AGS Hungarian Campaign 44 - Soviet Side

[StuccoFresco]

I had this AAR ready since March, but never posted it because I forgot. I'll just pretend I have just finished it, please ignore the real date in the right corner.

This, contrary to the WWI scenarios, is a big scale one. The rhytm is also slower, it's not fast paced due to short scenario lenght. The map is enormous, and the scale is very big too. It's a big operational scenario in which i'll have to carefully execute an offensive, but at least the Red Army shouldn't be as bad as in 1941-42.

The temporal and spatial scales mean I will have to juggle formations in and out of combat to avoid excessive attrition rates, and I'll have to mind the supplies as well.

It will be an interesting challenge, if the Germans are strong enough to put up a strong defense. Let's see.


TURN 1

The sheer number of units and the broad frontline confuses me a bit.

In the east, the Carpathian mountains restricts movement to a few fortified mountain passes. No hope to break through there, but maybe I can try to lure the axis troops out of their trenches. I hereby pull back from a couple passes and set up for a counterattack if the enemy sallies out. In the SE corner I send the 180th Rifle Division to occupy Toplui. I see a reserve Hungarian unit further down the road.

In the SE, Tirgu Mures and Turda are heavily defended, and the Romanians loyal to me have no hope of breaking the enemy lines. I have Soviet units there, but when I try to find a weak point at Reghin I find the bridge heavily defended too. I then decide to send the Soviet units toward Turda, where the enemy seems a bit weaker.

The main front runs between Gyula and Debrecen, where most of my troops are stationed. I don't like the Soviet positions: my units are deployed mostly in a single line, and my reserves seems to be concentrated in front of the strongest enemy positions, in the eastern part of the MLR, and there are a couple weak points just in front of Oradea and the III Panzerkorps. I immediately decide to redeploy the Gorshkov Cavalry Group to the west and break out there. Since there are two unguarded river crossing just southwest of my lines, I send Pliev's Cav Group there to guard them.




TURN 2
Surprise: the Germans get to do 2 turns in a row... I see them moving out a LOT of troops in the Carpathian area, and attacking south of Oradea, just through my weak points. Ok, no biggie. What bothers me is a MASSIVE buildup in front of Szentes, with the 13th Panzerdivision that takes position in front of the Pliev Cav Grp. Of course i have then to redirect part of the Gorshkov Cav Grp in front of it, lest the Germans smash through and gets in my backfield... I also have no artillery whatsoever to shell the enemy troops' concentration. Wow.

Well, on the bright side I can punch the Axis in the face too: i surrounded the German 76th Infanterie Div that attacked south of Oradea and I expect to liquefy it. An attack over the Koros River allows me to push aside two regiments of the MThersia Division and encircle its third regiment. A third attack push aside a regiment of the 20th Infanterie Div, and I can hope to make more progresses. Let's see.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 3
The Axis' retreat from the Carpathian area wasn't executed by all their units, so in fact allows me to advance in some areas and encircle several enemy units that stood on the border. Cluj, Bistrita and Sighetiu Marmatiel are occupied without a fight. This basically signifies that the whole Carpathian front may be open by next turn or so.

I also make some additional breakthrough in the main front, and I hope to destroy more enemy regiments in various encirclements.




TURN 4
In three assaults at the Szentes strongpoint, the Germans lose more than 60 Panzer 4F2 and more than 60 Panthers; this is maybe due to the large AT-Guns units I moved there last turn. More assaults south of Oradea force one of my Strelkovy Divisions to pull back with heavy losses. One of the encircled regiments attacks toward my lines, forcing a couple HQ units I used to surround it to pull back.

By the end of the turn, the enemy lines in the center have been broken through. There is a massive hole at Mezotur, and I exploit it with mobile divisions, encircling more units in the process and menacing a total collapse of German lines west of Oradea. East of the city, the Hungarian lines have been broken too.

I'm able to reduce most of the German pockets and rack up substantial victories, then i fail a proficiency check, and I get to see the Germans plunging the whole 24th Panzerdivision through my lines southwest of Oradea, right into my backfield. Fucks' sake. They also seems to be moving tons of units by rail all over the map.



TURN 5
Despite the failed proficiency check, I keep hammering and encircling the Axis forces. A couple pockets are eliminated, and in the whole Carpathian area there is but a single Hungarian reserve division holding a single pass. My eastern forces are now free to join the struggle in the center of the map. I also finally manage to break through the Hungarian defenses at a river crossing south of Szeged.

About the 24th Panzerdivision, i'll try to contain it with the scarce resources nearby, concentrating the bulk of my forces there to encircle and destroy more enemy units. Alone, the 24th Panzerdivision can't win the battle.

