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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg

 
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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/23/2020 1:20:33 AM   
Staufenberg44

 

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AGM Nov 29-Dec 3
Following the reduction of the huge Vyazma pocket Hoepner's 4.PzGrp and Guderian's 2.PzGrp drove on Moscow with orders to ignore their flanks. Hoth's 3.PzGrp pressed up the middle while 9.A surrounded 6 Soviet divisions fortified in the city of Rzhev. behind these advances. 4.A captured Tula with help from SS Das Reich division.

The overall plan was to capture Moscow and surround yet another huge Soviet pocket west of Moscow (as shown on the map) but 5 Soviet armies fighting to the death in heavy snowfalls and poor visibility stopped us in our tracks. Generaloberst Hoepner ("the old cavalryman") and Obergruppenführer Eicke commanding 4.PzGrp's SS Totenkopf division have both complained to me about Hitler meddling with their dispositions and orders (in game terms this is manifest as -30 Action Points). The Totenkopf division is at 28% of it's original strength, advancing in blizzards with zero visibility and with a temperature of -11 and windchill -16. Das ist Wahnsinn ("madness").

But once again Guderian won the laurels as his 29.mot and 4.PzD charged into Moscow to capture the city in a coup de main--Moskau ist gefallen! If anyone could pull that off der Schnelle Heinz could, and I have had his full and passionate support for Moscow first since the beginning. It is rumoured that Stalin escaped the city using a secret underground rail line but we have yet to ascertain this. Huge plumes of smoke hang over the burning Kremlin as the Soviets had torched their government papers before they left, and they are popping the champagne again back in the Wolfsschanze but I'm not, not while I know how much our forces have been seriously degraded even before these increasingly desperate final battles, now being fought in heavy snow storms and arctic conditions. I have a very bad feeling about all of this.

The winter clothes and equipment are arriving in dribs and drabs back at Smolensk and Wagner is having trouble getting them forward on top of everything else. I am furious about this as I have been pushing for serious winter preparations to be undertaken since July. Numerous cases of severe frostbite are being reported. As well the Luftwaffe has hardly been active due to the weather and the fact they are shifting their main base forward to Orsha. Partisan attacks against trains and truck columns are increasing exponentially. Ammunition shortages are being reported from every Army in Heeresgruppe Mitte. In addition to his main task of moving regular army supplies forward, Gercke is reporting that his train capacity is struggling to move up the 320k replacements we so desperately need at the front right now--at the present rate it will take 3.5 months! No champagne in my HQ danke!



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/23/2020 4:21:26 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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AGS Dec 3
17.A is guarding what appears to be a huge void along the Upper Don and is engaged in much-needed rest & refit. Further south Reichenau's 6.Armee is slowly advancing into the Donbas aided by only a few mot. units including SS Wiking. They are preparing for an assault on Stalino. It is planned that Kleist's Pz.Grp return to this front to drive on Rostov, but not before he assists 11.A in breaking through into the Crimea.

North of the Crimea the entire Soviet front was collapsed from behind, most Red divisions prevented from retreating south through the Perekop peninsula. Kleist's group will assist 11.A in breaking through the formidable fortified lines on this peninsula, which is a good thing as this brings Luftwaffe support as well as AGS Focus (representing Army Group support elements like assault engineers, assault guns, nebelwerfers etc).



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/23/2020 7:59:12 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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AGN & AGM Dec 7
High -20 Low -28 windchill -40

I've caught up to where I am in the playtest, just before the impending drama of the Soviet winter counter-offensive in front of Moscow. At least I now have a slightly "positive" setting with Hitler and I took the opportunity to finally have PzGrp 4 operate in AGM without penalties. Two decisions made early in the campaign are paying dividends with increased oil supplies on hand: the Ploesti oilfields were expanded to increase production and more German locomotives were converted to coal-burning.

