I'm on it right now.




Turn 31, January 15th 1942


The Red Army mounted 28 major attacks this week, forcing my divisions to retreat in 19 battles. Only 9 attacks could be repulsed.

Losses this week are 83.000 men.


Army group North's sector remains calm as in the previous weeks.

The Finnish Divisions by now are mostly in lvl 3 or 4 fortifications, making this line very tough to attack.

I really don't want to know how I would've held the line without the Finnish reinforcements.






In the Vyzhnyvolochek-Kalinin sector 123rd Infantry division suffered heavy losses when attacked by 2 soviet rifle divisions and 2 tank brigades, but a counter-attack together with 58st and 251st infantry divisions retook their positions, inflicting heavy casualties on the Soviets.

Another concentrated attack by SS-Totenkopf, 6th Panzer and 1st Infantry division smashed a rifle division and 2 tank brigades, while 1st Panzerdivision pushed back 2 rifle divisions and a cavalry corps.

An example for the ferocious fighting in this area is the 121st infantry division. This formation has been in constant combat for the last 6 weeks, has been repeatedly attacked by superior forces and is now down to 3431 men...

In the Kalinin sector I conduct a series of sharp counter-attacks, routing 6 tank brigades, 2 cavalry corps and 5 rifle divisions. Still, whenever I smash a Soviet formation, another one seems to step up out of thin air.

Keep in mind that we're still right in a Blizzard, so the combat efficiency of my troops is still vastly reduced. Each attack has to be carefully planned with maximum force to have a chance of success.

For example: in order to smash a dangerous Red Army concentration consisting of a Guards cavalry corps, a rifle division and a tank brigade I had to concentrate no less than 2 Panzerdivisions and the remains of 2 infantry and a motorized division.

In general the Red Army divisions have their combat value doubled to tripled, while the German divisions' are reduced to 1/3 to 1/4.

Still, I have to attack and disrupt the Soviet attacks otherwise they are free to concentrate superior forces to smash my divisions one by one.




In the Moscow sector another reinforcements from Germany have finally arrived by rail, the 211th and 88th infantry divisions. The value of two full-strength divisions (each 16.000+ men) at such a time cannot be overstated.

The Red Army only mounts a small number of attacks in this area, but keeps on building up its forces. There are several strong troop concentrations which worry me quite a bit.
I again order a series of sharp counter-attacks with the goal of smashing the most dangerous Russian formations before they can strike. East of Moscow the 8th Panzerdivision, together with the 4 infantry divisions of LIII corps inflict a crushing defeat on 3 Soviet rifle divisions. 20 miles north 14th MotInf division leads 3 infantry divisions in a successful attack against 2 rifle divisions and an airborne brigade. North-East of Moscow 46th and 227th infantry divisions rout a cavalry corps, a rifle division and a tank brigade.

Altogether during these attacks I have routed 2 rifle brigades, 3 rifle divisions, 3 guards cavalry divisions, 1 guards cavalry corps and 2 tank brigades.

My main focus is to destroy the exposed, mobile Soviet formations to prevent penetrations of my lines to develop into operational exploitations.



In the Orel secor the situation is dominated by the Soviet penetration south of Tula.

After pushing back 62nd and 197th infantry divisions a 40-mile gap developed through which 8 tank brigades, a cavalry corps, 2 cavalry divisions and half a dozen infantry divisions threaten to advance on Orel.

Right on schedule the 20th Panzerdivision with 158 tanks thrusts south from the Kalinin area and cuts off the tip of the Soviet penetration, routing two tank brigades and a rifle division.

I was tempted to let the Soviets penetrate deeper and try to cut off more of the advancing troops but with my troops' limited mobility and combat value I went for the safer option. If I had another Panzerdivision on the souther flank of the penetration I might have tried it. But under the current circumstances I didn't want to see any of my divisions cut off and then maybe lacking the power to relieve them in time. With the help of 2nd SS Motorized Brigade arriving from the south I should be able to seal off the penetration next turn.




In the Voronezh sector attacks and counter-attacks take turns. Voronezh itself is still held by 3rd and 4th Panzerdivisions, I haven't managed to pull them out of the frontline yet. I hate using Panzerdivisions in static defences but with my lines still stretched to a breaking point I can't help it. I just hope I'll be able to rebuild them once the blizzards end.



The Red Army lacks the reserves to really conduct a serious offensive here.

Thankfully I also have three mountain divisions in this area and they are the backbones of my defence since they do not suffer from the dreadful blizzard penalties. The crack 4th mountain division for example, supported by Stuka squadrons, severely mauled a guards cavalry division, a rifle division and a tank brigade, causing more than 3.000 casualties while suffering minimal losses.


In the Rostov-Stalino sector the Red Army continues its offensive towards Stalino. The mix of Hungarian, Romanian and German troops in this area are hard-pressed repulsing the attacks. The combat value of the Romanians especially is almost nil under these conditions. The Soviets have concentrated about 40 divisions on a 120 mile front in this area, making it the strongest concentration next to the Moscow sector.

My armoured reserves continue to press savage counter-attacks against the strongest Russian formations. A battle group consisting of Leibstandarte and Wiking SS Motorized Infantry divisions and 1st Romanian Armoured Division stopped the most powerful Soviet formation in this sector in a head-on battle while III Panzercorps with 14th Panzer and 25th motorized infantry divisions tore into the northern flank of the Soviet attack.

I've reinforced the two infantry divisions holding Voroshilovgrad with 13th Panzerdivision. If I can hold it for another week or two this will give me the time I need to stop the Russian attacks east of Stalino.




On the Crimea it's business as usual. Dig in, and wait for the blizzards to end.



Sevastopol is stuffed with troops in lvl 4 and 5 fortifications. It will take a hell of firepower to take that city. 100.000 men holed up in a fortress.

This is gonna be fun.


Soooo...

Positive: I still hold a continuous frontline from Leningrad to the Crimea. I still hold Leningrad and Moscow and haven't lost a major formation yet. The Red Army has suffered heavy casualties and is only able to threaten my lines on a tactical level.

Negative: Despite reinforcements and convalescents arriving at the front many of my divisions are in terrible shape. Even divisions that haven't seen heavy action are down to ~2/3 strength. And those that have been fighting for several weeks without pause are down to 1/3 to 1/5 strength. I also couldn't pull back many of my Panzerdivisions from the front to rest and refit yet. And while average tank strength is still around 87 troop strength has dropped to ~ 60%.

I can't stress enough how BAD blizzards are.

My main intent for the next weeks besides holding the line is extract as many of the Panzerdivisions from the front as possible, especially ones like 6th Panzerdivision, whose epic defence of Vyzhyvolochek, cornerstone of the Kalinin sector, has left it with 36 tanks. Of which 6 are ready for action as I write this...


Oh, and Göring has proudly sent me the brand-new Luftwaffen Jäger Regiment "Moskau". Green troops led by inexperienced officers and NCOs. Brilliant idea. The Russians will eat them for breakfast.