General Staff-Fast Heinz

[General Staff]

My opponent insisted on historical deployment so that’s me south, him north and he has Little Saturn on T4. Note images attached per sector.

South
1) Engaged 51A Rifle Corps with Rumanian 5th Cavalry Division. That means just moved adjacent to limit their movement options particularly north. I did attack and retreat 76 Construction.
2) Main effort was with 57th Panzer Corps against Soviet 4th Cavalry Corps, which was encircled and wiped out less its HQ (retreated). 51 Army was also virtually annihilated less 235 Tank Regiment, 1168 Artillery Regiment, 1125 Mortar Brigade and the unit HQ. Goal was to get across the bridges at Genarlov and Shestakov- achieved. In fact I dropped the 803 Brandenberg on Shestakov but it proved unnecessary.

Stalingrad
1) 6th Army had 3 missions- first trash any adjacent Don Front units, second try to pinch off the Soviet salient in the Kalach-Vertyachi bend of the Don and third try to make headway south and southwest. Heroic efforts led to the destruction of approximately 20 Soviet units for a loss ratio of 16-1, the salient was reduced to 6 hexes and we gained Gavrilovka and a line due north west to the Don.
2) 16th Panzer Division is bolstering the infantry in the north east of the pocket (including Stalingrad) whilst other armour elements are in action south and south west. In fact 3rd/16 Panzer AufKlarung managed to seize and then blow the bridge at 86,25- all with only 2 half tracks! Alas it didn't have enough petrol to make a getaway so the future is bleak.
3) 24th Panzer is being held in reserve near Gumrak (the armour unit is actually parked on the runway for the supply boost) and it will be used next turn to take Beketovka and start down the railroad unless desperately needed elsewhere.
4) I lost a lot of minor units in this bloodbath, so I am not sure what will be available to continue attriting next turn.

Centre
1) In parallel with 57th Panzer Corps effort I attacked with the Rumanian 6th Corps and (eventually) 11th Panzer Division through the small bridgehead at Nitzsky Chirskaya. Resistance was fierce and was only really overcome at turn end (with direct Stuka air support) but I managed to push recce units through to isolate elements of 5th Shock Army along the right bank of the Don slightly to the south. Leading elements of both spearheads are now only 2 hexes from the bridges over the Myshkova River and both drives are headed for Abghanerova and then North. I’ve scrupulously avoided the ‘*’ hexes as I don’t want Don Front units rattling around outside the perimeter until I’m ready for a final push.
2) A diversionary effort used engineers to cross the Don at 67,31 just North of Nitzsky Chirskaya then move to 68,30 from where 11th Panzer’s Motorcycle unit was landed and entrenched in 68,29, limiting movement across the bridge at Chir Station while avoiding triggering the release of Don Front units by occupying a ‘*’ hex. It also hopefully allows me to see what- if anything- he’s moving down. Problem is the unit is badly exposed and I didn't clear much room for escape south.

North
1) I seized Bolshin to hinder movement of 5th Shock Army and 1st Tank Corps. Hopefully between this, the recce unit covering the bridge south and the fact that Don Front units can’t move from the Stalingrad area should mean few reinforcements able to hinder my relief attempt.
2) Further west and north I hammered what I could- 5TA Rifle Corps units near Surovinko (its 346 Rifle Division SE of Sovetskaya was broken down and retreated) and 3GA Rifle Corps SSE of Veshenskaya, the latter broken down and retreated, then pursued and attacked again.

Air
1) 216 to 25 kill ratio. Most units now resting. I found later Airfield Attack missions less economical as units tired.

