AXIS TURN

AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 7,35
[...]]]> ***NEWS***

June 22nd, 1941

Axis surprise attack = Soviet 25% shock penalty
Axis surprise attack = Soviet 85% air shock penalty
SOVIETS successfully defend Murmansk.
Kaunas has been reduced to ruins.
SOVIETS successfully defend Kaunas.

 AXIS TURN

AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 7,35
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 7,35
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 7,36
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 7,36
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 5,36
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 5,36

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 17,17
AXIS FI Karelian Army, FI VII Corps attacks.
SOVIETS 7th Army, 168th RD defends.
AXIS FI Karelian Army, FI VII Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 17,17.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 11%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 21%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 4,37
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art b supports the attack.
AXIS 4th Army, XLIII Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 3rd/10th Army defends.
AXIS continue attack.
AXIS 4th Army, XLIII Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 3rd/10th Army evaporates.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 4,37.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 29%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 100%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 18,11
AXIS FI 14th ID, FI 14th ID attacks.
SOVIETS 27th RD, 27th RD defends.
AXIS FI III Corps, FI 3rd ID supports the attack.
SOVIETS 27th RD, 3rd/27th RD defends.
SOVIETS 27th RD, 3rd/27th RD evaporates.
SOVIETS 27th RD, 2nd/27th RD defends.
SOVIETS 27th RD, 2nd/27th RD evaporates.
SOVIETS 27th RD, 1st/27th RD defends.
SOVIETS 27th RD, 1st/27th RD evaporates.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 10%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 98%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 15,20
SOVIETS 23rd Army, (Pshennikov) supports the defense.
AXIS FI SE Army, (Mannerheim) supports the attack.
AXIS FI SE Army, FI IV Corps attacks.
SOVIETS 23rd Army, 50th RC defends.
AXIS FI SE Army, FI IV Corps Spt supports the attack.
AXIS FI Rail Repair, FI RR supports the attack.
SOVIETS 23rd Army, 50th RC retreats.
AXIS advance on location 15,20.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 15%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 73%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 5,38
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art b supports the attack.
AXIS 4th Army, IX Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 2nd/10th Army defends.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 2nd/10th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 5,38.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 24%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 96%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 22,2 (Murmansk)
AXIS Mtn Corps Norway, 2nd Mtn Div attacks.
SOVIETS 14th Army, (Frolov) defends.
SOVIETS 14th Army, 14th RD defends.
AXIS continue attack.
AXIS Mtn Corps Norway, 2nd Mtn Div breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 22,2 (Murmansk).
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 81%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 9%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 16,18
AXIS FI SE Army, FI II Corps attacks.
SOVIETS 23rd Army, 19th RC defends.
AXIS FI SE Army, FI II Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 16,18.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 19%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 17%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 6,41
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art c supports the attack.
AXIS 6th Army, XVII Corps attacks.
AXIS 6th Army, LV Corps attacks.
SOVIETS West Front, 1st/5th Army defends.
AXIS 6th Army, LV Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, 1st CD supports the attack.
SOVIETS West Front, 1st/5th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 6,41.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 6%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 93%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 7,34
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art a supports the attack.
AXIS 16th Army, X Corps attacks.
AXIS 16th Army, XXVIII Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Northwest Front, 2nd/11th Army defends.
AXIS 16th Army, XXVIII Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 16th Army, II Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, LVI Panzer Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army,

Totenkopf MD attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 290th ID attacks.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, XXXIX Pz Corps supports the attack.
SOVIETS Northwest Front, 2nd/11th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 7,34.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 13%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 98%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 5,39
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art b supports the attack.
AXIS 4th Army, XIII Corps attacks.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVII Pzr Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 1st/4th Army defends.
AXIS 4th Army, XIII Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVII Pzr Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 5,39.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 10%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 58%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 5,43
AXIS AGS, Luftflotte 4 Bmr supports the attack.
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Ftr supports the attack.
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art c supports the attack.
AXIS 6th Army, (Reichenau) supports the attack.
AXIS 6th Army, XLIV Corps attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, 1st Pz Army Res attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, III Panzer Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 2nd/6th Army defends.
AXIS 6th Army, XLIV Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS AGS Rail Repair, AGS RR supports the attack.
AXIS 6th Army, LV Corps supports the attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XIV Panzer Corps attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

Viking MD attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XLVIII Pzr Corps attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

LAH MD attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XXIX Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 2nd/6th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 5,43.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 9%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 96%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 4,44
AXIS 17th Army, IV Corps attacks.
AXIS 17th Army, XLIX Mtn Corps attacks.
AXIS 17th Army, LII Lt Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 2nd/26th Army defends.
AXIS 17th Army, LII Lt Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS AGS Rail Repair, AGS RR supports the attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XIV Panzer Corps attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

Viking MD attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XLVIII Pzr Corps attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

LAH MD attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XXIX Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 2nd/26th Army retreats.
AXIS advance on location 4,44.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 12%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 46%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 18,14
AXIS FI Karelian Army, Group Oinonen attacks.
AXIS FI Karelian Army, FI VI Corps attacks.
SOVIETS 7th Army, 71st RD defends.
AXIS FI Karelian Army, Group Oinonen breaks off attack.
AXIS continue attack.
AXIS FI Karelian Army, FI VI Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS 7th Army, 71st RD evaporates.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 18,14.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 21%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 97%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 18,5
AXIS XXXVI Corps, 169th ID attacks.
AXIS XXXVI Corps,

Nord Div attacks.
SOVIETS 122nd RD, 122nd RD defends.
AXIS XXXVI Corps, 169th ID breaks off attack.
SOVIETS 122nd RD, 122nd RD retreats.
AXIS advance on location 18,5.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 13%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 22%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 5,44
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XIV Panzer Corps attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

Viking MD attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XLVIII Pzr Corps attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

LAH MD attacks.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XXIX Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 1st/6th Army defends.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XLVIII Pzr Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XIV Panzer Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

Viking MD breaks off attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

LAH MD breaks off attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XXIX Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 5,44.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 9%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 56%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 4,36
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art a supports the attack.
AXIS 9th Army, (Strauss) supports the attack.
AXIS 9th Army, XX Corps attacks.
AXIS 9th Army, XLII Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Army, VII Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 1st/10th Army defends.
AXIS 9th Army, XLII Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 4th Army, VII Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 1st/10th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 4,36.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 7%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 100%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 6,32
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art a supports the attack.
AXIS 18th Army, XXVI Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, XLI Panzer Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 269th ID attacks.
SOVIETS Northern Front, 3rd/8th Army defends.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 269th ID breaks off attack.
AXIS AGN Rail Repair, AGN RR supports the attack.
AXIS 18th Army, I Corps supports the attack.
AXIS 16th Army, II Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, LVI Panzer Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army,

Totenkopf MD attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 290th ID attacks.
SOVIETS Northern Front, 3rd/8th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 6,32.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 12%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 97%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 6,39
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVI Pzr Corps attacks.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army,

Das Reich MD attacks.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XII Corps attacks.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XXIV Panzer Corp attacks.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 2nd/4th Army defends.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army,

Das Reich MD breaks off attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XII Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XXIV Panzer Corp breaks off attack.
AXIS AGC Rail Repair, AGC RR supports the attack.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 2nd/4th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 6,39.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 9%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 99%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 6,36
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art a supports the attack.
AXIS 9th Army, VIII Corps attacks.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 2nd/VI Corps attacks.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 1st/VI Corps attacks.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 2nd/V Corps attacks.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 1st/V Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 3rd/3rd Army defends.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 2nd/3rd Army defends.
AXIS 9th Army, VIII Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 1st/VI Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 2nd/V Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 3rd/3rd Army evaporates.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, LVII Pzr Corps supports the attack.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 2nd/3rd Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 6,36.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 8%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 97%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 7,33
AXIS OKH, OKH RR Art a supports the attack.
AXIS 16th Army, II Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, LVI Panzer Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army,

Totenkopf MD attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 290th ID attacks.
SOVIETS Northwest Front, 1st/11th Army defends.
AXIS 16th Army, II Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, LVI Panzer Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 290th ID breaks off attack.
AXIS 16th Army, X Corps supports the attack.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, XLI Panzer Corps supports the attack.
SOVIETS Northwest Front, 1st/11th Army retreats.
AXIS advance on location 7,33.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 12%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 44%

AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 8,35
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 8,35
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 8,36
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 8,36
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 5,39
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 5,39
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 6,37 (Bialystok)
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 6,37 (Bialystok)
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 5,44
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 5,44
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 6,44 (LVOV)
AXIS Turn 1 Overrun at 6,44 (LVOV)

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 6,43
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, III Panzer Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 6th Army Spt defends.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, 1st Pz Army Res supports the attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XIV Panzer Corps supports the attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

Viking MD supports the attack.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 6th Army Spt retreats.
AXIS advance on location 6,43.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 9%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 57%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 7,32
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, XLI Panzer Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Northern Front, 8th Army Spt defends.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, XLI Panzer Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 7,32.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 1%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 52%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 7,39
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Bmr supports the attack.
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Ftr supports the attack.
AXIS AGS, Luftflotte 4 Ftr supports the attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVI Pzr Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 4th Army Spt defends.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVI Pzr Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 7,39.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 5%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 45%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 5,45
AXIS 17th Army, IV Corps attacks.
AXIS 17th Army, XLIX Mtn Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 2nd/26th Army defends.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 26th Army Spt defends.
AXIS 17th Army, XLIX Mtn Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 2nd/26th Army retreats.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army, XIV Panzer Corps supports the attack.
AXIS 1st Panzer Army,

Viking MD supports the attack.
SOVIETS Southwest Front, 26th Army Spt retreats.
AXIS advance on location 5,45.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 13%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 42%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 5,31
AXIS 18th Army, XXVI Corps attacks.
AXIS 18th Army, I Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 269th ID attacks.
SOVIETS Northern Front, 1st/8th Army defends.
AXIS 18th Army, XXVI Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army, 269th ID breaks off attack.
AXIS AGS, Luftflotte 4 Bmr supports the attack.
AXIS AGN, Luftflotte 1 Ftr supports the attack.
SOVIETS Northern Front, 1st/8th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 5,31.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 11%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 95%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 7,37
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, LVII Pzr Corps attacks.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 1st/V Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 3rd Army Spt defends.
AXIS 9th Army, VIII Corps supports the attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVII Pzr Corps supports the attack.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, 2nd/VI Corps supports the attack.
AXIS AGS, Luftflotte 4 Bmr supports the attack.
AXIS AGN, Luftflotte 1 Ftr supports the attack.
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Ftr supports the attack.
SOVIETS Bryansk Front, 3rd Army Spt evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 7,37.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 6%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 97%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 6,40
AXIS AGS, Luftflotte 4 Bmr supports the attack.
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Ftr supports the attack.
AXIS AGS, Luftflotte 4 Ftr supports the attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army,

Das Reich MD attacks.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XII Corps attacks.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XXIV Panzer Corp attacks.
AXIS 6th Army, XVII Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 3rd/4th Army defends.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army,

Das Reich MD breaks off attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XII Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XXIV Panzer Corp breaks off attack.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 3rd/4th Army evaporates.
AXIS advance on location 6,40.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 7%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 100%

AXIS Turn 1 Battle at 8,33 (Kaunas)
AXIS 16th Army, X Corps attacks.
AXIS 16th Army, XXVIII Corps attacks.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army,

Totenkopf MD attacks.
AXIS 3rd Panzer Army, XXXIX Pz Corps attacks.
SOVIETS Northwest Front, 1st/11th Army defends.
SOVIETS Northwest Front, 11th Army Spt defends.
AXIS 16th Army, X Corps breaks off attack.
AXIS 16th Army, XXVIII Corps breaks off attack.
SOVIETS Northwest Front, 1st/11th Army evaporates.
Kaunas has been reduced to ruins.
AXIS continue attack.
AXIS 4th Panzer Army,

Totenkopf MD breaks off attack.
SOVIETS successfully defend location 8,33 (Kaunas).
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 14%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 82%

