Stalingrad to Berlin (No Hfarrish)

[smokindave34]

March 18th 1943

Leningrad Sector: The calmest section of the front. 18th army is stripped of an infantry and motorized division to support the re-forming 6th army. A Luftwaffe field corps starts digging forts in the choke point north of Lake Peipus.

[smokindave34]

March 18th 1943

Velikie Luki. The 2nd SS Panzer corps continues to hold their own against determined attacks from the Soviet 22nd and 3rd shock armies.

[smokindave34]

March 18th 1943

Army Group Center. I pull back from Rzhev and Vyazma to straighten my lines and free up forces from 4th army to support the 6th army around Stalino. I was hesitant to pull back here as its the shortest route to Berlin but I'm REALLY thin down south and needed the troops. 9th army has some strong panzer and infantry divisions so I'm hoping they can hold the line here. I'm also hoping that Hfarrish won't be in a position to attack here until after the mud season.

[smokindave34]

March 18th 1943

2nd Army. The Soviet 5th shock army is making solid progress and I'm forced back into open ground. I rushed IV corps here to start digging a fall back line. This whole sector north of Stalino is teetering on the brink. If Hfarrish commits some more mobile units here I could be in a lot of trouble. I'm fortunate that he has been attacking my German ID's and not the Hungarians.....

My plan here is to dig a fall back line and pull back when mud hits.

[smokindave34]

March 18th 1943

The Soviet 57th army continues to attack north of Rostov. I don't expect LI corps to hold the city for much longer. I've moved the newly formed XXXVI Panzer corps and 4th armies XLIII corps to the Stalino area to counter Hfarrish. It's going to be difficult to hold the line in this area during the summer with all the open terrain.

[smokindave34]

March 18th 1943

The 17th army continues to withdraw in order to support the 6th and 2nd armies.

[smokindave34]

March 18th 1943 - OOB

[smokindave34]

June '43

Summer arrives and with it the first clear turn of our game. Here is the OOB for June 3rd 1943. I'm in decent shape with 3.5 million men and 5K AFV's. I've put Von Manstein in charge of OKH and hope to use his 9 initiative to increase the odds of reserve activations.

I spent the mud turns sending my Stugs, Jgpz's, and pioneers to OKH. I will now attach them directly to divisions in critical areas of the front. I prefer this to having the SU's attached to HQ's since I know they will participate in combat if directly attached to my divisions.

[smokindave34]

June '43

My pool is also in good shape although I'm sure it will be worn down by the coming Soviet summer offensive. I disbanded a bunch of excess Luftwaffe airbases during the mud turns and this has helped to supplement the manpower pool.

[smokindave34]

June '43

AGN - Ernst Busch's 16th army faces off with the Soviet 11th and 27th armies in this area of the front. Hfarrish made some progress in this area at the end of winter and I expect tough battles here during the summer months. I've moved I corps down from 18th army to supplement 16th army in an effort to hold up the Reds here. Just in case things don't go as planned I start digging a fall back line north of Lake Peipus and in the Pskov area.

[smokindave34]

June '43

AGC - Hfarrish has some of his best units in the Veliki Luki area. The 3rd shock, 2nd guards, and 39th armies are backed up by six breakthrough artillery divisions. I've played enough as the axis to know that the placement of the Soviet artillery divisions will tell you where the Soviet attacks will come from! The II SS Panzer and XXX corps are tasked with holding the Bolsheviks back. This should make for a good battle during the summer!

The SS panzer corps arrived with Georg Keppler in command and he has a sub par 5 initiative rating however no matter how many AP's I have I can't seem to replace him. It seems he must be in good favor with the Fuhrer......

Models 9th army also faces off against strong Soviet rifle corps east of Smolensk. Model has the 1st, 5th, and 9th panzer divisions in reserve and they have been supplemented with our new Panther tanks. I'm concerned about 9th armies weak northern flank. These units could be easily pushed back if Hfarrish puts pressure on in this area. Recon did now show any Soviet build up there but I'll keep a close eye on this portion of 9th armies line.

A luftwaffe corps digs in at the landbridge area.

[smokindave34]

June '43

2nd panzer army holds the quietest area of the front. There has been little Soviet activity here and recon did not pick up any buildup of Soviet units in this area.

[smokindave34]

June '43

The area south of Vornezh has seen the most activity during this game. After the Stalingrad kessel surrendered Hfarrish regrouped and has been pushing methodically west from Vornezh to Rostov. The 17th army was pulled from the Crimea to stiffen the line and together with the 2nd and 4th panzer armies have been digging in along the Oskol river. There is a lot of Soviet arty backed up by mechanized and tank corps andI expect to be pushed hard here during the summer.

It will be interesting to see how Hfarrish handles his mobile units. If he pushes his mobile units too far ahead of his infantry I may be able to rough them up pretty good. My armored units still pack a solid punch.

The Italians have had enough of the war and are heading back to southern europe......

[smokindave34]

June '43

I decide to give ground in this area of the front. In hindsight I kind of wished I had held my ground here.....as I look at the map I had a solid row of forts. I was concerned that Hfarrish could punch through my lines in the Rostov area and that is why I decided to pull back. I also understand that I have a lot of ground to give in the south and I would much rather fight the Soviets as they advance into open ground.

The newly re-constituted 6th army refits and digs in around Stalino.

There are a lot of Soviet Guards rifle corps in this area and I suspect Hfarrish is going to make this area the focus of this summer offensive. I see more mobile units in this area than in any other and this makes sense since it is such good "tank country".

[smokindave34]

June '43

The Crimean Army digs in. I don't see much Soviet activity here so I hope this area continues to be quiet.

[smokindave34]

9/30/43

My struggle against Hfarrish and his Bolsheviks continues now into late September. Overall I'm happy with my situation. My OOB and armaments continue to remain high and I'm still holding lines east of the historical lines. Summer is drawing to a close now and I've managed to survive the clear weather without any major Soviet breakthroughs. However with that said the Soviet steamroller is gaining momentum particularly in the south......

Here is the current OOB.

[smokindave34]

And the current production numbers for Germany.....

[smokindave34]

9/30/43

For the first time in our game Hfarrish begins to attack the 18th army near Leningrad. I have no reserves in this area and have not had any forces available to build forts in depth so I expect to have to start falling back here as he throws more rifle corps at me.

[smokindave34]

9/30/43

16th and 3rd panzer armies.

The best Soviet forces north of the Pripyat marshes are in this sector of the front and I have used 3rd panzer and 16armies panzers to slow the progress of the Soviet 1st shock and 18th armies. I've been able to keep some units (the SS divisions) in reserve to help counter the heavy Soviet artillery presence here. As the 18th army gets put under more pressure from the Leningrad front I'll be forced to draw some forces off of this area for support.

I think Hfarrish made a mistake by picking this area as the focus of his northern offensive - the terrain really favors the defender. On the other hand it is the shortest route to Berlin.

[smokindave34]

9/30/43

AGC

Models 9th army and Heinrici's 4th army continue to stand firm against countless Soviet attacks. I have some of the Wehrmacht's best panzers in reserve here to hold the line. Having a chain of command with Model/Heinrici, Von Kluge and then Von Manstein certainly helps the chances of committing reserves to a battle.