Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy.

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy.

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> The Operational Art of War IV >> After Action Reports >> Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy.

Page: [1] 2 next > >>

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 6/26/2020 9:49:26 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

As was pointed out by an astute reader the scenario was obviously out of balance so I modded it again. Here's the change log:
Change log:

D21_lgf (06/25/2020) the previous changes made the scenario unbalanced. I'm going to remove most of the RR engineers from the units that have them. Leaving those in the HQ units to be those that remain where they are.

D21_lgf (05/18/2020) changed some of the Soviet units to show Brigade size instead of platoon size.

D21_lgf(04/25/2020) decided to make the final RR damage setting 70% instead of 100%. To model the occassional failure of the Soviets to FU the rail before they leave the area.

D21_lgf(01/30/2020} moved the attrition divider back to '6' as it was originally and added a lot of RR engineers to
all HQ units.

D21_lgf ( 01/25/2020) made the attrition divider 3 instead of 50 to make the combats more bloody.

D21 lgf ( 01/18/2020 ): made the attrition divider 50 instead of 6. I'm not sure what difference that will make.

D21 lgf: adjusted the Axis supply situation a tiny bit and tried to install the TOAW v.5.2 database but it gave yr2000 equipment to the Soviet side. So I fell back to the original D21 EQP file but modded the equipment file to give the Stuka a decent anti-ship value. 12/24/2019 : added some RR engineers for a little better supply effort.

Directive 21: Version 4.6

'The German Armed Forces must be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a quick campaign.'

So naturally I have to test it to see how it performs. You can get the new version here:
D21_lgf (06/25/2020)
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4820951&mpage=1&key=�

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

Post #: 1

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 6/26/2020 4:56:40 PM

Hellen_slith

Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/10/2005
Status: offline

Thanks, Larry! Looking forward to trying this one (if ever I find time!!)
Enjoying your AARs very much!!

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 2

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 6/30/2020 3:44:09 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

Here I am at the end of Soviet turn 2. The game engine has not yet started the air-2-air battles that are abstracted at the beginning of each turn but it shows turn 3 on the title bar. That's a little bit confusing. At any rate, here's the attacks the Soviets did during their turn 2. It's saying that the same Soviet unit attacked my recon unit 9 times and lost each time. Maybe Elmer needs to be updated to give up on lost causes sooner. My CS folks did their jobs though and my little recon unit didn't lose anybody. They did decrease in supply after each attack however so it does need a rest now. It's health is orange and that means it's not combat ready any longer. I'm going to establish a rest camp somewhere nearby in the rear and staff it with at least one Corps HQ unit to encourage the tired units that I'm going to send there.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to Hellen_slith)

Post #: 3

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/2/2020 12:22:35 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T4, Minsk
Here's me approaching Minsk in T4. I've been surrounding and destroying all the Soviet units I find as I advance and I've got a lot of little units busy converting all the hexes so as to stiffle the spawning of Soviet units in my backfield. I'm sticking to the roads and rails as much as possible to speed things along. Losses have been light so far. The AS levels are 52 for the Axis and 2 for the Soviets. Soviet planes are falling out of the sky.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 4

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/2/2020 1:46:59 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T4, Riga
This is what it looks like around Riga right now. Fortunately I was able to get to Riga before the Soviets turned it into a fortress and it fell easily and I was able to get lots of units across the river and make some substantial progress to the north. I've just begun to clear out the peninsula to the left and there aren't all that many Soviet units up there so it should go fast. Most of the resistance that I've run into are at the Daugavpils river crossing. But using some engineers I've gotten units on the north side of the river and surrounded the Soviet defenders so the crossing should fall either this turn or the next.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 5

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/2/2020 10:33:35 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T5, Kiev
T5 and this is what it looks like around Kiev right now. I seem to have blown a hole in the Soviet lines and I'm pouring units through the breech and spreading out and surrounding enemy units and making the hole wider. If I can I'd like to be able to get a light screen built to prevent the Soviets from getting away before I can destroy them. The supply rail passes through Rovno going SE and it's up to the front lines so the supply level is outstanding.

