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As aerial photographs show, it's total Chaos near Finland.

Reichsmarschall des Grossdeutschen Reiches Goering demands audience with Corporal Hitler. The disgusting British have made the Baltic Sea, their personal swimming pool. God knows what the Limey has planned. The Gulf of Bothnia feels like half the empire is ready to land? The Gulf of Finland is now Tommy Boat Tour group. What's next, passenger ships sailing in to watch Helsinki cave? I don't need fighters like Tom Aspinal, landing in Finland.

Corporal Hitler allows, Goering to peal off nearly 50% of the Luftwaffe to deal with this mess. Northern German ports could be in jeopardy, something must be done.

Army Group South is getting snagged by Russian forts West of Rostov. I've got too many mobile units (bad planning), a failed reversal of The Morgenthau Plan. Dneiper River bridgehead has ZOC (Zone of Control) problems. Knowing Taifun's hit & run strategy, there's gotta be a Heavy Tank JS-120 or upgraded T-34's waiting in back. I'm so frustrated, Army Group South is ill prepared. I needed Armies and Artillery here. NOT Panzers.

Another decision is made, send all mobile units North, lets go for Moscow. Hungarians will slowly march towards the Forts, staying 2 hexes away, and dig. Italians will deal with the bridghead, which really chaps my ass. I've wasted time.

We're going for Moscow with the wrong mix of pieces. Somebody needs shot.

1941-08-29
The new drive on Moscow, Unternehmen TAIFUN (Operation Typhoon in English literature) still presented daunting challenges. Far from waging a seamless blitzkrieg wreaking havoc on the Red Army, the German panzer groups in the conduct of their advance suffered debilitating losses, which, in the previous months of the campaign, had already undercut Elvis' war effort. Most panzerkorps and panzergrenadier units will average 6-7 points of strength at the end of August.

Elvis's Smolensk assault opened with a mass artillery bombardment followed by air and ground assaults. German superiority at the point of main concentration was overwhelming and the infantry units defending the city's outer forts were destroyed, but Smolensk held. Further east, Orel and Bryansk were captured, and German spearhead units approached the Soviet Kaluga Defensive Line that anchored on the three defensive regions of Vyazma, Kaluga and Tula.

1941-09-12
Certainly, Stalin confronted the darkest days of the war during the following 3-4 months. By the beginning of September, the battlefields west of Moskow looked none too encouraging for the Red Army. Stalin telephoned General Zhukov, the commander of the Southern Front, and ordered him to relinquish his command and come to Moscow. When Zhukov entered Stalin's apartment he was shown a map that reflected the German forces arranged for TAIFUN. General Zhukov was tasked with touring the front headquarters, establishing what needed to be done, and reporting back to Stalin. Zhukov recommended that everything possible be rushed to the Kaluga Defensive Line. The Stavka immediately reinforced the Kaluga Defensive Line with 3 AA units, one army, and one infantry corps, but Stalin refused to send any of the armored units that still defended Rostov.
General Zhukov ordered the evacuation of Smolensk, leaving behind an AA unit as a rearguard blocking the main highway to Moscow. The mechanized unit defending Velikiye Luki was ordered east to defend Rzhev while a newly recruited infantry corps was raised at Moscow.
The situation remained grim, but if there was any man in the Red Army who possessed the skill, determination, and ruthlessness to defend Moscow it was Zhukov.

1941-09-26
Benefitting from clear skies and dry weather the offensive continued. Elvis's forces, instead of attacking the center of the line assaulting Kaluga, concentrated on the flanks. They cleared the main highway leading to Vyazma to the north and the forest in front of Tula to the east. The turn ended with German forces positioned to assault Kaluga next turn (notice DAK artillery).

1941-10-10
There can be no question that Elvis's reinforced Army Group Center still constituted a potent force at the beginning of October but, for all the power concentrated in the center of the eastern front, Germany's TAIFUN was on course to hit Russia's own weather storm, the rasputitsa.

