Memo to Volksgrenadier units/A basic introduction to Axis Berlin

Contents;

1: Fighting in Seelow Heights

2: Fighting within the city

3: Engaging Soviet tanks

4: Basic equipment

5: Recommended whaling

From: Ministry of Internal Affairs-Berlin

Brave Komaraden! Congratulations on your latest appointment, you have been assigned to defend the glorious jewel of our grand Reich, Berlin, from the hordes of the eastern invaders! No doubt your families are immensely proud of your heroism in the face of the Bolshevik hordes, not to mention how attractive your new uniforms must be to all the ladies! The sturm of the Volk shall wash our lands of the filth of the Bolsheviks and you are the thunder! To assist in your brave endeavor to protect our grand city a series of memos from one of our most experience commanders shall be distributed amongst you, read his words carefully, they may be the difference in success and failure, and they’re sure to provide some useful tips to really stick it to Ivan!

Strength and Purpose, Ruhm Fur Deustchland!

To the Volksgrenadier-Defense of Berlin

Greetings members of the Volksgrenadier, I am Hauptmann Wolf commander of the 212th Mountaineer Regiment. I have been tasked with providing you with a basic overview of the operation to defend Berlin as well as simple tips to provide you with some idea of properly conducting the defense.

1: Berlin is located in an area which is flat and well paved, should the Soviets break through our eastern defensive line it is likely that they will quickly encircle the city if our panzer corps cannot secure the city’s flanks. The foremost area you will be defending is the Seelow Heights directly east of the city, it is hilly, wooded, and swampy, the ground is difficult which will slow the Soviets armor and conceal our own. There is also a rail line which host one of our armored trains code-named: Stier. Between Stier and a passionate defense of the area you may halt the Soviet advance though if that is the case they will likely bypass the heights to the north, the Soviets will reach the city but the longer you hold the more reinforced Berlin will be.

When defending in the heights you will primarily be fighting along the rail line, aside from the buildings along the line there is little cover outside the woods along the line. You can dig foxholes within the woods to suppress any Soviets attempting to outflank the rail line though you will be exposed to Soviet armor in the woods. I recommend sticking to the buildings along the rail line, they will provide cover and concealment from Soviet tanks and artillery and Soviet infantry will be forced to dig you out of each building provided you have properly secured the structure. Sticking to the structures also allows you to get the jump on Soviet tanks. Sharpshooters and machine gunners will find success overlooking the rail line itself as the Soviets must cross the line in order to secure several important structures.

2: Assuming fighting will happen within the city itself there will be differences fighting in the city vs the outskirts of Seelow. Care must be kept crossing the streets as much of the city has been bombed and the ruins and rubble help conceal the enemy, that said the rubble will help conceal you as well. Keeping low among the rubble will help you get the jump on the attackers and a well positioned sharpshooter or machine gun can secure an entire alley or street. Entrenchment within the more structurally sound buildings can seriously hamper the invaders, barbed wire and sandbags along doors, windows, stairs and hallways can be the thing that halts a Soviet advance. Be wary though, the Soviets have very capable sub machine guns which give them an advantage in close quarters, try to keep them at arms length and if you can acquire weapons such as the PPSh-41 from fallen Soviets.

3: The Soviets are attacking Berlin with a very large tank force, in each engagement you are almost certain to encounter Soviet tanks with the potential of a dozen or more showing up in a single engagement. As such you must be aware of proper procedures when attacking Soviet tanks.

The most common tank you will encounter is the T-34, it has little armor so if a friendly tank or anti tank gun acquires a T-34 it will usually have little trouble penetrating the tank from all but the more extreme angles. However the T-34 has an 85mm gun which commonly destroys our tanks with a single penetrating shot so while T-34s may be more lightly armored than our tanks they must be respected lest you feel their bite. When attacking a T-34 with anti tank weapons there are a few ways to effectively destroy the tank. When attacking with anti tank grenades aim to throw the grenade under the chassis, in between the tracks, or on top of the engine block or turret, aiming for the tracks has proved the most successful attack point according to my men. When utilizing an anti tank launcher such as a panzerfaust aim for the center of the front plate head to kill the crew in one shot, the engine to ignite it and force the crew to bail, or most effectively aim for the back of the turret where the ammunition is stored and detonate the tank.

IS tanks have been reported as being deployed with the Soviet elite units, they are much more heavily armored than a T-34 and will stand up to anti tank fire aside from our 88s from the front. Effective anti tank grenade tactics work the same with the IS as the T-34, aim to throw your grenades underneath the vehicle and in between the tracks. While able to withstand panzerfaust fire from the front from the side and rear the panzerfaust is effective at dealing with IS tanks, the ammo is stored in the back of the turret like the T-34 so aim to hit there with your panzerfaust to destroy it in one shot.

It is recommended to utilize panzerfausts above grenades when fighting Soviet armor as panzerfausts can deal with the tanks at a safer distance. Care must be taken aiming panzerfausts, while the panzerfaust 100 has a fairly flat trajectory within 50 meters the panzerfaust 60 fires in an arc at point blank range, below 30 meters aim slightly below where you intend to hit in order to ensure accuracy. The ample rubble within the city will give you ample opportunity to outflank Soviet armor, just keep low and watch out for escorting Soviet infantry.