Bridge Busting Plans
I'm starting to consider dropping some bridges in the Soviet backfield to start to isolate the battlefield and stiffle the flow of supply to enemy units. The problem is that the Soviet rails can branch off and go around breaks and still function okie dokie. That means that at least several bridges need to be dropped to get some detrement to the Soviet situation. I'm wondering where I should drop the bridges. Probably right behind the Soviet lines would be best at first. That would prevent the introduction of reinforcements to the front lines and as a bonus the supply levels would drop off the cliff for the Soviets. I'm going to go through the bomber inventory to seperate out the strongest ones, the ones that will give me the highest percentage of chance to drop the bridge(s). Maybe about a dozen of them dedicated to dropping bridges. I have about three dozen bombers so that's about a third of them to do nothing but drop bridges. This treatment needs to be instigated in the north first to keep Leningrad from turning into a fortress.

Losses so far
I've got 32K+ German heavy squads assigned and have lost a little over only 3K so far. I'm judging that as light losses. I'm building 428 of them each turn so that means I'm losing them faster than I'm building them. I'll have to monitor how many are assigned to make sure it doesn't go below about 27K. I figure I'll need at least that many to hold back the Soviets.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 7/2/2020 10:34:39 PM >

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 6

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/4/2020 12:01:13 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T7, Smolensk
T7 and this is what it looks like around Smolensk right now. I'm up against the first of several major rivers to cross and I've already captured several crossings so I'm going to try to surround and destroy as many Soviet units as I can. It's only July 13, 1941 so I'm in no hurry to rush off to Moscow; I'd like to destroy some Soviet units while I have to chance to do so. The railhead is right up at the front so supply levels are outstanding so far. I'm hoping it will be on the east side of the river as well. I haven't moved any of the units in this image yet so the shape of the front lines is going to change by the end of this turn. The air losses meter says 4 Axis planes were lost so far this turn and aledgedly there were 111 Soviet machines shot down. The AS level meter says 57 to 4. I'd like to sneak up on Smolensk from the south this time. I'm using my AT gun units, paratroops [no more air trans. cap.], and MP's to convert hexes in the rear. I've worn out my recon units getting this far this fast and most of them need a rest to refit and refuel and increase in supply. I've got 33K German heavy rifle squads assigned still but the number is decreasing slowly as time passes.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 7/4/2020 12:02:30 AM >

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 7

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/4/2020 1:09:54 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T7, Kiev
T7 and this is what it looks like around Kiev right now. I'm pushing units far ahead of the follow on forces to try to gain as much territory as possible before the weather turns foul and also, because the supply levels are good enough to support such a tactic. I like to hold enemy units in place while I move around them with other units. The follow on forces show up eventually and the recon units are relieved and return to zooming down Russian roads. Elmer is railing more and more people into this AO and Soviet resistance is increasing. I especially like to capture the airfields so I can continually move the aircraft closer to the front where the action happens. I've got a theory that the closer the bombers are to their targets the more often they show up in battles. I would have to either have a view at the program code or do a lot of testing to see if that's true. I'm too lazy to test it. I'm having too much fun playing the game. This may be the best game I've played of this scenario so far.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 8

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/4/2020 2:50:32 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T7, Leningrad
T7 and this is what it looks like around Leningrad right now. The Finns have just this turn arrived at the stop line just north of the city. What happens now is that the Finns and the Soviets bombard each other's line with arty that they bring up just behind the lines. I've got some Ju-87's targeted on the Soviet ships in this image and I'm hitting the Soviet airfields still to help rid them of their obsolete equipment. I have no memory of seeing any Mig-3's yet and I think they are still using the biplane I-153's and the stubby monoplane I-16's but in some future turn they will receive some Lend Lease aircraft including P-40's and P-39's and a few Spitfires. IIRC. And then the air war will be a little more equal. The air shock levels are 140 Axis 50 Soviet and the land shock levels are 115 Axis and 95 Soviet so things are still in my favor and will be for a couple more turns but IIRC the Soviets are going to reach land shock 100 sometime during '41 and I don't remember when. I'm guessing the scenario briefing has that information so I'll get around to checking that out soon.

