All I can say about Army Group South is, "Good luck." Army Group South will have the toughest nut to crack in the opening moves. The Russian colossus is massive in the Lwow area and a poorly executed offensive here can mean severe setbacks in the Axis timetable.

Charles Sharp has said "calculated boldness" is the key ingredient in this sector of the front. Bold advances are the norm here, but the Axis must be ever vigilant. Many Soviet plans allow a rapid advance of AGS's panzers, just so they can be counterattacked once out of reach of their lagging infantry support. Too much caution, however, can lead to a formidable defense of the Dnepr river at Kiev.

The objectives for AGS differ sharply from AGN and AGC. What are the objectives? Ultimately the MSO for AGS will be to capture as many of the southern major hex cities as possible, thereby denying the Russian considerable rolling stock and replacements. Kiev and Odessa Military Districts should be taken in total, with Sevastopol being the only possible exception. Kharkov should also be considered a must-take city. Stalino, Voroshilovgrad, Voronezh, and even Rostov should also be under consideration if all goes well.

The problem remains, however, of how to accomplish all this given the tactical considerations. The Pripyat Marsh rail lines need to be secured, pressure put on the Odessa MD, and a hard drive undertaken through Kiev toward both the Dnepropetrovsk region and toward Kharkov-Voronezh. Pretty tall orders for your onearmed 1st Panzer Army. The first step to alleviate some of AGS's problems is to reinforce 11th Army with some armor, thereby allowing 11th Army, with the support of the 1st Rumanian Armor Division, to stand on its own. Unfortunately, any results from this won't be felt on AGS's front until late July.

So what are AGS's first priorities upon opening hostilities? First, advance into the southern region of the Pripyat Marsh to secure the north-south rail lines and prevent Kiev MD armor from appearing uninvited on 2nd Panzer Group's right flank. (Air interdiction may also be needed to slow Soviet tanks from leaving the Kiev area too quickly.) 6th Army is too weak to accomplish this task alone; therefore outside help may be required. This outside help can take one of three forms: panzers from either 1st or 2nd Panzer Group, jagers from 17th Army, or substantial OKH reserves from those appearing Jul I. 6th Army must cover the left flank of 1st Panzer Group as well as move directly east.

No surprises here. Help can also come from the 1st Cavalry Division, as the best employment for this division is into the marsh looking to put a ZOC behind Russian stacks.

17th Army must apply immediate pressure toward Lwow and clear an open rail line into Rumania through Cernauti before the Russian can destroy too much of the rails. The sooner 17th Army links up with the Rumanians, the faster the Russians will be pushed out of the Vinnitsa area. 1st Panzer Group isn't strong enough to cover its right flank and dash for the Dnepr unless the Russian has vacated the Vinnitsa area.

The obvious problems from the Russians staying in Vinnitsa are compounded by the rail line coming up from Odessa. The number of tank formations the Russian has in the Odessa area which can hit 1st Panzer Group's right flank while staying somewhat protected by the terrain of the Vinnitsa region is almost on par with Axis panzers. Granted, a commitment of Russian armor this early usually spells doom for the Red Army tanks, yet the delicate Axis timetable could be sufficiently upset to ensure that the Kharkov MD coal mines keep Russian factories producing at full capacity throughout 1941.

Basically it falls upon 1st Panzer Group to accomplish the majority of the groundwork necessary for AGS to meet its MSO for the summer of '41. Drive east! A motorized detachment sent to Nikolaev keeps the Russians honest and diminishes scorched earth tactics. The motto of your railroad engineers should be "Go boldly forth." Move the engineers east, working at full speed. Replacing an overrun rail engineer costs one infantry replacement point, but there isn't a replacement for a supply line which doesn't reach far enough into Russia.

So how to accomplish this long list of objectives without being annihilated? One way is to present screening units for the Russians to nibble on while keeping a substantial hitting power in reserve. Luftwaffe support will be key for both ground support and DAS so the far-flung detachments can prevent being gobbled up in the vast Ukraine. Dropping air supply for one of these extended detachments may be the only way to retain its punch.

As a Luftwaffe commander, my Ju-52s are the busiest units on the board. If yours are sitting on the ground turn after turn without a mission, I would hazard to guess that your level of planning stops with the movement of your tanks and could be improved.

Again, "calculated boldness" is required. If 1st Panzer Group is strung out too far the Russian can easily counterattack realizing AGC won't have any rail routes open this early to come to the rescue. And the Rumanians don't have the mobile forces necessary to come to anyone's rescue. 1st Panzer Group must simply move east, tackling any Red Army concentrations in its path - bypassing Kiev will consume too many screening forces.

Be sure to move a detachment southeast along the western side of the Dnepr river. A motorized division, three assault gun battalions, a motorized heavy AA regiment, and a motorized artillery regiment should be sufficient to both cover territory and protect itself. This detachment can also serve to dislodge overland supply to Odessa.

So move east through whatever gets in the way; otherwise your forces will be tied down all over the Ukraine waiting for infantry to catch up and take over. The great encirclement of the real war was only accomplished by Guderian driving south and with this maneuver, any perceived chance of taking Moscow in '41 went south with him. Now you wouldn't want that would you?

Germany Play in 1941 Part Three The Final Chapter

Army Group Center
Army Group South
The Rumanian Army

German Play in 1941 Part One Hints on Playing Fire in the East

Introduction
Panzers and Breakthroughs
Complicating the Red Retreat
The Northern Campaign
The Finnish Theater

German Play in 1941 Part Two Army Group North and the Leningrad Campaign

Army Group North
Clearing the Way
Dash to the Luga
The Parnu Parameter