Spring Awakening Axis AAR - historical campaign (settled for a Draw turn 93)

[ComradeP]

The initial Axis dispositions in more detail.

The majority of the German formations are (seriously) understrength.



The 6. (March 10th) and 23. (March 9th) Panzer Divisions arrive through a strategy choice around Székesfehérvár.

Going from Lake Velence to Lake Balaton.

AG Balck's III. Panzerkorps consists of the B quality 3. Panzer Division which starts Fixed, the B quality 1. Panzer Division and the C quality 356. Infanterie Division.

How these formations made any kind of progress is unclear to me. 356. ID consists of just 4 infantry battalions and most of 1. Pz's battalions are company-sized at 200 men or less.

Initial opposition consists of the C quality 1st Guards Fortified Region and the C quality 155th Rifle Division.

Next to III. Panzerkorps is the II. SS Panzerkorps consisting of the 2. "Das Reich" and 9. "Hohenstaufen" SS Panzer Divisions and the 44. "Hoch- und Deutschmeister" Reichsgrenadier Division. They're all B quality formations and start Fixed.

Initial opposition consists of part of the C quality 155th Rifle Division and the C quality 36th Guards Rifle Division.

Next to II. SS Panzerkorps is I. SS Panzerkorps consisting of the B quality 1. "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" and B quality 12. "Hitlerjugend" SS Panzer Divisions.

Initial opposition consists of the C quality 233rd Rifle Division and the C quality 68th Guards Rifle Division.

Next to I. SS Panzerkorps is the 1. Kavalleriekorps consisting of the B quality 3. and 4. Kavallerie Divisions and the C/D quality 25th Hadosztály (Hungarian Infantry Division).

Initial opposition consists of the D quality 74th and C quality 93rd Rifle Divisions.



South of Lake Balaton, the XXII Gebirgskorps consists of the B quality 1. Volks Gebirgs Division and the D quality 118. Jaeger Division.

Initial opposition consists of the C quality 61st and 73rd Guards Rifle Divisions.

The LXVIII Armeekorps consists of the C quality 16. SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reichsführer SS" and the C quality 71. Infantry Division.

Initial opposition consists of parts of the C quality 73rd Guards Rifle Division and the C quality 299th Rifle Division.




At the Drava crossings, the offensive is carried out by LXXXXI Korps z.b.V. consisting of the C quality 104. Jaeger Division, the C quality 297. Infanterie Division and the D quality 11. Luftwaffen Feld Division. Elements of the D quality 1. Kosaken Kavallerie Division arrive as reinforcements.

Initial opposition consists of the Bulgarian D quality 3rd and 11th Infantry Divisions and the Yugoslav D quality 16th Assault Division.




The initial Axis strength dialog.

As you can see, most divisions are seriously understrength, with the initial strength in men being roughly the size of an early war regiment.

Soviet Rifle battalions are mostly company-sized as well, with roughly 200 men each.

I'd argue that the main issue both sides face isn't the weather, but how to deal with attrition. Small units can't withstand a sustained beating.

As both the replacement and recovery mechanics depend on either a percentage of unit size or a percentage of total losses, loss recovery is slow. 1% of 200 or 1% of 600 is the same as a relative value, but very different as an absolute value.

Late war losses from artillery fire are also considerably higher than in early/mid war scenarios due to the sheer number of artillery units and the lethality of Katyusha and Nebelwerfer projectiles in particular.