EDIT: The Soviets reach 100 land shock in T161. I have no idea what the date will be then.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 7/4/2020 2:54:09 AM >

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 9

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/4/2020 4:37:46 PM

Hellen_slith

Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/10/2005
Status: offline

T161 would be way late in '42, if not into '43 ....
that German Panzer unit plus HQ could do a lot of damage on Soviet lines there, I'd think,
Great AAR, Larry, enjoying your D21 analysis!

< Message edited by Hellen_slith -- 7/4/2020 4:40:51 PM >

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 10

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/4/2020 8:48:31 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T8, Kiev
T8 and this is what it looks like around Kiev right now. I was successful in surrounding the group of Soviet units defending just west of Kiev and now I'm in the process of reducing the pocket. I've also moved some Panzer units to the surburbs of Kiev and have started the probes to find the weak spots if any. Just north of this image German units are streaming across the river into the Soviet backfield and hopefully will short start showing up on the east side of Kiev. Which reminds me that I need to rail some more troops to the area just north of Kiev so help take down all the Soviet units near the riverbank. The more the merrier.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hellen_slith
T161 would be way late in '42, if not into '43 ....
that German Panzer unit plus HQ could do a lot of damage on Soviet lines there, I'd think,
Great AAR, Larry, enjoying your D21 analysis!

Thank you a lot for your kind words. Is there some topic you'd like to see more of?

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 7/4/2020 8:49:44 PM >

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to Hellen_slith)

Post #: 11

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/4/2020 9:58:47 PM

atheory

Posts: 210
Joined: 6/5/2006
Status: offline

Does the reason to give HQ units RR repair capability stem from frustration over the built in auto-repair mechanic? If so, would it be better to give the bau units a few trucks and movement capability so manual repair can be possible without exponentially increasing the number of units that can repair rails? Just thinking aloud.

I am curious how you prefer to employ your air units along the front when soviet air starts to become more pesky.

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 12

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/4/2020 10:13:48 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: atheory
Does the reason to give HQ units RR repair capability stem from frustration over the built in auto-repair mechanic?

Yes. Earlier versions of D21 seemed to never allow good supply levels at the front lines because the RR engineers were so anemic. It's realistic I realize, but it's really frustrating having the superior force and not be able to use it effectively because of the supply level.

quote:

ORIGINAL: atheory
If so, would it be better to give the bau units a few trucks and movement capability so manual repair can be possible without exponentially increasing the number of units that can repair rails? Just thinking aloud.

The way D21 is designed the mere presence of the RR engineers is enough to repair the rails near them ( aledgedly ) and when you disembark the RR engineer units their MP's go to zero so you can't really use them "manually". And there's no way around that. To have RR engineers that can use the manual method of rail repair you'd have to mod the scenario.

quote:

ORIGINAL: atheory
I am curious how you prefer to employ your air units along the front when soviet air starts to become more pesky.

I like to gang up on Soviet fighters by moving a lot of fighters to an area where there aren't that many Soviet aircraft within range and stage an attack by bombers in an area near the few Soviet fighters and it almost doesn't matter what you are attacking....the idea is to get the Soviet fighters to intercept and then when Axis fighters intercept the Soviet intercepters they tend to shot down a lot of them without a loss to the bombers ( usually ). In T8 the Soviet air shock is so low and mine is so much higher that I've been hitting the Soviet airfields every turn and the Soviet air fleet is being slowly whittled down to just a few planes within range of mine. As the front lines advance and the aircraft move east more and more Soviet planes come into range. Elmer doesn't know how to rest his equipment properly and a lot of the time the Soviet aircraft are red in health and they are easier to destroy. When I'm playing the Soviet side in FITE I retreat all the planes to somewhere east of Moscow to give them enough rest to get them deep green again, to fill up the squadrons that are missing planes and aren't a full squadron yet, and when I deploy the Soviet planes I deploy all of them at the same time so they can support each other better.

