SS Totenkopf - "Fire Brigade" (M44 Campaign)

[von Nev]

Turn 28 - The Retreat to the Dnepr - Totenkopf Beats a Hasty Retreat

Down south Totenkopf has largely disengaged from the foot mobile Russian infantry. The next stop is to rush northwest to reinforce the 28th Jager's left flank. Their retreat path is indicated by the yellow arrow.

I pulled PzG Div FHH out of the lines too. They are also largely disengaged and being pulled back to Mogilev probably as the reserve for the river defenses.

Also, I gave a wider picture of the battle that shows the busy city of Mogilev. Numerous units are now digging in and recovering in the city. By my count there are the better parts of 5 divisions in the city not to mention numerous army and corps assets. With the game still in the early part the fact that a lot of infantry units as well as nearly all of their artillery were saved gives me some confidence that I will have a credible river defense.



Up north Totenkopf is quickly reinforcing the retreating infantry. I inserted elements of the A morale Totenkopf division into the lines just behind the front lines to provide backbone and prevent a breakthrough. These relatively low fatigue A morale units are very hard to distrupt in 1 or 2 turns so I am confident the lines can hold.

As I think about the next phase of the defense, I have to anticipate the most dangerous Russian move. In this case, I would be in deep trouble if the Russians would simply stack their armor and plow west. This is good tank country and dry weather so if they can smash the center line and get to the Dnepr before Totenkopf can build a defense on the other side then I would not have many good options.