Battle of Stuttgart

Combatants| * The Imperium
	+ Imperial Army Forces
	+ Waffen-SS Garrison
	+ Nazi Militia

Commanders| * Field Marshall Walter Model

Strength| * 20,000 Imperial Guardsmen
* Roughly 13,000 Nazi Militia

Casualties| * Around 2,000-5,000 Guardsmen
* Around 6,000 Nazi Militiamen

25,000 Civilian Casualties

The Battle of Stuttgart was the Opening Battle of The Nazi Insurrections. On the 18th of November, The 2nd and 3rd Imperial Guards Divisions ,commanded by Field Marshall Model, ordered the surrender of the 8,000 Nazi Defenders of Stuttgart commanded by the Waffen-SS Garrison who fortified the City after The Imperiumist Takeover. The SS refused and a siege began followed by a Counter-Insurgency Battle, one the Imperial Army had never faced before. The Battle was on paper an Imperian Victory. However, The Imperial Army was highly unequipped for Counter-Insurgency and Combatting Guerrilla Warfare and 25,000 Civilians were killed for being suspected Nazis by Imperial Soldiers.

The Battle of Stuttgart is actually 2 Battles in One with the First Stage Being the Initial Attack on Stuttgart by the 2nd and 3rd Imperial Guard Divisions to breach the city, this is called the Siege Stage. The Second "Occupation Stage" is the Occupation Period where The 2nd and 3rd Imperial Guard Divisions had to Search and Destroy Nazi Forces who had gone underground in the City. The First Stage lasted from the 18th November 1941 to 30th November 1941 whereas the Occupation Stage lasted from 30th November 1941 to 30th January 1942.

## History

The Battle of Stuttgart is the First Conflict of The Nazi Insurrections. The Nazi Insurrections are a consequence of the Imperiumist Takeover and the De-Germanification of Germany into Imperius. The Emperor followed a policy of de-Germanification after The War of Liberation and this evoked Far-Right Germans to take up arms against the Imperium. The Waffen-SS during the Imperiumist Takeover had kicked Wehrmacht Soldiers out of Towns and Cities. The SS had Strongholds in Munich, Stuttgart and Nuremberg who were controlling a large portion of the surrounding region along with Warsaw, Krakow, Danzig and Lodz. The Imperial Army and The Imperial Government knew these SS Garrisons must be destroyed for The Imperium to Prevail and defeat Nazism for all time. The Imperial Army was ordered to Destroy these SS Strongholds and purge The Nazi Leaders and Sympathisers from them. Field Marshall Model was originally tasked with this mission as Officers such as HFM. Rommel and Gen. Steiner were participating in the Invasion of Italy and the Balkans. Field Marshall Model arrived to Stuttgart on the 17th November with The 2nd and 3rd Imperial Guard Divisions and ordered a Surrender of the SS Garrison who responded with Rifle Fire. Model was forced to take the City by Lethal Force.

## The Battle

### First Stage - "The Siege"

After the refusal to surrender, The 2nd Imperial Guard Division assaulted The City as The 3rd Fired Artillery at the Defenders. As The 2nd Guards broke the SS Wall Defences, The 3rd Imperial Guards charged in. The Battle on the Outer Walls were brutal and Both Sides engaged in Hand to Hand Combat. The 3,000 SS Soldiers on the Wall and the 1,000 Militia Soldiers were overwhelmed by 20,000 Guardsman and the SS had to fall back to inner defences or go underground and hide. A Large force of SS and Militia Soldiers had fortified the City Hall and refused a Surrender. The Imperial Guards then stormed the City Hall and Killed around 1,500 SS and 1,000 Militia Soldiers. The Fall of The City Hall meant the City was now in firm Imperian Hands and The SS and Nazis scattered into the Streets and Alley to wage a Guerrilla War against the Occupiers. The Siege was over by the 30th of November 1942.

