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My German Adventure! - 7/30/2020 1:20:17 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		After reading a number of AAR's, I decided to post my own! As we go further along, I will start posting more pictures. But for the first couple of turns since they typically play out in a boring way, I will let you enjoy the storytelling.


Turn 1:
Invasion plans are complete and our soldiers stand ready to invade Russia. While geographic conquest is our ultimate aim, for the first few weeks of battle, our overwhelming objective is to destroy as many Soviet units as possible. Surrendered enemy soldiers make for good enemy soldiers. Before the land war begins, we start by bombing the crap out of the Russian airbases.

Army Group North is lined up in dense formations 70 miles to the east of Koenigburg. Our surveillance of enemy units in the area is that they are weak across the border and as a result, there are limited opportunities to encircle a large amount of Soviet material. As a result, we are ordering the 18th Army to crush the border defenses. Once the 18th Army has routed the border defenses, they will split their forces, with half of the Army pushing North to clear out the Baltic States, and the other half swinging east towards Vilnius to mop up any resistance there. Once the 18th Army has expended its movement points, we will send the 16th Army forth to clear a path for the 4th Panzer Army. The 4th Panzer Army will have orders to drive directly to Pskov, crossing the Velikava 30-50 miles to the south of Pskov. If the enemy chooses to fight, then we will surround them. If they choose to retreat then we will let them. Our armor will then rest at Pskov, waiting for supplies and infantry to catch up to them in order to prepare for the next wave of attacks leading to Leningrad.

Army Group Central has the first main pocketing opportunity. In order to achieve victory; however, we will have to execute a double envelopment to maximize the number of enemy soldiers captured. First we will use the 4th Army to open up a hole in Russian lines across the bug river. We will mostly use screening forces to lock the Russians in the Białystok pocket. This will involve leveraging our security forces and splitting several divisions into brigades. The remainder of the 4th Army will push inward, creating a path for the 2nd Panzer Army to drive into the interior of Belarus. We will use half the 2nd Panzer as a shield to lock the Bialystok pocket in place (mostly the motorized infantry), with the armor tasked with getting into the woods east of the Neman River, to encircle the Russian soldiers to the north of it. Meanwhile, we will use the 9th Army to perform a similar procedure in the north, coming down to meet the 2nd Panzer Army and closing the pocket with the remaining troops used to force retreat at Kaunus and Vilnius. The 3rd Panzer Group will then strike behind them, with the objective of meeting the 2nd Panzer group at Minsk.

During the second week of the invasion, these two Panzer groups will press forward with the goal of penetrating the gap between the Dvina and Dnepr rivers. This will allow us to turn the Russians at Smolensk and force a retreat along the Dnepr. If the Russians are fully fortified in that gap, then we will pull back our armor to the woods east of the Berezina and await refueling and the infantry to catch up before launching two panzer balls into the gap.

Army Group South has the toughest Russian troops in front of them and while we considered sending the 2nd Panzer Army to support the South, we believe it’s critical to success in the Central theater. In evaluating the theater, we have two options, use our limited Panzers to strike south, cutting off the Lvov pocket. While this approach looks appealing, we note the strong armor group to the east of Lvov that would make this approach difficult. Given the Russian movement penalties in turn 1, an alternative approach would be to strike just to the east of that formation, locking the units into place, with the objective of sealing off the remaining Lvov units in turn 2. This approach will allow the Russians to rail out many of their units, but will allow for the quickest capture of Kiev. Our goal will be to swing our Panzers south between Kiev and Cherkassy, cross the Dnepr and pin the Kiev garrison between the city and the Pripyat.

Let the invasion begin!
Post #: 1
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/30/2020 1:24:04 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Our invasion started with a massive bombing campaign against Russian airfields, reducing our air doctrine to 10% available to fly in order to maximize the number of strikes performed. As a result of our bombing campaign, we destroyed 2895 Russian planes while losing 44 of our own. AGN struck first, our infantry storming across the front line, causing 45,400 casualties (38,800 captured) vs. only 2,550 Germans. Additionally, we destroyed another 100 planes, while only absorbing 7 more losses. We were able to get three panzer divisions across the Daugava, with two mechanized divisions waiting to cross. We sent our SS mechanized division to Riga to force retreat there and to close an encirclement around three divisions. While the original plan was to ignore Riga, the need to encircle three divisions encouraged us to make the minor diversion.

AGC launched its attack to great success. We pocketed two groups of units – 4 around the Merkys river, and 34 in Bialystok pocket. Additionally, we captured Vilnius and cut the rail-line to Kaunas, which will likely result in three more units surrendering. The second and third panzer groups met at Minsk and we have four units adjacent to city, which will likely lead to the abandonment of the city during the Russian turn. 61,000 additional Russian soldiers were eliminated, most of which will be fed to the Reich’s horses to ensure that they remain strong in preparation for the harsh Russian winter. With the encirclement, we are expecting another 300,000 prisoners as that pocket is consolidated over the next several weeks.

AGS met stiffer resistance from the Russians, hindered in part by Reich Leadership sending all of Panzer Group 2 into AGC. We managed to push through the front lines, but hit significant resistance from an armored division that had recently mobilized as a result of readiness exercises ordered by Stalin. Only an additional 15,000 Russians were eliminated, but our pincer south towards Romania should ensure that a significant pocket around Lvov is created. Additionally, we pushed core elements of the 17th Army east around the Lvov pocket and did not directly attack the pocket, with the aim of pinning the Russian troops in the pocket. We pinned another couple of infantry divisions in various components of the front, with the aim of slowing their withdrawal.

