FitE vs loveman1

[cantona]

Inside Marshal Timoshkeno’s HQ, Pushkin

Lavrenty Beria pushed his way past the army guards posted outside the Leningrad Front HQ building. Two NKVD officers followed him their hands menacingly placed on their pistol holsters. He glared his way past two colonels of the army staff and barged into the Marshals briefing room where two naval officers, an admiral and his attaché, were addressing the elderly Marshal of the Soviet Union.

“What in the name of hell is this?” demanded the head of the NKVD slamming two aerial photographs and a map hardly onto the Marshals table.


“How can your cowardly soldiers let those fascist bastards overrun such a strong position? How can these TRAITORS allow the Germans to come so close to this city, so sacred to our cause? What in Hell’s name are you doing to rectify the situation?”

The Marshal barely lifted his gaze to the member of the politburo. Instead he apologised to his guests and dismissed them. Beria continued his rant,

“I’ll tell you what you are going to do, you shrivelled old wreck. Counter attack, counter attack, and counter attack. You are going to give me the names of the commanding Generals and they will be executed and their families arrested as traitors to the Party and the Motherland. Cowardice will not be tolerated and those yellow-bellied piss poor excuses….

“ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!” The Marshal banged his fist on the table; a canteen of coffee fell to the ground.

“Who the hell do you think you are, you jumped up policeman.? Do you dare to presume to lecture me on military matters? You will either leave my HQ or you will be arrested and those cronies of yours posted to a penal battalion with close proximity to the front!!”

Beria was apoplectic with rage. No one had ever spoken to HIM like that before! He was life and death in the Soviet Union. ‘Timoshenko, you old bastard, you’ve just signed your death warrant,’ he thought to himself. As he was about to order his guards to open fire the Marshal handed him a paper with handwriting Beria only knew too well, the Boss’s handwriting. He read the untidy Cyrillic letters authorising a defence in depth of the Leningrad region and the strategic shift of reserves and frontline units to new deeper positions. Beria began to sweat slightly as the Marshal locked his steel blue eyes on his.

“I repeat my request Lavrenty, leave because I shall not ask a third time.” The unspoken threat hung in the air as Beria turned and pushed an orderly out of his way. He felt an unfamiliar feeling, fear, creep up his spine. The Boss had gone over his head. Had the Army become more important in the eyes of the Boss than his NKVD? He got inot his car and sped North into the lights of Leningrad, the boom of distant guns audible to the south and south west.

[cantona]

[font="times new roman"]24th September 1941[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Amazing but true. We have confirmed reports of Fascist withdrawals from several sectors of the front! Has our stand fast policy worked or is the enemy being a clever fox trying to lure us into a trap?[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Chernigov, the recent scene of hard, bloody fighting woke up to a quiet frontline. The usual German barrages did not come over and as recon patrols advanced they found the enemy’s positions empty. Aerial recon had confirmed that they had withdrawn 20 Km towards the West.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]South of Gomel the Germans had withdrawn their spearheads back across the Dnepr. But our greatest moment came at Cherkassy. Determined counter attacks had thrown back the German bridgehead. A whole enemy infantry regiment was decimated after being cut off my mobile elements of the 28th Mechanized Corps.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]I also received the happy news that my old unit, 17th Rifles, had recovered sufficiently to be reinstated into the frontline at Orsha.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]We received our movement orders…as to where? Even too secret for this diary![/font]

[loveman2]

Yes It seems true !
The mighty whermacht are aghast at the russian defences in the east, however the red army is not strong everywhere and army group north are proof of that as the sounds of jackboots can be heard nearing Lenningrad. Will comrade Zhandanov be alive to tell the tale of the defence of this great northern redoubt ?

[cantona]

[font="times new roman"]PRAVDA 28th SEPTEMBER 1941[/b][/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]We salute our brave boys at the Front. For the Motherland, for the Revolution and for Stalin they lat their lives at the altar of sacrifice to stop the Fascist hordes that are violating our sacred soil.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The recent weeks have been hard but our boys have held the line strong. From Pushkin all the way to Melitopol a wall of iron and fire keeps the fascist away. Behind that wall our workers produce the weapons that will bring us to victory. A hard fought victory no doubt![/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Our reporters from the front report on the sudden cessation of Fascist attacks in sectors they have tried very hard to break in the past. Some brave units have been pulled back to refit and fresh reserves have taken their place in the frontlines.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]The front holds firm but the enemy’s pressure has been felt the hardest around the environs of Leningrad and around a small village on the River Dvina, Velizh. Stalin himself has drawn up the impregnable defences around the Northern city and the Army Chief of Staff has been taking care of enemy attempts to break through to Demidov and thereby threaten Smolensk from the North West. Reserves have already shifted to the area and are countering the Germans with great patriotism and bravery, such as only a Russian defending his Motherland can produce.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]More worrying is the lack of information on the whereabouts of many Fascist armoured units, so prevalent at the Front only last week. We no doubt have destroyed thousands of the enemy’s tanks but we as yet do not know what devilry he’s upto.[/font]