### Second Stage - "The Occupation"

With The Imperial Army now in control of the City, it was thought the battle was over. However the SS and Nazis had not given up yet. The SS and Nazis began using hidden bases and wore civilian clothes to hide among the crowds. An Insurgency had began. In the late hours on the 4th December 1941, Plain-clothed SS and Nazi Militiamen ambushed a Marching Imperial Patrol using Alleyways and shooting from Buildings. As soon as the patrol realised what had happened and began to return fire, half of their numbers were dead and the Nazis had already fled with minimal losses. This Guerrilla Warfare was unheard of until now and It Scared many Imperial Soldiers and as more and more of these Ambush Attacks happened with many in Daylight, the Imperial Soldiers became more and more paranoid. The Army had to use reprisal attacks to draw out SS Fighters. A Blockade of The City Began and it was put under Military Control. Soldiers began wondering which civilian in a group of civilians would be an SS Fighter. Luckily, Erwin Rommel had returned to take over of the Nazi Insurrections and developed a new strategy.

He used a tactic called Search and Destroy in which Imperial Soldiers would patrol the cities and search for Suspected Nazis and then destroy the threat. This was a good idea on paper until Soldiers began killing civilians. The Soldiers on these Search and Destroy Missions would end up killing Civilians who were not Nazis or Nazi Sympathisers because they couldn't tell. Massacres of Civilians was widespread and this played into the SS' hand who wanted people to see the Imperial Soldiers killing German Civilians. Over 20,000 Civilians were killed during the Occupation Stage due to Reprisals and this Search and Destroy Strategy. The SS ramped up ambushes and The Imperial Guards felt like they were losing and there was nothing they could do.

It was a complete accident that an Imperial Patrol stumbled on a SS HQ during a Patrol whilst doing House Searches. The SS Commanders inside were terrified and realised the severity of what had just happened. The Imperial Guards stormed the HQ and executed the Leaders. High Field Marshall Rommel was summoned to The HQ due to a discovery from the Imperial Soldiers. They had found a map of all SS Bases in Stuttgart and Radio Frequencies used. In the HQ was also the Commander of the Stuttgart Nazi Resistance who was executed on the spot for treason. This discovery was a deciding factor in the Occupation of Stuttgart and The Imperial Forces could now pinpoint Nazi Fighters and raid their bases. The Imperial Forces could also tell when attacks were happening and prevent this. Despite the Civilian Losses of the Tactic, Search and Destroy had worked. Stuttgart had completely fallen to The Imperial Army by the 30th January 1942 after continuous Raids on Nazi Bases forced them to Surrender or Evacuate to another City.

## Aftermath

The Battle of Stuttgart was a Major Success for The Imperial Forces but The Imperial Army had taken Heavy Losses. Most Losses were Civilian and only a handful of Imperian Casualties were Military Losses. The Propaganda Machine of The Imperium had managed to play off the massacres as a Sacrifice to rid Stuttgart of Nazism and The Civilians Killed are regarded as Heroes of The Imperium. The Emperor was impressed with Rommel's efforts and told Rommel to continue his tactic of Search and Destroy as it provided Good Results. This Tactic would kill around 250,000 Civilians in the Nazi Insurrections.

For the Nazis, Stuttgart was a huge defeat as they had lost around 10,000 Good Fighters with 3,000 being veteran SS Soldiers. Stuttgart was a strategic City for The Nazis as The Fall of Stuttgart would mean the Imperial Forces could Easily take Nuremburg and eventually Munich now. The Nazis had invested a lot into Stuttgart in Munitions and Supplies which were now in the hands of the Imperium. The Civilians of Stuttgart blamed the Nazis for the Massacres which Nazi Soldiers did do to draw out Imperial Soldiers. The Citizens of Stuttgart had been treated unfairly by the Nazis and the Nazi Occupation was Brutal. Frequent Patrols and Executions occurred within the City which swayed the people to the Imperian Side despite the Civilian Casualties caused by The Imperial Army but this was overlooked as necessary for Liberation from the Nazis.

The Battle of Stuttgart would be the Start of a Series of Uprisings and Occupations in the Nazi Insurrections and was a great first victory for the Imperium