thedoctorking
Posts: 2297
Joined: 4/29/2017 Status: offline
|
Philly, being an aggressive fellow, chose the attack option. He transferred Model back to 18th Army, to XXXVIII Corps, stacked the corps up with artillery and rocket launchers, and made the indicated attacks. The first two succeeded, clearing the left bank of the Velikaya, but the cross-river attack was twice unsuccessful. Russian defenses around Pskov held, but for how long? Surely with all the action to the south, Soviet troops will be leaving this sector for the critical defense of Moscow. In 16th Army’s sector, AGN punched into the Soviet position with a series of corps-strength hasty attacks. Mostly, you don’t get far with hasty attacks against a prepared enemy, but the Soviet retreat paradoxically put their troops in less favorable defensive terrain with lower fortification levels. This permitted AGN’s infantry to stack three-high, make liberal assignments of support units, and rupture a line they could not break the turn before with deliberate attacks. Then, XXXXI Panzer Corps jumped through the gap, shouldered the weakened defenders out of the way, and drove most of the way to Velikie Luki. The Soviets still have good defensive terrain to fall back into in this sector, and with 4th Panzer Group split in two, large pockets are unlikely, but at least AGN’s aggressive moves this turn will limit the amount of reinforcements the Soviets will be able to move from this sector southwards.
Attachment (1)
< Message edited by thedoctorking -- 6/18/2019 6:25:52 PM >
|