General Zhukov organized a counterattack with 2 armies near Kaluga, which succeeded in destroying the veteran 3rd panzerkorps, the best unit in the Panzerwaffe. This battlefield loss of irreplaceable equipment in low supply underscored the dangers of over-extension and resource depletion.
A newly recruited fully equipped infantry army was raised at Moscow replacing the green infantry corps that was sent forward. The mechanized infantry covering Rzhev, Zhukov's only mobile unit, was placed in reserve (a green infantry corps was sent to replace them).

Instead of buying more tanks, the Stavka invested in 2 new anti-tank units.

The Royal Navy Fleet's ships still navigating the Baltic Sea were running out of supply. I had to think of a way to get them out, being only two solutions:
- Destroy the port of Copenhagen.
- Open a new corridor in the Danish straits.

In the end, I decided to do both. The brave Canadians "volunteered" and disembarked to take Odense while the B.E.F. loaded LRATs near Portsmouth to reinforce them if necessary. The Canadians were quickly surrounded and were unable to hold open an escape route.
The Royal Navy bombarded with several BBs (from both sides) Copenhagen's port to 0 strength. The Germans attacked our escaping Fleet and managed to sink DD Bulldog and the CL Sheffield.
In the end, the main elements of the Fleet managed to escape but a couple of destroyers and one submarine remained behind.

The Royal Navy took serious losses but the Kriegsmarine was decimated, losing 13 naval units including 5 U-Boote.


By the middle of October, the Japanese were positioning their armed forces for an imminent attack on the Western democracies and the USSR. Japanese troops were ready to attack an evacuated Vladivostok, LRATs with naval escorts were detected near Batavia, and ATs were disseminated all over the Pacific.
The US Navy's top commander, Admiral King, was very worried and sent Admiral Halsey to defend the South Pacific with a mixed fleet comprising 3 CVs, 1 BB, 3 CAs, and 3 DDs. At the same time, King sent AA units to defend Guam and Wake. This caused several rounds of Congressional Isolationists protests, the USA ending 62% activated at the time.

Great AAR! The German shift north towards Moscow is definitely curious. My guess is that ends up being a big mistake but we'll see. With the Germans already looking pretty tired and starting to lose Panzers, the Soviet winter could be brutal. The move to put units on Wake and Guam is interesting, I guess the thought is war in imminent so the US mobilization penalty doesn't really matter now. Out of curiosity, why leave Vladivostok ungarrisoned?

Hi redrum! Nice to hear from you again! (we still have a new game pending! ) I was convinced that Japan was about to attack at any moment! so that is why both islands were garrisoned for 3 months. But unfortunately, the Congressional Isolationists' protests intensified, with the US mobilization going down to 59%. President Roosevelt had to cede and ordered Admiral King to retire both garrisons this turn... sending them to Midway and Fiji instead.
Vladivostok was ungarrisoned because the fortress garrisons were needed during the summer to defend the Western Front. But Stalin was planning to assign new troops to defend the strategic city and port as soon as possible.


1941-11-07
Last chapter of the Battle of the Baltic Sea. German forces attacked and severely damaged two British BBs near Copenhagen (barely remaining afloat with strengths 1 and 2), but their sacrifice allowed the two trapped destroyers and the submarine to escape towards the North Sea, sinking a U-Boot in the process. Behind remained the brave Canadians, that soon joined their British comrades of the I Infantry Corps in a Danis POW camp.
This series of naval battles were costly but diverted valuable German resources and MPPs from the USSR. Moreover, the Swedish convoys were interrupted for several months, depleting further the German economy.

