SS Totenkopf - "Fire Brigade" (M44 Campaign)

[von Nev]

Hey all,

I thought I would start an AAR of the epic Minsk 44 PBEM campaign I am playing with "LowLander". We are playing Sgt Fury's alternate M44 campaign. I am the Germans. LowLander is the Russians.

Because the campaign is so large I thought I would focus my AAR on the 3rd SS PzG Division Totenkopf. This division has been running around as a "fire brigade" on the eastern side of the Minsk salient trying to hold back the Russian horde to keep an intact defensive line. Honestly, without this "A morale" division the whole eastern defensive line would have collapsed.

Currently we are on turn 90 of this great campaign. This AAR although will start on turn 4 with the arrival of Totenkopf in the area of operations just west of Mogilev.

In Sgt Fury's campaign you can elect where Totenkopf comes on as reinforcements. I elected a place closest to the eastern salient as that area has minimal armor reserves and Totenkopf is an extremely powerful division as it has 50 Pz IV's, 30 Tigers, 80 Panthers and 12 Pz IV assault guns. These tanks will come in very handy to deflect the expected hordes of T-34's and Totenkopf's Panzer Grenadiers will be key to bolstering the defensive lines of the nearby infantry divisions.

This first screenshot is of Totenkopf and it gives you an idea of the strength of this division.



Totenkopf arrives on Turn 4 and is immediately put into travel mode to reinforce the already hard pressed infantry divisions that are trying to hold the Pronya river defensive line. You can see from this next screenshot that the 337th Infantry Division already has several broken units after only 4 turns. The Russians are already over the river in several spots. For reference, both FHH PzG and the 28th Jager Division are still fixed so they cannot help yet.



I hope you enjoy this AAR. Please comment and give your thoughts. From time to time I will post the overall Jump Map to see how things are going as well as post the Victory Conditions.

Marty

[von Nev]

Turn 5

Totenkopf continues to speed towards the front lines with an expectation that it will reinforce the 337th Infantry Division. I am hoping that the 337th is still in reasonable shape when they arrive, which is probably four turns away. I expect that Totenkopf will be immediately committed upon arrival.



As you can see from this screenshot units from both the 337th and the 12th Infantry Division already have broken units streaming to the rear. Since the Russians are still building bridges (indicated with red arrows) these units broke just from the massive Soviet artillery barrages. The infantry divisions are mostly still fixed so I can't retreat. I just have to take the punishment. I am hoping that units break before they are destroyed as throughout this campaign my priority will be to save units and hope they can rest in the rear areas to regain strength. This is a long campaign at 149 turns so I need units to survive to fight another day.

[von Nev]

Turn 6.

Totenkopf speeds to the front. The situation at the river is getting serious as even A morale infantry companies are breaking at an alarming rate just from the artillery barrages.

As you can see from the screenshot the infantry companies from the A morale 12th Infantry are reduced to single digit %'s of their former strength. I am trying to save them by putting them in travel mode and getting them to the rear as soon as possible. I will try to have them refit on the west side of the Dnepr.

Unfortunately the order of the day is to still hold the river as best I can from where units are dug-in to prevent units getting caught in the open once the Russians cross. Additionally, although German infantry at the river is now able to manuever, most of the German artillery is still fixed. German artillery needs to be saved almost at all cost because they can inflict damage from long range generally without return fire. The same cannot be said for German infantry that generally cannot initiate fire because of the massive response they receive from stacks of Russian tanks and infantry and from Russian artillery.



Luckily the Russians still have not been able to build a bridge. In part this is because all of the divisional and corps artillery within range is solely pounding the Russian bridging units hoping to keep them from building a bridge. To date they have been successful and for a while all Russian bridging units were disrupted. Additionally, the few Russian engineer units that cross on their own are counterattacked in places and yield prisoners.

[von Nev]

Fast forward to turn 8.

Although darkness is now on the battlefield Totenkopf is rapidly moving into the front line within the 337th Inf Div's area of operations. They are passing broken and smashed infantry companies from the 337th going the other way.

One of the first engagements for Totenkopf was the Panther battalion and the PzIV battalion (-) arrived in a key village and quickly destroyed with one shot (56 casualties) a Russian engineer unit that was acting as a spotter for the mass of Russian artillery on the eastern side of the Pronya river.

