Defending Greater Germania 1942 - Includes combined WitW and WitE2 AARs

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Western Front
Situation Report July 8th 1944 Turn 54
Army Group B

The Allies launch major bombing raids in northwestern Germany also there were also heavy raids on Berlin and the surrounding industrial centres, enemy Reconnaissance aircraft were out in great numbers over the course of the week trying to gather detailed information on Axis military and industrial targets.
German Air units again were concentrated along the Dutch / German border in an effort to intercept the enemy formations as they crossed over The English Channel into occupied Europe.

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In France Normandy is once again the centre of operations by The Allies who conducted large scale ground support operations for their invasion forces bogged down on the beaches, the enemy also targeted Rail, Road and Communication facilities in Belgium as well as The Brittany region, Paris came in for heavy attention by enemy bomber flights which hit Industrial centres as well as military targets in and around the French Capital.
German air defences were again light as once again the bulk of Luftwaffe air units were operating against the raids on Germany.

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WITW Supply 54.jpg (194.75 KiB) Viewed 1369 times

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Mediterranean Front
Situation Report July 8th 1944 Turn 54
Army Group C / Army Group F

On the Italian front Allied air forces continue there ground support operations against our front line forces trying to disrupt supply and communications to the troops manning the defences, along with attempting to soften our fortification network to allow the enemy ground forces to punch through the Axis line, enemy aircraft operating from there bases on Sardinia and Corsica maintain constant air activities over central and southern Italy intent on gathering Intel on troop deployments and delivery of supplies and munitions to the Italian theatre, to this end Luftwaffe high Command has ordered the bulk of our fighter forces to engage enemy Recon flights.

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While the main effort is centred on Italy Allied bomber raids continue to hamper war material production in The Balkans, the US 15th Air force operating there long range bomber force at targets in Austria , Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Rumania.
Air defences in The Balkans are not as strong as in other areas and for the second week enemy bombers targeted our Axis Allies fuel and oil facilities, the Rumanian Capital Bucharest and the surrounding production centres were hit by large scale raids.

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Balkans Air 54.jpg (111.21 KiB) Viewed 1368 times

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Italian Front
Situation Report July 8th 1944 Turn 54
Army Group C

Army Group C 54a.jpg (609.83 KiB) Viewed 1367 times

The Allies continue to launch assaults against the dug in defenders at Grazzanise but once again 5th Pz Armee are able to hold up the enemy armour and maintain control of the strategic Port City, 20 miles inland elements of XIV Pz Korps guarding the southern approaches to the town and airbase of Capua also come under a Infantry / armoured assault as the enemy launches three attacks during the course of the weeks fighting, heavily fortified Infantry backed by the Panzers of the HG and 15th Panzer Divisions contain enemy advances.

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A smaller armoured assault by Allied forces towards Isernia is also halted by Hube's troops, XIV Pz Korps inflicting heavy casualties forcing the attackers to withdraw, German defence lines are to strong in the centre region despite the strong Allied air support.

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On The Adriatic coast Erich Straube's forces are also subjected to combined assaults by Commonwealth, Polish and French forces trying to punch through the line south of Termoli in and effort to outflank the port defenders and split LXXIV ArmeeKorps, the Allied attack led by the Brit 1st Armoured Div clash with the 16th Panzer Division which is down to 64 Panzer's, despite the odds the Axis line holds.

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Western Front
situation Report July 8th 1944 Turn 54
Army Group B

Normandy

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Despite the disappointment of being pushed back from GOLD beach the Vestheer is still in high spirits, the units are regrouping and the defence line around the enemy landing site perimeter is holding also more reinforcements are arriving including the 89th Inf Division, news has also reached the troops that Generalfeldmarschall Rommel is leaving Berlin and moving part of his Headquarters to Paris.

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Even as the advance elements of Rommel's Command arrive in the French capital the US 1st Army and Brit 2nd Army launches attacks against units of 15th Armee which is defending St-Valery, Generalleutnant Johnn Sinnhuber's LXXXII ArmeeKorps tasked with holding the town and airfield repels two Infantry assaults driving back US Paratroopers and Brit Infantry.
On the 7th Armee front Herr comes under heavy pressure from large combined Inf / Armour assaults with the enemy launching a number of three pronged attacks from UTAH, OMAHA and GOLD landing sites by 5 Infantry Divisions and over 200 AFV's, despite being outnumbered in manpower we have superiority in tanks as both the 21st Panzer and Lehr Panzer Divisions counter the enemy attacks and after a week of battles the situation results in stalemate on the front.