Notes
1) All attacks paid careful attention to inactive Soviet units- no need to wake them early. Also avoided any '*' hexes- again I don't want Don Front units leaving the Stalingrad area until I'm ready.
2) I got in a lot of rounds- in fact almost more than I knew what to do with. “50% remaining” came up 3 times. I think this is due to shock and the fact that I only attacked with units having movement rates of over 10.
3) I took full advantage of Soviet Local Reserve settings. In fact 4th Mechanized Corps (near Chir Station) shouldn't be able to move much given that most of its units spent the turn bobbing backwards and forwards like yoyos. That also goes for 13 Mechanized Corps south near Kargata also though to a lesser extent since this avoided combat.
4) Construction teams are all heading south to repair rail as the relief attempt progresses.
5) 1 supply unit has gone to aid the Italians, another central and the last to aid 11th Panzer Division’s assault across the Don near Chir Station.
6) The Fretter-Pico units railed to Morozovsk, to be used as a reserve on the central front.
7) 306 Infantry Division is now waiting to be railed north east to join the rest of 17th Corps near Bokovskaya.

I plan to stay south of the Don (the Chir Station side) and try to finish things while keeping Soviet help away. Let's see enemy reaction before looking too far ahead- hopefully I've given him food for thought and enough avenues to keep him guessing as to which way I plan to move.

SAL files available if any interest.

[General Staff]

Almost there- only 5 kms (1 hex) separate 6th Army from relief! However it’s taken quite a toll on 6th Army Armoured units though the relief force is in pretty good shape. As with last turn, please note images attached per sector.

South
1) With the aid of 23rd Panzer Division elements, Rumanian 5th Cavalry Division has surrounded and is in process of eliminating 51A Rifle Corps. Should be completed next turn, leaving only those elements south of the river near Chir Station, also heavily damaged this turn. That will leave 28th Army feeling awfully isolated so I doubt he’ll use it offensively (in fact he showed little appetite for offensive operations last turn with only a few minor attacks and no hexes taken). I’ve moved the Rumanian 7th Corps up for a pre-emptive strike next turn and have the entire 15th Luftwaffe Division close behind to hopefully ‘bag’ 28th Army too.
2) Main effort was again with 57th Panzer Corps which took Abganerovo and Verkhny Kumski, breaching the Myshkova River line, defended by the 13th Mechanized Corps. Soviet 4th Cavalry Corps HQ destroyed, annihilating this formation. Remaining 51st Army units were also destroyed, leaving only its HQ intact.
3) We’re now only 5 kms (1 hex) from 6th Army in some places, and have carefully avoided entering any of the ‘*’ hexes. However 6th Army progress south is in places held by small units struggling in the open through the snow and not dug in.

Stalingrad
1) 6th Army's 3 missions are having varying degrees of success. Trashing adjacent Don Front units is proving stunningly successful- in fact they may get credited for far more of the hoped for eventual destruction than would have been believed possible. As my opponent put it “Jesus!…I thought the 6th Army was starving!”. Pinching off the Soviet salient in the Kalach-Vertyachi bend of the Don is proving far more costly and time consuming though we have now cut the salient in two by reaching the river just south of Vertyachi. It has cost a lot in armoured units and units holding the taken ground are not dug in. In fact this is a general problem with 6th Army units just not having the MPs to move AND dig in, though it probably reflects the relity of a starving Army attempting to break out and without the energy to fight AND dig in afterwards. Making headway south and southwest has also proved time consuming and costly- kilometre by kilometre with armoured units taking heavy losses though inflicting crippling losses on Soviet units. An example of the ferocity is evidenced by the effort to take Beketovka for its vital rail connection south- with 50% of the turn to go and after several attacks to try to dislodge 2 stubborn armoured (1-1) units, I eventually launched in the entire 21st Panzer Grenadier Regiment (14th Panzer Division) only to find all units involved mutually annihilating each other! This allowed me to occupy the town but again the unit is not dug in and will probably be expelled by a determined counterattack.
2) 16th Panzer Division continues bolstering the infantry in the north east of the pocket (including Stalingrad).
3) 24th Panzer has now moved south to assist in a final link up effort down the rail line next turn.
4) I lost a lot of minor units again, and attrition attacks in the north and east are now no longer possible, all assigned armoured units in these sectors either destroyed or reorganizing.

