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Eastern Front
Situation Report Nov 23rd 1944 Turn 106
Army Group Centre

Operation Wintermärchen II

With resistance at Kuybyshev over Erhard Raus moves his Headquarters to the city, 3rd Pz Armee's drive has slowed as blizzard weather sets in and the Armee now covering a 200 mile front the commander now gives orders for his troops to prepare winter quarters as supply lines now need to catch up to the front line.





South of Raus 3rd Pz Armee Axis forces have also slowed there advance, Von Manteuffel has gone over on the defensive as 2nd Armee begins to resupply its units, on the 9th Armee front there is little enemy activity however Brandenberger's Panzer spearheads have advanced well further forward than the slow moving Infantry advance creating salient around the town of Aleksandrov Gai which needs to be strengthened, the General orders his Infantry to push north and south to straighten the Axis line.





At Penza Von Kluge and his command are in high spirits as reports from the front show the success thus far of his Army Groups operations, but the search for the Soviet leadership continues throughout Stalin's last stronghold.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Nov 23rd 1944 Turn 106
Army Group A

Operation Wintermärchen II


With Blizzard weather hitting southern Russia hard the encircled Red Army Forces south of Lake Elton are destroyed by 18th Armee as enemy reinforcements advance towards Elton itself, two Soviet Tanks Corps are halted unable to breakthrough Axis defence lines 20 mile deep.





At Stalingrad Walther Nehring prepares for the final assault on the city, 4th Pz Armee commences the attack opening with a 1400 Hundred gun artillery barrage on the city defenders trying weaken the fortifications, the Soviet 2nd Rifle Corps emplacements are smashed as German Infantry advance forward against fanatical resistance which causes a brief halt to the attack, a second attack almost as huge as the first is once again held, Nehring' almost considers pulling back and resting his forces till the weather improves however General Volckamers insists on launching a Panzer Attack backed by super heavy artillery support.
With the 7th and 12th Panzer Divisions leading the attack enemy resistance collapses forcing the remnants out of the city as Red Army troops attempt to flee across the Volga river an attack by elements of three ArmeeKorps crush the last holdouts and force a surrender.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC6CDv4 ... L&index=37

The final Fight for Stalingrad



Almost to the day two years earlier 6th Armee was on the brink of encirclement and destruction at Stalingrad.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Nov 23rd 1944 Turn 106
Army Group South

Operation Wintermärchen II

On the Caspian front there is little fighting as Axis forces begin to prepare for winter, Kleist's Army Group having created a 70 mile buffer zone forward from The Volga Defence line now make preparations for the coming bad weather.
Infantry units begin digging in along a 200 mile front with armoured formations in reserve just behind the line, Intel reports indicate more Soviet armour on the move towards the front however confidence is high that this new threat will be dealt with as the previous enemy advances have been.


Troops from a Anti Tank unit of the 170 Infantry Div take up defensive positions.

Western Front
Situation Report Nov 25th 1944 Turn 74
Army Group B

The Low Countries continue to the target of heavy raids by Western Allied Air Fleets, rail Infrastructure was heavily bombed along with military industrial facilities in Belgium and Holland, Germany territory was also attacked The Ruhr Region suffered damage to industry and Berlin was repeatedly target in week long raids.
The Allies however concentrated there biggest operations against The Hague, over the course of the week a massive air battle raged with the enemy suffering large losses against German air defences.






France was not spared from enemy raids as large scale raids hit targets along the coast at Normandy and the Paris region again was subjected to a week long series large attacks on command and control centres.
Despite this the buildup of German forces continues as more troops arrive in northeastern France before moving to garrison the Brittany region.

Italian Front
Situation Report Nov 25th 1944 Turn 74
Army Group C





The Axis position on the Volturno / Biferno line still remains intact despite renewed Western Allied efforts to punch through, concentrating maximum firepower on certain sectors the line HOLDS, however attrition is weakening Kurt Zeitzler's command and even with reinforcements being sent there does not seem to be enough replacements for his units, the town of Termoli on the Adriatic is under heavy pressure and 14th Armee is subjected to massive armoured assaults each week, more troops are needed.


Volturno Sector



US 5th Army begins another week of heavy attacks against LXXXX ArmeeKorps, attacking on two fronts with the US 4th Corps leading the defenders are hard pressed as Allied armour attempts to push along the coastal area and capture the strategic town of Grazzanise, if the town falls the Allies could sweep north faster with easier terrain to move over, despite being late in the year the weather remains clear still.


