Scenario 2: Zhitomir Order of Battle

[IV/JG7_4Shades]

The scenario opens very early on the morning of 30 December 1943. The Zhitomir garrison of PzAOK4 is hard pressed and facing potential encirclement, as happened to Korosten to the north on the day before and like Berdichev and Kazatin two days ago in the south. Can the Korosten forces link up with Kampfgruppe Zwiahel and secure the northern flank of Zhitomir, stabilizing the PzAOK front, or will all be swept away by the advancing First Ukrainian Front forces?

To make this scenario come alive, we need orders of battle. The combined feeling from Scenario 1 in Korosten was that the size of the OOB was about right, but that perhaps there was too much emphasis on armour at the expense of infantry action. The Korosten OOB was designed to be approximately 1/3 historical scale for infantry/combat vehicles, but 1:1 for armour.

For Scenario 2 in Zhitomir, I propose the following OOB design:

*) 1/3 historical infantry/vehicle/artillery forces
*) 1/3 historical armour forces
*) existing units from Scenario 1 will be retained on map
*) any units in Scenario 1 that were actually situated in Zhitomir on 30 Dec 1943 (e.g. 7 Panzer) will start in the Scenario 1 finishing positions
*) the Scenario 2 air OOB will consist of the finishing Scenario 1 air forces plus 50% of the starting air OOB of Scenario 1

The various Divisional breakdowns we used for Scenario 1 should be ok for Scenario 2, e.g. size of Soviet Rifle Divisions, Tank Brigades etc. Similar for PzAOK4 units, but we need to pay attention to the various mixes of auxiliary units present at Zhitomir at the time.

Here is the historical situation map:

To get things rolling on the development, here is a list of the major units of the Zhitomir garrison (XIII Armee Korps) at the time (from Barratt's book):

XIII Armee Korps
213.Sicherungs-Division (Generalleutnant Alex Göschen)
7 Panzer Division (CO Schultz KIA in Scenario 1)
Ost-Reiter Abteilung 403 (Generalleutnant Wilhelm Rußwurm)
208.Division (Generalleutnant Hans Pieckenbrock)
68.Division (Generalleutnant Paul Scheuerpflug)
SS Kampfgruppe 'Das Reich' (Gruppenführer Heinz Lammerding)
8.Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Gottfried Frölich)
Kampfgruppe Källner (Generalleutnant Hans Källner) (removed as this was a command composite of the other units)
19.Panzer-Division (Generalleutnant Hans Källner)
1 SS Panzer Division 'LSSAH' (CO Wisch KIA in Scenario 1)

Italicized units were present in Scenario 1. We need the similar information for the FUF units attacking Zhitomir:


1st Guards Army (Colonel-General Andrei Grechko)
18th Guards Rifle Corps
30th Guards Rifle Corps
47th Guards Rifle Corps
52nd Rifle Corps
74th Rifle Corps
107th Rifle Corps
4th Tank Division
18th Army (Colonel-General Konstantin Leselidze)
11th Rifle Corps
57th Guards Rifle Corps
95th Rifle Corps
38th Army (Major-General of Artillery Kirill Moskalenko)
47th Rifle Corps
67th Rifle Corps
1st Tank Army (Leytenant-General of Tank Forces Mikhail Katukov)
3rd Mechanized Corps
6th Tank Corps
31st Tank Corps
3rd Guards Tank Army (Colonel-General of Tank Forces Pavel Rybalko)
9th Mechanized Corps
12th Tank Corps
15th Tank Corps


At 15 July 1943, the relevant Soviet formations had the following approximate compositions:

Mechanized Corps: 3 mechanized brigades, 2 companies (HQ+recon) + tank regiment (3 armoured cars, 16 light tanks, 23 T-34) + 3 motorized rifle battalions (2 companies) + 3 artillery battalions (AAA, mortar, artillery) + several misc companies; plus two tank brigades, each tank brigade with 3 tank battalions (each with 21 medium tanks, 1 field car and 12 trucks)
Tank Corps: 3 tank brigades (HQ) plus one motorized rifle brigade with 3 battalions, each rifle battalion has 3 companies of 100 men
Rifle Corps: 2 or 3 rifle divisions, each with about 9380 men organized in 3 regiments (about 2000 men each)

[Kopfdorfer]

A very good question.

