Turn 4 - July 10, 1941

The first full week of July sees some good progress in the north and south, but disappointment in the center. Overall situation maps:

Operations - Army Group North

4th Panzer Group's Pskov operation gets off to a good start, with Manstein making his breakthrough on the Soviet right wing. The city itself is still in enemy hands, but we have outmaneuvered the defensive line anchored there and the Soviet position is no longer tenable. Reinhardt tries to push around the Soviet left and link up with Manstein in the enemy rear, but comes just short. We will seal the pocket in the coming week, but there is still a chance some enemy units will slip out.

Fuel continues to be a problem and the supply situation of 56th Panzer Corps in particular is cause for concern. We may not have much opportunity for forward movement of the mobile units next turn, but that will not be necessary as they're required to hold the eastern half of the ring around Pskov. Infantry from 18th and 16th Armies is moving into position at the front and will begin vigorous attacks eastward to destroy what's left of the enemy along the Velikaya.

Operations - Army Group Center

July 3-10 is a bitterly disappointing start to the army group's Smolensk operation. Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group is able to make some headway north of the Dvina to threaten Vitebsk however, and is sufficiently close to the advancing railhead at Daugavpils to expect to draw substantial amounts of fuel next turn.

As planned we have moved up heavy artillery to the front along 3rd Panzer Group's right wing. The 20th Corps of 9th Army will have four full-strength infantry divisions at its disposal to move northeast to clear the panzer group's right flank for the drive east. The enemy has fortified units here in good defensive terrain and we will need help from the heavy guns to dislodge them.

Support elements available to 20th Corps:

There is some serious firepower here, in particular the 624th Heavy Howitzer Battalion, with super-heavy siege guns that are the terror of the battlefield:

The 355mm (!) HM1 heavy siege howitzer is a real beast. To give you an idea of how much firepower this thing packs, the typical field gun even in the modern era ranges from 105-155mm. The battalion only has one of these, but the nine 305mm howitzers are not to be overlooked either. These are rare commodities for us and we will have to move them around to help soften up stout defensive positions (for example Leningrad and the Sevastopol fortress). We also have available the 635th Howitzer Battalion, with 12 x 210mm howitzers.

Here's a photo of the HM1:

Guderian's panzer group experiences unexpected problems. It is still too far from rail supply to draw enough fuel for the heave across the Dnepr, securing crossing points at Mogilev and Bykhov but unable to establish a bridgehead on the east bank. While I'm doubtful that the fuel situation will improve for Guderian next turn, we have sizeable infantry support on the west bank of the Dnepr that will assist in the creation of breakthrough points so the panzers can conserve fuel and movement points.

The good news, if any, on this front is that the enemy presence behind the Dnepr line appears very thin. If the Soviets do not reinforce here, we will enlist the help of 4th Army's infantry and heavy artillery to blow a 30-mile-wide gap in the defensive line east of Mogilev and funnel the panzers through. Once there, given sufficient fuel, Guderian will have total freedom of movement as he makes his way east toward the objective at Yelnya.

Operations - Army Group South

The enemy is paying a heavy price for his mostly static defense of Ukraine. While the bulk of the armor of Southwest Front languishes in the Lvov pocket, 1st Panzer Group strikes out east to encircle a poorly-positioned Soviet concentration anchored at Zhitomir. What begins as more of a tactical encirclement quickly turns into a headlong rush east to Kiev.

The SS motorized division _Leibstandarte _was the spearhead unit, heading around Zhitomir to the south -- but to my amazement the recon flights showed nothing to the east to defend Kiev. The _Leibstandarte _is sent on a dash to Kiev, using all its remaining fuel to take the city and secure a bridgehead over the Dnepr. We had to split the unit into regiments and fan out to hold the city on either side of the river, and had to do likewise with a few panzer divisions to bridge the gap and secure a supply line. We are overextended here and exposed to a determined enemy counterattack, but we are betting on him not having any reserves in the area to take advantage. The wings of the panzer group at the base of the encirclement are also a bit exposed, but we have pulled infantry from 6th Army off the line on the Lvov pocket to help out. It will be interesting to see how STAVKA responds here. If we can hold, the first strategic objective for Army Group South will have been achieved weeks ahead of schedule and we can begin wheeling south for a drive into the industrial heartland. The Soviet Southwest Front is in danger of total collapse here.

Casualty Report

The heavy losses for the Soviets continue, with nearly 637,000 men killed/wounded/captured:

Strategic Considerations

The unexpected success at Kiev raises the question of how Army Groups Center and South will deal with changing geography as we head east. Until now the Pripyat Marsh has been a the large geographical separator between the flanks of the two army groups. As we move past the eastern edge of this area, the width of the front will increase considerably. As 2nd Panzer Group moves north-northeast toward Smolensk, the right wing of Army Group Center will become very extended. If Army Group South is across the Dnepr, it will be able to shift infantry northward to link up with AGC's right wing and relieve the pressure in that area.

We have competing concerns here however, as the panzers of Army Group South will be heading southeast toward the lower Dnepr bend and will need the support of the infantry to consolidate their gains. We will have to decide how much we can send north to help out Army Group Center and still do this effectively. Historically until late August Army Group South's eastward progress lagged far behind that of Army Group Center, and it allowed the Soviets to build a large concentration around Gomel. This caused a lot of problems for the campaign to capture Smolensk, and the Germans ended up sending 2nd Panzer Group back down southward to make the link-up with Army Group South. That move gave the Wehrmacht its largest encirclement of the war and wiped out hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers, but it meant the end of any realistic shot at capturing Moscow before the blizzard set in.

Enemy Action

Soviet forces are starting to show in ever-larger numbers. The Leningrad defenses are starting to form as the Finns have begun attacking from the north:

As expected, STAVKA evacuates the Pskov pocket en masse and adjusts to oppose the pincers of Panzer Group 4:

The enemy buildup at Vitebsk is very alarming and 3rd Panzer Group will have its work cut out for it:

For whatever reason, defenses along the Dnepr opposite 2nd Panzer Group are still very thin:

Remnants of the Southwestern Front and fresh reserve armies begin to concentrate at Gomel to threaten the flanks of Army Groups Center and South:

In the south Panzer Group 1 is largely left alone but the enemy seems to be moving forces east to protect the lower Dnepr crossings: