Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Lager und Braut this way

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ORIGINAL: Telemecus

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Lager und Braut this way

I guessed Lager and Brut champagne - but Google translate tells me camp and bride!

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Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
we abandoned Tambov last turn
so they actually made us retreat East to it!
oh no
just the other hexes already had three stacked!
after their retreats etc
quite smartly done

Timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
but there was an option to the west with only one unit, same distance

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
the hex they occupied?

Timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
121,63

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
the hex west is 122,62
so I think they flipped that first
then attacked 1/134
and it retreated two hexes to Tambov
starts to make a bit more sense I think nw

Timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
but not to 121,63 which is the same distance but to the west

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
yes

Timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
My thoughts on what is the main risk we need to guard against

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis South Commander
Center really needs to start giving ground
Aces his moves enabled me to free up a full infantry corps from the 9th Army
I've abandoned some fort 2 hexes but I do not think the soviets have the strength to go through the center towards Moscow so shouldn't be an issue
The Corps should be able to take over the positions around Ryazan

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Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
certainly we hope lictuel is back soon in time for the thrashing we will be giving the Soviet team in the summer

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
you need to survive the winter 1st!

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Telemecus

Well this turn the Soviet team showed us they have claws! They managed to isolate one unit (167), although it can walk out of its isolation, and ZOC lock another group near Tambov. However the mass of cavalry and tanks between these and to the south of Tambov means just escaping this turn will not be enough.

We have to either choose to rescue or choose to abandon. Luckily they have some very weak units holding the threatening positions so we should be able to make some counterattacks and make good the escapes.

However this would mean centre has to concentrate its forces - in other words North and South have to stretch out their forces to move their boundaries towards the centre. This might mean withdrawing even two hexes this turn and thinning more areas down to regimental cover. Possibly we need to abandon Yaroslavl and Ivanovo if this leaves us too weak otherwise? I think possibly South has more they can give. It also means air needs to concentrate its support on centre for now.

I have attached a rough picture of what I think needs to be done - I have circled the three Soviet units that can be attacked. They only have CVs of one or two.

All of this is going to need more co-ordination than usual. And who goes when is going to matter more than usual. My thoughts were we should go in this order

i) Xhoel to prepare air generally and support for centre in aprticular
ii) Lictuel to do the rescues of the isolated and ZOC locked units - and use any units, points or rail he needs to do it with. There are three motorised units on rails that can be moved to centre for this as well as the panzer at Voronezh if needed.
iii) North and South do their turns shifting in the boundaries as much as possible towards centre.
iv) Lictuel takes a mini go to further concentrate centre given how far North and South have been able to stretch the boundaries
v) Final air go

What do you guys think?

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Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
only question is now to rescue or abandon a few units
so may need to stand in a few places for that
but otherwise pull back
another suggestion for centre was to use all motorised now in Moscow
if we can hold at least a corridor three hexes wide next turn
they will be home and dry

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
The North shoulder in particular is vulnerable.

Telmecus, Axis Supreme Commander
3 cavalry corps detected there

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
and three tank divs

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
good cvs too

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
luckily for us not much strong infantry

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
well not one some actually
but yes

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
I wonder if GD plus a couple of rgts could hasty that stack at 123,62?
17th div should be able to clear the one at 122,64

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
like so


we have good infantry units there too

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
that would leave just one probably doomed rgt in tambov

Telmecus, Axis Supreme Commander
it may even be able to move 2 hexes?

