NationStates Jolt Archive

Alemannic Federation of Grimmeberg, Order of Battle
(Note: One Alemannic Division is 31,500 troops, with 100 MBT's in Armored Divisions.)

Total Ground Forces:
14 Divisions (5 Armored), 441,000 troops, 500 MBT's

Army Group West
CO: Captain-General Markus Dreyse
2nd Infantry Division
3rd Infantry Division
4th Infantry Division
9th Infantry Division
1st Armored Division
5th Armored Division
7th Armored Division
1st Air Corps - 210 F-22 Raptor Fighters, 50 A-10 Warthog close-air-support planes, 40 B-52 bombers

Army Group East
CO: Field Marshal Leopold Muhlenkampf
1st Infantry Division
5th Infantry Division
6th Infantry Division
7th Infantry Division
8th Infantry Division
3rd Armored Division
4th Armored Division
2nd Air Corps - 210 F-22 Raptor Fighters, 50 A-10 Warthog close-air-support planes, 40 B-52 bombers

Baltic Fleet
CO: Admiral Jans Oberst
2 Bismark (Iowa)-class battleships
3 Prinz Eugen-class battlecruisers (OBSOLETE)
1 Invincible-class light aircraft carrier
9 Thresher-class gun destroyers
4 Barracuda-class missile destroyers

Scandinavian Federation Forces
Land:
16 Divisions (320,000) troops
380 Strv-122 MBTs (Leopard 2 variant)
Note-elite units are marked by a *

Battleforce Denmark
23rd Infantry Division
Royal Danish Foot Soldiers*
4rd Royal Marine Division*
1st Armored Division (95 tanks)
3rd Armored Division (95 tanks)
Danish Home Guard Division (poor quality)

Norwegian Army Group
Viking Division*
31st Infantry Division
National Infantry Reserve Division (poor quality)
17th Infantry Division

Swedish Army Group (note-all highly trained)
Royal Infantry Division
King's Own Infantry Division
Royal Armored Division (95 tanks)
Prince's Royal Hussar's (95 tanks)
1st Royal Marine Division
2nd Royal Marine Division

At 9:00 hours; 3/14/09, Operation Nordwind (Operation North Wind) commenced.

The first movement came from Army Group West. The 1st Panzer Division began a push towards Abenra from the west with the 3rd and 4th Infantry bringing up the rear. At the same time, the 5th Panzers advanced directly from the south, while the 2nd and 9th Infantry were in support. The 7th Panzers stayed as a mobile reserve. Army Group East, meanwhile, under the support of the Baltic fleet, crossed to the island of Lolland.

Army Group East would be met be a strong line of defense, set up by 23rd Infantry Division. Centered on Rodby, the line would be held as long as possible, then they would retreat back towards Holeby.

The thrust by 1st Panzer was met head on by a counter-attack by the 3rd Armored. As the armored divisions clashed, the Royal Danish Foot Soldiers went around the flank and struck at the 3rd and 4th Infantry.

5th Panzer was met in a similar fashion. The 1st Armored slammed into the panzers head-on, while the 4th Royal Marines went around the flanks to attack the 2nd and 9th Infantry. The Danish Home Guard Division was sent to Abenra, to ready defenses.

Army Group East's landing was preceded by a heavy bombardment by the battleships Bismark and Rommel and battlecruisers Prinz Eugen and John George. East's armor landed first, acting as an armored fist to break the line held by the 23rd Infantry. The concentrated armor smashed into the line and caused the troops of the 23rd to become heavily engaged as East's infantry fell in behind its armor.

For Army Group West, the counter-attack came as a complete surprise. The 4th Infantry held fast, but the 3rd was forced to fall back with its less-experienced troops to reorder as the 4th dug itself in. The 1st Panzers fell back to regroup, as the 7th Panzers moved foward to halt the advancing 3rd Armored, at which point the 1st Panzers wheeled around and attempted to overwhelm the 3rd Armored.

Surprise was less than complete against the 5th Panzers and its accompanying infantry. While the 9th Infantry dug in deeper to hold the Marines, the 2nd shifted north to form a line to hold the 1st Armored, giving the 5th Panzers the opportunity to regroup and prepare renewed attacks against the enemy's armored forces.

As the battleships bombarded the island, concealed anti-ship missiles flashed out and flew at the assembled fleet. A total of 14 missiles were launched.