SOVIETS TURN

SOVIETS Turn 1 Battle at 6,39
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Bmr supports the defense.
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Ftr supports the defense.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 4th Army Spt supports the attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVI Pzr Corps defends.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 4th Army Spt breaks off attack.
AXIS successfully defend location 6,39.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 0%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 15%

SOVIETS Turn 1 Battle at 6,39
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Bmr supports the defense.
AXIS AGC, Luftflotte 2 Ftr supports the defense.
AXIS AGS, Luftflotte 4 Bmr supports the defense.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 4th Army Spt supports the attack.
AXIS 2nd Panzer Army, XLVI Pzr Corps defends.
SOVIETS Volkov Front, 4th Army Spt breaks off attack.
AXIS successfully defend location 6,39.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 0%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 32%

SOVIETS Turn 1 Battle at 8,49
AXIS RO 3rd Army, (Dumitrescu) supports the defense.
SOVIETS South Front, 18th Army supports the attack.
AXIS RO 3rd Army, RO Cav Corps defends.
SOVIETS South Front, 18th Army breaks off attack.
AXIS successfully defend location 8,49.
AXIS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 0%
SOVIETS approximate equipment and personnel losses – 11%

I had a good home but I left
I had a good home but I left, right, left
That big fucking bomb made me deaf, deaf
A Humvee mechanic put his Kevlar on wrong
I guarantee you’ll meet up with a suicide bomb
Hell broke luce

I had a good home but I left
I had a good home but I left, right, left
That big fucking bomb made me deaf, deaf
A Humvee mechanic put his Kevlar on wrong
I guarantee you’ll meet up with a suicide bomb
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce

Big fucking ditches in the middle of the road
You pay a hundred dollars just for fillin’ in the hole
Listen to the general every goddamn word
How many ways can you polish up a turd
Left, right, left, left, right
Left, right
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce

How is it that the only ones responsible for making this mess
Got their sorry asses stapled to a goddamn desk
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Left, right, left

What did you do before the war?
I was a chef, I was a chef
What was your name?
It was Geoff, Geoff
I lost my buddy and I wept, wept
I come down from the meth
So I slept, slept
I had a good home but I left, left
Pantsed at the wind for a joke
I pranced right in with the dope
Glanced at her shin she said nope
Left, right, left

Nimrod Bodfish have you any wool
Get me another body bag the body bag’s full
My face was scorched, scorched
I miss my home I miss my porch, porch
Left, right, left

Can I go home in March? March
My stanch was a chin full of soap
That rancid dinner with the pope
Left, right, left

Kelly Presutto got his thumbs blown off
Sergio’s developing a real bad cough
Sergio’s developing a real bad cough
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce
Hell broke luce

Boom went his head away
And boom went Valerie
What the hell was it that the president said?
Give him a beautiful parade instead
Left, right, left

When I was over here I never got to vote
I left my arm in my coat
My mom she died and never wrote
We sat by the fire and ate a goat
Just before he died he had a toke
Now I’m home and I’m blind
And I’m broke
What is next

The War in Russia in 1941

Version 2

Designer: Bob Cross

crossrl@qzip.net

TOAW-3 ver.3.3.0.0

:: Both sides PO programmed ::

INTRODUCTION

When Hitler launched the invasion of the Soviet Union, Sunday 22 June 1941, the Second World War changed. This was a turning point [...]]]> DIRECTIVE 21

(From the original FIRE IN THE EAST background document by
Stefan Kristensen, edited with his kind permission)

INTRODUCTION

1. A prelude to War

When Hitler launched the invasion of the Soviet Union, Sunday 22 June 1941, the Second World War changed. This was a turning point indeed in all aspects of warfare, although it did not show it all at once. History did repeat itself. As Napoleon, who invaded Russia the 23 June 1812, this step proved as fatal for Hitler’s empire as it did Napoleons’. Although it took the Russians only until April 1814 to get to Paris, it took them 4 long years to reach Berlin, April 1945. Although Hitler did never capture Moscow as Napoleon did, his armies penetrated twice as far, but he did not succeed in the conquest of this vast empire. The problems were many, as were the errors on both sides. But in the end, the thing that brought Napoleon down was the same thing that ended Hitler’s dreams for the third Reich: Space and harsh environment. Why did Hitler turn to Russia? Well this is not easyily explained, as it was a combination of things.
Napoleon had to abandon the invasion of England primarily because of Villeneuve`s failure to follow his orders, causing the destruction of the French fleet. Unlike Napoleon, Hitler did not have to abandon the invasion because of Gorings failure to gain air supremacy over southern England. The German air losses over England in the battle of Britain were high, but this had really no strategic value. It was more a tactical defeat as the losses here could be replaced. Hitler was still hoping to bring the British to accept their hopeless situation and make them accept a rather, under the circumstances, light peace. As Hitler shows in Mein Kampf, he knew that British resistance would only increase and the willingness to surrender disappear if he did go to the extreme of invading the British Isles. In fact, Hitler’s intelligence service got hold of a memo from the Royal navy to Churchill that suggested that if the Germans should try to invade England, the Home fleet, based in Scapa Flow, would charge through the English channel to disrupt the landing forces, with an estimated loss of 85% of the fleet. This shocked him, as he knew that the British would never forgive such a loss. Instead he tried to bend their will by bombing the industrial areas and disrupting their vital convoy service. In the end, the bombing of Britain did infact only boost the morale of the Brits, and did little damage, compared to the bombing of Germany later in the war. (Strategic warfare was indeed a failure compared to the goals stated by this relative new service.) Hitler did, though, almost bring the British Empire to its knees. As a fully industrialized nation with few raw materials, it was completely dependant on imports. In 1942 the losses where so high to the merchant fleet that a peace was discussed in several corners of England. The initial success of the German submarine force was not followed up as the resources (and Hitler’s attention) drawn by the Russian front limited the development of new and the production of more submarines. But that’s a whole different story.
Hitler was a man driven by economics, fear and prejudice, as was Stalin. The mutual distrust and fear drove each superpower to gradually provoke each other until war was the only option. Although Hitler had a pact with Stalin, he had always seen the vast resources of Russia as a solution to the German oil/resource problem. Besides that, he had a passionate anti-Bolshevistic view. The main thing, however, was the aggressiveness of Stalin. Stalin betrayed the pact as early as June 1940 when he invaded the Baltic states. Hitler had agreed that the Baltic States were a Soviet sphere of influence, but not to their occupation. On the 26th of June the Soviet 9th army, in conjunction with several paradrops, invaded and took Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina from Rumania. Although there was no actual fighting, this move brought Soviet forces unpleasantly close to the Rumanian oil fields of Ploesti, a vital supply source for the German war machine. During the French campaign Hitler was nervous that Russia would intervene. Germany had only 10 Infantry divisions in the East. After the invasion of Bessarabia, and the unwillingness to surrender by Great Britain, Hitler was sure that Great Britain and Russia had an agreement. He then transferred 10 Infantry divisions and 2 Panzer divisions to the eastern front. Not to give an impression of a threat, but as a point, showing that Germany was willing to protect the Balkans and their part of Poland. Stalin however saw this as a sign that he could not trust Hitler. As both Dictators had a deep mistrust for each other, and both where deeply paranoid, war seemed a certainty.
Hitler ordered Paulus (later to become the famous Stalingrad Commander) to look at plans to invade the Soviet Union. Hitler defined the objectives as first to destroy the Russian Armies in the west. Second to advance deep in to Russia to secure Germany from air attacks, this meant a line from Arkangelsk to Stalingrad. The plan was tested in November 1940. On the 10th of November, Molotov (the Soviet foreign minister) landed in Berlin to discuss a range of topics, including the possibly of joining the Axis, but by that time Hitler’s mind was already made up. On the 18th of December, after receiving Halders report on the invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler issued directive 21, Case Barbarossa, along with a separate economic plan (Oldenburg) for the exploitation of the conquered areas. A new treaty with the Soviet Union was made on the 10th of January, but this was merely a smoke screen, and had the sole purpose of deceiving Stalin – and it worked. It was assumed that Stalin would defend the Baltic States and Ukraine for supply purposes, thereby making it possible to destroy all Soviet armies in the west. However, as the war in Greece, which Italy invaded October 1940, was going badly, and the British were moving to deploy troops there, Hitler needed his shoulder free before launching Barbarossa. In a meeting with Antonescu, Hitler asked him to permit moving German troops through Rumania to support the Italians in Greece. Antonescu hesitated, afraid of what Stalin would think. Hitler then promised him the restoration of Bessarabia, Bukovina and the part of Ukraine up to the Dnieper in exchange for Rumanian help in the attack. He then agreed. On March 1 Bulgaria agreed to let German troops into their country. On March 23 Yugoslavia agreed to join the Axis on a non military basis and to let German forces pass through their country. Two days later general Simovich carried out a military coup backed by the British. As Winston Churchill put it: “ This morning Yugoslavia found it soul”. This set back enraged Hitler who hastily made plans for invasion. In only 10 days the plan was formed and on the 6th of April it was launched. The results where devastating: Yugoslavia held out a week, the Greeks 3 weeks – and that was with British help. But as with so many battles to come, it had an impact on Hitler as well, he now fully believed that there was no stopping his army. This, in the end, was the ruin of the German war machine. Another huge effect of this was the delay of Barbarossa. On the 1st of April it was postponed from mid May to mid June.
On May 25th negotiations had begun with the Finnish Staff. The Rumanians where told to make the last preparations at June 25th. The Hungarians where told to guard their borders more strongly on June 16th. On June 17th all schools in Eastern Germany closed and all merchant ships were told to leave Soviet ports. On the 18th it was believed that the intention to attack could no longer be camouflaged, but by then it would be too late for the Soviets to react. Although the Germans took serious steps to avoid detection, the British found out and actually predicted the exact date (the 22nd of June) a week before it was actually set by the Germans!!!. However, Hitler’s bluff had worked. Stalin didn’t believe his partner would betray him this soon. He thought that the british warnings were only a British trick to lure Russia into conflict with Germany. On the 22nd of June, at 03:30, the words Dortmund, Dortmund, Dortmund shattered the radio silence, soon to be followed by thousands of guns. The war in the East had begun.

2. Invasion of Russia

As often put in military terms, only a fool thinks of Strategy and Tactics, a real professional thinks of logistics and mechanics. Never in the history of warfare has this been more true than in Russia during WWII. Russia was a vast nation with only a small number of paved roads, and an environment that has proved the doom of every invading army. This time was no exception. To move around in Russia and to perform complex encirclements, the Germans needed tracked vehicles. Although the German armored forces consisted of 21 Panzer Divisions, they only fielded a bit over 300 tracked vehicles each. Of the 17,000 men in a Panzer Division only 2,600 where tank men. Most of their Infantry Divisions were still on foot and most of their artillery was horse drawn. By stripping the Panzer divisions of their third regiment, they neglected the very thing that had proved so important in the other campaigns: Cross country mobility. This didn’t mean much in the other campaigns, like the French, where good paved roads were in abundance, but in Russia, it had major importance. Most of the successes in the early stages of the war – by encircling vast numbers of Russian forces – were actually only half successes, as the Germans, due to lack of mobility, were slow to close the gaps. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops managed to slip out, and lived to fight another day. As Russians have always been masters of improvisation, these troops where hastily gathered in reforming armies that, again, had to be encircled. This meant the loss of valuable summer time for the invaders and in the end proved fatal to the Germans, as they paid the price of being twenty years behind the theory they themselves had adopted as the key to their success.

The Russians too paid a heavy price for lack of mobility. As the real inventors of blitzkrieg, they neglected the very thing the founder (Thucachevsky, purged by Stalin) of this concept had stated: Mobility. The Soviet forces where in an acute lack of motorized vehicles, meaning that their losses became enormous. The Mechanised Corps proved to be too cumbersome, and lacked in trucks, trained men, and radios. They where virtually all destroyed, mainly because they couldn’t move together, tanks without infantry, infantry without artillery and so forth.

