RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (Full Version)

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Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/22/2012 4:09:21 AM)

1/7/43

Hooray! Rifle Corps go on sale, and we immediately build 40-ish, going on an AP spending spree. We attach a Sapper Regt. to every one built (we had built a stash of these waiting for this day).

We also formed 7 Guards Airborne Divisions, leaving 2 Para Bdes for a later drop if I am inclined.

Each turn, we make 3-5 attacks, nothing huge, but I hope to ramp it up now that I have more Rifle Corps and Artillery deployed. The Rifle Corps in particular really cleared-up alot of Command problems, as it relieves presssure on the armies.

We will probably keep grinding it out this Winter. Baelfiin's Wehrmacht topped 4 mil; it's actually growing, so we need to step-up the tempo.

I am feeding wins to a couple Mech Corps and Tank Corps to push-over to Guards status hopefully. Everyone else is building morale.

Little territory gains, just a few hexes here and there; the biggest advance is in front of Moscow where we have moved the front about 3 hexes.



Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/25/2012 2:06:37 PM)

1/21/43

With all the Rifle Corps we have now (and Artillery), we are able to up the tempo of attacks a bit. This turn, we had 20 attacks along the line with 6 helds. Of course, HELDS are very expensive, and result in alot of dead reds.

Attached are a couple shots below. Baelfiin is not counterattacking a ton, but is using alot of Reserves, which can really stop an attack (see shots). A couple times, after the first failure, I have found some units and tried again, figuring there would be no reserves the 2nd time, and the units would be tired. In this instance, Baelfiin had so many, that I took it on the chin twice. Ouch.

Other than that, we are still converting Rifle Corps, and building a few more Artillery Units. We'll just keep pounding away until Spring, and see where we are then.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/FC786CAC62734F748B0BF30B9D892701.jpg[/image]



randallw -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/25/2012 8:44:02 PM)

If you want to train up the tank corps maybe use more sure-thing infantry units to handle the load of the battle, with the tank units being there as benefactors, instead of the tank corps being the main punch of the attack.

It also didn't help you had mixed commands, paying a 30% penalty for the two corps showing in the unit list.



Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/27/2012 12:19:01 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: randallw

If you want to train up the tank corps maybe use more sure-thing infantry units to handle the load of the battle, with the tank units being there as benefactors, instead of the tank corps being the main punch of the attack.

It also didn't help you had mixed commands, paying a 30% penalty for the two corps showing in the unit list.


I do try to feed easy wins to the Mobile units. I already have 2 Guards Mech Corps, and 7 Guards Tank Corps this way.

In terms of mixed commands, at this point I would rather pay combat penalties, and use APs to build Corps. That's just me. I can lose the occasional combat because I mixed commands, it's more important, IMO, to build all the units I need for later, and get them trained up.

2/11/43:

Still more grinding. Overall, I think we are doing well, killing Germans at a good clip, and even taking territory here and there.

Have to be careful, though, not to push too far, because I can suffer a backhand blow. Here is a good example; 3 Corps down the tubes! An expensive reminder not to push it too far on the offensive, the Wehrmacht can still bite.....

[image]local://upfiles/6931/303FB3B6A63540A0BAFDFF903346AC73.jpg[/image]



Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/28/2012 2:59:04 AM)

2/18/43

The mini backhand blow at Vyazma created a brick wall of Germans. I cannot make any progress in that sector anymore.

However, further south in front of Bryansk, we are getting a good movement through the fort belt. You can see the maps below.

Tactics:

A few tactics I am using to generate attacks.

First, I have at least 2 Artillery Units now per front. Nearly all attacks include some artillery; makes a big difference.

I try to finish every turn with as many units off the line as possible. It's much easier to move Corps into attack positions if they are 1-hex back of the front to start the turn. I would suggest this to anyone; try to move units OFF the line at the end of your turn. Obviously leave something there, but I like to use Rifle Divisions for this purpose.

Tank Corps are also good for "topping off" an attack.

I have to say I am not that anal about having all units in an attack in the same command. I personally think it's more important to have Artillery, than to sweat that everyone belongs to the same Army, or even Front. I tend to mix my colors alot, and I would rather do that then spend the APs. APs should be used, IMO, for unit builds first, then leaders, then moving units between commands.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/7D9139B35CD941B79C58E15694515614.jpg[/image]



randallw -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/28/2012 5:39:53 AM)

I would figure that by now ( early 1943 ) you have leaders set up as you'd like? There should not be a lot of AP use on swapping them now.




Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/28/2012 2:57:06 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: randallw

I would figure that by now ( early 1943 ) you have leaders set up as you'd like? There should not be a lot of AP use on swapping them now.




Basically, yes. I would like a couple guys promoted that I might use on Front commands, but I have it mostly the way I want.

With the new rules, you are forced to use commanders that you wouldn't under the old C in C rules, so some Armies have less than optimal leaders. But not much you can do about that.

41 and 42 are good times to make alot of leader changes, because you don't have the AP demands on unit creation that you do later on. So, I try to work ahead on those.

