The Oder must hold! VtB: xhoel (Axis) vs Gunnulf (Soviet)

[xhoel]

Heavy fighting taking place on the Vistula line as well. Soviet Rifle Corps have caught up with the armored spearheads, which have managed to cross the Vistula 40 miles south of Danzig. The Soviets have a 20 mile long corridor but only 10 mile (1 hex) wide. 5 Armored/Mechanized Corps as well as 1 Cavalry Corps have crossed the river and are in position to roll the flank of the 4th and 2nd Army.

4th Army has received orders to fortify the positions around the Soviet breach. The terrain in the sector is helpful due to the heavy woods. 4th Panzer Division coming straight from the ships in Danzig has been rushed to the front. Heavy fighting is expected here next week so additional AT formations have been attached to the 4th Army. 2nd Army holding on the Vistula while its XVIII Mnt Corps has pulled back to the hilly terrain behind the Netze.

4th and 2nd Army positions start of the week:



4th and 2nd Army positions after German moves:



Vistula crossing battle:



AGC

Soviet forward forces have reached Posen, 2 Cavalry Corps are now just 20 miles away from the city. 11th SS Panzer Army launches 2 powerful counterattacks, mauling both cavalry corps. The LW again proves its worth, tactical bombers silence Soviet artillery and deny the enemy ease of movement. The rebuild Warsaw Grenadier Division enters Posen to assist the city defense.

Posen before (11th SS Panzer Army in green):



Posen after (11th SS Panzer Army in yellow):



German counterattacks on Soviet Guard Cavalry Corps:






AGA

Soviet forces now 20 miles away from Breslau. II Panzer Corps counterattacks and mauls the 8th Guards Mechanized Corps with LW support. Heavy fighting in the Army Group A sector as the Soviets are cutting through our units like butter. Many formations depleted and only exist on paper. Army Group A commander has been dismissed for poor performance, General Krebs takes his place. 3 Soviet Tank Corps have broken through the mountain passes in Slovakia and threaten to cut off connection to the forces fighting in the North Carpathians.

General pull back of 20 miles in the sector, too many Rifle Corps catching up with the enemy armor now, need to give some ground. Blechhammer Süd, Cosel and Ostrava had to be abandoned even though they have vital fuel refineries that are needed for the war effort. Pull back in the Carpathians as well. Multiple formations are completely depleted so Armored and infantry reserves moving from Prague to the sector. The situation should be stable for next week at least.

Breslau and AGA sector at the start of the week:





II SS Panzer Corps mauls 8th Guards Mechanized Corps:



Breslau and AGA sector at the end of the week:





Leader dismissal:





Army Group A has been taking a beating non stop for the last 5 weeks as the record shows.

[xhoel]

AGS

6th Army stops cold an attack at Imely but fails to hold back a strong Soviet attack west of Budapest. The ground has been retaken after a counterattack by the IV SS Panzer Corps and I Cavalry Corps. 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps losses 71 AFVs in the process and will probably be out of combat for at least two weeks.

The Soviet assault on Budapest has started and heavy fighting was recorded all over the week. IX SS Mnt Corps manages to hold on, but fort has been reduced to level 2. The Soviets lose 18.4000 men as well as around 700 guns in the heavy fighting. 601 tonnes of supplies brought into the besieged city by the LW. The defenders can probably hold on for at least a week.

6th Army sector start of the week:



Counterattack:



Very heavy fighting in Budapest:



6th Army end of the week:



Front overview end of the week:

[xhoel]

Losses and events:

Around 59.000 irrecoverable losses this week for both sides, together with 601 AFVs for the Axis and 1.204 for the Soviets. Since the start of the Soviet offensive on January 12th, the Axis have taken almost 300.000 irrecoverable casualties!



Ground Support comes with a price:



Combat intensity increasing in the West:



Weather for next turn seems like will continue to be heavy rainy in the north, translating to heavy mud and snowy in the south.

[xhoel]

T6, 17th February 1945.

