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Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Moscow on the map

 
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Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Moscow on... - 12/24/2011 1:54:10 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Good afternoon, or morning, or whatever time it may be where you are now...

I got myself this little game on Monday in an attempt to lose the last little bit of mental sanity in my spare time. Dabbled with it a little and tried to take Leningrad earlier in the week (terrible failure), then smashed everything to pieces in the Dnipropetrowsk scenario (albeit on easy). Feel free to find below the biggest pocket I was able to create there. I don't think this will be sufficient in the long run here...

I have to admit, I feel destined for greater things than some remote village in the Ukraine. I want the biggest slice of the pie. No, I want the whole pie, and I want it now!

Thus I'm embarking on the Grand Campaign 1941 now. I just glanced over the map and shivered, feeling lonely and hopeless. How am I ever going to kill all those brown-clad counters?? By the way, the game will be played on normal difficulty, and given my total noobiness with this game it is highly likely that the Soviet banner will be flying over Berlin by about October. Of 1941.

Please forgive any spelling errors here. This is a rather new laptop I'm on now and somehow ... either my fingers are getting fatter or the keys are smaller than before. I'm trying to be as cleanly as possible here in every aspect. This also applies to making and clearing pockets of cause. Wait, I can't find the Army HQ of those dark green guys.

Now on to those few Russians still sleeping after being out all night, partying. Come here, Kitty-Kitty, come-come-come, I have a surprise for youuuu ...!




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 3:09:11 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 1 - June 22, 1941

Operation Barbarossa starts with massive bombing raids on as many Soviet airfields as possible. 1,772 Soviet planes are destroyed before a single German soldier enteres Soviet ground. 2,400 Soviet casualties just from airfield raids, and only 19 planes lost.

In total ignorance of what may or not may be possbile I have come up with a general outline of where to send my Panzer spearheads. AG North's Panzers will race for Riga and take it by turn 2, hopefully, before swinging east around Pskov and from there it's on to Leningrad. By turn 8 in my Leningrad scenario game I was not even close to the city. This time I will push hard.

2nd Panzer Army will advance on the Brest-Litowsk-Minsk axis and meet with 3rd Panzer Army there. I hope by turn 2 as well. They will then slash as far as east as possible without opening the flanks too much.

In the South I will aim for Tarnopol and Proskurov with my Panzers. This worked well in my Dnirpropetrowsk (come on, who names cities that way!!?) scenario game. When the Romanians enter the war on turn 3, they will hopefully help seal the bag.

Infantry will mostly be used to mop up pockets created by the Panzers and keep their flanks clean.



AG North: overwhelming success here. Lead elements of PzGr 4 are glaring across the Dvina into the Riga defenses already. Some Soviet elements isolated in western Latvia. As I have expected, the infantry can't keep up with the advance. 16th Army fails to take Kaunas, but a pocket is created thanks to the rapid advance of PzGr 3 further south.

AG Center: PzGr dashes madly towards Vilnius, which is taken with little resistance. Lead elements come to within 50 miles of Minsk, but stop there for the lack of support from behind. A small pocket at Kaunas is created by the combined advance of PzGrs 3 and 4. Generalmajor Mostovenko's body was found after the 11th Mech Corps had been virtually destroyed in Volkoysk, the most prominent casualty in this assault. The two Corps of PzGr 2 have become intermingled here. The right wing of PzGr 2 had trouble getting through the westernmost expanses of the Pripyats, while the left wing took Brest-Litowsk in a hurry. A fairly big pocket was closed north of Brest-Litowsk centered on Bialystok with elements from the 9th Army. Overall, 9th Army was rather cautious for being stretched out thinly. 4th army advanced to the north and northwest of Brest-Litowsk, covering the flank of PzGr 2.

AG South: Erwin Vierow's LV Corps was tasked with opening a gap between Ivanichi and Vladymyr-Volynsky for the PzGr 1 to break through. Three attacks failed here and other corps had to help out to open the frontline of the Soviets here. As a result, no attack was made on Lvov from the north. Kienitz' XVII Corps also fails to march over the Soviets on the very left of AG South. This is trouble.
Problems didn't stop here. Strong and ready Soviet tank formations halted the Panzers at Brody for some time, forcing me to throw in more armour I would have wanted to use for encircling Tarnopol itself. As a result of the stiff resistance here, Tarnopol was not reached and the Panzer's left flank was left wide open.

I'm very happy with the first turn north of the swamps. The south was utter failure in every aspect. I didn't expect this much resistance here.

Center pocket below, followed by the situation in the south, where Tarnopol isn't even on the horizon yet.




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 3:13:28 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		The Southern disaster. The left flank of PzGr 1 is wide open. I'm scared.

Also note the far left flank of the 6th Army. They have utterly failed to get across the Soviet frontline there...




