Russia! Why not? (Morvael welcome)

[morvael]

2nd Belorussian Front commander, General-Polkovnik Vladimir Kurdyumov, is dismissed and replaced by General-Polkovnik Vasily Yushkevich. 3rd Tank Army is renamed 3rd Guards Tank Army.

Strength:
men: 11 518 606 vs 3 258 471
guns: 203 186 vs 36 591
AFVs: 22 782 vs 9 583
aircraft: 21 728 vs 1 254

Trucks:
in units: 337 010 / 337 010 (100.00%)
in the pool: 253 691 / 226 333 (112.09%)
in repair: 117 517

Losses:
killed: 46 047 vs 8 552
captured: 679 vs 121
disabled: 1 822 vs 2 207
guns: 1 149 vs 642
AFVs: 364 vs 149
aircraft: 236 vs 95

Including:
in combat: 119 vs 56
from AA: 41 vs 0
on the ground: 0 vs 8
operational: 76 vs 31

[morvael]

The final showdown begins. Third Reich has 8 weeks of life left.

[loki100]

did cpt flam really miss the implication of your build in southern Poland? Or was he so overstrechted that there was nothing he could do about it in any case?

[morvael]

I don't know if he was able to see it. Deep recon usually shows very little (at least for me). And on the entire front he only saw a wall of 3-rifle corps stacks, of which most of the red ones (Guards) were in the south (it was too late for a full reorganization but I managed to move a few north in the last weeks). Anyway, knowing that loss of Berlin equals auto-win and measuring the distances from the capital to my forces he should have moved more units from Hungary/Austria to Poland. At the end of the game he said he had no rail capacity to do so, but I think if he started earlier he could manage to move 10-15 divisions more.

[morvael]

Turn 186 (January 4th, 1945)

All of Hungary is now under Soviet control. Civilians flee from Graz, Wiener Neustadt and Bratislava, which are now on the frontlines. 5th Shock (Mountain) Army prepares to advance towards Klagenfurt directly through the mountains, in order to cut western escape route of the German defenders of Graz (eastern route will be cut by the forces advancing to Wien):

[morvael]

1st Belarussian Front regroups before the final push, through the gap between Sudeten and North Carpathian Mountains, towards Brunn:

[morvael]

The Red hammer strikes near Breslau and the result is outstanding. Southern pincer, formed from 2nd Guards, 3rd Guards, 5th, 6th, 10th and 11th Tank Armies drives through Neisse, Strehlen and Waldenburg towards Liegnitz. Northern pincer, formed from 1st Guards, 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th Tank Armies crosses Oder and captures Steinau on its way west. Many German divisions rout before the coming storm, fleeing west in total panic. Leading elements of 5th Tank Corps (5th Tank Army) meet with 7th and 8th Tank Armies 30 miles to the west of Breslau. Inside are the numerous German infantry divisions as well as 1st Hermann Goering Panzer Division, 10th Panzergrenadier Division and the HQ of XXVII Armeekorps. The mobile elements may still flee from the encirclement, but the infantry units are doomed. Hitler orders Breslau to become another fortress city. Meanwhile Poznan falls to Ryabyshev's 22nd Army, but the event passes almost unnoticed, due to epic events unfolding to the south. Between those important sectors, two cavalry armies break through German lines and open a route, that is almost devoid of field fortifications, between Glogau and Wolsztyn. Hundreds of transport planes kept for airborne operations are used to deliver fuel to the advancing tank armies, suffering losses in the process, but delivering thousands of tons of much needed fuel:

[morvael]

Advance through Pommern is slow, but contact is restored in the far north by the sea, while two cavalry armies attempt to penetrate German lines in the direction of Kreuz and Neustettin:

[morvael]

The Western Bastards (Allies) finally notice the end of the Third Reich is near while they passively stand on the Rhine, and fear that too much land and people will come under the motherly embrace of Soviet Union, instead of their own greedy grasp. Therefore they introduce sanctions and drastically reduce the amount of trucks sent through Lend-Lease, hoping this will slow down the Red Army. But this will not help them win the race to Berlin, as no one can stop now the deadly instrument of war built by peasants and workers of the greatest country on Earth led by Generalissimus Stalin.

3rd Guards Tank Army commander, General-Polkovnik Semyon Bogdanov, improves his morale skill (7). 10th Guards Army commander, General Armii Filipp Gorelenko, improves his initiative (4).

Strength:
men: 11 524 391 vs 3 273 032
guns: 203 613 vs 36 807
AFVs: 22 790 vs 9 565
aircraft: 21 779 vs 1 721

Trucks:
in units: 329 364 / 333 977 (98.62%)
in the pool: 239 277 / 236 583 (101.14%)
in repair: 132 986

Losses:
killed: 43 108 vs 10 589
captured: 553 vs 267
disabled: 2 735 vs 6 121
guns: 1 014 vs 949
AFVs: 799 vs 196
aircraft: 249 vs 122

Including:
in combat: 142 vs 85
from AA: 21 vs 2
on the ground: 0 vs 13
operational: 86 vs 22