Centre
1) Near Chir Station 11th Panzer Division had trouble taking the station against ferocious resistance from 4th Mechanized Corps, but it was eventually taken and should seriously hinder Soviet crossing efforts.
2) The Rumanian 6th Corps succeeded in surrounding and destroying elements of 5th Shock Army north-northeast of Genarlov.
3) The diversionary effort using engineers to cross the Don at 67,31 just North of Nitzsky Chirskaya was terminated and these units have now taken up possession of Chir Station after clearing 68,29. No units cleared the river heading south last turn- in fact so confused does STAVKA appear to be that the Soviet 1184th Anti-Tank Regiment on the Chir Station bridge has actually gone and blown it in a complete panic! God help them when the NKVD catches up with them...
4) Hopefully I can keep Soviet reinforcements out from below the Don while I finish destroying Soviet units in the area over the next few turns.

North
1) I decided to keep Bolshin and the hex southeast again to hinder movement of 5th Shock Army and 1st Tank Corps. And again- hopefully between this, the recce unit covering the bridge south and the fact that Don Front units can’t move from the Stalingrad area should mean few reinforcements able to hinder my relief attempt.
2) Fretter-Pico units railed in last turn have taken up positions south of Sovetskaya, replacing poorer quality units in the line allowing for a general shift south to provide more protection (and in depth) for Millerovo.
3) Further west and north I hammered what I could- 5TA Rifle Corps units near Surovinko and south-southeast of Veshenskaya I continued attrition attacks against 2 Guards Army units as well as 3GA Rifle Corps units that had been brought up as reinforcements.
4) Armee Abteilung Hollidt units (distinct from AAH units) railed north last turn have been used to plug the gap at 28,4-28,5-27,6.
5) Reserves- I plan on pulling the following units out of the line as regular infantry moves to take their place: KG Stumpfeld to act as a reserve near Morozovsk; KG Spang of AAH is going to be railed north to join sister units (this may seem inefficient but I like keeping units of the same formation together); 22nd Panzer Division out of the line near Chern with destination TBD; Rumanian 2nd Corps of AAH also near Chern to act as a mobile reserve in the rear of the Italians- in fact all of AAH will be digging in or on reserve behind the Italian Northern Front, and those units with attached arty will be broken down and stacked with Italian units so that they can benefit from the (German) units' covering fire.

Air
1) 81 to 7 kill ratio. Most units now resting- I use 50% readiness as a cut off point. I still have AS. On Airfield Attacks, I’ve found that putting weather on and hitting only airfields with clear weather produces better results (?)- I’ve also noticed this when hitting bridges in other scenarios (GIO).

Notes
1) Next turn I’m ready to cross the ‘*’ line with relief units.
2) Construction teams should be in action repairing the rail line to Stalingrad next turn.
3) 385th Infantry Division was railed to Chertkovo, readying to bolster the Italian front. 306th Infantry Division is at Millerovo heading for 17th Corps’ Sector. In fact between these and other transfers I managed to use every single point of rail allowance this turn!
4) Losses 14-2 in my favour.
5) Traffic is a huge problem as MP costs climb in congested hexes. One of the keys to getting as far forward as possible has been taking careful note of which units have good (i.e. 99%) Traffic Control capabilities, particularly among units of the relief effort.

The plan looks to be still OK- stay south of the Don (the Chir Station side) and try to finish things while keeping Soviet help away. Enemy reaction is good in the sense that he’s reacting to my moves and hasn’t made any offensive moves of his own to speak off yet- in that sense I believe I still have the initiative.

I think as Soviets I’d have already started with Limited Attack-Minimize Loss attacks with heavy arty support in the central sector between Veshenskaya and Lissinki (the Italian II Corps looks a good bet- Soviets are adjacent in a bridgehead across the river already, have a huge amount of arty in the vicinity and can make a breakthrough to the rear (31,5-30,5) without activating adjacent formations). Why wait for them to dig in and reinforcements to arrive? On to Rostov!

SAL files available if any interest.

[General Staff]

We made it, but with not much joy given casualties and a somewhat chaotic tactical situation points north and near Stalingrad. Only 4 rounds as some combats took a lot longer than predicted (100-80-60-30), and the last round was an all-out effort to achieve sustainable link-up. SAL file attached.

