Return to Smolensk and Beyond, IdahoNY vs Scar

[IdahoNYer]

Well, that went poorly. Screen shot after the German moves on 1 March.

Air recon showed large unidentified formations behind the leading Soviet Tank Corps, and it wasn't until I attacked with 2xPz Div of I SS PzKps that we found a bit too much to chew on. The first attack pushed back a Soviet Tank Corps, but the subsequent deliberate attack on the stack failed to dislodge the defenders. This pretty much killed the offensive. I needed I SS PzKps to push clean through for any hope of success. Didn't happen, so I aborted the offensive and put the German panzers into a defensive posture.

Newly arrived 9th and 10th SS Pz Divs are not committed, but remain in reserve. I'm hoping the Soviets will go a bit cautiously as they realize I've got a sizeable amount of the panzerwaffe here.

In any case, I'll pull all of Army Group E out of the Baltic once mud hits to refit and position most likely in the center to be positioned to counter the inevitable Soviet post mud offensive.

With the failed counterattack here, AGN will begin a more rapid pullout shortly....

[IdahoNYer]

As the offensive is called off in the north, the next crisis seems to be developing in the AGC area south of Minsk. The Soviets continue to expand their bridgehead across the Berezina R. against the 2nd Army. I re-position XI SS PzKps to safeguard Minsk, but that only weakens the positions south of the city to the Pripet. I'm intentionally showing weakness in the Pripet hoping that the Soviets take the bait and shift their attack south into the marshes where their advances will be limited. To that effect, 8th Army retains its positions on the Dniepr well to the east, and continues to stretch west to maintain contact with 2nd Army.

AGC's left flank, 3rd Pz Armee, begins pulling slowly back west, and frees up the HG PzKps to refit. With the Wehrmacht panzers maxing at 111 panzers, the SS and HG panzer formations remain the only real effective counterattack forces left.

I'll try and hold Minsk through the spring - if mud hits soon, that may be possible. Big maybe at this point...

[IdahoNYer]

South of Kiev, I catch somewhat of a break. I expected the Soviets to try and penetrate either 4th Pz Armee or the Hun 2nd Army's area and really put a dent in my ability to pull back out of the Ukraine. Instead, the massed Soviet armor appeared to regroup near Cherkassy, and no attacks were launched - very surprising. This allowed me to pull back pretty much 20 miles across the front without pressure.

My goal here is to try and hold the Nikolaev Line as mud hits. To do that, I need to keep him east of that foritified line while the ground is still frozen. If he doesn't launch his massed armor, I might pull that off. I can keep pace away from his massed Rifle Corps for a few turns...

I'd like to pull the Rumanians completely out of the line and establish positions inside Rumania, fortifying the approaches to Bucharest. Thats the goal....

[IdahoNYer]

Far to the south, and now behind the Soviet lines, the fight for the Crimea enters its 2nd phase. Committing two tank Corps, the Soviets pushed through the outer defenses, and the Rumanians fall back to the ports and Sevastopol. Only one Rum Div doesn't make it, which is surprising considering the tank corps committed.

With the mud now in the Crimea, this could potentially tie down a number of Soviet forces for a while. Will be interested to see just how well the Rumanians defend in level 5 fortifications.....

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 198; Mar 29. 1945.......Snow

Qucik update; Screen shot of the front lines after the German turn.

With the offensive aborted in the Baltic States by Army Group E, the German forces there hasten their pullback toward Riga - to allow Army Group E to exit the northern front and reposition in the center, and establish AGN along the Daugava River which is hastily being fortified.

Army Group Center pulls back about 20 miles across the front - abandoning Minsk (leaving a lone VG Div in the lvl 4 fort). Army Group E begins repositioning on the southern boundary of AGC by rail moving its 2nd Pz Armee into position south of 2nd Army, and north of 8th Army. 8th Army pulls back into the Pripet and maintains contact with the Hun 1st Army - still holding along the Dniepr north of Kiev.

Army Group North Ukraine still holding on to Kiev and is slowly rolling back its front to the south as Army Group South Ukraine slowly pulls west under pressure, and attempts to hold on to a fortified line near Nikolaev . The Rumanians are pretty much pulled off the line, to fortify the approaches to Rumania.