Further inland 14th Armee is once again attacked, another massive armoured assault by US 1st Army makes some ground but is stalled by determined defence, a second attack pushes even further but is finally halted as Kluebler's Panzer troops rally forcing the enemy fallback.
While there is heavy fighting on 14th Armee front Hube's XIV Pz Korps is also hit by armoured attack by British forces led by the 1st Brit Armoured Div which almost breaks though Hube's infantry positions.


Biferno Sector

Attacks on The Adriatic are not as wide spread and not as large as last week, fortunately for 10th Armee the enemy switches its axis of attack against LI Mountain ArmeeKorps this gives Erich Straube the breathing space to shore up defences at Termoli, instead Brit 8th Army launches attacks further inland hoping push across the river through dug in infantry and avoid clashing with German Armour stationed further north, two attacks are launched both are easily contained.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Nov 30th 1944 Turn 107
Army Group North

Operation Wintermärchen II

In the extreme northeast 1st Mountain Div slogs through the frozen forrest capturing the town of Velsk routing the Soviet 58th Army.


16th Armee arrives in force along the Vyakta river and begins to fortify as the blizzard weather sweeps across the Kazan region, on the right flank 4th Armee's advance stops 20 miles east of Chistopol Red Army forces still hold out near the regions Capital.




North of Sershevsk IX ArmeeKorps destroys the encircled Tank Corps from Soviet 43rd Army then redeploys to cover gaps in the Axis line.





Walther Wiess orders a general halt along the front for the time being.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Nov 30th 1944 Turn 107
Army Group Centre

Operation Wintermärchen II

As 3rd Pz Armee units begin to dig in for the winter the search intensifies for members of the Stalin Government at Kuybyshev, thus far only a handful of leaders have been found and detained.





Further south the line remains quiet but enemy forces are again moving towards front line units on both 2nd Armee and 9th Armee sectors, several Mech / Tank formations advancing to within 20 miles of Aleksandrov Gai but then stop there advance.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Nov 30th 1944 Turn 107
Army Group A

Operation Wintermärchen II

With all enemy resistance cleared from Stalingrad with the final surrender of the 2nd Rifle Corps both lindemenn and Nehring move there Headquarters to the city with 4th Pz Armee now in stand down status as the Army goes into a refit mode to rebuild its units.

On the front line enemy units come into contact with 18th Armee but there is no major fighting, the Red Army is hopelessly outnumbered.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Nov 30th 1944 Turn 107
Army Group South

Operation Wintermärchen II

Along most of Kleist's front line it is quiet here, apart from the few heavily outnumbered enemy armoured units that are fed piecemeal into battle only to be destroyed, on 1st Pz Armee's line two Soviet formations push forward and make contact, at this time Axis forces are ordered to hold there positions and not engage in offensive actions.

Western Front
Situation Report Dec 2nd 1944 Turn 75
Army Group B / Army Group H

Heavy snow falls in Western Europe cause reduction in air operations on both sides to a minimum the few raids in the Pas De Calais region by Allied aircraft cause damage to varying degrees, Luxembourg, Cologne and Aachen are also hit.



In France there are some small raids on Airbases but the weather again restricts large scale raids but aids our forces to deploy to there coastal defensive sectors unhindered.

Italian Front
Situation Report Dec 2nd 1944 Turn 75
Army Group C

On the Italian mainland the north receives it first snows falls while in the south heavy rain has all but stopped the enemy from conducting major air operations, small scale raids on ground units result in no losses on our ground forces, the front line is quiet also with heavy rain turning the ground into a quagmire with men and armour bogged down, the only large scale assault by the Allies were two attacks against the defences at Grazzanise but these were easily contained.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Dec 7th 1944 Turn 108
Army Group North

Operation Wintermärchen II


Operations in the extreme north continue as a number of Red Army units push towards Konosha, 4th SS PzGren Div moves to counter the Soviet drive, on the main Finnish front the Red Army now depleted is being pushed back.




Further south there is little movement apart from units from 4th Armee encircling an enemy Mech Corps, the fight in the north is virtually over.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Dec 7th 1944 Turn 108
Army Group Centre

Operation Wintermärchen II

On 3rd Pz Armee's front the line remains static as the harsh winter weather forces the troops to take cover, at General Raus's Kuybyshev Headquarters he is informed of the great news that the Soviet leader has been found and captured.




Found in a secret command bunker under the Kuybyshev CPSU oblast Committee building the Soviet Leader his staff, high ranking party officials and his personal guard had been holding out hoping for rescue, in a brief firefight with German forces Stalin was captured.




Under house arrest with tight security the forlorn and broken figure of Joseph Stalin sits contemplating his future.