Further down the turn, Reghin is taken and the Rumanian 2° Corps moves toward Oradea. The 50th Rifle Corps and the 40th Army takes Satu Mare. An attempt to further expand the bridgehead south of Szeged is succesfull, but costly.

At the end of the 6th phase of combat, I promptly fail another proficiency check.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 6
The Germans don't exploit the 24th Panzerdivision's success, instead leaving it surrounded by (relatively) weak units and out of supply. Good. Instead, they try a counterattack against my southernmost bridgehead over the Tisza river, but they are beaten back (albeit at high cost). More preoccupying is a local counterattack against the lonely 10th Guard Airborne Division north of Mezotur, that forces it to withdraw.

But with the arrival of the bulk of the reinforcements from the Carpathian area, i'm able to launch a broad-front offensive that encircles 5 full brigade-size Axis units in the Oradea-Mezotur area. I'm confident I'll be able to destroy them all, making the whole Axis central front collapse.

The 50th Rifle Corps and the 40th Army are however forced to stop their advance: supplies are very low and I can see several Axis units ahead.






TURN 7
The enemy forms a MLR northeast of Toroksenetcetera, and other light units arrive at the river crossing just behind my lines, so I have to dispatch the depleted 10th Guard Airborne to guard them. My lines aren't very solid here, and there are no reserves, but the enemy isn't very strong either and I think I can hold the line long enough for my main forces to win at Oradea and strike the enemy from behind.

At Oradea (that is taken at the end of the previous turn), I prepare another encirclement. The 24th Panzerdivision still isn't moving, so I can concentrate my units against two Panzer Regiments just west of the city. Annoyingly, two weak Hungarian units, albeit surrounded, managed to break through the weak points of their encirclement and run free. I have to re-encircle them and assault them once for all.

Heavy enemy concentrations of troops are seen at Szenten and in front of my southernmost bridgehead. I have zero reserves there so I can only garrison the river crossings.

Debrecen is occupied by SU-76 battalions, spearheading the advance of 25th and 27th Guards Corps, with 51th Infantry Corps just behind.

[StuccoFresco]

TURNS 8 and 9
Two turns in a row for the Soviets, don't know why. I can see a massive redeployement of Axis troops toward Budapest and, in general, the western part of the map. In the southwest I see a stron German force amassing and then moving east, toward Mohacs. I decide to send the 35th Guard Corps and part of the 6th Guards Tank Army southwest to act as a strategic reserve against a possible German assault at the Tisza River line.

In Turn 9 the remains of the 24th Panzerdivisionen around Oradea are killed off. Several Soviet Armies are heading toward northern crossings of the Tizsa river, while in the south I'm trying to build up a reserve against a possible counterattack. The enemy units north of Mezotur aren't moving, so I can hope to cut their supply lines by rushing the river crossing just north of them.



After having liberated the map center, I decide to start reorganizing my forces and re-unite the various formations.






TURN 10
And now two turns in a row for the Axis. I see many units going back and forth from Vienna to Budapest, and an armored Hungarian unit escaping from the eastern side of the Tizsa to the safer west side.

When my turn starts, a truckload of Soviet troops emerge from the southern edge of the map, in the middle of the German advance. Damn. They also are already out of my supply zone, so I either try to attack and dislodge several strong Axis units, or they will be unsupplied fast. Damn.

With the reorganization in full effect, all my formations are divided among the following Fronts:

- 50th and 51th Rifle Corps; 7th Guards Army and 40th Army are now the Czech Front. Their next objective is to take Miskolc; then, they will engage enemy forces at Ozd and Salgotarian.

- 25th and 26th Guards Corps; 49th and 57th Rifle Corps; a good part of the 6th Guards Tank Army; 4 Guards Cavalry Corps; a part of Gorshkov Cavalry Group and the Rumanian 4th Army are now the Budapest Front. Their mission is to take the Hungarian capital.

- 33th and 37th Rifle Corps; Pliev Cavalry Group; the 2nd Ukrainian Front's AT Assets and Artillery; the other part of Gorshkov Cavalry Group; 53th Army; the 6th Fds Cavalry Group, and the 27th Army are now the Rivers Front. Their objective is to cross the Tisza and defeat the strong enemy troops that guard their area. After that, they may try to advance toward the Danube River.

- 46th and 57th Army; 6th, 10th, 31st and 35th Guards Corps; 64th and 23rd Rifle Corps; the other half of the 6th Guards Tank Army and the 4th Guards Army are now the Emergency Front. Their mission is to save the units that spawned in the middle of nowhere. If they survive, they can join the Rivers Front in his mission.