Soviet players shouldn't really have an AP crisis, IMO. You can take several steps to "work ahead". Whatever you do, make sure you finish every turn with 450 APs or below, and 325 or below if a Front is coming the next turn. Make sure you spend that excess. If you are set on leaders, and feel good about where units are, you can always work ahead by creating Rifle units or whatever and stash them for later in case you lose a bunch.



sillyflower -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/28/2012 11:51:06 PM)

this game is so mirroring my game vs Baelfin's Russians. He and I are using pretty much identical strategies and tactics. I have just done to him what he did to you - surrounding 5 mech corp3 (3 gd) and 1 tank corps with 3 rows of germans between them and his inf corps front line, + a few corps routs to create the pocket. I will be rather disappointed if he gets out.

We are in sept '43 and this is the first time in ages he's been bold and I'm slightly suprised he did it just after seeing how it could fail.

[image]local://upfiles/35790/25E07E293758432DB892FD3F99DA184D.jpg[/image]

sorry picture is a bit cr#p but I'm useless at this sort of thing and i can't post it on any of my AARs as Baefiin has acess to them [:D]



Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/29/2012 7:15:24 PM)

Interesting, I didn't know you guys were in Sept '43. It looks like you are grinding it out west of Kursk there, hard to tell where I look vs. that game.

Certainly, I am grinding pretty well right now; the last turn the Germans had more losses than I did, and many of our attacks were successful. No breakthroughs, just pushing here and there.

We are in mid-February, so Baelfiin will get a break shortly with Mud, then when the Rivers thaw his situation will also improve. (Clear will help me move more units into attack position, but I would rather have Frozen rivers myself)



sillyflower -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (2/29/2012 10:17:47 PM)

We have been having our '43 summer furball not many miles from the historical location. Early snow is good - reduced russian attack movement but I still have river defences. I'll have to nag B to post a map



Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (3/6/2012 2:09:30 AM)

3/11/43

The Winter Offensive continues.

I haven't posted much, but it's really been a grind. I think at this stage, the Soviet Player isn't looking for breakthroughs at all. You are just looking for wins; cheap wins, wins that take whole stacks, whatever....just get some wins. It builds morale and guards, and sets up the Red Army for later, when you have better morale and experience. Just kill Germans, and get wins, the rest will come.

Despite that, I have taken some territory; at most 3-4 hexes, mostly because Baelfiin pulled back after getting flanked.

I'll have to pick-up the pace later, but right now it's just about bloody fighting.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/2121015DB71448B5922E799CC65C14B0.jpg[/image]



JAMiAM -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (3/6/2012 2:25:43 AM)

Regarding the gapped defenses...

If you do attack the stacks, make sure that you're infiltrating the gaps first. This will reduce the chance of reserves committing to the defense, as the MP cost of moving through your ezoc will be factored into the check. Even if you're just pushing in some "throwaway" unit, like a tank brigade. Better yet, would be some cavalry corps so that they can help support a deliberate attack against the hex. The other thing this does is to reduce the number of allowable retreat hexes, so you're more likely to get a multi-hex retreat out of the defenders if you dislodge them.

If you're ready to attack the hex - infiltrate!



Q-Ball -> RE: Attacking the Eastern Wall (3/17/2012 6:58:47 PM)

6'/3/43

It's been awhile since I posted on this game; mostly, it's about building the Red Army and assaulting the German Wall of Defenses

We are making progress on both. I am really trying to max-out my capabilities as well as German casualties.

German Defenses:

Baelfiin has a very straight line, is well dug-in, and is making extensive use of Reserves. He is using them very well, almost every unit not on the front line is in RESERVE status.

To counter this, I need to make sure I have extra odds, and Artillery, on every attack. Generally, we are still getting successful pushes, though some costly failures are also mixed-in.

I try to end the turn with most Corps 1-hex back of the line. This allows for flexibility in where they are committed, and max MPs when they get there. When an attack fails, I try again on the same hex, because usually it's vulnerable.

At this point, I am NOT sending very many Tank units through the line. This is not the stage to try for a breakthrough; at this stage, I just want wins to raise Soviet morale, and whittle away at the Germans. Breakthroughs can't come until the Wehrmacht is knocked back a couple pegs.

Red Army:

My OOB is in good shape, though I would like more tanks on the map. I have built 21 Tank Corps, and I don't think I'll build more of those, saving the Vehicles for new Mech Corps. I hope to eventually create about 20 Mech Corps. 4 of them are already guards.

All Mobile units are maxed-out with 3 attachments. So far, Rifle Corps only have Sappers attached, but I am going to start working on attaching an SU Regt to every Rifle Corps to give them tank support. SU Regts are pretty cheap in terms of Vehicles, about 100 per, and of course there are plenty of AFVs in the pool. I'll mix-in some Sep Tank Regts as well. I would like to get to 15,000 AFV in the field.

At this point, the main objective is building morale. All but 1 Cav unit is Guards, and I am up to 105 Guards Divisions, and approx. 40 Guards Corps. I have a few Guards Divisions still to combine to Guards Corps. I have 8 Guards Tank Corps, and 4 Guards Mech Corps.

[image]local://upfiles/6931/779BB96990C44F998D5A8F159B527107.jpg[/image]



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