Overall, we are pleased with the results of the initial invasion, Germany lost 6,415 men, compared to 121 thousand for the Russians, along with 1147 AFV. As we close the pockets in the coming turns, we anticipate capturing another couple thousand AFV’s and 400,000 – 600,000 troops.

Tomorrow will be Turn 2...

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Post #: 2
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/30/2020 3:12:28 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 2 Overview:

The Russians decided to take their cake and run for the hills. In the North they were able to unpocket a couple units where I had ZOC around a few units, but insufficient units to really pocket them. I will take care of that this turn. Notably, they did not withdraw from Riga, so hopefully I can pick up some more dead Russians there. In the center, the Bialystok pocket held, so I’ll start consolidating that pocket, but several units in the Merkys pocket were able to escape towards Vilnius. My infantry will finish them off shortly. In the South they appeared to rail out all the units they could from the Lvov pocket, but between my panzers and the Romanians, the rest of the units (about 20) will be shortly pocketed and informed of their imminent demise.

My strategy for this turn is based to continue our attack for AGN and AGC as outlined in our battle plans. For AGS, we will leave behind a skeleton crew to clean up the Lvov pocket, while I'll leave it up to our generals to decide if we should aggressively push forward or use our panzers to immobilize Russian stragglers. While we want to race forward to Kiev, we also know that we can't take and hold the city without our infantry and they will be tied up for a couple turns mopping up the resistance. I ordered Von Kleist to pause the assault to refuel and capture more Russian units.

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Post #: 3
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/30/2020 4:44:22 AM   
Telemecus


Posts: 4689
Joined: 3/20/2016
Status: offline 		@dmoose42 welcome and best of luck - I will be following!

_____________________________

Wargamers Discord https://discord.gg/U6DcDxT

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Post #: 4
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/30/2020 12:49:44 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Thanks Telemecus. I've only been playing for a couple months so it will definitely be a learning experience!

Turn 2 results: AGN accomplished its mission. We have 1 division across the Velikaya south of Pskov, and three more waiting to cross. Given the state of organization of the Russian defenses, I think the swiftness of our penetration surprised them. They may try and organize a defense, but I suspect I will fall back towards the Luga. We re-pocketed a couple divisions for fun as well, though we moved our troops away from Riga to focus on supporting the Pskov assault so the enemy will hold that for at least one more turn.

AGC did its job. It cleaned up most of the Bialystok pocket, with 6 units to go and its two panzer armies reached the Dnepr and a salient has opened up with troops only 40 miles from Smolensk. The Red Army is cut in two, but we will need to get our infantry there ASAP to support our panzers. We airdropped supplies to assist with the resupply effort.

AGS on the other hand made less progress. We pocketed the remaining Lvov troops so most of them will surrender next turn and our Panzers shifted east to capture Proskurov (a very modest accomplishment, and pin several armored units. We could have advanced further, but we decided to save our fuel and surround enemy armored units to destroy them. Destroying as much Russian armor as possible will be critical to our success over the coming months. Our Romanian friends and Army Group 11 pushed forward from the South but progress was slow due to the low morale and high movement costs of the Romanians as well as the limited number of German divisions, which were needed to evict the Russian border troops. We will look to see bigger advances in the South in the coming weeks.

Total Soviet Losses in the war so far (and before clicking next turn) are 438k soldiers, 3119 tanks, and 3590 aircraft compared to 29k soldiers, 153 tanks, and 75 aircraft for me.


< Message edited by dmoose42 -- 7/30/2020 12:50:26 PM >

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Post #: 5
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/30/2020 7:44:10 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 3: Strategy: During the Soviets turn, they launched a single attack on our salient towards Smolensk, forcing our mechanized infantry to retreat; however, they suffered 980 casualties compared to 89 for me. I didn’t lose a single AFV, while they lost 10. Plus, my troops retreated back closer to our supply lines, so the impact is likely to be minimal. In reviewing Soviet troop movements, AGN noted that the Soviets chose to reinforce their position around Pskov. Our Panzers were only able to receive half fuel (so 23-27 movement points), so we’ll see how effectively we will be able to exploit the breakthrough in their lines once we attack.

AGC failed to identify any consolidation of forces at Smolensk salient, so we will push forward – fuel reserves are low (most units have 10-15 movement points) so our focus will be on smashing the Soviets to keep the breach open so that our infantry can come pouring through.

AGS noted that the Lvov pocket was unable to be broken by the Soviets and the focus this turn will be forcing them to surrender. Given that the first Panzer group did not extend itself last turn, most units have greater than 40 movement points. Given that meaningful infantry will be needed to eliminate the pocketed units, we will likely perform additional air reconnaissance to identify any high value targets to pocket, and if none are identified, continue to rest our Panzers until the infantry is ready to roll again next turn.

Turn results: AGN made progress across the Velikava and almost surrounded Pskov. We routed a dozen or so enemy units in the area, while our infantry rushed forward. Fuel will be critical to being able to continue to push forward in the north as our panzers are bone dry. However, air transport to drop supplies was not available – they must be out of range of our transports. As a result, both AGN and AGC moved their airbases much closer to enemy lines to facilitate close air support.