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Battles WF 54b.jpg (151.73 KiB) Viewed 1366 times

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Western Front / Mediterranean Front
Situation Report July 8th 1944
Stats reports

Weekly ground and air losses and production

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WITW Losses 54.jpg (193.09 KiB) Viewed 1363 times

WITW Production 54.jpg (230.19 KiB) Viewed 1363 times

Rommel and staff prepare to leave for Paris

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Wilhelmshöhe Palace
Kassel Germany
Situation Report July 13th 1944
OHL Command Headquarters

Supreme Command has ordered several new command leadership appointments:

Eastern Front

General Walter Weiss Army Group North
Generalleutnant Erhard Raus 3rd Pz Armee
Generalleutnant Hasso Von Manteuffel 2nd Armee
Field Marshal Georg Lindemann Army Group South
General Walther Nehring 4th Pz Armee
Generalleutnant Wilhelm Stemmermann 18th Armee
General Hermann Breith 1st Pz Armee

A dozen more new ArmeeKorps appointments were also implemented with more to follow.

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The new Army Group South Commander greeting staff

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Walter Weiss arrives at AG North's Headquarters










Western Front / Mediterranean Front

Generalleutnant Walther Hahm 1st Armee
General Rudolf Veiel 19th Armee
Generalmajor Karl Decker LXXV ArmeeKorps
Genralmajor Walther Wenck LXXX ArmeeKorps
General Joachem Lemelsen LXVII ArmeeKorps

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The new 1st Armee Commander wasting no time begins conducting an inspection of the defences on The Gulf Of Gascony.

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Germany
Kassel
Wilhelmshöhe Palace
OHL Supreme Headquarters

With the OHL Chief FM Von Witzleben and now FM Rommel both in France the German President General Beck is given the weekly briefing by FM Von Rundstedt. The current strategic overview of the war in Europe for The Axis powers remains good with hopes of victory in the East high.

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The Eastern Front
FM Von Manstein reports that Operation Fischreiher II objectives have almost all been achieved with but a few to be taken within the next two weeks, the OKH chief believes its only a matter of time before the Soviets surrender.

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The Mediterranean Front
In The Balkans there is no indication of any Allied attempts to invade the enemy lacking the manpower to open a new front there.

Italy
The front line remains stable despite the Allied effort to breakthrough but enemy forces on Sardinia and Corsica are cause for concern but again there seems to be no indication of movement yet.

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Southern France
like wise the Allied presence on the large islands has Westheer Forces on high alert.

Western Front
In the Bay of Biscay enemy activity remains low as all attention is centred on the Normandy Invasion area, despite the setback from the previous weeks The Westheer still have the Allied forces contained.

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Germany
Kassel
Wilhelmshöhe Palace
OHL Supreme Headquarters
July 1944

The current military overview of Axis Forces in all European Theatres and the Axis Strategic Reserve is also reviewed at the weekly OHL Command briefing. All theatre levels are above the recommended figures in Manpower, Artillery, Armour, Aircraft and Logistics, on the Reserve front there is over 300,000 men in combat ready units.

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Eastern Front
Situation Report July 13th 1944 Turn 87
Army Group North

Heavy rain begins to pour down in the 8th Armee and 16th Armee sectors turning the ground into a quagmire however there has been no offensive operations so far over the course of the week as resupply is both Army's prioritises at this time.

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In the Yoshkar-Ola area the Soviet 5th Tank Corps is destroyed and 1st Mech Corps is cutoff as Axis units consolidate there positions around the city further south the main 4th Armee drive towards The Volga sees a Regiment of the 19th Panzer Div capture the regional capital of Kazan without any real opposition.

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AGN 87a.jpg (872.93 KiB) Viewed 1203 times

Success !
Army Group North has completed all of its planned objectives and now begins the next phase of operations in German occupied Russia, construction of the northern fortification network of the defensive line designated " The Volga Wall ".

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Eastern Front
Situation Report July 13th 1944 Turn 87
Army Group Centre

With no major enemy forces to appose the Ostheer the final drive to the Volga in the centre runs smooth as 3rd Pz Armee captures Radishevo, Spasskoe, Syzran and Ulyanovsk completing the final objectives for the Army Group. All that remains is for the Armee to clear a buffer zone on the eastern bank of the river allowing for construction units the ability to safely commence work .

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South of Syzran Axis forces have extended the defensive perimeter while construction of The Volga barrier continues, Red Army units have been spotted south west of the town of Krasny Kut moving towards Zelman.