In the north Mannerheim has finally relented and allowed Finnish units to advance beyond their 1940 borders. The main benefit of this for us will be the ability to launch concentric attacks on Leningrad and possibly capture it at last. But below this area a major Soviet offensive has broken out south of Novgorod across Lake Peipus with over 200 tanks. With great effort this breach was sealed and other units are en route to deal with the surrounded tank and mech units, distinct echoes of General Vlasov's doomed offensive. The other Soviet offensive out of the Valdai Hills is also continuing.

They're no longer celebrating at the Wolfsschanze as a series of sledgehammer blows have come out of nowhere as dozens of fresh Siberian divisions, all in white camo smocks and effective winter clothing and many on skis, tore into our lines and drove us back. Moscow had to be abandoned. I've argued with von Brauchitsch, supported by von Bock, that we pull back to a more rational front and go on the defensive but the Führer will have none of it. We were barely able to talk Hitler out of sacking Guderian on the spot. And so, quietly, I have informed all Armee CO's to pull back in small increments and to assume a defensive posture as they see fit. Most divisions are being driven back by force in any case, with many positions completely overrun. The meteorological report for this area: light snow, poor visibility, temperature -20 C with windchill -40 C. In game terms many units were paralyzed and fixed in place, unable to move or attack and with degraded defense suffering -130 APs and -65 morale (!).

[From my own experiences, in general Canadians are more accustomed to super cold winters than most, along with Russians, Scandinavians and Alaskans. Even so, it was not until I worked north of the Arctic Circle in the Yukon one long winter in my younger years that I got a full taste of what the Germans went through near Moscow. When it is that cold (we are speaking about a windchill of -40C) it is all you think about if you're not in a heated room. It's a constant aggressive assault on body and mind, and if you are in fierce winds to boot things will quickly get desperate. Fall asleep, collapse from exhaustion, or get drunk and pass out in this, and you're a goner. If you have facial hair your face will become a frozen mask from breath condensation instantly freezing, and in any sort of wind your cheeks, nose and ears if exposed will get frostbite rapidly; however your extremities are the biggest vulnerability and no amount of insulation is ever really enough. Even the best state of the art insulating clothing will just delay the inevitable for only so long as high altitude climbers know and understand very well, especially those missing fingers and toes.]

A breakthrough at Bryansk has been sealed off. The Russians are adept at moving cross-country, even with snow storms raging. My forebodings have been borne out. Game-wise I will be setting all armies in AGM to a defensive posture asap. My goal has been "Moscow or bust!" Ja! und so we got Moscow and bust: last turn we had a taste of Moscow and this turn we're busted!

Note that many darkened German units are in fact immobile given the extreme winter weather.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/23/2020 9:50:18 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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AGN & AGM Dec 11
Things have gotten so dire on the Leningrad-Novgorod front that Hoepner's 4.PzGrp has been ordered to exit AGM's theater and return to AGN and this truly marks the end of Operation Taifun. The main FSB of AGN at Luga has had it's RR link cut by roving "pocketed" Russian divisions and so the PzGrp's return is now urgent. Even "der GRÖFAZ" understands this.

Our Armies in AGM are ordered to hold their positions but are being violently pushed back in blizzard conditions and taking more and more losses. Hitler orders German soldiers to fight bis zur letzten Patrone ("to the last bullet") but we are losing as many men to frostbite in this severe winter as enemy action. Man kann kein Gewehr schießen, wenn man keine Finger hat! ("You can't shoot a rifle if you have no fingers!") I wrote over his telegraph in large letters and my Chief of Staff wisely burned it shortly after. The Soviets are launching ferocious assaults on numerous fronts and they are certainly looking like they are geared up for a prolonged winter offensive. The ground is so hard engineers are using explosives to dig trenches. Tanks and trucks need a fire lit under their motors to start them as our lubricants are not graded for these low temperatures. Telescopic sights are rendered useless and metal parts like rifle bolts become brittle and break. Winter clothing is still in short supply and ammunition supplies are inadequate. "Es ist eine Katastrophe!" I exclaimed to my Chief of Staff (whose performance is much-improved since the shock treatments). The full scope of the Russian counter-attacks are indicated on the map. It is clear we have lost Moscow and won't be getting it back anytime soon.

