Nordlicht 1942 AAR Snefens vs. Telumar

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 12
September 7th

Germans cautiously follow our withdrawing western forces, but we maintain a good coherence. Our forces South of Bol.Izhora are really exhausted as an NKVD Rgt evaporates under the German pressure, but despite this only modest gains are made by the enemy. The German attempts to reduce our eastern pocket is fended off.
The real reason for the slow progress was that Telumar suffered an end of turn after first combat round.
With the reinforcing units arriving from Kronstadt and the western area taking up defensive positions southwest of Bol.Izhora, we attempt a few counterattacks, both to push the Germans back from the coast and also to reopen the road between the two forces. We are unsuccesful and what is worse, is left in mobile deployment (our turn also ended after one round)

Turn12Oran.jpg (563.87 KiB) Viewed 670 times

4th Army's attack across the Volkhov continues and we manage to expand the bridgehead in a northwestern direction. The Germans have moved in reinforcements from the south and here we also get caught in mobile deployment.
Part of 59th Army's forces are reorganizing, so we shift the attack slightly west of the rail bridge, but are still unable to make a successful crossing.

No gains are made around Posadnikov Ostrov/Kirishi, as we are starting to pull the 2nd Shock Army units out of the front line and only 54th Army is carrying out the attacks.
With the rail transport of 4th and 6th Gds Rifle Corps to the Luzhno area almost complete, we will begin to transport all of 2nd Shock Army to the southern part of the Ramushevo corridor, for the eventual offensive to cut the Demyansk pocket fully off.
[Comment on logistics: Soviet rail capacity allows the transport of approx one full strength Rifle Division 3/4 of the way across the map per day.]

Turn12Chud.jpg (745.5 KiB) Viewed 670 times

Small attacks west of Lychkovo are still unsuccesful this day. Most of the infantry are in place for the coming attack by Luzhno, but some of the artillery are not fully stocked on ammunition yet.

Turn12Dem.jpg (321.88 KiB) Viewed 670 times

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 13
September 8th

The Germans eliminate the couple of units we left behind during our withdrawal from the original front line. The village of Gorlovo was not attacked today, so although it will likely be cut off, we'll dig in with a battalion to deny easy maneuver room along one of the only decent roads in the area.
The main push is still SW of Bol.Izhora, where we continue to have to give up ground, while the German attack directly north towards the town is halted. We'll try to get our tank battalion back to Bol.Izhora, but movement is restricted some by the presence of the enemy. The 13th Rifle brigade that is nearly cut completely off is ordered to dig in. It will likely meet it's doom, but as long as it occupies the coast road, the German ability to supply it's units in the swampy terrain is reduced.
The eastern pocket is reduced slightly today, and lack of coordination makes it difficult to send stronger forces into Oranienbaum, which only barely holds out for the day.

We also begin to dig in at the next possible fall-back line by Lebyazhye.

Turn13Oran.jpg (468.11 KiB) Viewed 647 times

The German counter-attack south of Kusino rolls up our defenses on the western bank and cuts off and destroys a rifle regiment of the 44th Rifle Div. Our renewed attacks have limited success, where, although the Germans pull back from the river bank, we are unable to get a new foothold.
SE of Chudovo we DO get across, but with very weak forces, which are unlikely to hold. Their supporting forces from south of there are unable to make progress.
Only a little success by Posadnikov Ostrov, where we widen the eastern corridor into the Pogost'ye salient to 5km from the untraversable marshes.
2nd Shock Army are now pulled completely out of the front line, but some of their units will rest in the Kirishi area before being railed south.

Turn13Chud.jpg (776.73 KiB) Viewed 647 times

Our limited attacks by Lychkovo makes minor progress this day as we capture a stretch of the rail line. Besides this, the last forces moves into their jumping off positions for the large attack planned for start tomorrow.
The main pressure will be placed just north of the fortified positions by Luzhno, while additional attacks will be started on either side of this.
As a last minute decision we also move forces of 11th Army into jumping off positions to attack along the north bank of the Pola River. As we still haven't established the rail line into this area, we will quickly run out of steam, but maybe it can prevent the Germans from sending to many reinforcements to the eastern area.

Turn13Dem.jpg (650.42 KiB) Viewed 647 times

[Telumar]

Turn 13, Sept. 8th - The capture of Fortress Oranienbaum

On this turn 58. Inf.Div. successfully assaulted and captured the Oranienbaum fortress and its supply depot. The bulk of 48th Rifle Div. east of the town is now left without any possibility to resupply and will be starved out for the time being. At the same time 250. and 24. Infantry Divisions were able to gain further ground southwest of Bol. Izhora while 28. Jäger Division is securing the advance towards the north, opposite of 13th Rifle Brigade. The plan is to bypass the fortifications east and southeast of Bol. Izhora and to basically take it from the rear or at least isolate the area from resupply via Sepelevo airfield. It is not neccessary to capture Bol. Izhora directly as cutting off the area from supply will also lead to an end of the continous flow of reinforcements via Leningrad - Kronstadt.

At the same time the western Kampfgruppe of 58. Inf.Div., supported by elements of 225. Inf.Div. reached Soviet blocking positions from the south, thus isolating the Naval Rifle Btl. still holding Gorlovo.

Oranienbaum eot 13.jpg (1.41 MiB) Viewed 626 times

Turn 13, Sept. 8th - German defences on the eve of Operation Sirius

The screenshot is showing German positions on the eve of the Soviet offensive in the Lychkovo - Luzhno sector, the northern bulge of the Demyansk pocket. At that time of course I did not know that Snefens will launch his attack on the next turn. I wrote earlier that I would expect Soviet attacks to open the rail line towards Staraya Russa and had therefore reinforced the area in the first turns of the scenario with what little I could spare without endangering other parts of the pocket defence line. Note that supply in that area is difficult and has to be brought up from Demyansk airfield across minor roads and difficult terrain. I did not expect that I would be able to hold the rail line against a determined Soviet attack, but each turn I can deny them the rail line buys precious time before Soviet logistics towards Staraya Russa will have improved enough for the enemy to sustain an offensive from the north against the thin bottleneck of the pocket at Ramushevo where I also had planned (own) operations. Of course, at that time, I also did not know wether Snefens had planned such an offensive against the pocket bottleneck. An opening of the rail line would nevertheless, with or withot offensive plans, make sense for the Soviets as it would improve their defensive capabilities against possible German operations to widen the Ramushevo corridor to the north (as I have planned).

Lychkovo Luzhno sector eot 13.jpg (1.11 MiB) Viewed 626 times

Note that the units with the truck symbol shown in each screenshot are actually supply units. The scenario uses a modified counter icon set.


Also there is not much to add to the situation at Chudovo in I. Korps sector that Snefens described in his turn summaries of turn 12 and 13. I will just add this uncommented screenshot from the end of my turn 13:

Chudovo eot 13.jpg (1.66 MiB) Viewed 626 times

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 14
September 9th
Oranienbaum falls this day. 48th Rifle divison is ordered to fight to last man defending Martyshkino.
Again the Germans manage to advance up to 5km sw of Bol.Izhora. The town is still not completely cut off, but as no more reinforcements are about to arrive it isn't as important anymore. We try to fall back with as much of the units here as possible, but without giving up any terrain. If the Germans want it, they will have to bleed for it.
Last stand will be in front of Lebyazhye and the approaches to the airfield were we get our limited supply.

Turn14Oran.jpg (379.73 KiB) Viewed 613 times

At Kirishi/Chudovo we call off all offensive operations for now. At kirishi we have captured two objectives and opened additional access to the Pogost'ye salient, while at Volkhov/Chudovo we have gained no terrain at all. The only good news is that the abysmal results have meant that our plan to reduce the Chudovo bulge hasn't been revealed to the Germans.
We will now regroup and build up for a bigger offensive out of Pogost'ye Salient and from the Volkhov bridgehead. Once 2nd Shock Army are done being transferred to South of Ramushevo, 8th Army, which is about hand it's front line at Leningrad corridor over to the Neva.Op.Group, will move in to reinforce 54th and 59th Army. Plan is for forces to be ready in about two weeks time.

At Luzhno our North Demyansk offensive to cut off the German forces occupying the rail into the Pola Sector is launched.
As mentioned yesterday the schwerpunkt is placed just North of Luzhno, with diversionary attacks north and south of it.
A good amount of artillery has been assembled; 7*152mm+ regiments, 8*122mm regiments, 4 Katusha Rgt, 2 120mm Mortar regiments, as well as a handful of additional mortar and katusha battalions.
North of Luzhno we have some success during fierce fighting. We advance 5km at the deepest, but don't cut the road to Lychkovo this day. East of Luzhno we don't make any progress, but the defenders only barely hold on to their positions.
I've added a number by each attack to show the amount of assaults performed.

