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Subject: Paras in Red Square?
Carl S    11/18/2005 6:21:16 PM
Assuming Medeterrainian adventures do not consume the aibourne corps & it is available for use in Barbarossa, where would it have a significant role?
 
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S-2    RE:Paras in Red Square?/Carl S. Reply   11/19/2005 12:31:48 PM
Carl, I thought about the use of these guys seizing the bridges over the Dvina River at Dvinsk. But they were seized anyway by ground forces, so in retrospect probably unnecessary. Red Square? I thought about it, but when? Clearly, the only reason would be to terminate the STAVKA. However, Das Reich, reputedly got within sight of the Kremlin spires on Dec. 5. The next day the Soviets unleashed their counteroffensive. Some points here. From mid-October onward, Moscow was jammed with Soviet troops arriving from the east, IIRC. By late November, the flying weather was sh!t. By early December, German ground forces would have been no help. Slaughter, I believe. I considered the Demyansk Pocket in early 1942. This seems most likely, though a waste of specialized forces for a mission handled by infantry regiments that were flown in. Still, an airborne division NOW, versus the dribbling of reinforcements may have been more appropriate. I'm disinclined, though it appears the best of the three scenarios that I've considered. I thought about, and rejected, their use in the Kiev kessel, summer of 1941. That battle was so large in scope that those airborne troops would have been lost in the shuffle. Too, the various breakouts were extremely intense battles, where a number of German infantry divisions could barely sustain themselves, much less hold the walls of the containment. What's up with this thread? Are you trying to get me to discard my intentions of providing these guys with an all expenses paid visit to Malta? I accuse you of the profligate waste of fine German airborne manhood in an environment where their potential contribution may be akin to a gnat on an elephant's ass, and am denouncing you to the Fuhrer.
 
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Carl S    RE:Paras in Red Square?. Whats Up   11/19/2005 1:23:32 PM
Nah, you are welcome to place the airbourne corps piece on Malta as many games as you like. I am just searching for opinions on the airbourne use elsewhere. The only thing my ignorant mind could coem up with was either aiding in breaking the Lennigrad defenses in Sept/October, or scattered out in small battalion/ brigade size drops to sieze a wide variety of tactical objectives during the summer.
 
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S-2    RE:Paras in Red Square?. Whats Up   11/20/2005 3:03:45 AM
You know, I thought about and rejected Leningrad also. Fairly compressed, and an absolute armed camp, I can't imagine a D.Z, or multiples that would be relatively free from harassment. Too, there better be a break-in planned for the exact same moment, or they're dead meat.
 
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Carl S    RE:Paras in Lenningrad   11/20/2005 9:33:13 AM
They were very nearly dead meat in Holland, but the panzers arrived in time. Crete was a close run thing too. Anyway, all I know about Lenningrad is from the book on the siege and Raus's remarks about his Pz Div trying to reach the city. From those two accounts there appears to have been a moment that the defenders were still very disorganized and vulnerable to the usual German tactics. Raus indicates his div had only 15-20% of its strength to attack with and could no longer do it all. So I thought the airbourne corps landing across the defense zone outside the city might tip things towards the Germans. A air assualt after the defenses coaleced clsoer to the city in November-December sounds less practical, but then I'm not the expert here.
 
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S-2    RE:Paras in Lenningrad/Carl S. Reply   11/20/2005 12:51:40 PM
"sounds less practical, but then I'm not the expert here." Well that makes two of us then, because this straight leg, ex-artilleryman sure as hell isn't. You should have tossed this over to the east front board. It seems neglected. So much so that I'm thinking about some more alternative history for Kursk (whoopee!). (;-)
 
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Carl S    RE:Paras in Lenningrad/Carl S. Reply   11/20/2005 6:33:42 PM
Oh yeah, you were artillery. As was I. Did you do towed or SP, or both? I spent my gun line time with M101, M114, & M198s.
 
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S-2    RE:Paras in Lenningrad/Carl S. Reply   11/20/2005 7:21:14 PM
Instructed at Sill (Weapons Dept., Firing Btry Branch), so I safed M101A1s, M102s, M109A1s on the school shoots and three day war. FDOed an M109A1 unit (Btry B, 1-17 FA)and a pig btry. Commanded an M101A1 battery, believe it or not, in the Oregon Army Guard.
 
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