The Zhukov-less Memoirs - GC41-45 M60 vs smokindave redux

[M60A3TTS]

24 February - 1 March 1944 (141st week of the war)

The move north is on in western Karelia. One Finnish brigade and one division stand in the way, although a few additional Finnish units that were defending against 7th Independent Army are expected to join them.

Troops led by General-Leitenant Ivan Maslennikov launch the assault against Smolensk and force the fascist defenders from the city!

In the south, Red Army tankmen have reached the eastern bank of the Dnepr. The 10th Guards Tank Corps of Pavel Rotmistrov's 1st Guards Tank Army has the honor of being the first unit to reach this point. This is the last week of blizzard conditions so supply to these tank units should improve soon, enabling a crossing attempt. Surprisingly there are virtually no prepared defenses along much of the western bank. Meanwhile rifle units from 1st Belorussian and 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts are urged forward.

1st Shock Army commander, General-Polkovnik Leonid V. Bobkin and 6th Guards Army commander, General-Polkovnik Fyodor Tolbukhin, were promoted this week to General Armii.


Karelia



Battle of Smolensk



Dnepr reached



Front commanders



Production

[M60A3TTS]

2-8 March 1944 (142nd week of the war)

The weather moderates across the front as the blizzard period is over.

Red Army cavalrymen of the Leningrad Front are outside Vyborg.

The Western Front along with 1st Baltic Front continues to move slowly west.

Along the Dnepr, General Konev's riflemen are now arriving. Pavel Rotmistrov's 1st Guards Tank Army has managed to cross the frozen river and are expecting a German counterattack.

The Coastal Army is moving north to secure the Crimea.

Promotions this week:
27th Army commander, General-Maior Nikolai Berzarin, was promoted to General-Leitenant
2nd Guards Tank Army commander, General-Maior Andrei Kravchenko, was promoted to General-Leitenant of Tank Troops
26th Army commander, General-Leitenant Vasily Sokolovsky, was promoted to General-Polkovnik


Karelia




Leningrad Front




Smolensk-Mogilev




2nd Belorussian Front




Kiev-Cherkassy




Zaporozhye-Stalino




Crimea




OOB

[M60A3TTS]

9-15 March 1944 (143rd week of the war)

Vyborg is liberated as the few Finnish units in the area are falling back to their borders. Back channel negotiations have begun between Soviet and Finnish representatives in Switzerland to find a way for Finland to withdraw from the war.

1st Baltic and Western Fronts continue to push on Vitebsk-Mogilev.

In the critical south, no German counterattacks to drive us off the Dnepr are forthcoming. This allows the Red Army to expand its bridgehead along the western bank. Armored units will attempt to further develop this favorable situation.


Vyborg liberated




Mogilev-Vitebsk




Southern Dnepr




Dnepr battles

[M60A3TTS]

Here is another screenshot showing all the battles taking place in the south.

[M60A3TTS]

16-22 March 1944 (144th week of the war)

Along the Finnish border, more Red Army units arrive in preparation for the final push to take this Axis ally out of the war.

The grind continues in the area of Mogilev-Vitebsk.

In the south, Axis lines show signs of cracking southeast of Cherkassy. Tank units are attempting to break though in the direction of Kirovograd. Northwest of Cherkassy, more armor and now also Konev's riflemen have crossed the Dnepr. 1st Artillery Army continues to pound enemy positions in support of the battles taking place on the western bank of the Dnepr. Fifty kilometers west of Cherkassy, German mechanized troops are defending one of thousands of towns where battles have been fought over for nearly three years. The name of the town is Korsun.



Finnish border




Mogilev-Vitebsk




Southern Dnepr




RR repair actions




ground losses

[loki100]

well done with the Dneipr operation, and your rail heads are close enough that you will be ok for supply even in the mud turns.

In little over a year you've advanced from the Volga into the western Ukraine ... very impressive

[chaos45]

This is all still under the old patch correct? So no increase in german 1943 replacements nor morale increase for Germans?

[M60A3TTS]

We're playing under the current 1.08.07 version.

[M60A3TTS]

23-29 March 1944 (145th week of the war)

The Finnish frontier is crossed by troops of Marshal Voroshilov's Finland Front. This new front consists of 7th, 23rd, and 35th Armies.

Troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts are pushing to the River Luga.

Chernyakhovsky's Western Front continues to push back the Germans to the Dnepr. It is clear at this stage that the river itself will not be reached before the Spring thaw.

North of Kiev, our tank men have penetrated the Dnepr defenses. To the southeast of Kiev, the town of Korsun is liberated and the River Ros crossed. South of Cherkassy we have poured tank and rifle corps over the Dnepr and have established positions 50 kilometers west of the river. An opportunity to create a sizable pocket at Korsun is evident. There are some eleven divisions that might be enveloped depending on the determination of the fascist to cling to their positions. Mud will soon cover the battlefield to slow any retreat to the west.

Additional crossings over the Dnepr take place immediately west of Dnepropetrovsk by Marshal Shaposhnikov's troops of the North Caucasus Front.

Promotions over the last 3 weeks:

4th Army commander, General-Maior Kuzma Galitsky, was promoted to General-Leitenant
10th Army commander, General-Maior Alexei Zhadov, was promoted to General-Leitenant
19th Army commander, General-Leitenant Ivan Boldin, was promoted to General-Polkovnik
34th Army commander, General-Maior Nikolai Kirichenko, was promoted to General-Leitenant
43rd Army commander, General-Leitenant Pavel Kurochkin, was promoted to General-Polkovnik
54th Army commander, General-Leitenant Maks Reiter, was promoted to General-Polkovnik
5th Guards Tank Army commander, General-Maior Aleksei Rodin, was promoted to General-Leitenant

Finland




Luga River



Western Front



Kiev



Korsun-Cherkassy



Attempting to envelop enemy forces in the area of Korsun

[M60A3TTS]

30 March - 5 April 1944 (146th week of the war)

In Finland the port of Kotka is occupied. The Finns have fallen back to the north, leaving an open road to Helsinki.

Troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts begin to cross the River Luga.

In the center, troops of Malinovsky’s 1st Baltic move towards Vitebsk. Chernyakhovsky continues to move on Mogilev.

In the south, rather than face the prospects of a major pocket at Korsun, Germany and her allies conduct a general withdrawal westwards. Kiev is left under garrison by a single Rumanian division. Comrade Stalin orders General Armii Vatutin to attack the city without delay. This is immediately carried out and the capital of the Ukraine is freed. At Dnepropetrovsk, three defending divisions will be allowed to remain in place to be dealt with later.


2nd Baltic Front




Kirovograd




Krivoi Rog-Zaporoyzhe



ground losses



air losses

[M60A3TTS]

6-12 April 1944 (147th week of the war)

The crossing of the Dnepr in force has allowed the strategic goal of the 1943-44 Winter Campaign to be accomplished. Comrade Stalin is please by the results but insists there be no letup. The Finns must be brought to their knees before summer and further progress in the south made.

Operations in Finland continue despite the onset of mud.



In the center, with the mud the advance on Vitebsk comes to an end. Western Front has been re-named 3rd Belorussian Front and General Armii Chernyakhovsky continues to push his troops on to the Dnepr.



In the south, offensive operations are on a more limited scale, but continue to make progress. It appears stronger Axis units have been pulled back which provides opportunities to continue these attacks.




The Armored Directorate reports a serious shortage of medium tanks in many formations. The advance to the Dnepr was due in large part to the cavalry, tank and mechanized corps but at a cost of gutting many formations of medium tanks. One tank corps, the 17th of 5th Shock Army has no medium tanks at all. It is estimated that even without the Red Army losing a medium single tank, it will take Soviet industry until late summer to refill all formations to capacity. STAVKA planning and operations will have to take this into account as future summer offensives are considered. New SU-57 AT brigade formations will be raised to replace some deficiencies in armor. Heavy IS and flame tanks will also replace most medium tank regiments that serve as corps support units.

[loki100]

you really are cashing in the rewards for the hard fighting earlier and picking some good angles for your main offensives.

Dave must be hoping for mud

[M60A3TTS]

13-19 April 1944 (148th week of the war)

Second week of mud across the front.

The Finnish city of Lahti is taken. Our cavalry which is well equipped to handle adverse weather closes on Helsinki as most of the Finnish units in their country are being blocked from returning to their capital.




Attacks continue in the center and south where weak defending units can be found.






OOB

[chaos45]

Amazed at how high the German and Axis Allied OOBs have stayed with all of the heavy fighting.

[M60A3TTS]

20-26 April 1944 (149th week of the war)

Red Army cavalry has reached the outskirts of Helsinki and cut off any direct access by rail for Finnish units. Only a single rifle division is defending the capital. Comrade Molotov conveys a simple message to President Ryti of Finland: If Finland surrenders now, the Red Army will quit the country at once. If there is a battle of Helsinki, the Red Army is here to stay. Behind the scenes, General Vasilevsky is eager to see the troops in Finland released from any potential occupation duty or guerrilla war, so the generous terms offered by the USSR serve a distinct purpose.

2nd and 3rd Belorussian Front continues to advance to the Dnepr.

In the south, Kirovograd is in Soviet hands and Krivoi Rog about to be taken.


Finland



2nd & 3rd Belorussian Front



Zhitomir-Vinnitsa



Kirovograd-Krivoi Rog

[loki100]

you are really well placed in the Ukraine now for some early decisive battles in the summer. Guess you need to choose between S Poland or knocking Romania out?

[M60A3TTS]

Yes, careful planning will be needed for the upcoming summer offensive.

27 April - 3 May 1944 (150th week of the war)

Finland has surrendered. Their troops are quickly repatriated while our Finland Front is immediately dissolved. Time to send our formations from this former front south to add weight to upcoming attacks by the Leningrad Front.

In the south, the 22nd Panzer and 216th Infantry Division have been surrounded.

[M60A3TTS]

4-10 May 1944 (151st week of the war)

1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Fronts are now outside Vitebsk and Mogilev.

In the south, two German divisions are surrounded and forced to surrender.


Vitebsk-Mogilev



South



German surrender



Production



Ground losses

[M60A3TTS]

11-17 May 1944 (152nd week of the war)

Clear weather returns which gives the Red Army a brief opportunity to resume the offensive.

1st Baltic Front liberates Vitebsk while the Axis garrison at Dnepropetrovsk is assaulted and forced to lay down their arms.

Alexei Zhadov's 10th Army of 3rd Belorussian Front forces a crossing of the Dnepr.

North of Gomel in a quiet portion of the front, 1st Polish Army has taken up defensive positions.

A general advance westward takes place among the Soviet Fronts in the south.


Action at Vitebsk




10th Army over the Dnepr




Advancing west of Kiev




1st Polish Army




Dnepropetrovsk



Vinnitsa



Nikolaev

[STEF78]

always impesses with the effect of russian snowball!!

you really did a very good winter 43/44 campaign

and after Finland, Romania will be the next to surrender