In a shocking turn of events, the Emergency Front achieves a supermassive success in the south! The Germans are driven off in the western pocket, allowing supplies to flow to the westernmost units. Near the Tizsa river, the success is enormous: a German and Hungarian tank divisions are encircled and completely destroyed in the offensive. Almost 190 enemy tanks are destroyed!



The whole Front pours over the Tisza river, pushing the scattered (and presumably shocked) Germans away. To honor its victory, the Emergency Front is hereby re-named as the Shock Front.

The Budapest Front, not to be outshined, encircles and destroy the last Axis units east of the Tizsa river.

[cathar1244]

Historically, the operations in Hungary were pretty dramatic. Debrecen, the Budapest siege, German efforts to relieve the SS corps there, the use of infra-red lamps for night combat with tanks, and the "inside job" that delivered Vienna to the Soviets ... capped by the link-up of British Eighth Army and the Bulgarians in the Alps. I've always thought it odd how many of the Panzer divisions were deployed there in 1945 when it was clear that was -not- the shortest route for the Soviets to reach Berlin.

Cheers

[StuccoFresco]

Probably the terrain made the Germans think it would have been possible to sneak up a big victory in a secondary theatre turning Soviets' attention away from Berlin.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 11
The Axis is clearly in shock and don't do much. In my turn, I keep pounding the enemy with the Shock Group, that has already reached the Danube river, encircling the Brandenburg Panzergrenadier Korp. The 31st and 21st Guards Corps reach Baja, but it's garrisoned by a Gebirsjaeger Korps and can't be stormed. The 35th Guards Corps and the 6th Guard Tank Army are dispatched north to join the Rivers Front, encircling the Rumanian troops at a river crossing from behind.

The Czech Front advances in the north and takes Miskolc and Eger, but it's low on supplies and must be stopped for now.

The Budapest Front loses the Romanians, that decides to withdraw through Czekoslovakia (???). The imminent assault on the Axis positions at Szolnok won't be launched for now, but the 25th Guards Corps, 57th Rifle Corps and the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps cross the Tisza north of the enemy positions and establish a bridgehead.

During the turn, the Brandenburg Pzg Korp is destroyed, losing 118 Panzer 4H tanks.









TURN 12
Supply levels are low all across the board, so I decide not to push too hard this turn and simply better position my Fronts. The Budapest and River Front cross the Tisza river and establish three strong bridgeheads; the Shock Front prepares for a future break through the Danube river's lines; the Czech Front don't move. A few bombardments here and there, with the shelling of the Axis concentation of troops near Szentes that proves to be absolutely murderous to the tightly packed enemy units.






TURN 13
I stay still, just bombarding the same Axis stack near Szentes, with the same horrifying results. It has now gone from "red" to "orange". Several Axis units seems to converge toward one of the bridgeheads made by the Budapest Front.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 14
The 20th Guards Corps crosses the Danube at Paks without opposition, accompanied by elements of the 3rd Ukrainian Front AT Assets. Several Rumanian units appears in the South, as well as other elements of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, mainly security units, AT and artillery.

During one of the usual bombardments near Szentes, i absolutely ANNIHILATE the enemies, inflicting 96% of casualities including 105 Panzer IVHs, 77 Panthers and 18 Jagdpanzers IV! No idea how I managed to do that, I include the screenshots... After that massacre, only 44 Tiger II and and a handful of infantry remains guarding the crossing, so I attack en masse and occupy it. The Rivers Front is now free to cross the Danube and move west.

In the north, supplies are still low.




TURN 15
A solitary Rumanian unit shows up in Borsa, deep in the Carpathians! How it resisted all those turns is unknown. Fortunately, several Soviet formations spawned on the eastern border, so I can try to chase it.

The River Front continues its offensive, and the Budapest Front encircles and destroy a German infantry regiment near Cegled, in the center. Axis units converge toward the Paks bridgehead, that is being reinforced. Kecksemet is taken, and another crossing will be attempted at Dunaujvaros.






TURN 16
More attacks in the south makes other holes in the Axis lines. The crossing at Paks is exploited by part of the Shock Front, and more units pours over. In the north, the advance is stalled due to bad supplies. It's been 4 turns of relative stillness for my units, and supplies are still low...