3. German strategy

Two versions were discussed. The first, the orthodox version, was that the Russian armies should be encircled and then destroyed; this was in fact the old Clausewitz/Moltke idea, which was later developed by Schlieffen. The other version was bolder: Guderians idea was to drive as fast and as deep with the Panzer Divisions as they could, leaving the Infantry to mop up. With total air superiority the Panzers could be resupplied from the air. Hitler decided on the first. Would the other strategy have succeeded where the first one failed?? We will never know.

4. The Air War in the East.

The air war and ground war in the east had several similarities. When the air war began on the 22nd of June 1941, it started with a surprise attack by the Germans on all known Soviet airbases. The Soviet Union’s air force was at the time the largest in the world, with about 8,000 planes. However, most where obsolete. Only 400 of the new Yak-1 fighters were produced at the time of the attack. Virtually the whole air force in the west was destroyed in the first week of the war. This left the Luftwaffe in total control of the skies over western Russia. Command installations and troop concentrations were hit at will. This had a devastating effect on the Red Army. Without at least air parity, it was impossible to coordinate movement and attacks. Using the roads became very dangerous. As several unit histories show, some were virtually destroyed on the roads by the Luftwaffe. The Cavalry Divisions were especially heavily decimated. It is not easy to dig in your horses. It did not help that the standing order was for the Red Army to immediately begin with a counterattack.

As 1941 progressed, the German army got further into the vastness of Russia. As with the Army this had an effect on the Luftwaffe as it became more dispersed. This opened up the oppurtunity for sporadic hit and run attacks by the Red Air force. However, the Red air force was so heavily decimated by the initial surprise attack that the Luftwaffe never lost total control over the airspace. To cope with the heavy losses, the Soviet Air force cut down on training time for pilots and started reproducing old fighter types (I-16). This only added to the very unfavorable odds. Experienced and veteran pilots in modern aircraft, against untrained pilots in obsolete aircraft.
The Soviet winter offensive in 1941/42 was a partial success. In the winter of 1941 it was the right thing to follow Hitler’s orders to hold onto every inch of ground. This proved deadly to the Soviet flanks, and provided an excellent spring board for Case Blau. As with the land war, the Russians were more accustomed to the winter conditions. As most Luftwaffe planes where grounded because of the weather at the primitive frontline bases, their Soviet counterparts where not, often having heated hangars to operate from. Of course, the weather was a problem for the Soviets as well, like it was on the ground. But still, nowhere near the problems the Germans had. Another factor in the success was the new arrival of 1,000 planes from the Central Asia and Far East Military districts. In the mean time Lend lease aircraft were beginning to arrive in numbers. The Soviets did Paradrop several units during this offensive. They used the old but reliable TB-3. But quite a few of these big, slow airplanes were caught by the Luftwaffe and shot down. It was not until 1943 that the Soviets got the capability to drop large units again.
When the weather cleared, the Luftwaffe again took full control over the skies. In the new version of the Bf-109, the Gustav, and the new Fw-190 fighters they blew the still quite inexperienced Russians out of the skies. However, as Case Blau was unfolding, it did draw the Germans deep into the Caucasus. The immense distances were simply too much for the Luftwaffe to cover. Especially Kleists ArmyGgroup A, which was successfully attacked by large numbers of Soviet Fighter-Bombers, who unopposed bombed the forward German troops in the Caucasus. At the battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet air force proved an important factor. However, this was not as decisive for the air war as the ground battle was.
The decision not to break out of Stalingrad can be explained in several ways, and it did make some sense. Of course, seen in retrospective, it was a foolish decision, but another crucial factor was the Luftwaffe success in keeping the Demyansk pocket in supply. Goring promised he could do the same at Stalingrad. As Hitler at the same time refused to believe his intelligence services reports about the ever increasing Soviet forces, the decision makes sense. It would have been the perfect trap for the Russians. As history proved, it was the other way around. Much of this success was due to the promises of Goring. As the Germans where pushed further away from Stalingrad it became nearly impossible to supply it from the air. It was at the maximum limits of the fighters and the transports suffered heavily.
By the time of the Kursk battle, the Luftwaffe was beginning to get pressed. The ever increasing pressure of the Allies was now showing. A lot of the fighter formations where kept in defense of the Reich. The Soviet aircraft production was now at a good pace, and the lend lease equipment were flowing at an ever increasing speed. New models of bombers and fighters proved excellent, for instance the Tu-2 attack plane and the La-5FN fighter. However for the battle of Kursk, the Luftwaffe managed to prove superior again, but not decisive as before. The losses were heavy on both sides, but it was the Soviets that could afford it.
With the loss of clear air superiority the slow and cumbersome Ju-87 Stuka now suffered heavily trying to support the Wehrmacht. As a solution the Fw-190 was modified into versions that were able to carry a variety of different ordinance, and for the rest of the war, these models became the main attack plane, while the Stuka was phased out.
In 1944 the Allied air strength was overwhelming. The air war over Germany was now taking its toll. The Luftwaffe was outnumbered in Italy. To make things worse, the invasion of France drew lots of its strength, which was much needed on the eastern front. More importantly, the Soviets reorganized its air force. There was now an abundance of good modern aircraft like the La-7 and the Yak-3 that even led the Luftwaffe to issue a directive for its pilots to avoid fights with these at lower altitudes. And more importantly, there were now well trained pilots. The winter offensive of 1944 saw the help of the Americans who bombed German rail lines all over Germany and Rumania. This helped the Red Army to its incredibly fast advance.
1945 saw a total depletion of the Luftwaffe. Even the newly arrived Me-262 couldn’t change their fortunes. The Allies, from their forward bases, flew cap over most German airfields. Although they couldn’t catch the Me-262 when it was in the sky, they could when it was talking off or landing. An even more pressing problem for the Lufwaffe was fuel. With the loss of Ploesti, and the artificial fuel plants in ruin from Allied bombing, there was no fuel to train new pilots. Remarkably, the production of fighters was still sufficient as all production of bombers had been changed to fighter production in 1944. The Soviet air force was now at its height. Each Red Army Front had several air divisions attached, as well as a potent reserve, to use where ever necessary. The new version of the Il-2 Sturmovik proved an excellent close support aircraft. With thousands of these aircraft, Zhukov launched the final attack over the Oder river and into Berlin.

5. Production – The Replacement Pool

How on earth did the Soviet Union manage to produce more than the Germans? The Germans, by the end of 1941, with all their captured resources and industry, were vastly superior than the Soviet Union in all areas except oil and manpower. But it was uncoordinated and ineffective. Corruption and bureaucracy took a heavy bite of the cake. What mattered perhaps even more were Nazi ideals. Women shouldn’t work, they should stay home and be the core of the family. It was not until 1944, when Albert Speer changed the production of the Reich, that things were simplified. German production saw new heights under his clever guidance, even though at this point the Reich had fewer resources then ever before.
In Directive 21 most equipment is pooled. This is, of course, to make the game more playable. As the war unfolded the units often had new equipment every six months. This would mean that the twenty-four slot limit for equipment simply wouldn’t be enough, and some units would have too much, as old, already assigned equipment can’t be erased.

6. Germany

During the course of the war, much captured equipment went into service with the Axis. This must have been a logistic nightmare. In Directive 21, they are converted into standard German equipment. Overall, the German production numbers in Directive 21 are 2/3 of what they historically produced. The other 1/3 is assumed for the West Front. A few exceptions are: most 1941 raised units, including the OKH pool of artillery, are assigned to the East Front. Slightly more German armor goes to the east. Only 1/2 of the twin engine fighters are in the east. The rest are held back to defend the Reich. As mentioned before, the German production increased in 1944, but at this time the Western allies took a much bigger portion of the equipment, so there will be no increase in Directive 21 (although there is a slight increase in 1943). If you think the numbers for some equipment are low, i.e., the Panther tank, keep in mind that some units enter later in the scenario and will already have their assigned eqiupment, and there are options that affect these numbers (German panzer brigades option). The Infantry types of equipment are based on the total men lost. All affected nationalities are included, e.g., Finnish, Slovak, Danes, Dutch and many more. Rumania, Hungary, Finland and Italy have their own rifle squads in the replacement pool. There are also separate replacements for the Spanish Blue Division.

7. Soviet Union

Much of the Soviet equipment is pooled. Its important to know that if the Soviet player holds his ground at the historic lines, he will have historic production. Our formula takes into account dates of every city that is marked on the map by *asterisks*. This includes cities that did not fall until 1942, i.e., Sevastopol. In TOAW there are some limits explained under aircraft. The Soviet tank units will be able to receive many different types of equipment throughout the war. If all these were present at the same time, the units would obviously be much more powerful than historical, but production of the early models will eventually stop as stock runs out, so their equipment will somewhat reflect history. Lend Lease numbers are from the Soviet database. This means it reflects the equipment that actually arrived, and not what was lost underway. In TOAW the Sherman is a really cool tank, too cool actually. It wasn’t called the Tommy cooker for nothing. So the Soviet player will only receive the early version.
Soviet Structure

8. Rifle divisions and brigades

The Russians actually mobilized too many men in 1941. It sounds sick but is a fact. The Russians mobilized 1.1 million men a month in 1941. That does not include the 5 million that entered the militia and other “volunteer” units. The Russians were hard pressed in ’41, they needed men at the front and the rifle divisions took too long to train. Besides, there wasn’t really any good leadership at that time that could handle a rifle division, so brigades were the answer. They made 159 Rifle Brigades. The rifle brigades will not reconstruct in this scenario. They were no match compared to the rifle divisions. Actually the brigades are viewed as one of the worst mistakes in the Red Army in the WWII. They were indeed slaughtered. They didn’t have the staying power of a rifle division, and the men were hastily trained. Most where disbanded or enlarged to rifle divisions later on, but in ‘41 there was really no choice. It was to use what you had, and the Russians did. There is mention of student brigades, these were merely brigades made from training schools, not different brigades or structures. The brigades enter when they were formed.

In Game Notes:
The Soviet Guards Rifle Divisions are in the scenario as extra units, except the 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 114th, 118th and 122nd. The reason for this is the number of units in the game already and the fact that these Divisions where formed in December 1944-June 1945.
The Brigades of the Shock Armies have been made Ski Brigades. This is not all historical as ski battalions were attached to the Rifle Divisions. The Rifle Divisions were to use ski battalions for individual use, and only a few true ski brigades of 4-5 battalions were made.

9. Militia Divisions

Well, this is a sore point in the game, there were an immense amount of militia units that where mobilized when the war came to Russia. Most of the men in these units were sent into regular army units within weeks of forming. That’s why I have only the ones that actually saw some combat listed. All militia divisions were at some point renamed or disbanded into the Red Army. They will not reconstruct in the scenario. They may seem like powerful units at first glance, but their low proficiency makes them vulnerable and easy to route. Some of the units have gone into the garrison units.

10. Airborne troops

The Red Army was the first to try airborne operations, and the first to design entire combat units to be delivered by air. The idea was created by Mikhail Frunze in the late 1920′s. In 1929 his work was formalized by Regulation 29 (Polevoi Ustavlenie 29 or just PU-29). The idea was to hit and destroy enemy targets deep behind the lines. One of the reasons for this was that the bomber force didn’t have the capacity (enough bomb load) to do enough damage. By dropping in paratroopers, they could take control of or blow up what the bomber couldn’t. The first drop was made in 1929 at Gram, Central Asia. Fifteen men where dropped by three aircraft to help against anti communist rebels. In the meantime, the commander in the Leningrad sector perfected the method. This was no other than M.N Tukhachevsky, the father of modern warfare, and one of the first to get purged by Stalin in 1937. As trials progressed, parachute training became a popular civilian activity. The Communist government emphasized teaching skills that where useful to the Red Army. This promoted even further training, and in 1935 there were over 2,000 schools training with gliders and parachutes. In 1935 the Kiev maneuvers dropped 500 men in just three minutes. In 1936, in the Moscow maneuvers, the Russians managed to drop 5,700 men in just ten minutes. During these maneuvers the organization of the Airborne Brigades changed to include tanks, artillery and light motor vehicles. In June 1940 the 201st, 204th, and 214th Airborne Brigades took part in 12th Army occupation of Bessarabia. They dropped in front of 12th Army to seize objectives. Although the Rumanians didn’t resist, they dropped under combat conditions. By the end of 1940 the Soviet Union had over 18,000 trained paratroopers, most with combat experience. Germany had less than 10,000 in Student’s 7th FJD. The rest of the world had nothing larger than a regiment. When the war came to Russia the airborne troops where wasted on defense, and were smashed by German armor and infantry. Although the Russian airborne troops were certainly some of the best troops in the world, their light armament was no match for the regular German units. But as Russia was now full of experienced parachutists (around 100,000), there was no shortage of men. The Airborne forces doubled in size in 1941. But the men weren’t the real problem, the planes were. The Russian airforce had been nearly wiped out in 1941, so many of these men had to fight in regular Rifle divisions on the ground. Some action was made though. In the winter of 41-42, elements of three corps were dropped in the Moscow-Kalinin area. During the whole war, the Russians rarely dropped more that brigade sized units. Most remembered is the Kanev operation in September 1943. The objective was to drop a division across the Dnepr river. The drop was uncoordinated, and a complete disaster, with 60% killed or missing. The Russians did, however, have some success in dropping small, company sized units to help train partisans and cause havoc among the German rear lines of communication.

In game notes:
- The Soviet side starts with airborne units that reconstruct. Note that reconstructed units lose the ability to perform paradrops. The new Corps that were founded in 1941-42 where all converted to Guards before being used as Airborne troops and will not appear in this scenario. This is the 6th-10th Airborne Corps.
- The Soviets get eight (not the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, as they where disbanded while forming) Airborne Guards Divisions, but will never get the air transport capacity to use them as such, they are essentially the same as a Guards Rifle Division.
- As most of the Airborne Brigades and Guards Airborne Brigades where used to form either Guards Rifle Divisions or Guards Airborne Divisions, only a few Guards Airborne Brigades will deploy. These are the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and the 8th.
- The Soviet side will have sufficient air transport assets for one Brigade from December 1941. In 1942, two Brigades and in 1943, three Brigades.
- The Airborne Guards Brigades and Divisions have free support and can cooperate with other formations.

11. Russian tanks

12. The Mech Corps

At start these are really large formations, but they didn’t work well and most disbanded or were eliminated by the end of ’41. This includes the really huge divisions in the corps. It was simply too large a formation to really make it worth the equipment that was put in to them. All in all some 15,000 tanks faced the Germans in the west on the 22nd of June. They nearly got them all. A few mech corps actually had some experience and good leadership as can be seen in the OOB. The proficiency of the mech corps is lower than every other Russian unit (except militia) and they are on army support, meaning they don’t cooperate well with other formations, especially on the offense. They don’t reconstruct, but all their equipment can later be reused in various rifle divisions and tank brigades.

13. Tank Brigades

As there are no tank regiments and no tank battalions in this scenario, the brigades are really all the armor the Russians get. Many of the brigades included in the OOB were actually destroyed rather quickly, but as its all about saving units, I have chosen the brigade for the staying Russian armored formation. The Brigades go through the three organizations that were for them, ending up with a much more powerful organization than historically. This is because, point one, to save units, point two, giving them a real punch for the end game. This means that as there are no combined tank corps, the separate units under a tank corps have been put out in the brigades. The brigades also include the late war SU regiments for extra power. This is simply because there is not enough unit room in the game. All in all the Russian tank brigades in ‘44 will have the final org, with an SU regiment, artillery support and assault infantry, making it the Russian equivalent of the German panzers (still a bit smaller though) with roughly 150 tanks.

14. Mech Brigades

A Mechanized Corps usually had 3-4 Mech brigades and a tank brigade attached. Now here is the real crème de la crème in the Russian OOB. These are the best and most flexible units. Good for everything and very mobile. One could say that this is really the final product of war. So how come the Russians didn’t make all their armor units like this??

In game notes:
- All Russian tank/mech formations are on Army or Force support.
- No tank/self propelled tank regiments of any kind appear. Instead the Regiments are incorporated into the tank/Mech Brigades, giving them a bigger punch.
- Normal Tank Corps are included except the 27th Tank Corps, which never completed forming, and the 29th which had brigades from existing Tank Corps (the 8th). Instead, the one Brigade from the 29th that wasn’t from another Corps has been exchanged with the double from 31st Tank Corps (32nd Tank Brigade for the 100th Tank Brigade).
- As Soviet tank/mech formations were formed from each other all the time I have done some creative thinking. There are NO normal Mech Corps, and there are NO free Brigades of any king (except SU-Brigades). Instead, the Soviets get all Guard Tank Corps and all Guard Mech Corps. That is in addition to the normal Tank corps. This is to prevent the Soviet player from packing a too powerful punch earlier on, and giving him a real monster late in the game. (Guards formations arrive later that the normal formations, but are much, much better).
- The early tank brigades in the game start with a very low number of tanks assigned. This allows for their primary equipment being rifle squads, so the units still will be able to reconstruct even if the stock of the T-34/Early runs out later in the game. On the plus side this makes the units “lighter” so they don’t take up so much rail-capacity, but they need a few turns on map before they are truly “combat-ready”.
- As the Soviet player gets all the Tank brigades, that is both Guards and the normal brigades, the normal brigades that are under a Front HQ will NOT appear in the game. This adds up what is lost and what is gained. This, however, means that the Soviet side has less tank brigades early, but better ones, and more later. Or explained better, the 36 Tank Brigades in the Guards are removed from the Soviet Tank Brigades in reserve at the Front HQ. Its losing 18 brigades early on, and gaining 36 later. This is also to compensate for the loss of Tank regiments, although every tank brigade gets a Heavy tank Brigade attached later on.
- The SU regiments are used among the Rifle Divisions and the Mech/Tank units. This is to save units. Allthough only 10% of all Rifle Divs got a SU-regiment attached historically, they often had an independent one attached when attacking. So it all makes sense.
- However, the Guards Mech Corps will get a SU-Brigade each, e.g. 9. This is completely unhistorical, but helps display the growing power and cooperation of the Red Army. There were 14 SU-Brigades formed historically, these units are NOT in the game. Elmer will just have to do without.
- Most of the Soviet Cavalry Divisions will NOT reconstruct. The Soviet Cavalry Guards Divisions will. A few divisions are not in the game, that’s because they were either too small to be represented or they were disbanded before seeing combat. The Guards Cavalry divisions are added to the Mech Corps to add more flexibility. They were historically as they are here, only the size of large brigades. As there will be no Guards Cavalry Corps HQ, the assigned troops ( SU and more) are added to the divisions, making them a nice mobile task force.

15. Russian Artillery

In Game notes:
Soviet artillery is located partly in each army HQ and sometimes the army also includes a separate artillery unit. Late artillery divisions will arrive in their own formations, these units are really powerful. The Mortar Brigades are separated from the Art Divisions, making them a more mobile force. They are added under the Division they were in.

16. Russian Air Force

In general, because of the TOAW system is not made for long campaigns, the air forces on both sides have to be unhistorical to some point. This pains me a lot, but there is no way around it. Two major points come to mind:

A). The first piece of equipment in a unit decides whether it can reconstruct or not. You need 66% of available, first listed, equipment in order for a unit to reconstitute. E.g., a Soviet fighter formation with 106 I-16′s in 1944 will not reconstruct if there are not at least 69 I-16′s in the replacement pool. As production of the I-16 stops in 1942, there is not likely to be that number on hand. This happens even if there is enough of all the other aircraft in that formation, e.g. yak-3.

B). When an air formation flies a combat mission it uses the longest range of the aircraft assigned. This means that if 106 I-16′s, with a range of 17, are in the same formation as 0 (zero) yak-1′s, with a range of 23, the I-16′s will fly 23 hexes. Because the I-16 exceeds it range, its strength is reduced to 1%. This means that for practical reasons, a drunk, one armed, blind person in an old zeppelin, with a frozen water pistol, can shoot them all down. And he will.

In Game notes:
We have tried to make the best out of these limitations and even employing their consequences to our desired result: the Soviet Air force now starts WITH types combined in division units (bomber, fighter, attack). These divisions are actually quite close to history in terms of types and numbers, so it’s not because of some sick sense of humor we have put fighters in the bomber divisions, and the attack divisions have up to five or six different types of planes. This of course WILL make them perform very badly, in accordance to point B above, but then again the VVS had a hard time in the early war. Now point A comes into play, as these obsolete types, which are the primary equipment in the divisions, eventually will run out. This means that the unit eventually won’t be able to reconstruct anymore as the game progress. Instead new units arrive in a steady stream. Units organized more appropriate, with just one type for each unit. The units are a combination of three regiments, put together not because they were historically, but because at one point they used the same type of plane. Now of course, most of the regiments changed the type of plane they used during the war, but to take that into account would use up unit space not present. The Long Range Bombers fall a bit out of this category. They start on the map and will remain throughout the game. All Yak-9 and Yak-3 models have been put together under the designation Yak-9, simply because the Yak-3 have (wrongly) been given inferior stats in TOAW.

17. Partizans:

Soviet Partizans were active thruout many areas of Russia, and the Axis had to dedicate various security and police units to combat them. In order to facilitate game play, for the most part Partizans are not included in D21. German Security and MP type units will be withdrawn from the order of battle as the game progresses to simulate their need in securing the rear areas. In June 1944 the Soviets launched Operation Bagration against Army Group Center, and Partizans played a significant role in the planning and execution of this offensive. Therefore, in D21 Partizan units will appear at that time.

18. German Structure:

The Divisional Artillery Regiments are integrated with the Divisional Headquarters units, while most small units (e.g. Panzer Jaegers) equipment is distributed among the rest of the units in the Division. This is an effort to keep the number of German units under 2000, to enable them to split up units. Also it eases game play. German overall proficiency is 80. German general supply distribution is 80. All German units start as veteran.

19. German Infantry:

In WWII a total of 389 German Infantry Divisions where active. Needless to say, compared with the total of 57 Panzer, Panzer Grenadier and SS Divisions, most of the fighting and dying was done in the infantry. In 1941, when Barbarossa began, the German Infantry Divisions included the following (fighting subunits only):
3 Infantry Regiments, each with 3 Battalions (each with 3 Companies of 180 men)
1 Artillery Regiment
1 Reconnaissance Battalion
1 Panzer Jaeger Battalion
1 Pioneer Battalion

In Directive 21, a German Infantry Division consists of a Headquarters unit (with the Artillery Regiment) and three Infantry Regiments combined into a division size unit. In these Divisional sized units, the reconnaissance, panzer, jaeger and pioneer battalion’s equipment are included. This was done to ease game play. Because of their superior tactics, planning and overall leadership, the German infantry squads are Heavy Rifle Squads, in addition to having a small number of assault squads.

By 1942, the war in the east had drawn a huge chunk out of the German Infantry Regiments, and there were no replacements to refit them to full strength. As a consequence of this, it was necessary to cut the company size to 80 men, compared to the former 180. This, however, did not mean a proportionate loss of combat efficiency, primarily because it was much easier to command an 80 man company than one of 180. Besides this, the number of Battalions were reduced from nine to seven. Later in the war, the Infantry Divisions were reduced from 3 to 2 Regiments. This is why the German Infantry Regiments start over strength. In fact, after 1941, almost none had its full component of men and equipment, at any given time. The German Infantry Divisions in 1942 were only half the size of a similar US/British Division. Later in the war, the difference became much greater. This was one of Hitler’s greatest blunders. Instead of replacing the depleted Divisions, he insisted on mobilizing new ones, thereby reducing the number of actual fighting men.
Due to the manpower shortage, some divisions that experienced heavy casulaties in combat were not able to remain functional, and were instead disbanded. In Directive 21, a few of the German Infantry divisions will not reconstitute.

Improvements to German Infantry Divisions:
Most of the initial anti-tank capabilities of the Infantry Divisions become obsolete. In 1942, the German PAK 40/41 is added. In the scenario, the 75mm AT gun replaces the historical PAK 40/41 (Panzer Abweer Kanone), which in TOAW is underrated as it doesn’t reflect the special types of German AT munitions. Tank Destroyers such as Hetzers are included as well. As the Soviet tank forces grew, it became clear that the Infantry were ill equipped to deal with the increase in Soviet armor. Often an Infantry Division had a Company or even a Battalion of Tank Destroyers attached.
Sturmgeschutz: like the above. When the Soviets tactics and firepower grew in strength, it became necessary to upgrade the defense and attack capabilities of the German Infantry Divisions. Although only around 50% got a Sturmgeschutz Battalion, it was found prudent to add it to all, as the Germans most certainly would have done if they had the numbers to do so. It’s noteworthy to mention that the Germans also used their Sturmgeschutz as tanks, not like their Soviet counterparts, who used their Assault guns (SU/JSU) only as an Infantry support role.
AT Teams: these are to reflect the arrival of the Panzerfaust/Panzerschreck. They begin arriving in September 1943. These very efficient Infantry AT weapons were widely used, and took a heavy toll on the Soviet Armor (who sometimes put mattresses on their tanks to counter them). These weapons were the forerunners of the modern Infantry AT weapons. The Germans developed special anti tank tactics, and were to a large degree capable of fighting off the masses of Allied tanks.

20. Volks Grenadier Divisions:

As all Volks Grenadier Divisions where actually reconstructed Infantry Divisions, there are none of these Divisions in Directive 21. The Divisions were named Volks (peoples) Grenadier Divisions to boost morale and to encourage the German people. They were in fact, a bit weaker than normal German Infantry Divisions in Artillery, as there where shortages of 105mm Howitzers at the time.

21. Garrisons / Coast forts:

German garrisons in Directive 21 are a mix of units that were either static, fortress or training Divisions. Also, a large part of the German forces were used to garrison vital ports. They will not reconstruct in the scenario.

22. Security Divisions:

When the war in Russia began, it was deemed necessary for each army group to have some sort of rear area security, to protect the supply lines and lines of communication from partisan groups and bypassed Soviet forces. As the war progressed, the need for rear area protection grew, as partisan harassment increased. The Security Divisions did not need a large portion of heavy weapons to deal with partisans, but needed enough to outgun any enemy. This need changed when the huge Soviet breakthroughs where achieved. Much too often these Divisions were thrown in to the shattered line, or used to fill the ranks of depleted Divisions. They often used whatever equipment they could get their hands on, including Soviet volunteers.
Usually a Division contained quite a few different sub units, which again were rotated among them. In Directive 21 their standard organization is made with normal rifle squads, and low in heavy weapons. Otherwise they are organized like an Infantry Division. None of the Security Divisions will reconstruct.
At the start of the scenario, the Germans have a full compliment of Security Divisions and MP battalions. As the scenario progresses and the Axis advance deeper into Russia, more and more of these units will be withdrawn from the order of battle in order to simulate their participation in rear area security. Withdrawals of Security and MP units are not accompanied by any pre-warnings (as Soviet partisans didn’t warn when and where they were going to be active).

23. Mountain Divisions:

The Gebirgs Jaeger Divisions where originally used in mountains, but much too often they found themselves fighting in the open. They were supposed to have light equipment, thereby enabling them to function in rough terrain. There were 2 different structures, one for real mountain use and one for open or semi open use.
In Directive 21 there is no distinction between the two types, the organization for the open one is chosen, although this makes them almost like an Infantry Division. They can with some right claim to be the ones that got the furthest into Russia as they planted their flag on the top of Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus. There is still some debate about this, since some recon elements reached Astrakhan.

Gebirgs Jaeger organization (fighting sub units only):
2 Gebirgs Jaeger Regiments (3 Battalions each)
Artillery Regiment
PanzerJaeger Battalion
Pioneer Battalion
Mountain Feldsatz Battalion

As with the Infantry Divisions, the Artillery Regiments are included in the Division Headquarters and the Recon, Panzerjaeger, Feldsatz and Pioneer Battalions are distributed among the two Gebirgs Jaeger Regiments. This also means that the two Gebirgs Jaeger Regiments, compared to the three Regiment Infantry Divisions, have a larger component of subunit equipment. All Gebirgs Jaeger Divisions will reconstruct, with the exception of the 3rd (which starts the scenario in northern Finland).

Improvements to the Gebirgs Jaeger Divisions: (for more info see under Infantry Divisions)
StuG-IIIg: a Company each
75mm AT: (In larger numbers than the Infantry Divisions as Gebirgs Jaeger Divisions only have 2 Regiments to distribute them amongst)
AT+ teams

24. Leichte/Jaeger Divisions:

The first Leichte Divisions were formed in December 1940 as part of the 12th mobilization wave. The Leichte Divisions were to be used in low mountainous or remote areas, where there was no use for fully equipped GebirgsJaegers. The Divisions were supposed to be light and maneuverable. In July 1942, some were redesignated as Jaeger (Hunter) Divisions.

A normal Leichte/Jaeger Division consisted of (fighting subunits only):
Two Leichte/Jaeger Infantry Regiments
Artillery Regiment
Reconnaissance Battalion
PanzerJaeger Battalion
Pioneer Battalion.

Leichte/Jaeger Divisions in Directive 21:
In the scenario, these units will be seen as ‘Lt/Jg’ Divisions. As with the Infantry Divisions, the Artillery Regiment is included in the Division Headquarters, and the Recon, Panzerjaeger and Pioneer Battalions are distributed among the two Regiments. This also means that the two Regiments, compared to the three Regiment Infantry Divisions, have a larger component of subunit equipment. However, as these divisions are supposed to be light, they do not include heavy rifle squads, but normal rifle squads and only 100 of them. All Leichte/Jaeger Divisions will reconstruct.
The 5th, 8th and 28th German Infantry divisions were redesignated as Leichte Divisions in December 1941, and redesignated again as Jaeger Divisisions in July 1942. In the scenario, all three start as regular Infantry Divisions. Thru casualties/attrition all three will be reduced to the Leichte/Jaeger status. They are identified in the scenario as being ‘Inf/JG’ divisions.
The 99th Lt/JG division fought with AGS until October 1941 when it was withdrawn and reorganised as the 7th Gebirgs Division. It was then transferred to Finland. In the scenario a Theater Option will appear to ‘Refit 99th Lt/JG as 7th Gebirgs for Finland’. If chosen, the 99th will withdraw and 25 turns later the 7th Gebirgs will appear in Finland. If not chosen, the 99th will remain in the game.

Improvements to the Jaeger Divisions:
Assault guns ( StuG-IIIg). In World War II a number of Jaeger Divisions received an assault gun Company/Battery.
75mm AT guns. As with nearly all other units, the Panzerjaeger Battalions were upgraded to keep up with the invention of more powerful tanks.
AT+ teams

25. SkiJaeger Division:

Only one SkiJaeger Division was formed, from the 1st SkiJaeger brigade and the 19th Panzer Grenadier brigade. It was formed on June 2nd, 1944. It was a relatively heavy unit, with captured Soviet tanks, and self-propelled guns.

It was organized as follows (fighting sub units only):
1st and 2nd SkiJaeger Regiments (3 Battalions each and a support AT Company)
152nd Artillery Regiment (with 18th Heavy Mortar Battalion)
85th Ski Pioneer Battalion
1st Ski Fusilier Battalion
152nd PanzerJaeger Battalion
152nd Heavy Ski Battalion
Ski Felderzatz Battalion

In Directive 21, the Artillery Regiment is under the HQ, and the subunits are pooled into two Ski Regiments. The Ski Division starts at historical full strength and will not receive any upgrades. The Ski Division will not reconstruct.

26. Cavalry Division:

The only German Cavalry Division at start in the scenario is the 1st Kavalarie Division. Created Feb 14th 1940 from the 1st Kavalarie brigade, this unit fought in Russia until November 28, 1941 when it was converted to the 24th Panzer Division. It consisted of:
Division HQ
4 Reiter Regiments
1st Reiter Artillery Regiment
1st bicycle Battalion
40th Panzerjaeger Battalion
40th Pioneer Battalion

In Directive 21, the PanzerJaeger and the Bicycle Battalions are added to the other units. The Artillery is under the 1st Kav HQ.

27. Fallschirmjaeger Division:

Only one parachute Division will be available to the Germans. This is the 7th Fallschirmjaeger Division. This is a powerful unit, able to take key points and hold them. Remember the house rules about airdrops (no drops over ten hexes from a friendly unit). Historically the 7th FallschirmJaeger Division was called the 7th Air Division, for camouflage. In June 1941 it was intended to use this division to drop behind Soviet lines and secure important bridges. This operation was canceled as the unit was considered not ready after the heavy losses suffered in Crete. It was also meant to finish off Case Blue by dropping at Batumi.
This unit will not reconstitute.

28. German Panzer, Motorized Infantry and PanzerGrenadier Divisions:

Probably the most famous units of the German armed forces. Under skillful leadership, these units changed warfare all over the globe. However, the same Panzers that had proven decisive in Poland and France were not the same as the ones that entered the Soviet Union. In the fall of 1940 their organization was changed. Following Hitler’s orders to double the numbers of Panzer Divisions, the units were stripped of their second armored Regiment. This meant that now each Panzer Division only had half the tanks that it had previously. This meant slower off-road movement and a lighter punch, with basically the same amount of logistical requirements.

Each Panzer Division consists of:
1 Headquarters, with the Artillery Regiment
1 Armored Regiment
2 PanzerGrenadier Regiments
1 Kradschutzen Battalion combined with 1 Aufklar Battalion
1 Panzer Pioneer Battalion

The Kradschutzen Battalions were Motorcycle Battalions, used for reconnaissance and sweeping maneuvers and were ideal to quickly capture key spots. In 1943 they where absorbed into the reconnaissance units. For ease of play, they have been combined with the Aufklar Battalions.
Other fighting sub units included in these are: Army Flak Battalions and Panzerjaeger Battalions. These are added into the other units of the Divisions. Only a handful of Panzer and PanzerGrenadier Divisions received additional support units, in the form of StuG Battalions or an additional AT Battalion. These are added with the historical units in the scenario.
The actual number of tanks in the Regiments are correct for the Barbarossa operation. Later, the upgrades with Panthers and Tigers are taken from factory papers, which state which Panzer Divisions got these tanks. It’s all historical.
Many Panzer Divisions have their respective Armored and PanzerGrenadier Regiments combined into three separate Kampfgruppes. Historically, these divisions were often organized into four or five KG’s, but for Directive 21 they were not organized that way in order to not water down their effectiveness. Of the three KG’s in each Division, two are named Motorised (and given the Motor Infantry icon) and one is named Panzer (and given the Armored icon). However, all three are relatively equal in their composition. This reflects the historical flexibility of the Panzer Divisions.
As the war progressed, the Panzer Divisions were often withdrawn from the front to refit. In Directive 21, these refits are handled in two different ways. First, some Divisions will be withdrawn by an event that the player has no control over. Typically, there will be a warning in the news string one or two turns before the unit withdraws. The player will not know when the ‘refitted’ Division will return. Some will not return at all. This accurately portrays the unpredictable nature of Hitler’s decisions as to how to employ his units.
Second, most Panzer Divisions will undergo a major refit during the summer of 1943. Starting around turn 221 (8-1-43), the player will begin receiving Theater Options to refit some Panzer Divisions. Each Division gets its’ own Theater Option. Once chosen, the three KG’s from the corresponding Division will be disbanded, and new ‘refitted’ KG’s will arrive as reinforcements. The equipment from the original disbanded units is used to rebuild the new ones. The original HQ, engineer and recon elements are not withdrawn, and remain in the game unchanged. This system gives the player control over the departure and arrival of these units.

29. German armored recon:

The German Aufklar units have the historical component of equipment. However, the armored cars have been standardized. The at start armored car is the Sdkfz 231-8 and the other addition is in 1943, the Sdkfz 233. These additions are made, as the Kradschutz where transferred to the reconnaissance arm of the Divisions, and only these are chosen instead of the (more) historical equipment because of the replacement system of TOAW. If we were to add the ability to have the correct numbers of all the various versions they had, they could end up having, if none were lost, more armored cars than the whole German army had historically.

30. Motorised Divisions and PanzerGrenadiers:

In the scenario, most of the original Motorized elements are called PanzerGrenadiers. Originally they were called Schutzen Regiments, then changed to Motorised, and then changed to PanzerGrenadier. There was no reason to withdraw and replace them as the game progresses just because of a name change. In addition to this they have the following upgrades:

Sdkfz 251/16 Sp gun. Added as the Infantry guns became more mobile.
Marders for more antitank effect.
88mm AT gun, this is an historical and natural upgrade to the Grenadiers antitank capabilities.
AT+ teams, beginning at the end of 1943, as Panzerfaust weapons became available.

31. German Artillery:

Besides the divisional Artillery attached to the Headquarters, the Germans had a pool of independent Artillery. In general, this German Artillery was shifted around different fronts during WWII. This pool provided Artillery support wherever it was deemed necessary. It would simply drain events to attempt to replicate these unit shifts, and to little effect. These Artillery units have been organised under many of the German Korps HQ’s. As a consequence, most historical German Artillery will appear as reinforcements, most will remain on the eastern front, and most will not reconstruct.

32. German railroad Artillery:

The Germans used a lot of Railroad guns during the Second World War. This included some of their own and captured ones, mostly French. The most popular one was the 800mm Gustav Gun. Designed in 1937 by Krupp, and given to Hitler as a birthday present in 1942. The soldiers using this monster called it Dora, adding to the common belief that there where two. Only one was built. It served with the 672nd Railroad Battery during the Sevastopol siege. It was later transferred to Leningrad. Another famous railroad gun was ‘Anzio Annie’. It was used against the Allied Anzio bridgehead in Italy. However, railroad guns were slow, had a slow rate of fire and used up a large portion of manpower. Given the shortage in men, this was not a good investment for the Germans.
Most Railroad guns have been pooled together to save units in Directive 21, and to prevent having a large amount of ’1-1′ units. They are given the heavy artillery icon, which better simulates the aspects of these heavy guns, except that with that icon they can move off-rail. However, their movement allowance is quite low, and it is best to keep them on the rail lines. They will not reconstruct.

33. Nebelwefer:

A ruthless piece of equipment. Originally used to lay out smoke, these proved highly efficient against enemy Infantry. The Germans were a bit slow in seeing this, but in the end came up with a highly efficient weapon. It was much more accurate than its Russian counterpart. However, its range limitations were a big drawback. In Directive 21 an historical number of Nebelwerfer units arrive, and as with the independent artillery units described above, they have been organised under some of the mobile Korps HQ’s. They will all reconstruct, thereby giving the Germans a bit back for the lost Artillery formations.

34. German Air Force

Because of reasons explained in the Russian Air Force section, it’s not a good idea to mix different plane types within the same TOAW unit. When introducing new equipment it is therefore necessary to withdraw units and replace them with one equipped with the new plane-type. These withdrawals occur during the mud-periods, by event so that the player need not be concerned with them. Sometimes the unit is replaced by an identical named unit, but with new equipment, but they could also just be removed from the map, in cases where units moved away from the Eastern Front to either the West Front, Africa etc.

In Game notes:
-The 109E/F is the primary fighter at the start but is replaced during 1942 by either the Me109(Late)G/K and/or FW190(Late). The early 109E/F is still used after this in some of the ground attack squadrons, and by minors.
-The FW190(Early) is used as the ground attack version of the FW190(F/G) and appears in the Schlactgeswaders, while the Fw190(Late) is considered the fighter variant (A/D).
-The Me110 is eventually withdrawn from the game and some of them are replaced by the Me210/410.
-The Ju87 remains throughout the game, although some units are upgraded to the Fw190(early). A few units using the Hs129 start to appear in 1942. Like the Ju87, some of these stay till the end, others are withdrawn.
-Most Kampfgeschwaders don’t change equipment (Ju88 and He111). Only units using the Do-17 are upgraded before 1942 to Ju88.

35. German Flak:

Never have so many troops been saved by the Flak as the German Infantry during the War in Russia. The Infantry simply had nothing that could kill KV tanks or for that matter the T-34. It became routine to pick up the phone and call the flak people whenever you saw one of these monsters. Most famous was the German 88mm Flak gun. Designed to track fast moving aircraft, it was ideal in knocking out slow moving tanks. Furthermore, it could do so at very long range. It had perfect optics and caliber. It was suited as both an anti tank/ anti aircraft role and as an Infantry gun. It was so efficient that it was later designed as a real AT gun, and was also used as a tank gun, mainly on the Elephant (Ferdinand), Tiger, Nashorn and Jagdpanther. Simply the best all-round gun during WWII.
Flak units are either Luftwaffe or Army flak. Historically some Flak Divisions were transferred from the Luftwaffe to the army. This is also the case in Directive 21, and they have the historical numbers of guns. Most Flak units will reconstruct.

36. Independent Units:

37. Feldgendarmeri:

Military Police, these are historical, they will not reconstruct. See also #22.

38. Pioneers:

The Independent engineers were a vital part of the German offensive strategy. Most will reconstruct.

39. StuG Battalions:

During the war a number of independent StuG Battalions where raised, as independent support units for the Infantry. In the scenario they will receive a component of the good Jpz IV.

40. Heavy Tank Battalions:

These units will come and go as the scenario progresses. Historically many of these units were shifted from theater to theater, and also underwent multiple refits.

41. JagdPanzer Battalions:

The historical number of JagdPanzer Battalions will appear, and most with the correct historical equipment. However, as these units, like most of the German Artillery and Heavy Tank Battalions, where shifted from front to front, the Germans will probably end up with more than they did during WWII. This shouldn’t matter much, as the production stays the same. They will all reconstruct.

42. Luftwaffe Field Divisions:

During the winter of 1941, the German losses were massive, and the need for troops higher that ever. Goring, always looking for a way to please Der Führer, promised 22 Divisions to Hitler. Many of them saw service on the East Front. However, these units were poorly led and under equipped. In 1943 and 1944 most were eventually absorbed into the regular army. Most will not reconstruct.

43. Bautrupp:

These units are for railroad repair and were designed specifically for easier playability. They can move only by rail, and will repair damaged rail lines nearest their location. Repairs take place automatically between turns, and require no action by the player. A bautrupp unit need not be directly adjacent to broken rail lines in order to make repairs, just nearby or in the vicinity. It should be sufficient to keep these units several hexes behind the front and out of harms way. The game engine repairs rail hexes each turn automatically, and it will tend to focus on broken rail lines near any bautrupp units. Therefore, the player can easily channel rail repairs to specific important areas. They will all reconstruct.

44. Brandenburgers:

There are five ‘Brandenburg’ units in the German order of battle that represent small groups that were organized for operations behind enemy lines. They will not do well in combat against the larger Soviet combat units. They do not reconstruct.

45. Panzer Brigades

After the destruction of Army Group Center in June 1944, Hitler ordered the formation of Panzer Brigades, small strong tank units more easy to manuever than the larger Panzer Divisions. Guderian disagreed with this policy as he felt all panzer resources should go to rebuilding the Panzer Divisions. Eventually the Brigades provided to be a failure, and by October 1944 all were either disbanded or absorbed by refitting Panzer Divisions.
In Directive 21 there are 8 Panzer Brigades which arrive in July 1944 by Theater Option. However, if this Theater Option is not choosen, the Panzer Brigades will not be formed and their equipment will instead be sent into the replacement pool, from there to be distributed to other units.

46. German Allies:

47. Finland:

On November 30th 1939, the Soviet Union had attacked Finland with a force of approximately twenty-two rifle divisions and six Tank Brigades. Defending against that Finland had nine Divisions and a number of smaller units. In all service branches that added up to about 337,000 men. They were well trained but lacked modern equipment, especially in regards to AT-guns, tanks and planes. To compensate for this they used practically all equipment they could get their hands on and donations from other countries (whose sympathy all lay with Finland), and large quantities of captured equipment. Only Germany stayed out, because of the German-Soviet pact that had named Finland as a Soviet sphere of interest. Initial Soviet defeats at first held the Russian bear off, but with the commitment of additional offensive forces, the Soviets managed to crack the lines and a painful peace treaty was signed on March 13th 1940, where Finland was forced to surrender large parts of Karelia, the port of Hangö, as well as the area around Salla in central Finland.
The Finns saw Barbarossa as a way to get these areas back and had even before June 22nd 1941 allowed German troops to enter Northern Finland. In the weeks that followed, they then started their offensive and during the summer and fall of 1941 they captured their old land areas back, as well as proceeding further in order to get the best possible defensive lines (and as a means of getting a good peace-negotiating position). Their armed forces had spent the peace period between the Winter and Continuation War to improve the army and air-force, but they still were in need of more heavy weapons. As war progressed they managed to buy some of this from the Germans. In the summer of 1944, the Soviets launched a major offensive to knock Finland out of the war. The Finnish forces were once again forced back, but once the Soviets started to remove some of their divisions for use in the summer offensive against the Germans, the front stabilized and the Finns signed a peace treaty that meant they would give up the land lost in 1940 for good, but would keep them independent.
If the Axis captures Leningrad, the Finnish Government will order the ‘Fin 4th Corps’ into garrison status. This includes the Finnish 8th, 4th and 12th Infantry divisions. In the scenario, four turns after Leningrad is captured, these units will go into permanent garrison status. This represents the desire of the Finnish Government to reduce their possible casualties and to return some of their armed forces home.
Most Finnish units will reconstitute and with the loss of Helsinki they will surrender and their units will be withdrawn. Additiionally, once the Soviet summer 1944 offensive begins, the Axis loss of Narva (123,111), Tolvajarvi (149,84) and Viipuri (129,98) will result in Finland withdrawing from the war. Units contained in the Ryti-Ribbentrop formation that are located at the western map edge are not intended to be in-play units. These units monitor the Finnish withdrawal conditions.
The German 3rd Gebirgsjaeger Division, which starts the scenario in northern Finland in the Petsamo area, will not reconstitute if destroyed/lost in combat. Historically this unit suffered such heavy casualties in the attacks towards Murmansk that its’ remnants were withdrawn to Germany. In November 1942, a new 3.Gebirgs Division will arrive in Berlin.

48. Hungary:

Hungary had lost much of their pre-WWI territory in 1920, so in 1940 they joined the Axis in exchange of the territory lost to Rumania, and their first assignment was the assisting of the German invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. On June 27th 1941 they joined the war on the Soviet Union, but their units didn’t prove adequate in the front line compared to the Germans. Instead, many of their divisions were being placed in rear areas as security forces, until the extending front lines in summer of 1942 forced the Germans to request the 2nd Hungarian Army to guard the front at the Don River. During the Soviet winter offensive in 1942-43, this entire army was surrounded and destroyed. A big part of this was caused by the lack of suitable AT-equipment in the Hungarian units that left them with hardly any ability to counter the Soviet armored forces.
The Hungarian units will be able to equip with german AT-guns later, but their low proficiency makes them unreliable. They will not reconstruct, have a low replacement level and are withdrawn with the loss of Budapest.

49. Italy:

Much to Mussolini’s anger, Hitler didn’t inform him of Barbarossa beforehand. However he quickly gathered an Italian Expeditionary Corps to be sent to Russia. It was later increased to an entire army in 1942 to help guard the front. It was also severely hit in the Soviet winter offensive, lacking proper equipment. Italian units won’t reconstruct. With the Allied landings on the Italian mainland in September 1943, all Italians units will withdraw from the scenario.