It could be Fritz Witt
http://drittereich.info/files/fritz_witt..jpg

or Wilhelm Mohnke
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/ ... c7e4db.jpg

or Max Hansen
http://24.media.tumblr.com/dc19d58d01f9 ... o1_500.jpg

or Otto Kumm
http://imagehost.epier.com/101020/Kumm%20Otto1.jpg

or Kurt Meyer
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/al ... yer-04.jpg

Conceivably it could even be Joachim Peiper
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/P ... iper-1.png

or could it be from outside 1SSLAH? Unlikely I think.


Kopfdorfer

[IV/JG7_4Shades]

I have been hitting Google pretty hard to find compositional information for the Soviet forces. Here is a summary of what I have discovered.

Soviet Formation Strength

Code: Select all

Formation        Number         Personnel               Total Personnel
Rifle Corps        11              20000                     220000
Mech Corps          2               4000                       8000
Tank Corps          4               1000                       4000
                                                             232000

The challenge now is to scale this to make a playable SEOW campaign. Roughly speaking, Korosten used 10 soldiers per infantry team so that would mean the above strength equates to 23,000 infantry teams!!! We need to reduce by a factor of 20 or more. Here is how I propose to scale the force representation down.

1. Combat Proportion: Not all of the above personnel are present at the front line. I assume that only 60% of the above personnel are combat troops.
2. Actual Strength: None of these formations are freshly assembled - they have all been in the field in constant fighting and reinforcements are scarce. I assume that the Soviet formations are at 50% combat strength.
3. SEOW Reduction Factor: We still cannot represent an OOB of this scale even at actual combat strength, so we need to apply a further reduction factor. I will apply a 10% reduction factor.

Applying all these factors simultaneously gives 0.6 x 0.5 x 0.1 x 232000 = 6960 men, roughly equivalent to 696 infantry teams (Korosten style). This is playable for an SEOW campaign.

It remains to develop the mix of formation names and TO&E data to give the right set of artillery, infantry, transport and armour to represent the Soviet forces in the correct proportion.

Selecting Forces
I propose that in each of the Rifle Corps that we take the lowest-numbered Division and the lowest numbered Regiment plus the Artillery Regiment in that Division. In each regiment we will place 4 companies.
In the Mechanized Corps we take the a Mech Brigade, a Tank Brigade and an AntiTank Battalion, with 1 company each.
In the Tank Corps we will take a Tank Brigade, an SPG Regt and an artillery Regt/Btn, with 1 company each.

This way we get a selection of historical unit names and types. For the weapons classes we can be guided by the following tables:





Here is a post of the corresponding SEOW OOB based on applying the net reduction factor to the reduced units:

[II/JG54_Emil]

I got this from SOVIET ORDER OF BATTLE WORLD WAR II Volume II
by Charles C. Sharp

Not sure if this is of interest:

