Gotterdammerung, GC 43-45 Xhoel (Axis) vs Hghx-0 (WA)

[xhoel]

Casualties After the evacuation:

[xhoel]

Air Losses after the evacuation:

[John B.]

Looks like you're making the best of a bad situation in Sicily.

[xhoel]

Thanks, I am trying, but I had not anticipated a British landing that close to Reggio Calabria. Well executed by my opponent I will say that. We will see how it goes from here. I am hoping to evacuate the Schmalz PzGren Brigade and I also intend to evacuate the Italians too. All in its time!

[IslandInland]

Nice read. Thanks for the AAR.

[xhoel]

Thanks for the kind words. Stay tuned for more!

[xhoel]

T5, July 31st-7th August 1943.
Situation report [Northern Europe].


For the first time since the Bombing of the Reich restarted in its earnest, the Americans and the British have launched back to back raids on our cities. Their target has been the city Duisburg, that was bombed on the night of the 24th by the British and the day after on the 25th by the Americans. The rest of the Ruhr is bombed as usual by the RAF Bomber Command. Our fighters in the area perform well even though in some cases they have to face the long range escorts composed of P-47s. In the raid against Duisburg on July 25th the Americans lose 45 bombers (out of 256) and 9 fighters (out of 54). Our losses are heavy, 29 fighters out of 232. This only goes to show that when faced with American escorts our fighters do poorly. In another raid against Essen our interceptors manage to down 49 bombers out of 157 in the matter of 15 mins, a 30% loss rate. The 8th US Air Force concentrates on one single target this week and launches 3 raids against Regensburg where one of the biggest Bf 109G-6 factories (42) is located. The factory had already suffered damage from another raid 2 weeks ago but the 3 raids during this week have forced it to almost shut down (80% damage). The reaction of our interceptors in the area has been poor since the air wings are dispersed over a wide region and only manage to intercept the large American bomber formations (600 bombers) in small numbers. However American losses amount to 30 bombers, a 5% loss rate.

Our losses in the battle over the Reich are quite heavy this week, 85 Fighter Bombers and 20 Night Fighters are lost. The WA have lost 265 bombers and dozens of fighters.
Total losses from the fighting in the air last week were as follows:

Reinforcing JGs and ZGs keep arriving from the East. The V./NJG 5 was disbanded due to a severe shortage in night fighter aircraft. The pilots of the group will be used to fill the shortages of fighter pilots in the day fighter wings. Additional changes are being made to the air defences, a key part of which will be the reinforcing with Flak of the areas where enemy activity is high such as the Ruhr and over the Netherlands.

[xhoel]

T5, July 24th 1943.
Situation report [Italy].

The British have taken Messina. The British 51st Infantry division has crossed the straits of Messina in force and pushed back the Shmalz PzGren Brigade and routed the 2nd Regiment of the Livorno Division. The Bridage is now basically a ghost formation, only mustering 5 rifle squads and 12 motorized rifle squads, with the rest of the unit being support personal. It has no operational AFVs, only 3 105mm Howitzers and most of the men are lying in the makeshift field hospital at the outskirts of the Barcellona airfield. The unit has basically ceased to exist as a cohesive formation. Since the British have regained control of the shipping lanes again, the only way for the Schmalz PzGren Brigade to be evacuated is to move to Palermo, 100 miles west, a task impossible considering the amount of wounded that the unit has and the lack of transportation. It seems that its fate is sealed, it will perish in the Sicily pocket.



In the meanwhile, the Americans close the noose around the ports of Trapani and Palermo with the British pressing from the north of the island. The remaining italian troops have been resupplied by air but not enough supply can be brought in to sustain the whole 6th Italian Army.
The Allies are flying a lot of recon around the island of Sardinia so Army Group C believes that this will be the site of the next landing. To prevent a disaster like Sicily, the 90th PzGren Division is evacuated from the island and safely enters the harbor of Napoli. Our armored formations start pulling back from the toe, with the Italian divisions holding a rearguard . The 157th Mountain Division is released by the OKW and arrives in Rome in high spirits. Our units have begun the construction of the Bifena line, stretching from Napoli to the north of Termoli, demarcating the line where we plan to stand and fight with the advancing American and British forces. Napoli will not be given up without a fight!

[xhoel]

Sicily after Axis moves:

[xhoel]

The Bifena Line:

[xhoel]

Situation on the toe after Axis moves:

[xhoel]

Casualties Ground T5:

[xhoel]

Casualties Air T5:

[xhoel]

T6, 7th of August to 14th of August
Situation report [Northern Europe].

RAF Bomber Command continues bombing the Ruhr, this time without the follow up from the Americans. The British take moderate losses, around 80 bombers lost while we lose 13 night fighters in the exchange. The heavy industry and coal mines in the Ruhr have taken a heavy hit and it is becoming a challenge to keep them running.

The 8th US Air Force targets the U-Boat pens in the north and falls into our well prepared trap. It suffers heavy losses in the raids against Kiel and Hamburg (where it launches small scale raids of about 20-30 planes). Around 70 bombers are lost on the raids against Hamburg and an additional 110 bombers are lost on the raids against Kiel. This brings the Allied total of losses over the Reich at about 260 bombers. Our fighter losses are as follows: 25 fighters defending Hamburg and 55 defending Kiel.

Loss totals to include our Italian Allies are as follows:


The Interception over Kiel:

[xhoel]

T6, august 7th 1943.
Situation report [Italy].

