"AAR Germany faces East", formerly not an AAR

[freeboy]

Soviet front
Armed forced news Berlin.
With the Approaching warm weather and mud, we commend our brave troops, and those of our allies who have stormed the fortified lines around Lenningrad, Captured the strategic areas in the Donitz Valley and are besieging Stavastipol. These on the Heels of taking Bryansk and Orel prior to the savage winter.

Notes from the Southern front, AGS/ Army groupo south Itailian HQ.
Those fascist bastards! Sending my men to die to relieve pressure on the drive to Karkov. When I asked if my troops could recieve air supplies, I was asked by VR himself, what is the point? Almost thirty thousand brave Italians sent to die in the aborted invasion south of Rostov. They did divert multiple enemy units, and now we have another army taking their place. I have assurances from VR himself that they will go to the Crimia... if the Romanians do not take S before the trains show up.. that is unlikely. I think we will take S and rest , and then be thrown into the mix in the Donitz... the fighting there has been feirce.

After AGS, Mienstein in the south and Von Runsted in Karkov shift the axis of the attack before the mud I wonder if the Reds will counterattack again.. they did savage the eastern flank as VR attempted to encircle K. Rummers of a large formation of Gaurds tank units to the East of Karkov where confirmed. several hundred t34's! and those slower kv's.. good on the defense but not too greaton the leep forward I think.. All the staffs worry about the airsupport or lack there of, and we are told that the bulk of the bombers are attaacking deep in the enemy rear attemptingto slow the advance of the reserves. This all sounds good on paper, but when you are leadingg your men into the enemy rear.. flanking them as we have done in aiding the Germans South of the Donitz and 250 planes with red stars show up and hardly a fighter to be seen one wonders!

AGS General staff announcements Feild Marshel Von Runsted:

Several new center army mobil divsions will bolster our ranks and many of the units that attacked K will be pulled from the line to refit and resupply. Enjoy this respit, you have earned it!

[freeboy]

AGE Army group east first week of March 42
The weather continues to improve, our supplies are flowing and thing look good for the coming operation sprin rain. Model suggested another operation, but I think it will not be timed appropriatly before the mud.. the last thing we need is a moral check before the summer offensives. I remain pleased with the continued advances in the flanks.. the Crimia is almost all ours.. S is besieged and we are making ground against Lenn front. I read about our capture of the Donitz vally, well not quite true is it? The party of our F, crazy men all, never had a problem with telling lies! But we did take Karkov and are consolidating there, and are driving on Rostov. I truly was dissapointed at the enemy not forcing a confrontation with 5 6 and 7th armies near K, as several center army mobil groups where sent toward the North of K in the hope of surrounding and killing these troops. The ONLY way we have seen enmy t34s destroyed is by our Anti air guns, 88 mm and they pack some serious killing ability, and by sorrounding these beasts , where they run out of gas and can be overrun. We often drive back all the troops, kill thousands of infantry and two or three 34's with thrown treads or the lucky penetrating shot. Berlin knows all about this , the inpector general was here and we have nearly 400 working 34s captured.. and what are they doing wth them? TARGET PRACTICE!~ I am in tears thinking we could use these tanks and better our summer gains.

I am told we will see several new models with more powerful guns, including a heavy tank called a Tiger mounting that same modified 88 mm gun the aa bateries field. The weather dept tells me as little as two weeks and as much as 6 until we totally grind to a halt .. and the mud refit. I noticed in the maps above the large formation of enemy tanks East of Karkov also contains some Heavy artillery, these are our priority targets, should they counter attack I have drawn up plans to be sent to VR and M for a large scall counter attack sweeping their flanks... but I do not forsee the enemy riskingthem being cut off before the mud! More likely to

[SMK-at-work]

ORIGINAL: freeboy

enemy units are in taters, .......

Well of course they are - spuds are the standard diet - what's your point??[:D][:D]

[Veers]

IT's a good read, Freeboy.

[freeboy]

Anybody know of a cheapware or share ware paint like program? I hate paint but it and IRfanview are what I have..
also I plan on introducing several more charactors, anybody want to see some reds? I am a big fan of Tom Clancy, at least the stuff he used to write before he added his name to ghostwritten crap, and loved the multiple interactive charactors.
Let me know what you want, included a German victroy in red sq and we will see what we can do to oblige.