You can see that the Russian artillery is tremendously powerful. A recon company from Totenkopf is defending a village just to the northeast of the Panther battalion and in one turn it was reduced to 50% strength.

The green circles represent where I will be digging-in and defending with Totenkopf. These hexes give a continuous line of defense around the expected Russian bridgehead. Additionally, they are located in hexes with the maximum possible defense (i.e. +20% because it is either a village or forest and can be improved into a +40% trench). The theme for this campaign is dig-in, dig-in and dig-in. The Russian artillery and tanks are incredibly powerful.

I also dispatched Totenkopf's engineer battalion to assist the A morale 12th Infantry Division to dig-in. Many units of the 12th are still fixed and are not in the right locations to form a contiuous line of defense.

[von Nev]

Fast forward to turn 10.

The morning sun rises on the battlefield with Totenkopf largely in place ready to greet the Russian hordes. In places they are still digging in but the first line of defense is manned. I am building a second line of defense where the artillery digs in. The Tiger company and the Jagdpanzers are moving north to support the left flank of the 337th Division while the Panthers and Pz-IV battalions are overwatching the open steppes just west of the river in the center of the line. The Russians will have to come up this area to expand their bridgehead. The road directly behind the area of operations is critical as it provides the ability to quickly retreat or reinforce depending on circumstances.

The smashed infantry companies from the 337th Infantry Division are streaming back to the rear. There are 8 in this picture alone! They broke from just artillery fire! They won't get a rest until they are back behind the Dnepr some 30 km's further west.

[von Nev]

Fast forward to turn 12.

After getting into place during the evening hours, Totenkopf stands ready to bloody the Russian forces once the cross the river. However, in Totenkopf's AO the Russians are still waiting to build a bridge. Over the last few turns I exclusively pounded with artillery every Russian bridging unit I could see. For a couple of turns every Russian bridging unit was disrupted hence no bridge. But now it is just a matter of time before they cross. I could not keep units close to the river to spot for my artillery as I was generally on the short end of the massive artillery dual.

Further south however it is another story. The Russians in the 12th Infantry Division AO have crossed in great strength and they are battering the dug-in lansers. Even Totenkopf units are not immune to the massive pounding as an SS engineer company that was sent to help build defenses is quickly reduced to 35% after futily trying to dig-in. Luckily for the 12th Infantry is that the 60th PzG Division (FHH) was released a couple of turns ago and is rushing to reinforce them. This generally A morale and very powerful unit should be able to hold the line provided they get to the lines in time. They will guard the right flank of Totenkopf. Once FHH is in position there I will pull out the 12th Infantry and send to the rear for rest and recovery.

[von Nev]

Turn 13 - Massive Tank Battle Erupted

In a single turn the whole front erupted. Two very dangerous attacks are occuring on the flanks of Totenkopf.

To the north the 337th Infantry Division's right flanks is starting to dissolve under the massive pressure of the Russian horde. The head of the Russian attack includes tanks like the massive JSU-122 and the SU-85. These units proved more than a match for the Jagdpanzers of Totenkopf. They quickly lost 2/3rd's of their panzers in the shootout. Even though Totenkopf's Tigers are reinforcing I decided to rush north the SS Panther battalion. The reason is that just off the map to the north it is open tank country. If the Russians break through the lines of the 337th infantry it is clear shot to the Dnepr and I could lose several corps. I have to blunt the Russian tank attacks.

In the center Totenkopf's Pz-IV battalion also has its hands full as it had two massive Soviet tanks to deal with including a JSU-152 unit and a JSU-122 unit! In the ensuing fight I disrupted the JSU-122 unit but lost 10% of my panzers in the process. I rushed a company of FFH's Pz-IV's to reinforce Totenkopf's center with AT support.

Down south FHH's has arrived in force and just in the nick of time. The 12th Infantry was also starting to flounder.

Overall, this turn I finally start to realize what I am up against and I am concerned. The Russian forces are massive and the German infantry divisions are no match for a combined arms Russian assault. I am already starting to plan my retreat to the Dnepr. I have to save as many infantry units as possible in order to have a credible defense fixed on the Dnepr river.

[von Nev]

Turn 14 - It's Chaos . . .