Turn14Dem.jpg (661.17 KiB) Viewed 613 times

By the Pola RIver our attacks have decent success, as we push the Germans back to the river on a 7km front, but as expected the Germans have defense in depth as we run into their dug in second line without any breakthroughs.

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 15
September 10th

The enemy attack swings north and breaks through to Bol.Izhora which is quickly captured. They also reach the coast further west and cuts off a mixture of units, including Col. Akatov of 2nd Special Designation Engineer Brigade and Lt.Col Komarov of 36th Ski Brigade. Attempts to break through to the pockets on the other side of Bol.Izhora is unsuccessful.
The surrounded village of Gorlovo is also captured this turn and further attacks west cut off a battalion of 50th Rifle Brigade.

Turn15Oran.jpg (409.03 KiB) Viewed 577 times

Minor German counter-attack push back our most forward advance at Luzhno, but once we renew our attacks, we take back the lost ground and more, this day cutting the road to Lychkovo. East of Luzhno we also see small gains as the Germans are forced back in a couple of places.
By Pola some of our forces go into reorganizing, but we capture a little bit extra ground this day, but after this we go over to the defensive here, until we improve our supply situation.

Turn15Dem.jpg (648.02 KiB) Viewed 577 times

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 16
September 11th

South of Lebyazhye the Germans punch a hole in our line and brush aside our weak secondary line to drive a >7km wedge into our defense. We respond by sending our tank battalion that made it out of the threat of encirclement and counterattack, taking back the road connecting to the southern sector.
Further East several of our encircled forces surrender, including the two commanders mentioned yesterday, while the enemy makes no attempt to reduce the Martyshkino salient or the one west of that today.

Turn16Oran.jpg (408.9 KiB) Viewed 524 times

German counterattacks take back the road between Lychkovo and Luzhno, but we keep the attack going and once again cut the road, only a bit further south this day.
Directly East of Luzhno our attack sees unexpected good success as a battalion of a Luftwaffe Feld-Rgt falls back, leaving the road towards Demyansk airstrip seemingly open and we have two Gds Rifle Regiments advance 5km south this day.

This is a threat that the Germans surely must react to, as losing the airstrip would compromise the entire Demyansk Salient as supply coming through the Ramushevo Corridor is still woefully insufficient to sustain a continued presence.

Turn16Dem.jpg (390.62 KiB) Viewed 524 times

[rhinobones]

Turn 16
September 11th
. . . including the two commanders mentioned yesterday . . .

Is this match being played using the new beta version?

Regards

[Telumar]

Turn 16, Sept. 11th - Crisis at Luzhno

The situation in the Luzhno sector did look bleak on that day. Under pressure from strong continous enemy attacks between Luzhno and Lychkovo, 30. Inf.Div. faced a command crisis and was unable to respond to enemy actions while further south the Soviets managed to breach the defence line just east of Luzhno and were threatening to break through into the direction of Demyansk airfield (supply source) which, if successsfull, would have compromised the entire sector. This was the situation at the beginning of German turn 16:

demyansk start of GE turn 16.jpg (1.77 MiB) Viewed 487 times

Luckily we already had reserves on their way and just in reach to restore the situation immediately. From 123. Inf.Div's sector in the southern defence line two battalions from Inf.Rgt. 418 were rushed forward towards Luzhno while a Panzer Abteilung from Army Group reserve was inserted into 30. Inf.Div.'s sector. We were able to not only seal off the enemy break-in at Luzhno, but also to advance 2 km towards the north. In 30. Inf.Div.'s sector a tank battalion of 177th Tank Brigade was forced to retreat but we were unable to advance into the vacated area. Subsequent attacks against the flanks of the enemy concentration crossing the sidearm of the Polomets river were unsucessfull. At Luzhno, another enemy concentration directly southeast of the town had been harrassed by our artillery. Screenshot shows the situation at the end of German turn 16:

demyansk eot 16.jpg (965.47 KiB) Viewed 487 times

[Telumar]

Turn 16
September 11th
. . . including the two commanders mentioned yesterday . . .

Is this match being played using the new beta version?

Regards

We played with 4.1.0.40, so no.

EDIT: This scenario with the hierarchy module and commanders would be GOAT (Gen X using Gen Z slang )

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 17
September 12th

The Germans retake the road south of Lebyazhye and additional terrain south of that, cutting off another battalion. In order to avoid 48th Naval Rifle Bde on the south sector to be fully cut off, we give the order to pull back. Only the most exposed part of the brigade this day, but the coastal part will pull back tomorrow.

