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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel

 
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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 1:41:45 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		It has been a high risk game. Blubel has lost four mobile divisions and a brigade so far, but I think he's fairly happy with what he got in exchange, which was to unbalance the Soviet defence and wipe out about 40 divisions of mine. I've also been playing more aggressively than usual, and have come off second best in most of the battles. Which is historically accurate. And speaking of accuracy, I can't make any more strategic mistakes if I'm going to survive the summer 42 season, never mind taking Berlin. I'm planning to fight an attritional blizzard; the Red Army is like one of those baby animals you put in a shoe box lined with cotton wool and drip feed warm milk. My overriding goal is to get it up to 6 million men by June.

(in reply to Scook_99)
Post #: 211
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 1:52:46 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Turn 25

The blizzard offensive open with the Red Army reduced to a thin brown line. Happily my opponent (whom I understand has not fought a GC blizzard before) takes an overly respectful step back, which means that the first turn passes with little or no fighting required. As I'm trying to do as little fighting as possible, this is fine with me.






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< Message edited by hooooper -- 1/28/2013 12:33:51 PM >

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Post #: 212
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 1:56:14 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		On the NW front, armies are mostly down to less than half strength in divisions, and divisions are seldom up to 50% of their TOEs. The armaments pool is, of course, exhausted.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 1:59:01 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Moscow is the only place in the line where I have a well entrenched defence in depth, and this was about the only sector that wasn't seriously attacked.




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Post #: 214
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 2:01:31 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		The centre is manned by scarecrow formations.




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Post #: 215
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 2:04:48 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		With the a Volga Front reserve army and a hopelessly extended SW Front holding most of the ground. These formations have little offensive power, and furthermore, many have substandard leaders. I have to save all my APs for the creation of rifle brigades to replace the units lost after the November resurrection watershed.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 2:06:32 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Here's the south, where I intend to make my main effort. Incidentally, I forgot to mention earlier that I managed to save Sevastapol by remembering that I could land troops there by ship. Three divisions were duly dispatched, and arrived in the nick of time. It now seems that the Axis have abandoned the area.




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< Message edited by hooooper -- 1/25/2013 2:08:48 AM >

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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 2:16:26 AM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Finally, as we have entered a phase where the real war is being fought by our respective industrial bases, rather than through lightning manoeuvres, I will post odd numbered turns, complete with details of our respective OOBs. The first column is the Soviet total, the second the Axis, and the third is the difference between them. As you can see, we have now climbed above the psychologically important 4m threshold for men.

men 4064 3157 907
guns 35.6 32.2 3.4
armour 2981 1731 1250
air 9019 2427 6592


< Message edited by hooooper -- 1/25/2013 2:19:27 AM >

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Post #: 218
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/25/2013 5:27:12 PM   
Scook_99

 

Posts: 301
Joined: 6/20/2007
Status: offline 		I really get a sense of what the Axis can do when I see this. Your AARs are very good, and I pull quite a bit out of them. I cannot in my thoughts losing four mechanized units as Germany and thinking it be a very successful campaign, but here it is, in living proof. I think your opponent understands military doctrine well and is applying it. I had a second thought about the TOEs, and that is about 60,000 men in those 4 divisions. Which brought to my mind the American TOE, which stuffed 20,000 into a single division, which led to me to think about wanting to see WitW, and what the CV value will be on those units. So, thanks for the random thought of the day.

(in reply to hooooper_slith)
Post #: 219
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/26/2013 11:12:48 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Thank you, Scook. I'd have thought that losing four divisions would be a setback, but I don't know how long they take to re-enter the German OOB. I gather their morale is much lower when they do. It didn't seem to hamper Blubel's snow offensive. Losses were higher than usual on both sides, but my opponent seems confident that he will replace his in good time for the summer.

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Post #: 220
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/26/2013 11:15:46 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Turn 28

So an extremely boring counterstroke is under way. In the north, we push high morale brigades forward to make contact with the enemy. The aim is to increase Axis attrition losses (for being next to an enemy counter) while minimising mine.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/26/2013 11:18:06 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		At Kaluga, Rokossovsky's Kalinin Front prepares to assault the city, which is defended by a well dug-in German division. To ensure that everything is neat and tidy in readiness for the attack, I have asked 500 men to empty the bins.