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
Anyway they're doomed

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
may be they did not have units next to Tambov at the time

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
Moves next turn probably


Bit of a bulge there
We need to get some strong reinforcements in there
The soviets are moving against the area where we do not have rail
so we can't rail in reinforcements
So I think I'll upload the turn
and first let North take a look and extend the line south
as far as possible

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
I can't fill the gap though
Will be able to next turn

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
There are motorised in Moscow [that you can use]- not great but if we need to fill a gap?
I think it could use the motorized
Two Cav Corps
The cav will have to move through 1 or 2 hexes of enemy territory
so the motorized has a good chance of stopping the advance for a turn
that should be enough
to stabilize

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
Got regi with 5% ammo
...292 and 131 are out of ammo
ouch

Telmecus, Axis Supreme Commander
and we know they are looking at ammo in soft factors

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
Still that little bulge
But the move they make is to ambitious
...
11 hexes or 110 miles
to close it
or a small move but they are not positioned for that
...
@Kenchis I railed two motorised units with the highest fuel I could find to Voronezh just in case for next turn. But can rail back once emergency is passed

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Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
@xhoel mentioned there were a few units that were beyond HQ range - but looking at the ones in the centre I am guessing that was deliberate?
basically putting the HQs more forward could mean they get overrun easily, whereas where they are now they will have many more units in range to provide supply and SUs to
and the likely retreat paths of those beyond range are towards their HQs
so at least my reading of it is even though some are placed beyond command range it is deliberate and for thought out reasons
I am also increasing the max ToE of the infantry in the centre - against our general policy for blizzard but I think we need a boost there

KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
Yeah, I couldn't cover all
it is more important to have most in range of supply and only a low chance of displaced HQ
in order to get some supply to the units

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
Some more fun news from the Tambow sector:




The cavalry corps are doing good progress and threatening the Axis rear, west of Tambow. I haven't been able to spot any immediate axis reinforcements being brought up.
If we had a handful more quick strong units down here we could cause some serious damage!
I think now in hindsight it would have been a good strategy to have the 1st Shock Army as reserve during the winter offensive, and then when opportunities like these arise you send the whole 1st Shock Army by rail there to take advantage of the situation. That would have been disaster for the Axis in this situation.
Tbh I never assumed we could punch open holes like these, so the usefulness of having a proper Army in offensive reserve never even occurred to me.
Ah well. Next winter? : P

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
hoo we can still make something BIG of this comrade!
I have 5 Cav corps South of Voronezh one turn is enough to redeployed then North words.

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
So you gonna move those cav corps? I f we focus hard on this gap we can cause great havoc unless the axis bring some major reinforcements : P

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
Ok, I can move 2 cav corps up North easily, one of then is a Guards
I'm think Of making a push towards Lipetsk, or just North of it
by next turn I can have:
6 rifle divisions, Ready for action
+3 rifle and 1 cav already at~ Tombov

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Yeah man, lets punch a hole! : )

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
by turn 30 I will have the 2 cav corps ready for action + 1 Guards rifle divison
so yeah, Let's put on the pressure!

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
more Brigades to watch out for:

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Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
The time it has taken you to do all these screenshots is a lot longer than you just moving them haha

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
I know, but are the Front commander, let's keep the duties separate.

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Well, in that case, isnt it Hobos job to point out irregularities like these?
Or are you doing his job?

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
Can I do South 1st? also Darojax, can I control the units near Tambov just for this turn to help secure the pocket?

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Yeah why dont you go ahead and do south first, im sure noone will object
Also on Tambov = yes go for it. Got half a dozen reinforcement divisions heading that way, but they wont be battle ready this turn anyway

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
I note with concern the absence of Marxist-Leninist language from the Front Commanders messages... Please ensure that our commanders do not need to be re-assigned to labor camps for re-education.

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Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
lets be sure to delete this conversation before Stalin reads it
: P

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
got a solid encirclement in Tambov, 6 regiments, I doubt they can establish contact for movement reasons if nothing else. regardless, there units won't be escaping




And to spice the news up, the elite Grossdeutschland regiment is in the Pocket! Serves then right!

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KenchiSulla, Acting KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
Ill need a few days for this.

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
I think [rescue is] possible, lets put it that way
I think it's a safe option as long as you commit to it fully and keep doing so. It's a case of being the first with the most and I think the armor is close enough to help out and the rail head is also fairly close.
...it would mean putting some armor out in the cold for a few weeks though

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
so need to commit to it totally - every turn be railing in as many units as possible

KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
We would lose 17k men in the pocket
it is nothing

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timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
you can gather sufficient force to block the northern cav push

KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
Only in 2 or 3 turns from now
If I commit to opening the pocket

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
there's enough armor nearby to block the cav this week. Or were you intending to use the pz corps in voro for the break in?

KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
I needto puzzle more
If i use the motorized they will be out of fuel

But his units are weakening

timmyab, Axis Chief of Staff
It certainly wouldn't be easy
It would mean leaving large numbers of good morale units out in the cold too which might be the best argument for not doing it.

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
For turn 29, the Germans are sending out some Motorize divisions, they can no longer underestimate us!

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
I've busted into the pocket
Now working on getting the flank security decent
It needed LAH and another motorized division
to get the odds needed
They used a lot of strength getting the pocket
one strong stack (9 power) visible
They'll reseal but I think we are in a good position to reopen

Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
death or glory!

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
We'll use the motorized to counterattack the Cav Corps
as they can't rebuilt enough strength
the strongest Cav units are in the north


I've got a fresh inf corps from 9th Army just North of the shown area
4 divisions

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Telemecus, Axis Supreme Commander
still a lot in regiments though
cavalry corps will go through them

KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
But his flank sucks balls

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander


It will get worse if he goes deeper
I've got two more motorized in reserve
@ Orel

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
so guys, I'm sure you noticed that Grossdeutschland regiment is encircled in Tambov, with no hope of freedom

Considering that it will became the most powerful German division (and the most powerful unit in game?), how much will it's destruction now, delay the unit reaching it's maximum strength?

Or does the fact that it has such an High Morale (90 minimum?) means it will have a very quick recovery?

KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
It will recover ontime for its increase to division

Soviet Supreme Commander
In Tambov ?!

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
yes

Soviet Supreme Commander
Probably best to keep the GD prisoners until the very last moment and then kill them just before summer :P

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
@Telemecus there is a 2 hex distance between the front line and encircled units. it's still January so your attacks still suck and with Blizzard it will cost more then 5 MP just to move in to the territory.

Axis Supreme Commander
so pretty easy then

Axis Supreme Commander
in all seriousness the rescue is quite easy - the real question for KenchiS is is it worth it and what more does it risk, not is it possible

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KenchiSulla, Acting Axis Centre Commander
Lictuel, I've positioned AGC to save the troops pocketed last turn
Think you got a good chance to get them out now
Soviets might decide to even rout them out
As they are not strong enough, and the Cav Corps in center are getting worn down

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
in that regard I'm hopeful
the Rail leading up to Lipetsk is broken, even if they redeploy panzer divisions, they need 2/3 turns to be combat ready




the cav corps hold out, make sure the units liberated can't escape

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Mamluke, Soviet Centre Commander
Yes if it wasnt for the bigger pincer to the rear, that might be of some use
if they had succeded.
fairly sure they will not waste their time with such an attack again.
Not in the current situation

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Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
And what is Schweppenburg doing in charge of an infantry corps??

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
such a dam waste!!

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Hes in charge of a panzer corps during GC start. And one of the better panzer leaders of the axis
Yeah this looks like a mistake (of theirs)
Looks like he was promoted in our current game though
Maybe if his inf rating was raised to 8 they put him in charge of saving their units here

Neogodhobo, Soviet Supreme Commander
Send our best snipers and commandos to kill this target. Send in the paratroopers, wave after wave of penal battalions to pierce the frontline directly to his HQ ! BRIIING ME HIS HEAD !!!

-said Stalin

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
NOT having him commanding panzer divisions should be a capital crime.... but since it's the Germans doing it XD
There are plenty of very capable axis inf corp commanders. Not sure what they are thinking...
If they are that desperate they could just put Model in charge of the LIII :p !

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Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Continued successes in the Tambov sector.

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
If our southern forces could advance some 4-5 hexes and close this pincer we will have encircled around a dozen german divisions, a full army's worth!

