Europa Games and Military History

Month: February 2025

1944 DEC I REWRITE

Rewrite of Arctic Front Dec I.

Reset due to realization that Sea Ice prevents all Naval activity.

Axis Dec I 1944

Army of Norway: A scarce REs Pt is expended to allow DAS over the battlefield. No attacks all forces hold their ground and await for a Soviet attack.

Soviet Dec I 1944

Arctic Front: (1 Attack)
The Soviet forces are checked by the German reinforcements and have even been forced to give up some ground. All amphibious options are blocked by troops, coastal batteries or Kriegsmarine patrol boats and subs around Narvik and increasingly dense pack ice which makes navigation impossible and confines the ships and transports to port. The Soviets therefore decide to attack west from the Bardufoss enclave to try to aid the deadlock on the main front and allow artillery and fresh troops to move up and break the Narvik defences in the new year. Accordingly the only attack is made East along the cost where supplies ferried into Bardufoss by air and GS is critical to achieving the necessary odds. A 2-6 SS infantry cadre is eliminated and the advance brings the Soviets closer to the rear of the German MLR that will be at risk of being attacked from front and rear.

1944 DEC I Soviet Turn

Narrative

Kiev, Temporary Command HQ, Western Forces 3rd Dec 1944.

The 4 men known to each other by reputation or from many conferences before surveyed the map table in front of them.

“The Boss” began the conversation; “So, tell me gentlemen how do you propose to secure victory for us? What are your plans for the capture of Warsaw”?

The commander of Ukraine Front spoke up first. “Clearly I will take the lead in this matter. My forces are already occupying a sizable portion of the west bank of the Vistula and are driving northwards towards the western suburbs. The enemy are strong but we are confident we will be in a position to isolate the city within the month. In the meantime we have occupied the eastern and southern suburbs on the east bank of the river and with our artillery corps and assault engineers we will be able to take the eastern half by the middle of December.

Leaning over the map the commander of the Byelorussian front interjects “I think your ambition exceeds your abilities my friend. You will not be able to take the city without my help.”

He continued “Already, Boss, we have secured the northern approaches and will have cleared the eastern bank north of the city by mid-December. We will then be able to give the necessary assistance to my college to the south; the help he will assuredly need to take the western part of the city. I am confident we will have taken the city by direct assault by the end of the year” He relaxed and moved back from the map confident he had “The Boss”’s favour.

Joseph paused for a moment before exploding in rage. “Incompetent nincompoops! I should have you sent to the Gulags for your failure to observe the basic rules of Warmongering”

“Let me, instead, introduce you to my good, and trusted friend Mr Beria, you know the fellow, he runs the re-education camps for our troops. I am sure he would be honoured to have such noteworthy guests as yourselves under his care.”

Lavrentiy will you please read the Articles of War to remind these fools of its contents.”

“My pleasure, Boss. “Gentlemen please turn to page 33 of your briefing packs, I refer you to Article 37 subsection D, and I quote ““If a player owns all non-neutral major cities on the map at the START of his player turn, the game ends at that point. The player has won an automatic decisive Victory””

Stalin continues “At the START gentlemen, at the START, not at the end or sometime in the future. You MUST control all of Warsaw by the middle of the month and hold it till the end of the year.”

“I suggest now that you use the next weeks wisely and accelerate your plans to capture the city. I do not take kindly to failure.”

“Dismissed!!”.

Turn Report

Arctic Front: (1 Attack) The Soviet forces are checked by the German reinforcements and have even been forced to give up some ground. All amphibious options are blocked by troops, coastal batteries or Kriegsmarine patrol boats and subs around Narvik. They therefore decide to attack west from the Bardfloss enclave to try to aid the deadlock on the main front and allow artillery and fresh troops to move up and break the Narvik defences in the new year. Accordingly the only attack is made East along the cost where Naval Gunfire support is critical to achieving the necessary odds. A 2-6 SS infantry cadre is eliminated and the advance brings the Soviets closer to the rear of the German MLR that will be at risk of being attacked from front and rear.

Belorussian Front:
(6 attacks) The 3rd Army which has been driving west along the coast all the way from Konigsberg now hits too much resistance from the defending German forces for a one hex assault so turns inland and clears out an adjacent hex to its south. Another containing a FA falls to an adjacent assault and an 80 mile stretch of front is now at the map edge.

Soviet forces start to put the squeeze on strong German forces comprising a 4-hex row of adjacent Panzers in a small bulge north of Warsaw by attacking south along the map edge and by also driving east just north of the river confluence by Warsaw. This latter advance takes them to within one hex of the map edge preventing help for the city from the north.

A 3 hex assault is now made into the Eastern part of Warsaw but bereft of air cover which has been directed to the West bank. The attack is at 1.5:1 with engineers removing any die roll modifier. The result is an NE.