Turn17Oran.jpg (394.5 KiB) Viewed 475 times

Fierce enemy counterattacks at Luzhno push us from the road once more. An enemy panzer battalion is observed taking part in the defence here. We are also pushed back from the road towards the airstrip.
At the start of the day we order renewed attacks along the entire line from Luzhno and north. We advance up to 5km several places as well as capturing Luzhno itself. As we reach the swamps SW of Luzhno, the Lychkovo salient now only have a line of supply along a small track through hard to traverse swampy forest. If the Germans are unable to reopen communication by Luzhno, we expect him to begin a withdrawal from the salient in order to avoid encirclement.

East of the Luzhno the German forces are also starting to show real signs of exhaustion, as we simply overrun their lines and advance 5km.
Our forces are also starting to needing a rest and we rail transport in the fresh 137th Rifle Brigade to be able to keep up the pressure.

Turn17Dem.jpg (383.74 KiB) Viewed 475 times

[Telumar]

Turn 17, Sept. 12th - The crisis at Luzhno deepens!

The Soviet offensive in the Luzhno - Lychkovo sector continues unabated. Not only did the enemy take the fortified city of Luzhno, but also breaks in 5 km deep into our line further east of the town, was able to cross the small river between Lychkovo and Luzhno in force on its entire length and reached the untraversable marshland west of Luzhno. This cut the road connection between the two towns for good and also divided our forces in the sector which will now be unable to support each other. Adding to this, 30. Inf.Div. is still unable to restore command and control over its subordinate units. Situation at start of the turn:

Luzhno start of turn 17.jpg (807.95 KiB) Viewed 440 times

With the road connection from Luzhno to Lychkovo cut, the supply situation in the Lychkovo sector has become untenable and would call for a retreat. But with 30. Inf.Div. still unable to move, a retreat at that point would have left a good part of its units exposed to possible encirclement and annihilation. A retreat as orderly as possible will be conducted as soon as command & control of 30. Inf.Div. will be restored (hopefully the next day). The screenshot shows the supply situation on turn 17:

supply lychkovo sector t17.jpg (1.09 MiB) Viewed 440 times

We conduct two counterattacks to straighten the line between Luzhno and Lychkovo (more would have not been possible anyway), order more units into the sector and were able to seal off the enemy break in further east of Luzhno with units from two other divisions that were already en route - just in time. Units of various formations now become more and more intermixed in the entire sector.

This shows the situation at the end of the turn - note that unit counters in this one are showing stack strengths:

luzhno lychkovo eot17.jpg (1.1 MiB) Viewed 440 times

Good news are coming from Oranienbaum where we were able to advance and gain ground substantially. Our units were very exhausted and some of them quite depleted (mainly in infantry suqads) at that point of the battle, but I felt the need to press the attack to not allow the already battered enemy forces to recuperate and dig in. I also wanted to free up the units participating in the offensive as soon as possible to gain flexibility and also to strengthen various other areas of the long frontline further east.

Situation at Oranienbaum - end of German turn 17:

Oranienbaum eot17.jpg (1.19 MiB) Viewed 440 times

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 18
September 13th

Our forces are being pushed back at an increasing rate south of Lebyazhye and several of our units are starting to disintegrate facing the continued onslaught. The Germans even run over our last proper prepared line, that was still very weakly manned. This makes 48th NRB close to being cut off along the western shore.
The brigade manage to retain composure and pull back, but with the defensive line already broken through it will likely have to continue it's route back towards Sepelevo.
Major General Astanin are ordered to be flown out of the pocket and back to Moscow to explain himself.

Turn18Oran.jpg (345.59 KiB) Viewed 432 times

A quick look at the Leningrad Corridor. It's been fairly quiet here for a couple of weeks. 8th Army have been resupplied after being pulled out of the front and replaced by the Neva Operational Group.
With our rail capacity still mainly being used for 2nd Shock Army, 8th Army now begins it's movement away from the sector by road. Later (likely october) the plan is to return for a concentrated push towards the hub at Mga.

Turn18Len.jpg (583.42 KiB) Viewed 435 times

At Lychkovo the enemy suprisingly haven't begun a withdrawal, but also doesn't counter-attack to open the corridor SW of Luzhno. A large portion of our forces are reorganizing this day, so our continued attacks are fairly limited. Only on the eastern part of the sector is a bit of success as we pierce the enemy defense and surround a company which we force to surrender.