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OB 87.jpg (307.82 KiB) Viewed 1201 times

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Eastern Front
Situation Report July 13th 1944 Turn 87
Army Group South

On the Stalingrad front enemy forces had been gathering in numbers, these units in the form of newly reconstituted Tank Corps, while 4th Pz Armee is concentrated on the city itself the new AG Commander FM Georg Lindemann has ordered in conjunction with Army Group A limited offensive action to encircle and destroy the enemy tank formations by 18th Armee, these Red Army forces manned by new conscripts with little training are quickly overwhelmed and trapped by the battle hardened troops of the 18th Armee.

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Supply 87.jpg (358.54 KiB) Viewed 1199 times

Production 87.jpg (386.73 KiB) Viewed 1199 times

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Eastern Front
Situation Report July 13th 1944 Turn 87
Army Group A

On the Caspian front Kleist's forces begin there coordinated operations with AG South, with the enemy Tank Corps spread wide and lacking Infantry units to support the enemy tank formations flanks are easily outmanoeuvred and outflanked by Kleist's veteran units, by weeks end seven Red Army Tanks Corps ( 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 12th and 15th ) are cutoff by both Army Groups. More Soviet reinforcements are reported to be moving south to assist the now encircled forces however aerial recon Intel indicates these units wont arrive in time to help there trapped comrades .
A surrender proposal is offered to each trapped unit but was rejected.

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Losses 87.jpg (395.19 KiB) Viewed 1197 times

Destroyed Units 87.jpg (39.78 KiB) Viewed 1197 times

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Western Front
Situation Report July 15th 1944 Turn 55
Army Group B

With constant rain starting to pour across Europe Allied raids have been reduced this week with most strategic attacks towards industrial targets in Germany, even so the enemy had still managed to conduct some heavy raids against Hannover and surrounding factory centres, south of the Ruhr region the enemy managed to hit Duesseldolf, Wuppertal, Monheim, Bonn and Cologne.
The enemy also continued its long range recon operations as our fighter units that managed to launch interception operations attempted to engage the enemy flights.

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Air battles WF 55.jpg (693.92 KiB) Viewed 1195 times

In France enemy operations were also on a lesser scale particularly in the Normandy landing area where the Allies attacked Rail and infrastructure targets, most enemy air attacks were further inland targeting Rail, Airbases and Command centres, there was some bomber attacks against industrial centres along the German / French border but damage was light.

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Air Battles WF 55d.jpg (95.91 KiB) Viewed 1195 times

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Mediterranean Front
Situation Report July 15th 1944 Turn 55
Army Group C / Army Group F

With the weather in southern Europe clear of rain Allied air forces were able to conduct sustained air operations throughout the week with massed recon flights over the central region of Italy, Rail Installations in the Lazio and Abruzzo areas were hit by bombers, the daily attacks against our ground forces continued as tactical bomber raids attempted to destroy Axis defensive fortifications and strike directly at ground troops.

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Air Battles IF 55b.jpg (103.59 KiB) Viewed 1194 times

The enemy also struck deep into central Europe with long range enemy bombers targeting industrial centres in Hungry, our air defences were unable to counter the bombers and four major centres took heavy damage.

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WITW A Losses 55.jpg (200.99 KiB) Viewed 1194 times

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Italian Front
Situation Report July 15th 1944 Turn 55
Army Group C

Army Group C 55a.jpg (606.76 KiB) Viewed 1192 times

The Allies begin there general attacks aimed at dislodging the defenders along The Volturno Line, a combined US / Brit assault from the town of Caserta is halted as most of the major bridges in and around the town that cross the river have been knocked out and attempts to cross by assault boat driven back by accurate Infantry and Artillery fire.

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Further inland elements of Hube's XIV Pz Korps come under intense attack as five Allied Corps assault the line, 15th Panzer Div supported by the 162nd Turkomen and 719th Inf Div's are assaulted on three fronts several times during the week as the enemy launches large scaled armoured and Infantry attacks.
In the central sector Hube again is under pressure from a series of attacks by Brit and Canadian forces attacking from Compobasso.

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On The Adriatic Front 10th Armee comes under attack from the Brit 8th Army and Polish Troops, Feuerstein's LI Mountain ArmeeKorps halts an Infantry assault from the II PO Corps supported by Brit V and XIII Corps, north of Feuerstein the main British attacks take place with Brit V and XII Corps launching a massive armoured assault against LXXIV ArmeeKorps positions, Straube's men manage to contain the first attack but the enemy regroups for a second attempt, under serious pressure the line holds.
Attrition is taking its toll as Zeitzler's command tries to rotate units in and out of the line to refit despite the dwindling number of replacements on the Italian front.