Thanks v for the kind words.. and they are in tatters while eating taters, but they are thankful that they are encamped at an overrun farm where the harvest is frozen uncollected in the ground, "still good" Yuri says with a frigid grin

m

[Veers]

Yeah, CLancy's good. Can't think of any suggestions on who to include, though.
You could always look for Photoshop, I'm sure you could download it somewhere...
Not that I'm suggesting you illegally download anything....

[freeboy]

Thoughts on adding a couple of pilots acouple of mid level officers and some Area hq guys from each side.

[freeboy]

(turn 74)
Southern Front HQ Red Army Marshal Teminshinko.
Those bastards! Moscow wonders why I did not hold Karkov with all the reinforcemtns? Give me a thousand pieces of artilery like the Germans and twelve armored divisions! Idiots.. and now they ask about the Donitz and Rostov? I did as they ORDERED, I sent the men to KArkov... now they ask the impossible.. use troops that are worn out to stop an ever stronger force, but we will prevail, ultimately! see MArch 4th picture of the enemy breakouts in the area near R and after this our troop trains.. will they be enough?
Black lines indicate troops forced from positions.. at lest they did not surrender!

[freeboy]

Army Group Southern HQ Rostov district advanceHQ, General Manstein.
The troops trickle in that OKE has releast from the center and from KArkov, too slowly! Every week the enemy brings in more troops, if we had those troops now I would be past Rostov! Note the empty space here... and the new armie on the trains entering this zone!


this map and the one above are areas next to one another West to East

[freeboy]

OKE Early March

Troops await along the rail lines to board trains.. we have at least five divisions that need transportation from the interior... one new Italian army appeared in the Crimia.. and the Romanians just took the Fortress outside the city! It fell like a maids virginity after a night of hard drinking! A little pounding and the walls opened right up! Army group south is screaming for troops in the Donits valley, meanwhile four elite division, those damn SS troops, are stopped outside Orel attempting to evict a lone isolated Red army infantry division.. will order it bypassed.. I will need look into this.. four to one and three assualts in force with artillery repulsed?
Well, AGS can complane all they want troops are on the move south, unfortunatly from both our forces and the enemy.

In the North we continued to push the enemy, not fearing a counter attack, he did not dig any troops in from his assualt zones near the baltic, assualts that failed to dislode our dug in forces, although they did hurt us!... The counterattack gained new ground!.. This was repeated near the Right(Eastern) wing advances also as the enemy did not dig in, we alsd attacked the edges of the breakthrough.. as well as a dangerous double eng up the river attack into the enemy rear that dislodged two HQ units . Every inch taken beforthe mud into those rail lines gets us that much closer for our summer blitz to surround L and kill it! Bad new from the Finns.. they are taking a terrible pounding along the Riva.. will alow them to redeploy as they see fit....

The courior arrived with these maps from the Rommanians... I will send a note to Berlin extolling the R's performance, perhaps they can release three divisions that are ready to entrain.. we sure could use the infantry to shore up the lines in the Donits area.




Evidently the areas indicated by black circles where taken with little resistance or losses. Timetable for S moved up to this month and prioritized.

[freeboy]

(t74)
AGN
Feild Marshel Hoth
Savage fighting along the Baltic, damn , we recieved new planes.. but we could use 400 500 hundred more!... The enemy attacks, we counterattack, they attack any gains we make.. I hope the mud comes soon! OKE and his demands.. he can .. well I should not write those thoughts even in my private journal, for if we fail here I do not want to be shot, let the blame fall on another if we fail. But we are slowly advancing.. and in the Eastern edge made surprising gains along a 65km front, including getting an inf regiment past dug in enemy possitions to attack two enemy HQs! I am please that we took Karkov and there is such feirce fighting in the South, certainly it is diverting troops that would make these advances impossible. I put in a request, albiet a formality as we are not going to see them soon, for the rail guns.. they are commited to S and R in the South....
Here is the newest map:
Thr long black line is the current t 74 front and the arrows show our axis of attack

[freeboy]

(t75)
AGN forces advance along the Baltic... enemy forces retreated..
Army news March 11th, 1942 In fierce fighting hte AGN has repulsed another series of sustained enemy attacks.. and then counterattacked forcing those same formations back toward Lenn!Feild Marshel Hoth is flying to Berlin for consultations...

FMH personal notes, my aides informed me that 12 regiments of our infantry sit on the rail sides waiting for trains while AGS gets armor from AGC and the Romanians and Italian armies move into the Crimia. I will note this if asked why we are not already in L, and if we will make it before the Mud... what nonesense..... We stilll do not have air parity, and although we dominate the seas strong enemy positions remain in Lenn including huge gun emplacements. I will introduce operation North Star wihile here in Berlin, but will anyone listen, and does it matter? Here are the maps I am bringing.

[freeboy]

This should be no surprise as we advance aganst a tired foe... Several KM of new territory indicated on the map taken in light fighting .

[freeboy]

Red army Kursk Distric Army group Zhukov.
Our forces are seeing little action here, as the enemy is builing up strong forces all along the front from Orel to Karkov, yet one lone infantry division dug in at L'gov showed the world and the Fiscist pigs what men do! This heros division will be honored with more Hero of the USSR medals that any other to date, unfortunately they died to the man stopping elements of SIX enemy armored formations over a 11 day period. The enemy paid dearly for this important rail hub!

[freeboy]

AGS Donitz region
Romanian detached corp HQ
Corp Commonichkas
WE move forward again, the sounds are deafening and I am 10 km behind the front! Daily each sides planes flying overhead, the Rockets from the Nerbels, we call them "Hell Screamers" send forth fiery death on the Communist dogs. Large scale artillery advance close by, and these guns shake the earth with the explosions that send the shells down into the heart of the enemy lines.. then a low rumble comes from your feet seconds later when they hit! It is very good that we are shelling them, I here stories of the Reds guns at Lenningrad and closer from my Uncle fighting in the Crimia. Soon we may be in Rostov, I would welcome a change from these tents. I complain and my Major laughs at me... foolish I know for my posting an easy one off the lines... I saw several thoussand enemy troops that where captured, evidently an entire army was trapped west of the Mius river, shades of the first few months of the war. Below is a map of the trapped units I saw when dilivering coffee to the officers.

[freeboy]

75
AGS Personal notes ..Manstein
WE have forced the Muis trapping another dozen enemy units... and to the North there remain several badly depleted enemy units... several fresh units arrived by train and will attack in the next few days and I was informed that the debacle at L'gov was sorted out by the direct involvement of OKE himself, hesds will roll on that one! Damn I need those troops here before the reinforcments dig in near my objectives.Yet still long range recon shows the enemy still massed North of the Donitz. Waiting for the mud I am sure. Rostov is st ill a possibility and Vorisnilovgrad is only 15km from our advance units.

[freeboy]

Army Group South combined Forces
Romanian forced probed the second fortress outside th city and found it nearly abandoned, what was to be a recon in force turned into an enemy route as the Red army units fled into Sevastipol itself. Two new armies arrived, the Italian and Rommainia forces have yet to face the eenmey but they double the available infantry forces in the Crimia.

Italian HQ Groupo Southern attached HQ. Well I have to admit theRommanian General leads his men well... our men arrived today and they may not see battle until the mud ends and the summer offenses begin, unless S hold agains teh next attack, then we will be honor bound to ad the weight of our fresh troops against the fortress.
Perhaps we will be transfrered into the Kursk offensive I have heard rumers of, nasty fighting already started there.

[freeboy]

Marshall Timoshenko HQ Red army Southern Fornt HQ, somewhere near Rostov. I keep asking Z to release the reserves near Karkov!, Damn, the enemy nearly has V and is advancing on Rostov... from there we are completely open in every direction!..Where is the rain?
I sent a msg to Moscow asking that the Stallingrad reserves be marched forward.. again no answer. I do not expect to hold the Muis, but to have those units trapped, they will never be seen again.

