Up the Bloody Boot PLAYTEST Axis DAR

Polynike

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A mirror AAR to Veer's own one. Ill be giving the story from the Axis side and ill also post another thread for both of us to comment on scenario issues.

Landings reported in the South of the country and in Salerno. Para drops in Bari and in the mountains of Central Southern Italy. Traitorous Italian Army units occupy Rome and the port of Civativecchia.

Allied beachead at Salerno expanded slightly south and west. Elements of Hermann Goering Division and 16th Panzer Division slow Allied units down. Corridor open through mountiains between Auletta and Potriza through which the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division and elements of 26th Panzer Division are retreating to the Gustav Line.

Allied Units Identified in the Salerno Beachhead,

US 5th Army and its support units
36th US Infantry Division
45th US Infantry Division
46th British Infantry Division
167th London Brigade
201st British Guards Brigade
23rd British Armoured Brigade (7th Armoured Division)
Elements of British Eigth Army.

Auletta/Poterizza Corridor


1st Fallschirmjaeger Division left the Foggia region leaving a rearguard to stem and quick movements by Allied Commando and para units. An extensive bridge blowing campaign ahs also started as units move to the Gustav Line. Moves have also been made to isolate British commandoes in the mountains.

Gustav Line, apologies for typo in screenie.



By turn's end Rome and Civativecchia had been retaken.
 
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Polynike

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The main combat elements of the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division were able to head north via the gap the battered elements of 26th Panzer were keeping open. Their valiant struggle was buying time for the units that were arriving on the Gustav Line to dig in into their mountain fortresses.

At the moment the 15th Panzer Grenadiers made up the right flank of the Gustav Line, while the 1st Fallschirmjaeger Division occupied the centre and the Liri Valley. On the left, the 3rd Panzer Grenadier Division was beginning to dig in and form up after the disarming of Italian Divisions in the Rome area.



The Foggia area was now evacuated except for a thin line held by flak and panzerjaeger corps units that had been left behind as a rearguard. Allied heavy surface units in the Gulf of Manfredonia were supporting the 1st British Airborne in its push towards Foggia's extensive airfields and OB South had instructed the Luftwaffe to launch a strike against them. 48 Ju 88's, escorted by the bulk of the Me 109 strength in the area, attacked a number of battleships and escorts but lost 17 planes to the intense flak put up by the battlewagons for not visible hits on any ships. III/KG 54 and II/KG 30 bore the brunt of the attack.



To the south of the Salerno beach head, a Canadian armoured unit was close to linking up the forces from Regio di Calabria with the units that had landed at Salerno. Extensive recon of the area by the BF-109G6-R3 of NAGR. 11 revealed the presence of Allied aircraft carriers supporting the troops on the land at the absence of suitable airfields on the mainland.

 
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Polynike

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16th September 1943

OKW is relatively pleased with the withdrawal to the Gustav Line, though the loss of the bulk of the 26th Panzer Division is going to be a costly initial loss. That said one full strength Panzer Grenadier Regiment will serve as an excellent cadre to rebuild the division.

The last two battle worthy units south of the Gustav line are close to their new positions. The 67th Panzer Grenadier Regiment (26th Panzer Division) is hunkered down in Isernia, while the 29th Pioniere Abteilung (29th Panzer Grenadier Division) is to the north ready to complete its bridge blowing assignment once the 67th passes through its lines.

The Gustav Line 16-9-43


Once again recon planes of the NaGr. 11 serve their purpose by locating the allied naval units off Manfredonia and reporting back from across the front. British troops were observed traversing through Foggia and occupying the city and once again III/KG 54 tried to sink enemy ships but lost another 13 bombers and is down to 6 operational machines. Interestingly enough the escorting 109's were not engaged as there wasn't a single allied fighter to be seen!

To the north of Napoli remnants of the 26th Panzer Division and the Hermann Goering Divison were faced off in Caserta, on the banks of the River Volturno, by the US 753rd Tank Battalion and the 180th Infantry Regiment of the 45th US Division. They represent the last units capable of a fight south of the River Sangro.

The 76th Infantry Division is scheduled to arrive in theatre next turn from its rest area in Brittany.
 

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19th September 1943

British vanguard is Vasto on the Italian east coast. Allied navy is in close support. Luftwaffe once again attacked the allied ships losing a further 19 Ju 88's for no apparent damage to their targets.