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Western Front
Situation Report July 15th 1944 Turn 55
Army Group B

Normandy

Even as German forces at the front come under heavy attack by the enemy trying to create an opening to push out from the landing site General Dollmann orders supplies and munitions brought forward to units reorganising behind the lines for a possible new attack on the beachhead, staff officers begin to review information on Allied weakness and areas of vulnerability and formulate the best possible plan of attack at a perceived weak point.
Rommel arrives at 21st Panzer Div's staging area to review the unit which had taken part in the first assault on Fecamp, the unit was now in need of resupplying. The Division had been also in combat holding the line when the Allies counterattacked and forced 2nd SS Pz Korps out of the town, however it was nearing combat readiness along with other formations.

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German planners have identified a possible weakness in the Brit 8th Corps sector that may be exploited.

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16th July 0300
Herr's LXXVI Pz Korps and Dietrich's SS Panzer Troops assault the beachhead defended by Canadian and US forces, heavy fighting takes place in and around Fecamp but SS units break the enemy positions and again take control, our forces take heavy losses for the gains but for now the GOLD beaching landing area is back under Axis control, once again splitting the Allied invasion force.

Battles WF 55.jpg (176.36 KiB) Viewed 1191 times

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Western Front
Situation Report July 15th 1944 Turn 55
Army Group B

Normandy

As early news from Normandy is received of the German success at 7th Armee HQ the Allies launch another series of massive counterattacks in a desperate effort to relieve the cutoff units at JUNO beach site, two Divisions as well as possibly the Headquarters of the British 2nd Army are isolated from the main body there only avenue of retreat is via the Naval fleet supporting the beachheads.

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Diethrich's Pz Korps which is holding the area comes under assault from units of the US 1st Army and Brit troops, SS units contain the first attacks and it appears our forces may hold on at Fecamp, two days later after regrouping US II Corps leading a second assault overwhelm the SS units which suffer heavy losses and are driven out once again.

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While the battle of Fecamp is taking place Herr's units covering the left flank of the II SS Pz Korps face huge assaults from two US Corps who launch repeated attacks against our defensive positions, LXXVI Pz Korps contains the enemy push inflicting large losses and halting the enemy breakout attempts.

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The Axis line is stable again giving time for the troops to rest briefly and receive a well earned ration of biscuits and tea to lift there spirits.

German Troops On The Front At Normandy Receive A Treat .jpg (122.73 KiB) Viewed 1181 times

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Western Theatre / Mediterranean Theatre
Situation Report July 15

Losses, Production , Factories, OB and Supply

WITW Losses 55.jpg (193.63 KiB) Viewed 1179 times

Production 55.jpg (555.42 KiB) Viewed 1179 times

OB 55.jpg (171.38 KiB) Viewed 1179 times

Production Build 55.jpg (303.61 KiB) Viewed 1179 times

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Eastern Front
Situation Report July 20th 1944 Turn 88
Army Group North

Weather in the extreme northern regions continue to deteriorate as rain turns the ground to mud making roads almost unusable for the supply convoys attempting to supply units at the front, 8th Armee positions have been more or less static for weeks, this stagnation has unit Commanders requesting permission to continue forward offensive operations into the Kirov Region , a request is sent up the chain of command to the new AG commander, AG North Command transmits orders authorising General Kempf permission to conduct a limited advance towards the town of Shabalino, 8th Armee units begin crossing the Pizhma river against virtually no opposition from 2nd Belorussian Front.

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Infantry of 8th Armee eat while advancing towards Shabalino



South of the Kirov operation 16th Armee destroys the Soviet 1st Mech Corps which was trapped east Yoshkar-Ola, the Armee pushes on and captures Yaransk before ordered to halt further advances.
At Kazan 4th Armee now moves to create 10 mile buffer zone along the eastern banks of The Volga river, General Heinrici orders his Armee to begin preparations for a defensive barrier to be constructed.

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AGN 88a.jpg (912.4 KiB) Viewed 1035 times

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Eastern Front
Situation Report July 20th 1944 Turn 88
Army Group Centre

On the central front Erich Cloessner's LIII ArmeeKorps finally reaches its assigned positions and begins to push out extending the defensive zone along the river, 3rd Pz Armee's designated objectives have all now been achieved the next phase begins with the construction of fortifications and repairing infrastructure facilities throughout the occupied Ulyanovsk and Samara regions.

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On 2nd Armee and 9th Armee fronts the situation remains relatively quiet despite a build up of enemy Tank units from 2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts in the area east of the town of Zelman, despite the presence of these tanks the enemy shows no interest in attacking, the Red Air force is the only visible sign of enemy resistance towards Axis forces.

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Volga Line 2.jpg (222.15 KiB) Viewed 1029 times

Units of 9th Armee dug in along the east bank of The Volga while fort construction continues on the west bank

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