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T54, 25th of June-2nd of July 1942.
First week of the Summer offensive.
AGN

In the North the Soviets continue their attacks against Finnish air bases, destroying another 20 fighters. Finnish air groups have been pulled back further inland, out of Soviet fighter reach.





Army Group North started the week with heavy combat as formations of the 9th Army as well as independent Corps cleared the Soviet forces in the pocket east of Ostashkov. The operations were a success and all Soviet formations in the area have been destroyed.

The next step for the 9th Army and the 3rd Panzer Army was clearing the Soviet defenders on the Tveritsa river. This task was completed successfully and our forces have crossed the river in force. In the process, 3 Soviet Rifle divisions have been trapped in a pocket south of Vyshny Volochek. Multiple Soviet formations have been routed. It appears that we have hit the enemy reserve as most Soviet formations were under direct command of the Northwest Front (Kuznetsov) or STAVKA (Voroshilov) itself. The Soviets held their ground near the river against a powerful attack by the 2nd Panzer Division and prevented us from expanding the bridgehead.

The mobile 11th Cavalry Corps is located in this sector, which indicates that other Cavalry Corps could also be nearby being held in reserve.

The 3rd Panzer Army will be receive its 3rd Panzer Corps next week (which is currently deployed on the Oka), which should bring the Army to full strength (3 full Corps).

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions at the end of the week:



Overview AGN:

AGC

The 2nd Army cleared the pocket of Korablino after heavy fighting while elements of the I and II Corps tried to destroy Soviet forces holding Voronezh without success. The Soviets still hold the city after 2 strong attacks by 5 divisions. After these operations were concluded, Army Group Center had 2 options: 1) Redeploy forces for an offensive next week. 2) Use the forces in their current positions and with their current supply to press the Soviets.

Positions at the start of the week showing both pockets:



Failed battle of Voronezh:



The 2nd option won and AGC concentrated on Soviet forces located on the Para river. German infantry quickly cleared Soviet Brigades that were acting as vanguards and reached the river line, reporting back the strong Soviet presence on the other side, multiple Rifle Divisions (among which 4 Guard Rifle divisions) in fortified positions. A direct assault on the river line was out of the question but recon and intelligence indicated a weak Soviet position where the river line ended. All units concentrated on breaching this position and opening a wide enough gap for the panzers to advance. After heavy fighting we were able to open the gap and force the Soviets to retreat. The LVI Panzer Corps (which was in good supply) exploited the gap and hit Soviet forces in the rear, closing the pocket, trapping 9 Rifle divisions and 3 Rifle Brigades inside (around 90.000 men).

Intelligence and recon indicate that there are no Soviet reserves north of the pocket. The Soviets can still counterattack but the terrain does not favor them (they have to do cross river attacks) against strong German units, however the possibility of them opening the pocket does exist.

Positions at the start of the week:



Soviet Rifle Brigades pushed back, German forces make contact with Soviet troops on the Para river:



Initial gap:



Final Pocket:



East of Voronezh, the 2nd Hungarian Army has taken up defensive positions thus relieving German units to be used elsewhere.

AGS

German forces in the south keep advancing east, pushing back weak Soviet brigades that have been left behind to delay our advance. Forward units of the 6th Army are now 60 miles away from Stalingrad.

However the main focus of AGS for now is clearing Rostov and securing the Kuban. To achieve this goal, the 17th Army and the 1st Panzer Army have pushed Soviet forces on the Don and have secured a bridghead over the river. Our efforts to secure a secondary bridgehead over the Sal river failed. The Soviet defenders held back 2 attacks by our panzers. The enemy has strong reserves in the area and will probably counterattack our forward units. The IV Fliegerkorps has been reinforced with additional fighter and bomber groups in order to support our ground units. 1 Panzer Corps is being held back in reserve on the northern side of the Don.

AGS at the start of the week:



6th Army pushing towards Stalingrad:



Northern bank of the Don cleared:



Don breach by elements of the 1st Panzer Army:



AGS at the end of the week:

Crimea

In the Crimea the Soviets moved a rifle division forward in the mountains hoping to disrupt German movement. This move put the Soviets out of the reach of their supply columns and the Rifle Division was destroyed easily. A German attack of 8 divisions finally managed to clear the hills overlooking Sevastopol, routing the 1st Guards Mountain Division and forcing the remaining Soviet formations to retreat to the mountains where they will be cut off from land supply. 2 Mountain and 1 Rifle Divisions are trapped in here. They should be destroyed next week. Unfortunately we will lose the services of the elite 22nd Airlanding Division which is being transferred to Crete next week.