On the left flank of the Allied advance, 192nd Stug Abteilung carried out a very limited counterattack on US 5th Army units fording the River Volturno. It destroyed several Sherman tanks and disrupted the allied units attempting to cross. It then sped north digging in in the hills to the south of Cassino town.
 

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The Allied wave washes up against the Gustav Line.

Probing attacks were made at two places in the line. The British tentatively attacked the lines of 2/4 FJ Rgt at Lanciano in a combined arms attacked supported by naval gunfire. 7th Armoured Division spearheaded the assault. Casualties were light on both sides an OB South feels this was a probe to test the strength of our line.

Further West, American units pushed hard against Monte Cassino in a further combined arms assault supported by a large amount of artillery. 2/115 PzGr Rgt took the brunt of the fighting but could not be lodged from the slopes below the abbey. Elements of the Hermann Goering Panzer Regiment were called in to assist in local counter attacks that over three days pushed back the Ami's, though OB South also suspects this was a probing attack. Our own artillery was also able to provide adequate fire support in defence.

The Luftwaffe has also claimed victory over the past few days with 55 aerial victories confirmed by JG's 77 and 53 for 4 of our own losses. Though the Jagdfleiger are in high spirits it is expected that once the Foggia fields are clear the Allies will work on gaining aerial supremacy over our lines if the campaign in North Africa is anything to go by!

Apologies for small thumbnail but Imageshack wasn't letting me upload!

Situation at Monte Cassino 26th Septmeber 1943
 
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Polynike

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Six days of intense assault have seen the Gustav Line breached but in no way broken. US units on the right of line have lost a large number of tanks while Commonwealth Forces have been stalled in the centre. On our Left the situation is more fluid with strong British units advancing on and through Lanciano and looking to advance on the coast raod to Pesacra, the panzerjaegers of 1./FjPzJg.Btn and 129th Panzer Pioniere Battalion had other ideas however and have bravely held against six days of determined assault supported by naval gunfire.

Counter-Attacks


1) Elements of HGPD(1st Hermann Goering Infantry Regiment), 26th Panzer Division(26th Panzer Regiment), 2nd Fallschirmjaeger Division(7th FJ Regiment) and Tiger Group Meyer supported by divisional and corps artillery attacked and ejected the 168th US Infantry Regiment(34th Division).

2) 3/192 Stug Abteilung spearheaded an attack to the northeast of Monte Cassino. US engineers (VI Corps Engineers) had managed to gain a hold on the neighbouring high ground to the Abbey. OB South immediately ordered an attack on this position that threatend a flank attack. Along with the Stug's, 2./1.Fj.Rgt(1st FJD), 71st PzGr Rgt(29th Panzer Grenadier Division) attacked on a two front axis supported by the 1st FJD Artillery. The hardy engineers held back one assault but were thrown off the high ground on the second day of battle (2nd October) and 2./1.Fj.Rgt dug in.

3) A combined arms assault against the 19th Indian Brigade (8th Indian Division) and the recon battalion of the 55th Brigade was repulsed despite three days of hard fighting. 2./67.PzGr.Rgt was pulled out of reserve and bolstered the attack on the third day but to no avail. The Tommies held on to thier hard worn blood soaked soil.

Strategically OKH released the 66th Infantry Division from its reserve status near Parma and was railed to Pesacra in order to relieve the units facing the Brits. The 2nd FJD was also released from its coastal security duties and elements had already supported the counter attacks near Gaeta. Further elements would move up to the line in the following days.
 
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Polynike

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Reports flew into OB South by the minute. The American advance on the left was worrying but contained. It was the British push on the right and centre that worried GFM Kesselring. Local counter attacks in the central Appenines isolated an British recon battalion while a determined counter-attack by the 66th Infanterie Division pushed back a British Brigade from the southern approaches to Pescara. The line has taken some massive blows but has not yet crumbled and a lot of units are in a weakend state.

The Pro's

The worsening weather that grounds the enemy's planes and slows down his tanks.
The terrain that allows our weakend units to defend with great tenacity.
No units have been broken and are conducting tactical withdrawals.
No major breakthroughs, yet.
The high losses incurred by the enemy.

The Con's
Enemy has a clear and obvious numerical superiority.
Unchallenged domination of sea and air allows for naval support actions, crucial to the failure near Gaeta.


Weather seems to be getting colder and wetter, OB South believes that if we can hold one more week the Allies will have to go into winter quarters to rebuild their shattered units. 90th Panzer Grenadier Division starting to deploy around Sulmona to shore up centre of line.
 
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