[cantona]

MARSHAL BUDENNY’S ADVANCED HQ – IZYUM

The latest Intel report was delivered by the Corps commander and it did not make good hearing. German armoured engineer units had forded the Dnepr West of Dnepropetrovsk and had smashed an area of the line that was thinly held by a smattering of inexperienced Rifle Divisions. The Corps commander continued,

“So far we have identified elements of 9th, 13th ,14th, 16th Panzer divisions, SS LSSAH and SS Wiking and a supporting cast of Romanian and Italian infantry. The Germans have employed the tactics they used so successfully earlier in the year to good effect.”

Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Buddeny stroked his prominent moustaches. His aide was right to have interrupted his “interrogation” of that whore that had made his acquaintance. This was big news. The Boss was not going to be happy. His orders were clear, hold the Dnepr and DO NOT let them get through.

“Bloody Romanians,” he snorted, “they get involved thinking we’d collapse and they would feed on our carcasses. Ill see Bucharest burn for this the treacherous rats!!!!!”

It seems Comrade Danilov that the forces present cannot contain the thrust. Therefore I authorise Operation Steadfast. Inform General Issyliavitch at Kharkov to release his reserve divisions and telex that Cossack bastard, Molenko to redeploy the 34th and 37th Cavalry Divisions to give us some manoeuvrability until the mass of reserve units arrives at the front. Dismissed lets get moving!”
His room emptied. Thoughts of any more whoring evaporated as he turned his mind to how he would explain the situation to the Boss. Their long friendship is to be tested.

[loveman2]

The red army is blessed by their luck in the weather god.
Hitler has called a conference at the wolfs lair.
The generals discuss the options open to them and have came up with a plan !
 
Manstein has a daring but brillian tplan in store for comrade Stalin it seems !

[cantona]

October 26th 1941
 
The rain keeps falling. two and half weeks of non stop rain that has paid stop to all offensive  operations on both sides. Mud keeps tank treads still and airplanes grounded. At least STAVKA has taken this opportnunity to move reserves without having the fascists plane bomb the hell out of them.
 
Intel has been monitioring German radio traffic and patrols have been busy locating enemy units at the front. It seems the Fascist bastards have something up their sleeves. Let them try it i say, we have enough reserves to bury the whole of the Whermacht under a wave of Russian soldiers

[cantona]

November 4th 1941

The rain stopped two days ago. A chill wind bearing all the hallmarks of Siberia blew in from the East, the mud froze overnight. For two days our lines have been pummelled by the Fascist armies. For the first time I have entered combat inside a tank and I surprisingly found myself yearning for the trenches, the safety of mother earth. Inside my steel coffin I felt very conspicuous…as if every eye and weapon on the battlefield was trained on my tank.

Our unit was called out our billets to the NW of Smolensk. The commander of the 90th Rifle Division was requesting armoured support. German tanks had overrun and routed his division and were heading towards the village of Demidov. We made use of the good roads in the area and smashed into the Fascist flank at noon. Our enemy, the 20th Panzer Division, was well versed in the tenets of armoured combat and even though we had superiority in numbers it took us most of the afternoon and early evening to throw him back.

The T34 is indeed a wondrous vehicle. It is cramped, uncomfortable, stuffy noisy. Nevertheless it is a wonderful weapon of war. Its speed and armour enable us to tackle the Germans on an even basis despite our obvious inexperience. I managed to claim my first kill, a Pz II. Our 75mm shell ripped the flimsy armour apart and left the enemy tank a burning hulk on the bank of the River Dvina. In the elation of the kill we almost got done in ourselves but the 37mm shells fired by the German Pz III’s bounced off our armoured carpace, which bears the scars of intense armoured combat.

