Air Combat Phase
In Baltic Sector, the whole WP bomber fleet escorted by a few MIG-21 met an equally small NATO air force. The subsequent battle was quick and one-sided, with NATO easily winning air superiority and thus blocking WP airdrops supply to the Soviet forces engaged in Operation Boreal Light.
In North Sector, WP fighters met no resistance at air superiority level and were able to intercept the bulk of NATO air force, entirely allocated to ground support / strike missions.
The final balance of losses was quite heavy for NATO, even though not as good as Group Of Soviet Forces in Germany Command hoped:
Airplane Type
|
Destroyed
|
Damaged
|
Dest/Dam
Steps
|
Mystere
|
15
|
12
|
1/1
|
F104
|
21
|
2/0
|
|
Lightining
|
14
|
0/1
|
|
F5
|
44
|
0/3
|
|
Jaguar
|
39
|
12
|
2/1
|
Harrier
|
14
|
17
|
1/1
|
G91
|
11
|
0/1
|
|
F4
|
28
|
2/0
|
|
F4R
|
11
|
0/1
|
|
AlphaJet
|
14
|
1/0
|
|
A7
|
16
|
0/1
|
|
Total Losses
|
131
|
137
|
9/10
|
Despite the losses, NATO ground support available in North Sector remained impressive:
 |
| NATO Ground Support, North Sector |
Operation Hand of God Losing Momentum?
Operation "Hand of God" continued, but apparently the strengthening of flak defense around WP Front Supply Heads forced SHAEF to change its target selection strategy.
Until now there were no strikes targeting the Front Supply Heads directly, but NATO used up approximately half of its available bombers, so the next 36 hours could bring some surprise.
The primary targets during the last 12 hours were:
- Supply Interdiction Strikes
5 out of 6 FSH were interdicted, leaving only the Southern FSH with full supply flow - Ground Interdiction Strikes against autobahns and railways used by North and Central Front
In particular, Liepzig - Fulda autobahn and secondary roads were hit by at least 11 different strikes.
 |
| Operation Hand of God Strike Missions, D+14 1200 Zulu Time |
Wild Weasel Strike
Supply Interdiction Strike
Ground Interdiction Strike
If I were the WGerman Chancellor at this point, I would also be reaching out to the Kremlin, perhaps via Sweden, for some sort of armistice, without advising NATO. It would be interesting to imagine what sort of terms WG might get, and whether, in the event of WG agreeing to become another Finland, there would be enough popular support in the NATO countries to continue a war that, thus far, has not gone nuclear.
ReplyDeleteYes, a deep crack in NATO alliance would be more than plausible at this point, and of course the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union will be more than willing to concede peace.....
DeletePersonally, I'd propose the following conditions:
1. Exit from NATO
2. Disbandment of the national parliament and government
3. Creation of several new indipendent nations using the present Lander structure (Bavaria, Saxony, etc), with a special status for Berlin
4. Admission of the new nations into COMECON system
I forgot to ask, what's happening in Berlin? How long did the NATO garrison manage to hold out?
ReplyDeleteBerlin was overran in the first 48 hours by, if I remember correctly, 2nd Guards Tank Army. It was easier than I thought, actually.
DeleteI would fight on as NATO since WP will only get weaker as time goes on and NATO will get tougher. Any chance that there can be commentary from the NATO player on this play through?
ReplyDeleteI asked more than once NATO player to write up his comments and point of views on the war, but to no avail.....
DeleteI'm not so sure NATO gets stronger with time; it's probably true in the first 10 - 15 days of war, but after that point there are no more reinforcements worth of this name.
On the other hand, after D+8 WP reinforcement flow is impressive, with an average of 2-3 divisions a turn.
The one thing that this game doesn't take into account really is the strain on the national economies of the primary combatants (USSR and USA) to sustain a prolonged fight. It is my opinion that if WP can't win in the first 2-3 weeks of the invasion, then they can't win at all. Their economy would collapse and everything will grind to a halt. Especially in the 70's where this game takes place. It's too bad the NATO player won't comment since I am very curious what he is doing with that American army in Southern Germany...
DeleteTrue, in a war lasting more than a couple of months USSR economy would have crumbled. As Warsaw Pact player, the only victory I'm taking into consideration is more or less the occupation of all territory East of the Rhine before D+30.
DeleteBeautiful.
ReplyDelete