AGC: Even with our fuel drops, our panzers had limited fuel resources, as a result, we focused on consolidating our gains, expanding the push to Smolensk to include 9 panzer units, and expanding the width of the salient. We also landed two panzer units east of the Dnepr to cause havoc on the Russian lines next turn. Our infantry is still a turn behind and will be able to relieve our panzers on the front lines next turn, but the leading elements were able to take Mogilev.

AGS: We crushed the Lvov salient, with only 7 units remaining. We will clean up the rest of the pocket next turn. Additionally, we used our panzers to trap two armored divisions, two mechanized divisions, and one calvary division. These will be forced to surrender next turn. We launched a probing attack towards Vinnitsa noting light resistance, but decided to pull back to be closer to supply lines. On the Romanian border, we pocketed 3 infantry divisions, two cavalry divisions, and one mechanized division. Overall, our progress has been slow, but worth it from the perspective of being able to eliminate a significant number of Russian units.

Russian Attack report: The Russians got a little more aggressive, launching a counter-attack at Pskov and one at our Smolensk beachhead. Both attacks were repulsed, with us losing 183 men and 15 AFV, while the Russians lost 3117 men and 17 AFV.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #3: 123 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 60k men, 423 AFV, 110 aircraft
Russian Losses to date: 692k men, 4685 AFV, 3939 aircraft

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Post #: 6
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/30/2020 11:24:30 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 4 Strategy:

AGN review suggests that the Russians are digging in at Pskov. Our panzers are out of gas (10 or less MP), but the leading elements of our infantry will arrive this turn as well. Our main objective will be to consolidate gains in the Baltics (sending a division up to Tallinn), and pushing through the Pskov gap. It is likely that our main attack will have to wait until next turn given troop positioning though.

AGC – our infantry are only a few hexes away from the main line. Given the tactical advantage we have in the current positions, we will use our infantry to keep the wedge open, pull back our panzers for refueling while we plan the next attack. Our options are pushing forward through Smolensk to Rzhev/Vyazma, stretching the Russian lines further, or swinging south towards Bryansk in an attempt to encircle the Russians. We will have to wait until next turn before deciding.

AGS – all of our pockets held so a portion of our forces will be tasked with cleaning up the pockets. The rest will be sent eastward to push towards Kiev. We will use our panzers to clear the way for the infantry to maximize their MP, but not push far ahead to ensure that they can remain fully fueled for our encirclement attempt at Kiev.

Turn 4 Results:

AGN: This turn was mostly a turn of expanding the breach around Pskov, but mostly allowing the infantry to catch up to our Panzers. Minimal fighting occurred (only about 10k Russian casualties in the north) as we positioned our armies to end the resistance at Pskov.

AGC: Similar to AGN, this turn was about filling in our infantry into the front. We pulled most of our Panzers back off the front lines to rest a turn.

AGS: We collapsed the pocketed units as promised, netting 137k casualties and 1138 AFV while only losing 2k men and 11 AFV. It was a crushing victory for the Wehrmacht. Our panzers however, didn’t listen to instructions, and doubled back to the north of Zhitomir, punching a hole through the Soviet lines, destroying some 300 aircraft on the ground and pinning 3 armored divisions against the Pripyat swamps. Other elements advanced to within 30 miles of Kiev. It is unlikely that these units will receive much fuel in the next resupply phase, so we hope the Soviets retreat rather than move to pocket our advance units.

Russian attack report: Resistance is stiffening at the Smolensk salient. The Russians launched three attacks and were successful in pushing our troops back a hex in two of them. However, it did cost them 3700 troops and 33 AFV, while we only lost 334 troops and 5 AFV, so I’m not too worried.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #4: 34 more units destroyed for a total of 157 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 77k men (17k last turn), 550 AFV (127 last turn), 157 aircraft (47 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 888k men (196k last turn), 6234 AFV (1549 last turn), 4460 aircraft (521 last turn)

Photo Intelligence from AGC:
AGC reports that its salient is ready to explode and sent us the following tactical battle position report to demonstrate their accomplishment. However, apparently I am too new of a user to be able to post a picture. It rejected this post. Oh well...I guess you'll have to trust me that it's good!

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Post #: 7
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/31/2020 12:01:24 AM   
CapAndGown


Posts: 3206
Joined: 3/6/2001
From: Virginia, USA
Status: offline 		No picture - didn't happen.

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Post #: 8
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/31/2020 1:10:57 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

No picture - didn't happen.


So true. You must be routing for the Russians! lol! By that standard I'm still trying to decide whether or not to cross the border...

Thanks for reading!

How many men/tanks do I need to destroy before mud season? Is 3 million and 15000 tanks enough?

< Message edited by dmoose42 -- 7/31/2020 1:44:04 AM >

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Post #: 9
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/31/2020 6:51:59 AM   
tyronec


Posts: 4940
Joined: 8/7/2015
From: Portaferry, N. Ireland
Status: offline 		Three things to look at, and they are all inter dependent, are:
Where the front line is.
Strength of Axis forces.
Strength of Soviet forces.
As a rough guide, if the Soviets are below 4M by mud then Axis should be doing OK as long as the other two parameters are also reasonable.

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Post #: 10
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/31/2020 11:11:25 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		So maybe I've been going at this all wrong. I tend to focus on the number of AFV's destroyed and casualties rather than force strength, even though those two are obviously correlated. It generally seems that there's an endless supply of Russians - does capturing more cities and reducing their manpower actually have an impact on the reinforcement rate? Or should I focus on destroying armies rather than geographical conquest?

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Post #: 11
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/31/2020 12:36:14 PM   
tyronec


Posts: 4940
Joined: 8/7/2015
From: Portaferry, N. Ireland
Status: offline 		There are many Russians but not an endless supply.
You need to capture population centers to reduce their manpower AND destroy their armed forces.
There is also a limit as to how far Axis can effectively advance in '41 due to the need to stay in supply.
This is a complex game, you could look at some AARs for comparison to see how you are doing.

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Post #: 12
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/31/2020 7:40:12 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: tyronec

There are many Russians but not an endless supply.
You need to capture population centers to reduce their manpower AND destroy their armed forces.
There is also a limit as to how far Axis can effectively advance in '41 due to the need to stay in supply.
This is a complex game, you could look at some AARs for comparison to see how you are doing.


Right now, I'm focusing on the 'destroy their armed forces' aspect, particularly in the South where there's more room to maneuver. Part of the reason for this as you mention is the lack of supplies if I extend my advance too much further. This is my fourth try at the game (I know I know), but last time I definitely got caught in a grinder by my panzers advancing too quickly and then not being very effective due to the lack of fuel - and then being out of position when the mud came.

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Post #: 13
RE: My German Adventure! - 7/31/2020 7:43:28 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 5: Strategy
AGN – fuel resupply was very low. We are going to use our panzers to push back the Russian defenses and use our infantry to advance the front, hopefully pinning a number of troops at Pskov for surrender in turn 6.

AGC: Fuel resupply was also low for AGC, our goal is to use our infantry to capture Vitebsk, and push the line towards Smolensk to widen the front the undermanned Russians have to put troops against. If we can we will push south of Smolensk and use the 4th Army in a pincer movement to cross the Dnepr in strength to force the Russian retreat. While we won’t be able to pocket their army, we will likely be able to force them into a retreat where they will be easier to destroy.

AGS: The strategy of our wayward panzer leader (Herr von Kleist) appears to have paid off. The Russians appear to have launched a full scale retreat out of Zhitomir, but were stymied by Russia’s decision to transfer factories east instead of railing out their troops. If our luck holds we may be able to pocket about 15-20 units. North of Zhitomir, the three Soviet amor divisions are now in the swamp. While not destroyed, they are out of the way and a secondary objective relative to trying to pocket Zhitomir. In the South, our troops approach Odessa, which will likely be able to endure a siege for several weeks before capitulating.

Turn 5: Action

AGN: A slow turn. Our infantry caught up with our panzers and took positions to begin the push to the Luba next turn.

AGC: We captured Vitebsk and breached the Dnepr, causing Russian formations to fall back. The main bulk of the 4th army is now targeting Bryansk, while our panzer armies are preparing to surround Smolensk.

AGS: We successfully pocketed 21 divisions with only 1300 men lost and 16 AFV. The Russians lost 8100 men and 9 AFV, but the victory is in the 21 divisions pocketed, including 5 tank divisions. Another 100k+ troops that will no longer be able to resist our attack. Unfortunately, this success mean we had to abandon our pursuit of the other 3 tank divisions in the swamp, but it was a small price to pay in our opinion. Our northern flank is secure with infantry. Von Kleist’s attack has led to a crushing victory over another Soviet army.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #5: 20 more units destroyed for a total of 177 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 96k men (18k last turn), 642 AFV (92 last turn), 191 aircraft (44 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 993k men (105k last turn), 6647 AFV (923 last turn), 4689 aircraft (229 last turn)

OOB Update:
Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.5k guns, 4914 tanks, 3742 aircraft
Russia – 4.0 million soldiers, 54.0k guns, 14403 tanks, 6455 aircraft


< Message edited by dmoose42 -- 7/31/2020 7:44:02 PM >

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Post #: 14
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/4/2020 1:39:58 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 6:

AGS moved first, dropping the hammer on the Zhitomir pocket causing 154k troops and 1756 AFV’s to surrender with less than 1200 in Axis casualties and the loss of 24 AFV’s. The 6th and 19th armies then pushed east to build a line 20 miles west of Kiev in preparations for the assault on the city next turn. Our panzers assisted with the destruction of the armored units in the pocket and then were given the rest of the turn to rest and refuel. All of our panzer units are not adjacent to any enemy units to minimize attrition.

AGC continued its dual pronged assault towards Smolensk. Our panzers, with support from the 9th army, continued to push eastward, making it 20 miles east of Smolensk, and cutting the rail line to Vyazma. 100 miles south, the 4th army crossed the Dnepr in strength and pushed the red army back to the Pronya river. We left a light screening force between these two attack forces, hoping to force a Russian retreat where we can destroy them on the open fields, rather than having to attack fortified positions across a river.

AGN continued to wheel north, trapping five Soviet units at Pskov and pinning another five in the swamps of lake Pskov – a couple of these units could try and escape, but given the pressure of my ZOC, I would likely be able to pocket them next turn.