The mud and the rain arrived all along the front. If Unternehmen TAIFUN was following an altogether classic course, so too were the operational problems now emerging. Before Elvis could even think about driving to Moscow he first needed to address his supply situation. Supply shortages combined with bad roads were slowing all movement. German forces captured Kaluga and continued their advance along the main highway towards Vyazma. Zhukov reinforced and upgraded his front-line troops. The defending armies had been ordered to hold their positions at all costs, no more retreats! A new fully upgraded Soviet tank unit was raised at Moscow, a most welcomed reinforcement.
Further south in the Ukraine, Soviet tanks were upgraded to level 2. Stalin didn't allow to use any of his tank units so far in the war, as he waited patiently for Advanced Tanks level 2 and Armored Warfare level 1 . The Stavka was already planning a future offensive against the invaders (shortly) in this area.

Germany could count 72 units vs 51 Soviet land units.

Mid-November took place an important Allied conference to plan the Allied strategy for the next phase of World War II. In the cold waters of Newfoundland, key decisions were to be taken between Mr. Churchill and Pr. Roosevelt. Admiral's King US Navy plan to advance on Japan through the central Pacific and the Philippines was approved, along with the island-hopping campaign in the South Pacific. To placate Stalin with the opening of a second front in 1942, plans were also laid for an invasion of Sicily; no strategic bombing campaign against Germany was envisioned for 1942. Of all the decisions made, the most important was the USA Japan's first strategy. After crippling the Kriegsmarine, the Murmansk convoy route was considered safe, and for this reason, after resting and refitting, the Royal Navy will sail to the Pacific through the Panama Canal and will join the US Navy. The invasion of Sicily, which Churchill pushed for in part to divert German attention from the USSR and boost its morale, was to be all that the Allies could attempt until 1943. The US Army was concentrating on building and training its numerous special forces and armored units will only be available in a year.

1941-11-21
In a driving snowstorm and muddy conditions, the enemy resumed their advance east. Soviet forces opposing Army Group Center fought on tenaciously. Elvis's troops fought their way along the only all-weather road, the main highway linking Smolensk and Moscow, capturing Vyazma.

1941-12-05
Typhoon's success and victories were to be short-lived. When Zhukov was asked by Stalin in September if Moscow could be held he answered: "We will without fail, hold Moscow". His answer was based on strategic factors which he knew greatly favored Moscow's defense. The winter conditions, the length of German supply lines, and their absence of reserves all counted in Zhukov's favor.
General Zhukov immediately launched a counterattack southeast of Vyazma that destroyed the 2nd panzerkorps, a fully refitted and reinforced unit. Again Elvis was dealt a crippling blow by an expertly managed Soviet counterstroke. Clearly, some units of the Red Army had learned to fight, and even outmatch, the Wehrmacht.

1942-01-02 To the gates of Moscow.
Whatever the difficulties, the road to Moscow at the end of December appeared deceptively short for the men of Army Group Center. The five refitted remaining panzerkorps improved their supply situation when German HQs moved forward. General Zhukov reinforced his front-line troops while additional reinforcements arrived in the Moscow area in particular the first anti-tank and a heavy tank unit.
Meanwhile, in the Pacific, the Japanese were suspiciously quiet. The US mobilization was 67% and all pointed out that Tojo was not in a hurry to initiate the hostilities. Near Samoa, Admiral Halsey on board his flagship CV Enterprise sailed leisurely in peacetime Whites...

1942-01-16
In spite of the difficulties and minimal progress of Army Group Center, Elvis resolutely spurred his men to fight. The Soviet 16th Army was destroyed and German panzers reached Moscow's outer fortifications.

1942-01-30
Unfortunately for Elvis, it was precisely at this crucial moment that the Soviet Winter Penalty fired, hitting every German unit hard with up to 3 points of damage.
This is the situation at the beginning of my turn. The leading motorized 5th Panzerkorps and the neighboring panzer-grenadiers lost 3 points each, while the flaking armies were left with only 6 points of strength.

General Zhukov opened the Soviet winter counter-offensive by attacking the exposed and demoralized spearhead units, destroying the 5th Panzerkorps, and severely damaging the panzer-grenadiers.