In order to force the hand of the enemy we begin assembling a force on the western side of Lychkovo salient. This area seems lightly defended, but the reason is that terrain makes us unable to supply our forces pushing through the swamps here from the West, as well as not being able to support with any armour.
11th Army will send two rifle divisions and a rifle brigade that has so far been resupplying in the rear, to assemble in the area by Svinoroy and try to push east through the swamps there. We also have a battalion of special forces ready to parachute behind the enemy lines, but their deployment depends on what enemy forces we will encounter on our advance over land. Assembly will take a couple of days so we should be ready to begin the operation on the 15th.

Turn18Dem.jpg (688.82 KiB) Viewed 435 times

We also begin preparation for a little side operation by Kholm. Our objective is ultimate the capture of this fortress, but we can't spare the units deemed necessary to complete this yet.
Instead we will try a limited offensive in the forests north of the town. A single rifle brigade reinforced by some tank battalions and extra infantry will try to break through the line here. The goal is to take out the north "exit" from Kholm so when we return later, the job will be easier to complete. It's unknown if the armoured elements of 8th Pz Division ,previously spotted in this area, are still present.
This attack will kick off in 2-3 days.

Turn18Kholm.jpg (350.71 KiB) Viewed 435 times

[Telumar]

Turn 18, Sept. 13th - A short respite at Lychkovo

A large portion of our forces are reorganizing this day, so our continued attacks are fairly limited.

Like Snefens who wondered why I did not withdraw from Lychkovo last turn, I wondered why all of a sudden the Soviet offensive south of Lychkovo did not continue at that day. Now each of us knows..

I wrote earlier that a retreat will be conducted as soon as 30. Inf.Div. will be out of reorganisation. Well, on this turn the Division was available for movement again, but in the absence of further Soviet pressure I opted to stand fast once again as every turn we can hold the rail line is a turn the Soviet logistics towards Staraya Russa will not improve. At some point we will have to withdraw of course, but today was not that day. I also expected the Soviet offensive to continue at some point very soon. I brought in further reinforcements from all over the pocket defence line, mainly towards the Luzhno area as preventing the enemy from further advancing towards Demyansk airfiled was paramount. An additional Panzer company and an infantry battalion was sent to 30. Inf.Div.'s sector. This was the maximum I could spare from other sectors and no further "internal" reinforcements were available without compromising other sectors of the pocket.

Bringing in reinforcements from outside the pocket is theoretically possible through the bottleneck at Ramushevo, but only across minor roads and difficult terrain. Travel time for an infantry unit from the Ramushevo sector to the eastern frontline of the pocket thus would be appox. three days (3 turns). Also the only units available would have to come from the built up for Operation Winkelried. Therefore the pocket was left to fight on its own for the time being.

This is the situation at the end of the turn:

denyansk eot18.jpg (1.57 MiB) Viewed 410 times

At Oranienbaum we continue to advance, but far from the spectacular gains that we saw yesterday. However we are now only 5 kilometers from Sepelevo airfield. Situation at the end of the turn:

oranienbaum eot18.jpg (708.52 KiB) Viewed 410 times

Interestingly, as I only came to know now from Snefens' report, the Soviets withdrew units from the Leningrad corridor at the same time we were preparing for a counterattack to severe the corridor again. For this, 12. Panzer had been assembled again in the Mga sector. 6. Gebirgs-Division, 227. and 223. Inf.Divs were to conduct the initial attack with 12. Pz. following for the final breakthrough towards the coast of Lake Ladoga. Preparations are essentially finished, the operation can start at any point now...

Le corr plan.jpg (912.02 KiB) Viewed 410 times

It is expected that the Soviets will reinforce the sector as soon as our attack starts and we expect stiff resistance. The minimal objective for the attack is to retake the Sinyavino heights, the maximal (and desired) objective would be the separation of the rail line into Leningrad. If we manage to take only Sinyavino it can still be regarded a victorious outcome as we would deny the enemy the 20 VP bonus for this location and still pose a threat to the rail line which would force him to keep a strong presence there.

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 19
September 14th

48th NRB continues its withdrawal, but having to leave behind smaller rear-guard forces to cover. The main objective to defend will be the airbase that still allow a bit of supply to arrive for the defenders, even if that means letting the defenders at Lebyazhye/Krasnaya Gorka to be cut off.