Our armies, the best the world has ever seen, now look like a failed and marooned Antarctica expedition. Once again I can't resist quoting from the Introduction to my Drang nach Osten (DNO-TOAW) scenario here:

That first bright summer seemed to dangle palpable victory within reach, even after it had passed as they staggered forward through an abyss of mud in the autumn, only to finally see it recede into the swirling snows like a glimpse of Kremlin spires from Khimki. The long winter was an underworld passage for the Germans, the waves of Soviet attacks breaking against thin frozen lines of desperate infantrymen, and rumours of Dovator’s cavalry, and partisans, in the rear. They would reap the whirlwind attacking the bear in its winter cave.

Poetry aside, the tank engines couldn’t take it. Equipment losses to mechanical failure and combat casualties were to grind the Panzer divisions to mere remnants by the time this showdown at Moscow took place. 10.PzD indicated below is at 32% of it's original strength, along with it's attached Grossdeutschland Rgt.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/24/2020 1:31:37 AM   
Staufenberg44

 

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AGS Dec 7-11
Kleist and Manstein launched their assault on the heavily fortified Perekop peninsula against fierce Soviet resistance behind minefields and AT ditches that were part of three fortified lines. The Luftwaffe had a field day on such a narrow frontage and by day 7 the northern Crimean city of Dzankoi was captured after very hard fighting. At this point Kleist's panzers disengaged and his entire PzGrp started heading east to support 6.A which was stuck west of Rostov. Reichenau's major attack on Stalino in this period failed owing to fanatical resistance by the garrison and two rifle divisions heavily dug in inside the city.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/24/2020 3:09:20 AM   
Staufenberg44

 

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A Look Under the Hood Pt. 3:
Light Tanks



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 6:37:44 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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Dec 23
-16C windchill -25

I'll be depicting things in broad strokes and fast-forwarding the sprint towards the finish line as there were few dramatic turn by turn things to point out. The Red Army basically pummeled the Wehrmacht into a hex by hex retreat on the central front, as well as unexpectedly going all-out to crush the Finns in the north. It is to be noted that I was seriously setting up a final assault on Leningrad but the actions of the AI in the vicinity preempted me and I was never able to launch the assault.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 6:46:48 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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Jan 4
-19C windchill -28

The Finns in the north are retreating across Karelia in the face of powerful Russian attacks. In the center Red Army continuing assaults are causing various withdrawals by our units in order to maintain some kind of strong line. In the south Kleist's group takes Rostov at last. There is no organized Russian front here to speak of and we're content to establish a large perimeter around that city and order rest & refits for 1.PzGrp and 6.A.

Sevastopol and Odessa are both assaulted but hang on, inflicting large losses.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 6:54:11 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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Jan 16
-19C windchill -25

More of the same and the impression I have is that the Red Army simply took too many losses to put a coherent front together south of Voronezh, and are otherwise focusing on the Moscow and Leningrad axes, as well as pushing the Finns back out of Karelia.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 7:15:09 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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AGM Jan 28
High -20 Low -28 windchill -40 - END GAME

One last very impressive historical parallel as Zhukov attempts a grand encirclement of Heeresgruppe Mitte. As happened historically, I was able to fall back and hold off both Soviet pincers by playing out one additional turn beyond the actual game end just to see. The game could have profited by extending it through February a bit to let the Soviets get into full swing with their counter-offensive. If the Red Army had not been so decimated during this campaign they could have done much more. That said, they recovered Moscow, Tula, Kaluga and Kalinin, prevented the intended assault on Leningrad, recaptured Novgorod SE of Leningrad, threw the Finns back out of Karelia, and hung on to Sevastopol in the south. They're on the verge of taking back Vyazma as the game ends and threatening to pocket three German armies. The Wehrmacht is in deep trouble, on the ropes in fact in front of Moskau, and this is clearly a German loss, the question is--how badly?