South
1) 23rd Panzer Division and Rumanian 5th Cavalry eliminated 51A Rifle Corps bar a remnant in 79,47. 28th Army should feel in a precarious position and it will be interesting to see what it attempts next turn. I was not able to seize the 81,52 supply point this turn though I did attack units in 81,52/81,53 with direct arty support- however I do have units in position that hopefully in conjunction with Brandenberg air drops and the seizure of the 81,52 supply point next turn should cut off this army from any supply. The 15th Luftwaffe Division is now mingled with Rumanian units across from 28th Army units south to hopefully share arty support.
2) Main effort was again with 57th Panzer Corps that has broken through to 6th Army seriously crippling and isolating Soviet units in the way. 13th Mechanized Corps on the right flank put up an impressive defence- more generally these Soviet Mechanized (Panzer Grenadier equivalent) formations are most effective on defence.
3) We’ve linked up and are also beginning rail repairs. One trick I use is to break down a rail repair unit into 2 where the second part has enough MPs to ensure that on recombination the entire unit has at least 1 MP remaining- this way you can get 2 shots at rail repair and if the first shot works you’ve a second chance at another hex. I’m also repairing with 1 broken hex in between so that the automatic rail repair capacity is more likely to be used here than elsewhere.

Stalingrad
1) 6th Army's 3 missions are as usual having varying degrees of success. Trashing adjacent Don Front units is being wound down now in the north in favour of gaining ground south and arty is slowly being shifted in this direction. Pinching off the Soviet salient in the Kalach-Vertyachi bend of the Don is nearly complete though some hexes were cleared but not occupied this turn. Making headway south and southwest has again proved costly- the final link-ups were made with some armoured units whose only remaining working equipment were half-tracks. And astonishingly enough some of the most effective infantry units in the dash south have proved to be those of the 20th Rumanian Infantry Division, in some cases broken down and holding hexes by battalion.
2) 16th Panzer Division continues bolstering the infantry in the north east of the pocket (including Stalingrad). However armoured elements of the division have been moved into reserve positions to assist in counterattacks.
3) 24th Panzer has moved up in the south to hold ground gained this turn.
4) Some of his Don Front units clearly crossed the ‘*’ barrier this turn when they shouldn’t have done since I’d scrupulously avoided touching any of these hexes. However I won’t hold this against him.

All told we have a link-up of sorts that I believe can be consolidated into something viable next turn. Combats did not go our way in some respects in that the sequencing meant that some combats that should have resulted in surrounds that could have been wound up by subsequent attacks just didn’t occur. Also rounds took longer than predicted. The last 30% round involved a number of Ignore Loss attacks to ensure link-ups that proved costly.

Centre
1) Near Chir Station we had hoped to dislodge the engineer unit in 70,29 preventing any Soviet units south escaping across the river, but this proved impractical. Ferocious resistance from 4th Mechanized Corps again caused excessive casualties, including a detachment of 8 Tigers- one more turn should see it’s destruction but I’m not sure we’ll be allowed such a luxury.
2) Rumanian 6th Corps has been moved up to act as a reserve North of Nitzsky Chirskaya. I worry about this area.
3) Again hopefully I can keep Soviet reinforcements out from below the Don while I finish destroying Soviet units in the area over the next few turns. Reading others’ reports, it seems to be a race between which side can destroy the other’s left flank first and recover on the other flank!

North
1) I’ve freed up the Rumanian 2nd Corps to act as a reserve by substituting in units from Fretter-Pico and 17th Corps south and north respectively. I plan on also pulling 22nd Panzer Division out to act as a reserve also if possible as more 17th Corps units move up. And KG Spang of AAH is already en route to points north (Kantirmirovka). 27th Panzer Division has been railed in to Chertkovo.
2) Soviet assaults along a line 30,4-32,4 made some progress and counterattacks only succeeded in taking the ‘automatic breakthrough’ edge off some of these units. However German units were moved into the area to stiffen defences and we’ll just have to see how the line holds. Mixing units results in better arty coverage I believe and IMO better a (lower proficiency/broken down unit) defence in depth than everyone standing on tiptoes looking over the parapet as close to the enemy as possible.

