The Soviet General Staff is optimistic about our chances to reverse the course of the war. Recall that Comrade Stalin's grand plan demanded that the German invasion be stopped by six months after the initial attack, and that the Germans attacked in April. We've stopped them a few months early. Reaching Berlin by April 1944 (as was also called for in Comrade Stalin's plan) will probably be a bit harder.
In general news, rainstorms have begun to move southwest across most of the Soviet Union, which ought to forestall attacks by the Germans, and Suisakov's corps, the one that took horrible casualties holding Jekapilis back in late April or early May, is now back to about 75% strength.
0800 8 June
Zhitomir (just west of Kiev) comes under attack. We'll reinforce it a bit, since falling back from here puts Kiev in danger.
0900 8 June
Vinnitsa, from which I was going to pull reinforcements for Zhitomir, comes under attack as well. В Киев!
1100 8 June
Soviet forces north of the Daugava are cooperating with the army in Swieciany to carry out an attack on Jekapilis.
0400 9 June
The Americans try to dislodge us from Khabarovsk. Again.
0700 9 June
Retreating from Vinnitsa.
1000 10 June
Retreating from Zhitomir.
0800 11 June
Rain falls on our attack on Jekapilis. I'm not going to call it off.
In Turkey, the Italians are getting to the point where they outnumber us 2-1. Fortunately, they're very bad at this whole war thing.
2300 11 June
We inflict horrible casualties on the Americans. Again.
0900 13 June
The Germans attack Mogilev Podolski, south of Vinnitsa. Given the forces they look to be committing down here, I wonder if this isn't a general attack.
1000 14 June
Jekapilis' original defenders fall back after having taken heavy casualties. Mogilev Podolski falls to the Germans.
1900 14 June
Rokossovsky's corps and the other units in Chisinev vacate the province (retreating to Odessa) to avoid stretching our line out.
1100 15 June
Berzarin and one other armored/motorized corps in Cherkassy make a cheap counterattack on two Czechoslovakian armored divisions that outran their attack. Little actions like that are things that'll eventually add up to a victory (go Soviets).
Actually, I've noticed that the Germans haven't really been reinforcing their units, and certainly not at the same pace that we have. I'd guess this is because they're probably having to spend an utter ton of IC on supplies.
1100 16 June
The Italians are on the cusp of suffering another defeat in Turkey. The Germans appear to be committing to their attacks in the south. Note the mega-stack.
0900 17 June
We've pushed the Italians out of Kayseri. The Turkish offered another laughable peace, which I promptly rejected.
The Germans attack Cherkassy. We'll defend this one. German reinforcements trickle into to Jekapilis, which is okay by me. More men to grind down.
1000 19 June
The Germans abaondon their attack on Cherkassy.
1300 19 June
The relief force in Jekapilis falls back. We are attacked in Minsk, but we'll reinforce that one.
0700 20 June
Soviet soldiers reach Jekapilis, and are promptly counterattacked by fifteen divisions. They fall back. Oh well. I don't mind-- bloody exchanges of territory are going to work out in my favor in the long run.
1200 20 June
Soviet forces attack the Italians in Gazintep, their only province with a sea border. If we can force them back, they'll have to retreat inland, which really ends up working out well for us, given that they'd be out of supply and I would like to capture thirty of their divisions.
1900 20 June
The Germans cease attacking Minsk.
0000 21 June
The attack on the Italians is going to be a close-run thing.
0000 24 June
The attack on the Italians is called off. I'd say the advantage goes to us, though-- we ground down their divisions still further.
Zhukov's corps has finally arrived in Roslavl, just south of Smolensk, along with another headquarters division. My present thinking is to send him down toward Kiev-- he'll be of greater use down there in the plains as a counterattacking unit.
Overall, it was a good two weeks. Jekapilis was a bit of a disappointment, but we'll get them eventually. On top of that, Italy is looking more dangerous in Turkey by dint of outnumbering us two to one or thereabouts, but I'm convinced we can still knock them off the mainland. Actually, the Italians are a good reason to go for the navy in the near future-- we'll need some way of clearing them out of the Mediterranean.
The first of our new series of infantry ought to be arriving in mid-July, with the big production starting in a month and a half. It takes about a month for a division to reach full readiness after coming off the production lines.
Below is the losses chart to date. The Soviet Union has lost 455,000 men in its various wars so far. The US's losses are entirely due to us. If you look at all of our foes, we're doing pretty well. Nor have we lost the most men in the world. Japan, bogged down in China, has lost a staggering 700,000, and Nationalist China has lost a mind-boggling 1.2 million.
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Topic: Arsenal of Democracy LP (1 October, 1944: Vperyod!) (Read 95113 times)