We suffered several casualties, mostly to the masterful tactical nuance of our foe. I must say that they have earned my grudging respect today. They employ their armour like the cavalry of old, a purely shock weapon, how mistaken were our post-war commanders? Armour as infantry support!!!! We counted 32 enemy tanks destroyed or disabled, our combined losses were 75, a lot of BA 10’s whose armour is negliable. Our manpower losses were also high. I will say one thing. The image of a burnt tanker is one that shall remain with my till my eyes close for their eternal rest. Our tank is our shield and grave at the same time. It enshrines us in strong steel and embraces us like a mother a child. But it also serves as our boat to the afterlife should we be hit.

We lost too many today but Fritz we are learning…we are learning…

[loveman2]

The whermacht in the east has now gone over to the defensive and it is now time for mother Russia to reclaim her lost territory. Hitler had declared that only limited attacks will be undertaken in the east until Summer 1942.

[cantona]

PRAVDA SPECIAL ISSUE
FORWARDS TO VICTORY

Forwards to the Victory is the cry from the Front all the way to the Urals. Early one December morning our front erupted in a hail of fire, steel and death. It fell on the frozen, starving men of Army Group North blowing them away. Onwards our soldiers marched, side by side with the Leningrad militia divisions. The Fascist infantry withered away in the face of our concentrated firepower, our élan and our belief in the just cause we fight for. One of brave tank brigades drove into the rear of the 113th Infantry Division and routed its headquarters. Its commanding officer, Generalleutnant Friedrich Zickwolff, is now heading towards Moscow where he will be held accountable for crimes against the Rodina. Death to the Fascist, death to the German, death to the defiler and spoiler of the Motherland…

And so it went. Andrei dropped the copy of Pravda he was reading. He felt very uncomfortable in his recently issued Guards airman’s uniform. He had just completed his last training flight on the British manufactured Hurricane fighter. As far as he knew the government had signed a treaty with the capitalist powers, rather ironic he thought. They would send materiel into Russia in order to keep it fighting. His recently raised unit had been issued with the British made fighter. A good model airplane, but it had already been outclassed by the German ME 109 in the skies over Western Europe.

The uniform was stiff with starch and the Guards insignia glittered brightly in the winter sun in the region outside Archangel. He was proud to have been drafted into an elite unit but so far the only enemy his guards unit had fought was white puffy clouds. The distinction of elite would only be earned after meeting the Luftwaffe head on, something he was relishing but he had no doubt of the level of flier he would be up against.

His attention once again focused on the paper in front of him. Despite the political rhetoric that bored him stupid, the accompanying maps were of great interest to him. The counter offensive had raised the morale of the whole country and he was itching to get into action himself. He looked out of the mess window and out to the snow covered airfield. Recently arrived aircraft were being repainted with Soviet decals and markings and would soon be joining the squadrons of the resurgent Red Air Force.

December 9th 1941

[cantona]

December 17th 1941

[cantona]

Extract from “Fire in the East 1941-1945”
By S Gaun, K Kristensen and S Kristensen
Oxford University Press
2004

The 1941 Winter Counter Offensive got the German Army totally unprepared for either winter operations of the ferocity of its foe. Despite holding successful operations to break out of the Perekop Isthmus and into the Crimea two other areas of the Front had succumbed to twin hammer blows. Hitler had decided to leave the Crimea operation to his generals and rightly so they concentrated two divisions of great quality to form the schwerpunkt of the Crimean operation. LSSAH and Das Reich tore the front open for the 4th Romanian Army to exploit. Soviet forces in the area mounted a heroic defence, especially the Kuban cavalry divisions and naval infantry brigades. The Germans seemed to have recaptured some of the élan that drove their forces forwards in June.


Situation 28th December 1941

But despite the hard and savage fighting in the south it was events in the north that captured the attention of the world at the time. The soviets had launched Operation Winter Hammer upon Army Group North. They had achieved total tactical surprise and had torn a 60 Km gap in the German lines SE of Leningrad. The German High Command had been caught totally unaware by the Soviet tactics, an almost carbon copy of their own Blitzkrieg strategy. Concentration of force, penetration and deep exploitation. Accounts from the time state that many fallen germens lacked any sort of winter equipment, striking when one considers that the fighting was taking place in temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius. The recently created tank brigades of the Red Army proved their worth as they proved to be much easier to coordinate than the earlier mechanised corps that had been so savagely mauled in the initial assault. Indeed these first armoured brigades provided one of the most classic images of World War 2, the T-34 full of Russian infantry ploughing into a snow blizzard.