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 5:27:58 PM   
HITMAN202


Posts: 714
Joined: 11/10/2011
Status: offline 		I'll be watching closely and throw out my noobie thoughts and feelings. I have just recently bought the game and enjoy learning the system. Q-Ball, Pelton, Carnage, ad infinitum, have AAR's that are informative and a hoot to read. A noobie's warning with the first turn,

1) in AGS move the two HQ adjacent to the front line prior to moving the divisions they are stacked with (or they will displace and lose their goodies) and secure a Lvov pocket (not as easy as it looks, I send XXXXVI Panzer Corp to help),

2) in AGC the pocket is easy to secure, but make sure you you keep a clear path of hexes cleared by your mobile forces for your infantry to advance quickly to Smolensk (getting them in the push to Moscow maybe one of the most overlooked things to achieve on the first turn) and

3) in AGN grab Riga (look for how its done in AAR's) and pocket as much as you can.


The big thing is to assign one Pioneers to a unit in each stack attacking a fort (reduces casualties) and attack fortified zones with only hasty attacks , you waste MP's otherwise.


From most AAR's the studs will suffer 5-8,000 casualties in turn 1. I think the lower numbers are the result of mainly using hasty attacks, but I think its better to use deliberate attacks to increase Soviet casualties (it also increase German ones) and to get the "Shattered" result (huge benefits which I also think are overlooked.)

I'm pulling for you.

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Post #: 4
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 8:23:49 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		I mixed hasty and deliberate attacks pretty well here. I think I had just over 8,000 casualties. Most of them might have come from the several failed attacks of 6th Army.

Turn 2 – June 26, 1941

There was a Soviet counterattack at Dorohoi, which I am not able to find on the map even with two hands and a flashlight, but it was repulsed with heavy losses – for the brown guys. Mine were okay.

Work is cut out already. Riga and Minsk must fall this turn, as is the case with Tarnopol.

AG North: Riga is taken quickly and the leading 8th PzDiv reaches the Velikaya 40 miles from Pskov. The infantry can not keep up here. Flanks wide open but I don’t see any Soviet activity. Two corps of 18th Army are tasked with cleaning up western Latvia, the third is trying to catch up with the Panzers. 16th Army cleans the Kaunas pocket and advances east. X Corps is already closing in on Daugavpils.

AG Center: Air recon showed only light defense (as far as there was a defense at all) with scattered remains of beaten troops of the initial assault in the Minsk area. None of the pockets made last turn broke up again. Kaunas pocket was cleared already by AG North, and the 4th and 9th armies had two tasks on hand: clear the pockets and connect with the Panzers, which were dashing for Minsk.
Minsk is taken by storm, but only a few elements of PzGr 3 reach the Berezina River and none of them crosses it.
The Bialystok pocket is eliminated. There was virtually no resistance by the pocketed Soviet troops. Each of the 4th and 9th Armies has already sent one or two corps forward to connect with the armoured spearheads at Minsk. Everything is developing well north of the Pripyats.

AG South: Nothing is developing here. It is horrible. Tarnopol fell this turn, but PzGr had two assaults repulsed before the city finally fell in the third attack. Nevertheless, there is still no pocket around Lvov and I fear that the Soviets will soon make breakfast with some of the 17th Army units struggling to wear them down. Stanislaw is key to encircling the Soviets in Lvov. The first Hungarians have also crossed the border. But overall I’m struggling awfully here.

Next turn I need to bring infantry up to Pskov to take this last major town before Leningrad, push east from Minsk, and finally get AG South up to kick some ass. The Romanians should come online as well, hopefully they can aid me in the Stanislaw campaign.

I wonder whether a push towards Mogilew could bear fruits. The Soviets look awfully weak there. This could mean an early Dnepr bridgehead. Northern half of the front. (I moved some aircraft into eastern Latvia after this picture was taken(




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 8:33:51 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Southern front – what a pity. Closest to Stanislaw is the 25th MotDiv, which ran out of MP where it sits now.

By the way, total casualties so far are 42,000 Axis and 490,000 Soviet.




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 8:43:17 PM   
Josh

 

Posts: 2576
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Status: offline 		Oh I enjoyed your Advanced Tactics Gold AAR's Westheim  I bet this one is gonna be fun too hehehe

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Post #: 7
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 10:21:42 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Actually it was the standard Advanced Tactics before expansions. I don't have any of them but I might eventually grab Vic's Decisive Campaigns sometime in the future, once it gets extended a little.

Turn 3 – July 3, 1941

The Soviets were unable to launch any attacks, not even in the South where there troops aren’t in that bad of a shape. The Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies as well as the German 11th Army in Romania have activated now and will try to cross the Prut now. The 11th Army could make it to Dnestr in the first turn if things go well. But wait, this is the South. Nothing goes well here.

