October - Soviets in Freefall

October proves to be a very fortunate month for the Wehrmacht. Weather clears in the central and southern sectors, allowing our panzers to get back to work for one last hurrah before the long, dark winter sets in. Leningrad is surrounded but continues to hold out; two giant encirclements have been sealed.

5th Panzer Group has succeeded in cutting off the Soviet defenders in Leningrad. Infantry from Army Group North continues to hammer away at the city. The Finns approach from the northwest, leaving only three Soviet divisions sandwiched between:

Army Group Center sends 1st Panzer Group on an end-run around the Vitebsk-Smolensk corridor. Although Smolensk still holds out, it is only occupied by a skeleton defensive force and will not last long. For the first time, we show an operational-level screenshot with Moscow actually in the picture:

1st Panzer Group is parked just east of Smolensk, about 230 miles west of Moscow. OKH expected the Soviets to field their strongest defensive effort yet in this area, but there are strong signs that the Red Army is simply beginning to disintegrate. There are no strong points to be found in their defensive line in this sector; the panzers may strike out in any direction, with fuel causing more problems than the enemy.

Army Group Center has graciously donated 2nd Panzer Group to eliminate the massive Pripyat Marsh salient on its right flank. Rommel's 3rd has succeeded in linking up with it from the south, after securing a crossing over the Dnepr east of Kiev. A few divisions have already been overrun, but about 20 Soviet units remain in the pocket:

Meanwhile Hausser's 4th Panzer Group is back in action on full supply, striking southeast. The panzers skirt along the river and reach the Black Sea east of Odessa, sealing a pocket of another 20 or so Soviet divisions. There is an amazing lack of resistance in this sector. Hausser wheels east to find Dnepropetrovsk and Krivoi Rog -- two major industrial centers -- virtually undefended. By October 26 we have settled on a line along the west bank of the Dnepr, but Zaporozhe lies just across and is also undefended. 4th Panzer may choose to cross at any time, unhindered by the opposition. STAVKA is in serious trouble here, as the Southwest Front appears to have almost completely evaporated. Even more so than in the central sector, the only limiting factors are time and supply. OKH believes we can anchor our winter line on Rostov, at the northeast edge of the Black Sea.