Manstein in Africa version 2

We must do something about this (chapter 5) Good soldiers, bad officers; however don't forget that without them we would not have any Civilization - Erwin Rommel on the Italian Army

Tripolitania February 1941

Manstein was watching a small unit battle sitting in his armored command vehicle. His first battalion from the 5th light division had arrived in Tripoli a couple of days ago. He paraded them through the city then sent them off to the front were they were currently embroiled in a fight with the King's Dragoon.

That jackass Ribbentrop had provided the men with a pamphlet describing which of Tripoli's many brothel's they should visit. Having to command men who had never served together or couldn't stand the sun was one thing but having to deal with intense VD was something Manstein wanted no part of. He made a mental note that if the opportunity ever arose he would punch the foreign minister in the mouth.

The British troops seemed to be green and his troops were performing well. Through his field glasses Manstein saw a company group from the Brescia division come under attack by a British motorized group. The Italian company was a good one who had been through Balck's armored warfare school a couple weeks before. They held on for ten minutes and then it appeared they ran out of ammunition and had to retire. The British did not pursue. Manstein was speechless he had seen that company have a full war load of ammunition crates with them. He instructed his chief of staff Gause to have the commander of that Italian company brought to him immediately.

Manstein thanked god this macaroni spoke pretty good German

Tell me what happened in your battle herr Major

The British came at us with their armored cars and infantry. We defended as GeneralMajor Balck told us to trying to suppress the infantry and separate them from the armor. We then ran out rifle, anti tank and machine gun ammunition and were forced to retire.

Explain to me how you ran out of ammunition Major. I saw your company with a full war load of ammo enough for a 3 day pitched battle. You were even carrying back ammunition boxes as you retreated I saw?

We ran out of ammunition for a majority of the men's weapons. Unfortunately my company has 6 types of rifles and 4 types of machine guns so ammunition distribution especially at night or under fire is almost impossible sir.

Mein Gott and many of your companies are like this?

All except the Bersaglieri and the engineers yes sir

The old quartermaster within Manstein kicked in; a certain amount of waste within a very large military was to be expected; his late uncle Hindenberg had said so himself but this was absolutely insane; for whatever his political opinions of the Italians were, this was easily correctable if someone took the leadership by the horns; and he intended to do so.

This cannot be allowed to continue. Something must be done about this. Herr Major you will accompany me back on my trip to Berlin tomorrow.

Two days later at Hitler's military HQ

My Fuhrer and Il Duce thank you so much for seeing me. Herr Todt your presence is also greatly appreciated at this meeting.

I have brought with me Major Borroni of the Italian army. I have allready sent in writing the tale of his battle with British.

The lack of small arms coordination in the infantry divisions in Libya is a big problem. Major Borroni lost 19 experienced men because his company couldn't organize their ammunition supplies. I propose we stop trying to pretend we can wage parallel war and form a real coalition. Herr Todt informs me that licenses for German small arms may be granted and he could lend out a few hundred workers and engineers to help tool up Italian factories. After a few months I would hope all of our troops would have 1 type of rifle, 1 type of machine gun, and 1 type of sub machine gun greatly reducing the complication of ammunition supply. This way our men could fight together cohesively

I also witnessed the death of the Italian fighter ace Marcello as he dueled with a Gladiator fighter three days ago. I wish also to request that licenses be granted for German aircraft engines and armored vehicles be given to the Commando Supremo as soon as possible. Our window of victory is at hand if we strengthen our selves. Herr Todt has the men available it would only require your approval my fuhrer.

What you say has great merit. I know this has been discussed before and the money for the licenses was an issue. Senior Mussolini how about we grant you the licenses for the remainder of the war and we come up with a fee after our great victory.

I would be happy to accept any technology that could improve our effeciancy.

Good Herr Todt follow up with this in every way possible like General Manstein said. You can loan out the engineers as long as our friends need them.

to be continued...
 
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Manstein's first great victory (chapter 6) Discipline strengthens the mind so that it becomes impervious to the corroding influence of fear. - Montgomery

Tripolitania February 1941

The plan of attack was simple. Manstein had conducted careful recon in his light airplane and his armored cars had been very busy scouting the British. High command had given him explicit instructions not to go over to the offensive until more of his forces were available. 21st Panzer would take another couple weeks to arrive and be deployed. He did see however that Churchill's folly of sending good troops to Greece had left him an opportunity. The troops in front of him were the raw 2nd Armored division and they were not in a truly developed defensive system.