AG North: Panzer elements closed in on Pskov, but stiff resistance at Ostrov delayed the crossing of the Velikaya further south. This way I was unable to attack Pskov this turn. Cleaning up western Latvia also takes longer than anticipated and ties up two of 18th Army’s three corps. 16th Army meanwhile moves east through woods and swamps without opposition along the axis Kaunas – Vorapaevo, also crossing the Daugava with one corps at Daugavpils, which was abandoned by the Red Army.

AG Center: PzGr 3 heads for Vitebsk, while PzGr 2 goes for Mogilew, attempting a Dnepr crossing there, although troop concentration has increased here. 9th Army follows for Vitebsk, 4th for Mogilew, but both are many miles behind their forward Panzer elements. Overall, the left wing racing for Vitebsk was held up by fighting, while the Mogilew wing faced only very light resistance. On the far right, two corps of 4th Army cross the Pripyat swamps without any resistance.

My armoured spearheads here:




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 10:25:27 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		AG South: More bad news. Stanislaw is heavily defended by a strong Soviet tank division. I have to change my plan. Elements from PzGr 1 will pass Stanislaw to the east and link up with the Romanian forces at Chernovtsy. If those can take Chernovtsy, that is. Where are my good dice? I think I will have better chances with those.
Needless to say, Chernovtsy does not fall. And 11th Army can not cross the Prut in its northern sector. A crossing is made opposite Chisinev, but overall this failure does contribute to the dire situation here. I actually isolated the western edge of the Ukraine with a desperate push of PzGr 1 to the south, but there is no real connection to the Romanians down there. I would not call this a pocket yet.
XIV PzCorps has arrived in the salient the push of PzGr 1 has created. They are really needed here. I can barely keep the flanks open.
IV Corps has conquered Lvov. Elsewhere 17th Army is struggling to gain momentum. I can only hope the pocket here will stay open long enough to break the resistance. 6th Army still has not captured Kovel, which is just 40 miles from the border.

Noob issue: I tried to recombine the two infantry divisions split up into regiments that are with the 9th Army, but was unsuccessful, I don’t know why it doesn’t work. :-/




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/24/2011 10:58:50 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 4 – July 10, 1941

Finland has joined the war effort now. Initial attacks were not that successful, although some Soviet units were pushed back in the far north.

Recon results for main fronts:

AG North: The Russians are going to make stand at Pskov. Large troop concentrations spotted there. Without infantry support the tanks won’t make it very far here, I fear. In exchange, the road into Estonia seems to be wide open.

AG Center: A solid line is formed by Soviet units between Vitebsk and Mogilev.

AG South: The Lvov pocket held, to my surprise. I think I acutally jumped around happily here. Even more surprising: the Soviets at Kovel have retreated east, and the Prut River was abandoned as well by them. This should give me enough of a chance to get stuff rolling here. I have a date with the Dnepr and I don’t want to be late!

Here is the newest episode of "Where are they now?":




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/25/2011 12:02:31 AM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		AG North: 18th Army has cleaned up Latvia. They will now advance along the Baltic Sea coast into Estonia. 16th Army advances to the northeast and links up with the right flank of PzGr 4, which does not gain much ground at Pskov. The forward elements are low on fuel and supply, which is kinda bad, I think…

AG Center: The Vitebsk-Mogilev line is not an easy walkover for the German troops. PzGr 3 battles their way through the Russian lines to 20 miles distance from Vitebsk. 9th Army Is catching up by now and will be able to offer support next turn. The line was weaker in the south, at Mogilev, but I could not get an attack in there in time. Supply is really short here, too. This could become a major issue here, I fear…




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/25/2011 12:03:57 AM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		AG South: Supply situation is good here. No wonder. These units are so close to their rail heads, their supply can be thrown directly at their feet from the rolling trains……
Kovel and Rowno were taken this turn after the Soviet retreat. Or maybe … maybe they just became invisible …!? Further south, a thrust by PzGr 1 across the Zbruch has taken Proskourov.
Chernovtsy, Stanislaw, and Kishinev all fall this turn. Overall the advance of the Romanians is very slow though. The PzGr 1 lacks infantry support which stalls their advance in the direction of Vinnitsa. 17th Army is occupied with the pocket south of Lvov, while 6th Army is trying to catch up.

Losses so far total 96,000 Axis and 805,000 Soviet. Is that good? Is that bad? I guess it’s bad. I guess my performance overall was not entirely good. :-P




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/25/2011 11:20:53 AM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 5 – July 17, 1941

Finland: Soviet resistance is broken in the north, but Viipuri is not taken yet. The Finns have a hard time to get going here.