6th Tank Corps:
Formed in April 1942 at Moscow with:
2nd Guards Tank Brigade
6th Guards Tank Brigade
22nd Tank Brigade
32nd Tank Brigade
Basically, the Corps HQ acted as a Training Command for tank units for about a
month, and then in May 1942 formed up as a regular Tank Corps in Western Front
reserves with:
22nd Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd Tank Battalions
22nd Motorized Rifle Battalion
100th Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd Tank Battalions
100th Motorized Rifle Battalion
200th Tank Brigade
191st, 192nd Tank Battalions
200th Motorized Rifle Battalion
6th Motorized Rifle Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Rifle Battalions
129th Guards Mortar Battalion (8 BM-13 launchers)
The 6th Tank Corps remained in Western Front for the rest of 1942, sporadically
taking part in Western Front's attempts to break the German 9th
Army's hold on Rzhev. The first time 6th tank Corps was committed to one of
these armored breaking and entering attempts in August 1942, it had 24 KVs,
46 T-34s, 30 T-70s, and 69 T-60s, for a total of 169 tanks. It lost most of
them in just three days, in which the entire Soviet force involved (2 tank
corps and a cavalry corps) lost 236 tanks to no effect on the German defense.
By December 1942 6th Tank Corps had only one tank brigade left with KV
tanks (7 in the Corps) , and had 64 T-34s, but only 29 T-70s and T-60s left -
the light tanks were death traps against an intact defense.
In February 1943, still in Western Front, 6th Tank Corps began reorganizand
building up to the 1943 corps standard. When 1st Tank Army was formed in
March 1943, 6th Tank Corps was assigned to it with:
22nd Tank Brigade (as above)
100th Tank Brigade (as above)
200th Tank Brigade (as above)
6th Motorized Rifle Brigade (as above)
538th Antitank Regiment (20 45mm guns)
270th Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars)
129th Guards Mortar Battalion (8 BM-13 launchers)
85th Motorcycle Battalion
85th Sapper Battalion (expanded from a separate company
in the corps)
351st Signal Battalion (formed from the Corps HQ company)
In March 1943, 100th Tank Brigade left the corps to help form 31st Tank Corps.
It was replaced in the Corps by:
112th Tank Brigade
124th, 125th Tank Battalions (all T-34s)
112th Motorized Rifle Battalion
When 1st Tank Army went into action against 4th Panzer Army in the southern
portion of the Kursk battle in July, 6th Tank Corps also controlled the
1461st SU Regiment (17 SU-76, 8 SU-122).
At this time, the corps was completely equipped with medium tanks but
200th, and possibly 22nd Tank Brigade, included Lend Lease M3 Grant medium
tanks along with T-34/76 s. The corps suffered terrible losses at Kursk:
because of its gasoline engine, high profile and riveted construction the
Grant had been nicknamed "a coffin for seven brothers" by its Russian crews.
After a quick rehabilitation and repair in late July, 6th Tank Corps
took part in the Soviet August offensive that liberated Belgorod and Kharkov,
and started the German Army on the road back to the Dnepr. In recognition of
the corps' efforts in these attacks, and in stopping 48th Panzer Corps on the
road to Kursk, 6th Tank Corps became 11th Guards Tank Corps on 23 October
1943.

31st Tank Corps
Formed May 1943 in 1st Tank Army with:
100th Tank. Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Tank Battalions (T-34s)
100th Motorized Rifle Battalion
237th Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Tank Battalions (T-34s, M3 Grants)
237th Motorized Rifle Battalion
242nd Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Tank Battalions (T-34s, M3 Grants)
242nd Motorized Rifle Battalion
The 31st Tank Corps was forming at Oboyan at the beginning of July 1943
when it was thrown into action with the rest of 1st Tank Army against 4th
Panzer Army's 48th Panzer Corps in the first days of the Battle of Kursk. Both
237th and 242nd Tank Brigades had 1/3 or more of their tank forces made up of
Lend Lease M3 Grant tanks - nicknamed by their Russian crews "a coffin for
seven brothers", while the rest of the corps had T-34/76S. Without the usual
supporting motorized riflemen, antitank. Guards Mortars, or antiaircraft
units, the corps fought the battle of Kursk largely as separate tank brigades
reinforcing other units, such as 1st Tank Army's 6th Tank Corps or 3rd Mechanized
Corps. After the German drive on Kursk was stopped, 1st Tank Army had a
short refitting rest and then went right into the 4th Battle for Kharkov and
the advance to the Dnepr River and beyond.[/size]
The 31st Tank Corps fought throughout this period while still trying to
get organized, and did not receive all its required supporting units until
nearly the end of 1943. The structural changes in the corps in late 1943 were
as follows:
1244th Antitank Regiment (24 76mm guns) - added in July
753rd Antitank Battalion (12 85mm guns) - added in July
617th Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars) - added in August
201st Guards Mortar Battalion (8 BM-13 launchers)
- added in September
98th Motorcycle Battalion - added in September
145th Sapper Battalion - added in September
293rd Guards SU Regiment (SU-76s) - temporarily assigned
in Oct-Nov 1943
1535th Heavy SU Regiment (SU-152s) - temporarily assigned
in Oct-Nov 1943
65th Motorized Rifle Brigade - added in November
396th Antiaircraft Regiment - added in November
The 31st Tank Corps finally finished forming in November 1943, after it had
been sent back into STAVKA Reserves and given a chance to rest and refit after
five months' of fighting semi-organized. At the end of 1943 the corps also
received:
1548th Heavy SU Regiment (SU-152s)
1244th SU Regiment (SU-76s)