Garrison in Italy dropped from 90 to 88 last turn so we take a penalty from missing requirements. Italian Campaign advances:



Army Group Vistula

Soviet forces have broken into the Sambian peninsula and have attacked Koenigsberg in force. Both attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties but the fort level has dropped from 5 to 3 and the defending forces are in bad shape. Around 50.000 men still holding out in Koenigsberg. LW Kdo Ostpreussen has been mauled while fighting to support the besieged 3rd Panzer Army. The enemy has managed to expand their bridgehead over the Vistula which now spans 60 miles. Heavy fighting all along the 4th Army front. 2nd Army mostly spared by Soviet attacks as the infantry is catching up.

Army Group Vistula before:



Battle for the Vistula crossing:



1st Battle of Koenigsberg:



2nd Battle of Koenigsberg:



Very weird odds in these two battles. Maybe a bug?

Due to the difficult situation, evacuations of the 14th Panzer Division from Kurland have been put on hold. Instead the 551st Volksgrenadier Division has been evacuated from Pillau to Danzig and has joined the citys defense. The 30th ID from Kurland has been evacuated to Stettin. Two further divisions in Koenigsberg merged to bring them up to strength. The city will most likely fall next week.

A difficult decision was made at the HQ of Army Group Vistula in Falkenburg this week: Both the 4th and 2nd Army have been ordered to hold their positions on the river in order to slow the Soviets down until Koenigsberg falls. Once the Soviets have taken Koenigsberg, the Army Group is to fall back to the Pomeranian Wall and make their stand there. LW Kdo Ostpreussen has been evacuated from East Prussia and its decimated air groups been sent to Berlin and Prague for R&R. JG 1 and JG 51 have taken huge losses and will need to be rebuild before they can be combat ready again.

Army Group Vistula end of the week:



JG 1 and JG 51 badly mauled:



AGC

Soviet forces have broken through the Posen defensive line and the city is more or less surrounded. 2 divisions with a strength of around 20.000 men under the command of the X SS Corps are garrisoned in the Festung and can hopefully hold out for a week or two. In front of Breslau the 9th SS Panzer Division has been decimated by Soviet Rifle Corps and has been sent to Prague for refreshment.

Due to the very open terrain in and around Posen, the 11st SS Panzer Army has been ordered to pull back and hold their ground just in front of the Warthe-Oder defensive line. The same has been ordered to the 9th Army defending the Breslau sector. The open ground here as well as the lack of formations means that even in a fortified position the Soviets can still break through now that their Rifle Corps have caught up with the armor.

Army Group Center before:



X SS Corps defending Posen:



9th SS Panzer Division beaten back:



11th SS Panzer Army after:



Breslau sector after:



AGA

The Soviets have captured Ostrava and have expanded their bridgehead south of the city. Many units here have been routed and are depleted. 2 holds marked in the sector however. Soviet forces keep making pressure in the mountain area.

To avoid getting their flank rolled, the 4th Panzer Army has had to abandon the cities of Brieg and Oppeln. The strength of the enemy here means that ground needs to be given slowly. XI SS Panzer Corps (bright red) now deployed in full strength to contain the Soviet bridghead and a German couterattack by the 2 divisions mauls the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps. In the mountains the retreat is almost complete as the 17th Army and the 8th Army are pulling back from their last positions on the salient. 1 Hungarian Infantry Division has been left back unfortunately.

AGA before:



Counterattack:



AGA after:




AGS

Both Soviet attacks in the south have been stopped at the very last moment. 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division prevails against 3 Soviet Corps while the second Soviet assault on Budapest fails again with heavy losses. Fort level has dropped to 1 and the city will probably fall next week. Luftflotte 4 diligently delivers 601 tonnes of supplies again.

Intelligence indicated that the heavily beaten 4th Guards Mechanized Corps is exposed in front of the IV SS Panzer Corps and a strong counterattack by 2 Panzer Divisions hits them hard and forces them to conduct a hasty retreat to the rear.

AGS before:



4th SS Panzergrenadier division vs 3 Soviet Corps:



2nd Battle of Budapest:



Counterattack:



AGS after:

[xhoel]

Ground Losses

Relatively light losses this week for us but very heavy for the Soviets: 35.000 men irrecoverable vs 57.000.



Heavy air losses as well, the LW is set to rest for next week and specific formations have recieved priority for replacements.



Weather will continue to be heavy rain in northern Germany next turn which is positive:



Front overview:

[Jango32]

I think -1 odds indicate that there's at least one attacker unit (likely more) depleted.

[Stamb]

Updating to a latest patch might help you defending xhoel ! Nice AAR.

[xhoel]

@Jango32: Interesting, didnt know that, are you sure thats the case?

@Stamb: Thank you, I switched to the latest patch today but the Soviet T6 was run under 08. So Im guessing starting from Axis T7 and on we will play with the latest patch.

[Jango32]

I am not sure, just something I noticed in one instance of a SP test where I decided to hasty attack a city hex that had some actual defense in it. My odds in the battle showed up as negative, and when looking at the regiment it was at 0/40 TOE I think in depleted mode.


You could perhaps ask your opponent if he has any depleted units which participated in the Koenigsberg attack.

[xhoel]

Will do, thanks for mentioning it!

[xhoel]

T7, February 24th 1945

Three very bad news at the start of this week: The Soviets have taken Koenigsberg and cleared East Prussia; Posen has fallen to a direct Soviet assault and the Fortress of Budapest has fallen. Almost 70.000 men were captured last week.

AGN

The Sitzkrieg in Kurland is over. Two Soviet attacks have disrupted the German defensive line and managed to make gains against Army Group North. For these two attacks the enemy has paid a heavy price however: 11.000 men vs 2.000 German.

The land lost last week has been retaken by 2 IDs in the 18th Army sector, while in the 16th Army sector a strong counterattack against the weak 198th Rifle Division (6.500 men) has sent them reeling with heavy losses. Positions in both sectors have been fortified but soon enough we will have to start giving ground and will have to start retreating towards the ports.

NsGr 3 has been reinforced with 2 other Tactical Bomber groups that should help the fighting in the area. 24th ID has been evacuated to Gdynia and 1 regiment of the 14th Panzer Division has been evacuated to Stettin.

Kurland start of the week:



Battle in 16th Army sector:



Counterattack:



Kurland after German moves:



AGV

Koenigsberg has fallen after a heavy battle. The defenders have been routed and have lost around 9.300 men. The Soviets have cleared East Prussia and now have a strong Front ready to advance on the Vistula.

In total the battle of Koenigsberg (over the 2 weeks) has had these losses for both sides:

German: 14.777 men, 493 guns, 66 AFVs and 162 planes (98 fighters and 64 dive bombers)
Soviet: 32.064 men, 1.412 guns, 86 AFVs and 276 planes (all fighters)

On the Vistula the Soviets have only attacked two positions and brought in more Rifle Corps. Soviet armor now east of the river and will probably be redirected towards Posen. Danzig cut off by land after 8th Mechanized Corps made a dash towards Gdynia. The unit is in an exposed position and we have armored reserves nearby which launch a ferocious counterattack mauling them badly. 4th and 2nd Army ordered to break contact with the enemy and start pulling back West.

Army Group Vistula at the start of the week:



Final Battle of Koenigsberg:



Counterattack against the 8th Mechanized Corps:



Army Group Vistula at the end of the week:

[xhoel]

AGC

The Soviets have taken Posen after a very powerful assault. Both divisions defending the city have been routed (battle screen saying surrounded is incorrect) and have taken heavy losses. The enemy has started to make contact with the defensive line set on the woods in front of the Warthe river.

The sector here is being reinforced with fresh forces arriving from the West or as reinforcements. 2 Panzer Corps in assault mode part of the 6th SS Panzer Army (grey) located in the sector and are being held in reserve in order to launch local counterattacks to keep the enemy off balance.

