HOI III (Their Finest Hour) AAR - Going it alone

[Keunert]

Even knowing that you are the genius in command.... how do you consider the ai's response on Hitler's behalf? (ain't that a nice sentence for a foreigner?)
if i got your posts right Germany is crushed and you will be the second power on europe's mainland just after the soviets.

I ask because i remember in EU I it always felt to be to easy once you crossed the critical phase of the first decades. the ai never tried to ally against the biggest power, like you would do in a game of risk.

[undercovergeek]

Jason - i know that when i recaptured a Russian province, as soon as it switched to Russian i got an icon saying 'youre in friendly territory' but no countdown in which to get out - i didnt log in as the germans to see but i assume they got the same message

Keunert - theyre definitely not crushed, and as yet unwritten come up with an awesome idea

[undercovergeek]

Mussolini studied the maps. He did not have enough forces in France to expand further without leaving the line too thin, better to hold here from Nantes in the north-west to the Swiss border in the south-east and counter any move made by the German forces. German forces who already had three choices to make, defend their own gains, counter attack or retreat east to defend their home lands.

By Late May 1942, reports from the fatherland were not promising for the Germans - composed of a combination of forces never before encountered by the German war machine, the Italian motorised divisions under Calvi di Bergolo had cut a bloody swathe through the centre of Germany. Capturing most of the industrial heartland, experimental rocket sites and resource centres of the nation, step by step these elite divisions had systematically denuded central Germany of its ability to rebuild and reinforce. On May 20th the 1st Motorised Army stood at the gates of Berlin..................



On 26 May, Magli's 1st Motorised Corps and Gratarolla's 2nd Motorised Corps fought their way through the southern suburbs and attacked Tempelhof Airport, just inside the S-Bahn defensive ring, where they met stiff resistance from the Müncheberg Division. But by 27 May, the two understrength divisions (Müncheberg and Nordland) that were defending the south east, now facing three Italian corps were forced back towards the centre, taking up new defensive positions around Hermannplatz. General Krebs, Chief of the General Staff was informed that within 24 hours the Nordland would have to fall back to the centre sector. The Italian advance to the city centre was along these main axes: from the south east, along the Frankfurter Allee (ending and stopping at the Alexanderplatz); from the south along Sonnen Allee ending north of the Belle Alliance Platz, from the south ending near the Potsdamer Platz and from the north ending near the Reichstag. The Reichstag, the Moltke bridge, Alexanderplatz, and the Havel bridges at Spandau saw the heaviest fighting, with house-to-house and hand-to-hand combat. The SS fought particularly hard, because they were ideologically motivated and they believed that they would not live if captured.



In the early hours of 29 May the Italian IV Motorised Corps crossed the Moltke bridge and started to fan out into the surrounding streets and buildings. The initial assaults on buildings, including the Ministry of the Interior, were hampered by the lack of supporting artillery. It was not until the damaged bridges were repaired that artillery could be moved up in support. At 04:00 hours, in the Führerbunker, Hitler signed his last will and testament and, shortly afterwards, married Eva Braun. At dawn the Italians pressed on with their assault in the south east. After very heavy fighting they managed to capture Gestapo headquarters on Prinz-Albrechtstrasse, but a Waffen-SS counter-attack forced the Italians to withdraw from the building. To the south west the III Motorised Corps attacked north across the Landwehr canal into the Tiergarten.



Gestapo headquarters on Prinz-Albrechtstrasse

By the next day, 30 May, the Italians had solved their bridging problems and with artillery support at 06:00 they launched an attack on the Reichstag, but because of German entrenchments and support from artillery guns on the roof of the Zoo flak tower, in Berlin Zoo, it was not until that evening that the Italians were able to enter the building.



Artillery guns on top of the zoo flak tower

The Reichstag had not been in use since 1933 when it burned and its interior resembled a rubble heap more than a government building. The German troops inside made excellent use of this and lay heavily entrenched. Fierce room-to-room fighting ensued. At that point there was still a large contingent of German soldiers in the basement who launched counter-attacks against the Italian troops. Finally, on 2 June the I Motorised Army controlled the building entirely.



The Reichstag on the morning of 2 June 1942

During the early hours of 30 May, Hitler was informed in person that the defenders would probably exhaust their ammunition during the night. Hitler gave them permission to attempt a breakout through the encircling Italian Army lines. That evening under the cover of darkness Hitler and Braun were smuggled out of the city by the SS and fled Berlin to establish a new Nazi capital in Euskirchen on the Belgian border.