Russian Turn update: The Russians counterattacked 8 times, 5 against German forces (all repulsed), and 3 against Romanian forces who only successfully repulsed the Russians once. However, these attacks only resulted in 1056 in losses for the Axis compared to 8500 for the Russians. Based on these ratios, we hope they attack more.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #6: 30 more units destroyed for a total of 207 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 120k men (24k last turn), 802 AFV (160 last turn), 236 aircraft (45 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 1.254 million men (261k last turn), 9163 AFV (2516 last turn), 5146 aircraft (457 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.7k guns, 4723 tanks, 3742 aircraft
Russia – 3.9 million soldiers, 53.8k guns, 11605 tanks, 6337 aircraft

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Post #: 15
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/4/2020 1:43:17 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Smolensk Salient - Turn 6




Attachment (1)

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Post #: 16
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/4/2020 2:19:38 AM   
Rick402

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 3/28/2019
Status: offline 		Nice little AAR! ill be watching keep it up!

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Post #: 17
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/4/2020 2:49:53 AM   
CapAndGown


Posts: 3206
Joined: 3/6/2001
From: Virginia, USA
Status: offline 		Ooh look! A picture. Although the pixelation makes it look like a 1980s video game. What's up with that?

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Post #: 18
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/4/2020 6:05:57 AM   
Manteuffel2894

 

Posts: 10
Joined: 7/28/2020
Status: offline 		What versión of the game are u using?

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Post #: 19
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/4/2020 1:31:59 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

Ooh look! A picture. Although the pixelation makes it look like a 1980s video game. What's up with that?


Fog of War? LOL. Probably me being lazy and saving it at the wrong resolution. For some reason the picture posted at like five times the size it does when I just open it up on my computer. I'll do better next time!


quote:

ORIGINAL: Manteuffel2894

What versión of the game are u using?


1.11.03. How big of a difference is it between that and 1.12?

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Post #: 20
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/4/2020 1:34:00 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 7:

AGN moved north, striking Russian defenses south of the Luga and sending 10 divisions into shattered or routed status. We have panzers spread from the Narva river to 20 miles west of Novgorod and our scouts show no enemy troops with range. We pocketed 10 divisions in the Pskov swamps, along with 2 more divisions in routed status. We will force these to surrender next turn. We lost 700 men in the attack compared to 15k Russians (mostly POW’s).

AGS achieved another smashing victory. Our refueled panzers, after resting most of Turn 6, wheeled south advancing over a 100 miles to where the Sinyukha and Yuzhny Bug meet. This smashing attack, supported by the 17th Army to open a hole in enemy lines, caused a 50 mile wide salient 100 miles deep into enemy lines. The 11th Army then split its forces, with the Romanians swinging south to surround Odessa, and the German units swing North to meet our panzers. The result, 7 more Russian units pocketed and another 6 hopelessly pinned, and another 5 that I should be able to pocket next turn given my ZOC across the bottleneck. The 6th Army pushed forward towards Kiev, killing about 20k Russians with minimal losses, but it was more of a grinding effort. With the panzers distracted in the encirclement to the south though, this was the best we could do.

AGC struggled to push forward. Our panzers had limited supply, and the Russians are committing some of their strongest troops to this sector given that we are only 170 miles from Moscow. We have nearly encircled Smolensk (one pesky hex path for supply to trickle through). The 4th Army continued to push south, sending several divisions towards Gomel and pushing east towards Bryansk and Orel.

Russian attack turn – they only launched two attacks – one on an extended Romanian cavalry division, which quickly retreated and the other on our Smolensk pincer, which caused the soviets almost 1000 casualties before they aborted their attack with 12 losses for us.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #6: 14 units destroyed for a total of 221 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 139k men (19k last turn), 896 AFV (94 last turn), 318 aircraft (72 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 1.367 million men (113k last turn), 9401 AFV (238 last turn), 5496 aircraft (350 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4701 tanks, 3630 aircraft
Russia – 4.0 million soldiers, 54.5k guns, 11776 tanks, 6345 aircraft

(in reply to dmoose42)
Post #: 21
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/5/2020 1:03:05 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 8:
AGS goes first. We smash the first portion of the pocketed troops in the south, netting us 48k prisoners. We then completed the pocket around the additional 6 units that had pinned last turn, so we will convert them into prisoners next turn. We dropped our infantry around this pocket to replace the panzers that had locked them into place. We then turned our panzers north back towards Cherkassy and pocketed another 9 divisions. Between Cherkassy and Kiev our Panzers loosely pocketed another 9 units, although the pocket is not tight, so the Russians may be able to leak out a few units. Against Kiev, our forces pushed the Soviets back and they only control a couple hexes (including Kiev), west of the Dnepr.

AGN followed this attack by being pissed off at the Russians for slipping a corridor of units to allow for resupply of the Pskov swamp pocket. As a result, AGN threw all of its resources into a rush to sea, reaching the Gulf of Finland 40 miles west of Pushkin with our mobile units. This expanded the swamp pocket to include 22 units, allowing us to force the surrender of 10 additional units relative to our original pocket. Next turn will be fun.