Not shown on the screen shot are the Finns holding Leningrad - looks as though the Soviets are leaving that alone with the level 5 fortifications. And the Crimea, which the Soviets are attacking in strength - the Rumanians holding on to Sevastopol fortifications.

[Zemke]

Nice AAR, very impressed by the results you were able to achieve.

Shoot me an e-mail, as the one I have bounced, take care.

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 199; April 5, 1945........Mud

I have been waiting for mud since the beginning of March, and now that it arrives, the timing couldn't be worse!!

While Army Group North continues to pull back towards Riga without being pressured, Army Group E continues to pull off forces and reposition in the center south of Minsk.

Army Group Center pulls back slightly, and Minsk falls after heavy fighting and heavy Soviet loss.

It is here in Army Group North Ukraine (screen shot before German moves) that the Soviets timed their attack perfectly - with mud, I can't maneuver or counterattack!! West of Cherkassy, the Soviets penetrate through the LVI PzKps on a 10 mile wide frontage -which takes them 3 attacks to succeed!! But succeed they do, and pour through that 10 mile gap! Another attack against IV SS PzKps fails, which saves the northern shoulder from encirclement. It is bad enough - Soviets rupture the front here and exploit some 60 miles.

To the south, the Soviets find the going easier against 1st Pz Armee, penetrating witht the initial attacks, and succeed in encircling 5th SS Pz Div tightly. They focus on holding the encirclement, rather than exploiting, and only penetrate 20 miles.

With the mud, repositioning forces is challenging, counter attacking is impossible!

[IdahoNYer]

Screen shot after the German moves.....

I manage to "contain" the northern breakthrough by pulling out the panzers from the front line and moving any available rear area forces to seal the breach. It will hold if the mud continues. The mud also slows the infantry considerably as they attempt to pull back - I leave some infantry to "hold the shoulders" and constrain further Soviet advances.

In the south, XXXXVIII PzKps, along with elements of 17th Army manage two relief attempts to extract 5th SS Pz Div and both fail against stout resistance from the 1st Tank Corps. Its the mud....5th SS is doomed.


What's next - keep my fingers crossed for continued mud while I look to the Dnestr River as the next line of defense - hold foward through spring, then once mud breaks, run west to the Dnester!

[Q-Ball]

Not good, but then again, it's April 1945, and you're fighting in the Ukraine. I would say you are ahead, and can realistically get a victory here. You won't lose, he can't get to Berlin.

[IdahoNYer]

Scar did well to penetrate that line before mud hit -- now its going to be a rapid pull back once summer hits. But, as you say Q-Ball - the Ukraine is a long way from Berlin.

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 200; Apr 12, 1945.....Mud

Made it to turn 200! General Mud has arrived in force, halting all Soviet offensive operations and allowing the Germans one last chance to take a deep breath before the last Soviet Summer offensive.

Screen shot below shows the northern half of the front lines, less Leningrad still being held by the Finns.

The mud allows me to pull panzers and in some cases, some significant infantry out of the lines to form secondary lines to the rear. It is here in the north where I consider the Soviet threat to be the most dangerous - as I have less room to run. Out of the 30 panzer divisions deployed in the East, 20 are north of the Pripet, of the 12 PG divisions, 10 are north of the Pripet.

The plan here is to fall back once mud breaks to a series of fortified lines behind rivers - starting with the Riga Line, already occupied by the 18th Army. Army Group Center has a tougher prospect, which is why I have Army Group E with 6th SS and 2nd Pz Armee deployed there - not much good terrain to defend behind enroute to the Warsaw Line. The XXXIX PzKps is still up north, but will rail to join the rest of the 6th SS Pz Armee once mud breaks.

Overall - I've got to try and hold some ground here in the north just due to the distances involved - Konigsberg is a mere 250 miles from the Riga Line! Unfortunately this "Lines" as I call them consist of barely level 2 fortifications - this is NOT the Dneipr Line that held up the Soviets for so long. These will be mere speed bumps slowing the Soviet Juggernaut.

