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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR

 
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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/17/2022 8:08:42 AM   
golden delicious


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quote:

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

When do you anticipate the start of the mud season? Soon?


I thought it was turn 80 but I checked the briefing and it's due turn 82, which is just as well as I have a lot of low supply units mired at the end of their supply line, especially in the north.

It's a bit of a bizarro situation at the moment: my forces are vastly stronger that those opposing them, but I can't just lunge forward because they'll get caught out when the supply situation collapses.

Once the mud phase is over, all that's going to change. I'll have 35 or so straight turns before the weather changes again and there won't be any more holding back. Everyone will basically just charge east like they did in 1941.

< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/17/2022 11:23:18 AM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/18/2022 5:32:06 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 78 and AGS has more or less reached an equilibrium, where rested units are replacing tired units at a stable rate, so I'm moving forward slowly, systematically cutting off and destroying isolated Soviet units as I encounter them. The railhead from Voronezh is now being pushed south as I intend to have a southward bias in my general advance in 1942 so that I can occupy the whole Caucasus in a single season Further south, the railhead is rapidly approaching Rostov so I should be in a good place for this operation when the time comes.

My outline for the Summer campaign is for AGS to occupy the Caucasus as stated, with AGC moving to occupy the line of the Volga from somewhere south of Saratov to Kazan. AGN will be responsible for everything north of the Volga, with the hope of occupying Archangel. This is a vast front but only three rail lines cross it which should make it defensible.




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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/18/2022 5:53:41 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		I think we can do with an extra visual here. On the screen this looks like a ludicrous amount of ground for AGS to cover- Rostov to Baku is about 115 hexes as the Ju-88 flies. However, the distance covered from the Rumanian border is already 75 hexes, I don't anticipate anything like the heavy resistance as I had in the first part of the 1941 campaigning season, and I'll be starting earlier. If necessary, Soviet holdouts in the Transcaucasus can be left to 1943, but I intend to occupy the whole Caspian coast so that they are isolated.

For AGC, the job is relatively easy, with less than forty hexes to cover to the Volga in most places, although this is elongated by the shift southwards. The furthest objective- Kazan- is more like 50 hexes away. Depending on how things go, AGC may expand its frontage to take the pressure off AGS. Certainly I intend for AGC to have the strength to occupy Kuybyshev (on the far bank of the Volga), which is now the Soviet capital.

AGN arguably has the most difficult job, of covering sixty hexes to Archangel through difficult terrain and with bad communications. However, they'll be aided by the Finns at Belomorsk, which are considerably closer even considering the torturous route they must follow. In any event, should I have difficulty during the season, AGN's objectives will be first to be cut.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/18/2022 6:02:56 PM >

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Post #: 123
RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/19/2022 3:11:02 AM   
sPzAbt653


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quote:

AGN arguably has the most difficult job, of covering sixty hexes to Archangel through difficult terrain and with bad communications.

But once you take Vologda, the Soviets will have trouble reinforcing Archangel, because the link to Inta and Vorkuta isn't enough to fend off a serious Axis assault.

I looked for a Jump Map but didn't see one in my folders and I'm too lazy right now to make one, but attached is another form of map that can be used for planning, if you like.




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Post #: 124
RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/19/2022 9:26:25 AM   
golden delicious


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quote:

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

But once you take Vologda, the Soviets will have trouble reinforcing Archangel, because the link to Inta and Vorkuta isn't enough to fend off a serious Axis assault.


Yes- it's the "serious Axis assault" part that's the problem. At the moment I have four railheads and if I want to run them out to their logical destinations of Baku, Stalingrad, Kazan and Archangel that's a total of (very roughly) 325 hexes. I repair 12 hexes a turn which makes that 27 turns worth of rail repair, even if my engineers are 100% efficient at staying on target. This doesn't allow much margin of error, so this may mean I have to divert rail engineers from AGN down to AGS. It's also notable that if I want to do such a transfer, everything still has to go back via Poland as there are no perpendicular rail routes whatsoever- though I may get some way towards constructing some during the Spring mud phase when I'm not expecting to advance at all.

As I've stated already in the AAR, my priority (like Hitler's) will be the supply boosts from Caucasus oil, to mitigate the very difficult Axis supply situation. I can live with the Soviets holding Archangel if I get Baku.

quote:

I looked for a Jump Map but didn't see one in my folders and I'm too lazy right now to make one, but attached is another form of map that can be used for planning, if you like.