This turn was another reality check for me the Germans. The Russian tank hordes are enormous. As you can see in the picture, up north, Russian tanks are pouring over the steppes. Within about a 5 hex radious there are over 250 tanks, probably nearer to 300!! To face such a mass of steel I have only the Tiger battalion from Totenkopf. In this picture (which is the start of the my turn) I made the decision to retreat into the woods and start a slow and torturous withdraw to the Dnepr. I returned Totenkopf's Panther battalion back to the main part of the lines as it cannot move quickly enough to get north of the woods to hold the Russian attack back altogether. Instead, they will blast the Russian troops in the center hoping to stall them long enough that they can be rushed north to hold Totenkopf's left flank should the Tiger battalion start to fail. This is rolling the dice, but I cannot leave the center without such strong AT support. Just the presence of this battalion has already stalled the Russian attack. My opponent's tanks quickly disappear when this unit is around. As you can see from the picture, Russian tanks, even the "heavies" have all but disappeared.

Infantry that is left in the open is smashed. A company of SS troops is quickly reduced to 17 men or 9%. They will quickly be pulled out. I cannot afford to lose those A morale troops.

Down south the bulk of Totenkopf blasts the Russians coming west across the river. Although it cannot be seen in the picture, nearly 250 Russians perish in the combined fire of the Panther brigade and several of the SS infantry battalions.

Behind the lines the 28th Jager continues to feverishly build another line of defense.



This second screenshot shows the extreme circumstances that the 110th Infantry finds itself under. With little AT assets they are going to be run over if my opponent strongly attacks northwest roughly along the line of the red arrow. There really is nothing that Totenkopf can do if this happens except to maybe string the whole division out trying to hold the line. If I do this Totenkopf will be smashed along with the infantry divisions. The best I can do is keep the division together as a unit and mangle what Russian forces with its massive firepower.

[von Nev]

Turn 15

Despite overwelming odds, up north the 110th Infantry was able to keep the Russians in front of them (for at least this turn). They have pulled back to several better defendable areas including a village with a bunker and several dug-in hexes with trenches. The Tiger battalion has spent the turn slinging 88mm rounds at the hundreds of Russian tanks roving about including over 100 Shermans!! I lost 2 Tiger tanks this turn but managed to destroy about 10 Russian tanks. As a result of the exchange, a bulk of the Russian armor has pulled back a bit and then moved north to engage the infantry of the 110th. The only Russian tank unit that is still within range of the Tiger battalion is a company of ISU-152 guns (they are in the engineer stack just northeast of the Tiger battalion).

I pulled out the SS company that was battered. It will be spending a lot of turns recovering once it is safely away from the front.

In the center the Panther battalion and battalions of dug-in SS infantry are inflicting a lot of casualties on the Russian infantry that is pressing forward. As you can see in the screenshot, in one firing by a SS infantry battalion 24 Russian infantry were eliminated.

Finally, in an interesting strategy my opponent, whenever he has the chance to get next to my lines, immediately digs in. As I think about it, this is a great strategy! By digging in he can create entrenchments that get nearly the same defensive benefit as my troops and then he can stack them with hordes of Russian infantry and start an exchange of attrition that I won't win.

[von Nev]

(Fast forward) Turn 18 - Full retreat for the 110th Infantry Division

The northern flank of Totenkopf that was being held by the 110th Infantry Division has been effectively breached and the division is in full retreat. Artillery is limbered up and beating a rapid escape westward to safety in Orsha across the Dnepr river. The problem is that the Dnepr is 35 km's away and the infantry division is foot mobile and being hounded by Russian tanks. I fear the worst for this division. The breach of the 110th's lines has caused a ripple effect on the whole northern flank as it unhinged the defense of the 260th Infantry Division and the 25th PzGrenadier Division (just off the page to the north). Both those divisions defenses, which represent most of the 27th Corps, are untenable with an exposed right flank so they too are in full retreat.



Just south of the 110th Inf Div, the firepower of Totenkopf and FHH has caused considerable damage and material losses on the Russian infantry and tanks that attempted to breach their lines. After a full afternoon of fighting, the Russian infantry retreated safely into the dark of night and the Russian armor (I believe) slipped north to beat up the retreating German infantry. However, because of the retreat of the 110th Inf Div, the left flank of Totenkopf is starting to be extended and it is just a matter of time before even Totenkopf will have to abandon its strong defenses as its flank will become more and more exposed. For now however, Totenkopf will stay in position and try to get some rest to recover losses and fatigue.