[IdahoNYer]

Here south of the Pripet, is our secondary effort. While I expect the Soviets to attack heavily here - especially against 1st Pz and 17th Army - there is little good defensive terrain and our plan is to pull back, trying to stay one step ahead of the massed Soviet Rifle Corps.

The Soviet's penetrating the Nikolaev Line before mud was catastrophic to any attempt at holding -- that line did in fact have Level 3 fortifications, but since the troops that had just occupied it were worn out, without the rest of a month of mud, they were penetrated rather quickly.

I'm trying to establish a fort line along the Dnestr River as that is the narrowest part of the front, and affords some river bonus - once that is penetrated, the front will expand as the Soviets push into Rumania. Behind 6th and 4th Pz Armies, there is little good defensive terrain, including few good north-south rivers. So basically, once mud ends, I figure we'll be racing west south of the Pripet, the Soviets pausing to bring up the Rifle Corps and supply.

Time is on my side here - he's running against the clock and has a long way to go, but only one summer offensive to break into Rumania, or come up into Poland from the south of the Pripet.

Not shown is the Crimean side show - Rumanians holding on to Sevastopol and the adjacent fortifications - The Soviets are bringing in troops to take these positions, which means troops not on the main front lines. Most, if not all of the 5 Rumanian divisions should "rout" out back to Rumania (Abstract naval evacuation?) due to the port of Sevastopol.

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 204; May 10, 1945......mud and clear

Screen shot showing the front lines as spring begins to give way towards summer....the mud is drying up. While the Western Allies halt at the River Elbe, the war on the Russian Front continues!

The black lines show the "stop lines" I'm tryinig to put together - all pretty much based on river lines and in most cases, level two fortifications. Still placing fortified units augmented with one or two construction battalions to dig the forts. Newly arriving infantry units augment the process. Certainly not enough to create another "Eastern Rampart", but its the best we can do right now.

As weather clears, we'll pull back to the fortified stop lines - already being done in Army Group South Ukraine near Odessa. We'll force the Soviets to attack and build a bridgehead, and then fall back to the next fortified line.

The problem with that plan is that we're running out of room - especially in Army Group North' area - Konigsberg will be a front line city soon.

I've got more room to pull back in the south, but the terrain offers little help - pretty open tank country if he tries to drive on Lvov.

He's got most of his tank corps against Army Group North and in the Ukraine - but I think he'll also push hard in the Center, north of the Pripet. Combined with continued pressure against Army Group North, this is the most dangerous threat to the Fatherland at this point.

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 208; Jun 7, 1945....clear

General Mud has left the building and clear weather is across the entire front. That means its time to pull back!

Army Group North pulls behind the Riga Line - which is now up two level 3 forts behind a major river - which should at least be a fight for the Soviets to force a crossing. Two Tank Armies are NE of Riga - will be interesting if he tries to force a crossing, or repositions them.

Army Group Center pulls back slowly - its front shortened by Army Group E moving in from the abortive Baltic Offensive. Both Army Groups are heavy in panzer divisions as this is the shortest route to Berlin.

Army Group North Ukraine pulls off the Dniepr and abandons Kiev - time to pull west quickly and reduce the bulge. I don't expect a thrust through the Pripet, but I'm vulnerable here to a thrust NW up towards Lvov.

Army Group South Ukraine pulls back towards Bessarabia - and will use a successive line of rivers to slow the enemy.

Unclear as to where his major blow will fall. Will see shortly in the next few turns.

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 210; Jun 21, 1945......Clear

Clear across the front and we prepare for the Soviet onslaught.

AGN defensive position along the Riga Line is probably the strongest position along the entire front. The mud has allowed time for the fortifications to reach level 3 behind a major river - and each fort has two or three fairly fresh infantry divisions backed up by some type of reserve force. The Soviets can push across, but its going to be expensive to them - and take some time.

The XXXIX PzKps, formerly screening in front of the Riga Line, has pulled behind it and now will depart to other crisis points in the front. It will leave the weakest of three panzer divisions, the 5th Pz, with 18th Army.

While AGN's position is strong, it is more likely going to be rendered ineffective by Soviet pressure against AGC to its south.