AG North: Estonia is still lightly defended. 18th Army advances past Parnu – Vijlandi – Tartu with only minimal resistance at the coast and none in the direction of Lake Peipus. In contrast, 16th Army has the hardest time crossing the Sinyaya. Is the offensive stopped already? Noooo, can’t beeeeee …!!
The Panzers here are still badly short on supply. Operations are limited. Pskov is too strongly defended to be taken right now with the limited possibilities I have, but the Ostrov bridgehead is widened. AFV losses are mounting quickly, though.

AG Center: Mogilew was abandoned by the Red Army, and most units retreated behind the Dnepr, denying me a quick crossing here. They will still put up a fight for Vitebsk. An attempt by PzGr 2 to cross the Dnepr at Zhlobin has also been curtailed.
Strong armoured formations guard the southern advance to Vitebsk. Pocketing anything is impossible at the moment. I smash into the line all along between Vitebsk and the Dnepr with PzGr 3 and support from 9th Army. A breach is made, but Vitebsk holds out.
The right wing of 4th Army is crossing through the Pripyats with little opposition but the filthy muck it is wading through, although they have encountered a strong fortification now at Kopatkevichi guarding the approach to the railroad crossings at Kalinkovichi. Wait. How do you fortify filthy muck?? These Soviets seem to have secret technologies… we better run away screaming immediately…

AG South: The Red Army is building a line at Zhitomir – Vinnitsa – Tulchin. Like anywhere else, I’m left with my own wisdom, which can’t be good. It is never good…
The left wing of 6th Army marches unopposed through the southern Pripyats and to the south of them heading for a line Olevsk – Novgorod-Volynsky. Right wing with LV and XXXXIV Corps clears some fortified areas south of Shepetovka. That’s it for the good news.
The Hungarians and some 17th Army troops tasked with cleaning up the remains of the Soviet troops at Lvov deliver the worst show I’ve seen in a while. While two corps of 17th Army have already gone east to support PzGr 1, their comrades are unable to clear two pockets in the mountaineous border regions.
11th Army crosses the Dnestr in force, while the Romanians still do not pick up speed and lag behind tremendously. Get moving already!! Or I’ll poke your rearguard with my bayonet!
This only leaves PzGr 1 to deal with. I think the weak spot in the line the Soviets are building is north of Vinnitsa and attack there. Three tank divisions only advance for two hexes in another costly failure. A lone SS division attacks south of Vinnitsa and spectacularly breaks the lines there! But by then I have nothing to exploit the gap created…

Uh, I suck …… PzGr 1 lost almost 50 AFV this turn, which is outright devastating, I guess.

I also guess I could make a tiny Vinnitsa pocket here next turn if the northern pincer stops spoiling the party … some of the orange PzGr 1 troops that look like they could have pushed into the southern pincer to exploit the gains there actually have just transferred here from Stanislaw and could not join the attack.




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/25/2011 11:38:23 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 6 – July 24, 1941

More and more bad news. Between Gomel and Pskov the Soviet line is becoming more and more solid. And the 9th PzDiv, which led the southern pincer movement at Vinnitsa, was isolated by counterattacking Russian forces. Ugh. These Russians don’t really are my best friends at the moment.

Finland: The Karelian Army is advancing slowly but steadily through the woods north of Lake Ladoga. Viipuri was abandoned by the Soviets. The Kannas Army is making it’s way towards Leningrad, but Soviet resistance here is stiffer than in the north.

AG North: Russians have all but abandoned western Estonia. I Corps is racing for Tallinn. No resistance. Elements of 18th Army have taken Tapa, severing the last west-east railroad in Estonia. PzGr 4’s supply situation is dire. Pskov still holds out because the Panzers lack the “oomph” necessary to take or encircle it. This is also true for 16th Army further south. The Soviets have a solid line around Idritsa. 16th Army advanced 10 miles here at most, but it’s left wing finally crossed the Sinyaya.

AG Center: Vitebsk fell in a strong thrust of PzGr 3 and 9th Army directed at Smolensk. Aiming past Vitebsk in the hope of completely breaking the line, the latter goal was not achieved, but the Soviets should have gotten something to think about here.
The Mogilew front is rock hard, though. PzGr 2 and 4th Army fail to cross the Dnepr.




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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/25/2011 11:39:31 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		AG South: Vinnitsa was abandoned while at the same time Soviet units cut off the 9th PzDiv… this was quickly rectified and a small pocket was created just east of Vinnitsa. 17th Army races to cover the left flank of the Panzers, while Romanians cover the right.
The last stragglers near the Hungarian border were mopped up this turn. Now, hurry, guys, hurry east!
4th Army (Romanian) advances towards Odessa about as quickly as a glacier. 11th Army faces little resistance as well on the 4th Army’s left flank, but fails to pick up speed. This is a German army, but stuffed with Romanian brigades, which are … slow and ineffective. I’m considering moving them out elsewhere and place some reinforcement divisions with 11th Army.

