1-4 October: Axis

Guderian’s Blitzkrieg II AAR (includes Enemy at the Gates and Case Blue)

(Apologies for the photos of the northern sectors which have the Soviets already moving.  We tend to operate simultaneously, moving down the map, so that I will be finishing my turn on EatG/CB maps while Comrade Kuritsa is already on his turn in the far north.  In the excitement of it all, I forgot to take shots of my move.)

 1st to 4th October1941

Weather is fixed for Turn 1.  Ground conditions are dry and air conditions are normal

The Axis player must go first.

Turn 1 (Axis)

Replacement DR = 10 (-1) so Fighter, Other Air, 2 x Pax and 1 Eq.

Eq is used to reform 2/25 Pz Bn, 4^th PzD and it arrives at Konotop.  2x Pax to Poltava.  The air is wasted.

Supply DR = 5 so 11 SP + 1 SP = 12 SP.

Unternehmen Taifun begins

The North

 

 

Around Starr’ya Russka, there was little movement.  The Russians had large forces in the rough ground to the east, and there seemed little prospect of a breakthrough.  1^st and 2^nd SS Cavalry Regiments were ordered south at full speed, as local commanders were confident that the troops available could hold their positions should the Soviets try to advance.

Several attempts by Stukas to damage rail and road hubs failed, with some aircraft lost to anti-aircraft fire.

Nelidovo

The narrow track north east from Dukhovshchina to Bel’yy winds through light woods.  The Soviets had 148^th Tank Brigade blocking the track itself, with infantry on both sides.  A regiment of German infantry was sent ahead and when the enemy were located, waves of Stukas were deployed.  The tank brigade was totally disorganised, as was 242^nd Strelkovaya, which also lost half its men in the bombing.  1/25 and 2/25 Panzer battalions of 17^th PzD had no trouble overrunning the Russian tanks and the rest of the division followed along the track. 

With the path clear, 6^th PzD hit the 30^th Army HQ at Bel’yy at full speed, wiping out the administrative troops and capturing 400 tonnes of supply and fuel.  Some of the division continued north east towards Nelidovo and Selenino, while 7^th PzD moved up to hold the road against counter-attacks.  14^th Motorised was the last group to move north east, nearly reaching the vital railway to Rzhev.  Keen to block the supply route, 900 Lehr Brigade and 189 Assault Gun Battalion were sent to take Solenino and cut the railway line.

Meanwhile 1^st PzD headed straight east from Bel’yy, lead elements getting to within 20 miles of Sychevka. 

With the combat units having made the breakthrough, supply trucks raced along the unsealed road, setting up a forward depot just 10 miles southwest of Solenino.  56^th PzKorps HQ was nearby, 10 miles to the east.  Further back, 8^th Korps HQ nearly reached Bel’yy.  Several infantry divisions were strung along the track, marching northeast as fast as possible.

Moscow- Smolensk Road/Railway

Some infantry started to march north, but otherwise all was quiet.  No combat.

East of Roslavl

 

 

An attempt to clear the VVS from Spas Demyansk was only partially successful, with the Luftwaffe losing a few Messerschmitt Bf 109Fs in exchange for some I.16s.  Bombing was also difficult.   Höpner’s plan was for 4^th Panzer Group to cross the Desna and head east along the Roslavl-Spas Demysansk road.  The bridge on the river was held by a combined infantry and armour force and it was essential they be disorganised by bombing before a river assault was launched.  Three successive attacks by Heinkel 111 Kampfgeschwader were required before the bombers reported success.  252.ID was ordered to attack and performed its job perfectly, though it suffered some losses.  The Soviet infantry division also lost men and both it and a light tank battalion retreated.

That was all that was needed.  An Aufklärung  and a tank battalion of 11^th PzD crossed the river and easily destroyed the remnants of 149^th Strelkovaya.  With the road open, the rest of the panzer division poured across and a Kradschützen battalion was able to cut the rail link from Spas Demyansk to Yeln’ya.

20^th PzD concentrated on the Spas Demyansk road and forced back 43^rd Army HQ and 113^th Strelkovaya which was protecting it.  The 113^th was badly damaged in the fighting and when the German tanks, enthused by their earlier victory, followed the routed units and repeated the attack, both it and the Army HQ were destroyed.  When the fighting was over, 20^th PzD was within 15 miles of Spas Demyansk.

Rail engineers pushed European gauge conversion 20 miles southeast from both Smolensk and Roslavl.

Bryansk

 

 

The Luftwaffe lost some Bf 109E fighters escorting bombers near Bryansk, but worse was to come.  With the bombing over, “Das Reich” headed southeast to Bryansk, believing the demoralised Soviets blocking the road would be unable to resist.  The Russians turned the tables, however, ambushing their attackers and inflicting savage losses.  The divisional Aufklärung battalion and 11^th SS Motorised Infantry Regiment were wiped out, though the rest of the division held their ground.  The Russians (108^th Tank Brigade and a first-line infantry regiment) retreated safely across the Desna.  The road to Bryansk was open, but “Das Reich” was only able to move 5 miles closer to the city.

East of Konotop

 

 

General Guderian was determined to make a major breakthrough.  Fighters were sent to strafe the VVS airbase at L’Gov, and several LaGG.3 fighters were shot down though our Messerschmitts did not reach their targets.  On the other hand, when MiG 3 fighters tried to intercept bombers near the Sevedinava Buda bridge they were driven off after losing a few aircraft.  18^th PzD swept aside 52^nd Kaveleriy which was holding the bridge and a nearby tank battalion then, flushed with enthusiasm, chased off another cavalry division that was protecting 13^th Army HQ.  The HQ and cavalry escaped, but left 400 tonnes of supply and fuel which were a welcome addition to Guderian’s stockpiles.