Turn19Oran.jpg (547.51 KiB) Viewed 390 times

Our attacks at Luzhno starts to pick up again. Our attacks south towards the airstrip gain a little ground, but it's unrealistic we can force our way through at this time. On either side of Lychkovo we also take a bit of ground and we simply try to keep the Germans as busy as possible until we can hopefully overwhelm him by our thrust from his rear tomorrow.

Turn19Dem.jpg (424.68 KiB) Viewed 390 times

[Mkha2023]

Just jumped in to say that it has been a very interesting AAR to read through!
Great presentation.
Good luck!

[LLv34_Snefens]

Turn 20
September 15th

Our tank battalion is defending the airfield, but German panzers are still able to make a dash through the forest and force us away from it. That means we are unable to bring in more supply to the defenders and they will have to defend to the last bullet.

Turn20Oran.jpg (689.53 KiB) Viewed 344 times

At the Leningrad corridor this day the enemy begins attacking on either side of Sinyavino, obvious in an attempt to cut our newly opened rail connection into the city.

This attack comes as a surprise to us, since he just a few weeks ago so easily gave up the same terrain. Unfortunately it catches us at bad time, as we a few days prior began moving 8th Army away. Also the heavy Leningrad Front artillery, while still nearby, has been prepared to move out and is not in fire-ready positions.
This means that the enemy makes decent gains this first day. Our only larger reserve that can be committed on the same day is the slightly worn 136th RD, but together with Neva Op.Grps local reserves we manage to push the attacks back slightly.

We immediately begin moving units to the area. From West, 42nd Army at Leningrad moves 1st Tank Bde across the Neva South of Shlissel'burg, as well as ordering 125th Rifle Div to move to same area, although it won't arrive for a couple of days.
220th Tank Bde is shifted from 55th Army directly into the line of enemy advance south of Gorodok.
Three divisions of the 8th Army are given new orders to turn back west and they will arrive tomorrow.
Had the attack begun a few days later, a lot of those units would have entirely vacated the sector.

Turn20Len.jpg (440.08 KiB) Viewed 344 times

This isn't the only enemy offensive beginning this day. At the south shoulder at Ramushevo Corridor, 2-3 divisions attacks on the western side of the Lovat. They have attacked here earlier, but there seems to be more force behind this time. Two pincers isolate our 130th Rifle Div on this first day.
We remain passive this first day, just shifting a few local forces to the area. While 130th RD is likely lost, it can hopefully buy us a bit of time. We plan to start our offensive by 2nd Shock Army further East in the corridor soon, and having several enemy divisions tied down in this area should increase our chance of success.

Turn20Ramu.jpg (315.64 KiB) Viewed 344 times

Our own operation by the Lychkovo salient kicks off this day. Our forces penetrate east, south of and through the Beglovskoye Swamp. Surprisingly we encounter no enemies at all, so decide to also drop our 9th Gds Miner Battalion by parachute even further east. They also report no direct contact with the enemy yet, but spot larger group of artillery to its North
This means that we have for now cut the supply running into the Lychkovo salient and the Germans should certainly begin to pull out.
West of Lychkovo we find a surprising hole in the enemy defense and our advance already begins to gain momentum, even before the enemy has begun their withdrawal.
If the enemy pulls out, our special forces will likely easily be run over, but at least we will have finally captured the rail line into the Pola sector.

Turn20Dem.jpg (537.54 KiB) Viewed 344 times

[Telumar]

There has been so much going on on turns 19 and 20 that I will break down the AAR for these two turns summarizing the events by sector. Let's start with the Lychkovo - Luzhno sector.

Lychkovo - Luzhno sector, turns 19 - 20 (Sept. 14th - 15th)

Sept. 14th - Turn 19

The enemy offensive south of Lychkovo still stalled on Sept. 14th (turn 19) which emboldend us to conduct another local counterattack with the support of I./Panzer-Rgt.203. Although the enemy retreated and the attack was successfull, the outcome can only be interpreted as a catastrophe. The Panzer-Abteilung, already worn down from previous battles, was badly mauled by enemy resistance and had to be removed from the OOB (yes it evaporated!).

t19 eot Lychkovo.jpg (1.35 MiB) Viewed 310 times

As can be seen from the battle report, the scenario uses its own equipment database. Kudos to Snefens for this, the database and all units are depitcted in great detail with German names for German equipment (i.e. 8.1cm Gr.W.34 instead of 81mm Mortar. Also note the Panzer models and their variants depicting calibre, barrel length and gun type. Very neat!