I don’t like how this is developing. Barely any advance anywhere but in Estonia. And many units critically short on supply.





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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/26/2011 5:43:34 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 7 – July 31, 1941

Finland: Finns are on the move, but advance slowly. There are some Russians in Hanko in southern Finland – I really don’t know what they are doing there and they have been there for a few turns already, but I can’t throw them out. Finns are too weak. :-/

AG North: The Soviets have abandoned Pskov and are retreating towards Leningrad. 18th Army has encountered Soviets for the first time in weeks to the east of Kothlajarve in northern Estonia. Tallinn was undefended and taken. 16th Army found Soviets retreating into better defendable positions in a wide sweep around Velikie Luki. PzGr 4 is out of supply and crawling. No wonder: pushing Panzers manually is not the quickest way to move them…
One PzDiv drove as far north as Plyussa, but the lack of supplies prohibits any aggressive maneuvers, which is a pity. Recon shows the Soviets gathering everything they can in Leningrad.
16th Army finds itself with two options in an attempt to break the fragile line the Russians have built in front of them: go for Idritsa, or go for Novosokolniki, the only two railroad junctions west of Velikie Luki the Russians still hold. The former would be easier to achieve and could be taken immediately, but the latter would further unhinge the Russian line in the Dvina bend opposite Vitebsk.
I attempt option #2. Two small infantry corps from AG Center assist in the attack, the VI Corps of PzGr 3 and XX Corps from 9th Army. These are tasked with a push on Novosokolniki from southwest, but are stopped at Kevel after advancing 30 miles. And seriously, who made up these names?? Elements from XXVIII Corps take Idritsa, but that was not what I wanted to achieve…

I better get my appointments for next week cleaned up. Could be necessary to fit my own execution in there… :-(




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Post #: 16
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/26/2011 6:09:56 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		AG Center: Russians try to cover Smolensk, where I had almost broken through last turn. They hold fast to the Dnepr further south.
I try to make it to Smolensk. XXIII Corps (9th Army) goes first and breaks the resistance between the Dvina and Dnepr rivers. Panzers are short on fuel here, too, so Smolensk is out of reach, but the penetration deepens. Only thing I’m worried about is the right flank here, which is a little thin, but the Soviets should not be able to muster an attack there. (pic below)
The Mogilew bridgehead is widened but no breakthrough here for – you guess it – supply shortage. PzGr 2 also forced a Dnepr crossing at Zhlobin and attempts to go for Gomel. 4th Army has reached the eastern Pripyats, where there is some Soviet resistance remaining.





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RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/26/2011 6:56:07 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		AG South: Russians have built a strong looking line running from the Pripyats at Belokorovichi around Zhitomir to the Dnepr, south of Kiev. In contrast they have retreated further to the south, not even attempting to hold between PzGr 1, the Romanians, and 11th Army.
Much less supply issues here – must be my incompetent underlings and their inability to advance properly in the first days of Barbarossa. Get the hell moving!!
I pick a five hex frontage between Tetiev and Uman at which to throw PzGr 1 this turn with support from the Romanian Cavalry Corps. I actually have to extend the attack zone further to the south, when I discover a strong Tank formation south of Uman, which would have been sitting in my flank otherwise. They are thoroughly beaten in a battle featuring over 500 AFVs, with four German AFV lost – and 128 Soviet AFVs lost. Yay!
West of Lysyanka a strong tank formation halts the breakthrough temporarily. PzGr 1 has suffered a lot already. Some divisions are down to less than 80 AFVs. IV Corps of 17th Army covers the left flank. My intention here is to take Cherkassy and secure the Dnepr crossing, then cover with 11th Army there and sweep PzGr 1 around to close a Kiev pocket with PzGr coming from Gomel. This is very ambitious and is either genious or completely insane. You decide.
6th Army does some minor attacks in the north, while LI Corps arrives and is stuffed with some replacement divisions and put under command of Anton Dostler. In the deep southern parts of the front the 11th Army advances against weak Soviet forces. Those Romanians are annoying me more and more, bogging down the advance time and again. The way the 4th Romanian Army is crawling towards Odessa (againts virtually NO resistance) is not even funny anymore…

Any advice on my supply issues? Is it normal to have armour down to about 15MP by advancing to Vitebsk in six turns (which I don’t even think is very quick anyway)? I have a bad feeling that this could hurt me a lot long term.

My battleplan for Kiev. Genious? Insane? Lame? Anything?




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Post #: 18
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/26/2011 11:32:46 PM   
sillyflower


Posts: 3509
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Back in Blighty
Status: offline 		You are doing much better than I did in my 1st GC.

You need to use some HQ build up to give your mobile units some wings and also to airdrop fuel on them. Use level bombers too for fuel drops but remember to do that at the start of your turn.

Checkout other AARs for ideas.