Their defenses in this sector have been very weak from the very beginning of the offensive.
Not sure if they are struggling logistically or what the issue is. They've brought several strong motorized units into the sector now, so we might see a change...
But if they dont do something about this quickly, they will most likely be in a deeply problematic situation : )

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
I believe the Axis is keeping the panzers divisions away from the front as best as possible, giving the appearance of lack of units.
we should definably pursue this option but Darojax, don't leave your flank too exposed

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Are you saying I left my flank too exposed?
What's he going to do?
If they make a push they only have a few powerful units, they'll quickly be swamped and surrounded
Let him try

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
to better explain my self comrade: the Axis are choosing NOT to use their Panzer and most of their motorize divisions, it doesn't mean they can't
they have about 4 Motorize divisions at the front. +1 in the Crimea and possibly one more mot division just west of Tula
out of a total of 14 Motorize divisions (not even counting the Brigades

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
If they use them offensively they put them at great risk

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
And your flanks are starting to be cover by 1 tank or infantry Brigade per hex. we must be bold in January, but you should bring as many divisions as possible.
to summarize: you should keep being bold for sure. just don't be too laxed!

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
They'll be too scared to care about anything else than defense
have some trust

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
just one word of advice: NEVER underestimate the German armored divisions..(after February 42)

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Never underestimate how tasty they are! : p

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Soviet Centre Commander
Just to relief some of the heavy burden on your shoulders! ; p




SOO god dam close Comrades!!!!!

It's the 6th Army all over again! : P
That's an entire army's worth almost encirceled

Soviet South Commander
Historians will talk about Tambov for centuries to came!!!
and 2 motorize divisions!

Soviet Centre Commander
\o/
What SS division is that?
L.A.H ?

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

Gary Grigsby Discord https://discord.gg/U6DcDxT

(in reply to Beria)

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
I' wont be able to complete the encirclement no but next turn there is a definite chance




before ending the turn, decided to see if attacking (red) with those units would send then to tambov (shorter route) instead of closer supply
experiment susefull and hasty attack was all that was needed

Neogodhobo, Soviet South Commander
The Germans are going to freak out.

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
oOooh that is nice
hopefully an encirclement within an encirclement
The onion maneuver!

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
if they want to waste the Motorize MP trying to free then, it makes sure they stay in the greater pocket!
win win, as I see it

Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
Ah it feels so good. They dont have any fortifications built up, and its all plains and frozen rivers.

Let us hope there is NO ESCAPE for them!

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Neogodhobo, Soviet South Commander
It looks promising

Maube we should shift some armies to make sure the attack succeeds ? Maybe even transfering shock army.

Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
I'm already sending as many divisions as I can
to my pincer

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ORIGINAL: Beria

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
I note with concern the absence of Marxist-Leninist language from the Front Commanders messages... Please ensure that our commanders do not need to be re-assigned to labor camps for re-education.

We have this covered

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Darojax, Soviet Centre Commander
lets be sure to delete this conversation before Stalin reads it
: P

So let's just keep this between you and me, the players of the game, readers of the AAR, random google searches showing this as a result ....

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Mamluke, Soviet South Commander
the Mountain divisions are still at Rostov, I believe they won't send the panzer divisions out until after January, however, the Great tambov encirclement can change that

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Comrade Beria!

Your efforts as C-in-C are inadequate.

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Report to me in person when this is done.

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Party Secretary Stalin

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ORIGINAL: Beria

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Comrade Beria!

Your efforts as C-in-C are inadequate.

I am well and truly passing the buck as Neogodhobo is C-in-C until the end of blizzard

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Report to me in person when this is done.

I think I will phone in.

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
Party Secretary Stalin

So Ioseb Djugashvili gets the nom de crime of Koba which they cover up with the nom de guerre of Stalin which they now cover up with the nom de plume of Zorch?

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
The new C-in-C has arrived.

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ORIGINAL: Beria

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ORIGINAL: Zorch
The new C-in-C has arrived.

Not according to the big boss in the sky (AKA Mr Grigsby)