Thanks. I essentially planned this out in my head and then mapped it out for the benefit of the AAR

< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/19/2022 9:27:19 AM >

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Post #: 125
RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/19/2022 5:53:46 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 79 and AGN has occupied Yaroslavl. This is the first industrial city I've captured since Rostov in mid-October, more than 40 turns ago. Vologda is next, just three hexes from AGN's other main spearhead, albeit this is a very long way from my railheads at this point so the Soviets may be able to hold it until after the mud. As stated, most of AGN's attention will be focused in this direction, with only minor forces supporting AGC northern flank as far as Gorky.

Otherwise, things are largely winding down as I prepare for the poor weather conditions due to start in 3 turns.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/19/2022 5:54:23 PM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/20/2022 5:36:32 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 80 and AGC is finally clearing the last Soviet units west of what was originally planned as my Winter stopline in this sector, along the Tsna river. The railhead is still pretty far from the front here (10 hexes northwest of Ryazhsk), so with the strong position on the super river here I may choose to hold in place while AGC advances by its left flank to Gorky. This will put the Volga on my north flank, making it easier to concentrate the AG's whole strength on the push east towards Kazan, Kuybyshev and Saratov. A final decision will be made when the mud dries around turn 90.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/20/2022 5:37:52 PM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/21/2022 4:37:26 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 81, the last turn before the Autumn mud phase. AGS has carried out a final Winter offensive operation south of Rostov, eliminating the Soviet line blocking the main rail south into the Caucasus. As far as I'm aware my guys still repair 12 hexes of rail a turn despite the mud, so it's important that they be able to push this route as far forward as possible before the Summer campaign season starts, as this will allow me to stage forces forward and reduce the distance I have to cover to Baku. Otherwise, everyone is pretty much hunkering down for the flood.




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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/22/2022 6:08:12 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 82 and the mud arrives on cue. Well, actually there's no mud as the hexes are still frozen, but both forces have 75% shock and there are refugee effects everywhere severely slowing down road movement. No movement bias yet [turns out this arrives on turn 83].

AGN is pretty much at full stretch and will be resting throughout the mud phase. Vologda is right on the frontline but I definitely don't have the strength to take it, unless not until I've eliminated the sizeable pocket which I formed when advancing up to it, between Lake Kubenskoye and the river Sheksna. This itself will have to wait until at least some of my units are out of reorganisation.

This hunkering down for the mud is pretty much universal across the map, except outside Rostov as previously shown. I need to rest through the mud as operations are so difficult, but my situation is nothing like so dire as it was during the Autumn mud, as very few of my units are low on supplies. As such, my strength should build considerably over the next 8 turns, now that the winter pestilence effect has ended- I'm hoping for an extra 3k Heavy Rifle Squads assigned when Summer arrives, an increase of nearly 10%.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/22/2022 6:10:02 PM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/23/2022 4:04:35 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		AGC parked up along the rail line northeast of Moscow, waiting for the weather to improve, turn 83.

Although supply radius is back down to 2, force supply is five points higher than it was during the Autumn mud, which makes it faster for my units to recover, as well as giving me very slightly more reach in terms of fully supplied hexes. Even so, any unit more than 3 hexes by road from a rail hex is currently overextended.




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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/24/2022 5:38:09 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		AGS's north wing on turn 84. This is one of the biggest sectors in terms of units pushed well forward of the railhead. Everything past Bobrov is Overextended and, like in the Autumn, there are a fair number of drained units pulling back to the rail to rebuild. The good news here is that the railhead is moving forward to meet them- in fact on some turns the railhead moves faster than leg infantry, which in these conditions are often limited to two hexes per turn.

While I wait out the mud, the units on the line here are only advancing opportunistically, taking RBCs where I can get them. There's a few bridges to fix and the railhead needs to be advanced east, so there's no pressure at all to attack in unfavourable circumstances.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/24/2022 5:39:46 PM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/25/2022 5:27:20 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 85 and the Finno-German forces on the White Sea coast are engaged in another of my local offensive actions while the mud persists. The Soviet force here is really quite substantial and with the railhead almost advanced all the way to the front, I'm attempting to put the whole of it out of supply with a deep flanking move. I don't anticipate I can turn this into a pocket because the terrain is so difficult and my own advantage is very slight, but I should be able to hammer the Soviets when they go unsupplied, and use the opportunity to push a bit down the rail line.

Incidentally, the rail joined up here at Belomorsk means that the north Finland and south Finland rail nets are now joined up. I intend to also build a link from southern Karelia to AGN's rail line, but so far the auto RR repair has stubbornly refused to bridge the super river that forms the Finnish stopline, and I may have to divert via Leningrad. Once this is done I can send 43. Bautrupp south, as well as having the means to easily transfer some of the German forces currently in Karelia to other fronts if need be.




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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/25/2022 7:32:28 PM   
sPzAbt653


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quote:

auto RR repair has stubbornly refused to bridge the super river

The hex does have to be occupied in order to get it auto-repaired. Any type of unit will do.

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/25/2022 8:00:20 PM   
rhinobones

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

The hex does have to be occupied in order to get it auto-repaired. Any type of unit will do.


Am I reading this right . . . the broken rail hex needs to be occupied by a friendly unit before an automatic rail repair is performed?

If so, paragraph 12.5. Railroad Repair (Advanced Rules) of the civilian manual needs to be edited.

Regards


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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/26/2022 5:54:12 AM   
sPzAbt653


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Status: offline 		This concerns 'impassable' terrain, such as Major River or Badlands.

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/26/2022 8:40:21 AM   
golden delicious


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quote:

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

quote:

auto RR repair has stubbornly refused to bridge the super river

The hex does have to be occupied in order to get it auto-repaired. Any type of unit will do.


Handy to know. One of the river patrol units is on that river network so I'll see if that works.

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/26/2022 5:25:59 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 86 and the mud continues. With a secure line on the Tsna, now in full flood from the snowmelt, AGC's southern wing is free to rest at the railheads with just six divisions forward between Ryazan and Tambov (a frontage of over 30 hexes including the bend formed by the Oka-Tsna rivers), with the rest strung back along the ever-advancing rail line. I don't think it will be necessary to wait until I've pushed to Gorky in the north before starting off here, but it will take a few turns to get everything forward once its rested, so the advance in this sector (towards Kuybyshev and ultimately Kazan) will start a bit later in the season.




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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/27/2022 7:56:12 AM   
golden delicious


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quote:

ORIGINAL: golden delicious


quote:

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

quote:

auto RR repair has stubbornly refused to bridge the super river

The hex does have to be occupied in order to get it auto-repaired. Any type of unit will do.


Handy to know. One of the river patrol units is on that river network so I'll see if that works.


It worked! This'll save me quite a few rail repair hexes to join up the Finnish front with AGN.

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/27/2022 5:56:52 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 87 and AGS has cleared away most of the forces blocking the route south, but a rifle division is still fortified directly on the rail line and will need to be cleared as soon as possible to avoid holding things up. Once that's done, AGS will co-ordinate with the mixed force that's being built up in the Taman peninsula, and together push to Maykop, then on to Grozny.




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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/29/2022 4:35:35 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Turn 88, and the PO made the rather unfortunate decision to attack with the rifle division which had been holding Vologda, so I'm able to simply walk into the city this turn, a good deal earlier than I had been expecting given my really bad supply situation up here. The southern wing of AGN is aiming to rectify that by clearing the rail line between here and Yaroslavl, allowing me to push my railhead rapidly up toward Archangel.

AGC is not having the same level of success clearing the rail, with a couple of stubborn units blocking further advance towards Gorky, but the distance is so short that it shouldn't really matter. Instead I'm diverting rail engineers south for the route towards Kuybyshev, which is still ten hexes back from the front.




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"What did you read at university?"
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Post #: 140
RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/30/2022 3:04:05 PM   
golden delicious


Posts: 5575
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Status: offline 		Turn 89 and nominal force supply is back up to 25, bringing more units up to their full stockpile ready for the Spring offensive. AGC is slowly picking its way east towards the immediate objective of Gorky; the terrain here is pretty difficult with the rail not following a road and then the front narrowing dramatically as we approach the city itself, so I expect I'll need to flank the city from north and south if the PO makes any serious effort to defend it. From my experience at Yaroslavl and Vologda, though, I don't expect to find any particularly strong Soviet presence here and may just be able to walk in.

The end of the pestilence effect a few turns back plus the lack of combat has allowed my strength to build considerably, and I'm now up to 38k Heavy Rifle Squads. This has been more or less my baseline strength since early in the scenario. A lot of new German divisions arrive over the Winter however and the same number of squads that represented a full OOB on turn 10 add up to one at 80% strength on turn 89- the typical German infantry division has about 240/300 HRS. The Rumanians are similar, but the Finns are more like 60%.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 1/30/2022 3:08:24 PM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 1/31/2022 6:30:46 PM   
golden delicious


Posts: 5575
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Status: offline 		Turn 90 finally arrives with the promised end of the Spring mud. The shock is gone, there's no movement bias and my supply radius is respectable, but there's still a refugee effect over most of the map so movement by road is still at half rate. Nevertheless my guys have been straining at the leash rather too long and so across the front they now surge ahead trapping Soviet divisions mostly in single hex pockets.