The Americans and British forces have cleared Sicily almost completely. The Schmalz PzGren Brigade has been destroyed in the fighting for the island and a cadre is being formed in Germany to reform the brigade. The remaining Italian units, badly supplied and with little support surrender as well. The port of Trapani is cleared and only Palermo remains in our hands, defended by the Aosta Division which held back determined assaults by the 2nd US Armored Division last week. The division is evacuated this week under heavy enemy fire. One transport ship is lost causing the death of 1.300 men and wounding around 3.000 others. Meanwhile the British push up on the toe, however their advance is slowed down by the Italian divisions and bad terrain. The XIV Panzer Corps forms a defensive line at the start of the toe. Reinforcements are arriving in Italy week after week to help form a solid line of defense. The main concern now is Sardinia. Should the Island fall, the Allies will gain air bases that can reach southern Germany.

The defense of Palermo:



Positions on the toe after German moves:



XIV Panzer Corps defensive line:



The Bifena Line and the defenses around Rome:

[xhoel]

Losses T6:

Ground:



Air:

[xhoel]

T7, 14th of August-21st of August 1943
Situation report [Northern Europe].

Due to the heavy losses suffered 2 weeks ago, both the RAF Bomber Command and the US 8th Air Force scale down their raids over the Reich. The number of sorties has dropped dramatically, 7.000 sorties less than 2 weeks ago, even though total losses for the Western Allies are again high (410 planes lost, of which 204 are LBs, 382 pilots KIA).

Shown below, air losses from last week:



Sorties flown last week:


The Ruhr was the main objective of the week and both Commands focus on the industry rich region hitting the targets with back to back raids. The size of the raids is relatively much smaller than usually at around 80 bombers (instead of the normal 150 for the British and 600 for the Americans). Where our fighters intercept, the bombers suffer heavy losses. In 5 occasions as displayed below, the Americans suffer a loss rate average of 18%. In other engagements the loss rate is around 5-6%.

Heavy Losses for the 8th US Air Force over the Ruhr:



We suffer our heaviest losses this week in the skies above Essen, where the Americans prepare a well laid fighter trap that costs us 13 Fighters (out of 30):



Other than that while losses appear high they are not that concerning. Out of 149 FBs lost during the week, around 55 planes were lost in Italy, most of them belonging to our Italian allies. An additional 24 Night fighters were lost in interception missions against RAF Bomber Command. The British try a daring raid, and hit the U-Boat Factory at Danzig with mini raids of only 4 planes per raid. Surprisingly their move pays off, the raids are only intercepted over the Danish straits and the U-Boat factory is almost knocked out of production at 48% damage. Priority repairs are ordered and the Air Base at Koenigsberg is activated and will be receiving a fighter group in the next weeks, responsible for the air defense of Danzig.



Damage estimates:

The Industry in the Ruhr region has taken a beating with the heavy plants (heavy industry) at Duesseldorf, Wuppertal, Duisburg and Bochum knocked out (more than 50% damage). Priority repairs have been ordered immediately to get the plants operating again. Coal production has been hampered but production is still going on except at Wuppertal (55% damage). In the north, the U-Boat Factory at Kiel has been knocked out and priority repairs have been ordered to fix the damage done as soon as possible. The factory at Hamburg has taken some damage but is still operating. The Bf 109G-6 factory at Regensburg continues to be non-operative due to the extensive damage it has suffered even though repairs are going on at full speed. The factory is at 59% damage.

Damage reports for the different industry sectors:

Fuel Production -12% damage
Heavy Industry -14% damage
Manpower -2,7% damage
Resource Production -11,5% damage
Synthetic Fuel Production -9% damage
U-Boat Factory -26% damage

German Industry Overview:

[xhoel]

T7, 14th of August-21st of August
Situation report [Italy].


There was a lot of activity in the air last week over Italy. The Tactical Air Force launched surprise attacks on our air fields at Foggia and near the heel. Our Fighters were on standby and managed to engage the British, causing them to bleed for every bomb they dropped. The heaviest fighting takes place at Foggia where 102 Axis fighters engage 56 British ones. The results look grim: 8 German fighters lost and 25 Italian. The British suffer 20 A2A losses. In another instance 24 German fighters engage 96 British ones and down 17 of them while losing 9 fighters. While the results are impressive considering how understrength the fighter groups are in Italy, such battles of attrition do not play to our strength. The JG 53 has been transferred near Rome where it will R&R.

The following images show the results of British bombing runs and Axis interceptions:



Air Battle at Foggia:



Air Battle east of Taranto:



In other news the Italian Air Force has begun a restructuring of its air groups in order to better manage the air situation over Italy.

[xhoel]

Italy, Ground

On the Ground the Americans enter the city of Palermo that was declared a free city last week while the British keep pushing up the toe. The XIV Panzer Corps remains on the defensive at the entrance of the toe while the II SS Panzer Corps arrives in Rome and takes command of the German units there. The ports of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto are reinforced by Italian units to fend off any possible landing in the area. The 16th SS Sturm Brigade has been evacuated out of Corsica this week and transferred in the area around Rome. The 1st Fallschirmjager Division moves to the Bifena line to bolster the defenses there and to help with the construction of fortifications. More units are expected to arrive next week as well as the headquarters of the 10th Army. The invasion of Sardinia is expected at any time now.

General overview Italy:



XIV Panzer Corps defenses:



The ports of Bari, Taranto and Brindisi:



The Bifena Line and Rome:



Sardinia:

[xhoel]

T7 Casualties Ground:




T7 Air Losses: