The Bear is on the prowl! - NORTHAG AO in '85 AAR

Gentlemen, (I seriously doubt there are any ladies present... and I am saying ladies, not wussies )

It is no secret that my interest in military history includes a lot more than "just" the gunpowder age per se... Thus I have recently agreed to a nice little PBEM game dealing with a possible "cold war gone hot" scenario set in Germany in '85. Having discussed this with Martin James I will write an AAR about it - basically in the same fashion as the Waterloo AAR that had to be abandoned because my opponent (yet another one) decided to disappear (this time into the "outback")

Due to several reason my opponent and I opted NOT to play the entire scenario from the North Sea all the way down to Austria, but instead chose to focus on the Area of Operations of "NORTHAG" - Northern Army Group of NATO.  Maybe some day in the distant future we'll have a go at the "entire conflict"...

Just like the title already indicates I will have the pleasure of taking the forces of Warsaw Pact onto the field and sending wave after wave of brave Russians, Germans and Polish troops against the formidable defenses NATO has - no doubt - prepared for me ... Many a comrade will not live to see the day when Mother Russia rules over all of Europe, but many others will in their name!



I am currently processing the first turn where the WP forces are allowed to move - the scenario gave NATO 2 turns head-start to get into positions from their FUPs (forming up points I believe is the correct English word).
I will keep you informed about the progress of famous units like the 10th Guards Tank Division in the 3rd Shock Army or the 9th Panzer of the 5th Volksarmee - but all most likely with a bit of a delay between the actual turns being processed and the turns being discussed in detail - OPSEC can never be treated carefully enough - although I have no doubt about the integrity of my opponent!  




As always I am looking forward to input from everyone - I do hope that I can interest you a bit with my incoherent thoughts, yet to come... I know it's not the usual area of "our" interest here - but a little change might not be so bad after all

As discussed yesterday with Digby - I am fully prepared to lose eventually - but that is the great thing about playing WP -it's no issue at all - although I always feel somewhat attached to my pixeltruppen - and thus will do the utmost to keep them alive - no matter what flag they are flying!

A MasterMap has been created by me, to help with the orientation in-game and also on a more strategic level:

the AO in this scenario will stretch from the "Harz Mountains" via "Kassel" to the west until the scenario boundaries reach "Bonn" all the way on the western map edge.
We'll fight from this line northwards all the way to Jutland - including Berlin.

I have uploaded it to dropbox for anyone interested to download - it's a map made out of over 40 screenshots in-game put together to form one large map.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/63823089/MasterMap%201.jpg

I love a good Russian armor assault. Most of these scenarios have the Russians using their A category troops as the initial spearhead. This always seems to fail as the Category B troops just cannot make the final push. Since NATO will have limited ordinance and equipment until REFORGER gets going, why not use the Poles and Hungarians first? Let them soak up the initial Allied fusillade. Then turn loose the Tank Guards.

if only the game would give me this option    - unfortunately it starts with a preset deployment that I could only change if I went into the scenario editor - which is beyond me I am afraid - however my strategy overall will definitely consider Russian Doctrin including the "deep thrust" - using mobile manoeuver groups of elite forces to exploit any breakthroughs.

NORTHAG per se will be a rather limited AO - simply because I do not have Frankfurt a.M. with its REFORGER Airfields as a target - that would have been a part of the "large" scenario. In turn however we will mostly only face the BAOR (British ARmy of the Rhine), the Dutch, Belgians, Danish and of course some German formations. Maybe some French show up later...
and who knows.. maybe even the Marines make an attempt at landing somewhere in the rear areas?

manoeuver is still possible but the most important decisions like how to take Frankfurt or how to use the Danube in the south to make a possible thrust up North are not a part I am afraid. All I need to worry about really is how to cross the Weser as quickly as possible and then how to take the Ruhr Area. The large German plains in the north should give me ample terrain for my tanks - but we all know that I have loads of tanks but only the latest models of the T80 and T72 will have a chance against the Leopard 2A4, the Challenger 1 or the Abrams M1A1...

furthermore: the Russian Army on the front line is not the crème de la crème - there are quite a few elite units that are still in reserve, with only two Divisions on "B" - which is "good" deployed up front - both of them mentioned above - the rest of the army is rated C, which is "regular".... however the NORTHAG area is quite "good" in terms of Russian quality overall in comparison to the SOUTHAG or CENTAG where many T-55s are still employed by the Czech Army for example...
Most of NATO is rated "B" in-game - with a few exceptional units like German Paratroopers being A.