Elvis will never fully recover from these huge losses, around 2400 MPPs!

1942-02-27
The battle for Moscow constituted the decisive event of the war. Elvis had to abandon, at least for some turns, all major offensive operations and go over to the defensive. No retreat! There will be no retreating from the Russian front near Moscow. “The will to hold out must be brought home to every unit!”.

The Soviet command was anxious to hasten its offensive and exploit the vulnerabilities of the depleted German armies around Moscow. Advancing along the Kaluga road, Soviet forces destroyed a panzer-grenadier unit and surprised General von Kuchler's HQ, inflicting 5 points of damage to the unit.

While the fighting for Kaluga assumed the focus of German attempts to counter the Soviet offensive, the reality was that further attacks were taking place near Dnepropetrovsk. The recently transferred General Voroshilov ordered his mobile units forward. A Rumanian tank unit was engaged near the Krivoy Rog mine complex by the leading Soviet mechanized unit. Notice the Soviet para unit in Crimea!

Murmansk area of operations. Remark that Elvis sent 2 German Infantry corps north!

By the end of February, the USA was about to join the conflict, the USA mobilization moving to 87% in a single turn.
British Admiral Cunningham was heading towards the Panama Canal with a potent TF comprising 3 CVs, 4 BBs, 2 DDs, 1 CL, and 1 submarine.
South of the equator in warmer waters, Admiral Halsey was ordered to move to the Coral Sea area to defend Australia's northern approaches with 3 US carriers. Covering Samoa were 3 DDs that remained behind. Vladivostok was also again garrisoned by Soviet troops.

1942-03-27
At last Japan attacked in the Pacific, and Pearl Harbor was devastated. The Philippines, Burma, Brunei, Sarawak, the Solomons, Papua New Guinea, the D.E.I, and other locations fell into Elvis's hands.
Singapore was defended by a well-entrenched Indian army protected by an AA unit, while an Indian tank unit was stationed in Malaysia near the Thailand border. Indian Special Forces debarked in Sumatra to annoy the invaders.
Meanwhile, Admiral Halsey's carriers, in their first operation of the war, attacked Japanese Medium bombers based in Buin, but rainy weather prevented their destruction.
Admiral Halsey aboard the Enterprise 1942-03.

Once Operations BARBAROSSA and TAIFUN passed from being a blitzkrieg to a slogging war of matériel, which was already the case by the end of the winter, large-scale economic deficiencies spelled doom for Elvis. The Wehrmacht had to win outright, while the Red Army had only to survive as a force in being.

Under unseasonably clear skies and dry weather, Soviet attacks continued around the Kaluga area during March. After destroying the German 10th Army, Soviet tanks visited General von Kuchler's partially refitted HQ for a second time.

At the end of the turn both, the panzerkorps defending Kaluga and General von Kuchler's HQ, were left with only 1 point of strength. The arrival of additional reinforcements (notably 3 anti-tank units) permitted General Zhukov to extend his left flank south towards Ryazhsk, menacing Orel and stretching Army Group Center's right flank.

Since the opening days of Operation TAIFUN, when Army Group Centre was once again thrusting into Soviet territory, the Stavka had begun planning for a counteroffensive in Ukraine with the primary goal of liberating Kharkov. General Voroshilov's Southern Front's new offensive started well, as Soviet elite heavy tanks managed to destroy the only German tank unit in the area, the 11th panzerkorps.

By the end of the turn Soviet forces had reached the southern outskirts of Kharkov, menacing to envelop the strategic city from the southwest. Additional Soviet troops were pushing west across the Dnepr, and after destroying a German infantry corps near the Krivoy Rog mine complex, were already menacing Uman. Almost all remaining Axis troops in Army Group South belonged to Germany's allies: Rumanians, Hungarians, and Italians.

It was a brutal turn for the Axis, with Elvis losing another 1200 MPPs.

Soviet scientists were researching Advance Tanks level 3 and Anti-aircraft level 3.
Thinking at present in Europes's future invasion, British scientists were about to discover Infantry Weapons level 2, Advance fighters level 3, and Amphibious Warfare level 3.
USA scientists were also researching many categories of new weapons...

1942-04-24
Netherlands and Vichy France surrendered in the west, Elvis getting an extra bunch of much-needed MMPs.

The fighting for Kaluga continued in Army Group Center. Germany lost the 10th Panzergrenadier unit in exchange for a Soviet tank and anti-tank units. Further south General Voroshilov, now a 1-star general, moved his 2 armored units to the rear for a period of rest and refit while keeping the pressure on the Italians in the center of the line. A new Hungarian tank unit joined the Axis forces near Uman, a most welcomed reinforcement.
Midway was captured by Japanese forces. Mexico joined the Allies. Japan declared war on Thailand, but instead of capturing Bangkok with an infantry corps Elvis sent an army to do the job, but moving only 3 hexes they couldn't enter the capital. The Indians immediately shipped an army to defend Bangkok and moved forward the tank unit from Malaysia. As expected, Japanese SNLF units coming from Java crossed to Sumatra and reached Palembang, engaging the Indian special forces.
The Germans could count on 72 land units vs 58 Soviet land units.
Since the beginning of Operation TAIFUN Germany lost 4 panzerkorps (50%), 2 panzer-grenadiers (66%), and an army, extremely heavy losses that will be difficult to rebuild.

Taifun wrote: Wed Aug 02, 2023 8:03 am ...
Since the beginning of Operation TAIFUN Germany lost 4 panzerkorps (50%), 2 panzer-grenadiers (66%), and an army, extremely heavy losses that will be difficult to rebuild.
...

Those are some REALLY brutal losses for that timeframe! Taifun, I think it's kind of a shame that our game a while ago never got that far. Could I maybe interest you in a 2nd round? (Open to any additional house rules)

Yeah, looking pretty rough for the Germans at this point. I'm still surprised the Germans shifted towards Moscow and continued to just pound against it given how many soviet units there are there now. Shifting some of the panzers south at this point, I would think be a much better option but its starting to look bleak for the Axis.

Many thanks redrum and Bavre for your comments! Bavre, my wife is threatening me with divorce ... so I will have to postpone a new game for a while... but we will play again

1942-05-22
The Indian Special Forces holding Palembang were surrounded as an additional Japanese Infantry corps arrived from the Padang area on the west coast of Sumatra. Further north in the Gulf of Siam area, the Japanese army attacked Bangkok with aerial support but the Indians held though they took severe damage. They later retired to Malaysia and were replaced by the Indian tank unit. At this moment I thought of making an amphibious attack behind the Japanese lines in Indochina, to cut the main railroad and avoid the arrival of additional Japanese reinforcements. The US NAVY CL Marblehead scouted the coast as far as the South China Sea and found an Italian DD protecting Saigon. Not sure about the enemy's forces protecting the coast, I finally decided to abort the mission and the Indians finally disembarked in Padang, on the west coast of Sumatra.


Meanwhile in Burma General Mountbatten's forces liberated Mandalay. For the time being, he commanded very limited forces: the Sudanese Infantry Corps, a Chinese light tank unit, and the UK field artillery. Additional Chinese infantry units were on their way south using the Burma Road, while an Indian para unit was moving in the opposite direction towards Chungking... The last USA troops in Corregidor were about to surrender.

Nauru, Hong Kong, and Davao were captured by the Japanese. Wake Island was devastated by aerial attacks by the KIDO BUTAI and captured by Japanese Special Forces. Admiral Yamamoto used all 5 carriers to destroy the defending AA unit, sinking also in the area two US Navy subs (the S-42 and the Nautilus). Admiral Halsey with the US carriers was ordered to the Fiji-Samoa area. British Admiral Cunningham was refitting his 3 carriers on the US West coast while additional Allied ships were about to enter the South Pacific after crossing the Panama Canal.
On the US east coast, US Army troops under General Bradley loaded 4 LRATs as they prepared to invade Europe.