[Lobster]

The Soviet stuff looks like a veritable tidal wave of doom. [;)]

[StuccoFresco]

Yeah, the Soviets can muster a lot of mass in this scenario, if supplies supports them (spoiler: they seldom do). German player/PO must exploit the rivers and try to defeat one vector at the time, otherwise it will be overwhelmed. But if it concentrates too much units in a single place, concentrated artillery strikes can wreak havoc on him. And obviously, if you don't mass your artillery as a Soviet player you are doing it very wrong.

The German real hope is the flux of reinforcements, way more than what happened in real history; a skilled player could, at the right time, make a veritable counteroffensive.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 17
Tired of waiting, I order a general offensive. All Fronts advance, sometimes encountering resistence. An Hungarian counteroffensive from Budapest reach the Budapest Front's units that were approaching the river crossing just south of the capital; the German 357th Infanterie Div guards the crossing itself and looks like a though one. The rest of the Front is slowly advancing from southeast.

The River Front is now entirely over the Danube river and it's engaging several Hungarian and German Corps and Divisions in the area. The Shock Front has sent several Corps through the Paks crossing, and now is attempting to surround the German Handschar Gebirsjaeger SS Korps that guards the southernmost crossing. There are several strong German mechanized and mountain units in this area.

In the North, the Czech Front Encounters resistence on the approaches of Ozd and it stops.






TURN 18
Axis units rush to the defense of Budapest, stopping my three-pronged advance on the capital. There are some fairly strong German units among them, including two full Infanterie Divisions. There also is a cobbled-togather mishmash of various AA, militia and infantry regiments of the Hungarian army. The greatest threat, however, is a strong concentration of troops just over the river crossing south of the city. I solve the issue by concentrating heavy artillery on the eastern shore and shelling them to ribbons. The Budapest Front, that has been joined by several units taken from the Rivers Front (Pliev Cavalry Group, 33rd and 37th Rifle Corps, 2° Ukrainian Front Artillery), is low on supplies.

The Czech Front launches a limited offensive in the far north, encircling a weak Romanian unit and overrunning another one. Given what the intel occasionally shows around Salgotarjan, it's unlikely this Front can achieve a breakthrough without help, but it will tie up some Axis forces nonetheless. Supplies are very low.

The Rivers Front has given several formations to the Budapest Front, but has been strenghtened by several Rumanian units, the 20th and 35th Guards Corp, and several assets of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. It has surrounded the 8th Panzerdivision and the Hungarian 7th Inf Division. Smaller Axis units are located just west of its positions, but the encircled units are still powerful and have resisted a couple assaults each despite being cut off. Supplies are dwindling.

The Shock Front has crossed the river at Baja, but is encountering heavy resistence by strong German units around Szekszard and Mohacs. Several formations has joined the Front to make up for the ones given to the Rivers Front. Supplies are acceptable.


TURN 19
A German Gebirsjaeger Division pops up in the Carpathes... Luckily I have reinforcements in the area, so I sent them to intercept and destroy them. 23Rd Rifle Corps and 18th Guards Corps can finally be redeployed via rails toward the front.

I don't try to push further west: almost all Fronts are ordered to set defensive positions, with few exceptions. I'm also setting up an encirclemnt in the south.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 20
Other German units gather around Budapest. A limited counteroffensive and several strong German divisions halt the advance of the Budapest Front, and make me fear a general counterattack. 23Rd Rifle Corps and 18th Guards Corps are hereby added to the Front and sent in the problematic sector. The southeastern approach to the capital, however, is lightly guarded and I manage to push back several weak Hungarian units.

I decide to try to destroy the units encircled by the Rivers and Shock Front, but the Rivers Front suffers heavy losses, despite destroying the Hungarian 7th Inf Division. The Handschar SS Gebirsjaeger Division is destroyed more easily by the Shock Front's forces, that are now free to advance and maybe try to encircle the numerous German divisions around Szekszard. Pecs is occupied.

The Czech Front makes a small advance, and tries to encircle an Hungarian division. The German 8th Jaeger Division blocks the advance at Ozd.

In the Carpathes, the lone Gebirsjaegers resist a coordinated attack from 4 infantry divisions, inflicting heavy losses. Those guys are out of supply since... well, a dozen turns or more.







TURN 21
This may be the decisive turn. The destruction of the isolated Gebirsjaegers in the Carpathes bodes well.

In the North, the Czech Front manages to encircle and destroy the Hungarian 27th Light Inf Division.

Around Budapest, the Budapest Front encircles and destroys the German 76th Infanterie Division, and prepares for an assault to the city from the South, while part of its forces hold the Feldherrnhalle Panzerdivision. The 7th Mechanized Corps enters the city outskirts, spearheading the advance.

The Rivers Front is still recovering from the recent losses, but encircles and destroys a minor Hungarian unit.