We can be sure that it will be a slaughter as I will simply assault one NATO Tank bataillon with 3 of mine...  


The main issue will be to see whether NATO defends far forward or whether it falls back and defends the river lines... I can defeat both in a perfect world - in reality - well... we'll see

I am the intended victim and Roland is a closet commie.......LOL

I am hoping after a few rounds of this 1/3 map that I will be ready to do the big one. The full map is huge and need some more pretice before I go that route.

Having a good time learning it too.

I gotta tell you Mike, pushing a Soviet tank army west would be even more fun than commanding the heavy position batteries in a Nappy fight.

A Soviet tank army is probably the Nap equivalent of a couple of cuirassier corps with each horse having a 12pdr strapped on its back.

don't spoil it for him, guys ... he only faced Czech units in our smaller test scenarios before... he never saw a T-80 in this game - nor did he face the rather generous allotment of self-propelled artillery ... ever

BUT: I did offer him to play either side... so...

Thanks Kevin and Digby for your insightful instigation. LOL

No doubt this will be a very interesting and fun game and I expect for it to be hard going for NATO.

I am a believer of Fortress America and if I was SinK (got to love the pun) I would not even have been there in the first place. Only in GB if they would have us. Europe always seems to be at some kind of post and pre war argument about something at all times and seems that GB and the US have bailed them out a few times before hand. Why change a winning strategy. Like Kevin let someone else take the brunt and them go in and clean up.

the first turn of the Russian attack has been sent back to the Capitalists of the West...

more news to come soon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91kdwxFsthI

That's for Morsey:

And here for Billy, so we can get it in vernacular:

Regardless of the sides the Russian National Anthem is quite epic song, I don't even understand the words and makes you want to stand up and shake your fist in support.


On a sad note I have noticed that Roland is not only Closet Commie.  


Thanks More Alive for the English version, being that you are in Czechoslovakian maybe you can refresh these gents about Soviet occupation or maybe not?

alright.... I believe it is time to start with the military side of things - propaganda is of course always welcome... but from here on out: ONLY communist one



I am looking forward to a fun and entertaining game

General deployment of currently available forces for Operation "Red Dawn"





Order of Battle of all currently available Forces in the AO:


5. Nationale Volksarmee:

8th MotSchützen Division
9th Panzer Division

2nd Guards Tank Army:

21st Mot Rifle Division
207th Mot Rifle Division
94th Gds Mot Rifle Division
6th Gds Mot Rifle Division
16th Gds Tank Division


20th Guards Army:

35th Mot Rifle Division
25th Tank Division
92nd Gds Tank Division
90th Gds Tank Division


3rd Shock Army:

7th Gds Tank Division
10th Gds Tank Division
12th Gds Tank Division
47th Gds Tank Division


1st Guards Tank Army:

20th Gds Mot Rifle Division



Air Support:

16th Air Red Banner Army

My, my, you've got the 3rd Shock Army.  We're gonna have some fun now.

OPERATIONS ORDER ZAPAD-85 (Attack Plan "RED DAWN TWO"):


Reference: Northern Germany Map 1:100,000 Edition: Central Europe
Time Zone Used Throughout: Local



1. MISSION:

The Warsaw Pact Western TVD is to conduct offensive operations in Central Europe 100600JUN85 to liberate all of western Europe and force a NATO capitulation.


2. EXECUTION:


2a. 5th Nationale Volksarmee:

The combined forces of the 5th NVA are to advance into Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland, capturing Hamburg in the process. Once at the Nord-Ostsee Kanal the 5th NVA is to force a crossing, capture Kiel and advance into Denmark. To support this operation the 6th Polish Airborne Brigade will be deployed around the Nord-Ostsee Kanal to capture vital bridges. Furthermore the 36th Naval Brigade will conduct an amphibious landing north of Kiel to further support the crossing of the Kanal.
If possible, Follow-On-Forces are to divert to support the push to the West.