AGC and AGN are opposed reasonably strongly and it'll take a turn or two to push past the screen of pieces the PO has forward, but in the south it's another matter, with wide open steppe country between me and my first major objective at Maykop. 11. Panzer closes almost half this distance in a single turn; it looks like this one will be easy. It's considerably further to the next stop at Grozny, however, and that city currently contains a stack of four rifle divisions, more than the whole Soviet force north of the Kuban River.




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"What did you read at university?"
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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/3/2022 5:45:20 PM   
golden delicious


Posts: 5575
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Status: offline 		Turn 91 and the refugee effect is gone. The Soviets get a Spring offensive boost, too, shifting the shock ratio from 105/98 to 105/110 against me, but I'm strong enough across the board that I'm going to ignore this and press on, as I only have so many turns before the next weather effects in the Autumn. In general this pays off but I do notice the PO is pretty active on its turn and a few of my more exposed units get tossed around a bit, in particular one Hungarian division which lost about half its strength. In general though I'm back on my 1941 pattern: panzers dash forward, put Soviet units out of supply, infantry comes up to replace the panzers, artillery crushes the trapped units, repeat.

It turns out I was ultimately able to cut off the whole Soviet force on the White Sea Coast, so the road is more or less wide open there. Trouble is, after Onega the rail runs off into the taiga, and the road to Archangel is perhaps too long to support a direct push on its own. We'll see.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 2/3/2022 5:48:35 PM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/3/2022 6:02:14 PM   
larryfulkerson


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quote:

one Hungarian division which lost about half its strength.

How many Hungarian units are there in this division? Is it still combat
ready, or will it be in a couple of turns of rest? Which division is it?




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< Message edited by larryfulkerson -- 2/3/2022 6:03:37 PM >

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/4/2022 11:45:20 AM   
golden delicious


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quote:

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

How many Hungarian units are there in this division? Is it still combat
ready, or will it be in a couple of turns of rest? Which division is it?



I can look up the specifics this evening- but it's one of the regular leg infantry divisions which is sent from Hungary over the Winter 1941-2. As these units were new and fresh they went straight into a screen between the Don and Donetsk during the Winter, an area which was previously wide open.

The division is pretty much a wreck after being pushed around by the Soviets for an entire turn, and unfortunately it is pretty stuck and can't be extracted yet. It's possible the Soviets will continue to hammer it and even destroy it, but the Hungarian deployment here (just north of the Don Bend) is on the south flank of a mid-sized grouping of Soviet units which are also being pressed by German troops from the north and I hope to put the whole lot in the bag, which would take the pressure off and allow this unit to be pulled back to the nearest railhead, which is at least 15 hexes distant from here.

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/4/2022 5:24:13 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Here's the poor guy - 20th Hungarian Infantry division. In fact at this point in the turn I've almost finished mopping up the Soviet forces which were north and northwest of here and as you can see the Axis pretty much dominates this area, and much of the rest of 2nd Hungarian Army has moved up to support, but 20th Division is still pretty vulnerable adjacent to it's namesake, the powerful 20th Guards Rifle Division, and backed against the Don river

You can see in this screenshot what a happy, healthy Hungarian Infantry division looks like. 12th Division is a 7-8 even though it's barely at 50% supply. But 20th Division is down to a 2-2, with just 60 combat squads and 12 artillery pieces. It's possible it'll be destroyed on the PO's next turn.




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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/4/2022 5:51:31 PM   
golden delicious


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Status: offline 		Oof, I was right. Just ran the next Soviet turn and 20th GRD annihilated 20th Hungarian in a series of attacks.

