Finally some bombsgedroppen again! Thanks for all your patience.
Turn 58, July 23rd 1942In the Far North the Finnish troops rout 2 rifle divisions south of Lake Beloe and manage to cut off a rifle corps. A rapid flanking move by
XXXIX Panzerkorps, supported by
Totenkopf SS Division cuts through the weak Russian lines around
Danilov and trap 6 rifle divisions around
Vologda. The Panzerdivisions by now roam free, Red Army resistance crumbling every day.
In the
Yaroslavl area my troops start clearing out the giant
Kessel formed during
Operation Roland. 15 rifle brigades, 12 rifle divisions, 4 cavalry divisions, 2 cavalry corps and 4 infantry corps surrender, in addition to numerous support troops.
215.000 Soviet soldiers march into captivity!
In the
Gorky sector the Red Army desperately tries to form a new defensive line along the
Oka river. A Soviet attack with two tank corps west of Gorky is driven back with heavy losses and the bridgeheads subsequently liquidated. With the bulk of my Panzerdivisions still engaged to the West I'm a bit reluctant to mount another offensive move with my limited ressources in this sector, but OTOH I won't let the Red Army reinforce its frontline forces. XL Panzerkorps is unleashed across the
Oka with
7th Panzerdivision capturing
Arzamas, 60 miles behind the Russian
Oka line! To complement this operation
XII Korps attacks from the South. Unfortunately I don't have armoured formations there, but due to the lack of mobile Russian reserves even my slower-moving infantry divisions will be able to do the job.
In the
Tamboy area my infantry corps keep pushing East, bypassing isolated Russian divisions and cutting off 2 tank corps near
Ritchevo. 134th infantry division, supported by waves of FW-190s annihilate the 3rd tank corps near
Balashov, destroying 47 enemy tanks in battle. To the south-east I reinforce my positions in the corridor leading to
Saratov.
In
Stalingrad the cut-off Russian forces are finally destroyed, more than 100.000 men are captured, the remains of 2 rifle corps, 8 rifle divisions, and 2 cavalry corps. And even while my infantry division are still busy clearing out the least pockets of resistance
XXXXVIII and
XIV Panzerkorps once again break through yet another Russian defensive line. 4 Panzer and 2 MotInf divisions roll East, then turn North and South and create another pocket trapping basically ALL Soviet forces in the area. The Red Army has ceased to be a military threat.
In the South the advance towards Baku continues, the pace of the Panzerdivisions only limited by the lack of fuel. 70 miles to Baku!
Another disastrous week for the Red Army. The Russians have lost 436.000 troops this week.
The Red Army is incapable of mounting any kind of serious resistance anymore. The lack of troops and reserves and thereby the lack of any kind of defence in depth mean I can outmaneuver any new defensive line, cut off the defending forces and hack them to pieces.
This will soon be over.
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