Air
1) 88 to 11 kill ratio and 5-1 AS in my favour. Again 50% readiness as a cut off point for rest.

Notes
1) Next turn let’s widen the relief attempt breach and try to destroy enemy units in between and 28th Army to the south- essentially destroy his whole left flank.
2) Losses 16-2 in my favour.
3) Let’s get those HQs out of the pocket and that rail line consolidated/fixed.
4) West- move units up and dig in in depth with broken down units.
5) Let’s see what the Soviet offensive west will be made of! Can we hold?

Again the plan looks to be still OK- stay south of the Don (the Chir Station side) and try to finish things while keeping Soviet help away. Critical issue now is how successful will his points west offensive be? Will I have enough time to sort things out east and get enough units back to the west before it’s too late?

[General Staff]

Only 3 rounds this turn as assaulting surrounded stacks proved time (and round) consuming.

South
1) Again I was not able to seize the 81,52 supply point this turn though I did attack units in the hex with direct arty support- however I did seal the whole area off with lead elements of 23rd Panzer Division in conjunction with paradrops by 803 Brandenberg Regiment. In addition the supply depot on the road to Elista at 94,46 was seized.
2) The breach to 6th Army was seriously widened this turn- units of the Soviet 4th Mechanized Corps with their backs against the river northeast of Chir Station were annihilated by units of 48th Panzer Corps in conjunction with 6th Army to the north- this was after the crossing at 70,29 was cleared of ferry bridging teams and they were unable to retreat.
3) 57th Panzer Corps also widened its gap to the southeast and only one rail hex to Stalingrad at 79,34 remains in enemy hands. A 2-hex pocket remains here (down from a front from 76,33-83,33) containing elements of Don Front and remnants of 13th Mechanized Corps. I used Stukas to soften up those surround hexes containing armour in direct combat support and those east have been bouncing from hex to hex all turn- they should offer little resistance next turn.
4) Supply units have been moved up to aid convoys into 6th Army area (73,31/77,35) and elements of both Panzer Corps have been raced north into the pocket- they should be in a position to defend Stalingrad City and Kotlubak next turn.
5) Rail Repairs should be up to Abganerovo with the 1 hex auto-repair facility by next turn’s start. Actually I finessed the rail repair trick to where you can get more than 2 attempts. Assume the RR unit has 10 MPs and starts in a hex requiring repair. Break into 2 and attempt repair with 1 half of the unit. Assume it works- recombine and you have a unit with 5 MPs. Move to the next RR hex. Repeat procedure. If RR repair succeeds, on recombination you’ll have a unit with 2 MPs, sufficient to get to another RR hex with 2 more attempts (probably better to attempt repair with combined unit here as the second half can only move one hex but with 0 MPs left after a move it won’t be able to repair a hex). That’s a possibility of repairing 3 RR hexes with one unit (potential total 9) though with 3 units attempting repairs this turn I actually only managed to repair 4 hexes.

Stalingrad
1) 6th Army was largely quiescent north and east this turn, attempting only to clear a hex that could provide a flank attack on the Stalingrad City hex- the attack unfortunately was a miserable failure.
2) West we made further gains trying to eliminate the Soviet Kalach bridgehead and even managed to seize and destroy the bridge at Vertyachi. That leaves 3 hexes remaining to clear though 48th Panzer Corps can probably take over this mission next turn.
3) South we supported relief attempts where absolutely necessary but otherwise most units rested.

All told we now have a consolidated link-up with only one pocket of enemy resistance to clear in order to get rail traffic into the pocket. Next turn we should get rail traffic up to a point north of Tinguta and with well placed supply units food, ammo and petrol should start to flow into the former pocket in useful quantities.

Centre
1) Aside from the action near Chir Station mentioned previously, units just dug in and consolidated positions.
2) Rumanian 6th Corps is now in position digging in north of Nitzsky Chirskaya.
3) 22nd Panzer Division was pulled out of the line and is either at or en route to Morozovsk to act as a reserve for this sector.

