they once took, their attention turned towards the South.

The severe lack of oil that had accompanied them since the start of Barbarossa had persuaded Hitler to launch an attack towards the rich oil fields in the Caucasus. That, and the lack of stockpiled equipment proved that an all frontal attack would be too costly and impossible reading the situation.

An Army Group (Heeresgruppe B) would also push towards Stalingrad to cover Heeresgruppe A’s attack to the Caucasus. Army Group B’s mission was to capture Stalingrad and then drive past the Volga river, which would be the Soviets last defense in the area. If that succeeded they could also swing up North and relieve Army Group Center’s unfortunate position, winning the war.

Army Group A’s mission was to capture the oil fields in the Caucasus. They would also attack from Crimea and hopefully do a pincer movement trapping several Soviet divisions.

The operation ‘Case Blau’ would commence on 28th June.

 

[NeuGemi]

Allied Movement
20th June, 1942​

On the 18th June, Mussolini met up with Hitler were he with great stress and reluctance said that a joint-allied operation succeeded in capturing Sicily and had now made another naval invasion in Taranto and were advancing without any resistance. This made Hitler extremely infuriated in that Mussolini had not told him earlier nor done anything against it.

The Italian Situation​

All of Germany’s effective fighting force were also tied up in the East and therefore couldn’t be diverted.

Only days after the news in Italy, 36 British divisions landed in Normandy, opposed by only 3 German Divisions. With the help of Himmler, the German Reich managed to raise 11 Divisions with manpower from occupied territories. Five of them would go to the West to hold of the British and the rest would go to the south and fend of both the British and American troops.

 

[NeuGemi]

Case Blue
28th June

On 5 am, 28th June, Case Blue commenced. Heeresgruppe A (Caucasus) made promising gains on the first days. They pushed forward and captured Rostov and Voroshilovgrad and would later advance forward to Salsk and meet up with the 11th Army which was fighting in Crimea.

Heeresgruppe B (Volga) made little to no advancements on the first day. The defense on the way to Voronezh was ferocious. Not even with the help of 1500 Fighters and 2000 Tactical Bombers or CAS could they advance. It was only days later when the 11. Panzer Division and 75. Infanterie Division managed to cross the river that the defense was finally broken. The road to Stalingrad was open.

On 10th July, elements of the 11. and 14. Panzer Divisions captured Voronezh and then drove on southwards toward Stalingrad.

The planned pincer movement with the 11th Army turned out to be nothing but a dream. When the two armies finally met in Krasnodar, all Soviet divisions had managed to retreat. Nevertheless, they pushed on forward to Stavropol which was a major producer of Chromium.

On 31st July, the 6th Army had reached Stalingrad. To help in capturing it, 3 Panzer Divisions and 3 Motorized Divisions from Panzergruppe IV had been attached to the 6th Army.

So far there had been no successful attacks in capturing Stalingrad, and the High Command were again worried that they wouldn’t achieve their goals by winter.

By 6th October, the 6th army were being pushed back from Stalingrad and the Soviets had launched an all-out attack on Army Group B. There were also serious threats of being encircled. The enemy had captured Voronezh and were advancing even further, causing a tear in our frontline. Same thing happened south of Stalingrad. To prevent an encirclement, Army Group A retreated a bit to reduce their front and then easier control the flanks. Unfortunately, same thing couldn’t be done in the north due to Army Group Center being stretched thin. They simply had to try and crush the Soviet advance to prevent such an encirclement.

Intelligence also reported that the Soviet Union now had 6 million deployed manpower, compared to Germany’s 2.85 Million.

 

[NeuGemi]

The Disaster in the East
​

On 5 am on the 18th October, the 17th Army desperately radioed that 6 Divisions had been encircled by the red army. No rescue operation could be done since all other divisions and armies were tied up or too far away. Despite strict orders by Hitler to not surrender, they surrendered to the Soviets on the 22th October.

This was also the first time that any German division had capitulated since the start of Operation Barbarossa. It was all more apparent that the German steamroller had come to a grinding halt. Germany was now also losing ground in every single Army Group, including in Italy.