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: morvael

The Red hammer strikes near Breslau and the result is outstanding. Southern pincer, formed from 2nd Guards, 3rd Guards, 5th, 6th, 10th and 11th Tank Armies drives through Neisse, Strehlen and Waldenburg towards Liegnitz. Northern pincer, formed from 1st Guards, 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th Tank Armies crosses Oder and captures Steinau on its way west. Many German divisions rout before the coming storm, fleeing west in total panic. Leading elements of 5th Tank Corps (5th Tank Army) meet with 7th and 8th Tank Armies 30 miles to the west of Breslau. Inside are the numerous German infantry divisions as well as 1st Hermann Goering Panzer Division, 10th Panzergrenadier Division and the HQ of XXVII Armeekorps. The mobile elements may still flee from the encirclement, but the infantry units are doomed. Hitler orders Breslau to become another fortress city. Meanwhile Poznan falls to Ryabyshev's 22nd Army, but the event passes almost unnoticed, due to epic events unfolding to the south. Between those important sectors, two cavalry armies break through German lines and open a route, that is almost devoid of field fortifications, between Glogau and Wolsztyn. Hundreds of transport planes kept for airborne operations are used to deliver fuel to the advancing tank armies, suffering losses in the process, but delivering thousands of tons of much needed fuel:

Now that is a proper late war Soviet offensive ... hats off to you for putting it together [;)]

[morvael]

For all the hardships endured during the first 130 turns, this is the prize [:D]

[morvael]

Turn 187 (January 11th, 1945)

Rumanian units capture Graz, easily pushing back a division of Volksgrenadiers. At the same time 46th Army enters Wiener Neustadt, defeating Hungarian soldiers of 25th SS Grenadier Division "Hunyadi" in fierce street fighting. Bratislava awaits its ineviteable fate:

[morvael]

2nd and 8th Guards Armies, led by generals Lukin and Galanin (both experts in infantry warfare), forge ahead towards Olmutz and Prerau:

[morvael]

von Vietinghoff's XXXXVI Panzerkorps spearheaded by the Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Division, supported by 5th Panzer Division, breaks through the lines of 5th Tank Corps, and reopens a narrow corridor to the Breslau "fortress" for a day. 10th Panzergrenadier Division and Mattenklott's XXVII Armeekorps HQ manage to flee through that gap, but 1st Hermann Goering Panzer Division does not, due to lack of fuel for its tanks. What little ammo is delivered through air will allow the defenders of Breslau to survive for a week, but nothing more. Soviet Tank Armies bypass the city, leaving the task of clearing it to the infantry of 1st Ukrainian Front. Liegnitz is captured and forward elements of 4th Tank Army reach Bunzlau. On the northern flank of tank and mechanized force, two Shock (cavalry) Armies capture Glogau and strike west. Next goal for the armored fist is to cross the Bober river and capture Goerlitz-Sagan line, from which the final drive on Berlin will be launched:

[morvael]

North of Poznan the remaining two Shock (cavalry) Armies capture Wronki and Schneidemuehl, reaching the outskirts of Deutsch Krone. The entire line between Bunzlau and Deutsch Krone is mostly devoid of field fortifications and it looks like the Germans will have no time to fortify it properly, as the Red Army overwhelms them with lightining speed. In the north, the enemy flees once again and the slow plodding forces of Leningrad Front follow in their wake, unable to maintain contact, but taking Rummelsburg and Schlawe without spilling blood (except that of remaining civilians):

[morvael]

The effect of US sanctions is immediate, as once again there are not enough trucks to support both the mobile combat units and the logistics tail at the same time. The final Soviet operation of the war is living on borrowed time, but it will not be stopped - in case of emergency less important units will be demobilized. For now one third of transport aircraft (6 regiments of C-47) on the front are sent to reserve, in order to free 2000 trucks for other uses. The rest (12 regiments of Li-2) may follow soon, preventing the first and only airborne operation of the war from happening.

6th Air Army commander, General-Leitenant Aviatsii Fyodor Falakeev, is promoted to the rank of General-Polkovnik Aviatsii. Transcaucasus Air Command commander, General-Maior Aviatsii Mikhail Gromov, improves his admin skill (6). 66th Army commander, General-Polkovnik Ivan Zakharkin, improves his admin skill (6). 49th Army commander, General-Leitenant Konstantin Neverov, is dismissed and replaced by General-Maior Aleksandr Cherepanov.

Strength:
men: 11 545 348 vs 3 257 796
guns: 203 893 vs 36 567
AFVs: 22 714 vs 9 630
aircraft: 21 696 vs 1 658

Trucks:
in units: 322 687 / 330 442 (97.65%)
in the pool: 225 069 / 227 505 (98.93%)
in repair: 146 176

Losses:
killed: 42 858 vs 10 087
captured: 591 vs 214
disabled: 5 908 vs 6 998
guns: 1 098 vs 978
AFVs: 833 vs 254
aircraft: 223 vs 125

Including:
in combat: 142 vs 65
from AA: 29 vs 15
on the ground: 0 vs 18
operational: 52 vs 27

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: morvael

von Vietinghoff's XXXXVI Panzerkorps spearheaded by the Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Division, ...

you've still not managed to destroy that damn unit then?

[morvael]

No... it's too strong and too fast and always kept in reserve, used only for counterattacks. Actually, the Hermann Goering Panzer Division in Breslau will be the first motorized German division destroyed since December '41, when I managed to destroy an entire corps (2 Panzer + 1 Motorized) which was too greedy and got deep into my lines just before the blizzard.

edit: the G.D. can be seen NE of Bunzlau hex, see how far it is from the front - and I didn't get to make that deep penetrations earlier, so there was no chance to snatch it.

[Wuffer]

ORIGINAL: morvael

ORIGINAL: cpt flam
opérations begin to reduce forts

In Soviet Russia forts reduce you

that's still a good one (back in 2012)
btw, what an epic struggle, nearly real time

[Peltonx]

Good AAR 1.08.01?