After we clear this final pocket, the proper assault on Sevastopol can begin. The OKH estimates that the operation will take around 2-3 weeks to complete, depending on the tenacity of the Soviet defenders.

The Soviets seem to have evacuated the Rifle Division that was stationed in Sevastopol and have substituted them with a mountain division. As long as the enemy doesn't bring another Rifle Corps, we should be able to take the fortress as planned.

Crimea at the start of the week:



Battle for the hills overlooking Sevastopol:



Positions at the end of the week:

Casualties:

The Soviets took very heavy casualties this week, losing 265.905 men and 3.737 guns. Of those, around 224.830 were irrecoverable losses (KIA and POWs) and we destroyed 23 Rifle Divisions, 9 Infantry Brigades and 1 Artillery Regiment. Around 10.000 men escaped the pockets and returned to Soviet lines. The enemy still put up heavy resistance and held in multiple cases, causing heavy losses to the Axis forces.

Losses in the air were also heavy, Axis forces lost 138 aircraft to 590 Soviet ones. The LW had a very busy week and this is evident when checking the readiness of the airgroups as shown below.

Losses Ground and Air:





Destroyed units:



Soviet surrenders and holds:





State of the air groups, notice the high number of damaged aircraft.



Soviet OOB has fallen to 4.8 million men ready while the German OOB is at 3.82 million men ready:

Yearly report:

This week marks the 1 year anniversary of the start of the Campaign in the East so the OKH has compiled an extensive list of losses, both ground and air as well as has compiled a list of captured industry and territory.

Soviet irrecoverable losses make up 67,1 % of total losses, while Axis irrecoverable losses make up 34,3 % of the total. We are exchanging losses in the following ratios (in favor of the Axis):

1:4,83 in men
1:3,65 in Guns
1:4,48 in AFVs
1:6,21 Aircraft

Total losses June 1941-June 1942:



Captured territory (manpower, railyards, resources):



Soviet detailed losses for this period:







German detailed losses for this period:







German Production showing available manpower for the Summer Campaign:



Army Balance and trucks in repair:



VP Screen:

Detailed Axis air losses and state of the air groups:

Below is a detailed list of Axis aircraft lost during the year. Attached are also reports of the state of the German, Finnish and Rumanian Fighter groups as well as German Dive and Level Bombers. Notice the high number of kills of the German Dive bombers as well as high exp and morale of most groups.

Detailed losses:





German fighter groups:



Finnish fighter groups:



Rumanian fighter groups:



German Dive and Tactical Bombers:



German LBs:

Soviet OOB is shockingly low. In one of my games, the Soviets still have 6.2 Million men although they lost 7.2 Million men by October 1942.

ORIGINAL: Bear1888

Soviet OOB is shockingly low. In one of my games, the Soviets still have 6.2 Million men although they lost 7.2 Million men by October 1942.

The Soviets lost a lot of men since winter, a total of 1.4 million men and from what I can tell my opponent is not building a lot of new formations. The constant losses week after week will take a toll on any OOB. I may post the losses later, I have them in excel.

Well the 2 situations aren't really comparable since I am still in the beginning of summer. I will check the OOBs and Losses by mid October and we can see if the Soviet OOB has grown to 6+ million.

I think going below 5mn before summer 42 has really got going is a bad sign for the Soviet side. Xhoel has done really well getting a sequence of pockets of Soviet units all of these turns. I was going to say "pacman", but some of them are a lot more substantial than that. You also see again in the pocket around the Para river this turn no Soviet units to the east of them - a common theme in a few other cases earlier. Going through those screenshots it looks like almost all guard units are north of the Oka. So everytime these pockets are made there is no Soviet capacity to counterattack or puncture a hole back and effect some rescues.

Is 4th Panzer Army still part of AGN? In effect you have three panzer armies almost in a panzer ball together. Once concern might have been is the Axis attacking in too many places at once? Should more of the North be going static? What is the vehicle situation? From the production screen it looks like you are still 10k in surplus? My guess is that it is still well in hand and worth it for the returns you are getting. The Don bend has been looking soft for the soviets so far. If you get going there and into the Caucasus in strength the vehicle situation could change.

I am guessing the way things are going in the Crimea it will be timed perfectly for the 11th army to cross into the Kuban just as the crossing is being cleared by the rest of AGS?