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to atheory)

Post #: 13

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/5/2020 10:24:57 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T8, Krichev
North of Kiev I'm getting units across the river and I'm running into more and more Soviet units. Elmer is getting boatloads of them each turn and railing them straight to the front. The advance has slowed down to deal with the increased volume of Soviets. As you can see from the air losses meter Soviet aircraft seem to be falling out of the sky. I'm sure the Soviet number is padded by the Fog of War factor but I'm pretty sure the number is at least 100 so far. I'm on round 4 of this turn but I think I'll give the Soviet airfields a pass the rest of this turn because pounding his airfields in prior rounds has exausted my flyboys. I've got about 5 dozen aircraft of various types and about 3 dozen of them are resting. 4 of them are red. So it's about time to wrap up this turn instead of going on until round 7 or so. That's usually about as far as I can stretch a turn. I've seen Elmer go until round 11 more than once. There's still a little more than 32K German heavy Rifle Squads assigned to the force and that means the losses have been light for several turns now.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 14

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/7/2020 1:26:59 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T10, Odessa
This is what Odessa looks like now. I have the RR arty pounding one of the Soviet stacks in order to soften it up a little bit so my Romanians can make a little headway. I don't want high losses taking this place down and the RR arty is coming in really handy. The Soviets have several AA units in their group so I have to be careful in what I hit from the air. I'm trying to avoid the stacks that will hit my aircraft harder than they need to be hit. I'm not really in a hurry here so there's no need to rush as far as I'm concerned. I'm constrained by the 04Dec41 deadline to capture Sevastopol in order to free up the Bulgarians and that's the only rush I have right now. Although it's important to try to push east as fast as possible to see how close to Moscow we can get before the weather turns foul. Also, I'd like to take down Kharkov and Orel and Tula if possible before the dead of winter. I have plans to push toward Stalingrad as well. All the Axis aircraft are green and online and I've been striking the Soviet ships near Leningrad and there's only two Soviet ship units left and they both have been castrated by multiple hits. Both of the Soviet units are hiding behind their CD guns near the city so I've been hesitant to try to engage them with my ships. I'm thinking that one more strike by my Ju-87 Stukas will rid me of the Soviet boats. My Stukas are good against ships and armoured vehicles, tanks, halftracks, etc.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 7/7/2020 1:27:12 AM >

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 15

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/7/2020 1:37:20 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T10, Kiev
This is what Kiev looks like now. I have one RR arty unit pounding one of the Soviet stacks in order to kill as much of the Soviet arty as I can. Meanwhile I have probes prodding at the north and south end points of their group but not much progress is being made. I'm getting across the river just north of this image and the Axis units will soon be on the east side of Kiev and can surround it and the killing can take place on both sides of the river and soon Kiev will be mine. I'm blocking the river crossings south of this image and more and more Soviet units are lining up on the riverbank on the east side of the river so there's a chance I can trap them there and kill them. If only they will cooperate and stay there long enough to get some of my units to the east of them. That's the game plan here.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 16

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/7/2020 2:29:58 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T10, Leningrad
This is what the Leningrad area looks like now. I'm optimistic that some progress can be made in this area for the next several turns at least. Elmer hasn't shipped very many troops up here preferring instead to ship them toward the Kiev area and so there's not a lot of heavy resistance in this AO. I'd like to take advantage of that while I can if possible. The supply levels are outstanding so at least supply isn't a problem. In the vanilla stock D21 scenario it would probably be a major consideration. This game so far has exceeded what I could accomplish using the vanilla scenario. The ability to repair the rails faster has made a great difference.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 7/7/2020 2:30:07 AM >