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< Message edited by hooooper -- 1/26/2013 11:19:28 PM >

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Post #: 222
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/26/2013 11:24:40 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		In the centre, the same arm's length tactic is employed. It's not really that heroic, but as I said earlier I fear ignominious defeat by the winter of 42, so the name of the game is growing the red army. Of course the problem with this approach is that I won't make guards units or raise the morale of my troops through victory. But, too bad: come June 42 I'd much rather have a decent line, some dug in units holding rear river lines and three or four reserve armies.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/26/2013 11:31:44 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		The south, where I am permitting myself to attack. My opponent, perhaps overestimating my strength, gives up Stalino without a fight. Where possible we are attacking the Romanians to minimise casualties. Here I have enough troops to rotate armies when they become exhausted and lose combat effectiveness. The North Caucusus Front, which was more or less eliminated to a man, springs back to life through the assignment of First Shock Army. Other newly raised armies retake the Crimea without a fight, although I intend to do my fighting at the narrowest neck of land - the Kerch peninsula is it called?




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/26/2013 11:36:03 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Finally, the OOB figures, which are still my main concern. At least the Soviet artillery park is showing signs of rapid growth.

Soviet German Difference
Men 4249 2820 1429
Artillery 43.7 29.5 14.2
Tanks 3615 1851 1764
Planes 9263 2763 6500



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Post #: 225
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 3:45:57 AM   
Scook_99

 

Posts: 301
Joined: 6/20/2007
Status: offline 		Are you referring to the northern part of the Crimea, or the east, as where to fight? The eastern port is Kerch, and that is the straits. The northern section is the Isthmus of Perekop. Again, I agree with your assessment, and would willingly give up guards in 1942 for a sizable army. I find it strange to give up Stalino without a fight, and I generally fortify and fight the hardest in the south in winter. Maybe I don't play to win enough, of maybe I am prejudiced with the slashing attacks across the Steppes, but I like to stay as far forward as possible. I find the easiest way to knock Germany out is to go the the south, removing Romania and Hungary and putting pressure to extend the German line of troops down south quite a bit. So, if I hold a bigger buffer in 1943 in the south, the easier it is to get a draw or a win as Axis, in my opinion.

As far as the German divisions go, they will have a shell put on the western map, and they sit there for 4 turns before you are allowed to move them. They will cap at 80 morale, and will suck up replacements that would normally head east into units. He lost them soon enough to most likely get all 4 back up to 80 morale. And, if he uses the winter before the summer for morale building exercises, they should all be between 80 and 85 morale when June of 1942 rolls around.

(in reply to hooooper_slith)
Post #: 226
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 8:14:07 AM   
randallw

 

Posts: 2057
Joined: 9/2/2010
Status: offline 		That estimate of American divisions being around 20k is too high; it was about 12-13k for airborne, and 13-15 for infantry and armored.

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Post #: 227
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 12:50:32 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		I think I read somewhere that there were a few overstrength US infantry divisions at the beginning of D-Day that might have been as big as that.

Turn 30

Two more turns of respite and the Red Army begins to look a little healthier.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 1:05:17 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		In the centre, Kaluga has fallen and the line in front of Tula is looking much more defensible.




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Post #: 229
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 1:07:32 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		In the south, the offensive unrolls gently westwards, and the men in furry mittens are now half way to D&Z.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 1:09:17 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		However, although the Soviets seem strong on the map, the OOB tells a different story. My slight consolation is that the Germans are also short of men.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 1:12:00 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Armament points produced has passed the 2m mark.




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Post #: 232
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 1:14:01 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Losses. Mine are notably lighter than in my parallel game with Bomazz, reflecting the lusty multifront offensive I undertook in that game.




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Post #: 233
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 1/28/2013 1:15:07 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Finally, here is the destoyed unit screen.




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Post #: 234
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 2/1/2013 4:06:54 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Turn 34

The blizzard "offensive" comes to a halt in the north. Nothing I can do up here for a couple of years or so.




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Post #: 235
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 2/1/2013 4:09:13 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		Nothing doing in front of Moscow.




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RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 2/1/2013 4:12:44 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		In the centre, the Soviet defenses are beginning to thicken.




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Post #: 237
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 2/1/2013 4:16:16 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		And in the south-centre the river lines are being defended in good time for the summer. If I didn't know already, the importance of a good river line is presently being demonstrated in my game with Bomazz.




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< Message edited by hooooper -- 2/1/2013 5:23:45 PM >

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Post #: 238
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 2/1/2013 5:38:04 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		In the south, we have made reasonable progress and are closing in on the lower Dneiper.




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Post #: 239
RE: Towards the edge of destruction: hooooper v Blubel - 2/1/2013 6:33:34 PM   
hooooper_slith

 

Posts: 540
Joined: 10/26/2012
Status: offline 		And here is the OOB.




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Post #: 240
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