2b. 2nd Guards Tank Army:

The 2nd Guards Tank Army is to cross the Elbe Kanal, cut off the retreat route from Hamburg and then advance past the city in order to capture Bremen, Wilhelmshafen and then push into the Netherlands. The coast will have to be guarded against any possible amphibious landings by NATO.

2c. 20th Guards Army:

The 20th Guards Army is to advance through Braunschweig and cross the Weser north of Hannover, stay in close contact with the 2nd GdsTankArmy and push past Bremen to the south. In Cooperation with this Army it is to seek a breakthrough into the rear areas of Northern Germany and the Netherlands.

2d. 3rd Shock Army:

The 3rd Shock Army will thrust towards Hannover and cross the Leine and Weser as quickly as possible. the 76th Guards Airborne Division will support this operation by conducting operations to capture vitally important bridges across the Weser river. Hannover per se is to be avoided and left encircled for follow on forces to take, as it is of the utmost importance to keep up the momentum of the attack. Once past the Weser line the 3rd Shock Army is to advance towards the Ruhr Area and capture its key industrial centers.

2e. 1st Guards Tank Army:

The available forces of this formation will capture Kassel and then act as a flanking force for the 3rd Shock ARmy to protect against possible enemy counter attacks from the West or South-West conducted by possible reinforcements of Belgian and French forces.

Kevin wrote:My, my, you've got the 3rd Shock Army. We're gonna have some fun now. Twisted Evil

what... why? It only has around 90 T-80s or T-64BVs on average per regiment....

I'm changing my avatar in honor of this historic occasion.

oh bloody hell... now I might actually have to do more than just send wave after wave against entrenched NATO troops...

you are putting me under an awful lot of pressure, you know?

now I might actually have to do more than just send wave after wave against entrenched NATO troops

Why? It's the Soviet way. Anyway, you've got an air army for support. NATO never fielded AA in any quantity. You did launch preemptive air strikes against their forward airbases, didn't you. Maybe some bug spray in a few of those bombs.

June 10, 0535 , somewhere over the river Leine:


Colonel Mikhail Rokossovsky was looking down the long cargo hold of a IL-76. Next to him were his  staff and the 1st Coy, 2-234 AirAssault Regiment.
All he could see were rather nervous young men, preparing themselves and their equipment for the „real“thing. It's what they had been training for for years – or even decades: They were about to airdrop deep behind the German border and attempt to capture some of the vital bridges across the river Weser.
High command had again informed him of the importance of his success. The entire 3rd Shock army  along with the 20th Guards would be stuck in front of the river and would have to conduct lengthy and dangerous bridging operations, should his and all the other regiments of the 76th Guards  Airborne Division fail to succeed in capturing and holding at least ONE bridge INTACT!

Approaching the border Rokossovsky had prayed that the Air Force would be up to the task in forcing a corridor for the transport planes to get through... Now that he was already in Germany he started praying for other things: That he would be dropped at the right spot – with his entire regiment, for once... most of all, however, he was preoccupied with another thought: Should he and the rest of the division succeed in capturing their objectives, for how long would they have to hold them?
Would the armoured spearhead break through NATO defenses as planned? Would the Air Force be able to maintain air superiority? This was the only real question which made all the others look rather “minor”.

Initially the use of a preemptive strike with non-persistent chemical ammunition had been an important factor in the overall strategy. However recent events and the concern with the level of “hostility” from the general population led to a last minute change in orders, which resulted in the complete ban for any NBC ammunition until further notice.
Basically Moscow had decreed that NATO would have to use them first...
Quite surprising from a humanitarian point of view – but utterly devastating from a military one.
One could of course argue that most of NATO had been training for years to be ready for such an attack – but still – it would have been worth a try for sure! And one thing was sure: not a single soul in Germany was still asleep after the display the Air Force had put on by now...

The other concern he had been faced with during the planning was WHERE his regiment/division would be dropped at.
Rokossovsky was a soldier of the old order. He has never seen anything but the airborne troops and was a firm supported of the deep thrust doctrine, which would include the use of airborne troops far in front of the armoured spearheads. He was not really concerned with the fact of being surrounded – he was used to that – no... he was a bit worried whether the drop at the Weser wasn't a “bridge too far” - why? Well, simple fact is that if the tank divisions can't grab an intact bridge over the river Leine even 10 bridges across the Weser aren't going to do them any good... and there were only enough transport planes to drop ONE division at a time. The 7th would have to wait for later...