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Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi

Reply: They already know you're a gamer. What other shame can possibly compare?

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Post #: 19
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/26/2011 11:50:03 PM   
bigbaba


Posts: 1238
Joined: 11/3/2006
From: Koblenz, Germany
Status: offline 		realy not bad for your first GC.

i doub that you can repeat history and get a million russian soldiers in a kiev pocket.

your opponent must have some forces in cherkassy and at the east bank of dnjepr.

anyway, good luck.

(in reply to sillyflower)
Post #: 20
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/27/2011 6:43:01 AM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Thanks, guys. There are some useful hints in there, I think.

I fear I've been spoilt by playing Dnipropetrowsk on easy before this. The Russians never really put up a fight there and I got a giant Lvov pocket on turn 3. The South is were I've fared worst so far here - spoilt...

The Kiev pocket is my favourite wet dream at the moment though. Gah, can't wait to get through work today. Two more days, then I'll be able to devote my full power to gaming until January 8 ...

quote:

ORIGINAL: sillyflower

You are doing much better than I did in my 1st GC.

You need to use some HQ build up to give your mobile units some wings and also to airdrop fuel on them. Use level bombers too for fuel drops but remember to do that at the start of your turn.

Checkout other AARs for ideas.


All books have been shelfed for WITE AARs at the moment.

Someone please explain HQ build up in two sentences. Does it make the HQ stockpile a few extra supplies in advance?

Airdropping supplies was one of my crazier ideas on this. There is no way to accelerate the railroad conversion, I guess?

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Post #: 21
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/27/2011 8:02:06 AM   
cpt flam


Posts: 2352
Joined: 1/16/2011
From: caen - France
Status: offline 		I'm not great about your use of FBD
at a glance you have one just after BrestL and another around Lvov
may be you don't use them effectively
you must change 4 hex a turn to keep supply

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Post #: 22
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/27/2011 8:50:49 AM   
sillyflower


Posts: 3509
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Back in Blighty
Status: offline 		You should get the big lvov pocket on T1 every time. Even if it can be broken , the Soviets can't escape + Romanians go live on T2

HQ build up - read manual. Essentially by activating HQ build up on a Pz HQ ( pointless for ingantry) you get its units + HQ stuffed full of fuel. Keep HQ with the units next turn means you get 2 turns at nearly max MP.
NB Do buildup at end of turn ( because units an hQBU lose all MP for rest of that turn) and make sure units are in command range of the corps HQ. Costs AP and quite a lot of trucks.

Worth reading manual again in full anyway

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Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi

Reply: They already know you're a gamer. What other shame can possibly compare?

(in reply to Westheim)
Post #: 23
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/27/2011 5:15:55 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		To be honest I'm not sure how to use those railway conversion unit thingies at all. Most of them have 0MP and the ones that do have MPs don't seem to do much either. The manual () doesn't talk a lot about them either.

And well, I have a German version and manual of the game, so "HQ buildup" is definitely no phrase to look for in that. But by now I see what you mean and will try to get that done next turn. If it let's me.

< Message edited by Westheim -- 12/27/2011 5:20:27 PM >

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Post #: 24
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/28/2011 11:43:03 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 8 – August 7, 1941

Finland: Finns reach their stop line at Terijuki. Hanko is cleared of evil invaders.

AG North: Did some air supply missions at last turn’s end as advised to PzGr 4, then cried over the aircraft losses…
18th Army is fighting through the isthmus at Lake Peipus. PzGr wreaks havoc south of the Luga river, while creating a small pocket south of Lake Peipus. 16th Army breaks through the lines well to the west of Velikie Luki, but 126th InfDiv fails to take an important hill in the army’s flank. Still, the Soviet line around the Sorot river is unhinged by this and will have to retreat quickly or they will be pocketed next turn.

AG Center: Two thrusts here, as before, one aiming chiefly at Smolensk and the terrain to the east with the only viable railroad crossing over the Dnepr at Durovo on the road to Vyazma, and one aiming in the direction of Gomel – Chernigov as part of the Kiev pincer. Meanwhile 2nd Army arrives here with a single corps, and is put between the two groups of AG Center to plug the gap there.
PzGr 3 and 9th Army work their way to the gates of Smolensk, but – shock! – their assault is bloodily repulsed with over 10,000 casualties on my part. Uaahh!! What happened …!? I have no idea.
PzGr 2 completely disengages from the Mogilew area. I will go on the defensive here with a screen of two infantry corps from 4th Army. The rest of that army and the whole of PzGr 2 will rush south east. Gomel is the first major city on the way, but I can’t get into the position for an attack this turn.