The Italians had given him to of their infantry divisions Brescia and Pavia which would allow Manstein to at least attack on something of a wide front. Airpower would be the key to this operation though. For the last two weeks his squadrons had been deploying to the most forward airstrips in Axis held Libya and desert proofing their machines.

On Feb. 28th several days ahead of schedule and with total radio silence the aircraft lifted off to strike the British. Manstein and Kesselring (commander of Luftflotten II assigned to assist the africa corps in our scenario) had worked together when Manstein commanded 38th corps in France and they could cooperate easily. The British were caught flat footed because of the number of troops sent to Greece and Ultra intercepts showed high command telling Manstein to stay in place until his forces were built up. 100 covering fighters 60 stuka dive bombers and 72 level bombers (he-111 and ju-88) came over the British lines. The fighters brushed aside any defending British machines (the gladiators were easy picking and there were only a few hurricaines in the theater at this point). Once their air superiority and escort mission was done they joined in strafing British positions with cannon and machine guns) The stukas went after British armor and tracked vehicles. The level bombers wandered far behind the lines with the solid fixed noses of machine guns and cannons knocking out British supply trucks and airfields. Manstein told Kesselring this was the most important part of the mission because if the water and fuel trucks could be delayed or destroyed it would make it easier for the Africa Corps to take prisoners.

The Italians opened up a diversionary offensive to pin the British to the front. This actually went better than anticipated with the first 10 l-3 75's (built in Germany and shipped in) spearheading the attack. They knocked out 4 British tanks at a loss of just 1 of their machines and provided critical covering fire to the advancing infantry. Italian morale increased both based on the success of this operation and Manstein's praise of their good performance.

The 5th light division under General Streich surged forward against the middle of the British line at El Aghelia. Initially they were thrown back by concentrated British artillery and tank fire. The enterprising 39th anti tank battalion then crashed through an incomplete minefield and put the British to flight. As the tanks turned to flee forward Panzer III's with observers well forward called in repeated stuka strikes against the retreating British armor further disorganizing the 2nd Armored.

It became a wild chase with the 5th light surging forward across the Cyranacian bulge and the British running away faster than the Germans could chase them. Units became intermixed and confused night fighting tired all the troops. Manstein kept touch with his light plane but found the going rough and the country without water. Only his relentless energy kept the tanks rolling. The luftwaffe was forced to release some of their stocks of fuel and curtail air support missions to keep the tanks on pace. Manstein weaved a battle tapestry once his battalion of 88mm guns arrived. The battle groups from 5th light leapfrogged each other creating roadblocks along the via balbia trapping British troops between the 5th light, and the ariette armored division which rushed up along the via balbia after recapturing Bengahzi from the fleeing British. General O' Conner the enterprising leader of operation compass was snatched by the German machine gun battalion. Two British divisions shut themselves up in Tobruk as Manstein's Africa corps by passed them and surged to the Egyptian frontier leaving a screen of Italian infantry to keep watch on the garrison.

At the end of 4 weeks Manstein could count his offensive as a success. He had recaptured all of Libya except Tobruk and taught the British a lesson. His booty included 90 captured tanks, 300 artillery pieces, 260 anti tank guns, 6,500 infantry and 5 generals. The second armored division was effectively destroyed. Manstein's total losses amounted to less than 500 killed and wounded. 25 tanks lost with half being expendable light models and some loss to his trucks. Air cover to date had been excellent and the RAF was not molesting his troops and in turn unable to protect their own troops from continuous bombing and strafing. Tobruk remained a thorn in his side preventing him from advancing further for fear of having his spearheads cut off and denying him a useful forward port.

Manstein originally thought about taking the city in a coup de main or coup de panzer but a quick air tour of the city showed him the fair size of the garrison and the ships steaming into the harbor pouring in reinforcements and ammunition. He thought better of it and realized he would need to launch a coordinated attack on the town it was just too large to bounce off the march.

The British were stunned by these developments. Newspapers on both sides called Manstein the Genius of the Desert. Churchill poured reinforcements into Egypt as fast as his transports could send them. He needed a new offensive to restore morale. Wavell was commanding the British now that O' Conner was gone and Churchill was determined to prod him into action

to be continued...

thoughts?
 
Why would Mainstein lead the virtually the same campaign as Rommel? He didn't really strike me as the guy who'd lurch forward against explicit orders? I might be wrong though.
 
Pretty cool. I wonder if since like it says Manstein was conscious of supply problems since he was a quartermaster if that could actually cause him to act more conservatively after this, though. Take time to reorganize and resupply to that if/when he launches a new offensive some of the problems Rommel faced won't be as bad. Looking forward to see where it goes.
 
A big ship turns slowly, and the results of possible better Axis supply cooperation and licencing will start to show rather late. Now, the real question is what to do with Tobruk?
 
Why would Mainstein lead the virtually the same campaign as Rommel? He didn't really strike me as the guy who'd lurch forward against explicit orders? I might be wrong though.

Rommel's first Cyranacian offensive had a good wiff of sickle cut to it;

have a strong diversionary force (brescia, pavia and ariette) fix and draw the attentions of the primary enemy mobile force (2nd armored) and then have your strongest strike force (5th light) loop around through difficult but not impassible terrain to encircle the enemy

One could describe Rommel's solution to what he found in Feb, as the German textbook solution; German armies have favored oblique maneuvers since Frederick the Great; and Manstein had written the latest chapter in the oblique maneuver textbook, so I don't find it a huge stretch for them to come to the same solution to the situation
 
WE HAVE COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN YOU (CHAPTER 7) Logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare- Heinz Guderian

Libya March 1941

General Paulus head of Manstein's old command in the Quartermaster general's office had come to see it's former master to get a first hand look at the operational opportunities in Africa

"Erich (Paulus and Manstein had been friendly for more than a decade, and referred to each other by first name when in private) we are most impressed with your progress so far. The general staff have complete confidence in you. I have been sent to explore the possibilities in Africa and make a full report to the OKW.

"What a remarkable change from a year ago when I was sent to the back bench"

"You were promoted"

"I was given a 3rd wave corps to get me and my nuisance war plans out of the way"

"Well regardless the higher ups have seen the light, Keitel goes on and on about how clever you are, and how sending you to africa was his idea, and you are his protege"

"Asshole"

"I know I know"

"Well, my next objective is to capture Tobruk. The Australian garrison there is harassing my rear area units and we are in need of a forward port to supply the troops.

The General Staff would prefer you wait until all of the forces assigned to you are built up.

I don't have that much time and I know the Luftwaffe will be needed elsewhere in the near future. I have developed a plan in conjunction with Marshal Bostico. While the British are tied down with our offensive in Greece, an Italian battle squadron will steam towards Tobruk. They will shell the port and airstrip with the intention of cutting off further reinforcements and rendering their critical facilities unusable... at the same time the 2nd air fleet will launch repeated strikes on lines of communication and forward troop positions. I then intend to strike with the Brescia infantry division with 5th light standing by to exploit the breach. The 30 l-3 75's we have available will spearhead the offensive. I hope to force a surrender within 5 days and then with my rear areas clear mass on the Egyptian border for our major blow.

This is an ambitious plan Erich. And you are banking an awful lot on the Macaronis. What units will their navy commit to your operation

Bastico has secured Vittorio Veneto, Fiume, and 6 destroyers to be the bombardment force, more than enough for a small place like Tobruk. Those 15inch shells will do plenty of damage even if they only stick around for a little while. Marshal Kesselring will detail 24 BF-110E fighter bombers and 30 JU-88 bombers to cover the Italians and to sink any British ships that try to interfere.

It sounds like you have it all worked out. There is something else I wish to discuss with you. The fuhrer is planning a parachute attack onto the Island of Crete once our business in Greece is over. He wants to keep the British from bombing the Ploesti oil fields.

This would be a huge mistake. Crete isn't in a decisive part of the theater. If my troops take Alexandria the British would have to evacuate it anyway because they wouldn't be able to supply the island. The terrain there is rugged as hell too I know I visited the ruins with my uncle as a boy. They will suffer huge losses and it will not improve our strategic position in the theater

You would rather have them jump on Malta Erich?

