Command Ops Stalingrad: Operation Hubertus AAR

January 01, 2014

Scenario Background:

11 Nov 1944 03:30

Historical Scenario

Duration: 2:17:31

The German 6th Army is preparing to finalize its capture of the remaining Soviet bridgeheads west of the Volga within Stalingrad. Soviet intelligence has learned that elite German Pioneer units will lead the assault.

The German operational order has been code-named Hubertus after one of the key objectives, the Commissar's House. Capture of these bridgeheads will give the German 6th Army full control over the city of Stalingrad.

German forces outnumber the Soviet forces, but the Soviet 62nd Army is well supported by artillery batteries across the river.

Air cover for both armies is equal.

The weather situation is expected to worsen.

Scenario Statistics:

Axis Total units: 118

Allied Total Units: 137

Axis Total Combat Power: 284.55

Allied Total Combat Power: 221.99

Day 1:

I take command of the 62nd Soviet Army with it's back pushed up against the wall literally. Ice is forming north of Stalingrad so reinforcements by ferry across the river are limited. What I have left under my command inside Stalingrad is a broken army of shattered divisions with the majority of my units at half-strength or worse.

The Germans have moved a number of Pioneer battalions from divisions throughout the Army Group into the Stalingrad AO with the goal of finally eliminating the remaining Soviet bridgeheads west of the Volga.

I open the scenario with a bombardment of German forces south of Tsarita Gorge. 24th Panzer is down there and I don't want them joining the push for Pavlov's House and my southern objectives.

The Germans first push isn't in the South though, KG Seydel instead attacks my last foothold in the Red October factory. If they clear my troops out of there they will have an open run at the Commissar's and Chemist's House objectives.

With the Lazur objectives under attack I make the decision to shorten my lines in the south and withdraw some of the 13th Guards units that are in danger of encirclement. I am moving these units into the factory. To cover their withdrawal I am moving a company of sappers forward across the Waterworks ferry.

The fall of Rthe ed October factory threatens to divide my army in half. To help push KG Seydel back I am personally directing fire support from my Guards artillery batteries on the eastern bank of the Volga against them.

My reserve SMG company is being pushed forward from the safety of the riverbank to join the fighting in the factory.

Day 2:

I begin the day feeling good about the position I am in. I am still maintaining a line of supply north along Volga to Gorokow's brigade in Spartanovka and I am in complete control of two of the three river crossings. At Skudri, the Germans have pushed close enough to disrupt my control of the crossing.

While the fighting in the South is stable, the German forces around the Tractor Factory and the northern suburb of Spartanovka have seized the Brick Factory and the western edge of the Skudri crossing. I launch a counterattack with Sappers I had stationed by the bridge.

I continue to move individual units from Rodimtsev's 13th Guards north into the Lazur as I try to setup a second line of defense around the three objectives there.

Two German formations are launching an attack on the Lazur from the eastern slopes of Mamaev Kurgan. They are flush with Pioneer units which means a day of heavy fighting.

Day 3:

Things are tightening up. I've lost touch with Gorokow's brigade to the north they are cut off by a strong German presence at the Tractor Factory. German forces sit on 2 of the 3 ferry crossings now and my strongest reinforcement the 117th regiment has arrived in bad order and instead of joining the battle immediately takes time to re-organize.

The situation just after midnight on Day 3. You can see the 117th on the east side of the Volga near the SEP.

The 117th crosses under fire into Stalingrad.

Some of the fiercest fighting occurred in the south of Stalingrad around the 9th of January square and Pavlov's House. The NKVD HQ nearby was also a strongpoint I used to tie down a number of German forces and prevent them from heading north into the Lazur.

A closer look at the fighting in the Lazur Chemical Factory. The center objective (15 VPs) is still under control but the Commissar's House is being contested. I still control both sides of the Krutoy Gully which I've failed to hold before but a German penetration has occurred there.

Final Situation: In the end I manage to achieve a Marginal Victory. That is my best result with the Soviets. I lost a number of objectives but managed to keep the critical Lazur Factory Objective as well as the Barrikady factory. With control of those two objectives I also held Crossing 62 and the Waterworks Ferry crossings behind them. I inflicted over 1500 casualties on the Germans and destroyed over 100 AFVs.

I really believe one of the key decisions I made this time to achieve a marginal victory was pulling back my southernmost forces into positions to the north along the Krutoy Gully (the gully that borders the southern edge of the Lazur Factory). This enabled me to hold both sides of the gully and prevent a German attack along the gully and up into the factory from the south.

I also kept a reserve force along the river and worked to constantly patch holes in my lines as they opened.

Over 1300 of my soldiers surrendered which was incredibly high but with many of my units hovering around 30% of their estab file size, that's not a surprise I guess.

The stats are below and the final situation map.