50. Rumania:

In 1940, Rumania was forced to concede territory to both Hungary (Northern Transylvania) and the Soviet Union (Bessarabia), but despite the lack of support from either Germany or Italy, the country remained Pro-Axis and joined them on November 23rd 1940. Germany had sent their 11th army to participate in Barbarossa from Rumania, along with some air units, but real ground action didn’t start before around July 3rd 1941, when the German Army assisted by Army Group Antonescu (with 3rd and 4th Rumanian Armies) attacked towards Odessa and lower Ukraine. Even though some Rumanian units were under direct German korps command, they have all been placed in the 3rd and 4th Rumanian Armies.
Like the other minors, the Rumanians are equipped partly with obsolete weapons, which was also one of the reasons for their disastrous results in winter ’42-’43. Their lack of firepower is somewhat dealt with as time goes by, but they still haven’t got the punch of the German divisions. Many of their units don’t reconstruct and they will be withdrawn by the loss of Bucharest.

51. Slovakia:

Slovakian forces had already participated in the campaign against Poland in 1939, and four days after the start of Barbarossa they sent an expeditionary force consisting of two divisions to participate in the attack. Offensive operations were made difficult by the lack of (motorized) equipment, so an ad-hoc unit was formed named the Pilfousek Brigade (after it’s commander). This unit combined the motorized units of the two divisions. The brigade only existed for around a month, before being returned to Slovakia for a refit. Here it was used to form the 1st Slovak (mobile) Infantry Division or “Fast” Division. Of the remnants was formed the 2nd Security Division. In Directive 21, only the last two units exist, and neither will reconstruct. Should Bratislava be lost, they will be withdrawn.

52. Ostlegion:

The Soviet Union is far from a homogenous population and a number of minorities actually saw the Germans as liberators from their oppressors. This allowed the Germans to raise a number of units based on recruits from these areas. Some of these eventually formed whole divisions under the SS, like the Estonian, Latvian, Ukrainian, etc. These units’ counters have a red icon on the black SS background color. Other units were formed in seperate “Legions”, like the Georgians and Armenians. These have a tan icon on a brown background. None of these Ost-units reconstruct.

53. Terrain

Specifically designed for Directive 21 are two new types of terrain: Dense Forest and Wilderness. These will be seen in Finland, Northern Russia and in the Leningrad area. They function much like ‘dunes’ and ‘major escarpment’ terrain. Supply and movement into or thru these hexes are greatly restricted.
The Sivash Sea in the northern Crimea area was virtually impenetrable by infantry and could not be crossed by boat because it was too shallow. It also rarely if ever froze because it was too salty. It has been represented as deep water hexes (even though it was very shallow) to prevent freezing and being easily crossed.

The German Armed Forces must be prepared to [...]]]> DIRECTIVE No. 21

OPERATION BARBAROSSA

THE FUHRER AND COMMANDER IN-CHIEF OF THE GERMAN ARMED FORCES

OKW/WFSt/Abt. L (I) Nr. 33 408/40 g K CHEFS.
MILITARY SECRET [Geheime Kommandosache]
TOP SECRET [Chef Sache]
BY OFFICER ONLY
FUHRER’s HEADQUARTERS,
December 18, 1940

The German Armed Forces must be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a quick campaign (Operation Barbarossa) even before the conclusion of the war against England.

For this purpose the Army will have to employ all available units, with the reservation that the occupied territories must be secured against surprise attacks.

For the Air Force it will be a matter of releasing such strong forces for the eastern campaign in support of the Army that a quick completion of the ground operations may be expected and that damage to Eastern German territory by enemy air attacks will be as slight as possible. This concentration of the main effort in the East is limited by the requirement that the entire combat and armament area dominated by us must remain adequately protected against enemy air attacks and that the offensive operations against England, particularly her supply lines, must not be permitted to break down.

The main effort of the Navy will remain unequivocally directed against England even during an eastern campaign.

I shall order the concentration against Soviet Russia possibly eight weeks before the intended beginning of operations.

Preparations requiring more time to start are to be started now-if this has not yet been done-and are to be completed by May 15, 1941.

It is to be considered of decisive importance, however, that the intention to attack is not discovered.

The preparations of the High Commands are to be made on the following basis:

I. General Purpose:
The mass of the Russian Army in Western Russia is to be destroyed in daring operations, by driving forward deep armored wedges, and the retreat of units capable of combat into the vastness of Russian territory is to be prevented.

In quick pursuit a line is then to be reached from which the Russian Air Force will no longer be able to attack German Reich territory. The ultimate objective of the operation is to establish a defense line against Asiatic Russia from a line running approximately from the Volga River to Archangel. Then, in case of necessity, the last industrial area left to Russia in the Urals can be eliminated by the Luftwaffe.

In the course of these operations the Russian Baltic Sea Fleet will quickly lose its bases and thus will no longer be able to fight.

Effective intervention by the Russian Air Force is to be prevented by powerful blows at the very beginning of the operation.

II. Probable Allies and their Tasks:
On the flanks of our operation we can count on the active participation of Rumania and Finland in the war against Soviet Russia.
The High Command will in due time concert and determine in what form the armed forces of the two countries will be placed under German command at the time of their intervention.
It will be the task of Rumania, together with the forces concentrating there, to pin down the enemy facing her and, in addition, to render auxiliary services in the rear area.
Finland will cover the concentration of the redeployed German North Group (parts of the XXI Group) coming from Norway and will operate jointly with it. Besides, Finland will be assigned the task of eliminating Hango.
It may be expected that Swedish railroads and highways will be available for the concentration of the German North Group, from the start of operations at the latest.
III. Direction of Operations:
A. Army (hereby approving the plans presented to me):

In the zone of operations divided by the Pripet Marshes into a southern and northern sector, the main effort will be made north of this area. Two Army Groups will be provided here.

The southern group of these two Army Groups-the center of the entire front-will be given the task of annihilating the forces of the enemy in White Russia by advancing from the region around and north of Warsaw with especially strong armored and motorized units. The possibility of switching strong mobile units to the North must thereby be created in order, in cooperation with the Northern Army Group operating from East Prussia in the general direction of Leningrad, to annihilate the enemy forces fighting in the Baltic. Only after having accomplished this most important task, which must be followed by the occupation of Leningrad and Kronstadt, are the offensive operations aimed at the occupation of the important traffic and armament center of Moscow to be pursued.

Only a surprisingly fast collapse of Russian resistance could justify aiming at both objectives simultaneously.

The most important assignment of the XXI Group, even during the eastern operations, will still be the protection of Norway. The additional forces available are to be employed in the north (mountain corps), first to secure the Petsamo Region and its ore mines as well as the Arctic Ocean route, and then to advance jointly with Finnish forces against the Murmansk railroad and stop the supply of the Murmansk region by land.

Whether such an operation with rather strong German forces (two or three divisions) can be conducted from the area of and south of Rovaniemi depends upon Sweden’s willingness to make the railroads available for such a concentration.

The main body of the Finnish Army will be assigned the task, in coordination with the advance of the German northern flank, of pinning down strong Russian forces by attacking west of or on both sides of Lake Ladoga and of seizing Hango.

The Army Group employed south of the Pripet Marshes is to make its main effort in the area from Lublin in the general direction of Kiev, in order to penetrate quickly with strong armored units into the deep flank and rear of the Russian forces and then to roll them up along the Dnieper River

The German-Rumanian groups on the right flank are assigned the task of:

(a) protecting Rumanian territory and thereby the southern flank of the entire operation.

(b) pinning down the opposing enemy forces while Army Group South is attacking on its northern flank and, according to the progressive development of the situation and in conjunction with the Air Force, preventing their orderly retreat across the Dniester during the pursuit,

[and,] in the North, of reaching Moscow quickly.

The capture of this city means a decisive success politically and economically and, beyond that, the elimination of the most important railway center.

B. Air Force:

Its task wild be to paralyze and to eliminate as far as possible the intervention of the Russian Air Force as well as to support the Army at its main points of effort, particularly those of Army Group Center and, on the flank, those of Army Group South. The Russian railroads, in the order of their importance for the operations, will be cut or the most important near-by objectives (river crossings) seized by the bold employment of parachute and airborne troops.

In order to concentrate all forces against the enemy Air Force and to give immediate support to the Army the armament industry will not be attacked during the main operations. Only after the completion of the mobile operations may such attacks be considered-primarily against the Ural Region.

C. Navy:

The Navy’s role against Soviet Russia is, while safeguarding our own coast, to prevent an escape of enemy naval units from the Baltic Sea. As the Russian Baltic Sea Fleet, once we have reached Leningrad, will be deprived of its last base and will then be in a hopeless situation, any larger naval operations are to be avoided before that time.

After the elimination of the Russian Fleet it will be a question of protecting all the traffic in the Baltic Sea, including the supply by sea of the northern flank of the Army (mine clearance!).

IV. All orders to be issued by the commanders-in-chief on the basis of this directive must clearly indicate that they are precautionary measures for the possibility that Russia should change her present attitude toward us. The number of officers to be assigned to the preparatory work at an early date is to be kept as small as possible;

additional personnel should be briefed as late as possible and only to the extent required for the activity of each individual. Otherwise, through the discovery of our preparations-the date of their execution has not even been fixed-there is danger that most serious political and military disadvantages may arise.

V. I expect reports from the commanders-in-chief concerning their further plans based on this directive.

The contemplated preparations of all branches of the Armed Forces, including their progress, are to be reported to me through the High Command [OKW].

ADOLF HITLER

Defending units benefit from increased Anti-Armor Strengths in some terrain or Deployments.

Effects are not cumulative. Only [...]]]> Terrain and environmental conditions have a strong effect on combat. Terrain primarily benefits defending Land units and sometimes penalizes attacking Land units. Visibility and time of day affect Air unit Strengths.

Defensive Anti-Armor Strengths

Defending units benefit from increased Anti-Armor Strengths in some terrain or Deployments.

Effects are not cumulative. Only the strongest modifier is in effect:

• In a Fortified Line hex (any Deployment), or Fortified Deployment (any terrain): x5
• Dense Urban, Dense Urban Ruin, or Mountains (any Deployment), or Entrenched Deployment (any terrain): x3.5
• Urban, Urban Ruin, Bocage, or Marsh (any Deployment), or Defending Deployment (any terrain): x2

Defensive Anti-Personnel Strengths

Defending units benefit from increased Anti-Personnel Attack Strengths in some terrain or Deployments.

Effects are not cumulative. Only the strongest modifier is in effect:

• In a Fortified Line hex (any Deployment), or Fortified Deployment (any terrain): x4.5
• Bocage (any Deployment) or Entrenched Deployment (any terrain): x3
• Mountains (any Deployment), or Defending Deployment: x1.5

Defensive Strengths of Vehicles

Vehicles in defending units benefit from increased Defensive Strengths in some terrain and Deployments. Effects are not cumulative. Only the strongest modifier is in effect:

• In a Fortified Line hex (any Deployment) or Fortified Deployment (any terrain): x3
• Dense Urban or Dense Urban Ruin (any Deployment) or Entrenched Deployment (any terrain): x1.5

Defensive Strengths of Infantry

Infantry and non-static weapons in defending units benefit from increased Defensive Strengths in some terrain or Deployments. Effects are not cumulative. Only the strongest modifier is in effect:

• In a Fortified Line hex (any Deployment) or Fortified Deployment (any terrain): x8
• Dense Urban, Dense Urban Ruin, or Badlands (any Deployment): x4
• Urban, Urban Ruin, Bocage, Dunes, or Mountain (any Deployment): or Entrenched Deployment (any terrain): x3
• Forest, Jungle, Hills, or Wadi (any Deployment), or Defending Deployment (any terrain): x2.0

Defensive Strengths of Static Equipment

Static equipment (equipment that requires Transport in order to move) benefits from increased Defensive Strengths in some terrain or Deployments. Effects are not cumulative. Only the strongest modifier is in effect:

• In a Fortified Line hex (any deployment), or Fortified Deployment (any terrain): x6
• Badlands (any Deployment): x3
• Dense Urban, Dense Urban Ruin, Dunes, or Mountains (any Deployment), or Entrenched Deployment (any terrain): x2.0
• Urban, Urban Ruin, Forest, Jungle, Hills, Bocage, or Wadi (any Deployment), or Defending Deployment (any terrain): x1.5

Unit Strengths in Water Assaults

Land units attacking from River, Super River, Canal, Suez Canal, or Deep Water (Amphibious Assaults) have all Strengths multiplied by 0.7.