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RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/8/2022 5:52:05 PM   
golden delicious


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From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
Status: offline 		Turn 92 and the offensive is accelerating. I forgot to mention that already on turn 91 the recon battalion of 11. Panzer entered Maykop; the Soviets hit it a couple of times trying to recapture but were unsuccessful and now the city is secured by 60. Motorised Infantry. This gives me a handy (if rather unrealistic given the extent of Soviet demolitions) +1 force supply immediately; given the criticality of supply in this scenario I'm happy about this and looking forward to more bonuses later on, but it's a long way from here to Grozny. It's clear by now I'm massively ahead of the historical German advance, and I note that historically Maykop was not occupied until August (it's now May)

In other news, lead elements of 7. Panzer are in the outskirts of Gorky and I may be able to take the city next turn. Across much of the front, though, I'm still working on cutting off and eliminating advanced Soviet positions, so in most places my forces have not advanced more than 100km or so since the weather changed.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 2/8/2022 5:53:42 PM >

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Post #: 148
RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/10/2022 6:00:28 PM   
golden delicious


Posts: 5575
Joined: 9/5/2000
From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
Status: offline 		Turn 93 and AGN's initial surge up the road from Vologda in the direction of Archangel has bogged down somewhat due to lack of supply. Soviet resistance here remains very light, with only battered fragments blocking my advance, but even with a supply unit forward my lead units are overextended, so I'm going to need to start cycling units back and forth from the railhead (still nine hexes short of Vologda) as I was doing during the late Winter offensive. Fortunately I have plenty of units to play with so this should still enable me to make progress, the bigger struggle will be to keep the flanks clear as Russian units have a bad habit of popping in and out of the taiga, where supply is even worse. For now, the joint Finnish-German force pushing out of Karelia is in much better shape as the rail is right on the front and I expect this advance to make much better progress at least until Onega where the rail and road diverge and things become more complicated.

Gorky was captured as hoped this turn so the rail repair unit from here shifts south to the line directed at Kuibyshev/Kazan. My panzers are starting to break free a bit more along the central stretch of front between Gorky and Saratov, but in places the Soviets are fairly aggressive, and 16. Motorised is very badly handled on the Soviet turn, not far from where 20th Hungarian division was destroyed the turn before. There's a huge Soviet force in reserve around Stalingrad, and under the current circumstances I'm standing on the defensive on this front only, until I achieve some of my broader objectives and bring the supply lines forward.




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 2/10/2022 6:32:11 PM >

_____________________________

"What did you read at university?"
"War Studies"
"War? Huh. What is it good for?"
"Absolutely nothing."

(in reply to golden delicious)
Post #: 149
RE: Another Barbarossa AAR - 2/11/2022 6:39:04 PM   
golden delicious


Posts: 5575
Joined: 9/5/2000
From: London, Surrey, United Kingdom
Status: offline 		Turn 94 and AGC has finished clearing the far bank of the Tsna river, leaving apparently very little Soviet opposition between it and the Volga. Again, the limiting factor here is supplies: my spearheads are already operating overextended, and while for now they haven't burned up all their supplies and so aren't suffering unduly from it, I can't continue a full-blooded offensive under these conditions. My advance will slow down considerably if the Soviets are able to oppose me with more than just scraps, until such a time as the railhead can be brought forward.

Speaking of railheads, this is how far they have to travel:
Karelian Group to Archangel: 34 hexes
AGN to Archangel: 73 hexes
AGC to Kazan: 61 hexes
Army Group B to Saratov: 43 hexes
Army Group A to Baku: 99 hexes

The Autumn mud period is due on turn 136 (another 42 turns) at which point everything off the rail net will be "overextended" and so I will need to pull most of the army back to the rail on or before that time. Typically, I'm repairing two hexes a turn on each route (except for the Karelian group where it's already at the front and can't be brought forward except after each Soviet position is cleared): at this rate the railhead will still be about 15 hexes short of Baku by turn 136. Once each objective is taken or nearly taken I'll begin drawing rail repair units off to the Caucasus Front but it's going to be tight. If I can accelerate the rail repair in the south to three hexes a turn from about turn 115 then that will do it. I should be able to add one more RR repair unit to the south in the next few turns as the Finnish rail net's connection to AGN is almost complete.

Clearly Georgia is going to have to wait as I have no excess capacity to push a rail line down the Black Sea Coast. However I'm not too concerned about this as the Caucasus Mountains should serve as a very defensible frontier to the south; I'd be a bit more concerned about an attack on the long northern front across the Steppe, especially if this threatens the rail link to Baku; ideally I would like to push a screen up to the Volga River but again I wouldn't be able to support this with a rail line. I had wanted lateral rail links to connect the fronts, too.... maybe in the Autumn?




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< Message edited by golden delicious -- 2/11/2022 6:43:25 PM >

_____________________________

"What did you read at university?"
"War Studies"
"War? Huh. What is it good for?"
"Absolutely nothing."

(in reply to golden delicious)
Post #: 150
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