Further to the south Breslau has been surrounded but no attacks have taken place in the sector although the enemy has reached our defensive line. 663 tonnes delivered to the Festung by TG 1 stationed in Berlin. Hopefully the garrison can hold on for 1 more week. The line has been reinforced here by arriving reserves.

2 SS Panzer Divisions that were sent to Berlin and Prague last week for rebuilding have been moved in the Army Group Center area now with high TOEs and a good amount of tanks.

Army Group Center start of the week:



Battle of Posen:



Army Group center end of the week:





Importance of refitting certain units in the NS:

L.A.H SS Panzer Division before (T6) and after (T7):





From 1 AFV left to 82 AFVs.

9th SS Panzer Division before (T6) and after (T7):





148 AFVs and 75% ready TOE.

AGA

In contrast to the Breslau sector which was quiet this week, the Army Group A sector saw very heavy fighting. The weather is helping the Soviets here as snow means no 50% CV loss for the attacker. The strength of the Rifle Corps is showing clearly: 2 divisions with good TOE (one of them was a Panzer division) defending in Fort 1 in light woods were decimated by an attack. A strong Soviet push in the Moravian Gap is logical. Once they achieve a breakthrough here, the open terrain would be perfect country for the Tank Armies.

Soviet pressure in the mountains is increasing too. Heroic defense by the Jueteborg Panzer Division which held back a strong attack but was forced to retreat after second assault taking heavy losses and losing all of its tanks in the process. The whole AGA sector is adapting a defense in depth with weaker front line units to slow the enemy down and stronger units in second echelon. Whatever is left over is moved to the third defensive line. Further pull back from the mountains. Soviet armor in the area really starting to threaten the rear of the 8th Army.

AGA start of the week:



Heavy fighting:



Two divisions pushed back, Holstein Panzer Division decimated.

Heroic defense by Jueteborg Panzer Division:





Heavy price to pay:

T6, Jueteborg Panzer Division. At 63% ready TOE and with 61 AFVs this is considered a good division:



T7 Jueteborg Panzer Division completely decimated, 3 morale points lost, left with 0 AFVs and only 11% ready TOE. Sent to refit in Vienna:



AGA sector after:

[xhoel]

AGS

The Soviets only launched 2 attacks in the 8th Army sector this week, one of which was repulsed with heavy casualties. The Siege of Budapest is finally over. The IX SS Mountain Corps fought to their last bullet before surrendering to the enemy and managed to hold their ground for 6 weeks, an impressive feat. 3 Panzer Divisions, 2 Infantry Divisions, 2 Cavalry Divisions, 2 Corps HQs and 1 Infantry Regiment lost in the battle along with numerous other Support Units.

Casualties from the Siege of Budapest over a three-week intense fighting period:

*Axis: 68.334 men, 859 guns and 283 AFVs
Soviet: 42.285 men, 1.700 guns and 170 AFVs

*Axis casualties do not include losses due to attrition in the period before the Soviets assaults began. In the span of the x weeks prior the garrison strength declined substantially.

Air recon in the Budapest area shows a massive concentration of Soviet forces around the Hungarian capital. Taking the city allows the enemy to free up a whole Front but intelligence indicates that the formations will need to rebuild before they can be ready to mount a large scale offensive towards Vienna. Best case scenario, the Soviet offensive starts in 2 weeks. Both the 6th and 8th Armies ordered to hold their positions and prepare for heavy fighting that is sure to come. Many depleted units on refit in Bratislava and Vienna. At least 6 depleted or severely understrength divisions trying to rebuild their strength here along with some decimated regiments. The manpower is not nearly enough for everyone...

Army Group South start of the week:



8th Army holds:



Siege of Budapest concluded:



Army Group South after Axis moves:




Losses


Very heavy losses this week, 90.000 irrecoverable for the Axis and 48.500 for the Soviets. Gun and AFV losses similar for both sides.



Light losses in the air this week as the LW was on rest. I am doing my best to conserve the LW strength as much as possible even with the pilot issues: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=5117823

Nevertheless, certain formations have been assigned GS duties for the coming week and will need to do their fair share of fighting in helping the ground forces.



