Turn 28, December 25th 1941Frohe Weihnachten! indeed...
Another week of the most atrocious weather conditions and relentless Russian attacks.
Another
131.000 casualties... my average infantry division is down to less than 8.000 men, which is about 40% of its regular strength. The number of still operational tanks on the whole
Ostfront has dropped to less than 1.700.
In this week alone we have counted 40 major Soviet attacks. And god knows how, our brave troops have managed to throw back the attackers in 28 of those desperate battles.
East of
Novgorod the
58th Infantry Division, gallantly supported by more than 80 aircraft, repulsed attacks by 3 Soviet rifle divisions, 2 rifle brigades, 1 naval infantry brigade and several artillery regiments, inflicting over 5.000 casualties, while suffering only light losses (363 men). In the
Vyshnyvolochek sector the
251st Infantry Division helds its position against 3 rifle brigades, 2 tank brigades, a rifle division and a cavalry corps! South of
Voronezh the
71st Infantry Divisions fought back 3 rifle divisions, 2 tank brigades and 2 naval infantry brigades.
But where ever the Red Army breaks through our losses are dreadful.
206th Infantry lost 3.800 men and 50 guns north-east of Moscow when assaulted by 4 rifle divisions, 3 tank brigades and 3 rifle brigades... The elite
14th Motorized Division is down to 6.000 men after three weeks of a fighting withdrawal East of Moscow.
110th Infantry lost 2.000 men East of
Orel.
93rd and 98th Infantry Divisions fighting East of
Stalino lost close to 8.000 men and 90 guns....
Still, we're holding the line.
In the North the situation is good. The Finns are like a granite wall, there's a fortified fall-back position behind the
Volkhov river and I even have the luxury of reserve formations. The North and Leningrad will hold.
In the
Vyzhnyvolochek-Kalinin sector most of the Red Army attacks have been beaten back with heavy losses to the Soviets. Two small penetrations, one in the North near
Bologoe, the other in the South near
Kalinin, have been sealed up by counter-attacks.
The counter-attack near Kalinin involved no less than 2 Panzerdivisions, three infantry divisions and one motorized division, supported by corps artillery and 100 aircraft, and succeeded in routing two rifle divisions and a tank brigade! A rare victory in these dark days.
I was able to pull out three Panzerdivisions to rest and refit behind the frontline. I still have five Panzerdivisions fighting at the front in this sector, I'd really like to pull them back as soon as the situation allows it. Panzerdivisions are not meant for static, defensive fighting.
In the
Moscow sector the situation is serious.
Massive attacks from the North and East are slowly pushing back my divisions with heavy losses. Where ever possible I try to counter-attack exposed Soviet units, successfully routing several Russian formations to the North, East and South-East of Moscow. The biggest battle in this sector was fought near
Mikhnevo, where three infantry divisions, led by
Das Reich SS division rout three Soviet rifle divisions and a tank brigade off the battlefield.
Still, the Red Army keeps advancing on Moscow and my divisions have suffered serious losses. By now most of my troops are in heavily fortified positions, so I hope I can hold out. Reinforcements have also arrived and been put into the line. It's a brutal battle of attrition and I have no idea if I can hold Moscow if my troops continue to suffer these horrific casualty rates.
In the
Tula sector the biggest threat comes from attacks on both sides of Tula itself. The Red Army has concentrated several tank brigades in that area and I'm having a hard time preventing a breakthrough. So far
56th Infantry Division has done a terrific job defending the city and counter-attacking any penetrations, but the lack of reserves in the area is a problem.
20th Panzerdivision and
10th Motorized Division to the North are rather busy fighting off a dozen Red Army divisions supported by tank brigades and thus my only mobile reserve in this area currently is
Großdeutschland Motorized Infantry Regiment. I'm sending the
2nd SS Motorized Brigade from the South but it will take two weeks until they arrive near Tula.
In the
Voronezh sector the situation is stable.
3rd and
4th Panzerdivision are holding the city itself, backed by the divisions of 4th and 17th army on their flanks.
The
Voroshilovgrad-Rostov sector is my biggest problem next to Moscow. A series of attacks have pushed back four of my infantry divisions in the area with heavy casualties. Voroshilovgrad still holds, but with the current rate of casualties I don't know long my forces here will last. I've pulled back most of my mobile forces towards the
Stalino area, including
9th, 11th, 14th and
16th Panzerdivisions and
LSSAH and
25th Motorized Infantry divisions. There's no sense in grinding them down in the icy wastes to the East and I need to rest and refit them if I want to go on the offensive again some day.
11th Panzerdivision currently has
20 tanks still operational...
On the Crimea no fighting happened this week. My troops are still investing Sevastopol and digging in at the isthmus near
Feodosiya to the East. If the strong garrison of Sevastopol would break out I'd be in a world of hurt there. I need to get a handful divisions to reinforce my forces there, but from where?