AG South: Has the Zhitomir line become thinner? It certainly looks so to me. Well. I have only that one plan with the Kiev pocket. Go for it.
Well. PzGr 1 faces tough opposition. The road to Cherkassy is blocked by tons of Soviet tank formations. Some costly battles here and I lose another 50 or so AFVs for 30 to 40 miles of advance. Not a too good ratio. The Hungarians, Slovakians, and Romanians on the flanks of my Panzers are of little use as well. 6th and 17th Army do little more than to pin down the Zhitomir front. West of Zhitomir the Soviets have already erected quite strong fortifications. I don’t want to assault them, I want to pocket them. Only the right wing of 17th Army and the left wing of 6th Army attack on the flanks. The small reinforcement XXXIV Corps was added to PzGr 1.
In the south, the Romanians can’t get anything done… no significant advance on Odessa once again. The only exception from the rule is the 8th Romanian Division, integrated into the 11th Army, which fought two successful battles this turn. 11th Army as a whole advanced very well, brushing all Soviet resistance aside easily.

I also get an Italien corps (a tiny one) this turn, but they are still stuck in Yugoslawia. Hey, you! (points at the Dnepr) The war is over there!!

Losses after 7 ½ turns

Axis: 220,000 men – 2,000 artillery – 1,200 tanks
Soviets: 1,329,000 men – 21,100 artillery – 9,500 tanks
Ratio: 6:1 in men – 10.5:1 in artillery – 8:1 in tanks

That's not the quickest pincer movement the world has ever seen ...:




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Post #: 25
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/29/2011 1:47:29 AM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 9 - August 14, 1941

AG North: With Finland quiet, this is the furthest north where there are battles. 18th Army can only advance slowly through the isthmus at Lake Peipus, while as expected the Soviets abandoned their positions at the Sorot river and retreated east with their flanks crushed. 16th Army follows with it’s right wing now heading for Velikie Luki and the left wing just southeast of Pskov. PzGr 4 tries to advance north, but the terrain there really is not for tanks. I consider moving them south to assist somewhere else and get some infantry reinforcements up here.
The SS Totenkopf Division struck east from Pskov and broke through the Russian lines, conquering Dno. The Soviet front is again split and pierced here now. Will be interesting to see the next move here.

AG Center: another attack on Smolensk, another failure. I can not encircle it, I MUST take it. But the defenders are too numerous, I’m getting a bloody nose in several assaults. Further north I just fail to break through the defenses close to the Mezha. Still – there is no room for encirclements here.
To the south the 2nd Army crosses the Dnepr and crashes into the Soviets at Gorki, delivering results just as a stampede in a china shop would.
To their south IX and XIII Corps extend their line and cross the Pronya river.
Further south, the combined force of PzGr 2 and 4th Army can not take Gomel. Imposssible…

That’s about it. The Kiev pincer is as dead as a stranded whale. :-(

I suck. A lot. Smolensk desaster here, Gomel calamity below.




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Post #: 26
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/29/2011 1:48:16 AM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Where are those “You can’t do it anyway” guys? You were right. :-/




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Post #: 27
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/29/2011 1:49:33 AM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		AG South: Is Cherkassy still viable as a target now after PzGr 2 has so shamefully failed to achieve it’s targets? Would it be gamey to change the target now that the first attack has failed?
The Soviets give ground in front of 6th Army, which chases after them and gains some ground.
I change plans here. I will still push PzGr 1 to take Cherkassy, but will then take them down to Dnepropetrowsk together with 11th Army, which will shed some of it’s Romanian Ballast. 6th and 17th Armies will try to create a Zhitomir pocket and will go for Kiev. Hungarians and Slovakians will provide support where needed and where they can. If they can.
PzGr 1 gets bogged down by stiff resistance again, but 17th Army blows a hole into the Soviet defenses just east of Andrushevka.
No word on the Romanian army’s performance in front of Odessa. They gained one hex. Meanwhile 11th Army is in front of Nikolaev and has isolated Odessa as far as the land route is concerned.

Total losses after 8 ½ turns
Axis: 259,000 men – 2,300 guns – 1,400 tanks
Soviets: 1,468,000 men – 23,600 guns – 10,400 tanks
Ratio: 5.7:1 in men – 10:1 in guns – 7.5:1 in tanks

New operational battleplan? I don't know. Hide beneath the bed and cry?




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Post #: 28
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/29/2011 8:18:23 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 10 – August 21, 1941

North of Lake Ilmen the Soviet line has stiffened, while it is in great disorder south of the lake all the way to the Smolensk front. In the South, Soviets have abandoned the area around Zhitomir, retreating for Kiev, thus curtailing any attempt at pocketing some forces here.

AG North: I dared to push for Novgorod with PzGr 4 in an attempt to turn the flank of the strong Luga river positions the Red Army has taken up. My Panzers reached Lake Ilmen, but lack of fuel prevents a push for Novgorod itself in this turn. 16th and 18th Armies make some headway, but nothing spectacular. The 16th is on the gates of Velikie Luki but the Soviets have the advantage of a river protecting them.