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 17

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/8/2020 3:24:03 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T12, Leningrad
This is what the Leningrad area looks like now. I've sunk all the Leningrad ships so there's no more Soviet ships pounding my coastal troops. Elmer ran a tank unit up to the stop line and has been attacking my units with it and the Finns don't have a lot of AT equipment to counter those attacks and my losses are about 10% per Soviet attack. I'm having to rotate fresh units up to the front to replace the ones that have been hurt. I'm going to use my Stuka's to try to put that armour unit out of business. Soviet air shock has risen to 75% so airfield strikes are no longer advantageous. The supply line has reached the front so I've started repairing the rail headed south. I have no idea how much longer it's going to be before I can successfully take down Leningrad but I estimate maybe 10 turns or less. I'd like to trap all the Soviet units in the Leningrad area before I start seriously reducing the entire pocket.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 18

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/8/2020 3:41:29 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T12, Smolensk
This is what the Smolensk area looks like now. Soviet resistance has increased in a major way. I have a rather large gap in my lines and I need to fill it with something to give me some early warning. I've been moving the aircraft forward as the front moves and they have been giving me invaluable support. I have 35K+ German heavy Rifle Squads assigned so the losses have been light so far. I have 987 Me-109E/F's assigned and have lost only 58 so far. So my air losses have been rather light as well. It's 30Jul41 and winter weather isn't all that far away.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 19

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/8/2020 5:12:02 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T12, Sinelnikovo
This is what it looks like around D-town right now. Soviet resistance was remarkably light and I find myself near D-town already. Now I have to fight for some river crossings for the advance to continue. The supply level is in the low to mid 20's which is a lot higher than I'm used to.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 20

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/8/2020 5:31:33 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T12, Front Lines
I just realized that I haven't posted anything showing the front lines so this is what it looks like in T12. I'm sneaking up on Leningrad and Kiev and D-town and K-town and I've defeated the Soviet defenders at the entrance to the Crimea so I'll soon be besieging Sevastopol and trying to force my way across the Kerch Straits. It's going to take at least another two months of game time to reach the suburbs of Moscow because of all the resistance. Elmer has been counterattacking the last few turns and my recon units are beat up and need rest. I'm thinking of sending all my unemployed recon units to the south where the terrain is ideal for motorized units. There have been no partisans since the beginning of the game and I doubt that they will show up at all. Supply levels are adequate all over the map for a change. Having RR engineers in the HQ units is making this game more fun than the vanilla version. Although, it's certaintly not "historical" and therefore not realistic to real life.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 21

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/9/2020 3:41:59 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T13, Glukhov
I'm posting this image to show you what's going on to the NE of Kiev out in the middle of nowhere. There are very few Soviet units so far and my boys are running into mostly open terrain and cities for the taking. I have surrounded a small Soviet group against the river and I need to stop up the exits so they can't get away and then destroy them. That will take maybe four or five turns I'm guessing. This is the kind of terrain where my motorized units can shine. Lots of progress can be had in this AO. I'm shipping more and more units this way to be able to run rampant.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 22

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/9/2020 3:51:54 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T13, Smolensk
There has been such a huge infusion of Soviet units into the game as reinforcements that they are able to build a proper front line now and there are less gaps and places to get into the Soviet backfield and surround them. So I've been trying to surround just a few of them at a time to destroy them and so far it's working. It's slower than just driving around them and blocking their exit(s). I see a couple of Soviet supply points to the east of Yvazma and I'm wondering if they turn into an Axis supply point if I capture them. I'll have to see. Maybe they are listed in the scenario notes as a possibility. I'll have to look that up.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 7/9/2020 3:57:29 PM >

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 23

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/9/2020 4:46:19 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T13, Kiev
Here's a view of the east side of the Dnieper near Kiev and shows how I'm moving units east and south. I'm especially keen on destroying the Soviet units along the riverbank before they can get away. I need to rail a lot more units into this AO so as to extend the front lines to the east and all the while have a line of units moving south to trap the enemy units near the riverbank before they can get away. All but two of my aircraft are green and the AS levels are now: 42 Axis, 22 Soviet. Also their air shock has reached 75% so they aren't such a pushover any longer. I've seen Mig-3's in air combats so they are introducing new models of fighters to replace their biplanes ( I-15's ) and the near useless I-16's. My Finn air force has been taking losses since they have a higher proportion of obsolete aircraft so I need to send some of my fighters to the Leningrad area to help them out. I sank all the Soviet ships so now my Stuka's are doing CS. I like to order them to do direct attacks on tanks and arty and especially HQ's because there's a chance to drive a formation into reorg if the HQ unit for that formation suffers enough damage.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 24

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/9/2020 5:38:12 PM

rhinobones

Posts: 1540
Joined: 2/17/2002
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
I see a couple of Soviet supply points to the east of Yvazma and I'm wondering if they turn into an Axis supply point if I capture them.