The encirclement of the 6 divisions were quickly overshadowed by the remarkable encirclement of Paulus 6th Army, including elements of the 3rd Romanian Army and Panzergruppe IV. A total of 24 Divisions, or 329k men was encircled. Hitler was at this point infuriated by the development and decided to fire Maximilian von Welchs and promoted Erich von Manstein to Field Marshal. This encirclement also prompted Germany to go to War Economy (I forgot to change earlier, and total mob. needs 80 ws).

Stalingrad Encirclement

26th November, overview.​

On 7th December, 10 more Axis divisions was encircled near Kursk. Practically the whole of Panzergruppe IV was now lost, with only the SS-Division ‘Totenkopf’ avoiding being encircled. No counterattack to relieve either the Kursk pocket or the 6th Army could now be organized…

Heeresgruppe A & B was merged and renamed to Heeresgruppe Don (Army Group Don). Panzergruppe IV was merged with Panzergruppe I and then subsequently renamed to Panzerarmee Kleist.

The Soviet might had been underestimated. Severely.

Goebbels would later hold the infamous Sportpalast Speech:

"I ask you: Do you want total war? If necessary, do you want a war more total and radical than anything that we can even yet imagine?"

Germany now also had 2.86 million casualties compared to the Soviets 7.58 million.

After the disaster of the 6th Army.​

 

[NeuGemi]

The Soviet Steamroller
27 February. 1943

Following the disastrous Kursk and Stalingrad pocket, the red army was now advancing ruthlessly and encircling a handful of divisions everywhere as they went. Many, many attempts were made at stabilising the front and preventing encirclements, but due to the speed of the Red Army’s advance it was near impossible. Army Group South would also be reinforced with 22 fresh infantry divisions. Army Group Center would also be reinforced, but with 14 infantry divisions. Hopefully that would slow down the Soviet advance.

On 22nd March, Soviet troops had reached Bessarabia, in Romania. All Romanian divisions were now deployed at the front. Hitler also ordered all Hungarian divisions to help defend against the Soviet Union. In total, 21 Hungarian divisions and 17 Romanian divisions would join the Eastern front.

It was absolutely imperative to defend the Romanian oil fields, as it was Germany’s only main source of oil. Since we were also confident on winning bringing down the Soviet beast, not many refineries had been built.

By 13th April, the oil field had been lost to the Soviets.

In other news, Germany had finally gone to Total Mobilization and consequently, Closed Economy. We still had a large manpower pool of 4.5 million recruitable manpower, so raising the conscription law was deemed unnecessary.

The military industrial capacity would be heavily increased. It was planned to have built 20 more military factories by the end of 1943, raising it from 267 Military Factories to 287. Not only that, forts would also be built in the heartland of Germany for a final line of total defense. Women would also have a bigger role in constructing equipment.

 

[NeuGemi]

Romania Capitulates

After fierce close combat fighting in Bucharest, the city was eventually lost. Not many hours after, Romania capitulated. Hitler went out and called the Romanians ‘Treacherous dogs’ despite having 20 Romanian divisions under his command. The Russians were now also at the gates of Hungary and had entered deep into Bulgaria, moving southward towards German-occupied Yugoslavia.

Army Group South now also had to manage an unrealistically long front. To solve this crisis, Georg Hans Reinhardt had to abandon Bulgaria, completely leaving it to the Soviets. Also, at risk of being cut off by the Red Army, all German divisions in Greece were ordered to evacuate, leaving it with essentially no garrisons.

By now, all forces on the eastern front were stretched to the limit. All along the front there was a desperate need for reinforcements. The only problem now was how to distribute the reinforcements.

Not very much later, Bulgaria capitulated.

 

[NeuGemi]

Operation Overlord
20th September, 1943.

A very determined Allied attack in Normandy was carried out today. It was a disastrous moment for us, and a huge surprise. Around 40 Allied divisions, the largest naval invasion in history stormed the beaches of Normandy and crushed the German resistance.

Now, with virtually no resistance from us, they advance in every direction. Erwin Rommel's army, just reinforced with 5 Tiger Divisions, rushed to the area.