Progress of Winter Hammer January 1st 1942.

Winter Hammer was the first component of the Russian offensive of that winter. Operation Winter Strike, centred further south, employed another innovation of Soviet warmongers, the Shock Army. A hitherto unheard of General, Zhukov had championed the creation of these types of armies whose main roles were to punch their way through the German lines using overwhelming force and numbers.


4th Shock Army Order of Battle

The 4th Shock Army, stationed in Chernigov, the scene of bloody fighting during the summer months, stormed over the frozen Dnepr and smashed into the 44th Infantry Division. After encircling and trapping this formation, as well as other corps level units, against the bend of the Dnepr, the 4th Shock Army wheeled south west to endanger the left flank of the German positions at Kiev. In post war interviews, General Heinz Guderian admitted that the OKW did not believe that the Red Army high command was capable of such delicate manoeuvres.


Positions of 4th Shock Army 1st January 1942

By the start of 1942 the Red Army had proved it could rout the Germans. This lead to a massive surge of morale throughout the ranks and indeed the whole country. Stalin ordered that gold braids were to be reinstated to army uniforms along with badges of rank. Several Tsarist orders were also reintroduced. Things seemed on the up at last.

[loveman2]

The soviet winter offensive has caught the whermacht off balance in the centre and in the north, Hitlers orders are to stand fast and await reinforcements !

[cantona]

Post Offensive Debrief 18th January 1942

The word had run through the higher echelons of the STAVKA. General Zhukov had ordered a debrief from those units involved in the winter counter offensives. The broad aims of the offensive had been to remove the pressure on Leningrad and to relieve Kiev by smashing the German left flank defending the city and use the frozen Dnepr as a springboard. Many lessons had been learnt and many mistakes had been made and now STAVKA was looking to learn from the experience in order to create better fighting formations.

Excerpts from STAVKA report on Winter Hammer

• In the North the operation was a resounding success. German spearheads had been pushed over 100km, indeed the point units had reached the River Luga but had to pull back due to lack of momentum. Special mention must be given to the local militia units that used sheer weight and force of numbers as well as unequalled élan to rip through the enemy’s infantry regiments south of the city.
• Armoured brigades have been a resounding success proving more manoeuvrable than mechanized corps.
• Further study must continue into deep penetration and exploitation tactics as these have been proved more effective than broad front offensives.
• Our opponent has no clue as to the nature of winter fighting – NB he will be better prepared next time!
• T-34 superior to all German tanks at present as shown in the relative few losses incurred from anti-tack fire or direct tank to tank conflict. Recommend discontinuation of T-26, T-28, T-37, T-38 and T-40 models in favour of T-34.
• Our units need to become more professional in their training and application. More Guard units to be constituted as these performed well despite being cut off by local counterattacks (see note A4 below).

Limit of Operations Winter Hammer 1941-42

[loveman2]

Army group north has trapped several russian units in a pocket and is hammering the untermeschen to pieces whilst army group south has wiped out 3 red army divisions whilst the rest of the brave battled hardened red army run for their lives in the face of the german counterattack.[;)]

[cantona]

The following was copied down from a tank driver's diary captured south of Leningrad. Unteroffizier Schellman, 20th Panzer Division.



24th January 1942

We finally closed the ring around the Russkis that broke through the lines and briefly managed to encircle a number of our Divisions that had been invloved in the October offensive. those bastard Ivans can fight. we had to sudue a MG position by literally crushing the stubborn bastards under the treads of our tank. They wouldnt surrender despite the fact their squad had been eliminated. They just swore at us and opened fire on the panzergrenadiers felling 3 of them. Our 15 ton Panzer made mincemeat of them. it was left to me to chip off the frozen body parts after the action had died down.

Our panzerkompanie was detailed to hold the line while elements of our division, the 7th Panzers and 20th Motorized Infantry division would reduce and destroy the remaining Russians which had unsurprisingly decided to fight to the end.

25th January 1942

The tank got blown out from beneath us. Only Hans and I got out alive, poor Tez had his head blown off by the AP shell the T-34 fired at us. We were picked up by a column of the 260th Infantry Divison and are enroute to Batetskiy. The landsers say the Russians have launched a local offensive to try and resuce the encircled troops. i find that hard to believe as it was only yesterday that we sent them packing back to the North.