Escarpments

Since only Mountain units can move across Major Escarpments, they are the only units that can  attack across them. Their losses will be three times the normal for the attack. Combat across Minor Escarpments results in twice the losses for the Attacker. Artillery and Headquarters are not as affected; Artillery attacks at 150% Strength if it is “looking down” on the target across an Escarpment. This is defined as an artillery unit, in the hex that contains the escarpment terrain feature, firing across that hexside feature at an adjacent unit. The artillery bonus for firing down from escarpment hexes is only gained when firing down from Major Escarpments.

Visibility

Visibility affects Air unit Attack and Defense Strengths, as follows:

• Fair: 100%
• Hazy: 100% for all weather equipment, 66% otherwise
• Overcast: 66% for all weather equipment, 33% otherwise

Night and Day

In six hour and half-day Turn Scenarios, time of day affects Air unit Attack and Defense Strengths, as follows:

• AM Turn: 100%
• PM Turn: 66% for all weather equipment, 33% otherwise.

Night Attenuation

If Turns are Full Days or longer, Air unit Attack and Defense Strengths are multiplied by 83% for All Weather equipment, 66% otherwise.

This is the movement of Air units from one Airbase to another. While Air units may attack any enemy with their range, their movement destinations are strictly limited to friendly Airbases.

Naval Movement

This is the movement of Naval units through Deep Water or Anchorage locations.

Air Movement

This is the movement of Air units from one Airbase to another. While Air units may attack any enemy with their range, their movement destinations are strictly limited to friendly Airbases.

Railroad Movement

This is the movement of Land units by train, along Rail lines. In order to use Railroad Movement, a unit must begin its Turn in a Railroad location, sufficient Rail Transport Capacity to lift the unit must be available, and the unit must be Entrained. A Train icon in the Unit Panel shows eligibility for Rail Movement. Right-click on the icon to bring up the Unit Report and load the unit.  Units may move very large distances by Rail with no Movement Attrition or loss of Supplies and Readiness; however, they are very vulnerable to enemy attacks.

Seaborne Movement

This is the movement of Land units through Deep Water or Anchorage locations. In most cases, Land units must be Embarked on Ships to move by sea. In order to use Seaborne Movement, your unit must begin its Turn in an Anchorage location and you must have sufficient Sealift Capacity to lift the unit. A Ship icon in the Unit Panel shows eligibility for Seaborne Movement. Click on the icon to bring up the Unit Report and load the unit on Ships. In some Scenarios, some units may have an independent Amphibious Capability and can always move using Seaborne Movement.

Airborne Movement

This is the movement of Airborne-capable Land units while Embarked on Air Transports. In order to use Airborne Movement, your unit must begin its Turn in an Airbase location and you must have sufficient Airlift Capacity to lift the unit. Units may only board Aircraft if there is another unit present at the location, or if there are no enemy units in adjacent locations. An Air Transport icon in the Unit Panel shows eligibility for Airborne Movement. Click on the icon to load the unit on an Aircraft.
An Airborne unit may disembark without ill effects on any friendly-controlled Airbase, or it may conduct an Airdrop on any other location that it could normally enter or attack. Often, the contents of the location will be unknown. If enemy units are discovered to be present at the time of the drop, your Airdropped unit will be destroyed unless the enemy units opt to retreat before combat. Some equipment is too heavy to be moved by Transport Aircraft during the time period covered by the game. All non-Airborne-capable armored vehicles and Transport in excess of the bare minimum required by the unit for normal Land movement will be stripped from the unit and added to your Replacement Pool for later redistribution. Headquarters units may Airdrop only into friendly-controlled territory. Airborne units are subject to equipment losses and possible arbitrary division into sub-units during Airdrops, and may be scattered outside their intended destination location in smaller (five to ten kilometers) scale Scenarios. Poor terrain (Forests, Jungle, Badlands, Mountains, Urban, etc.) and environmental factors (bad weather, night) can have a strong negative effect on Airdropped units. If the enemy has Air units with Air Superiority missions, your units may also suffer Attrition from enemy Interception. It is usually best to avoid Airdrops in the face of significant enemy air opposition.

Airmobile Movement

This is the movement of Helicopter and Airmobile-capable Land units while embarked on Helicopters. In order to use Airmobile Movement, your unit must either be a Helicopter unit itself or it must begin its Turn within 200 kilometers of Helicopter Transport units with enough combined Airmobile Transport Capacity to lift the entire unit. It is not necessary to be in the same location  as a Helicopter Transport unit. An Airmobile Transport icon in the Unit Panel shows eligibility for Airmobile Movement. Click on the icon to load the unit on the Helicopter unit. Any Helicopter units providing Airmobile Transport for a unit have their Movement Allowances reduced to zero for the Turn. A unit may not provide Airmobile Transport if it has moved. It is important to note that assigning Transport HH equipment to a unit will grant it the ability to lend its Airlift Capacity to any friendly units using Airmobile Movement. This can have unintended consequences if other units use Airmobile Movement nearby, as this will immobilize the unit which provided the Airlift Capacity. It is generally best to only assign Transport HH equipment to units with the Transport Helicopter unit icon, or to Headquarters that are expected to remain relatively stationary. Helicopter units may only move to friendly-controlled locations. This restriction does not apply to Airmobile units using Airmobile Movement, which can even enter and pass through enemyoccupied locations. Units using Airmobile Movement are subject to Interception by enemy aircraft flying Air Superiority missions, and to anti-aircraft fire from enemy units that they fly over. An Airmobile unit may disembark without any ill effects in any playable location not occupied by enemy units. If it disembarks onto an enemy unit, an Airmobile assault is immediately conducted. Unlike Airborne units, Airmobile units are not subject to Scattering or Drop Attrition when disembarking in enemy territory. Units using Airmobile Movement automatically disembark when they reach the end of their Movement Allowance, if you end your Turn, or if you select another unit. Disembarked Airmobile units have ½ their original Movement Allowance. If an Airmobile Assault goes badly, or if for some other reason the unit has to end its movement without disembarking, the unit will be returned to its original location. Depending upon the reason for the failure, the unit may suffer substantial losses – particularly to heavier weapons. In some cases, it may be possible to pick the unit up and immediately launch another Airmobile Movement and Assault, but this is usually not a good idea.

Embarked Status

An embarked unit (regardless of transport mode; e.g., Train, Ship, or Plane) displays a embarked “stairstep” button icon in the Unit Panel. In most cases, you can disembark by clicking in the embarked button, or from the General Unit Orders popup menu. Additionally, a special “embarked” 2D icon replaces the unit’s normal 2D unit symbol icon in the Unit Panel (the actual icon displayed depends on the Transport mode; see the 2D icon symbol chart later in this manual). Once a unit has expended Movement Points using an embarked type of Transport Mode, it is usually restricted in its ability to move by normal Land movement on the Turn that it disembarks.

Movement Costs and Allowances

In order for a unit to enter a location, it must have sufficient remaining Movement Allowance. If a unit has not moved or attacked previously in the Turn, it can always move at least once into any allowed location regardless of cost. Unit Movement Allowances are based on the Supply levels and equipment assigned, and the Scenario physical and time scales.

Land Unit Movement Costs

Road

Movement costs along roads vary from 1 to 3, depending upon the number of Vehicles and Horse Teams already in the location. Mud increases movement costs along non-improved roads by 1.

Off-Road

The minimum standard cost for a Land unit to enter most allowed locations is based on the unit’s movement category, as follows:

• Minimum Standard Cost (foot or mixed movement): 1
• Minimum Standard Cost (motorized movement): 2 (Advanced Rules) Even the presence of friendly units in a location can increase the standard cost for entering that location. The exact amount of the cost increase is dependent on the number of Vehicles and Horse Teams already there, and affects Motorized units more strongly than other types. Units with Military Police can reduce these movement cost increases. If there are already nine units in the location, or if there are any enemy units there, the movement is not allowed. If there are fewer than nine friendly units in the location, the maximum standard cost for entry is based on the unit’s movement category:
• Maximum Standard Cost (foot or mixed movement): 3
• Maximum Standard Cost (motorized movement): 6

Additional Land Movement Costs

Some terrain types prohibit movement or impose additional costs for entry, as follows:

• Alpine: Not allowed, except along a Road or Improved Road
• Any Forest: +2
• Arid: No effect
• Badlands: Mixed or Motorized movement not allowed; Mountain units +2, all others x3
• Bocage/Hedgerow: +2
• Broken Railroad: No effect; may not be used for Rail Movement
• Contaminated Terrain: Adds 50% to the total Movement Point cost of moving into the hex. This will prevent the unit from moving more through more than one contaminated hex per Turn.
• Cropland: +1
• Dunes: Mixed or Motorized movement not allowed; Mountain units +2, all others x3
• Across Escarpment: Mountain units +1, Foot +2, all others +3
• Across Major Escarpment: Mountain units +2, all others not allowed, except along a Road or Improved Road
• Deep Water: Not allowed, except along a Road or Improved Road
• Dense Urban/Ruined Dense Urban: +1
• Enemy Adjacent: 12.5% to 25% of the original Movement Allowance. This depends on the unit’s Reconnaissance Capability. This penalty is doubled if the unit is moving from one such location to another. The cost is assessed upon leaving a hex adjacent to the enemy, not upon entering it.
• Enemy-Controlled Terrain: Up to 10% of original Movement Allowance. This depends on the unit’s Reconnaissance Capability. This cost also applies throughout the entire Turn in which a location first becomes friendly-controlled.
• Flooded Marsh: Amphibious units +2, all others not allowed.
• Frozen River, Super River, Canal, or Shallow Water: No effect. Land units may move into Frozen Shallow Water locations. Supply may be traced through Frozen Shallow Water locations as if they were Open terrain. If a unit is on a Frozen Shallow Water or a Super River location when the location thaws, the unit will automatically move to an adjacent location if possible. If there is no adjacent location to which the unit could be moved, it will instead evaporate – and all equipment assigned to the unit is lost. You need to keep an eye on your Weather Report as Spring approaches to avoid losing units deployed on Frozen Shallow Water or frozen Super River locations.
• Hills: Mountain units no effect, Mixed and Motorized movement +2, all others +1
• Impassible Mountains: Not allowed
• Jungle: +3
• Light Woods: +1
• Marsh: Mixed and Motorized movement +3, all others +2.
• Mountain: Mountain: Mountain units +1, Foot +2, all others +3
• Mud: Foot movement + 2, all others +3
• Non-Playable: Not allowed [exception: Air units]
• Railroad: No effect, unless using Rail Movement
• Rocky: Foot movement + 1, all others +2
• Sand: +1
• Snow: Motorized Movement+3, ski no effect, all others +2
• Unfrozen River or Canal: Amphibious units, no effect. All others +2
• Unfrozen Shallow Water: Not allowed
• Unfrozen Super River or Suez Canal: Amphibious units cost is 2, all others not allowed
• Urban: No effect
• Wadi: Mountain units no effect, Motorized and Mixed movement +2, all others +1

River Movement Costs

Rivers and Canals (as opposed to super rivers or Suez Canal) normally add 2 to the cost of entering a location. There are exceptions, as follows:

• Amphibious units are exempt from River Movement costs
• If the total minor ferry capability in the location (including that of the moving unit) is greater than 20%, the moving unit is exempt from River Movement costs.
• If the total minor ferry capability in the location (including that of the moving unit) is greater than 10%, the River adds only one point to the Movement Cost. Total Ferry Strengths less than 10% have no effect on River Movement.

Naval Unit Movement Costs

Naval units, and Land units using Sea Transport, may enter any Anchorage or Deep Water location at a cost of 1. No other locations are allowed.

Airborne Movement Costs

Units using Air Transport may enter any location at a cost of 1.

Railroad Movement Costs

Units using Rail Transport may enter any friendly-owned connected Rail Location at a cost of 1.

Airmobile Movement Costs

Units using Airmobile Transport may enter any location not occupied by enemy units at a cost of 1. Locations occupied by enemy units cost 3.