AngrySwan
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After playing the AA campaign where Operation Barbarossa ends in 1942 I had an idea to recreate the historical course of the war using the existing scenarios. The result is the Eastern Front campaign with all battles of 1941 and a possibility to take Moscow and cut off Leningrad.
What you have in the game now is an ''alpha version''. There is a ''beta version'' under development that needs some minor fixes, like changes in mission debriefings.
The 1941 campaign - what is it?
The idea is to recreate the historical course of Operation Barbarossa giving the player a chance to link up with the Finns and cut off Leningrad completely, take Rostov and hold it and take Moscow. After that the Soviets have lost their best forces and are shocker by their defeats - and the German panzer divisions are short of fuel.
You will have a possibility to replay the historical battles in the sequence they took place. The strategic choices are made on the top level and you cannot change these like in the AA campaign but you can move panzer armies between army groups, keep up your army and buy reinforcements. You also have complete freedom in tactical decisions.
Course of the campaign (in the new beta version)
Operation Barbarossa starts as in the original AA campaign. Army Group South marches into the Lvov area. Army group Antonescu takes Moldova and then Army Group South encircles the Soviets near Uman. Army group North takes Riga and Tallinn region annexed by the USSR in 1940. Army Group Center takes Minsk and proceeds to Smolensk.
The rest of the campaign is different from the AA because the High Command decides to attack with all three army groups and take Rostov, Leningrad and Moscow by the end of 1941. The campaign continues like this:
I have left the Schwerpunkt choice after Smolensk but there is no real choice because all choices lead to Kiev. You will have a chance to send a panzer army from Center to South, to encircle the Soviets as it was done in history. Then Army Group South continues as in the AA campaign, Melitopol - Crimea - Rostov. The panzer army you took from Army Group Center goes to reserve before Melitopol and you will not see it again until the final battle.
After Rostov the campaign switches to Luga and then to Staraya Russa. Unlike the original campaign you may deploy forces from Army Group Center and get them back for attack on Vyazma.
The end of the campaign is different because the battles will follow in their historical sequence:
Vyazma - with a chance to take a tank army from Army Group North. In Riga scenario you have a non-core StuG unit that is not available in later scenarios. I buy a StuG brigade of my own and keep it in the core; it also goes to Vyazma. You have a chance to take Vyazma with two panzer armies. The third one that you took from Army Group Center is on its way to Orel.
You have 30 units for these scenarios.
Mozhaisk - still two panzer armies, the third one advancing to Tula.
Tikhvin - Army Group North leaves a part of its force to block Leningrad and the other part will take Volkhov and Tikhvin and link up with the Finns. In AA campaign you have a choice to attack Leningrad, here you do not.That was the historical decision, to take the city by siege.
And, finally, Moscow. The initial plan to take the city has obviously failed and the army desperately needs rest but so does the enemy. So we will not give them any rest; at least not in this world.
Winter almost stops the movement of mechanized units and running out of fuel can stop the advance altogether. But you have the third tank group back and can buy some other reinforcements.
The old plan I used for version 1.05 no longer works because tanks do not only consume all your fuel; they can hardly crawl. But the High Command wants Moscow before the end of November!
The High Command is very demanding in this campaign. They may accept some normal or tactical victories before Moscow but one defeat sends you to vacation in France; or to reserve with shame.
Red Blitzkrieg theory
There is a theory that Germany and the USSR planned attacks in 1941 and the Soviets had not deployed their forces yet, or their commanders were not up to modern warfare in 1941.
Why do I make references to this theory?
- It makes the player's mission more challenging because fighting a tough enemy instead of attacking someone unprepared.
- In some scenarios you will see AI behaviour that matches this theory. There was a Northern and Southern variant attacking Poland from Lvov area and Northern variant attacking East Prussia, so they say. It seems that the AI has chosen the Northern variant - when you advance in the Baltics do not forget to secure Eastern Prussia or you may lose it.
Names for the Baltic cities
From 13th to 16th centuries there were crusader states in what is now Estonia and Latvia: It means the cities had German names which Germans also used in World War II. Klaipeda was possessed by Germany from 1939 to 1945 and was named Memel.
These are names for German scenarios in 1941. The Soviets did not recognise or use these names so if we get a Soviet campaign later the cities will need the same names as in the AA scenarios.
One new event script for Riga scenario (not done yet)
The Soviets left Riga in 1941 but not without a fight. Artillery fire destroyed the historical city hall, an old merchants guild ''Blackheads House'' and the upper part of the tower of St Peter's church. The tower was rebuilt in early 1970s but the buildings were considered ''unworthy'' by the Soviets and were only rebuilt after the Soviet era, in late 1990s.
This fight is not in game but will be in a script.
House rules
FW190 is available on the purchase screen but they were not in the East before the fall of 1942 so Bf 109 is all you get.
The winter moves for trucks and APCs seem too long when everything else slows down. Move units with transports, like artillery, only to the blue hexes, not green.
You may buy reinforcements or rearrange your force as you see fit.
It will be my last battle,
Rain falling on the positions,
Then you will hear the bells of Kremlin towers
When they bury me in the Russian land.
But if I survive this fight
And come back to my homeland,
Then I will meet my best girl
And love her for the rest of my life.
The beta campaign is here
Unzip all in C:\Users\Your Name\Documents\Germany at War\Campaigns
You will find the campaign on the Campaigns list with the name The Eastern Front (Die Ostfront in the German version) 1941 107.
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< Message edited by Marechal -- 12/9/2016 3:36:19 PM >
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