Ukraine Front:
(6 Attacks) With the fear of imprisonment or at the very least “The Boss’s” wrath falling down upon him commander of Ukraine Front attempts a high risk, one hex, assault into the western Warsaw city hex. Over the river from a ZOC’d hex even with artillery and engineers the attack is potentially suicidal at 1.5:1 (-1). Air support is called for. This results in one of the largest concentrations of airpower in the war as both sides realise the importance of the attack. (see Air Combat). The result when the skies and dust have cleared is an NE.

This seals the fate of Soviets ambitions at achieving an Automatic Victory. A small crumb of comfort for the remaining battered and beleaguered Axis forces.

Elsewhere on this Front the Soviets continue to enlarge their holdings on the western bank of the Vistula and try to push north. A breakthrough in the centre allows a 3-2-8 Tk Brigade an Exploitation opportunity to eliminate a Res Pt and Truck unit. But overextended and caught in muddy ground the unit is not expected to survive for long.

At the southern end of the line the isolated group of German and Hungarian units pressed against the map edge in Slovakia are halved in number and extent.

Steppe Front:
(2 Attacks) Still hampered by supply difficulties as the Hungarians and AGS units fall back into the interior only 2 attacks are launched but the two are well co-ordinated along the Cluj railroad and eliminate in its entirety a 4-6-6 German infantry unit.

Soviet armour slowly moving north from the Rumanian plain crosses the mountain passes into the remaining tongue of northern Rumanian. This brings them in contact with the only extant Rumanian unit; the 6-10 Mot xx.

Air Combat:
The citizens of Warsaw are reminded of the terrifying days of September ‘39 as the skies darken with the masses of aircraft overhead, this time flying in from the East. Every Bomber, Assault bomber and 2 point Tactical Fighter Bomber in range converges on the airspace of the Warsaw western hex. LIkewise every Axis interceptor in range rises in response.

In total the Soviets fly 22 bombing sorties with 14 escorts, while the Axis field 16 interceptors.

As the Soviets fly in they are first met by patrol attacks based in the packed Warsaw airbases and 6 assault units are Returned.

The survivors are met by a wall of interceptors.

Soviet Escorts fly in unopposed to engage them and down 2, Abort a third and Return another.

The 12 surviving Interceptors tear into the bombing stream and wreak complete havoc on the defenders

They Eliminate 4, Abort 6 and Return 2 all for the loss of only one Fighter.

The surviving bombers now meet the city defenders’ Flak but here their luck changes as the guns fail to score a hit.

Of over 70 initial bombing factors only 7.5 effective points are delivered.

But this is just enough to raise the odds from 1:1(-1) to 1.5:1(-1). The airmen return to base battered and bruised but comforted in the knowledge that they have considerably increased the chances of victory on the ground.

What they do not know at this stage is that their sacrifice has been in vein because an NE is to be rolled.

Combat Report

Attacks = 15 ( 3 Auto kills)

Losses:
Soviet = 3, Air = 9.
Axis: Forts = 2, Lost airfields = 1, Res Points =1;
Germans: FAs x2, Truck = 1, Un-isolated =34, Air = 4 plus 2 on ground.
Hungarians = 1
Total = 35

Loss Ratio: Dec I ‘ 44: Axis/Sov = 35/3 = 11.67

1944 DEC I Axis Turn

Weather: Snow in Arctic and B, Mud in C, Clear in G.

Axis forces take an entirely defensive posture with no attacks at all. Thy are tempted to try and relink the orphan section of front around Slovakia but this risks an exchange and requires quite a bit of air support for little advantage. Instead units move to support the defence of Warsaw the eastern hex of which becomes the most heavily defended city since Moscow. Other than the Rumanian Mot xx all other units evacuated from Rumania re-enter the map in Poland to defend the centre of the line.

Army of Norway:
An arriving Mtn XX takes up residency in Narvik and the previous defender moves forward to defend against the marine landings. A scarce REs Pt is expended to allow DAS over the battlefield.

AGN:
Units by the coast pull back into the Danzig corridor to defend the Hel peninsular which in total has a 10 aircraft capacity and is vital to the defence of the north.

AGC:
Arriving units rail straight in Warsaw and powerful Panzer units shuffle closer to the city to prevent any flanking move by Soviet units.

AGS:
Hungarian units shorten the line to strengthen the defence of rail lines West. In the south the Rumanian Mot xx moving north off map re-appears in the northern portion of Rumania to defend its homeland against the Soviet Tanks moving on map from the south who threaten to turn the southern flank. This allows 2 German infantry divisions to rail off map and head north.

Air Combat:

The Soviet re-organization and forward deployment operation enacted last turn allows a far more spirited response to German DAS this turn and a total of 13 (out of a possible 25) DAS missions are intercepted.

After the skies clear the tally of losses is as follows;

Soviet Fighters; = 3xE, 3xA
German Fighters; = 0
German Bombers/Assault/FBs = 1xE, 3xA, 4xR

Combat Report:
Attacks=0
Losses: Axis; Air=1
Soviet; Air=3