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The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Heibernt (soviets)

 
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The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Heibern... - 2/20/2012 11:56:25 AM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		So this will be my first AAR. Mainly im writing to get feedbacks and good advice from the community. Ill proabably be making alot of mistakes, so feel free to point them out for me.

Currently the games at t-6, so ill just start off with a small recapitulaton on the action so far.
The game is GC 41-45, full fog, non-random weather. I`ve mainly played the AI before, so i was eagerly awaiting how a human could tweak out the best of the Wehrmacht.

My general strategy for the Soviets at the beginning was to play a skirmish defence, while building (more) solid defences further inland. First a line at Loga-Lovat-Dneper, then around Donbas-Khrakov-Tula-Moscow-Leningrad. Evac polices would be to get AP out first, then proabably vehicles. My experience from earlyer games, although against the AI, tells me ill have a huge surplus of AFV in the summer of 1942, so AFV factories will be shipped out one at the time, for later rebuilding. For SUs ill build rr-brigades once the fronts start to stableize, then occasional morter battalions in the Leningrad area. Then Sapper regs to stay with STAVKA for training untill they are ready to get attaches to different corps. Otherwise ill use APs to get commanders right, and some army reorg. Hitting July ill close the back door to Leningrad and build lvl 4 forts so it can wait out an encircelment.
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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:14:23 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Mikes opening was as expected. AGN captured Riga, crossed the Daugava and captured the Courland ports. AGC sealed the Bialystok pocket and advenced until two hexes from Minsk. AGS sealed the Lvov pocket, and the Kovel pocket and activated the romanians. So a standard, good german opening.

A skirmish force was deployed in Ukraine, between Minsk and Mogilev and between Daugava and Pskov. Other places ive started digging in and prepaire. Mike broke all these lines with long Pz thrusts, splitt his Pz into regiments and caught alot og units. In hinesight the force concentation in Ukrain was too high. I should have pulled my mobile forces furter back, and been more carefull with wich pockets it was sensible to break. All in all over the next few rounds Mike caught alot of units in Ukrain an around Pskov. He was able to tweak out a level of mobility in the Werhmacht ive never seen before.

The AGC thrust on the other hand seemed quite weak, and made it possible for me to transfer almost all the PM divisions to start building festung Leningrad.

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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:24:09 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Here is the situation on t-6 before my moves:






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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:36:59 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		NW front




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:38:02 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Western front




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:39:03 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Southern front




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:40:15 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Losses




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:41:14 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		oob




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 12:43:46 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Wow, those screenshots were huge. Ill zoome out next time :)


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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 1:07:06 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		For the first time the fronts seems to have stabilized for the first time. I dont expect it will last much longer, but were not in a totally uncoordinated retreat anymore. Atleast thats a good thing. Weve had alot of unneccesary losses in Ukraine, but the lines are starting to form up again.

Leningrad area, multilayer defences and alot of units here. Also my top commanders. I dont expect the city to hold, but i hope ill give Mike a real fight for it, so i dont have to deal with those panzers in a late push towards Moscow. Mike seems to go straight through Northern front, and dosent seem to try to flank on the other side of Ilmen. Im still going to put a decent ary there just as a backup. Mike really scared me with his breakthroughs earlyer in the game, and im going to place a fortified checkerboard there to delay any attempt to encircel the city.

Moscow area, Mike pulled a Pz corp from AGC to AGS and the push toward Moscow have so far been slow. That have alowed me to take reinforcements from this area to other fronts. Right now the defence are checkerboard of good unites in forts in the gap while reserve front starts to dig the lines infont of Moscow. Im preparing three major lines, Dneper, Rzhev-Vyazma and finally Lama-Nara. I expect Mike to try to make a mega Kiev pocket, so i belive his PZ will proabaliy start driving south once he get some beacheads on the Dneper lines.

Southern area, Seems like Mikes pushing the Wehrmach a long way on the western side of Dneper. Im trying to build deep lines where his mobile forces are, while giving him an occational hit when he outtreches himself. He has a habbit of putting his PZ divs on separate hexes, and right now they seems fatigued and in low supply. That makes it possible to attack them and force a retreat. When I have a solid line behid them, i can just retreat back to it after the hit. His pz ner D-town have 4 and 6 cv this turn. When he getts suppporting inf up there this wont be possible anymaor.
Its har to say if hes trying to get a beachhead as close to Donbas as possible, or if hell try to encircel Kiev yet. Well jsut keep on digging until we have a clearer picture of his intentions.

All in all, were waiting for Mikes next move.

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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 1:08:35 PM   
smokindave34


Posts: 877
Joined: 1/15/2008
Status: offline 		I'd put Zhukov in charge of STAVKA, I think it only costs 1AP and with the new unlimited capacity of STAVKA it will be the best AP you will ever spend.

Your defenses seem pretty solid in the north and south. The only problem area I see is in the center where he is over the land bridge with lots of infantry. He has great potential to open up a big hole with that infantry and then send the panzers through (he probably has a railhead close enough now that he will have plenty of fuel).

Good Luck!

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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 1:19:36 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Yea, i know the center is weak. But Mike moved one PZ corps south in t1, so he shouldnt have alot of mobile reserves there. The screenshots are before my moves in t6, so the checkerboard is now almost complete until the reservefront line. Theres alot of checkeboard defence behind the Dneper towards bryansk now.

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Post #: 12
RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/20/2012 1:28:41 PM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Concerning Zhukov, you are ofc right. Thanks.