4^th PzD had an even easier start to the campaign, as the bridge east of Glokhov was undefended, allowing an uninterrupted drive to Sevsk.  A Russian tank brigade (the 42^nd) had been stiffened with the 5^th Fortified Area infantry, but it was helpless to resist the torrent of armoured vehicles.  As 4^th PzD consolidated its hold on Sevsk, 7^th PzD pushed on, reaching Dimitriev L’Govsky.  Previously held back in reserve, 17^th PzD went a further 25 miles and 3^rd PzD made it all the way to Krony.

Not far behind the tanks and motorised infantry, Guderian’s 2^nd PzGrp Army HQ raced to set up base just west of Dimitriev L’Govsky, and the trucks of the supply units constructed a forward depot in the town itself.

But that was not enough for Schneller Heinz.  1^st Cavalry Division was ordered to send several battalions through the woods near Seredinava Buda to cut the road north of the town, and 191^st Assault Gun Battalion took up a position blocking the bridge to Narlya.

Further south, a pioneer battalion moved around Belepol’ye, preparing the ground for an attack by 5^th Machine Gun battalion supported by 202^nd and 245^th Assault Gun Battalions.  2^nd Separate Kaveleriy Regiment simply disintegrated under the onslaught, and the assault guns moved to cut off the garrison of the town.

While the fighting took place to the north, the bulk of 10^th Motorised Division detrained in Konotop.  With all necessary fuel reserved for the front, it set off in column for the front.  2/25 Bn, 4^th PzD, however, received enough fuel to allow it to rejoin its unit near Sevsk.

Poltava

 

 

101^st Jäger Division advanced to protect 4^th Bicycle Battalion which was dangerously exposed.  Replacement infantry reached 195^th Infantry Division, which had been at half strength.  There was some reorganisation at the front but otherwise the area was peaceful.  Russian shelling caused  no casualties.

Dnepropetrovsk

 

 

At dawn hundreds of He 111 bombers hit a 15 mile stretch east of Dnepropetrovsk.  The Russians were in confusion as 13^th PzD moved out of its staging areas.  First to be attacked were 12^th Army HQ, 274^th Strelkovaya and 15^th Tank Brigade which retreated, leaving behind not only half the infantry division but also 600 tonnes of priceless supplies, 400 tonnes of which were captured intact.  An attempt to overrun 74^th Strelkovaya and 3^rd Tank Brigade across the river was successful but at a high cost: 13^th PzD saw its Aufklärung Bn as well as a battalion of Kradschützen destroyed, though some Soviet infantry were also lost.   13^th PzD intended to continue its attacks on the fleeing Russians, but heavy artillery fire disorganised key units and it was forced to halt.

On the far side of the city, SS “Wiking” had forded the Dnepr and launched an attack from the south.  261^st Strelkovaya managed to escape intact, but 26^th Motorcycle Battalion was lost covering the retreat. 

Von Kleist was not to be thwarted by the Russian artillery, and 16^th PzD, held in reserve, was ordered to move up.  It quickly disposed of 74^th and 274^th Strelkovaya as well as 15^th Tank Brigade, and then captured Novomoskovsk. 

With the two panzer divisions exposed, the Czech “Rychla” Motorised Division moved into Dnepropetrovsk, while Italian troops spread to cover the main highway to Poltava.  Three infantry divisions newly fresh from Germany were marching east at full speed and were only miles from Dnepropetrovsk by the end of the 4^th October.  Close behind them were two Hungarian Security divisions, intended for guard duty.  Let us hope they never have to fight.

Melitopol and the Crimea

 

 

4^th Gebirgsjäger Division advanced and took Novobogdanovsk and a Rumanian mountain brigade force marched to hold the bridge over the Molochna River, but elsewhere the Axis units pulled back.  Word was that Stavka intended to launch a major offensive in this area, believing the Axis forces to be too weak to resist.  The Rumanian Mountain Corps and the bulk of its troops moved south to the railway line along which lumbered the vital wagons carrying supplies to the forward depot.  The wagons haul supplies nearly 100 miles from Kherson, a fragile artery keeping the front line alive.  A railway engineer battalion was working to convert the rail from Kherson, but it only managed to reach 20 miles east. 

49^th Mountain Korps HQ was relieved when a Cossack Cavalry battalion arrived as reinforcements, and a little less so at the news that another Rumanian HQ and Cavalry Brigade was on its way east.

Supply: Axis rec’d 14SP (captured 3 SP)

           

            Axis used 25.2 SP

            Soviet used 7.2 SP

Dead Units

Axis:     SS “Das Reich” Mtr Div:          4(4)8 Aufklärung Bn, 8(2)3 11^th SS Mtr Bn

            13^th Panzer Div:                       3(5)8 13^th Aufklärung Bn, 4(5)8 13^th Kradschützen Bn

Soviet: 2 x HQ (30, 43)

            3 x 12(2)2 Infantry Div (274, 74, 113)

            10(0)1 Infantry Div (149)

            7(3)4 Cavalry Div (52)

            2(3)4 Cavalry Regiment (2^nd Separate)

            6(2)5 Tank Brigade (148)

            5(1)5 Tank Brigade (15)

            4(1)5 Tank Brigade (42)

            4(2)5 Tank Battalion 18

            4(3)6 Motorcycle Battalion (26)

            (5)(1)1 UR (5)

Aircraft Losses

Axis:     Fighters           Bf 109F 1 step

                                    Bf 109E 1 step

            Bombers          Ju 87B “Stuka” 1 step (Flak)

Soviet:   Fighters           I.16 1 step

                                    LaGG.3 1 step

                                    MiG 3 1 step