12th Tank Corp
...
In January-March 1943, 12th Tank Corps was involved in heavy fighting with 3rd
Tank Army, and then had to fight its way out of encirclement by German panzer
forces. By April the corps was reduced to a handful of tankless survivors, who
were evacuated to Moscow Military District for complete re-equipping and
rebuilding. When 12th tank Corps went into action again in July 1943 with 3rd
Guards Tank Army, it consisted of:
30th Tank Brigade
3rd, 315th, 316th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s & T-7ÛS
30th Motorized Rifle Battalion
97th Tank Brigade
3rd, Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s & T-70s
97th Motorized Rifle Battalion

106th Tank Brigade
3rd, 305th, 306th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s & T-70s
106th Motorized Rifle Battalion
13th Motorized Rifle Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Rifle/SMG Battalions
1417th SU Regiment (SU-76s)
1498th Antitank Regiment (20 45mm guns)
1703rd Antiaircraft Regiment (16 37mm guns)
272nd Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars)
757th Antitank Battalion (12 85mm towed guns)
66th Motorcycle Battalion
The 12th Tank Corps formed part of the Mobile Group for Bryansk Front in the
Soviet offensive into the Orel salient starting 14 July. In recognition of the
corps' aggressive pursuit and combat against the German forces between Orel
and Bryansk, on 26 July it was redesignated as 6th Guards Tank Corps.

15th Tank Corps
By 1 July 1943 it was back under 3rd Guards Tank Army
with:
88th Tank Brigade
3rd, 209th, 210th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s and T-70s
88th Motorized Rifle Battalion
113th Tank Brigade
3rd, 317th, 318th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s and T-70s
113th Motorized Rifle Battalion
195th Tank Brigade
3rd, 424th, 425th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s and T-70s
195th Motorized Rifle Battalion
52nd Motorized Rifle Brigade
1418th SU Regiment (SU-76s)
1503rd Antitank Regiment (20 45mm guns)
1704th Antiaircraft Regiment (16 37mm guns)
467th Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars)
733rd Antitank Battalion (12 85mm towed guns)
39th Armored Car Battalion

On 14 July 1943 the 3rd Guards Tank Army went over to the offensive with
Bryansk Front. Because of the..."persistent and aggressive actions..." of the
tank units, on 26 July 1943 all the tank corps in the 3rd Guards Tank Army
received their Guards designations, and 15th Tank Corps became 7th Guards Tank
Corps.

[II/JG54_Emil]

Or shorter:
6th Tank Corps:
became 11th Guards Tank Corps on 23 October 1943 and again new 6th Tank Corps reformed November 43.
22nd Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd Tank Battalions
22nd Motorized Rifle Battalion
100th Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd Tank Battalions
100th Motorized Rifle Battalion
200th Tank Brigade
191st, 192nd Tank Battalions
200th Motorized Rifle Battalion
6th Motorized Rifle Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Rifle Battalions
129th Guards Mortar Battalion (8 BM-13 launchers)
538th Antitank Regiment (20 45mm guns)
270th Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars)
129th Guards Mortar Battalion (8 BM-13 launchers)
85th Motorcycle Battalion
85th Sapper Battalion (expanded from a separate company
in the corps)
351st Signal Battalion (formed from the Corps HQ company)
In March 1943, 100th Tank Brigade left the corps to help form 31st Tank Corps.
It was replaced in the Corps by:
112th Tank Brigade
124th, 125th Tank Battalions (all T-34s)
112th Motorized Rifle Battalion


31st Tank Corps
Formed May 1943 in 1st Tank Army with:
100th Tank. Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Tank Battalions (T-34s)
100th Motorized Rifle Battalion
237th Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Tank Battalions (T-34s, M3 Grants)
237th Motorized Rifle Battalion
242nd Tank Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Tank Battalions (T-34s, M3 Grants)
242nd Motorized Rifle Battalion
The structural changes in the corps in late 1943 were
as follows:
1244th Antitank Regiment (24 76mm guns) - added in July
753rd Antitank Battalion (12 85mm guns) - added in July
617th Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars) - added in August
201st Guards Mortar Battalion (8 BM-13 launchers)
- added in September
98th Motorcycle Battalion - added in September
145th Sapper Battalion - added in September
293rd Guards SU Regiment (SU-76s) - temporarily assigned
in Oct-Nov 1943
1535th Heavy SU Regiment (SU-152s) - temporarily assigned
in Oct-Nov 1943
65th Motorized Rifle Brigade - added in November
396th Antiaircraft Regiment - added in November
1548th Heavy SU Regiment (SU-152s)
1244th SU Regiment (SU-76s)