Weather next week expected to be cold so General Mud is taking a leave of absence.



Soviets have gotten 61 VPs this week alone, moving to 797.



Garrison shortage in Italy continues and an infantry division currently rebuilding in the Reserve will be sent to the TB to alleviate the issue. All other TBs are well stocked.



Leader changes: Graeser had just taken command of the XXXXVI Panzer Corps and was a great commander. Guderian sacked.

[xhoel]

T8, 3rd of March 1945

AGN

A strong attack in Kurland pushes back two German divisions in the sector of the 18th Army. In the 16th Army sector the Soviets have moved Rifle Corps forward in preparation for more attacks. The line is shortened in some areas and troops are slowly giving ground. The goal here is to draw some Soviet blood before moving to a shorter defensive line around the ports. Two Infantry Divisions evacuated to mainland Germany.

AGN start of the week:



AGN after:




AGV

Helped by the good weather in West Prussia (light snow and clear) the Soviets have launched extensive attacks against the 4th and 2nd Army and have won all of them (11 battles) really beating up our units in the sector. Even with the good defensive terrain in the area, the positions are no longer tenable especially with the unfavorable weather. Both Armies have been ordered to fall back to the Pomeranian Wall defensive line.

Multiple depleted divisions have been sent to the reserve to build up. Due to these events, the gaps that have appeared in our lines and the strength of Soviet units in the sector the OKH has abandoned the plan to declare Danzig and Gdynia Festungen. Only Fortress divisions remain in the two port cities, the other forces have been transferred to the 4th Army and moved west.
Setting the Danzig Fort Division on static mode saves around 250 trucks that would have otherwise either been captured by the Soviets or destroyed since the Division is basically lost.

AGV before:



Best defensive battle in the sector:



Standard battle result:



Effect on the involved unit:



AGV after:



Units in dark red belong to the 3rd Panzer Army, whose main force is now being deployed in front of Berlin.

[EwaldvonKleist]

Quality AAR. Do you use the Festungs-concept for historical roleplay or ingame advantage?

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: EwaldvonKleist

Quality AAR. Do you use the Festungs-concept for historical roleplay or ingame advantage?

Thank you EvK! Mostly for historical roleplay and to let readers understand that Festung cities are places that I am really determined to hold and where I am assigning extra units to the defense. In the case of the two ports mentioned above: Them being declared Festung would have meant that they would be reinforced with other divisions.

Since I cant spare any units right now, that is off the table.

[xhoel]

AGC

The going in front of Berlin is better for us. The Soviets have launched successful attacks but are paying a heavy price for it. The units in the sector are relatively strong and fighting in favorable terrain with heavy air cover from II Fliegerkorps. One hold achieved by a Panzer Division going head to head with a Soviet Tank Corps. One ID has been cut off but the Soviet forces guarding the perimeter are in open terrain and tired so it can be saved.



Circled in yellow is the hold shown below

Soviet armor stopped by a Panzer Division:



Heavy fighting in the sector:



Two counterattacks by the XXXIX Panzer Corps decimate the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps and the 11th Tank Corps, freeing the trapped infantry division, which has been assigned additional trucks by direct orders from the OKH itself and pulled back to join the German defensive positions.





In front of Berlin, we have opted for a strong point defensive line, with key locations reinforced that prevent enemy movement. The key locations have been marked in the map below. Defensive belts of 20-30 miles have been set up all along the front. 5th Panzer Division and the Kurmark Panzergrenadier Division have been moved to Berlin for R&R. Both divisions are at around 30% TOE.



The Festung of Breslau has fallen to a strong Soviet attack. Now the Soviets have two major railyards that they can use to supply their drive on Berlin. The going is only going to get tougher from now on. The 9th Army defending the sector has been pushed out of the hilly and fortified terrain and now finds itself on open ground which does not bode well. The units have been ordered to give ground and fall back. Liegnitz abandoned.