In Vichy France, another Allied attack was carried out. Some 10 divisions stormed the beaches of Marseille and Toulon and was advancing without any resistance.

With the increasement of factories, some 48 divisions were rushed through training and deployed in Berlin, awaiting orders. 36 of the divisions was sent to the Western front, in a hope to counterattack the invading army.

On 27th September, they were only kilometers away from Paris. Later in October, 2 Divisions in Brest had been trapped. There was also trapped German divisions in La Rochelle and Toulon.

Vichy France capitulated not long after, leading to a total Allied control over Southern France. Jodl’s Army had to withdraw and prepare another defensive lines, linking up with Rommel’s troops.

 

[NeuGemi]

The Collapse of Army Group Center​

Following our defeat in France, the Soviet Union launched an attack on Army Group North and Center.

The Red Army begun pushing Army Group North deep in to the Baltic States, cutting them of from Army Group Center in Riga. Army Group North was now completely cut off from the rest of Germany.

In Army Group Center, they aimed for the vital ports of Memel and Königsberg, potentially hoping for an encirclement.

On 15th December, The Red Army reached the ports, dividing Army Group Center in to two. The Divisions trapped in Lithuania would be assigned to the new “Army Group Baltic” (Heeresgruppe Baltisch), led by Field Marshal Wilhelm List.

With the encirclement of half of Army Group Center, Rundstedt was left with only two armies, or 26 Divisions to defend against the Soviet Union from Königsberg to Slovakia. Luckily, 21 new divisions had just been formed (16 regular Infantry, 4 Volkssturm, and 1 Heavy-panzer Division), so they were rushed to the front.

The divisions would be reforming the 6th Army, led by General Walter Krüger.

There was a total of (33) Divisions trapped in Lithuania, without any supplies, ports and only the ammo they carried with them, they had no other choice but fight to the last man.

The very extended frontline meant that the Red Army could now unstoppably march into core German states. Immediately, Volkssturm Divisions, a part of Goebbels “Total War” speech, was formed. The Volkssturm was comprised of men deemed to old or too young to fight.

In the middle of the Red Army’s advance, Italy surrendered. Heinz Guderian's army seemed to be trapped in Venice, but thankfully a successful rescue operation was launched and they all managed to land in Trieste, where they hurriedly established another frontline. The Allies were now only kilometers away from Austria.

On 21st November, Elements of the 20ya Tankovaya Korpus entered Budapest. Fierce city-wide fighting ensued, but the city was eventually lost. In response to this, Ewald von Kleist was ordered to commence a counterattack and attempt a recapture of the city.

The Waffen-SS Panzer-Division ‘Adolf Hitler’ and the 1. Panzer-Division, both at 50% strength, accompanied by various Romanian, Hungarian and German divisions, was involved. On the 24th November, they managed to reach and take control of Budapest. After that, Kampfgruppe Schulz, consisting of 9 Divisions was raised, specifically to defend Budapest.

Hungary was to be subjected to one of the last major fighting areas of the war, were brutal fighting ensued. All in all, an expected 1 million German troops were thought to be lost in the Battle of Hungary.

On the 25th November, High Command reported that the Axis losses was 6.4 million (German: 4.1 million), in comparison to the Soviets 13.63 million losses.

*Beware: due to the fast advancing Red Army, encirclements are bound to happen all the time. Therefore, I won't mention all, but only significant encirclements, or small, if it fits into the story.

 

[NeuGemi]

Evacuation of Army Group North
7th December, 1943​

With the collapse of Army Group Center, an evacuation of Army Group North was deemed necessary. That meant that Army Group North would be dissolved, and the two armies would be assigned to Army Group Center.

Despite the successful evacuation of Army Group North, there were still some 24 Divisions, or 300k men trapped in Latvia/Lithuania, known as the Courland Pocket. Engineers were hard at work constructing makeshift ports allowing for convoys to evacuate the troops.

