Drakken vs. Tamas - DC3: Barbarossa PBEM (Axis thread)

[Drakken]

T5 - July 4th, 1941

As predicted, Tamas has attempted a controled pullout in the Center. However they haven't pulled out fast enough and my threat of destruction of his central front still stands. I expect a major garrison on Minsk, but not behind the city itself. Thus I will attempt to envelop the whole Western Army and Minsk, with both PanzerGruppe's forward Motorized unit meeting South or Southwest of Minsk. Basically, more or less like Pavlov's real disaster in real life.

In the North, the remnants of 11th Army have moved a little, expanding into their pocket for some space. More importantly, Tamas has arranged defensives positions on the other side of the Dvina : bridges have been blown at Dunaburg, a minor garrison was placed in Jakobstadt and fortifications arranged around that city. Logically, Tamas has sent Zhukov there as troubleshooter and expended PPs to arrange this defence.



Attacking these positions head-on with my Panzers would be disastrous. The main road of progress is through Riga as its bridges still stand.  That said, I doubt Tamas would do such a moronic thing as to leave Riga undefended, plus I had already foreseen from his T1 pullout that he intended to create a defensive line at Riga. North of Jakobstadt is still open field without fortifications. Flanking around these positions seems the way to go; it would allow me to slip around and mess with his rear... and the later addition of 3rd PanzerGruppe via Vitebsk and Polosk might throw Tamas into a panicked reaction if he expects a classic Moscow-first strategy from me.

In the South, Tamas is building a defense in-depth in front of Tarnopol, which I don't intend to attack headfront with 1st PanzerGruppe; pinned Panzers are useless Panzers. I'll use Infantry for that, which I have lots of. On the Dniestr 1st Armored Divison has been repelled back across the River, but that is only a minor setback as the German 11th Army is posed to cross it, and I continue to receive reinforcements on that front from the Reich.


Decisions

My capture of Kaunas, Vyborg/Viipuri, Lvov, and Vilnius, plus destruction of two Soviet HQs in the North theater has granted me a huge bonus in PPs to spend this turn, bringing my total from 0 last turn to 49.



For 10 PPs I decide to spend my PPs immediately to request the reassignment of 3rd PanzerGruppe from AGC to AGN. This will be effective only when I decide to cross the theater borders with 3rd Panzergruppe, so I do not have to move them across immediately. It's on as long as my relations with Hitler remain positive.

Fuel air supply missions have been requested for both AGC and AGS, but to my consternation the mission was cancelled for AGC despite good weather. This no fuel was delivered to either 3rd or 2nd PanzeGruppe.



I concentrate my Decisions hands-on on AGS's rail infrastructure. I push for adequate signaling to maximize delivery of fuel and supply through AGS rail system, to the pleasure of General Gercke (relations now to Poor). I also order my friend von Rundstedt and Feldmarshall von Bock to hand over captured Soviet trucks to General Wagner and OKW Theater Quartermaster, as per standing instructions. Let's say I'm not making a friend at all of von Bock right now.

Following Herr Feldmarshal von Leeb's recommandation, I approve the recognition of GeneralLieutenant Ottenbacher of the 36th Motorized Division's bravery under fire and, making it official and permanent. We need more leaders like Herr Ottenbacher.

Finally, as a show of good grace for the domestic front I accept Herr Goebbels' offer of a camera crew filming me freely on duty for propaganda reasons. We need to show how we are winning this sacred war against the Bolshevism.





AGN



Comrade Tamas has organized tremendous defences along the Dvina. A major garrison and the Baltic MD Front strongly defends blocks Riga, making it suicidal to attack it directly with my PanzerGruppe. Instead, after fierce and costly battle 8th Panzer and 36th 'Offenbacher' Division overtakes the redoubts NW of Jakobstadt, piercing through and creating a bridgehead that sadly I cannot yet exploit. As the bridges in front of Dunaburg are now useless I switch gears and redirect 4th Panzergruppe toward the salient.

I decide to spend my remaining PPs to give Direct Fire support to 18th Army. They include Engineers, so they will progressively decrease the Fortification rating of the defenders facing its Divisions along the Dvina.

The remnants inside the Kaunas pocket continue to oppose a desperate resistance, pinning the whole 16th Army liquidating these stragglers. I suspect Tamas' last orders to them were "No retreat, and if needed, die. End of message".

On the Finnish front my South East and Karelian armies vigourously pushes the Soviets toward the 1940 frontiers.


AGC

Fuck the Siege artillery. General Gercke's lack of diligence in allowing the big guns to Brest-Litovsk has brought my time schedule too long. Seeing that Tamas has left only the garrison inside I decided to force the issue once and for all. After concentrating several divisions of 4th Army around the city I made a coordinated, sustained assault on the city with overwhelming odds. Brest-Litovsk has fallen. Fuck General Gercke.

At Minsk, good news... and bad news.

The good news is... well a picture is worth a thousand words :



16 divisions and 2 HQs are caught in the Minsk cauldron, including General Kuznetzov! And Minsk has no Major garrison!

The bad news is... I'm out of fuel. Gah!!!!

This swift and maneuvre cost me all my available fuel reserve in the Center, and the failure by the Luftwaffe to bring in the fuel I so desperately need made me unable to fully exploit the situation: take Minsk (without a Major Garrison!! ) and further trap Pavlov and Kutznetsov. They will live to die another day.