[Note: In fact even with the arrival of the Siberian divisions (now that the STAVKA was convinced the Japanese were not going to attack in the east), the Germans were not outnumbered--both sides were on par on the Moscow front. But the Wehrmacht after a 6-month campaign of full-on blitzkrieg, and with tenuous supply lines and without proper winter clothing and equipment, were exhausted and suffered from the death of a thousand cuts, whereas the Siberians were full strength, completely fresh and quite habituated to winter warfare. They pushed hard (goaded on by Stalin and Zhukov) seeking to inflict a total defeat on Heeresgruppe Mitte but they failed, and the costs were high for their advances (Germany had suffered close to 775,000 casualties. More than 800,000 Soviets had been killed, and an additional 6 million Soviet soldiers had been wounded or captured). Hitler was credited with his stand and no retreat orders and there is truth to it. But in the larger scheme of things it's clear the Germans pretty much lost their Ostkrieg in front of Moscow in the winter of '41-42. Hitler's egregious mis-directions and meddling in their Fall Blau 1942 campaign merely underlined this fact.]



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 7:28:27 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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Moscow Weather Manipulation -- A Confession

As I approached Dec 5th I was awaiting the severe weather effects the Wehrmacht had historically endured just as the Russian counter-offensive was unleashed. It didn't happen. Playing ahead 5 turns to observe the weather it was clear the designer had put in variables for this happening--not surprising as I had noted variables in place for almost everything. I wanted historical weather for this play through so I got the data on Moscow weather (in the graph below--posted by a Moscovite on the Axis History Forum), and whenever severe temperatures appeared historically I played turns over and over until I got the needed weather and then carried on. In game terms the adverse effects are extraordinary, ranging from -20 AP and -10 morale, to -130 AP and morale -65. At it's extreme all of those units affected are frozen in place and unable to move or attack, and with greatly impaired defensive values.

Part of the reason for doing this, apart from being very much into historical realism in these projects, was to give the Soviet AI a needed boost for the offensive. If you look closely at the 83.ID insert you will see it is still on Blitzkrieg posture (-25% Def.)--call it the "Hitler Effect." I certainly can't be accused of pushing for a win at all costs.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 7:52:39 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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The Sting of Defeat

Not really. With German hubris and poor intelligence they got what was coming to them. The Germans under this Halder did better than the historical... but not by that much. Rating it a minor loss, nearly a draw, seems fair to me. I pocketed every Soviet formation I could and in the end the Russians could not even put together a front line south of Voronezh; mind you, if the AI had not gone after Finland so obsessively there could have been a viable front in the radically more important south (like I said it's a Programmed Opponent, not a true AI).

In any case, the next time I try Barbarossa I'll attempt to master the finer points of the game that I no doubt missed on this run through, armed with the exhaustively detailed manual Cameron Harris put together. If I am feeling recklessly stolz und mutig ("proud and brave") I'll notch up the AI difficulty levels.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 8:06:44 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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A Look Under the Hood Pt 4:
Final Analysis of Halder


The game generates a very interesting pdf analysis of Halder with all sorts of statistics (can't upload pdf files here). Here's part of the appraisal of this alternate Halder:




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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/26/2020 9:20:07 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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A Look Under the Hood Pt. 5:
Infantry Casualties Beginning to End



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/27/2020 8:59:13 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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Game Evaluation: My Verdict
All in all a first-rate Barbarossa game, very unique, cleverly done and a gas to play out. In no particular order:

--Supply system excellent

--Combat dynamics good, albeit arcane

--East Front weather modelling excellent, best I have seen

--Political dynamics great, a real challenge

--Map so-so

--Unit presentation average

--Unit game values very good

--AI excellent, one of the best I have seen

--Ability to model the actual history of Barbarossa excellent

--Game manual outstanding. Cameron Harris has put together a book on this (no exaggeration, it's 314 pages) and it's a fine accompaniment to the game.

I give it a solid A, and if the map and unit visuals could have been tweaked probably an A+. Thanks to the modders in the forum (like Davide) for continuing to improve the map and units. Here's my own maxim designing scenarios: "Never underestimate the 'catnip effect' of historical chrome in your work for gaming grognards!" I would redo the map and units, perhaps even using German and Soviet typology on the units as well along the lines of Streets of Stalingrad (SOS), a boardgame classic. I would turn the map into a detailed representation, beautiful and functional.