North
1) The expected Soviet offensive annihilated a number of both German and Italian units and made some gains but no breakthroughs.
2) Rumanian 2nd Corps is headed north to Bokovskaya to act as a reserve for this sector.
3) KG Spang of AAH arrived and moved in to support the Italian Alpini Corps northeast of Kantirmirovka- late arriving units will detrain in the area next turn. 4) 27th Panzer Division is taking up positions behind the Italian II Corps.
5) Some counterattacks again this turn in this sector (actually 3) with direct arty support to again take the ‘automatic breakthrough’ edge off some leading Soviet infantry units.
6) In almost all instances I have German units stiffening Italian units and hopefully drawing in both sides’ arty support. Italian units’ proficiency is just pathetic at 20% and I even have some units out there broken down at 12%.

Air
1) 80 to 11 kill ratio and 3-1 AS in my favour. Again 50% readiness as a cut off point for rest. But it feels like it’s getting harder in the air.

Notes
1) Next turn let’s consolidate the Stalingrad sector and begin the destruction of 28th Army in the far southeast- we must take the 81,52 supply point at all costs.
2) Losses 19-3 in my favour.
3) Let’s get those HQs out of the pocket and that rail line consolidated/fixed.
4) West- hold the line if possible.

Looking further out, do I disband 6th Army? Is it realistic to clear the rail line through Chir Station to provide a (fast) link to points west?

[General Staff]

South
1) Yet again I was not able to seize the 81,52 supply point this turn though I did clear it of all but one unit. I seized the next northerly supply depot from Elista at 94,40 and am moving remaining units of 23rd Panzer Division down to help out in the destruction of 28th Army, begun in earnest this turn.

East
1) This is really now a new front as we seek to sweep behind units of the Soviet Don Front. We’ve seized the bridge at 92,32 and plan on moving north with arty to eliminate those air units that are in reorg and cannot relocate- we destroyed 15 PE2s this turn in this manner.
2) 17th Panzer Division is in charge of this operation and we plan sweeping north across the bridge at 92,32 as well as northeast along the Volga from within the pocket to seize the bridge at 88,20 if possible, trapping another significant portion of the Don Front which will then be unsupplied- we took the supply point at 83,32 this turn.

Stalingrad
1) Now almost stable, with fresh units moving up. The remaining pocket of Soviet units between 48th and 57th Panzer Corps was eliminated and things looking a lot better here (I think?).
2) 6th Army was largely quiescent this turn, failing north and east to recapture taken hexes, though we did clear out most of the remaining units in the Soviet Kalach bridgehead- only 1 hex remains to be cleared though unfortunately we couldn’t advance into the other 2 cleared hexes this turn.
3) Supply units are now in position within the pocket and the rail line has been repaired to just south of Beketovka- 6th Army looks healthier already.

Centre
1) 22nd Panzer Division is now at Morozovsk- either to act as a reserve for this sector or possibly to be railed northwest depending on events.

North
1) Soviets advanced in a line in the northwest and are contained but further east a breakthrough could not be pushed back and the Rumanian 2nd Corps was forced north to attempt to seal the gap. In fact despite numerous attacks I was only able to weaken Soviet units- none were pushed back and I fear the river line is untenable.
2) 27th Panzer Division is in reserve and should be able to repair any damage next turn, plus reinforcements are due in next turn also.

Air
1) 58 for 7 kill ratio but only 1-1 AS parity- I have had to put most planes on rest this turn as they’re below 50% readiness.
2) More difficult, but hopefully airfield attacks using arty east of the Volga might help.

Notes
1) Next turn I’m going to try and slice the Don Front up using the rivers as boundaries. Firstly units east of the Volga, then those between the Volga and the Don. South continue with the isolation and destruction of 28th Army.
2) Losses 22-3 in my favour.
3) West- hold the line if possible.

Looking further out, I've decided I’m not going to disband 6th Army. But I’m still considering trying to clear the rail line through Chir Station to provide a (fast) link to points west.