Just as he wanted to start the entire thought process again he saw the red warning light pop up: One minute to drop!

...it all didn't matter any more... He would lead his men into battle – and whatever end!

Initially the use of a preemptive strike with non-persistent chemical ammunition had been an important factor in the overall strategy. However recent events and the concern with the level of “hostility” from the general population led to a last minute change in orders, which resulted in the complete ban for any NBC ammunition until further notice.

Bah! Lilly-livered cowards.  They are probably all hiding under their desks in Moscow.  Where's Uncle Joe when we need him.  He would not hesitate, not even for one second.

June 10, 0605 East of Lübeck:

Stabsfeldwebel d. Panzertruppe Friedrich Landau anxiously waited as the Grenztruppen tore down the border barricades into Western Germany. Operation “Red Dawn” had begun and Landau would be one of the first to cross over to the “other” side...
Just like everyone else in the 8th Motorized Schützen Division, his platoon was equipped with T-55s. Not the most modern of tanks – no doubt – but it's what the NVA had mostly been assigned to for their Motorized Divisions. The 9. Panzerdivision on his left had T-72s – but not the newest models either.

It didn't really matter, since he had trained with this tank and his platoon for long enough to feel confident with it. And NATO didn't have top-end equipment either in this sector. He would mostly be facing the 6th Panzer-Grenadier Division, which was equipped with Leopard 1s only, as far as intelligence had informed them.

As soon as the way was clear he ordered his platoon to advance down the road in column formation. A platoon of BMP-1s of the AufklärungsBtl had already gone ahead to reconnoiter the area.
It was vital that the bridge across the Elbe-Lübeck Kanal right near the sea was captured intact – a task which should be possible to successfully accomplish, since he could almost see this very bridge from his FUP.

Not five minutes into enemy territory he received a short radio message informing him of trucks and bridging equipment up ahead – about 1,5 kilometers due north-west of his position.
His battalion commander – LtCol Wilhelm knew that the infantry was only just crossing the border and thus he ordered Landau and his platoon to seek out and engage the enemy engineers.
“Easy prey”, Landau said to his gunner, Richtschütze Walther, upon reception of his new orders – especially since the bridge had already been taken without opposition by the Recon elements up ahead. The BMP-1s had brought along a few engineers, which were busy with defusing the prepared demolition charges, no one had deemed necessary to ignite.
Were those capitalists really still asleep? For over an hour now the Russian Air Force had bombarded pre-plotted positions and air fields across the border – all of Germany was in-flames it seemed – only a dead person could have slept through that, he figured.

It was beautiful terrain for his tanks. They reached a crossroads and as soon as he looked to his left he spotted a number of trucks and some bridge layer vehicles neatly arranged on the road side. “German efficiency” he said to himself – beautifully deployed – for peace-time that is...
Without further ado he went about his business – His platoon deployed into chevron formation and formed up on a small rise just 800 meters away from their prey.
Not long after he started “his” war: “Richtschütze, LKW, 1 Uhr, 700m, HE-Granate, FEUER FREI!” ….

5. Volksarmee and the thrust into Denmark - PLAN

Positions to be reached by 0000 June 12 and future dispositions:



8. Motorisierte Schützendivision:

1) Capture of the town of Lübeck and bridges across the Elbe-Lübeck Kanal
2) Advance towards the Line: Neumünster-Kiel - if practical attempt to reach the Nord-Ostsee Kanal by 0000 June 12
3) A crossing of the Nord-Ostsee Kanal must be forced before 0000 June 13 at all costs!


9. Panzerdivision

1) Complete Encirclement of Hamburg from the East and North
2) the city is to be captured before 0000 June 15
3) Push past the city of Hamburg and reach the line of Itzehoe-Neumünster before 0000 June 12
4) Support 8th MotSchDiv with a crossing of the Nord-Ostsee Kanal somewhere between Burg und Abersdorf