And if I can be honest, I am ever so slightly tempted to play this out at least once as though I am Reinhardt Heydrich, diehard Nazi, no Geneva convention, and playing it out as the classic bad guy to WIN. As der Führer himself said: “The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.”

But Heydrich was not alive at this point, and to paraphrase a quote attributed to Stalin: "No person = no problem."

And here's the proof that 29th Mtz Div, the Falke-Division, (Falcon Division) made it into Moscow. The following year it would be the first Mtz. division to charge into southern Stalingrad (try out SOS to experience this in detail):



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/27/2020 11:23:13 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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3.Pz Div 39 Pionier Btn - In Erinnerung (In Memory)

When I eventually post a Soviet AAR I will be sure to post something in memory of the young conscripts on the Soviet side of this god-awful struggle.

But for this AAR it seems fitting to note these 16 young Germans who died "for Greater Germany" fighting on November 28th near Tula (I tracked their division's operations on this day). Their 3rd panzer division was commanded by Model, part of Panzergruppe Guderian. They were all part of the Pioneer btn (combat engineers) in the division.

The two oldest were Feldwebels ("deputy platoon leader") age 27 and 25. All the rest were Gefreiters (private first class) and Pionier Truppen ages 20-22. All of the lower ranks were born after WW I which means their fathers survived that carnage or were too young to have been in it. In typical German fashion their graves were clearly marked (and filmed, this is a still), even in the midst of that winter maelstrom. It is a certainty the Red Army obliterated this grave site soon after and their remains--like so many others in so many wars--will be forever unmarked and unknown.



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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 6/27/2020 11:24:32 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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*********


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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/1/2020 9:47:18 AM   
meyer2_slith

 

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Status: offline 		Wow. Well that was one of the most enjoyable and immersive AAR that I've read in a long time. Thanks for taking the time and effort. As your new opponent in DC Case Blue, I was furiously taking notes(noting with interest the use of kesselschlacht techniques a disturbing number of times). Something about knowing one's enemy. Or words to that effect.

One of my top 5 EF games. For a reason you mentioned, but in my own words..it passes my "Barbarossa yardstick". Can 4.PzGrp reach the Dvina on Turn 1? Yes, it's possible. Can the AGC PzGrp's reach the Vitebsk/Orsha/Dnieper R line by early July? Again, yes. You'd be surprised how many Eastern Front games can't recreate, if so chosen, those basic mechanics. I also noted with interest your comments about the map and would agree with them.

I'm disappointed, though, that you didn't order shock therapy for your Chief of Staff.

I know what you're thinking. Why are you on this forum/FB page instead of doing your turn?

At once Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten !


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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/1/2020 3:02:46 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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quote:

I'm disappointed, though, that you didn't order shock therapy for your Chief of Staff.


Read again, he got the treatment alright. And you're welcome, it was a blast doing it.
See you back at the war. You might be in the next Case Blue AAR... ; )

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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/2/2020 1:10:09 AM   
ChuckBerger

 

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Status: offline 		Congrats on a great AAR! Very well presented indeed - and fascinating how closely your game hewed to history at many points.

And commiserations on your loss. No doubt with a better knowledge of the game mechanics, you can optimise a few things and secure a victory.

I keep coming back to this game, as you say it is a total blast to play!

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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/2/2020 1:36:31 AM   
Staufenberg44

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ChuckBerger

Congrats on a great AAR! Very well presented indeed - and fascinating how closely your game hewed to history at many points.

And commiserations on your loss. No doubt with a better knowledge of the game mechanics, you can optimise a few things and secure a victory.

I keep coming back to this game, as you say it is a total blast to play!


Well said Chuck and I agree. Thanks for that.
Cheers

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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/2/2020 6:08:25 PM   
GloriousRuse

 

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Status: offline 		That was a really great AAR. Here's to hoping you do a HtH one!