Corperal Tompin,, 179 signal unit somewhere to the west of the Muis. March 6th Terrific losses to the units all around us... I made my way with twelve other into the gully of a tributary of the Muis. we coverered ourselves in mud, and when it dried where nearly invisable! We could hear the enemy on the ridge above not twenty meters away, they move northeast toward the bridghead and the new front lines... Our intrepid leader Luitenent Mishkin, took over after shooting a panicked Major who wanted to surrender, insists that to return to the west and the trapped units is pointless. We only want to live, and we all feel a fresh wave of hope after running and hiding and living as we await darkness. Our plan.. float some trees over the Muis and return to "our " side while it is still our side and perhaps avoid capture. I heard stories of men being stripped naked and left to die expossed to the snow and worse.. Terrible people these Rommanians.
March 7th, The morning sky was ablase with the fires of artillery.. we did not know for sure whose side, but we guessed the doomed trapped units to our west where being shelled. We made our way to the river, it is so wide and cold we wonder if we can live, but what choice do we have? We bundle wood collected from nearby trees that where hit by some random shelling. One man still carrying a pack has wire we use to bind the larger branches.. as we move this life raft into the water we do a count, somehow there are only ten left, I have long since stopped remembering names, too many dead faces still haunt my dreams from those early hopefull days of victory and comradeship.

We move wading in the water and it seems not too cold, perhaps I am in shock? soon the order to launch into the current is given and we devide between those in the water and those in the raft... the swimmers kicking and swiming to push us across. Then we rotate and the shock hits the men as they cool in the fridged morning air. all alive but barely, the Luitenent orders all in the water for a push forward to the Red side...

To my surprise we all made it, not one let go but my feet where so very cold when we reached shore I felt as though I weighed 250 kilos! We did risk a fire, we did not want to die of exposure after escaping the enemy and soon we where surronded by elements of the defenders in this area... we thought we would be shot and they did not know what they would find coming accross a group of half naked men with an open fire! WE soon where dressed in warm dry clothes and rushed to the local hospital, we did not even know we where injured but all had sufffered to some degree. I close my eyes to sleep and awake to the sound of large calbre guns. It is too much to stay, I get dressed and find the nearest communications station and report as fit for duty... the Captain, his sad eyes veiwed my uniform and after inspection of my documents and hostipal tags allowed me to assist another overworked operator as we attempt to coordinate another red counterattack! Damn do the enemy not get tired? I am alive.

[freeboy]

t76
General Army news Berlin.
MArch 15 1942
Our brave allies the Rommanians with heavy losses stormed the fortress city of Sevastapol! While we suffered a reported 22 k injured and killed, many more enemy troops where killed and captured. In another stunning devlopment behind the Muis riiver near Rostov forces made a daring sea landing cutting off vital supply line to the enemy troops now trapped. In addition to this the brave 7th Fj division supported by elite commandoes droped behind the enemy tanks to the north.. nearly 25 enemy units face enhialation, from the west rolled in several more armored units, including Das Reich and 1st SS...
Below is a map released by Army Group South HQ, somewhere near Karkov.

[freeboy]

AGS/Donitz area command Manstein commanding general.
The enemy commited his best troops... and they did not either push us back or dig in!... nor did they cover that port. The commandoes and paras where already ready after palnning for morning thunder, which was aborted... and dropping them behind the red tanks yet so close to our own troops was deemed an exceptable risk. A new red formation has rolled in ,on trains, above Rostov, will they too attack?

If they do they risk a major breakout, as the Gvod village fell and the 10th 14th 18th 29th 7th as well as four indi artillery units now are streaming into the Donitz. I know the mud is coming, and the going is slow, thankfully OKE is allowing me to keep the rail guns from the Karkov attacks instead of releasing them to Hoth in the North, friends in Berlin reported to me he made a royal stink about the troop trains we have used! Well he did get all the assets including the sea transports this week.

Arriving into the Crimia was the new Romanian troops, they all where commited ,save the security troops as I was informed on the successfull attacks against Savastopol. I think everyone is surprised, it is after all the Romanians! We also gained another Italian army and they should be introduced fresh and well supllied into the fighting next week. Already our tanks and truck are moving with difficulty, it does affect both sides though and soon no operations will be made. I did not think we could, but now it looks as theoughRostov may fall with nearly three weeks of good weather anticipated.