The armored attack on the 23rd was met with mass anti-tank missiles. The 23rd began executing a fighting withdrawal, battling for every inch, slowing retreating to the Holeby line.

As the the 1st and 7th Panzers attacked, the 3rd Armored and the Royal Danish Foot Soldiers fell back towards Bedebro. Again, they retreated slowly, fighting as they pulled back.

As the attack on the 9th and 2nd Infantry bogged down, the order was given to retreat. This was not a fighting retreat, as the 1st Armored and 4th Royal Marines hurried to get into position blocking 5th Panzer's advance towards Abenra.

OOC-and now Im off for the night

John George, the closest to shore, recieved no fewer than five direct hits, and three additional glancing blows. It was a miracle the ship did not sink on the spot, but rather sank slowly, giving the sailors time to climb into their lifeboats and land ashore. The Prinz Eugen recieved one direct hit and one glancing blow, the Rommel recieved three direct hits and one glancing blow (forcing the Rommel to return to port to have the extensive damage repaired. The distant Bismark was missed entirely.

Despite the mass of anti-tank missiles, the 3rd and 4th Panzers advanced on, with 42% of the tanks damaged in some way, and with an overall 14% out of action. Components of Army Group East's infantry began engaging with the withdrawing Scandinavian forces, using small arms fire and light artillery to harry the crews manning the artillery.

With losses relatively light on the 7th Panzers, they were turned to become the temporary striking force against the remainder of the Danish Royals who were quickly engaged with an Alemannic armor and the division's associated panzergrenadiers. In the meantime, the 3rd Infantry regrouped, and, with the 1st Panzers renewed the approach to Abenra. The 4th Infantry was dropped back to block the move by the 1st Armored and the Marines to occupy the road to Abenra, attempting to place forces in their rear in the process.

For the 5th Panzers, the retreat of the enemy forces could not have been more welcome. With the further advanced 4th Infantry wheeling back, the 5th Panzers attempted, with the help of the 9th Infantry, to trap the fleeing 1st Armored and Marines, while the 2nd Infantry moved to outflank the fleeing enemy to the west.

The 23rd Infantry finally managed to pull back to the Holeby line, despite heavy casualties it had suffered. There it dug in, supported by the 17th Infantry, flown in from Norway.

The new battle with the 7th Panzer was exited quickly by the Danish Royals, who hitched rides on the backs of the tanks of 3rd Armored. They moved and were soon placed directly in the path of the advance to Abrena. They dug in on the left flank of the city.

The 1st Armored and Marines managed to evade entrapment by the Alemannic forces. They rushed back towards Abenra, stopping only to fight off the forward probing forces that got too close. Once in the city, they occupied the fortifications constructed by the Danish Home Guard Division. The Home Guard was then sent out and set up a series of fortified positions, stretching for several miles on each side. Each would be contested for a short time, then withdrawn from and the Guardsmen would fall back to the next one.

As the 23rd Infantry pulled back to the Holeby line, Field Marshal Muhlenkampf pulled his forces back to regroup and take stock of his losses. Of his original 200 Leopard 2's, he now had 72% (or 144 tanks) still functioning, if slightly damaged, and 56 tanks out of action and the associated panzergrenadiers still had 54,000 of the original 72,000. Of his original 157,500 infantry, he now had 100,800 in fighting condition, and he knew that at least 15,500 would need to be left as a holding force. With that, he pushed his regrouped forces towards the Holeby line. They were ordered short, however, in order for the Divisional artillery to do its work softening the enemy lines with a bombardment before the panzers were to attack.

For Captain-General Dreyse and Army Group West, however, things were in better condition. Sort of. With the 3rd Armored and Royal Infantry still in the way on the road to Abenra and threatening the lead group's rear, the irritating position was ordered surrounded by the 2nd, 9th, and 4th Infantry, who were to use their divisional artillery to reduce the 3rd Armor's position. The 5th and 7th panzers advanced past the annoyance and began using their propelled artillery to shell the outlying positions of the Home Guard with a murderous volume of fire.

The infantry surrounding the 3rd Armored and the Royal Infantry were in for a surprise. Coming in low and fast were 4 B-1B Lancers, each loaded with 81x 500-pound bombs. They unloaded on the Alemannic forces. The resulting confusion was used by the 3rd Armored and the Danish Royals to escape. They shot past the Alemannic infantry and slammed into the rear of the 5th and 7th Panzer Divisions.