The Shock Front tries to score a massive victory by cutting off all German units near Szekszard with a wide flanking maneuver. With the Germans already tied up by numerous units, it's very likely the pocket will be formed and from the next turn I can start reducing it. This victory could open me the whoule southern part of the map.







TURN 22
The Hungarians, seeing Soviet tanks in their capital, try to counterattack in the southern outskirts. The attacking unit pushes back an HQ, but is then surrounded by Soviet units. Most of the Budapest Front digs in, waiting for supplies to raise and for the Axis to try something stupid.

The Czech and Rivers front eliminates the Axis pockets that still remained, then waits for supplies too.

The Shock Front starts reducing the big pocket around Szekszard. Two divisions and an HQ are destroyed.





TURN 23
A counterattack north of Budapest is repelled. Kapsovar is occupied in the south, and the Shock Front cedes several formations to the depleted Rivers Front: the 6th and 21st Guards Corps, the 64th Rifle Corps and the 46th Army.

The Hungarian unit that attacked near Budapest last turn is destroyed, and the Budapest Front launches several attacks to rectify the frontlines and prepare for a push for the city center. Unfortunately, what should have been just a bombardment ends up as an armored push right through the streets; several Hungarian and German units are hit hard and dislodged, but a dozen T-34/85 are lost.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 24
The Feldherrnhalle Panzerdivision launches a counterattack at Hatvan, but the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps and 5th Guards Tank Corp are swift to attack the weak Hungarian unit that guarded its rear and close the encirclement behind the Germans. If I manage to eliminate them in the next couple turns, the entire Axis position in the area may collapse.

In the North supply levels drops suddenly, and I decide to pull back the Czeck Front to Miskolc just as more German units are arriving in the area. The 66th Guards Rifle Division, just arrived in the map, is sent to help.

In the South I pull off only minor moves: Kapsovar is elected to become a strongpoint by the Shock Front, given that I can see strong German units concentrating at Nagykanisza. The River Front, helped by the units ceded by the Shock Front, besieges Siofolk and eliminates another Hungarian unit near Dunaujvaros.




TURN 25
The Germans are trying to smash the Czech Front: several German AA units try to take Egen, but it's adequately defended by the 46th Army, that even at 1% supplies drives them off. A full Infanterie Division runs through my lines and reaches the Tisza river unopposed, threatening my backfield. I rail the 252 Rifle Division toward Oradea, so it can march toward the enemy, that will hopefully be out of supply soon since I cut off its supply lines. The bulk of the Czech Front itself has succesfully repositioned around Miskolc.

The Budapest Front faces several counterattacks on its northern flank: numerous German and Hungarian units have filled the front, but are too weak to break the encirclement of the Feldherrnhalle Panzerdivision, that is being continuously shelled by my artillery.

The River Front takes Siofolk and surrounds other two Axis units.

The Shock Front forms a MLR around Kapsovar and awaits.






TURN 26
More and more German units enters the map, and entire divisions strenghten Axis positions around Budapest. The 3rd Panzerdivision smashes through the River Front's lines and inflicts heavy losses to the Romanian units. It plunged so deep in my lines that the "borders" closed behind it. I try to encircle it, while the rest of the Front eliminates the encircled 1st Hungarian Cavalry Division. I'll probably need to send more reinforcements from the Shock Group...

The Czech Group's position seems to get better: reinforcements are on the way, the lone German Division has been reached by the 66th Guards Rifle Division, and the 252 Rifle Division is nearby.

The Budapest Group makes an attempt to eliminate the Feldherrnhalle Panzerdivision and succeeds! 64 Panzer IVHs and 62 Panthers are destroyed!

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 27
Several SS divisions arrive at Budapest on rails. Dirlewanger SS Brigade, Totenkopf SS Panzerdivision and SS Wiking assaults my positions in the city center, but given how late they arrived, I repel the attacks with ease. Having parked almost 200 AT Guns in the streets helped a lot. Situation around the city isn't good: the new arrivals has considerably strenghtened the Axis positions, even though my lines are still strong. I'm trying to make another encirclement NE of the capital.

Reinforcements for the Czech Front are almost arrived, but the overall state of this area is very bad.

In the South, the Rivers Front seems to have contained the Germans in the area south of Budapest, but my position are still fragile, so I detach the 21st Guards Corps from the Shock Front and send him north. An all-out assault to destroy the encircled 3rd Panzerdivision fails despite inflicting heavy losses.