AGC followed up a couple turns of slow progress with a couple of epic victories. First, our resting panzers were back to relatively high fuel reserves (35-40 MP) which allowed us to pocket 5 units defending Smolensk over two hexes. These units will not escape. Three divisions pushed forward towards Vyazma, breaking the Russian lines and are posed to push further. They are now low on fuel and Vyazma is still 40 miles away, but the Russian resistance is in tatters. South of Smolensk, our panzers pushed to meet up with the 4th army, which was pushing towards Bryansk. 7 Units were captured in a pocket that has a wall of units surrounding it. It is highly unlikely that the Russians will be able to force one of our units to retreat to free the pocket. Of the 12 units pocketed, 2 are tank divisions, which are always yummy. Our push towards Gomel slowed as we met additional resistance, but also as we shifted two divisions east to support the encirclement at the Oster river.

Russian attack turn – they Russians launched a series of counterattacks, but again they were only successful against a Romanian calvary division in the south. Overall, our troops held on (though the combat is getting closer, as many of the attacks were in the 1.2 to 1.7 range against me. We will have to start being a little more careful as to our troop positioning given that the Russians seem to be gaining strength in terms of combat readiness.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #8: 18 units destroyed for a total of 239 units destroyed. (this includes 21 armor, 11 motorized, 7 calvary, and 43 infantry divisions. The rest are crap units – 95 anti-air, 12 security, 38 fortified, etc. Not that I’m not glad to be rid of them, but I try to focus on the core units destroyed).

German Losses to date: 163k men (24k last turn), 1083 AFV (187 last turn), 393 aircraft (75 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 1.545 million men (178k last turn), 10120 AFV (719 last turn), 5801 aircraft (305 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4521 tanks, 3588 aircraft
Russia – 4.0 million soldiers, 53.2k guns, 10490 tanks, 6249 aircraft

Overall, I’m happy with my progress so far. However, I do seem to be burning through tanks rather quickly, which makes me a little concerned about my future ability to smash the Russians.

(in reply to dmoose42)
Post #: 22
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/7/2020 12:56:41 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 9:
Pocketing Update:

AGN goes first…first order of business is to clean up the pocket. 143 thousand Russians are now POW’s and 527 AFV’s are history.

AGC forced 11 thousand Russians to surrender around Smolensk, but the fortified soldiers in the city look like a tough nut to crack. We decided to let them ripen for another turn. In the Oster pocket, another 56 thousand Russians surrendered, along with another 300 AFV’s.

AGS – we knew one pocket would be able to reconnect to supply, but the Russians were able to break out of a second pocket as well. We will still be able to pocket a few units, but ultimately our plan was too ambitious and we let the Russians get away. That being said, our smaller pocket did hold, leading to the surrender of 38 thousand troops.

Axis Attack: Overall we acquired 200k Russian prisoners in our pockets along with 26k dead and 22k disabled for a total damage inflicted of 248k men and 894 AFV’s. This is before we begin our offensive operations for the week.

German attack: AGS then pushed forward. Its panzers full of fuel, half the Army reclosed the pocket that we had let slip open, tightening the pocket on 16 divisions. They will not escape this time. The other half of the Army sped southward between Kirovograd and Krivoi Rog, capturing significant amounts of land and disrupting dozens of Soviet airfields, causing 511 aircraft losses, most of the them on the ground. Our infantry rushed in behind, filling the gap, and pocketing 3 more stranded Russian units.

While we have been busy pocketing and destroying Russian units, Kiev has remained in Russian hands. We cleaned up some of the units around the city, and after we liquidate the pockets next turn, we will focus on isolating Kiev for its destruction and capture.

AGC: Our progress slowed after a great victory last week, with our units still 40 miles from Vyazma. That being said, we made significant progress towards Bryansk (only 50 miles away now) and tightened our grip on Smolensk, with the closest Russian 50 miles away. The surrounded enemies troops will likely surrender next turn. Our troops continued their push south as well, following the Russian withdrawal to the gates of Gomel. We’ll see if the Russians further retreat in the face of our armies.

AGN: A significant amount of AGN’s time this week was spent cleaning up the Pskov swamp pocket, which limited our offensive actions this turn. That being said, we used our mainline forces to inflict damage on the Russians, and gained a toehold on the ridges southwest of Leningrad. We are feeling confident about our ability to crack the main Russian line next week.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #9: 59 units destroyed for a total of 298 units destroyed. We got an additional 3 armor, 2 motorized, and 25 infantry divisions this turn. It will take the Russians some time to replace those losses.

German Losses to date: 188k men (25k last turn), 1173 AFV (90 last turn), 455 aircraft (62 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 1.851 million men (306k last turn), 11369 AFV (1239 last turn), 6462 aircraft (661 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.5k guns, 4473 tanks, 3588 aircraft
Russia – 3.8 million soldiers, 52.6k guns, 9365 tanks, 6150 aircraft


< Message edited by dmoose42 -- 8/7/2020 12:57:04 PM >

(in reply to dmoose42)
Post #: 23
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/8/2020 2:05:04 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 10:

AGS’s latest pockets yielded another 140k men and 184 AFV. I believe the Russian southern front is on the verge of collapse given the staggering losses they have endured at the encirclement actions of von Kleist. As we survey the battlefield, we see more opportunities to encircle units and instruct our panzers to burn every drop while we have them on the run. AGC assaulted Smolensk, resulting in another 23k in prisoners.