12th Tank Corp on 26 July it was redesignated as 6th Guards Tank Corps
30th Tank Brigade
3rd, 315th, 316th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s & T-70s
30th Motorized Rifle Battalion
97th Tank Brigade
3rd, Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s & T-70s
97th Motorized Rifle Battalion
106th Tank Brigade
3rd, 305th, 306th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s & T-70s
106th Motorized Rifle Battalion
13th Motorized Rifle Brigade
1st, 2nd, 3rd Rifle/SMG Battalions
1417th SU Regiment (SU-76s)
1498th Antitank Regiment (20 45mm guns)
1703rd Antiaircraft Regiment (16 37mm guns)
272nd Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars)
757th Antitank Battalion (12 85mm towed guns)
66th Motorcycle Battalion


15th Tank Corps on the 14 July 1943 it was redesignaed7th Guards Tank
Corps
88th Tank Brigade
3rd, 209th, 210th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s and T-70s
88th Motorized Rifle Battalion
113th Tank Brigade
3rd, 317th, 318th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s and T-70s
113th Motorized Rifle Battalion
195th Tank Brigade
3rd, 424th, 425th Tank Battalions - 65 T-34s and T-70s
195th Motorized Rifle Battalion
52nd Motorized Rifle Brigade
1418th SU Regiment (SU-76s)
1503rd Antitank Regiment (20 45mm guns)
1704th Antiaircraft Regiment (16 37mm guns)
467th Mortar Regiment (36 120mm mortars)
733rd Antitank Battalion (12 85mm towed guns)
39th Armored Car Battalion

[II/JG54_Emil]

And even shorter,

as for the tanks, it would be good to see some T-70 and soem Grants in the OrBat, instead of T-34 medium tanks only.

The ratio between T-34 and T-70 is 3:2 as per http://niehorster.orbat.com/012_ussr/42 ... -tank.html

[SUP_Bigans]

Hi guys,
I would to know about LW's aircrafts and if we'll use HSFX7 or waiting for the 8 one.

Ciao

[IV/JG7_4Shades]

Hi Bigans,

This campaign will have low aircraft numbers, in line with historical action reports and poor weather. We will probably use HSFX7. The delay in campaign preparation is because we are adding some new functionality to SEOW to make this campaign come alive.

Cheers,
4S

[II/JG54_Emil]

we are adding some new functionality to SEOW to make this campaign come alive.

Can´t wait!


Hauptmann Brändel, get you´re new machine ready!!!

[LLv34_Untamo]

S!

Does this campaign still accept new pilots? I could offer some 5-10 finnish fighter pilots, depending on what time the missions are played .. Preferably for the blue side.

[IV/JG7_4Shades]

Hi Untamo,

We haven't completed the initialization yet. But even so, there will be no more than 6 aircraft per side per mission, and visibility will be poor.
This is mainly a ground campaign. Priority is for commanders over pilots.

Cheers,
4S

[SUP_Bigans]

Hi guys,
I would to know about LW's aircrafts and if we'll use HSFX7 or waiting for the 8 one.

Ciao

Sorry I wrote in the wrong hall...I'm refering to next Kursk campaign, not this one.
Ciao

[IV/JG7_4Shades]

Interesting reading about the status of PzAOK4 on 20 Dec 1943 from Barratt's book, p.73-74:

The total armour strength of the 4 Panzer Armee was:

Pz I: 2 operational of 2 in total
Pz II: 9 of 17
Pz III: 22 of 55
Pz IV: 143 of 329
Pz V: 28 of 139
Pz VI: 11 of 58
StuG: 131 of 207
PzJag: 83 of 129

"... the whole of PzAOK4 could not muster the equivalent of a single operational Pz V battalion, while at the same time it could put no more than the equivalent of three Pz IV battalions into the field."

That's for the entire Panzer Armee, defending over 200 km of front line against 5 Soviet Tank Armies and 10 Infantry Armies.