Our aircraft are doing a good job suppressing the island. It doesn't quite fall into the category of Crete since the British can still supply her from Gibraltar. If we control Alexandria then they might not abandon the island. Once our position around Tobruk is cleared up, it would be useful to mount an operation to take the island; not only to serve as a useful staging area for all services, but because it will eliminate the need to keep aircraft on the mainland to suppress it; plus our convoys into Tripoli and Bengahzi will be more secure

The fuhrer will want to here your specific thoughts on these matters; you should return to Berlin before any irrevokable decisions are made

6 days later at the fuhrer's next military conference


Paulus: My fuhrer General Der Panzertruppen Von Manstein wishes to propose an alternative to the Mercury operation

Manstein: My fuhrer General Paulus has already briefed you on our Tobruk operation which I am most pleased that you approved. I have outlined in writing my objections to the Mercury plan. I wish to propose my own plan. Operation Donner (thunder) would see the 2nd parachute regiment of the 7th fleiger division assembled at my forward airfields at Sollum and Gambut. After the fall of Tobruk I will then concentrate 5th light 15th panzer and ariete divisions on the border for an offensive into Egypt supported by second air fleet. On the night before I launch the Africa Corps forward the air troops would be landed 90 kilometers behind the lines on the Via Balbia. They would cut off or capture vital British supplies and reinforcements that would be bound for their garrisons on the wired border. My tanks would break through to them in 2 days and they would be available for further deployment elsewhere. Once I have wiped out the frontier garrisons we should have a clear path to Alexandria and achieve one of our main campaign objectives. The air troops will be in almost no danger because our recon has shown almost no AA defenses in the area. The terrain is soft and flat and they will only be a short distance from the main body of the army to come pick them up. It involves nothing of the dangers of a sea landing. MarshalCaverello says the Italian navy will provide two cruisers and 4 destroyers for fire support for the parachutists if this operation is adopted. Again let me point out that once we have Alexandria, Crete will be evacuated very shortly after because the British will not be able to get any ammunition or fuel to the island.

Hitler: A most audacious plan this operation Thunder. I must say I like it. Manstein can your headquarters command both this and an attack on Tobruk at the same time?

Manstein: My present headquarters is too small to focus on both tasks at the same time. I would request staff officers on par with army command be sent to the Africa Corps.
Hitler: An army staff requires and army commander. I have been impressed with your work so far Manstein but do not fail me. You will be promoted to GeneralOberst so that you may command your new headquarters as Panzer Army Africa

Manstein: Thank you my fuhrer, I shall try to serve you and the Reich as well as I can.

Hitler: Good this conference is over. Get back to your men Herr GeneralOberst you have much work to do. Keitel see to it that the necessary staff officers are assigned to the Africa HQ

to be continued...

thoughts?
 
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Rubicon

Banned
Really hard to read the last part, the discussion between Hitler, Manstein and Paulus. Try some line breaks to easy up the reading. As for the rest, haven't I read this somewhere already? Oh it was in v.1.0 :p
 
"Well regardless the higher ups have seen the light, Keitel goes on and on about how clever you are, and how sending you to africa was his idea, and you are his protege"

"Asshole"

"I know I know"
Your dialogue can be kinda stiff at times but this part was pretty funny. :D
 
A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK (CHAPTER 8)

Libya April 1941

The newly minted GeneralOberst Manstein rubbed his thinning hair. This fucking heat, I never knew I could sweat inside my anus, I'll never complain about the Prussian Winter again.

What was that herr General?

Nothing be quiet so I can observe

He viewed his arrayed forces. The newly arrived 15th Panzer division was on the left with the veteran and desert equipped 5th light on the right. The Italians with Brescia and Ariette were in the middle. Manstein was running ahead of schedule. To date the Luftwaffe had done an excellent job of providing top cover to his valuable convoys to Tripoli and Benghazi. They had sunk 3 British destroyers and damaged several other warships. The ME-110's and JU-88 heavy fighters had also stropped the English from bombing the tankers and cargo ships at will. Modern British aircraft were slowly making their way to the theater, but with the long trip around the Cape and away from their advanced HOME CHAIN radar network Luftflotten II remained by the far and away the prime mover

The secrecy of the attack on Tobruk was excellent. Orders had been sent on the Italian encoding system which made use of one time cipher pads which were unbreakable; this operation would have normally involved heavy Enigma use by the Germans which would have given it away, however Manstein was awaiting the newest Enigma set with an extra counter rotating wheel and it was decided to use the Italian network for this operation until the new sets could be properly distributed.