4: Unfortunately due to constraints from the war equipment is in short supply, upon arrival you will be equipped with only the most basic of our nation’s arsenal. That said should you prove yourselves in combat you may be transferred to other units and gain the right to requisition more advanced equipment. For now this memo will go over your basic weapons and further memos on more advanced equipment will reach you should you transfer to more prestigious units.

Upon arrival you will be issued Kreigsmodell Mauser rifles and the VG.2. The Kreigsmodell is of inferior quality to the standard Kar98k, you will find the bolt stiff and the rounds difficult to feed into the magazine, if you can obtain a standard production Kar98k. The VG.2 while crude is a perfectly serviceable rifle with a key advantage over the Soviet Mosin and our Kar98ks, it is magazine fed and as such has a higher capacity and easier reload, the VG.2 is capable of engaging entire squads of Soviet infantry at once provided you have trained to operate its bolt action as efficiently as possible. Gewehr 43s are steadily entering the city, you will be on a waiting list for these rifles behind other units but when available requisition them from your quartermaster, they are superior to the Soviet Mosins as well as your Mauser rifles and it is comparable to the Soviet SVT-40, it will be an effective upgrade in firepower.

You sturmtruppler will be issued MP 3008s initially, they are a copy of the British Sten gun but with the magazine facing the proper way downward. It is a basic smg with rudimentary sights which can make aiming difficult. There is a supply if M30 Drillings at Tempelhof requisitioned from the Luftwaffe, unfortunately the Luftwaffe did not bring the necessary rifle ammunition for the Drillings so you will only have standard 12 gauge buckshot, it has a lower effective range than the MP 3008 and only two shots but inside buildings it is highly effective and firing both barrels simultaneously will almost guarantee to take down any single attacker. A train is inbound from the Ruhr with a shipment of MP 40s, upon its arrival you will be able to requisition them from your quartermaster, while not as deadly as Soviet smgs in close quarters the MP 40 has a much more effective range thanks to it’s low cyclic rate, it is a very comfortable and accurate gun to shoot that will give you an advantage against the Soviet assault troopers at a distance.

Panzerfausts are in high demand so you will have to wait till some become available before you can obtain any, until then it is advisable to avoid Soviet armor unless you have access to anti tank grenades. MG 34s are being salvaged from our disabled tanks so you will be able to obtain them shortly after arrival, it is superior to the Soviet DP-27 in rate of fire and accuracy, even in comparison to the MG 42 the MG 34 maintains slightly higher accuracy, when braced or with proper recoil control the MG 34 will reliably hold a corridor singlehandedly.

For pistols you will be issued Walther PP and PPKs, they are small pistols intended for police chambered in small rounds for a pistol, in a pinch they can save your life but do not rely on them as a primary weapon.

Some of you will be assigned to the 503rd Panzer Battalion, currently the only tanks in working order are the Pz IV J, it is considered inferior to the T-34 as its armor has difficulty stopping the 85mm gun of the T-34 and its gun usually requires multiple shots to disable a T-34 whereas a T-34 just needs one penetrating shot to kill a Pz IV, in addition due to its ammo placement it is vulnerable to Soviet anti tank weapons, moreover its ability to respond to threats is hampered by its extremely slow turret traverse speed, your odds in the Pz IV will not be great and I wish you luck.

You will be receiving air cover from JG 52 and SG1,their Bf 109s and Stukas are in barely serviceable condition, other squadrons will come aid you from the air when available but much of our air power is occupied defending our cities from Allied bombers, do not expect to see many friendly planes.

Grenades you will have access to come in three types, frag grenades, smoke grenades, and anti tank grenades. Smoke grenades are self explanatory, you throw them and they produce a covering mask of smoke. Frag grenades are effective against infantry thanks to their 3 second fuse and their light weight allows them to be thrown further than anti tank grenades. Anti tank grenades function like frag grenades but with a 6 second fuse and a larger charge to destroy tanks. My men have found that frag grenades are redundant compared to anti tank grenades, both are just as effective at killing infantry but frags cannot damage the plethora of Soviet armor you will face and the longer fuse time can be counteracted by cooking the grenade before throwing. As such I recommend you omit frags and go with either smoke or anti tank grenades.

5: On a final note I must stress that if you have connections with party officials to use those connections wisely, misplaced favors can waste valuable resources. If you have the pull I recommend requesting a transfer to the 3/115 Siemensstadt Battalion, it is made up of veterans of the Great War equipped with reliable Lebel 1886s and their experience may keep you alive, their prestige will also garner favor from command hastening your promotions, transfers, and requisitions. There is also a Panther numbered 432 sitting unused at the Berlin rail yard held back by red tape, if you cut that red tape it will serve as an invaluable upgrade to any of your Pz IVs.

That is the end of this memo, I wish you luck in your endeavors and further memos will be issued to you should you survive long enough. The enemy is at the gates Komaraden, stand firm and fight to the last round lest our glorious nation fall to the Bolshevik menace.

2 Likes

Danke schon feldwebel!:woman_pilot:t3:

So wird es gemacht

( probably butchered that but that’s okey. Oh… I thought i readed vulksturm, not volkgs. Rip.)