All along the front Soviet forces were reinforced and refitted for the big summer offensive soon to start. General Rokossovsky, a bright officer who recently graduated, was sent to the Soviet Southern Front to assist General Voroshilov. Already Soviet troops were advancing west from Voronezh, menacing to cut the Kursk-Orel road linking Army Group Center with Army Group South. A most welcomed reinforcements were the 3 new anti-tank units that were deployed at Gorky, the Stavka now deploying 5 of these tank killers.

1942-06-19
With Kharkov under heavy pressure, Elvis decided to significantly reinforce Army Group South.
All 6 Luftwaffe bombers that were stationed around Smolensk were transferred to airfields around Kiev. In addition, the 3rd panzerkorps (mot) together with a panzer-grenadier unit moved south from Orel to protect Kursk.
The Stavka ordered the 3 infantry corps advancing west from the Voronezh area to retreat to their starting positions until the situation was clarified around Kursk. Significant reinforcements were sent to the Southern Front from the Moscow area, in particular an antitank unit, 3 AA units, and a heavy tank unit. Both sides lost an army during the turn.

The Japanese Navy dispatched light surface units to the Gulf of Siam to block the port of Bangkok. A further Japanese battleship was signaled as being moored at Kuching port (thanks to radio interception) while the presence of additional enemy naval forces in the area could not be discarded. The USS CL Marblehead sailing in the South China Sea was in great danger, and attempted to escape towards safer waters, crossing the Sulu Sea and ending the turn in the Celebes Sea.
I considered at the time that without additional troop reinforcements, Elvis lacked the strength to be able to capture Bangkok. (Bangkok's AA defenses were upgraded to level 3).
Indian General Slim disembarked at Penang accompanied by an Indian Infantry corps, immediately taking control of all Commonwealth forces based in Malaysia and Thailand.
Further south in Sumatra the Indian Special Forces holding Palembang were almost obliterated. With no possibility to be evacuated by sea, they will be destroyed next turn in low supply .

The US armed forces (Japan's first strategy), planned to increase their material aid to the Chinese. The plan was to base strong air forces in airfields around Chungking and damage the Japanese supply lines, thus weakening the Japanese troop's morale. General Stilwell was chosen to take command of the Burma-China Theatre of Operations. The US Air Force 12 AF fighters and the 8th strategic bombers were operated to India, while Stilwell and his staff boarded a ship in San Francisco and sailed towards Australia, on their long voyage to India. The plan also involved an Indian para unit, as they will jump to capture a Chinese-occupied city behind the Japanese lines.
Japan declared war on the USSR and captured Blagovyeshchensk thus cutting the Trans-Siberian railroad to Vladivostok, but the city's fortifications weren't attacked.

German morale was 97%, Japan 99%, Italy 59%, USSR 82%, USA 91%, UK 94%, India 89%, and China 73%. The foreign minister reported diplomatic success in Sweden at 6%.

1942-07-03
The USS CL Marblehead was unfortunately detected in the Celebes Sea and sunk by heavier Japanese naval vessels.
The revigorated Axis forces in Ukraine launched several attacks around the Kharkov area, dealing considerable damage to several Soviet infantry corps, and a heavy tank, and destroying an army. The Krivoy Rog mine complex was also recaptured by the enemy. Further north in Army Group Center German forces managed to destroy a Soviet army near Kaluga. This central area of the front had barely moved for the last 8-9 months, both sides stubbornly defending their positions, like WWI positional warfare.