Russia may be vast, but the ability of Von Kleist to pocket enemy formations in the south is unmatched. From an OOB perspective, this drops the Russians to 3.68 million in the field.

AGS moves first, capturing Nikolaev, pushing to within 30 miles of the Dnepr east of Nikolaev, and pocketing 7 units around the Yuzhny Bug. Further north, we captured Krivoi Rog, and the leading elements are 50 miles from Dnepropetrovsk. In the Kiev battle, we have the city nearly surrounded, as our units were under heavy fire crossing the Dnepr and multiple units lined up to assault Cherkassy next turn. The difficulty of crossing the Dnepr has really slowed our advance in this sector.

After liquidating the prisoners, AGN wheeled east, as the Russians heavily fortified positions in front of our main attack last turn. Concentrating our panzers into a single attacking force, we blew through the Russian lines south of Kolpino and where able to follow through with our motorized divisions to seize the hills overlooking Leningrad. Our troops are slightly overextended to make this breach in the Russian lines, as our infantry are a couple of hexes behind our mobile units, but we are in good position to crush the Russian resistance and force them to retreat into the city.

AGC had a fabulous turn after a slow infantry advance last turn. Our infantry punched a hole in the Russian lines between the Ugra river and Bryansk, a gap nearly 100 miles wide. Through this hole streamed the 3rd panzer group, which through the hole, swung north to capture Vyazma and create a salient 50 miles wide. The 2nd panzer group, stationed northeast of Smolensk, then attacked at the head of Dnepr, driving a wedge in the Russian lines and then striking southeast in a pincer movement to meet up with the 3rd panzer group. This attack caught 13 Russian divisions (including 2 armor) in a pocket that is now 50 miles deep. It is unlikely that the Russians will be able to free this pocket. Our commanders sent the attached picture demonstrating AGC's prowess (clearly their prowess does not extend to photography).

Casualty report:
End of Turn #10: 29 units destroyed for a total of 327 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 211k men (23k last turn), 1283 AFV (110 last turn), 492 aircraft (37 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.113 million men (262k last turn), 11913 AFV (544 last turn), 6742 aircraft (280 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.42 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4454 tanks, 3647 aircraft
Russia – 3.74 million soldiers, 50.7k guns, 8771 tanks, 6405 aircraft





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< Message edited by dmoose42 -- 8/8/2020 2:06:46 AM >

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Post #: 24
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/8/2020 2:28:20 AM   
CapAndGown


Posts: 3206
Joined: 3/6/2001
From: Virginia, USA
Status: offline 		You need to send Leni Riefenstahl to the front to do your photography.

(in reply to dmoose42)
Post #: 25
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/10/2020 12:56:50 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

You need to send Leni Riefenstahl to the front to do your photography.


Definitely. Though I'm pretty sure an intern would do a better job than I!

(in reply to CapAndGown)
Post #: 26
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/10/2020 12:59:28 AM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 11:

AGN surveyed the battlefield and decided to continue to push east, gaining 20-30 miles towards the Volkhov. Losses were minor (about 1500 men), but minimal losses were inflicted on the Soviets as well (about 8000). It looks like taking Leningrad will be a tough proposition. The leaders of the 16th and 18th armies were seen arguing about which army would suffer the most losses. We really want to take Leningrad, but if we can swing around and capture the Lake Lagoda ports to cut of supply, that may be our only option. This wasn’t our best turn, but it is what it is.

AGC struck next, destroying the pocketed soldiers from last turn, netting about 88k in soldiers and over 200 AFV’s. AGC notes that Russian resistance in the central front has basically collapsed with no troops west of the Bolva river near Bryansk. The Russians do appear to be putting together a defensive line at the Moskva river, but Kaluga and Tula appear basically undefended. Our panzers are low on fuel, so we can’t take full advantage of this opening this turn, but we will burn all of the fuel we have pushing our advantage. In relatively limited action, our infantry captured Bryansk, displacing a couple Russian units and our soldiers ended up within 20 miles of Kaluga, and about 70 miles from Moscow.

AGS is contemplating its options. The Russians attempted to withdraw from Kiev, but with our panzers full of fuel we may attempt to encircle them, rather than attempt a frontal assault. In the south, apparently our Nikolaev pocket was able to escape via the Black sea, but there are only nonimal Russian forces between our lines and the Dnepr. With luck, we can reach the Dnepr, begin to lay siege to Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye, from which we will have to decide if we want to push north towards Kharkov, or bypass Kharkov to capture Stalino. However, after a careful evaluation of our supply lines, we decided that a large push east this turn would extend our supply lines too much. Instead, we used our panzers to loop around Kiev, pocketing 6 more units (one armored), and advancing our infantry as far as there would go. Additionally, we pushed forward to Dnepr along the Cherkassy/Dnepropetrovsk line. The Russians have set up fortifications across the north side of the Dnepr here. Part of me hopes they stay, in which I can use my Kiev force to encircle them from behind. Keeping their forces pinned here will prevent them from putting up any resistance south of Dnepropetrovsk where my troops have reached the Dnepr with limited Russian intervention.