Breslau sector start of the week:



Battle for the city:



Breslau after:



An infantry recon discovered 2 hidden Tank Corps in the area waiting to strike. Defenses have been beefed up to account for this.

[xhoel]

AGA and AGS

The major Soviet breakthrough has finally happened in the AGA sector. The enemy has penetrated 60 miles deep and is pushing towards Vienna and Bratislava. Attacks have been launched on an 180 miles line and have pushed back our units with heavy losses. Multiple divisions have been rendered combat incapable and others have been depleted. Out of 19 attacks, only one (but on a very important location) was held back by our forces. The enemy also threatens large oil fields at Zistersdorf.

AGA sector start of the week:



Marked in yellow is the hold shown below. In Red the biggest oil field left in German hands, Zistersdorf.

Hold:



Zistersdorf oil fields:



The town accounts for 29% of German oil production.

Two regiments of the 20th Panzer Divisions that had been rebuild in Vienna over the last two weeks and which only arrived to the front last week have been completely annihilated in the fighting, paying the ultimate price while delaying the enemy advance. The isolated Hungarian Division has surrendered.

20th Panzer Division decimated:





The Soviet breakthrough puts them in an ideal position as the terrain is open and the enemy has enough armor to exploit this (9 Mech/Armored Corps). The spearheads can go in three directions:

-If they veer west they threaten to roll the flank of the 4th Panzer Army and might push towards Prague in force.
-If they press south they threaten Vienna and Bratislava and the whole AGS.
-If they veer east, they threaten trapping and destroying the 17th and 8th Army.

The 8th Army holds back a weak enemy attack causing very heavy losses to the Soviet attackers. No other major attacks launched in the AGS sector as the Soviets seem to be building their strength before they hit the army group in force.

AGS start of the week:



8th Army holds:



4th Panzer Army has been ordered to pull back and give ground. Olomouc abandoned. Mountain positions in Slovakia abandoned as well as reserves are being moved in front of Vienna and Bratislava. Armor has been pulled from the 6th and 8th Army and attached to the 1st Panzer Army which is now tasked with holding the 2 key cities. This weakening of Army Group South will probably prompt the Soviets to start their offensive in the sector next week but not much can be done about it. Heavy fighting is expected next week. A weak Soviet Rifle Corps pushed back with heavy losses.

The defensive line set up intends to slow the Soviets down as much as possible and to prevent a further breakthrough to the rear of Army Groups South. If the Soviets start their Hungarian offensive next week our positions here might need to be abandoned and together with them the last major oil reserves and fuel refineries.

AGA after:



The open terrain makes a proper defense here very difficult. Most of the armor moved in front of Vienna. 20th Panzergrenadier Division tasked with holding Zistersdorf.

Rifle Corps routed:



AGS after:



You can see the weakened positions here. A possible Soviet thrust might be launched north of lake Balaton.

South Overview:



The resource war

The 5 locations shown below contain 55% of what is left of the Axis oil production (50 out of 91) and the area also holds 20% of the fuel refineries left in Axis hands. With the oil pool only at 67k tonnes and needs that far exceed that (147k), the loss of these locations would basically cut down oil production by more than half and since we need 500 tonnes of oil to produce 250 tonnes of fuel, this reduction would further decrease fuel production from refineries, from the current 45.500 tonnes a week to 20.500 tonnes, further putting a strain on resources.

Oil Fields:



Oil production and pool:



Everything being produced is being used. Needs still not met. Pool at 67k.

Fuel:



The Axis Fuel Store is high because of the way the campaign has unfolded. Holding the synthetic fuel plants mentioned in other posts has paid off.



Notice the effect of strategic bombing on Fuel and Synthetic Fuel Production.

[xhoel]

Ground Losses have been heavy this week, 50.000 irrecoverable losses for the Axis vs 62.000 for the Soviets and AFV losses are quite high as well



The 20.000 men that the Axis get as replacements in a week plus wounded men returning to duty (around 5k) cant cover these losses and it shows. Here is the status of 7 divisions send to the Axis reserve for rebuilding:



7 divisions with a total of 28.000 men.