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

I think going below 5mn before summer 42 has really got going is a bad sign for the Soviet side. Xhoel has done really well getting a sequence of pockets of Soviet units all of these turns. I was going to say "pacman", but some of them are a lot more substantial than that. You also see again in the pocket around the Para river this turn no Soviet units to the east of them - a common theme in a few other cases earlier. Going through those screenshots it looks like almost all guard units are north of the Oka. So everytime these pockets are made there is no Soviet capacity to counterattack or puncture a hole back and effect some rescues.

Is 4th Panzer Army still part of AGN? In effect you have three panzer armies almost in a panzer ball together. Once concern might have been is the Axis attacking in too many places at once? Should more of the North be going static? What is the vehicle situation? From the production screen it looks like you are still 10k in surplus? My guess is that it is still well in hand and worth it for the returns you are getting. The Don bend has been looking soft for the soviets so far. If you get going there and into the Caucasus in strength the vehicle situation could change.

I am guessing the way things are going in the Crimea it will be timed perfectly for the 11th army to cross into the Kuban just as the crossing is being cleared by the rest of AGS?

I think that has been the biggest problem so far in regards to how the Soviets are setting up their defense. There are no mobile formations (Cavalry/Tank Corps) or other units in the vicinity that could effectively counterattack and force a rescue like you noted. From what I can tell, Soviet mobile reserves are located at Saratov, which is a mistake. I understand why the Soviet player would want to pull back such forces after the winter is over, in order to let them rest, refit and train but at the beginning of summer, having no reserves nearby is a big mistake. There is the possibility that I have failed to identify certain Soviet units in the vicinity, in which case this comment becomes irrelevant.

4th Pz Army is still part of AGN yes, my communication lines are a mess as a result of the constant offensives. The Axis attacks will be concentrated in 2 sectors by next week. I will show the plan for the summer campaign in the coming days but I can tell you that Moscow will be the big objective for the summer. The plan is to launch a pincer attack at the far flanks of Moscow, which will either force the Soviets to abandon their position or they will fight and die there. The north will be kept mobile as these units will support the 3rd Panzer Army on the left flank.

There is a surplus of trucks right now, but it isn't too impressive. However as repairs keep going and more trucks are produced, the situation should be good enough to allow us to operate on a surplus.

I expect Soviet counterattacks on the German bridgeheads over the Don. Will have to see how we will proceed.

Yes I expect that to be the case, but it will depend on the German advance in the Kuban, the Soviet resistance and the luck in taking Sevastopol proper. I am not happy about the slow going in the Crimea though, the failed attacks of the past weeks are delaying the assault on the fortress itself by quite a lot.

The objectives for the summer offensive of 1942 and Operation Clausewitz.

The coming of summer means that the Wehrmacht can go on prolonged offensives once more. The OKH has detailed the following objectives for the summer of 1942:

1) Moscow- The Soviet capital is the most important objective and will be where the main German thrust will be concentrated in. We expect very heavy fighting. The plan for taking this objective has been named “Operation Clausewitz” and will be presented below.
2) The Kuban- The rich region of the Kuban as well as its highly populated cities are the second objective. Taking it would deny the Soviets manpower sources and would secure the southern flank of AGS.
3) Stalingrad- The industrial city located on the Volga bend is of high political importance as well as a strategic one. Taking it, would allow use to use the Volga as a natural barrier.

The first two objectives are to be achieved simultaneously. The push on Stalingrad will begin once the Kuban has been secured and the flank of AGS is safe. If the situation allows, the push for Stalingrad will be supported by assets from Army Group Center once the Moscow operation has been completed.

The fuel rich Baku and the Caucasus are NOT part of the objectives for the summer offensive. The OKH believes that it would be unwise to undertake such an operation so far south with such a small margin of success. Therefore no offensive will be taken in the sector once Axis forces reach the Caucasus mountains.

Other objectives:

In the following weeks, the Soviet garrisons of Voronezh and Sevastopol should fall, giving us control over these 2 political and strategical targets and allowing us to relocate forces that are supporting these offensives, to other sectors.
The destruction of the Soviet Army and VVS remain a high priority and encirclement opportunities should be exploited whenever the chance presents itself.

It goes without saying that the most fighting will be conducted by the Infantry formations, whose importance often gets brushed under the carpet when it comes to talking about the prowess of the different arms of a military.



Operation Clausewitz

The fact that Moscow was going to be the main target of the summer offensives was known to the OKH since December of 1941. The immense political and strategical importance of the Soviet capital was never lost to the planners of the general staff. This is one of the main reasons why the Germans fought so bitterly to hold on to the positions in the flanks of Moscow during the Soviet winter offensive of 1941-42. The German pincer operations of March, May and June 1942 were concentrated in this sector in order to regain the lost territory, to weaken the enemy forces in the area and to put us in a better position to launch an offensive come summer.

The initial plan for the taking of Moscow was much smaller in scope and not as ambitious as the current one. Initial planning aimed at a shallow encirclement of Moscow. However the failed offensive at the end of May 1942 (see post #415) showed that the Soviets are sitting in highly fortified positions, have organized a defense in depth and have a lot of units concentrated in a narrow front, with ample reserves nearby. Such a shallow envelopment would be very costly in terms of men and material and instead of allowing for fast operations would turn into a bloody slog, reminiscent of WWI battles.

Therefore the OKH accepted the more ambitious “Operation Clausewitz” which calls for a wide envelopment of Moscow and the surrounding area. The plan envisions a push from the northern flank by the 3rd Panzer Army, supported by the 18th and 9th Army as well as Army Group Finland (Karelian and Kannas Armies) and a push from the Southern flank by the 2nd and 4th Panzer Army, supported by the 2nd, 16th and elements of the 4th Army. The main natural obstacles that these forces have to overcome are the Volga river in the north and the Oka river in the south. The terrain along the advancing routes is mostly light woods, which favors the defenders but once taken should favour our troops in holding back Soviet counterattacks. There are also multiple river lines that run parallel to the advance routes which we aim to use to our advantage to cement our positions.

The offensive banks on the lack of Soviet fortifications in the advancing areas and the fact that to defend this huge front the Soviets will need to stretch themselves thin. Adding to that is the lack of natural obstacles, once the 2 major rivers are crossed (although the many urban areas in the path of the advance may present a problem).

The main problem with the offensive is the availability of rail lines and their positioning which does not favor such an offensive manuever. The forces striking from the south will be in an unfavorable position once they cross the Oka and go deep into enemy territory while the forces in the north should be in a better position since they can extend their rail lines to Yaroslavl.

The German forces holding in front of Moscow will go under the command of defensive Corps which will be attached directly to the OKH and will form the Moscow Defense Area.

The offensive forces will be supported by the the VIII and I Fliegerkorps as well as Luftflotte 1 and 4.

T55, 2nd of July-9th of July 1942.
AGN

The pocket in the north held. Soviet forces have pulled back from the Valdai hills and have abandoned the cities of Vyshny Volochek and Torzhok shortening their lines. Their new defensive position are located in and around the river of Medveditsa. After the clearing of the pocket, German forces have gone in the offensive and have advanced 40 miles, pushing the Soviets back in the process. Our units are now 60 miles away from the Volga and are threatening to hit Kalinin in the rear. 3 German Panzer divisions have been held back and have been resupplied by air. They will be the spearhead for the push of next week.

Positions at the start of the week:





Positions at the end of the week:

AGC

The Soviets decided to not counterattack and have instead pulled back their forces and reestablished defensive lines further east. The trapped Soviet units have been abandoned to their fate and Tambov has been declared an open city. The German 4th Army started to clear Soviet resistance south of the Oka but was only partially successful. The Soviets held back 3 strong attacks and still maintain bridgeheads over the river. This should be rectified next week.

The remaining German infantry spend a good portion of the week cleaning up the pocket and only a few formations were able to press forward to follow the retreating Soviets. This meant that the motorized and armored formations had to undertake that role. They were successful in making contact with the enemy and pushing back Soviet troops south of the Oka. The Soviets are concentrating a high number of guard units at the crossing site and have been able to construct level 1 fortifications very fast. An attack was out of the question this week, we need to await for the infantry to catch up before we attempt a crossing. Multiple mobile formations have been resupplied by air.

AGC at the start of the week:



Tula start of the week and after German moves:







2nd Hold in the battle shown above:



The enemy gave up 90 miles of territory east of Voronezh. The II Corps as well as the 2nd Hungarian Army are advancing east as fast as possible but they have so far, only covered half the ground.

The German attempts to clear Voronezh and take the city have failed once more. The city has been cut off from supply for 5 weeks now and the Soviet defenders are still stubbornly resisting. This time 2 attacks by 5 divisions were repulsed, with high losses on the German side. An additional division has been brought in the sector to help the clean up operation for next week. Taking the city would allow us to send the forces being held here to other locations.

(Much as it is frustrating to fail such attacks, I am quite enjoying the realism of it. I had similar experiences when taking Leningrad and Tula, both cities were cut off and still held off multiple attacks. It adds a nice flair to the game. )

Voronezh, start of the week and after Axis moves:





AGC after Axis moves:

AGS

The 6th Army is advancing east as fast as possible. Forward units to the north have cleared the upper Don, which the Soviets have abandoned. The rest of the forces have been tasked with clearing Soviet resistance west of the Don. They have fulfilled this task successfully, as of today, only 2 Soviet formations are still holding their positions on the western bank. The 6th Army is now in contact with the main Soviet defensive line. Reports show multiple Guard Rifle divisions (6) and 1 Guard Rifle Corps in the area. Our formations have been ordered to take a defensive stance and to position themselves in a way that would minimize the possibility of Soviet counterattacks.

Positions at the start of the week:







Positions after Axis attacks and moves:





The enemy did not counterattack our bridgehead over the Don but chose to pull back forces north of the River in the Rostov area and to form a defense in depth based on the rivers Sal and Manych. Soviet recon seems to have failed to spot the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps that was being held in reserve. The main objective of the German forces in the sector was to expand the bridgehead and reach the Manych river.

The advance was to be spearheaded by the 17th Army and the 1st Panzer Army. Initial attacks by the LII Corps (17th Army) under General Kurt von Briesen failed. For his failure the General will be dismissed next week. This meant that other formations had to pick up the ball and clear the Soviet troops which limited the number of infantry divisions that could have been used elsewhere. The advance continued smoothly after that and German forces reached the Manych river and also secured a bridgehead over it. After that, the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps crossed the river and attacked the Soviet rear, routing several formations and overrunning the Headquarters of the 56th Army as well as multiple airbases. Once this was completed, these forces moved east hitting the weakest Soviet positions and reaching the outskirts of the town of Manych. Soviet forces east of the town are in a ZOC block and the Soviet rear is in shambles. However the enemy has very strong foces present in the area and could possibly make a stand and counterattack the forward Panzer division. 4 Panzer Divisions have been resupplied by air however their supply is not that good and they will probably only be able to conduct limited operations next week.

LII Corps failed battles:





Operations on the Don:







Final positions:

Crimea

The VVS launched heavy raids against our airfields in the Crimea, taking quite a toll on the German groups stationed in the peninsula, 31 fighters were lost on our side (many of them on the ground) while the enemy lost 82 airframes.

The pocket in the Crimea held. The 11th Army conducted a strong attack on the mountainous terrain and managed to destroy 2 Mountain and 1 Rifle Divisions for a total of 27.500 men. 2.230 men were evacuated by the Soviet navy in an ad hoc operation.
The 11th Army received orders to start probing attacks on Sevastopol even though reports from the field indicated that the formations are not in the best conditions to do so (fatigued, damaged elements etc) .However with time running out, any wear down that we can cause to the Soviet defenders and specifically the fortifications is a major plus. Both attacks failed to dislodge the enemy (to no ones surprise) but the small consolidation was the fact that the fort levels dropped from 5.10 to 5.04. The attacks in the coming weeks will be much more coordinated and better supported.

The sooner Sevastopol falls the better.

Positions at the start of the week:



Crimea at the end of the week with battles shown:





Another 2.000 men have been killed in the Crimea this week:

Casualties

Heavy casualties this week again as the Axis continue their offensive. The Soviets have lost a staggering amount of men and material, 219.000 men and 3.164 guns. Of those, almost 180.000 are irrecoverable losses. The Axis have lost 13.500 men dead and around 133 AFVs. At least 8.400 Soviets have managed to escape from the pockets and return to Soviet lines.

Losses in the air have been heavy as well, 164 Axis airframes to 624 Soviet ones.
Soviet ready OOB has fallen to 4.68 million men while the German ready OOB sits at 3.82 million.

We are running a 27.000 truck deficit.

Frontlines, start of July:

One thing to keep in mind for Operation Clausewitz - and my guess is you may already know - but there are rail weakness behind Moscow too. Just like around Voronezh there are rail lines leading to dead ends. Only three rails lines north of the Oka cross the Volga and one of them is north of Lake Rybinsk. This means if you cut (or ZOC) the rail line at Yaroslavl and somewhere between Vladimir and Gorky you leave Moscow and much of the area between the Volga and the Oka far from rail.

@Telemecus: If you had told me that you were part of the general staff of officers who came up with the plan, I wouldn't doubt it one bit [;)] You have a keen eye for detail. I have indeed thought about this and had pinpointed those exact positions that you have marked on the map: ZOC blocking Yaroslavl and taking the town of Kovrov would indeed cut the rails leading to Moscow. Now the hard part will be doing that!


In other news: I will be posting a report about the state of the Panzerwaffe in the East (as of turn 55) either today or tomorrow. I am almost done with it and look forward to sharing it.