WitE 1941-1945 Axis, Turn 1 Planning

This blog is me trying to chronicle/AAR my first attempt at the 1941-1945 Axis campaign of War in the East.

First turn (22 June 01) :

As we are launching a surprise attack, first order of business will be to bomb the Soviet airfields as much as possible, to achieve air superiority (or even supremacy) for the first few days or weeks of the campaign.

From North to South :

1 . Northern flank from Memel to the start of the Soviet salient will begin to push toward the Baltic coast and Leningrad to secure ports and factories at said locations.

2. Northern flank of the Soviet salient will attempt to push south east, at least half encircling the salient, cutting off supply. Forces left over will push forward toward Minsk and the Dnepr, half encircling Minsk if possible. If not possible, this will be set up for the following turn.

3. Southern flank of the salient will push northeast, linking up with forces from the north, and forming joint push toward Minsk and the Dnepr. Some forces will stay to encircle Brest-Litovsk. All forces in this push will attempt to stay north of the massive swamp around the Dnepr-Bug Canal.

4. Some forces will push east securing south side of Dnepr-Bug Canal swamp toward Kiev. This will attempt to safely envelope enemy troops while taking minimal casualties.

5. Forces will push southeast cutting off Lvov and Chernovtsy, linking up with Romanian troops to entirely cut supply. Joint German/Romanian forces will then push toward Black Sea coast, intending to take Odessa, Sevastapol, and eventually factories and oilfields in the Caucuses.

Overall, I will be attempting to cripple the Soviet industrial base as much as possible, taking factories along the Baltic and Black Sea coasts rather than pushing aggressively toward Moscow. At some point, possibly at the Dnepr in the south and Dvina in the north, I will establish a defensive line and move higher quality/faster Armoured and Mechanized/Motorized divisions toward the north and south flanks to hasten success.

I appear to have enough rail repair divisions to push four MSR (Main Supply Routes) - one in the north toward Leningrad, taking advantage of the easier to repair Baltic rail zone for as long as possible, one directly east toward Minsk and the Dnepr, and one southeast toward the Black Sea. I am undecided on the fourth - it will probably start out working through the safer parts of the Dnepr-Bug Canal and then work to link with the other MSR, providing redundancy for when partisans inevitably damage some line.

This concludes my initial intentions, next post will show the results of turn 1 and outline and revisions going forward.