Soviet Report: The Russians launched a number of counterattacks, mostly unsuccessful, and none in the south. We lost about 1000 men compared to over 10k for the Russians (31 AFV vs. 180 AFV), but they did put a serious dent in one of our panzer divisions near Leningrad – so we’ll see what impact that has going forward.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #11: 25 units destroyed for a total of 352 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 233k men (22k last turn), 1408 AFV (125 last turn), 527 aircraft (35 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.317 million men (204k last turn), 12874 AFV (963 last turn), 7072 aircraft (330 last turn)





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Post #: 27
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/10/2020 7:01:27 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		TURN 12:
KIEV SURRENDERS! Another 51k troops are taken off the map. AGS then blasted its full might through the Dnepr past Kiev, our panzers opening up a 100 mile gap in the Russian lines, and capturing Sumy and Poltava, and only 80 miles from Kharkov. Additionally, we were able to pocket an additional 6 Russian units north of Cherkassy and 3 more between Cherkassy and Dnepropetrovsk. Further south, we have units bordering both Dneproptrovsk and Zaporozhye, and breached the Dnepr just north of the Crimea. The attached picture shows our progress in the South.

AGC agonized over striking towards Moscow – we could probably get within 30-40 miles or swinging north and trying to capture Rzhev and encircle more Russians. After some deliberation, and the realization that the temperatures are starting to get cooler now that we are in September, we struck north with our panzers, encircling Rzhev, and along with it, 12 russian units. They should help us feed our soldiers next turn. This attack expended all of our reserves, and left our front lines between Bryansk and Vyazma only with units every other hex. The Russians are too weak to attack in a meaningful way along this front, but we lack the unit density to make much progress. Separately we also surrounded a couple more units at Velikie Luki, which will fall next turn.

AGN: We decided to hedge our bets in the North. The Russians are fairly strong in the north, with some hexes displaying defensive values in the 60-70 range. These would be costly to take. Currently, we are fortifying our soldiers in the hills south of Leningrad – between fortified zones and the hilly terrain, we should be able to repulse any Russian counter-attack, and we are repositioning our forces to strike east, with the goal of surrounding Leningrad (boy this is sounding familiar). While getting the Finns in the war in a more serious way will certainly help, we also are pinning down a serious portion of the Russian strength here as they have collapsed in front of AGC and AGS.

Before heading onto the current stats, I am cautiously optimistic about being able to capture Moscow in 1941. That being said, I’m very conflicted about whether or not to push for it. It very like may have to come in the snow turns before the blizzard – is it worth it to over-extend my lines in that way? I will post more pictures as I go. Any advice is welcome.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #12: 13 units destroyed for a total of 365 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 254k men (21k last turn), 1505 AFV (97 last turn), 597 aircraft (70 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.436 million men (119k last turn), 13570 AFV (696 last turn), 7410 aircraft (338 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.46 million soldiers, 33.8k guns, 4785 tanks, 3522 aircraft
Russia – 3.74 million soldiers, 51.4k guns, 6891 tanks, 6900 aircraft





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(in reply to dmoose42)
Post #: 28
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/10/2020 7:03:21 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 13:
AGC struck first, capturing Velikie Luki and some 17k prisoners. However, the Russians were able to penetrate the Rzhev pocket – I was able to recircle it, but two units were able to escape (I had to rout them to efficiently close the pocket again. Western Moscow is only 30 miles away from my lead elements now and we have infantry next to Kaluga and two hexes away from Orel. Towards Velikie Luki we push our panzers NW from Rzhev to nearly encircle a pocket with 10-15 Russian units in it. We were disappointed that we couldn’t close the pocket (a couple of unfavorable rolls), but without any rail lines, we will be able to get these units surrounded next turn. While I could push harder to take Moscow before the mud, we made the decision to defer that attack if opportunities to obtain more encirclements are there. We are hoping that this will weaken the Russians’ winter offensive.

AGS struck second, consolidating the pocket north of Cherkassy and gaining some 35k prisoners and 200 AFV’s. In the other three small pockets we nabbed an additional 28k prisoners. Overall, there was minimal fighting as we advanced basically unimpeded, reaching Kharkov with two armor divisions and only 20 miles from Kursk. The south has turned into a footrace to see if the Russians can outrun my troops east. North of Kiev we pocketed a few divisions around Chernigov that will take a turn or two to clean up. The Russians are probably sacrificing these troops in the hopes that they hold up my advance.

AGN continued to engage in trench warfare with the Russians, launching deliberate attacks from multiple hexes to dislodge the Russian defenders. We did split off a couple of divisions from Leningrad on the Gulf of Finland – but they will continue to be in beachhead supply. We also pushed east slightly, but our biggest progress was causing about 12 Russian units to rout, hopefully positioning us better for next turn. At this point, we’re optimistic that we can clear out the Russian defenders in front of Leningrad by the mud season, and push east to cut off their supply, hopefully allowing us to take the city during the snow turns.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #13: 30 units destroyed for a total of 395 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 276k men (22k last turn), 1616 AFV (111 last turn), 685 aircraft (88 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.599 2.436 million men (163k last turn), 14519 AFV (949 last turn), 7654 aircraft (244 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.44 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4730 tanks, 3531 aircraft
Russia – 3.77 million soldiers, 51.8k guns, 6026 tanks, 7121 aircraft





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(in reply to dmoose42)
Post #: 29
RE: My German Adventure! - 8/10/2020 7:04:09 PM   
dmoose42

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 7/30/2020
Status: offline 		Turn 13 - Rzhev encirclement




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Post #: 30
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