1942-07-17
The Stavka launched several offensives all along the front. In Ukraine, powerful Soviet forces counterattacked east of the Dnepr River. The recently transferred 3rd panzerkorps, the Rumanian 3rd Army, and an anti-tank unit were destroyed by the Soviets in an enveloping movement that threatened to encircle the strategic city of Kharkov.
At this juncture, Stalin made some changes in the chain of command. Southern Front commander, 2-star General Voroshilov (rating 6), was replaced by General Vasilevsky (rating 8). Another bright officer who recently graduated, General Eremenko (rating 7), was ordered to Rostov as General Vasilevsky's assistant. Emphasizing the priority that Stalin gave to Ukraine, two new Soviet mobile units (a tank and a mechanized unit) were assigned to this front.

Not far from Moscow, General Zhukov's (rating 10) infantry troops destroyed the German 8th Army near Vyazma. Zhukov had no tanks available but he could count with a veteran armored train and support from the Red Air Force tactical bombers. Nevertheless, the limelight of the Soviet summer offensive pointed further west, in Army Group North's area of operations, as a Soviet infantry corps captured the unoccupied fortified city of Daugavpils after advancing unopposed from Pskov. This single action will have far-reaching consequences for the German Army Group Center.
General Bradley's invasion force entered the Mediterranean Sea. They were escorted by an Allied Task Force that included 1 CV, 1 BB, and 3 DDs. The invasion objectives weren't clear, as I didn't know Elvis's defensive dispositions in Italy. Malta was still in Axis' hands. The Regia Marina still counted on the services of 2 BBs, 2 CAs, and several other light vessels, whilst the 2 Italian subs were operating in the Pacific. An Italian BB was protecting Roma. German paratroopers were stationed in Sicily and Naples was fortified to the south.

Admiral King was not satisfied with a purely static defense until enough forces were concentrated for a more ambitious program (Manila and the Philippines). He suggested that the Allies should launch a northwest counteroffensive, staged from bases in Australia into the Solomons, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Papua New Guinea. As a first step, Lorengau (in the Bismarck Archipelago) was captured by Australian special forces. Immediately a US Navy Maritime bomber was operated on the island. Admiral Halsey and Admiral Cunningham were about to join their fleets in Hawaii. The planning for the invasion of the Marshall Islands was completed.

1942-08-14
Both sides exchanged heavy blows in the August heat. In a furious counterattack, the Germans crushed all Soviet forces west of Kharkov, destroying 1 tank, 1 infantry corps, and 1 AA while the Axis lost an Italian Infantry corps and the Romanian tanks west of the Dnepr. Soviet spearhead units reached Odessa near the Rumanian border. General Vasilevsky moved his HQ to Kherson.
Near Moscow, the USSR lost an army but General Zukhov hit decisively the German forces of Army Group Center. Soviet forces destroyed the DAK panzerkorps (mot), a German army, and the DAK field artillery also liberating Kaluga! A huge gap was opened in the German lines between Vyazma and Orel. The road to Smolensk seemed open, Stalin was elated! He conceded the Order of Lenin to his favorite general Zhukov (2-star). Further west in Army Group North's area of operations, a previously undetected panzerkorps approached the city of Daugavpils.
Allied forces gathered near the Tunisian coast ready to assault the Italian territory.

An Indian infantry corps was ordered to disembark and assault Bandoeng in Java, but the Japanese forces were waiting and the scouting Allied CL was surprised and damaged (5 points of damage). The Indians retired with their LRAT towards the Australian coast. General Stilwell had reached Cairns on his way towards India. Meanwhile, a weak Australian infantry corps loaded AT at Darwin and waited for orders. US maritime planes from Lorengau kept an eye on Japanese ships.
In the Central Pacific, Admiral Nimitz was informed that no Japanese forces were defending the Gilbert and Marshall Islands...
Germany lost so far 7 tank units, 4 armies, 4 corps, and 2 mechanized.
Germany's morale was 95%, USSR 79%. Germany lost 1200 MPPs.