The air combat was very heavy this week and the LW is starting to deteriorate fast. There is one main reason for this:

As we established elsewhere (https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=5117823) the current WitE 2 system always assigns trained pilots to TBs first and since combat and losses in the west are very high this means that all of the trained pilots that the Germans receive in a week (116) are sent west. This has been going on for all these turns and in the last two months the Eastern Front has received 0 trained pilots while at the same time pilot losses have surpassed the 1k mark. I think this needs to change and at least some percentages need to be set in place to prevent TBs from siphoning off all trained pilots, which is simply not realistic.

So far I have done my best to refrain from assigning untrained pilots to the formations to keep their quality up, but the heavy losses are forcing my hand and for the first time I have switched 2 air groups to normal replacements. As an example of how heavy combat was take a look at JG 6 at the end of T7 and at the start of T8. The AOG has basically stopped existing and is barely half a group. They have achieved 162 kills but lost 91 pilots in the process. The have been assigned untrained pilots to bring them back to strength.



JG 6 T7:



JG 6 T8:



Since weather next turn is going to be heavy rain over most of the front, the LW has been put to rest to recover from its wounds.



The Italian TB continues to be understrength in the ground requirement so an infantry division has been transferred from the Reserve to reinforce them. Surprisingly this turn the Naval presence had dropped from 101% to 80% so a naval air group is being transferred to the reserve before joining the TB.



I personally really dislike the air group transfer process and wish it resembled the ground process more. Currently, for me to send an air group to Italy I have to send the air group to the reserve this turn (T8), see them arrive on T9 but they are locked as "just arrived" so I cant assign transfer orders, wait for T10, when I tell them to go to the Italian TB and then finally see them arrive on T11.

Why cant we just have a system where you can transfer an air group from the Map to a TB and just wait x turns like with ground units? It not only cuts down on click but also on time.

OOB:

[xhoel]

T9, 10th of March 1945

Heavy mud along most of the front means that the attack intensity has dropped considerably as the Soviets seem to be saving their strength for when the weather clears. The only exceptions are in Kurland and in the south where snow allows more attacks to happen. Next week the weather will be cold so all the mud is gone and the Soviets will be able to launch some heavy attacks.



AGN

In Kurland the Soviets continued with their concentrated strong attacks both of which have succeeded in taking ground and pushing our forces back. The 12th Panzer Division has lost half of its tanks and is now only a Kampfgruppe with 25 AFVs. The line is shortened and positions are fortified. 3 more infantry divisions evacuated.

The experienced JG 54 has been transferred to the Berlin sector to help the fighting there, while what is left of JG 6 has been sent to Kurland. The airgroup has been filled up with raw recruits that only know the most basic procedures and it shows.

AGN before and after:





Air Groups:



JG 54 is the most experienced AOG in the LW, while JG is the worst. The horrendous drop in pilot quality means I wont be using normal replacements for any other group. Pilots with 25 exp are just target practice for the VVS.

AGV and AGC

Army Group Vistula has been spared of any attacks this week and the whole front has been quiet as the Soviets are catching up with our line. Gdynia and Danzig have been cut off by land and are now only being supplied by sea. Both divisions set to static to save trucks. There is no doubt that both port cities will fall next week but hopefully they can tie up a few Soviet units and draw some blood.

4th Army has been ordered to fall back to the Pomeranian line and some positions have been reinforced. The Großdeutschland Panzergrenadier Divisions and the 4th Panzer Division have been sent to Berlin for R&R.

The sector in front of Berlin has been quiet too as the Soviets launched only two attacks here. The situation in front of Prague is a lot more tense however. Here the Soviets have launched a number of good attacks and have completely depleted a number of formations. There are barely and reserves in the area.

AGV and AGC (Berlin) sector after moves:





Prague sector before and after:



Holds circled in yellow.



The Sudeten mountains line is the only sector where there is only a thin line of defense as I have no free reserves to spare.