[IdahoNYer]

AGC's defensive line(s) are not nearly as strong as AGN's Riga Line. Fewer rivers, none major and some good open terrain hinder defensive efforts.

3rd Pz Armee, defending near Vilnius, has a fairly strong position - level 3 forts behind a river and two fairly potent Pzkps over a narrow frontage. Its strong here for good reason - if the Soviets are going to flank the AGN Riga Line, this is the likely place to do it.

4th Army has a tougher job - open terrain, mainly level 2 forts and few north-south rivers. A powerful SS PzKp is key, and committing Armee Group E to its south cut its frontage almost in half (8th Army in the Pripet is technically still part of AGC as I haven't swapped it yet due to AP shortage).

2nd Army is also holding a tough line - also reinforced with an SS PzKps. Both of these armies will gradually conduct a fighting withdrawal west - hopefully preserving some combat capabiltiy as they withdraw to the subsequent lines - from the Vilnius Line to the Kaunas Line and finally to the Warsaw-Konigsberg Line.

[IdahoNYer]

Armee Group E "officially" consists of 2nd Pz Armee and 6th SS Pz Armee. Both of these "Pz Armies" however really only consist of a single - albiet strong - PzKps. XXXIX PzKps from 6th SS is still up near Riga and the XI SS PzKps has yet to be cut to 2nd Pz Armee. Unofficially, the Armee Group also controls the two armies remaining in the Pripet - 8th Army (still officially with AGC) and the Hun 1st Army (still officially under Hun High Command). It is just not worth the AP expenditure right now to make it official.

But in any case, the real show here is against the two PzKps north of the Pripet anyway. As long as the Soviet stay away from the marshes, and try to batter down the PzKps, they should give a lot better than they will get. He can batter through them, but its going to be very, very costly.

Of course as the situation in the western Ukraine deteriorates, I'll probably have to pull some of these divisions south.....

[IdahoNYer]

Armee Group North Ukraine has been steadily withdrawing from the Dniepr and Kiev positions since spring ended. The Soviets are just starting to catch up now that the Hungarians have reached their fortified line south of Vinnista. While on paper, having 4xPzKps looks impressive, they total but 6xPz and 2xPG divisions. Without good defensive positions or terrain to dig in on, both the 6th and 4th PZ Armee's can at best delay. I expected the major Soviet blow to land against the Hungarians, but 4th Pz holds the better ground. Instead, the Soviets did neither - they hit 1st Pz Armee to the south.

[Fishbed]

Leaving Kiev in June '45... Well feels like it ain't the worst German campaign Ive seen around

Keep up the good work, your game has been a treat to watch.

[IdahoNYer]

Armee Group South Ukraine fails to parry the major blow by Soviet armor! Didn't expect a major attack due west through 1st Pz Armee - figured the Hungarisns to the north, or 17th Army perhaps to the south - both were substantially weaker. Instead the Soviet juggernaut simply steam rolls over the XXXXVIII PzKps - literally. 13th and 17th Pz and 4th SS PG held what I thought were good positions, but they were simply battered through.

The Soviets cut a 30 mile wide gap between 1st Pz and 17th Armies to a depth of 50 miles - right through the next fortified defensive line along the Dnestr River.

I've taken risk here in the south and now I'm paying for it - not much to bolster the front here. Fortunately I've got good interior lines and can have XXXIX PzKps plus some odd infantry formations here fairly quickly.

I'll also bring up 12th Army HQs to take command of forces between 17th Army and 1st Pz Armee. There's not much there now except some Rumanians busily digging in along the Prut River trying to establish the next line - which looks now it might be the primary defensive line. With Kishinev still in friendly hands, I might be able to hold the southern "shoulder" of the penetration, allowing 17th Army to remain on the Dnestr a little longer.

1st Pz Armee will pull NW - opening a larger gap to be filled by 12th Army - but preventing the Soviets from advancing toward Lvov.
By breaching the 1st Pz's Dnestr Line even before it can be occupied, the Soviets have managed to flank Armee Group North Ukraine's best fortifications with the Hungarian positions - and not much defensible terrain further west.