AG Center: 19th PzDiv occupies Durovo on the upper Dnepr after breaking the Soviet line east of Smolensk for good. But Smolensk still withstands repeated assaults, making all gains here largely irrelevant.
Gomel on the Sozh also holds out, but PzGr 2 breaks out of the small peninsula formed by Dnepr and Sozh to the east between Gomel and the mouth of Besed river.

AG South: The hasty retreat of the Soviets for Kiev give me some opportunities here. 6th Army has a lone brigade as opponent, which is pocketed by rear end stragglers, while Zhitomir is occupied. 17th Army throws itself at Kiev defenses on both sides of the Irpen. Between Belaya Tserkov and the Teterev river the Soviet line is blown to pieces and forward elements of Schwedler’s IV Corps and Kubler’s XXXXIX Gebirgs Corps advance up until the line of the final fortifications before Kiev – thorough fortifications of level 3.
XIV Pz Corps and support troops of varying nationalities break eastwards through the Cherkassy defenses and form a small and loose pocket around Kirovograd.
Another pocket is formed west of Kirovograd when 60th MotDiv with infantry support breaks the thin Soviet lines at Yelanets.
As usual, we don’t talk about the achievements of the 4th Romanian Army. They do all they can. Which is sad, but can’t be changed. We can however change the army commander. Nicolae Ciuperca is sent fishing in the woods, and maybe, if we feel like good people, we won’t send a killer command after him. General Ilie Steflea takes command for us.

Why am I talking about myself as more than one person suddenly?

Losses after 9 ½ turns
Axis: 300,000 men – 2,700 guns – 1,500 AFVs
Soviet: 1,580,000 men – 25,700 guns – 11,100 AFVs (5.3 / 9.5 / 7.7 : 1)
Ratios worsening, mainly through failed assaults on Smolensk, Gomel and so on …




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Post #: 29
RE: Campaign '41: Total noob (Axis) tries to find Mosco... - 12/29/2011 10:20:40 PM   
Westheim

 

Posts: 570
Joined: 7/9/2007
From: Germany
Status: offline 		Turn 11 – August 28, 1941

The Kirovograd pocket did not hold, while the Romanians at Odessa were counterattacked – and defeated by the Soviets! This is … so not awesome.

AG North: 18th Army broke through the Luga river defenses at advanced along the route Kingisepp – Volosovo to within 40 miles of Leningrad. PzGr 4 fails to cross the Luga at Novgorod. 16th Army manages to conquer Velikie Luki.
I need more infantry up here. Tanks are virtually useless in the terrain. PzGr 4 will redeploy to the south as soon as I get some infantry up here. One infantry corps from PzGr 3 is already at Velikie Luki and can readily be stripped from them. But I need at least two more corps for a punch at Leningrad. And, as usual, I need them quick. August is gone, and I am not exactly breaking the back out of the Red Army.

AG Center: XXXIX PzCorps is stranded dry. Air supply failed horribly and I lost over 50 planes. On the banks of the Dnepr … and the Panzer fuel cells are perfectly dry and clean. No attacks on Smolensk this turn. Instead it is isolated on the north bank of the Dnepr, while 2nd Army sweeps across the plains to the south. Hermann Geyer’s IX Corps is moved from 4th to 2nd Army, as the rest of 4th Army will go southeast with PzGr 2.
Gomel was abandoned by the Soviets after their flank had been smashed. I occupied it this turn, while PzGr 2 continues to push southeast. Chernigov is the next big city here, although I’m also feinting a move on Bryansk, which the Russians so far have bought.

AG South: 17th Army has vaporized the Kiev fortifications and prepares for an assault on the city next turn. 6th Army splits; two corps advance to the left of 17th, two go into reserve behind 17th. Potential second thought: a strike across the Dnepr into eastern Kiev may not work (as nothing works here …), so I could ship them to the east early. Cherkassy will fall sooner or later and they could be part of a force striking northwest from there up the left bank of the Dnepr.
Cherkassy holds, but Kirovograd is taken. Some Panzers drive east and cut all rail lines around Krivoi Rog.
In the south, 11th Army takes Nikolaev and will strike for the Dnepr mouth next turn. The 4th Rom. Army encircles Odessa. They will now start to pray for a double sized wonder so that they can actually conquer ist.

Losses 10 ½ turns
Axis: 338,000 men – 3,100 guns – 1,700 AFV
Soviets: 1,735,000 men – 28,400 guns – 11,700 AFV (5.1 / 9.2 / 6.9 : 1)

Happy news: a Panzer Corps will arrive mid-September. I hope they carry fuel…

I will have to bring 9th Army into the salient northeast of Smolensk now, pull out the Panzers, somehow, and get them where they can be supplied. PzGr 3, that is.




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