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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/2/2020 9:41:20 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GloriousRuse

That was a really great AAR. Here's to hoping you do a HtH one!

Thanks GR. Right after my first pbem++ with Case Blue I just might.

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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/8/2020 7:36:05 AM   
EvilSix

 

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Status: offline 		Excellent read Staufenberg! Since you seem to be an expert on the topic could you recommend additional games on the Ostfront? I thought about playing Grigsby's but it doesn't really seem to be immersive. Also, how about some good books? I've read a few from Beevor and the newer Ostkrieg book (which I thought was excellent) but would like to hear from someone who is in the know. Thanks!

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RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/8/2020 2:02:41 PM   
Staufenberg44

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: EvilSix

Excellent read Staufenberg! Since you seem to be an expert on the topic could you recommend additional games on the Ostfront? I thought about playing Grigsby's but it doesn't really seem to be immersive. Also, how about some good books? I've read a few from Beevor and the newer Ostkrieg book (which I thought was excellent) but would like to hear from someone who is in the know. Thanks!


Thanks for that. Re what books or games, that's like being asked to give a 10-min talk on "India." Re games I've been out of the loop for awhile and others could answer better I am sure. Re books, best to just dig around online or at the biggest nearby city or university library and see what books leap off the shelf at you. I will mention two though: Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East - Stephan G. Fritz, and Death of the Wehrmacht - Robert M. Citino. Cheers.

(in reply to EvilSix)
Post #: 55
RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/9/2020 12:14:48 PM   
EvilSix

 

Posts: 23
Joined: 5/7/2019
Status: offline 		Thanks! I've read Ostkrieg and it's one of the best I've read in a long time. I'll have to look at Citino.

(in reply to Staufenberg44)
Post #: 56
RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/9/2020 4:13:58 PM   
nikdav


Posts: 895
Joined: 3/9/2008
From: Italy
Status: offline 		If you like Ostfront details and statistics you must try some of David Glantz books:

- When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler
- Operation Barbarossa: Hitler's Invasion Of Russia 1941

Also David Stahel is very good:
- Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East




< Message edited by nikdav -- 7/9/2020 4:19:10 PM >

(in reply to EvilSix)
Post #: 57
RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/10/2020 9:49:46 AM   
EvilSix

 

Posts: 23
Joined: 5/7/2019
Status: offline 		Thanks nikdav! I think I will start a Stahel book next.

(in reply to nikdav)
Post #: 58
RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/11/2020 2:51:18 AM   
Staufenberg44

 

Posts: 100
Joined: 12/1/2016
Status: offline 		Oh David Glanz I have quite a bit from him... very dry but tons of content. Alot of his stuff is privately published and sent around for designers for exact OBs in various battles (him and the inimitable Nafziger, both of whom I have spent way too much money on). I have a stack of maps of his he sent me (want to see how the Germans advanced in Case Blue from their situation maps every 2-4 days on xeroxed German situation maps? Glantz does it all.), especially for the Stalingrad battles. His volumes are definitive in detail with three big volumes about Stalingrad alone. For a scenario designer he is a go-to historian. But you know, Antony Beevor, Berlin: The Downfall 1945 is one of the latest "definitive" recounts of that battle but I still think that Cornelius Ryans's The Last Battle remains a special case--keep in mind he was in there interviewing many of the generals, especially the Russians, close after the final battle to do his work. It's a classic I highly recommend.

< Message edited by Staufenberg44 -- 7/11/2020 10:48:28 PM >

(in reply to EvilSix)
Post #: 59
RE: BARBAROSSA CAMPAIGN AAR by Stauffenberg - 7/11/2020 6:44:24 AM   
nikdav


Posts: 895
Joined: 3/9/2008
From: Italy
Status: offline 		I agree, but i love the hundreds of notes (half book total page) of many Glantz books,
Kharkov,Kursk,Stalingrad, but also the last Operation Don, Belorussia, are a miracle for a wargamer or OstFront student !



< Message edited by nikdav -- 7/11/2020 7:02:32 AM >

(in reply to Staufenberg44)
Post #: 60
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