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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 6:59:50 AM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		Leningrad is practacly lost. Mike smashed the middle of the front and advanced all the way to Pushkin. I really thought it would hold atleast another turn and dindnt prioritize factory evac there. So Mike essentaly grabbed the 6 vehicle and the Yak-6 factories (pluss the HI. All the APs are long gone though). Guess im lucky he didnt have enough MP to get Leningrad this turn.
He also splitt my northern front in two. We have started our own Dunkerque operation between Oranienbaum and Leningrad and got 3 divisions out. I dont have high expectations for furter evac though. So Mike will proabably pocket 13 divs and 2 brigades.

This makes me wonder if Leningrad is defendable at all. This game i brought in alot of reinforcements, both new units and put those armys at refit. Still all Mike needed was one turn to reach the gates of the city. Ive tried to defend the Luga river, and put a solid screen behind it(one unit per hex). Mike cut through that skreen like a hot knife in butter once he got a one hex bridgehead. Maybe i should have retreated and formed a solid (3 divs per hex defence) from Oranienbaum through the hills to Mga. Anyone have any thoughts on how to best defend here?




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 7:21:36 AM   
Flaviusx


Posts: 7750
Joined: 9/9/2009
From: Southern California
Status: offline 		If the German player wants Leningrad, knows what he is doing, and is willing to assign extra forces in that direction, he is going to get it.

It is, I think, barely possible to keep it if AGN doesn't get some extra help from Hoth. But usually players will assign PG4 an extra panzer corps.

Nevertherless, you have to make a fight of it there and try to keep the Germans busy as long as possible. The longer it takes them to get it, the less time they will have to redeploy PG4 for operations elsewhere. If Leningrad goes too early...you will probably lose Moscow as well.

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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 7:28:37 AM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		In the center Mikes almoste past the land bridge with his infanty, and we`ve had a pz breakthrough wich crossed the Dnepr and captured Vyazma without a shot being fired. I keep on underestimating the german mobility, and now Moscows in great danger. Also here i thought I would have another turn before he would be able to get over the Dnepr. In hinesight i should have put up a checkerboard further inland to prevent a break form penetrating so far. And smokindave was ofc right, the fronts here were too weak. Anyway, we`ll have to start diverting reinforcements to the Moscow sector now, and start the glorius defence of our capital. This also means a general retreat from the Dneper line, and Western front will take up position around Bryansk. It dosent look like Mikes trying to get a mega Kiev pocket, but hes going straight for the manpower and industrial sites.




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 7:38:08 AM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline 		In the south weve had two crossings of the Dnepr. One North, and one south of Kremchug. The pocet was easely broken, but I expect the forces there to be repocketed next turn. A general withdraw from the norther parts , including Kiev, has been ordered, and we expect to take up defencive positions around Donbas, Khrakov, Kursk line, with screening forces in front of that. Does anyone know when the german railhead will get far enough east to support offensive operations against this line?




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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 7:42:09 AM   
Flaviusx


Posts: 7750
Joined: 9/9/2009
From: Southern California
Status: offline 		Don't count on the Axis running out of gas until about Voronezh-Rostov down south.

The middle of the Ukraine, that area by Kharkov? Yeah, that's a deathtrap. Don't hang out there too long if you start seeing a lot of heavy metal heading that way. You can hang on to it for a while, but the Axis can take it by late autumn.





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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 7:45:37 AM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Flaviusx

If the German player wants Leningrad, knows what he is doing, and is willing to assign extra forces in that direction, he is going to get it.

It is, I think, barely possible to keep it if AGN doesn't get some extra help from Hoth. But usually players will assign PG4 an extra panzer corps.

Nevertherless, you have to make a fight of it there and try to keep the Germans busy as long as possible. The longer it takes them to get it, the less time they will have to redeploy PG4 for operations elsewhere. If Leningrad goes too early...you will probably lose Moscow as well.


I noticed that. But what is the best way of defending ones the germans reach the Luga line? Retreat and form 3 div stacks of defenders, or carpet the area with one stacks? My one stack carpet got cut through in one turn So either im doing something wrong or the carpet strtegy dosent work here.

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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 7:51:26 AM   
Flaviusx


Posts: 7750
Joined: 9/9/2009
From: Southern California
Status: offline 		I'm starting to think that the only way to defend Leningrad is to fight like crazy by Pskov from turn 1 on. And heavily reinforce it with your strategic reserves on the first two turns. And even then this will depend on AGN not being itself heavily reinforced. Rather than backing up to the Luga and digging in, might be better to try to hold the Axis well short of that and as close to Pskov as possible.

The Luga line never holds. The western end of it is indefensible, imo. I've stopped manning it. It's just too easy to cut off, the way that happened to you. Once you lose your chokepoints at Narva and Pskov, the front opens up too much. The next line is really Leningrad-Novgorod, including whatever portion of the Luga falls in that area, but not anything past it.



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RE: The little horde that could.. Mike 29 (axis) vs Hei... - 2/22/2012 8:07:09 AM   
heibernt@hotmail.com

 

Posts: 25
Joined: 2/9/2011
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Flaviusx

I'm starting to think that the only way to defend Leningrad is to fight like crazy by Pskov from turn 1 on. And heavily reinforce it with your strategic reserves on the first two turns. And even then this will depend on AGN not being itself heavily reinforced. Rather than backing up to the Luga and digging in, might be better to try to hold the Axis well short of that and as close to Pskov as possible.

The Luga line never holds. The western end of it is indefensible, imo. I've stopped manning it. It's just too easy to cut off, the way that happened to you. Once you lose your chokepoints at Narva and Pskov, the front opens up too much. The next line is really Leningrad-Novgorod, including whatever portion of the Luga falls in that area, but not anything past it.




Yea, i think your right. Those 13 refitted divisons now trapped just seems like a total waste. In hinesight I would have tried to defend this line. Given that its sufficiently manned and dug in, atleast in the light wood hexes, i think it might have hold him off for a coupple of turns.




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