September 1941
On June 22, 1941 the Russo-German border exploded in an avalanche of fire and steel. The facts as to who attacked first remain unclear but there is no doubt that a state of war now exists between Russia and Germany.
In the North, around Helsinki, a Russian armored division attempted to cross the border into Finland but met stiff resistance in the timely arrival of a mixed German unit of armor and infantry. The Germans believed they held a technological superiority in tanks after their stunning successes in Poland and France but they were amazed at the speed with which the Russian armor moved. The combat around the bridges and peninsula was fierce and with both sides taking heavy losses the Russian formations fell back to their original starting point. Around Riga a strong German armored force swept across the border advancing up a single road through a forest, capturing village after village. The Russian forces in the area were short of anti-tank weapons but fought bravely as they threw themselves onto the German panzers with satchel charges. The German columns of tanks and infantry pushed them aside until finally taking control of a hill that offered a commanding view of the area.
The most intense fighting occurred in the areas around Warsaw and Minsk. Russian forces around Minsk had constructed a line of bunkers that overlooked a forest clearing and a small stream. It was through this forest that German infantry began a murderous frontal assault against the bunkers. Three separate times the Germans attacked and penetrated the bunker line but their attack became bogged down in the forest and railway beyond the bunkers. Each time just as all seemed lost for the Russians fresh reinforcements would arrive to push the Germans back and retake the bunkers. Having suffered terrible losses the German forces took up defensive positions in a series of trenches outside of Warsaw. It was here that the Russian counterattack hit the Germans in full force. Short of men and material from their attack on the Minsk bunkers the German infantry were heavily outnumbered yet fought tenaciously. However, the attack was too strong and the German forces evacuated Warsaw to the advancing Russians.
Summer has turned to Fall and the weather in the East will grow increasingly worse. Soon the rains will start turning roads into rivers of mud, making life miserable for infantry and tankers alike. Both sides have made advances and suffered defeats in what appears to be the beginning of a long and desperate struggle
- courtesy of Junior Admin Keyser Soze
This week Leningrad (complete with Minion Work's KV-1B), Tula, Danzig and Rakowice are being played.
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