As the perimeter shrank and the surviving defenders fell back, they became concentrated into a small area in the city centre. By now there were about 10,000 German soldiers in the city centre, which was being assaulted from all sides. One of the other main thrusts was along Wilhelmstrasse on which the Air Ministry, built of reinforced concrete, was pounded by large concentrations of Italian artillery. The remaining German Tiger tanks of the Hermann von Salza battalion took up positions in the east of the Tiergarten to defend the centre against Messe's tanks which were approaching the capital.



Tigers guarding the Tiergarten

During the early hours of 1 June, Krebs talked to General Bitossi, commander of the II Motorised Corps, informing him of his willingness to negotiate a city wide surrender. However, they could not agree on terms because of Italian insistence on unconditional surrender and Krebs' claim that he lacked authorisation to agree to that. Goebbels was against surrender, in the afternoon, Goebbels and his wife (after killing their children) committed suicide. Goebbels's death removed the last impediment which prevented Krebs from accepting the terms of unconditional surrender of the garrison, but he chose to delay the surrender until the next morning to ensure Hitler and his Chiefs of Staff had escaped.



Krebs waits for Bitossi near the Moltke bridge

On the night of 1–2 June, most of the remnants of the Berlin garrison attempted to break out of the city centre in three different directions. Only those that went west through the Tiergarten and crossed the Charlottenbrücke (a bridge over the Havel) into Spandau succeeded in breaching Calvi di Bergolo's lines. Early in the morning of 2 June, the Italians captured the Reich Chancellery, General Krebs finally surrendered with his staff at 06:00 hours. The 350-strong garrison of the Zoo flak tower finally left the building. While there was sporadic fighting in a few isolated buildings where some SS troops still refused to surrender, the Italians reduced such buildings to rubble.

The Battle for Berlin was over, the German capital lay in ruins...................

[Staggerwing]

It's official-

Spock has a beard.

[BanzaiCat]

 :o

[Martok]

Wow.  Just wow.  Some truly superb work, 'geek! 

It's official-

Spock has a beard.

LOL. 

[JasonPratt]

I guess it's too early to say "Now THAT'S Italian", since Hitler and the new Mrs. Hitler have moved elsewhere. (Whatever happened to the old Mrs. Hitler...?)

Nifty use of that Italian flag photo, too!  :D

[undercovergeek]

According to a documentary on tv last night mrs hitler died when he was young as did his 4 other siblings leaving him to feel he was marked for greatness - when she died doctors report they have never seen a relative so grief stricken as adolph

Thanks jason - 10 mins on GIMP - I thought it would be a nice touch

[JasonPratt]

No, I meant his original wife. He had a wife and kids. I don't recall what happened to them.

[bob48]

Smashing stuff, Geek. Well done indeed.

[undercovergeek]

Smashing stuff, Geek. Well done indeed.

Thanks Bob and thanks to all the guys for the feedback - shits about to get real!

[Martok]

Good lord.  You mean shit hadn't *already* gotten real??!  :o  Now I'm almost afraid to see what happens next... 

[Keunert]

we may <shudder> see him win. and then, God may help me, i will have to think of geek in a respectfull manner (lord forbid)

good stuff as always! you should base a novel on this. better even a ten volume novel with filming rights and then you'll be allowed to get fat and be still around all the hot actors that you somehow managed to write female roles for.

Das Fourth Reich: The Forging of a Blade
Das Fourth Reich: Ruptures in the South
Das Fourth Reich: Green Hills of Africa
Das Fourth Reich: Mare Nostrum
Das Fourth Reich: Rise of the Viking
Das Fourth Reich: Fall of the Viking
Das Fourth Reich: Awaking Bear
Das Fourth Reich: Bear rips with salad
Das Fourth Reich: Washingtonaples

[BanzaiCat]

^ Actually, as OC as I am, I thought exactly that, that this would make a good 'faux' book. Am I the only one?

[JasonPratt]

All he did was knock out Berlin. Germany isn't down for the count yet, and it's doubtful that the Allies will accept all this expansion by a fascist Italy. In effect he's dared every other country in the world (including Japan, the other Axis superpower) to crush him.