xhoel
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AGS
The pocket south of Stalingrad held and the isolated units were destroyed swiftly. The Soviets launched 2 counterattacks last week, one of them pushed back the Slovakian Mobile Division while the other one aimed at the 13th Panzer division, failed.
Our troops launched a well coordinated attack against the Guards Rifle Division holding a strongpoint south of the Volga and managed to push them off. Also other attacks were conducted south and west of Stalingrad and were successful as the Soviet defenders proved to be too weak to resist concentrated attacks. After opening this gap, 2 Panzer Corps of the 1st Panzer Army were unleashed on the weak Soviet forces holding the defensive ring around the city and managed to push them back, destroying fortifications and advancing north-west of Stalingrad. A small forward force has reached the Volga bank, north of the city. We expect our pincer to link up here.
The Panzer Corps are in a precarious situation however, since the enemy has a lot of strong forces in the area, can launch counterattacks and threaten to cut off our forward divisions.
Tip: When on the attack, always pay attention to enemy offensive CV as it will tell you a lot about the quality of the units you are facing (most of the time, offensive CV will tell you more than defensive CV will). Look at the screenshot below at the 3 Rifle Division stack south of the city (8=22). They are sitting on a level 3 hex and have a decent defensive CV of 22. However their attacking CV is way too low (only 8 for 3 Divisions, when 1 standard Soviet Rifle Division has a CV ranging from 8-10). That should tell you that the only reason why the defensive CV is high, is because of the fortifications. Rifle Divisions that are so weak are usually low morale, low experienced, freshly raised units who also barely have the proper TOE strength. A successful attack on them, will most likely force them to rout as it did in this case.
German forces have crossed the Volga near Baskunchak after pushing back the weak Soviet forces defending the line. A 20 mile wide crossing was secured which was used by the III Panzer Corps. All 4 divisions are across the Volga and have been refueled by air but their supply situation is precarious. The XXIX Corps (6th Army) and the LIV Corps (11th Army) are preparing to cross the river too next week.
There is a 60 mile gap between the 1st Panzer Army forces north of Stalingrad and those north of the Volga. Once this gap is closed, the pocket of Stalingrad will be sealed and the elimination of Soviet formations inside it can begin.
In total, we managed to rout 15 Soviet formations in the Stalingrad sector this week.
Tip: Always try to protect river lines with proper forces. If the crossing points had been secured by strong Rifle Divisions, it would have taken me at least two weeks to secure a bridgehead north of the Volga, like it happened in the AGN sector at the start of the summer.
The constant combat is taking a heavy toll on the 1st Panzer Army formations however. Many of the Panzer Divisions have lost a lot of their CVs because of the low number of operational tanks. Below are 3 such formations. Notice their tank numbers and their CV, which even with very high morale is on par with a good German Infantry division and far away from what it can be at full TOE.
Stalingrad sector start of the week:
Stalingrad sector after Axis moves:
Panzer divisions of the 1st Panzer Army:
The span from the Volga to Voroshilovgrad is being held by Rumanian forces, and the Soviets seem to be screening the area thinly, indicating that they are not planning to mount an offensive here.
The pocket of Voroshilovgrad also held, as the Soviet forces pulled back and are holding the Kuma river line. Fighting to eliminate the pocket was harder than expected as Soviet forces kept retreating to the center of it, refusing to surrender. It was finally destroyed but this meant that no German forces in the area were able to advance east as they had to regroup and wait for resupply. The task fell to the Rumanians who made some advances but have not managed to exploit the breakthrough.
Next week our forces will reorganize and push further east towards Grozny. Rumanian Mountain divisions are arriving in the area too and will be deployed to the Caucasus.
Volga to Voroshilovgrad span start of the week:
Voroshilovgrad sector start of the week:
Voroshilovgrad sector after Axis moves:
 Attachment (1)
< Message edited by xhoel -- 3/4/2020 10:18:12 AM >
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RE: Soviet TOE changes, Summer 1942. - 
real good news 
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