While the capture of Stalin is taking place enemy forces mount a new offensive along the central and southern fronts, in the Saratov region north and south of Aleksandrov Gai an attack by Tank and Mech Corps without Infantry support results in disaster for the enemy as both 2nd Armee and 9th Armee counterattack.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Dec 7th 1944 Turn 108
Army Group A

Operation Wintermärchen II


With 4th Pz Armee remaining in stand down FM Lindemann's 18th Armee ( Stemmermann ) is tasked with full defence of the southern sector of the Axis line which is once again under threat as the Soviets begin a new attack with three Red Army Tank and Mech Corps which assault German defence positions, General Stemmermann orders his forces to counterattack to blunt the enemy advance then orders his Panzer units to breakthrough and encircle the enemy armour, 8th Panzer Div clashes with the Soviet 10th Tank Corps in a fierce firefight then pushes behind the enemy to link up with General Paulus 6th Armee, south of the town of Orda an estimated 20,000 Red Army troops are now cut off.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Dec 7th 1944 Turn 108
Army Group South

Operation Wintermärchen II

As FM Von Kleist moves his Headquarters from Rostov to Stalingrad the enemy has managed to rush forward under the cover of bad weather six more armoured formations along the Caspian front including a reconstituted 9th Guards Mech Corps, with this large number of enemy formations attacking the line the Field Marshal orders his reserves forward, Maximilian De Angelis XXXIV ArmeeKorps ( 17th Armee ) and Hans Zorn XXXXVI Pz Korps ( 1st Pz Armee ) are mobilised and begin redeploying to the Volga line as Army Group South begins offensive actions to halt the enemy drive.

1st Pz Armee Infantry clashes with six Tank Corps on the Caspian coast while German armour pushes northeast in a flanking attack on the enemy positions and hopefully trap the enemy forces against the sea, on the left flank Paulus 6th Armee begins tying down enemy forces as General Ruoff's 17th Armee pushes through the centre then swings northwest linking up with lead elements of 8th Panzer Div and 6th Armee encircling the 9th Guards.

Western Front
Situation Report Dec 9th 1944 Turn 76
Army Group B / Army Group H / Army Group G

Another week of heavy snowfall across Western France the Low Countries and Germany, however western Allied bombers did manage to attack in numbers hitting Belgium and Germany industrial centres as well as air bases in northern France, some German fighters units did manage launch intercept operations but most airfields were snowed in.



More Allied air attacks on Luxembourg, in the Champagne and Normandy regions, troop movements from Paris to Brittany have been halted for the time being as units refit.



On the French southern coast the front line continues to remain static with no major fighting, the Army Group G defence line round the beachhead solid, the enemy appears to have decided to go completely on the defensive, air activity is also light with just a couple raids on rail centres in northern Italy.

Italian Front
Situation Report Dec 9th 1944 Turn 76
Army Group C

In southern Italy activity is minimal both on the ground and in the air, the Allies halting any major operations due to the poor ground conditions and heavy rain giving Axis forces more time build up unit strength and repair damaged fortifications. Reinforcements continue to arrive allowing front line units to redeploy back to rear areas to refit, manpower losses are high here and in western Europe.

Hi
Just heads up for those who noticed I had posted reports for the western theatre as turn 78, I somehow missed that as the urn is actually turn 76 I think we are back on track now.

regards

Eastern Front
Situation Report Dec 14th 1944 Turn 109
Army Group North

Operation Wintermärchen II

Across the entire northern front activity still remains limited, the trapped Soviet 11th Mech Corps is destroyed, under cover of blizzard weather a Red Army Tank Corps attempts to push through our lines only to be cut off and encircled by the LVI Pz Korps, despite the bad weather the enemy had been spotted easily by forward recon patrols, 19th Panzer Div quickly mobilised.
Further north XII ArmeeKorps is given a recon in force mission to push towards the town of Yelabuga, after capturing the town and gathering Intel it was determined holding the town was of no strategic value Axis troops pulled back to the main defence line.

Eastern Front
Situation Report Dec 14th 1944 Turn 109
Army Group Centre

Operation Wintermärchen II

On the central front our forces begin assaults on trapped Red Army troops, 2nd Armee and 9th Armee open with artillery barrages on the encircled Soviets followed up by German armour breaking through makeshift defences followed in by Infantry, fighting is brief with only the Soviet 3rd Mech Corps putting up spirited resistance, ultimately doomed the enemy begins surrendering as enemy positions are overrun. The Soviets continue to throw there newly equipped units at our front lines in piecemeal attacks only to be encircled and destroyed.