Eastern Front 1941 campaign

[AngrySwan]

The version for v.1.08.

Its name is ''Road to Moscow/Weg nach Moskau''. Some corrections in victory conditions and returning to the original AA-Tikhvin scenario because the AA is smarter now and my plan to do Tikhvin as a surprise attack with fewer units will not work now.

[AngrySwan]

The newest version for 1.08.

The modified scenarios now have name EF-... or in German version OF-..., an abbreviation from Eastern Front or Ostfront.

The Moscow scenario now has a possibility to choose units from Army Group Antonescu. House rule - if you had a combat engineer unit in Crimea you can bring that to Moscow. Assault on Sevatopol has been postponed, most likely due to lack of resources, the city is blocked and the general has a couple of weeks between the end of action in Crimea and beginning of Operation Typhoon. No one else from AG Antonescu can go to Moscow.

With the settings ''as they are'' you can buy new units and there should be enough resources to test them.

[AngrySwan]

New ideas for 1.09 or before. Mostly for historical accuracy.

Light divisions in Lwow scenario changed from Regular 39 to Light Infantry.

''Tweaks for history freaks'' - all units except security divisions are core. It means you can have Totenkopf in Luga and Wiking in Rostov and there is Das Reich unit for Smolensk. Polizei is also core when it arrives. Das Reich will appear in your force pool before Smolensk. If you want to deploy it you will find it in your HQ. Note. There is a political controversy between Army and Elite so these Elite divisions will not replace Army units, you can just use them in their historical battles or, if you do not like them for some reason, keep them in reserve.

2nd panzer group - historically it fought in Minsk and Smolensk battles, then turned South to Kiev and after that fought in Op Typhoon, moving in the direction Bryansk - Orel - Tula. That gives us Bryansk and Tula scenarios that do not exist yet but one dau they will. In the current version 2nd Panzer Grioup goes to OHK reserve after Kiev and never comes back - their sector is off map.

Changes in unit numbers of air force units in AGC sector. The stock Minsk scenario has bomber units named ZG 26 - Zerstorergruppe or fighterbomber group. This group historically had Bf 110 and I will have it in my AAR but I bought these Bf 110 as new units. Bombers have been renamed to KG3 and KG53, which gives the player He-111 and Ju-88. The Bf 109 fighters have been renamed to Jg 53 ''Pik As'' or ''Ace of Spades'' because JG 27 was historically moved to Africa and I hate losing good fighter pilots in the middle of the campaign.

Stug brigades. Historically they only existed from 1944 but you can form one in 1941 - a three battalion battlegroup assigned to a tank army. Although you are not a top man in the German hierarchy, you are second to top and very influential so you have your say in distribution of reinforcements and production of vehicles. So the Stug brigade in the AGN scenario is perfectly legitimate. Stug battalion No. 600 is also a core unit.

Altogether the game is very accurate, a not so important division or two left out in AGS sector but you can buy these divisions if you want to. AGN is 100% acurate. In AGC sector you have few infantry units from the beginning, so I bought the missing infantry divisions for the Moscow scenario - and they took Moscow all by themselves, just air and artillery support, no tanks.

There will also be a self-made PDF explaining what is happening and how the house rules work.

[AngrySwan]

Added 11th Army as a new army to take Crimea. At the beginning of Crimea scenario you will have some new undeployed infantry divisions - 46., 72., 79. and 132. They have strength of 13 before deployment. If you want to play with historical battle orders you may deploy these and add 22., 50. and 170. infantry divisions from AG Antonescu. If you are not so interested in historical numbers you may take whatever units you like.

Hopefully this is not very much of a cheat because you can take any missing divisions from AG Antonescu anyway.

[AngrySwan]

Army Group North now faces another challenge since it must split again and move into two directions, with 18th Army and 4th Panzer Group blocking Leningrad and 16th Army advancing to Staraya Russa. AGC is somewhere near Smolensk so it will not fight in Staraya Russa battle.

[AngrySwan]

- Some missing texts added to the German scenario
- The converted Byalistok added between Tallinn/Reval and Minsk, a nice easy going mini scenario before the tough Minsk and nearly impossible Smolensk
- Another mini scenario for AGS, Kharkov. It will not be named ''First Kharkov'' because either you win the campaign in 1941 and no more Kharkov battles happen or you are dismissed after a loss and then others lead these battles. Currently a placeholder added to the campaign tree. It takes place between Crimea and Rostov. If you lose Crimea you do not get this scenario.
- Wjasma still undecided, epic or not. Anyway, epic Wjasma can be made as a standalone scenario.
- Bryansk, currently a placeholder.
- Kalinin, currently a placeholder. Clarified the locations and got OOBs from both sides. Another mini scenario based on a new summer map as this battle happens at the same time as Mozhaisk.
- Still need to see what to do with Tula. Maybe an epic artillery duel?