OOC: the 3rd Infantry are in the rear of the panzers. The 3rd Armored and Royals would have hit them instead. Sorry I forgot to mention where the 3rd I's were.

IC:
The 3rd I's were in what was becoming dangerously close to a rout. They were conscripted troops, not used to shit like this. Seriously, taking the brunt of an attack not once, but twice!
Nevertheless, the 5th and 7th Panzers were able to use the resulting confusion to gain time to turn themselves around and meet hte enemy head on, giving them at least a fighting chance. The one other thing the enemy had failed to consider, however, was the apparently MIA 1st Panzers. They were, in fact, hidden to use as a surprise reserve in case the enemy tried any sneaky stuff. So, as it happened, the 3rd A's and the Royals found themselves fighting not one, not two, but THREE panzer divisions.

Unfortunately, the disorder sowed by the bombs on the 2nd, 9th, and 4th was very real, annd they took their time getting their acts together. The only blessing was that they dispersed, meaning it would be at least a little bit harder for them to get picked off with bombs.

OOC-didn't see that coming...

IC-Three panzer divisions were far out of the battered and weary 3rd Armored and Royal's capabilities at the moment. They fought as hard as they could, but eventually broke. At this point it came down to small groups of tanks and infantry, desperately searching for a way to the main Scandinavian lines.
Total Casualties-215,000 troops
60 Strv-122 MBTs
3rd Armored
120,000 troops
60 tanks

Royal Danish Foot Soldiers
95,000 men

OOC: Actually, I'm feeling a little uncomfortable about it: I should have told you at least what happened to those two units first. It doesn't seem a little GMish to you, does it? That said, I like the results, so if you have no issues with it, I'd just let it stand.
We seem to have been ignoring the Holbey line, haven't we?

IC:
The First Air Corps, attached to AG West now lept into action for the first time, as it had been unprepared earlier. The A-10 'tank-killers' went into action immedietely, with the intent to finish off the remainder of the enemy armor, or what was left of it.

At this point, the 1st panzers went back into hiding nearby, just in case, as the 5th and 7th panzers returned to the bombardment of Abenra into submission and, as the 3rd Infantry units began reforming (slowly, over a period of days) and the rallied 2nd Infantry (the 4th and 9th were still regrouping) joined the panzer groups, the initial assaults began. The Leopard 2's were used as additional light artillery pieces and armored spearheads, being used to first shell outlying positions, then support the associated panzergrenadiers and the landsers(infantry) of the regrouped 2nd and 3rd I's.

As the 4th and 9th I's regrouped, they were used to mop up the surviving Danish troops (with the help of patrolling A-10's), being ordered to take prisoners wherever possible.

OOC-it's fine. at least your troops didn't teleport from halfway across the battlefield :D
and yes, the Holeby line is being ignored

IC-the A-10s killed many of the 3rd's surviving tanks, but the 3rd managed to get a grand total of 3,500 men and 25 tanks into Abenra. The Danish Royal Foot Soldiers were not as lucky. The effect of being forced into nonstop combat meant the bulk of the survivors were captured, or killed trying to retreat. By the time the last survivors had struggled into Abenra, the Royals had ceased to exist as a fighting unit.

As the assault began, the Home Guard panicked. The morale effect of hours of artillery, combined with the new assaults, threw the unit into chaos. What groups of infantry remained resisted as fiercely as they could, but in the end, the unit was totally destroyed in the defenses around Abenra. The gap was filled by the 1st Armored, now reinforced with the remnants of 3rd Armor, and the Royal Marines, now reinforced by the Viking Infantry Division from Norway. They occupied the fortifications on the outskirts of Abenra, with two lines of defenses to fall back on. After that, they would be fighting in the city itself.

OOC: Lol, has anyone ever actually done that to you?
Ok, just making sure.

IC:
Noticing the strong defensive positions that the enemy had assumed (and now by proper, combat-ready units), Captain-General Dreyse decided that he would take the less costly way out, if possible. He sent the following message to the commander of the Abenra garrison:


To the esteemed Commander of the Abenra Garrison

I find I must applaud you and your men for your spirited and skillful resistance to this point, in spite of the losses both of our people have suffered.

