Back in Issue 15, Roy Lane spelled out his strategy for Army Group North in FitE/SE. As a veteran commander of this Army Group, I'd like to add my operational two cents.

The only reason to maintain Army Group North as an entity is to take Leningrad. Success in this task lets you link up with Finland, put the screws on Murmansk, and push on Moscow from the northwest-in other words, decisively defeat the Soviets in the northern third of the front. If you don't plan to take Leningrad, AGN should be subordinated to the needs of Army Group Center.

The key, as you can guess from the above, is taking Leningrad. L-grad is a very tough nut, but a dedicated German player can crack it. Leningrad has four major strengths:

• An extensive urban area. Covering six hexes, with the Neva River also running through the city, strong Soviet forces backed with NKVD can turn Leningrad into an immense fortified position.
• Favorable defensive terrain outside the city. Swamps and forests abound, negating the German's major weaponarmored warfare. The Baltic Sea and Lake Ladoga effectively prohibit attacks on the city from the west and east, leaving only northern and southern approaches to assaulting forces. Rivers lines can shield the city (on the Luga River) or at least anchor Soviet forces near the city (on the Volkhov River) if it gets surrounded.
• The Baltic Fleet. Gunfire from the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet can significantly bolster the defense.
• Finnish limited war aims. While the Finns will almost certainly isolate Leningrad from the north, they won't assault the city or allow the Germans to do so from Finnish territory. Thus, Leningrad won't face simultaneous assaults from north and south.

Leningrad also has a number of weak points:

• It is readily accessible to the Axis. German forces can reach Leningrad far more quickly than any other Soviet key area, such as Moscow or the industrial cities in the eastern Ukraine.
• The Axis has good communications to the city. Rail lines run from East Prussia and Poland to Leningrad. Significantly, Leningrad is near the Baltic States, which have standard gauge lines. The Germans thus don't have to convert the rails there once they capture them, and this lets follow-up forces arrive quickly.
• The Soviets have poor communications to the city. While Lake Ladoga is a defensive shield for the city, it is also a big road block, hindering the flow of troops and supplies to the city. Once the Germans and Finns near the city, the Soviets are restricted to two rail lines into the city, one from Moscow and one from Vologda. As the Germans tighten the noose around the city, both may fall, isolating Leningrad from the rest of the USSR.

The road to victory for the German player is to take advantage of Leningrad's weaknesses in order to overcome its strengths. The first step is to isolate the city. Approach the city as Roy outlines and then pound your way through to Lake Ladoga. The Soviets may not have enough troops to defend the city itself and stop you from pushing past it. Be able to threaten both the city itself and its approaches-this draws the Soviets into the city and may aid you to surround it.

If you are able to isolate the city, get step 2 into motion: the preparation for the siege and storming of the city. Have at least one railroad engineer regiment (two are better) regauge the rail lines up to the outskirts of the city. You will control three lines running to the city, and you'll need to regauge two of themhence the utility of two RR engineer regiments. The Narva line has only four hexes from standard gauge Estonia to Leningrad. It is the quickest way to get troops and supplies close to the city, so you should always regauge it. Garrison the line's three coastal hexes in Estonia to discourage the Soviet fleet from landing marines there.

The other two lines run via Pskov and Dno, respectively. The Pskov line is easier to regauge, since it runs the shorter distance from the narrow gauge net, but it reaches Leningrad one hex west of the other one. One hex further east can mean a lot here, especially to railroad artillery trying to bombard all reaches of the city and to troops by Lake Ladoga trying to trace supply around the city.

Thus, the Dno line is strategically better than the Pskov line, but, unfortunately, it is administratively worse. It is much longer than the Pskov line, which means it'll take a fair amount of time to regauge, thus hampering the storming of the city. You can save some time by working a deal with Army Group Center. Help AGC get its northern line to Moscow going--if possible, talk him into using the Latvia-Velikie Luki- Rhzev line. By Velikie Luki, split off and head for Dno.

The other preparations you need are for the Luftwaffe. You'll need at least two permanent airfields near city, for the Me 109s that will blanket the city. Repair the airbases in Estonia and Latvia, so that long- range bombers can use them. If you have Stukas on tap, you'll need to build more airfields near the city to base them.

Step 2 makes Step 3 possible: assembling the German "siege army." AGN must have all German siege and railroad artillery at its disposal on demand. Once a rail line to the vicinity of Leningrad is open, AGN rails in the artillery and gets it organized to bombard Leningrad. AGN also must be able to demand sufficient engineering resources to get combat engineer effects against the city. As the artillery and engineers gather, build up the infantry divisions around the city. Form the assault corps with infantry divisions, engineer regiments, and siege artillery units.

Form the support corps one hex behind the front lines, with the long-range railroad artillery in them. Assemble a strong air striking force. Six Me 109s near the city will curtail Soviet defensive air support and will eventually shoot down Soviet interceptors. Ju 88 and He 111 bombers will be needed for ground support: 9 to 12 are needed, and having more on call is very useful. Ju 87 Stukas are less useful as bombers, due to their short range and vulnerability to AA fire, of which Leningrad will have plenty, but use them if they're available.

An Overview of the Leningrad Theater

Step 4 is the initial assault on the city. Surround and then ignore Kronshtadt, unless you can smash it before you're ready to hit the city. Kronshtadt doesn't really restrict your attack, it costs you time and possibly troops to take, and it will starve out once the big prize falls. The southwest corner of the city is the most vulnerable, as the German can hit it from four hexes. The southeast corner is stronger, as the Germans can mass in only three hexes to hit it. By deploying a strong corps backed with RR artillery on the pivot between the two hexes, the German player can keep the Soviet player guessing as to which hex will be attacked-and a poor guess will cause the Soviets to allocate naval gunfire to the wrong hex. Eventually, the German player will prevail over the southwest hex, as the Soviet player will eventually stop risking NKVD regiments and divisions with cadres there. Once the Germans have the hex, the southeast hex is squeezed on four sides and will fall in turn.

Step 5 starts once the Germans have the southern third of Leningrad. Regauge the two captured city hexes and then the line leading due east. This will ease supply problems to the troops by Lake Ladoga- it's unlikely the Germans will complete Step 4 before the poor weather of autumn and winter shortens the supply lines. By taking southern Leningrad, the German front on the city goes from six hexes to four, freeing up some troops. Send more troops east, to set the stage for an advance to and beyond the Volkhov River. While winter weather will bring supply and combat problems, the rivers and swamps will freeze. The Volkhov thus becomes a weak defensive line, and the Germans may have the strength to go on the offensive. Push the Soviets back until they can no longer supply Leningrad via an ice road on Lake Ladoga.

During Step 5, the Germans face the core defense of Leningrad. The full city hex on ' the west and the partial city hex to its east form a choke point. If the Soviets haven't wasted too many troops in Step 4, then they may be too strong to attack while in supply. Once Step 5 succeeds, Step 6 calls for the reduction of the remaining Leningrad pocket. Let isolation and lack of supply take their toll. After a few turns, Soviet front line strength will start to drop, and an attack on one of the hexes will become possible. Pound away again until a hex falls. The first one that goes signals the fall of the city: the German frontage on the other hex gets increased, and soon the Germans will sweep the city. Leningrad has fallen. On to Moscow!

Inside Europa You Ask, I Answer

Questions and Answers
Victory in Europa
Mountain Units and Operational Flexibility
Grand Europa Economics
Partisans
Finland
HX: Exchange Commentary
Army Group North Operations
Leningrad 1941 Tournament Cancelled
Overrun-Proof Lines