TURN 28
Brandenburg Panzergrenadiers "receives the order to withdraw", the game tells me. Too bad: they are already all dead. The IV SS Panzerkorps concentrates its forces in downtown Budapest, but it's greeted by a symphony of 500 Soviet guns and loses 21% of its strenght.

The Rivers Front is given the 10th Guards Corps and since I decide it will be my new "strong Front" I rename it the Balaton Front. The old Shock Front can't raise its supplies and will be renamed the Southern Front. Its morale boosted by its new designation, the Balaton Front dispatches the rest of the 3rd Panzerdivision (wrecking its 50 Panzer IVH and 50 Panthers) and three Hungarian HQ units, and it's now free to move north and threaten the encirclement of Budapest.

Veszprem is occupied.





TURN 29-30
Not much happens, save for the Balaton Front positioning for a devastating attack up north. I'm planning the encirclement of the 357th Infanterie Division, and for a follow-up that could put half of the Front in the Budapest's western outskirts.

The other half of the Front mops up some weak German AA and Hungarian reserve units SW of the capital. Tatabanya is occupied by allied Romanian units. I see, far away, German divisions amassing again. I better form a MLR to protect my left hook to the city...

I finally destroy the German unit that tried to re-take the Tisza crossing, and I now have a sizeable reserve of units for the Budapest Front. Maybe I can try a right hook just NE of the Capital...

Heavy bombardments are eating away at the IV SS Panzerkorps.







TURN 31
The Germans seems to have broken up the concentration of units near Nagykanisza, sending some NE toward Veszprem. It seems that they are trying to attack the western flank of the Balaton Front, so I form a defensive line with some light troops and the Romanians, while the bulk of the Front keep hammering at the Budapest area.

The Budapest Front launches a series of local attacks that seems to promise some sweet success if the Axis doesn't reinforce the area too fast. Let's see...

The Czech Front sees now only a single German Division in front of him. A deep reconneissance by a SU Battalion sees nothing in the immediate vicinity, so I try a counteroffensive to encircle that lone Division.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 32
The Czech Front scores a big victory, encircling and destroying the 8th Jaeger Division! Despite the horrible supply levels, maybe this front can do something, after all!

The Germans have withdrawn from downtown Budapest, and with a quick attack the Budapest Front occupies all the eastern side of the City (Pest), and can now try to cross the Danube and storm Buda. Just north, the 15th Infanterie Division has been surrounded following a successfull attack on some Hungarian units, and it's now trapped with its back pressed on the river. Another encirclement is pulled off against Romanian units. It seems the entire area is ripe for a collapse of Axis positions...

The Balaton Front destroys some German/Hungarian units SW of the capital. Among them there were 38 Koenigstigers.

The Southern Front awaits a German advance.





TURNS 33 and 34
Two Soviet turns in a row, don't know why. Czech Front is again advancing on Ozd, pushing away German AA units. Budapest Front has achieved several major victories, and the whole area NE of Budapest seems to be collapsing fast. The IV SS Panzerkorps has taken positions NW of the capital, but big German units are still stuck in Buda, looking preoccupied at the wide flanking move of the Balaton Front.







TURNS 35 and 36
After 2 German turns where nothing happens, newly arrived 38th and 39th Rifle Corps are railroaded SW of Budapest, where supplies are not horrible and there seems to be a huge weakness in the Axis lines. To be honest, Axis forces seems to be shattered and in disarray almost everywhere but the immediate Budapest outskirts. And about that, i'm going to encircle the 13th Panzerdivision and the 4th Kavallerie Division there, so...

I'd love to have rail engineering units so I can repair the rail lines and maybe improve my supply. The advance is sluggish because of horrible supply values everywhere but the center.

Again I get two turns in a row, but in Turn 36 I do nothing but hope my supplies rises and railroading other reinforcements forward.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 37
The Czech Front occupies Salgotarjan, and links up with the Budapest Front. In Budapest, several German units are surrounded. The Germans has retaken Tatabanya, but a counterattack by 37th and 38th Rifle Corps surrounds the SS Totenkopf Panzerdivision there.



TURN 38
Axis gets two turns in a row and things got interesting SW of Budapest: 501t SS Heavy Tank Btn, SS Hitlerjugend and Leibstandarte stage a counterattack that forces several light Romanian units back, but they they meet my MLR and stop there. SS Wiking shows up again, too, a bit north of Tatabanya. I have to redeploy my forces to endure their advance.

The surrounded Totenkopf is eliminated, while another German pocket resists all Soviet assaults inflicting heavy losses.

Other 2 German Infanterie Divisions advances south, almost flanking the Southern Front before I notice them and stage a counteroffensive. I'll try to encircle and destroy them.