At this point, you must realize our mission here: to bring the members of the Scandinavian Federation into the benevolent Alemannic Federation. As members of the Federation, you would be offered an equal place to all member regions, would recieve the benefits of a strong intra-federal economy and army, and peace with your neighbors.

It is therefore part of our mission to bring as much of Scandinavia into the Federation with as little bloodshed as possible. Mutual alienation and hatred will help no one.

For this reason, I request your surrender, on the following conditions I place on it:
1) You will be permitted to march out with full honors.
2) Neither you, the prisoners taken from your force, nor anyone within Abenra or its vicinity will be harmed.
3) No looting will take place.
4) You and your people will not be penalized for resisting up to this point.

I offer this to you in the hope that fewer lives will be lost amongst us all, and that Abenra can avoid the savagery of war.

Should you refuse, we will press the attack until the Alemannic Flag flies from the city-hall of Abenra.

Thank you,
Captain-General Markus Dreyse
Commander-in-Chief, Alemannic Federal Armed Services

In the meantime, the reordered forces of Army Group West tightened the noose around the defenses around Abenra, ensuring that nothing could go in or out without approval from the Alemannic Army. Meaning, in short, nothing could get in or out.

OOC-no, but who knows...
and we're still ignoring the Holeby line. (if you want to edit your previous post to include some action there, go ahead)
IC-The Commander of the forces in Abenra sent the following reply.
To the Esteemed Captain-General Markus Dreyse
We realize that any conflict within the city would be highly destructive to the civilian population. For that reason, we will surrender. At 0900 hours, I and the forces under my command will march out and surrender to your forces. I cannot, however, speak for the civilian reaction.
Signed,
Colonel Jurgen Sarkon
In Abenra
As the forces prepared to surrender, individual units began discreetly handing over some weapons to local civilian resistance groups. Meanwhile; the 3rd and 1st Armored began destroying their tanks. They would ride out on their Fennek command vehicles, whereupon those would be destroyed.

OOC: too true...
that's ok. two fronts at once takes the fun out of both. We'll take 'em one at a time, and just pretend they're happening at the same time.

IC:
To Colonel Sarkon
From Captain-General Dreyse

We would like to double check on a certain aspect of your surrender: you will be headed into temporary captivity (a matter of three days at longest), just long enough to write parole notes, effective for one year. Are you clear on this matter?

As for the civilian reaction, it is not a problem. At least, not yet.
==================================================================
After that note was sent, Army Group West prepared for the surrender of the garrison by reopening the roads into the city to supply. The infantry were bolstered by the arrival of 30,000 fresh landsers (all recent conscripts) as they redressed units, and the damaged but functioning tanks were being repaired. Already, Dreyse was eyeing the next objective: Kolding.

To-Captain-General Dreyse
From-Colonel Sarkon
Yes, we are fully clear on this matter. We will still march out at 0900.
0900 Hours, Outside Abenra
The procession began on the dot. The Royal Danish Foot Soliders marched out, with Col. Sarkon and his staff at their head. Following them were the 3rd Armored, the 23rd Infantry, and the 1st Armored. They had managed to pass off over 8,000 rifles and 2,000 anti-tank weapons to the resistance. Hopefully, this would be enough to cause trouble for the Alemannic forces.

Captain-General Dreyse strode powerfully and easily up to Col. Sarkon, and offered his hand in greeting.

"Tell your men they have reason to be proud. They fought valiently, in spite of the horrendous conditions of war. I'm sorry that we aren't meeting under better circumstances." Dreyse began. He continued "The citizens of the city have no reason to fear: a delegation explaining the rights of the people will be the first Alemannic enterance into the city. This army, on the other hand, shall not enter. You of all people should understand: its much too easy to lose track of the men when you enter a city."

Col. Sarkon grasped the man's hand firmly. "Of course. Thank you for allowing me to save civilian's lives." He let go of the man's hand. "please show me where my army is to be quartered."
OOC-off for the night

OOC-back on

Captain-General Dreyse gestured to the aide to his right. "Of course. Staff Sergent Meier here will show you and your men to your quarters. You and your men will be fed and will be given clothes, if there are any shortfalls in your supplies at this point. You do understand the terms of your parole, am I correct? In exchange for the release of all of you, you agree not to take up arms against us for at least a year?"

"I understand the idea of parole. Again, thank you for sparing the lives of civilians." With that Col. Sarkon walked off.