AGS



The good news is, 6th and 17th Armies are now shuffled in position and created a front, even slowly grinding their way toward Tarnopol. All the while 1st PanzerGruppe has regrouped and found a way to swerve around the Soviet right flank.

The bad news is... I'm out of fuel. Gah!!!! 


Bessarabian Front



Since 1st Armored Division is paralyzed (again, out of fuel) this time the Germans take over. I counterattack across the Dniestr and push three German divisions on a beachhead across the River. On my left flank, two Rifle Divisions and 1 Mountain Division are trapped by 3rd Army and elements of the German 11th Army.

I am now within 100km of Odessa. Let's see how long until Tamas decides to retreat behind the Bug River.

In the meantime. I need fuel. I'll do anything for more fuel. Now.

[katmai]

My advice,





Get Moar Fuel.

[Drakken]

Gott im Himmel!



That's is, FSB to relocate to Lvov this turn.

[The Brain]

You mean Lemberg?

[PDH]

Gott im Himmel!

You really need more fuel than that.

[Drakken]

You really need more fuel than that.

No shit.

Seems the time has come for 1st PanzerGruppe to wrap up that offensive and go rest with fuel delivered by airlifts.

[grumbler]

You really need more fuel than that.

No shit.

Seems the time has come for 1st PanzerGruppe to wrap up that offensive and go rest with fuel delivered by airlifts.

Dunno.  Attacking without fuel would definitely take the Ruskies off guard.

[Drakken]

T6 - July 8th, 1941

Tamas is setting reinforcements in front of Mogilev. Time is the essense to push back the Minsk pocket as far from these as possible. No big swiping movement, I want this pocket wiped out ASAP.

The elastic of our fuel pipeline in the South has ruptured : only 451 bbls of fuel have reached 1st Panzergruppe's HQ this turn. A quick look at the AGS logistics report easily shows why : our Truck columns are overworked, the supply line being too long and the roads too hards for our Opels to drive through. That means fuel is left stocked in the depots while we fight the war between human civilization and semi-ape 'civilization', because there are simply a lack of truck columns being available for the distances being ran.



I decide the time has come to relocate out Forward Supply Base to Lvov Lemberg. My Chief of Staff reports that transfers will start again in approximately 8 days. In the meantime, 1st PanzerGruppe will receive fuel by air. Not a big loss, they were receiving next to nothing anyway.



From the meagre 15PPs allotement this turn, redeploying the FSB and resupplying 1st PnzGr by air cost me 8 PPs. Now that Luftwaffe has ended its D+2 Offensive time has come to assign Tactical Air Support.

AGN will go to 18th Army to destoy the resistance around Riga.
AGC will go on 2st PanzerGruppe to reduce the bulk of the Minsk pocket.
AGS will go 1st PanzerGruppe to trap as many Russian Divs as possible with the few fuel we have received.


AGN



Liepaja and Jakobstadt have been liberated from the Soviet hordes. Riga still stands but I've surrounded the city from all side with Infantry. Attacking it right now would be too costly, so it will go next turn. I've redirected Siege artillery toward it, but it'll be taking at least 12 days.

The Kaunas pocket has finally been fully liquidated. As the Dunaburg bridges have been blown off I redirect them through Jakobstadt, hoping the bridges will be rebuilt as soon as possible.


Karelian Front



In Karelia 54th Rifle Division reconnoitred too far from his lines; it was soon surrounded and exterminated in the woods. On the Leningrad Front a localized offensive has pushed back 4 Border Divisions and a Rifle, only to find 8 other Divisions of the 23rd Army waiting in the peninsula.


AGC



It took 4 days and all my fuel... but 2 full Armies and 14 Divisions have been wiped out clean of the surface of the Earth. Minsk is now ours and linked to our FSB . Only 17th and 24th Rifle Divisions remain and could still escape. 9th Army is racing East to create a front East of Minsk while our Panzergruppes rest and lick their wounds.

The remaining Divisions in the vicinity of Brest-Litovsk have been swiftly dealt in... but 4th Army stand in the Pripet Marshes facing Brest-Litovsk, too dangerous to be left unattended with its General Korobkov and 24 Initiative.


AGS



No flanking maneuver as we have barely just enough fuel to iron out the sallying Russian Divisions on our left flank. 1st PanzerGruppe's infantry Divisions will take the frontage as we send it fuel by air to bring the Panzers and Motorized divisions in, slowly and inexorably.

Meanwhile 6th and 17th Armies keep pushing the Russkies back, taking defensive positions in the mountains standing now right in front of Tarnopol. We still keeping advancing forward, but as a much slower place. I am worried, but we mustn't forget that the main target of the offensive is Leningrad.




Down on the Bessarabian front the Romanian 3rd Army and the German 11th keep pressing on, now 60km off the city of Odessa. The three trapped Russian Divisions have been mopped off the map.

Worryingly though, a majority of the Divisions of the 11th seem to show signs of weariness and fatigue. When Odessa falls I will arrange a pause in the offensive to let them rest and consolidate a bit in the following turns.

[Drakken]

Dunno.  Attacking without fuel would definitely take the Ruskies off guard.

No fuel, no spending of APs: no movement, no offensive attack.

[grumbler]

Dunno.  Attacking without fuel would definitely take the Ruskies off guard.

No fuel, no spending of APs: no movement, no offensive attack.

  I may not have been entirely serious.

[The Brain]

Won't DG be lost?

[Drakken]

DG?

[jimmy olsen]

You seem on track in the North and center,  but are lagging in the south.

[katmai]

Can't go back to old save Timmay.

[garbon]