TURNS 39 and 40
The struggle is dragging on, and I feel kind of dizzy now. An Hungarian Battalion and a German Regiment appear out of thin air in the northern border of my map, threatening my supply lines, so I have to divert forces to my backfield to contain them. More German units are encircled and bombed or destroyed.

Every time I eliminate someone and it seems I can smash through, more German units arrive on the battlefield. There is now a huge armored force just west of Budapest, because SS Hoenstaufen and SS Das Reich Panzerdivision are arrived, and all my units are worn out and with low supplies. I can't draw units back to resupply because there is an incessant pressure everywhere, and moving my units takes ages because I can't repair rail lines.

In the South, even more divisions are amassing at my doorstep, and supplies are somehow below 10 despite having several supply points on the southern border of the map.

I'm building a "repair area" around Budapest to try and resupply some divisions. The large concentration of troops north of the Balaton lake can't hope to resist to a concentrated assault of all the SS armored forces, but I can't do much now.



TURN 41
Axis resistance in the Balassa-Gyarmat area has been subdued. German artillery concentrations just NW are being engaged by the 26th Guards Corps, with little success. The rest of my troops there are moving SE toward better supplied areas.

Encircled German armored units SW of Esztergom keep resisting my assaults. South of th Balaton lake I have destroyed the two German Infanterie divisions that tried to flank my positions at

In the north, the Czech Front has pushed enemy light troops out of Lucenec, but is out of supplies.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 42
Remember when I was hoping to be able to launch a counteroffensive in the south, because I just melted other 2 german divisions? Good times. Now the Reichsfuhrer SS Panzergrenadiers have arrived, and threaten my left flank. Oh, well, I'll execute "encircling move #45" and voila, they will probably not survive.

German IV SS Panzerkorps has slightly advanced SW of Budapest, but it's now stuck and its positions are prone to flanking and encircling. It really seems the AI isn't aware of this danger when it lunges forward with strong units. Das Reich and Hoenstaufen SS Panzerdivisions could really be encircled and THAT I hope will be the decisive battle for Hungary. Oh, right, there is still the Leibstandarte and another unidentified SS Panzerdivision...

NW of the capital, the German armored units in the pocket are being assaulted again, and this time they crumble with relative ease. Wiking SS and 6th Panzerdivision are destroyed, freeing up a lot of Soviet units I could use to encircle the aforementioned SS Panzerdivisions south.

German stragglers in my backfield has been contained for now. In the north the Czech Front faces such low supplies that despite lack of German resistence it's likely I will have to withdraw entirely. A Gebirsjaeger regiment is advancing toward Salgotarian, too.









TURN 43
Reichsfuhrer SS Panzergrenadiers are eliminated. With this victory, the Southern Front may be finally free to advance and take Nagykanisza.

Das Reich and Hoenstaufen SS Panzerdivisions are encircled and under heavy artillery bombardments. The Leibstandarte SS Panzerdivision hasn't made an attempt to free them yet. Small victories at high cost are made in the woods north of Tatabanya. The town itself has become an Axis strongpoint, full of small units packed togather. Shelling them has led to minor losses only.



TURN 44
Another SS unit comes to the South to thwart my plans: this time it's the Handschar's Gebirsjaegers. Too bad: I have a lot of strong units ready to address the issue and a single brigade-level unit won't stop them. In a few moves, the newcomers are encircled. There also are three fairly strong German units around , but Nagykanisza itself has been left undefended, so I launch forward the 1st Guards Mech Corps and take they town by surprise.

The Czech Front decides to ignore supplies and encircle the 3rd Gebirsjaegers, just to spite them.

The Budapest Front has now reduced the SS pocket to a single hex under heavy bombardment. The Hitlerjugend and Leibstandarte has come closer to the pocket, so I want to eliminate it this turn. I make it in time: by the end of the turn the pocket is annihilated, all 170 tanks within destroyed. I wonder how many tanks the Axis lost until now... Must be a thousand or so.

[StuccoFresco]

TURNS 45 to 48
Slowly, very slowly, encirclement after encirclement, I'm destroying a lot of enemy units, and victory approaches. I also have stationed a lot of units in fairly high-supply areas east of Budapest, where they are somewhat recovering. I start to move forward some of those formations, exploiting the gap that is forming in front of Gyor. Leibstandarte and Hitlerjugend SS Panzerdivision are encircled within a solid ring of units. In the end, constant artillery fire and heavy assaults reduce the pocket to a single hex.