27th January 1942

Russians ahead...road closed...might be last time im able to write. Volk, Vaterland und Fuhrer. Sieg Heil

Interrogators Note

Execution carried out as per STAVKA Order 546 - all SS men, Paratroopers and Panzer soldiers to be executed after interrogation.
Diary fowarded to NKVD HQ Leningrad

Commisar Gauntchev, Political Officer, 80th Tank Brigade

[Veers]

Sorry to interupt your AAR, but damn that last post was a harrowingly good piece of writing.

[cantona]

very much appreciated Veers [:D]

[cantona]

All the instruments read normal. the purr of the rolls royce engine hummed through the cockpit, the altitude meter read 10,000 feet and oil and fuel levels were optimal for operational patrols. I banked the plane to the left and performed a barrel roll that got me a telling off from the squadron leader.

Over the radio the static is suddenly broken by ground control...german stukas are hitting a troop train coming in from the east...coordinates are given and we speed to assist our comrades

The first incline i have of an impending fight is the light rumble and the black tufts of smoke from the anti-aitcraft as we zoom over the german lies near Novgorod. Ah Novgorod, the golden city, bastion of Russia of old how sad to see you under the yoke of fascist boots but not to worry soon Russia will liberate you and embrace you in its bosom once again.

Further towards the rising sun we speed. Soon enough black specks become visible and the orders come over the comm system. I'm flying wingman to the boss so id better behave myself. I accelerate to attack speed, the hurricane is a fast plane, much faster than the trainners we're used to anyhow. a sleek aircraft that isnt bad considering some capitalist put it together.

There they are. Gull winged bringers of death, their noses painted yellow, their normal black wings painted in whitewash in an attempt to apply winter camoflouge. I hear the boss asking me to cover him as he swoops behind one of the slow dive bombers. I can hear the bursts of his guns and the boom as the fascist plane is blown out of the sky. adrenaline starts to flow....its my turn to hunt!

I line up my kill...i use my speed to gain the best position mindful not to over shoot him...the plane lines up in the crosshiar...the pilot tries to evade..the rear gunner lets loose... i feel and hear the popping noises as his bullets hit my plane...i push the button...my guns spit death...debris falls to the ground. Take that you german bastard. i get another reprimand from the OC for showing off, too damn close was the last words he said before a loud bang and then feedback comes through the speakers.

A mean looking silver machine glides effortlessly through the sky as it lines up behind another of our boys and downs him in a shower of 20mm cannon shells. The cocky swine even banks his wings to his squadron to salute his two kills. Well no more he is mine. I chase after him, but no sooner as i have in my sites the plane shakes and in my rear view mirror i can see the yellow tip of another 109. its spinning propellor ejecting shells from the nose cannon. I dive quickly and try to use the speed to pull away but the bastard is still on me. bank left...right...gain altitude...hes still there

"Andrie im on him," comes a heavily accented call, its Zaunas the estonian. 30 seconds later my pursuer has become the hunted and I can refocus on my target.

I'm right up behind him...the hated swastika and balkenkruz visible as he takes my first burst. I see the impact of the bullets as little tufts on flame on the silver fuselage. A neat line of holes decorate his crate. But this pilot is good. He banks left and i almost overshoot him...if he gets behind me im a goner

I follow him down...we are close to the trees now...the trains fire at him and i can see the gunners raise their arms as my plane flies over them no doubt cheering me on. Knights of the air indeed with one deadly difference our joust is deadly and our dance will bring death to one. i fire again aiming for the underside of the 109. Smoke...black and billowing...i have him now....i empty my guns and the german plane explodes in a ball of fire. I singe my wings as i fly through but the elation is great. my first dogfight kill...no thought given to a fellow pilots death...my first kill.

The comm comes alive again...control asking for reports in...doesnt look good 5 KIA..at least the germans flew to the west down at least 4 109's and 3 stukas. Orders to fly back home for refit. My heart pumps all the way in, my minds eye relives every moment in absoltue detail. I land...debrief..breakfast...inspect craft...count 17 holes suddenly things seem a bit calmer, more perspective allows for cold fear to creep into ones spine. I could have easily joined those comrades now departed. the site of a black cross being painted under the cockpit makes me smile. my first kill.

Alexei calls...briefing...crates have to be up again at 9:45...bomber streams heading towards Leningrad...the dance of death continues

[loveman2]

Manstein keeps up the pressure in the crimea as the germasn begin to breakthrough the untermeschen lines. They are no match for the veterans of the whermacht.