On the night of April 27th the recently put together Italian first battle squadron under Admiral Campioni steamed to within 15 kilometers of Tobruk harbor. Veneto and Fiume opened up with their main guns at the crack of dawn. 380mm shells smashed into the harbor for over 2 hours. The Italian sailors were egged on by their officers to support the ground troops and maintained a high rate of fire. The couple of docked depot ships were quickly sent to the bottom and the Australian defenders found their artillery subject to extermination. ME-110's maintained a station above the firing and directed the shells onto critical targets then bombed and strafed ones that were out of range or dug in.

Manstein stood at the head of 5th light ready to go in with the troops of his 8th machine gun battalion who had already spearheaded over 10 successful attacks. He looked up and saw his aircraft providing cover in the way he had worked out with Kesselring. Manstein had consulted with Heinz Guderian the leading expert on armored warfare on how to conduct this operation and they had given the plan to Kesselring. The Luftwaffe general endorsed it warmly.

Two gruppen of JU-87 Stukas circled over the Tobruk perimeter occasionally diving on the bunkers and gun lines or making fake bombing runs to keep the Australians of the 9th division heads down. ME-109 fighters under Hans Joachim Marseille the star of Africa provided careful escort and cover to the bombers and shooing away any British machines that might want to interfere.

With the Australians completely suppressed and demoralized Manstein thrust his first forward three times and ordered the panzers to march into his throat microphone

The Germans and Italians lunged forward with armor providing an initial screen from the Australian machine guns. Fast moving infantry in halftracks followed behind armed with sub machine guns, carbines, grenades and explosive packs for clearing paths for the tanks. The Aussies were tough determined fighters but were heavily outnumbered. Whenever they tried to man their artillery or anti tank guns they would attract the attention of circling German bombers which would quickly put the position out of action. The Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica flew over 2500 sorties against Tobruk in this 48 hour window.

The Italians in the middle with their 30 l-3 75's made the best progress. They found a gap in the covering minefields and stormed over 5 miles into the defenses. Manstein saw this and was quick to exploit. He shifted the axis of attack for the 5th light behind the Italians and broke into the city proper.

The Australians were doomed. The naval and airstrikes had wiped out their ammunition dumps and German aircraft and artillery had the entire city under observation and fire. Evacuation was out of the question because the Italian battleship had damaged a lot of the dockyards and any Royal Navy ship trying to reach the area faced running the gauntlet of JU-88 bombers armed with bombs and torpedoes, and due to the surprise of the operation remained at least 48 hours steaming time from intervening. Relief from ground forces from Egypt was also impossible as they had been fixed by Manstein's "thunder" operation. General Leslie Morsehead saw no choice. He ordered his remaining guns destroyed then sent an envoy under a white flag to ask Manstein for terms.

Manstein was ecstatic with his capture of the city. 14,000 prisoners and 40 repairable tanks fell into his hands for losses of only 289 dead and 613 wounded. 17 aircraft had been lost and 22 tanks.


He now had a clear supply line to drive into the heart of Egypt and the parachutists had already started arriving so he could launch his next attack..

to be continued...
 
He's back!!

Great to see you continuing to rewrite this enjoyed your first version and am sure this one will be great.
 
Why would Mainstein lead the virtually the same campaign as Rommel? He didn't really strike me as the guy who'd lurch forward against explicit orders? I might be wrong though.
Actually Shaby,Rommel justified his operation as a reccon.in force;a bit stretched for a reccie of 600 klm! however,to persuade his superiors he had to leave the bulck of the Italians back in El Agheila and move only with his mobile elements,hence the necessary stop for re-organization before Tobruk and to bring forward the Italians and adequate supplies that gave the chance
to Weivel to regroup.Manstein doesn,t execute a recon,but he takes the Italians with him.Don't forget though that Manstein's panzer corps OTL under Hoepner on 22nd June 41' achieved the greatest penetration than any other unit in the Russian front the first day of the invasion with a jump of 80 kilometres behind enemy lines in Aerogala.Manstein was not the one to see the chance and let it slip.
 
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