Pliev Cavalry Group crosses the Danube near Komarno, entering ex-Czekoslovakia and threatening to encircle the 356th Infanterie Div that guards a river crossing further east. By the 48th turn, the Pliev Cavalry Group assaults and destroys it.

South of the Balaton, other successes may allow me to encircle even more units, despite fierce German resistence.

Even the Czech Front, ignoring low supplies, keeps advancing against crumbling Axis resistence.









TURN 49
Pliev Cavalry Corps advances in Czekoslovakia, followed by 35th and 24th Guards and 49th Rifle Corps.

The german pocket in the woods west of Budapest is finally eliminated, and with it most of Axis presence in the map center. This may finally be the decisive breakthrough: I launch forward other ok-supplied formations to exploit the breach and I engage second-line German units that are hastily forming some kind of MLR west. The 37th Guards Corps occupies Gyor; the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps supports them.

In the South, reserves are brought forward to try and encircle two other german Infanterie divisions that blocks the Southern Front.

The Czech Front has stopped again, but will try another small encirclement.

[StuccoFresco]

TURNS 50 to 56
The Germans are dropping bridges everywhere, but now they really seem done for good. The massive breakthrough in the center allows me to move entire force forward and threaten the whole western side of the map. Several small encirclements wipe out Axis units here and there, and the rapidly advancing Soviet units exploit every gap.

Eventually, low supplies slow the advance, and the Germans gather more reinforcements to blunt my advance, among which is the SS Panzergrenadier Horst Wessel. It's time to reconfigure my formations and reorganize them, since after the big breakthrough they have been advancing and exploiting local successess without regard to Front objectives and such trivialities.

So, as of 6th April 1945, the following Fronts are active:

- Czech Front. Recently strenghtened with the addition of several Corps from the former Budapest Front, it will occupy the former Czekoslovakian territory, with Bratislava as final objective.

- Austrian Front. Most of the old Budapest and Balaton Fronts are merged into this powerful formation, that will ultimately point its sights on Wien.

- Southern Front. The old Southern Front plus some elements of former Balaton Front are now eliminating the last Axis elements west of the Balaton lake and will then turn NW, with Zalaegerszeg and Szombathely as objectives.







TURNS 57 to 59
Czech Front is slooowly advancing, eliminating a lot of small German and Hungarian units, but wasting a lot of time doing so. Unfortunately, if I don't mop them up they will cut my supplies, and they are bad already. Bratislava is reached, but not yet taken nor sieged.

The Austrian Front reach Wien and assaults it with numerous formations, breaking through the first volkssturm's defenses and taking the city center. Units of the Gorshkov Cavalry Group are the first to enter the city. The battle for Wien is fierce: numerous German units fight to the death for the ruined city, and advance is extremely slow, expecially in the NW districts. All over the map, Axis units are surrounded or pushed back, but given how low supplies are, Soviet losses are mounting and the blown-up bridges slows any reinforcement.

The Southern Front is still engaging Axis units all over the western woods, but has taken its objectives already.



TURN 60 and 61
More German reinforcements... Come on now. The Czech Front gets hit hard, and the enemy even tries to relieve Wien from the siege, but it's all useless: Soviet troops advance again, and the city is completely conquered by the end of turn 61, all defenders surrendered or killed. 14 Koenigstigers are the last to fall.

German assaults against the Czech Front and Wien are driven back with heavy losses, while I mop up any straggler in the rest of the map. Axis now controls only a small part of the map.

[StuccoFresco]

ENDGAME

In the last turns several German counterattacks force back the Czech Front, but the campaign is won nonetheless. The Axis has been wiped out from Hungary and many of his best divisions (way more than historically present) have been crushed.

This scenario is fairly easy: the Soviets enjoy material superiority and are on the offensive, able to choose their battles. Supply problems are harsh, but they can really force a stop only in the northern part of the map. The AI decision to abandon the Carpathian strongpoints was bad: retreating into open terrain allowed me to flank their Szentes-Rieni MLR from the east and employ my superior forces in the area. Axis can considerably slow the Red Army advance only concentrating on the river crossings, but once the Soviets can deploy their full might in the map center, the battle is more or less over.

Several waves of reinforcements, however, could help the Axis player stem the tide and maybe encircle many enemy troops if maneuvered well. Unfortunately, the AI just ploughs through you lines and then sits there waiting for an encircleemnt. Airpower is a non-factor, but this actually goes in Axis favor since AFAIK by that time the Soviet airforce was predominant in the east. Overall a fun scenario with fairly decent possibility of choice for both players. The lenght allow one to manage his advance/defense with his own tempo rather than being forced to rush forward/defend obtusely because the scenario is about to end.