That would cover all important and some not so important battles of 1941.

The current AARs are from different versions of the campaign but you will get the new version of core elite units starting from Smolensk.

[AngrySwan]

Changes in AGN scenarios. After Luga the army group splits into two parts, 18th Army besieging Leningrad and attacking Tikhvin and Volkhov while 16th Army fights the Soviets near Staraya Russa. Some German divisions added o the basis of the standalone scenario in the game as well as fighters from 51st fighter division. Just one thing to say about Staraya Russa, the 16th army HQ reserve got decorated for bravery so imagine what was going on there!

Wjasma - added some infantry to AGC. This version gives the impression of ''epic fight'' while maintaining the speed of panzer warfare. Germans also have a Stuka Ju 87D, their production started in late 1941.

Tikhvin - changed to look more like the standalone scenario.

With these changes you can make fairly accurate OOBs as far as infantry and tank divisions are concerned.

[AngrySwan]

The version for 1.08 is here.

It includes a modified Staraya Russa scenario (based on the original Road to Demyansk), Odessa and Kalinin. Wjasma is now ''epic'', with a defense line on the Soviet side and some AG Center divisions.

You get your infantry and tanks for free but it is up to you to develop your air force and artillery. You may also try new units like half-track based rocket artillery, assault engineers, paratroops (historically there was only one division), turretless tank destroyers (StuGs) and, of course, the legendary Stukas. A very expensive piece and needs expert pilots but worth it.

I guess you will also need a readme explaining the transfers between army groups. That will follow soon.

[AngrySwan]

The latest version ''Who is core and who is not.''

All regular infantry divisions of the Army as well as Elite are now core. So is the Spanish legion.
You do not have combat engineers or paratroops in the first scenarios but can buy them as soon as you have a chance.
Security divisions and town garrisons are not core but you can buy them if you see the need and have enough slots.

Tanks are of course all core.

So are antitank and recon units.

105 mm artillery regiments and artillery commands are core. The 210 mm Abteilung you get in Smolensk battle is not for the time being but you can buy heavy artillery as soon as it is available.

Flak battalions are all auxiliary and there is not much use for them anyway but you can buy regiments of 88 mm flaks. Historically, according to the sources I use, there was 1 flak regiment per army and that is more than you need.

[AngrySwan]

The Spanish legion in Tikhvin scenario is also a core unit and the maximum number of core units in Tikhvin scenario is 31.

[AngrySwan]

Some fixes for Luga scenario:
- Soviet division names now have the word "division"
- To avoid confusion with the Polizei Division (you have maximum of 31 core units but you can only deploy 30 or Polizei never arrives) this division is now a reinforcement, not a bonus unit.

The small units like AGS flak and artillery battalions and AGC reinforcement in Smolensk battle are core again. If you want to form artillery regiments it is better to sell battalions and buy new regiments. Artillery gains experience quite fast.

[Ronald Wendt]

Hi AngrySwan,

thanks for this monster of a campaign. Before we release 1.09 i can add and/or proofread the German texts if you like so there is a complete version of your work for all users in that update.

Regards,

[AngrySwan]

Hi Ronald,

Proofreading by a native German speaker would be needed and if you have some ideas for missing texts or improvements you are welcome.

[AngrySwan]

Some small changes in scenario names:
- Kishinev is ''Kischinau'' in the German version;
- Tallinn is ''Reval'' in the German version.

To justify the heroic deed of the Soviet paratroopers in Tallinn mission, I added a German HQ like in Tallinn standalone scenario. No commander would even think about dropping paratroopers on the frontline without a proper target, and only an army HQ is important enough for them.
(off topic --- … by the way, keeping my 1st Fallschirmjager Division idle in Wjasma and Mozhaisk scenarios is not justified either, need to find a target for them --- end of off topic)

18th Army still has 14 core units but, since a HQ must be guarded all time, I added 207th Security Division as a non-core unit.

[AngrySwan]

The first battle of Kharkov (based on the original Third Kharkov scenario) is now in test phase. This will be a simple infantry vs infantry battle. I need to see how long it takes and how tough the enemies are.

In the 1941 timeline Kharkov comes after Melitopol and before Crimea.

The map is ready, the OOBs are based on a map found in armchairgeneral.rkka.ww2 as always.

The revised 1941 campaign also has placeholders for Bryansk and Tula scenarios. Bryansk will be an ''encircle and clear the pocket'' scenario and Tula will be the first attack on the city. Which also has to be the last and successful one. A failure to take Tula results in dishonorable discharge for the commander and it is also assumed that in this case the rest of AG Center fails to take Moscow.

Bryansk - a part of the map is there, I have the OOBs, need to work on the scenario.

Tula - I have the OOBs; time will show how this scenario will look.

[AngrySwan]

This is the version named ''1.08'' including the new Kharkov scenario.

Some improvements and corrections:
- a new victory condition for Riga scenario - the Soviets blow the bridge if you take the city (or, actually, half of it - the most important part of Riga is on the other coast).
- added the German flag (there is one in data base) to messages on arrival of artillery reinforcements in Smolensk scenario and Polizei division in Luga scenario.
- corrected the ''Fuehrer's madness bug'' at the end of Tikhvin scenario - there you get sacked for winning and continue your career after loss.
- no access to OKH Reserve before Staraya Russa, to prevent Zerstorergruppe 26 from time traveling (I purchase two Bf 110s before Melitopol and if OHK Reserve is available for Staraya Russa, these planes travel back in time to fight for AGN in summer )

Kharkov 1941 is a part of this campaign and I have also added a save game with the situation after German deployment phase. If anyone wants to see what could be improved in this scenario you can play the save game. Any suggestions are welcome as well as constructive criticism.

The map of Bryansk is almost done, I just need to add a couple of cities in the west (including Bryansk itself), the OOBs are ready and it should not take longer than a couple of weeks to build and test the scenario.

For Tula, I have chosen an early attack on the city and a small winter map (not built yet).

[AngrySwan]

Save game for Kharkov (there can only be one upload for message).

This scenario was based on Third Kharkov. I reached the city by October 24 which was pretty much historical.

Any suggestions for improvements/additional information to the player are welcome. Do you feel there were any nasty surprises in the scenario?

And do not be surprised if you see a division of KVs in the neighborhood, after all, there is a major tank factory in Kharkov. I did not put the unit in scenario but AI has enough points to buy one.

[AngrySwan]

Corrected a bug in the campaign tree: Staraya Russa does not have ''victory'' ending; it offers a chioce what AGN will attack further, Leningrad or Tikhvin. Since historically Leningrad was not attacked (too heavily fortified?) any choice leads to historical events: AGN will attack Tikhvin but not before AGC takes Vjazma, Kalinin and Mozhaisk.

The map of Bryansk is almost finished, so until I get some advice on rivers I will work on early versions of Bryansk and Tula missions, to test Bryansk on the map as it is and Tula on a new map with a straight river (I know how to make straight rivers, they just do not look natural.)

[AngrySwan]

Since this is the optimistic version for Germany in 1941, AG North has revised its priorities - instead of leaving Leningrad as it is and trying to encircle it, AG North will first try to take the city. This plan may either succeed or fail but in this case failure will be forgiven; AGN still has an option to cut off the Soviet supplies by advancing in Tikhvin direction. So the choice ''Leningrad'' will mean actually trying to take the city.

Success of all three army groups (taking Leningrad, Moscow, Rostow) may end the war with the 1941 campaign, as the Soviets would have lost their Baltic Fleet and AG North would not be split between Leningrad and Volkhov fronts.

Since the intelligence reports indicate that the Soviets may have some monster tanks in the Baltic, AG North will also receive Stukageschwader 2 in addition to all 3 wings of KG 76.The 4th Panzer Group will only deploy Tottenkopf infantry division for the battle of Riga; 3rd and 36th motorized divisions will go another way ()the imaginary attack on Dunabuirg/Daugavpils) and not engage the enemy until Luga.

So in the campaign tree I would have to add Leningrad after Staraya Russa. Choosing Leningrad will actually mean attacking Leningrad. The more beaten up the enemy is by December, the less chances that he may do something serious in winter.

[AngrySwan]

After one of the non-core security division earned a promotion in the new Kharkov scenario, security divisions of AG North and AG South are back in core.

''And we, the old men, now are the new weapons...''