Open the scenario in the editor and select �deployment�. That will show you the Russian, German and dual use supply points.

_____________________________

Colin Wright:
Comprehensive Wishlist Forum #467 . . . The Norm (blessed be His name, genuflect three times and accept all values in the program as revealed truth)

Pre Combat Air Strikes # 64 . . . I need have no concern about keeping it civil

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 25

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/9/2020 5:51:13 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

Hey that's a good idea. Thanks Steve dude.

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to rhinobones)

Post #: 26

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/9/2020 6:00:24 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T13, Kremenchuk
Here's a view of the southern front lines right now. I'm using engineers to get across the river and into the Soviet backfield and I'm hoping to get enough troops across the river to hold onto what I've gained so far. I've trapped all the D-town Soviet defenders and I hope to destroy them this turn. Z-town is defended by a single AA unit so I'm thinking I can blast through there easy enough. The Romanians are breaking into the Crimea so lots of progress is being made in this AO.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 27

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/9/2020 11:10:04 PM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T13, Kherson
Here's what's going on in the Crimea now. The Romanians are being helped out by the 11th Army units and soon we'll be in Sevastopol. Losses are light so far. The aircraft are helping out a lot.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 28

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/10/2020 3:08:33 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T14, Ta-152
I got to looking at my losses and quit by accident I discovered that the inventory of fighters did not include the famous Ta-152. So I did a search on Google and found a WikiPedia article about it. According to W. only about 70 of these bad boys were ever built late in '44 and very few of them saw any action at all. I guess that's why they were left out of the game.

Editor Games
I used the scenario editor part of TOAW IV to add some Ta-152's to a squadron at random and saved the scenario with a test name and then loaded it in the game and looked at what kind of AS values it has and it's superior to every other propeller driven German fighter. Only the Me-262 is better. Too bad it's not in the game as a token force of maybe 3 of them just for the added chrome. There's some of the early German jets missing from the list of planes available as well. That rocket driven plane for instance. The rocket engine drove it up to the upper stratosphere and it would glide for a one-pass attack on a formation of Allied bombers and then hope it had enough energy to make it back to it's field. Usually their missions lasted a little over maybe a half an hour. Whether or not it was difficult to reset it for another launch the same day is a matter of opinion. It depends on how you define "difficult". High ranking German officers usually had them at least try to launch it again the same day.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

If we're all created in the image of god then why aren't we all invisible?

(in reply to larryfulkerson)

Post #: 29

RE: Hitler's fumble. A story of idiocy. - 7/12/2020 5:14:10 AM

larryfulkerson

Posts: 39932
Joined: 4/17/2005
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline

T16, Leningrad
Here's what Leningrad looks like right now. The Finns have been trading arty barrages back and forth for about 10 turns now. I'm getting so close to the city that the CD guns are pounding my troops. I'm considering bombing the CD guns from the air. I'm hesitating because I can anticipate a lot of AA units protecting them. I would bring the RR arty up here to help out but they are fully employed at Odessa right now. The supply levels are in the high 20's up here and rising slowly. I'm trying to do a left hook around Leningrad to isolate the city from the rest of Russia, to prevent Elmer from shipping more troops into the AO, and to prevent the Soviet units from escaping to the east before I can destroy them all. All the aircraft are in the green and about a dozen of them are resting because of low supply levels in the unit. Most of the progress is being made in the deep south because of the better terrain and the sparcity of Soviet units.