4. Jassy-Kishinev Offensive
This curiously-named attack into Romania in August 1944 took its title from the Russian names for the two cities from which it was launched, better known by the natives as Iasi and Chisinau. In serious terms, it broke through in two days, utterly mauled the disparate German armies and caused the rapid defection of Romania and Bulgaria to the side of the Allies. The Red Army surged into the area with some 1.3 million troops, surrounding and trapping the same, albeit reconstituted, 6th Army that had been infamously suffered the same fate at Stalingrad, as well as cutting off the major escape routes into neighbouring Hungary. Some German units desperately tried to fight their way out, but only a minority succeeded. Of note in the brief but crucial campaign was the clash with the German 13th Panzer Division famed veterans of Poland, France, Barbarossa and the Caucasus which suffered the unenviable fate of almost complete annihilation as a coherent fighting force, with most of the survivors taken into captivity. The Soviet advance was so rapid and all-conquering that it was arguably a driving factor in the coup that occurred in Romania, where the German-allied puppet government was overthrown and allegiances hastily changed, likely to avoid major repercussions for the nations own complicity in the horrors of the war. Their ultimate reward was enforced subservience as part of the Warsaw Pact. In a change of pace and a sign of the times, the Germans and Romanians suffered truly horrific losses whilst the Soviets got off surprisingly lightly for an army stereotypically fond of human wave attacks, finishing with some 13,000 dead to the Axis 100,000. The fighting in Romania is what some might be charitably inclined to call a Curb Stomp Battle: the Germans and Soviets had decisively reversed their roles as elephant and ant from 1941-42, with the German ant hill thoroughly trampled, all hope of overwhelming the enormous enemy gone forever. As the shattered armies fled the country, the Soviets seized their vital lifeline: the oil fields at Ploesti. The loss was one of the final nails in the Axis coffin. As one of the deciding conflicts towards the end, a detour to Romania would bring refreshing perspective of the broader scope to any potential campaign. In a reflection of the reality of the situation, it might veer a bit towards the easy side, but its still a part of history with far-reaching consequences and seeing it portrayed would be nice.