On the screenshot above I marked the gap which snefens took advantage of. I did not expect him to push units through here as he a) would have not been able to supply them properly (overextended) and would probably have lost them in a counterattack, b) could not have cut us from supply entirely and c) I underestimated Soviet strength in this area. Add d): carelessness . This leads us to the events of Sept. 15th.


Sept. 15th - Turn 20

This day marked the turning point in the battle for the Lyckovo - Staraya Russa railroad. What High Command had interpreted as enemy exhaustion was in reality merely the preparation for an overwhelming strike against the entire Lychkovo bulge. The Soviets push a rifle division through the forests southeast of Svinoroy into our rear while enemy paratroopers land behind our lines in the forests between the untraversable marshlands approx. 15km west of Luzhno. This cuts lines of communications to the entire Lychkovo bulge. It is yet unknown if the enemy push from Svinoroy reached as far as the Sokhnovo - Lychkovo road or stopped in the forests directly west of the road. Along the rail line in the sector of Gren.Regt. 368 the enemy pushes hard and adances up to 5km into our defences in some areas. Additionally, sabotage groups that have been infiltrating through the floodlands from the west further unhinge our position in this sector, effecively encircling our northwestern units.
The enemy also continued his advance in the Luzhno sector where he was able to push further south out of Luzhno and forced us to abandon elevated positions further east. The situation in this sector however is regarded under control as we had significantly deepened our defences in the previous days. SItuation at the start of the turn:

t20 start Luzhno.jpg (1.13 MiB) Viewed 310 times

A general retreat and immediate countermeasures against the enemy incursions in our rear are ordered. A battalion of Gren.Regt. 368 is able to break contact with the enemy and to clear the enemy infiltration in the forests south of its position thus averting the danger of complete encirclement of our forces in the northwestern tip of the bulge. Our most northwestern battalion is also able to break contact with the Soviets unhindered. I./Inf.Regt 6 withdraws towards the northeast as sooner or later the unit would have been in danger of encirclement too. This way it can support the retreat of Gren.Regt. 368 and attached units. At Lychkovo itself we are also able to break contact with the enemy, while the group of units further south remains in place for the time being, guarding the flanks of the forces that are retreating from Lychkovo. I./Inf.Regt. 411 that was positioned in a central position further south to react to any potential crisis is able to seal off the enemy incursion towards the Sokhnovo - Lychkovo road. The road itself luckily was not yet occupied by the enemy and a engineer unit that the Soviets had used as an advance guard could have been pushed back easily. A Pionier Abteilung taken out of the Luzhno sector's second defence line, together with 1./s.Pz.Abt. 502 was able to encircle the Soviet airborne unit and forced them to surrender. A total catastrophe was avoided, but the situation is obviously still very grave. We plan to establish a new defence line at the chokepoints between the untraversable marshes in the area, but the situation at the Sokhnovo - Lychkovo road is still not entirerly restored. It also has yet to be seen if the enemy will continue pressing towards the south with his main objective, the opening of the railroad, achieved.

In the Luzhno sector we reoccupy the lost high ground and continue digging in.

Situation at the end of turn 20:

t20 eot lychkovo luzhno.jpg (1.31 MiB) Viewed 310 times

[Telumar]

Operation Winkelried


Sept. 14th - Turn 19

I wrote earlier about the bulid-up for this operation. Well, now finally the preparations for Winkelried are finished and the offensive starts on this day. The objective is the opening of a rail connection into the Demyansk pocket which will enable us to cease air supply into the pocket thus activating a VP loop which will give us 1 VP / turn (similar to the Leningrad air supply for the Soviets). The actual rail line is held only along a 7,5 km length (3 hexes) by the Soviets but we will have to expand our front line also further south to create a reasonable buffer zone against potential enemy counterattacks. The attacks in this sector that Snefens had reported earlier, did serve to shape the situation prior to the offensive in the form of providing 72. Inf.Div. a starting point further south than the initial front line would have been.