On 29th December, all 24 Divisions had capitulated. Morale was however raised slightly as the troops reached the news about 3 British Battleships that were sunk by German Wolfpacks. Joseph Goebbels took advantage of this and began spreading talk about ‘The end of the British Royal Navy’. This was however, far from the truth. Despite the fact that we still possessed 62 U-Boat (and that the number was rising), German convoys in the North Sea and Norwegian Coast were sunk daily. Also, two of our CA were just sunk. The Tirpitz, sinking convoys in the Arctic Sea had also sustained heavy damage.

With the loss of France, all of our Tungsten trade with Portugal was interrupted. Since virtually all of our equipment required Tungsten, the war industry would be significantly hampered.

By January 1, the Soviet Union had retaken all of their previously held land. The German Reich now desperately held on to the land they had taken in the beginning of the war.

On January 2, 6 American Divisions landed in Norway. They were met with no resistance whatsoever, and no Divisions were able to be sent to stop them at all.

 

[NeuGemi]

‘Germany Stands Defiant’​

Since the capitulation of Romania in May 1943, Germany had surprisingly managed to hold on to vital areas, and in some parts, for almost over a year.

Hungary, despite being mostly controlled by the Soviet Union, were still alive and still controlled Budapest. Also, all along Eastern Poland and Hungary, the Soviet Union's attacks were failing miserably, for now.

The Allies plan to win the war by Christmas had failed.

In preparation of an attack in France, the Luftwaffe had completely stopped performing operations to ensure no planes are lost before it commences. All in all, some 2500 planes were grounded, except for 600 fighters intercepting bombers in the Ruhr area, since that’s were the majority of our factories are.

The operation was halted however when the High Command reached news about American and British troops breaking through between Italy and Croatia. Instantly, 24 Divisions, originally planned for the operation, were deployed and routed to halt the breakthrough.

Joint American-British Breakthrough​

On February 5, the Red Army captured Warsaw, and on February 15, the Red Army bypassed and encircled 15 Divisions, or 163k men in Budapest, including the Waffen-SS Division ‘Wiking’. On March 2nd, Hungary capitulated, almost a year after Romania.

With the British-American breakthrough, 25 German Divisions, or 308k men, were encircled in Croatia. In hopes of rescuing them, 4 Tiger Divisions and 5 other Mechanized or Panzer Divisions were deployed near the British-occupied harbour of Trieste, in an attempt of recapturing it and opening up a place where the encircled Divisions could evacuate to and rejoin the fight.

Under the command of Hermann Hoth, the hastily planned Operation Caesar would commence on 15th March. Kampfgruppe ‘Hoth’ was supported by 1000 Fighters and 600 CAS.

On 25th March, after reaching literally nowhere, the operation was halted. Sepp Dietrich’s army in Croatia had learnt their fate, and promptly surrendered.

Sepp Dietrich and his fate​

Not only was that Germany’s biggest defeat of March. In Stanislawow, a whopping 32 Divisions, or 500k men were encircled, much to the amuse of the Soviets, remembering their encircled troops in the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.

22nd March, 1944 Situation​

On 25th March, the German High Command reported a German loss of 5.61 million troops, in comparison to the Soviets 15.33 million casualties.

Deployed Divisions had now shrunk to 156 (excluding garrison Divisions), from 250.

 

[NeuGemi]

The Fall of Berlin
June 1, 1944

A Soviet attack, targeting Berlin, has succeeded. And with the fall of Berlin, Hitler committed suicide, appointing Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz as the new führer. Will this lead to a capitulation of Germany?

Desperate, bloody and fierce fighting all across Germany is still going on. The morale and stability is at an all time low. Troops are deserting, surrendering to the Allied Expeditionary Force and are helping civilians evacuate from the Soviets. Only the fanatic SS-Divisions who promised to fight even after Germany Capitulates are the only real fighting force.

It was only on the 19th June that Karl Dönitz, along with Alfred Jodl signed the peace agreement of an unconditional surrender, bringing the 5 year long war to an end.

Note: these borders does not try to accurately represent post-war Europe​

Now, do you think you can turn the tide around? Try yourself


Mods:
-Battleplan Execution Adjustments
-GDW'S Army Insignias
-Strategic View Adjustments
-The Campaign in the East

Version: 1.9.2 (891c)