The initial strike force consists of 3. Gebirgs-Division which will attack across the Redya river towards Khodyni, capturing that key objective, and of 72. Inf.Div., supported by a Panzer Abteilung, which in cooperation with 5. Jäger Div. will attack towards the Lovat river crossing at Cherenchitsy. From there on we will attack further south towards Pinayevy Gorki, the final objective, but also towards the east and southeast, using SS Totenkopf as the anvil (or depending on situation they could become the hammer) and force 7th Guards Rifle and 391st Rifle divisions, holding the rail line, to retreat in order to avoid encirclement. 132. Inf.Div. is held in reserve and will be fed into the battle as the situation demands. We also plan to further reinforce the sector with units that will be freed up from the fading battles at Oranienbaum (several railroad artillery batteries, XXX. Korps artillery and 24. and 250. Inf.Divs) but it will probably take another week, rather two until these units will have recovered and be transported to the area. Also remember that we have planned another offensive in the area, towards the north.

t19 op winkelried plan.jpg (1.54 MiB) Viewed 303 times

The initial attack on Sept.14th showed promising results. 3. Gebirgs-Div. was able to break through the enemy defence line, advancing 5 km south of the marshes while 72. Inf.Div. was able to dislodge both 15th and 17th Rifle brigades and advance on a 5 km wide front towards the south. This cut off 130. Rifle Division (as planned) which will be dealt by 5. Jäger Div. and parts of LW Gruppe Meindl. Situation at the end of turn 19:

t19 eot op winkelried.jpg (701.98 KiB) Viewed 303 times

Sept. 15th - Turn 20

The enemy surprisingly remained passive, there were no counterattacks, not even against the somewhat exposed battalion of 3. Gebirgs-Div. The continuation of our offensive however saw much more stiffer resistance as the attack of 72. Inf.Div. was now stuck in front of the Cherenchitsy crossing where they could not advance any further on this day. Units of 5. Jäger Division meanwhile managed to occupy the rail bridge further north while 3. Gebirgs-Division was able to expand its foothold across the Redya river. First attacks against the now isolated 130th Rifle Division were repelled by the enemy, though at high losses. Long range artillery assets have begun shelling identified enemy artillery positions. Situation at the end of turn 20 (I marked enemy units that have only be shelled (no ground attack) with B):

t20 eot op winkelried.jpg (973.91 KiB) Viewed 303 times

[Telumar]

Leningrad corridor


Sept. 14th - Turn 19

On the same day Operation Winkelried started in the very south of the theater, we launched our offensive to recapture the Leningrad corridor. On the first day only the Infantry divisions of the strike force did attack, but they already made promising advances against the Neva Operational group. 6. Gebirgs-Div. even penetrated as far as to enemy artillery positions in the forests east of Sinyavino. We expect enemy counterattacks on the next day, but 12. Panzer is ready to be committed. Situation at the end of turn 19:

t19 eot LE corridor.jpg (690.08 KiB) Viewed 295 times

This attack comes as a surprise to us, since he just a few weeks ago so easily gave up the same terrain.

Yes I did. For preservation of force purposes. But not only. My thinking was, that at one point, when the Soviet offensive had concluded successfully they would go over on the defensive and the bulk of their forces involved in the operation would be shipped to other areas of the theater. Then would be the time to fight back for the corridor, not when they are strongest (during their offensive).

Had the attack begun a few days later, a lot of those units would have entirely vacated the sector.

So basically my thinking was sound but the timing was not


Sept. 15th - Turn 20

Soviet counterattacks were only successful in throwing back the already mentioned battalion of 6. Gebirgs-Div. in the forests east of Sinyavino. They brought in local armored reserves from across the Neva in the western sector of operations, but nothing else could have been observed. At that time it looked like our calculation was sound and there were no more major reserves in that area, so we committed 12. Panzer on this day. With the presence of enemy armor east and west of Sinyavino we formed a western and a eastern Kampfgruppe from the division. Our offensive continued with additional gains on a broad front, though not with a major breakthrough, but this was net yet to expected. This is the situation at the end of turn 20 (blue dashed line: front at the start of the turn, bright blue line: front at the end of the turn):

t20 eot LE corridor.jpg (869.65 KiB) Viewed 295 times

[Telumar]

Oranienbaum - Sept. 15th, turn 20

With the capture of Sepelevo airfield and the loss of resupply for the Soviets, the offensive now turned into what can be called a mopping-up operation. There are several pockets of isolated enemy units left, but they still have some fighting power left and/or are fairly dug-in in fortified positions. This will be no overrun and will take some time (one week at least), but we can nevertheless now begin with extricating first units from the area to recover for further use in future operations and/or as a reserve. This is the situation at the end of turn 20:

t20 eot oranienbaum.jpg (1.24 MiB) Viewed 289 times