RE: T59 (Full Version)

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xhoel -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 12:16:01 AM)

Sevastopol Rant

I am really disappointed with the way things went in Sevastopol. I knew from the beginning that the Soviet forces would rout and had made peace with that. However in the last 2 turns the opportunity presented itself to destroy said forces by forcing them to surrender and I felt like I was being rewarded for continuing the fight for the city. However a combination of my mistakes and wrong rules in the manual lead to a situation where all 3 formations escaped without any serious losses. It felt as if a victory was snatched from my hands and the main culprit was myself.

With that being said, I do not like the way routs by sea are conducted. They are unrealistic and it is something that affects both sides (Germans are affected in 1941-42 and Soviets are affected in 1943-45). In this case the Soviet formations should have taken heavy losses considering that this is a massive evacuation by sea, that is being conducted from a heavily damaged port (60%+ damage) in the face of massive enemy pressure on both ground and air. They did not, they routed to safety, teleporting where they needed to be.

I relied heavy on the manual while planning my moves. According to the rules, routed units will displace to the hex containing their HQ or adjecent to it if the HQ is less than 10 hexes away. This was not the case here, the Coastal Army HQ was more than 10 hexes away. In this case, the units would displace to a town less than 24 hexes away. The possible locations shown below fulfilled the criteria: Anapa and Temryuk (even though this one doesn't make sense considering the fact that the Germans hold Kerch).

The rules also state that said routing units will not displace to a hex that has a non isolated enemy units within two hexes. I assumed that was the case and did not take Anapa but put a motorized division 2 hexes away. As I found out, the rule is incorrect and the Soviets displaced to the hex. If I had taken Anapa, the Soviets would have displaced to Temryuk and I could have isolated them (which would have been gamey and not really to my taste).

[img]https://i.imgur.com/UzF264O.jpg[/img]

[image]local://upfiles/57112/AA3EF445FA0A40BFB4972F94CB0FD898.jpg[/image]

In red are possible rout locations. Hexes marked in white are hexes that normally would be options to rout to, but because they already had 3 units in them were off the table.

Below is the plan I had in mind when planning to force these units to surrender. Notice that this plan can only work in the case when the German player is already in the Caucasus in a similar position to mine. With this positioning in mind and according to the rules the Soviet forces would have surrendered. This would be no major hit for the Soviets though. My test showed that out of the 50.000+ men only around 15.000 would be lost, all the others would escape. So taking into account the fact that units that rout through sea hexes take too little damage, I though 15.000 is a good enough price to pay and is more realistic than seeing the Soviets magically teleport.

Plan:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/7dloCcf.jpg[/img]

Soviet forces rout to Anapa, meaning that the rules from the manual were incorrect:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/34ACDUt.jpg[/img]

At the end of the day, I closed the Taman pocket and the routed units displaced adjecent to their HQ in Novorossyisk. They will be a tough opponent in the coming weeks.

So my advice to the players is this:

For Axis players: Try to take Sevastopol as soon as possible or at least get as close to it as possible in 1941. You can try attacks in 1942 but be aware that if the enemy reinforces the port, you will need to commit a lot of resources to take it.

For Soviet players: Do not abandon Sevastopol. It is a very easily defendable position and you have nothing to lose by defending it. You will tie up Axis forces and can always threaten with naval landings in the rear so the enemy will be on their toes constantly. Even if they take the port, your units will live to fight another day.











xhoel -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 12:40:15 AM)

Casualties and OOB

Casualties this week were relatively low. The Soviets only suffered 60.000 irrecoverable losses, while Axis forces had 13.500 men KIA. Air losses were high on both sides, 122 Axis to 502 Soviet. Soviet ready OOB sits at 4.664k men. Interesting to not is the high number of holds that the Soviets achieved this week, many of which were against deliberate attacks.

Ground and air losses:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/pELsbZY.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/JBA8GWP.jpg[/img]

OOB:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/fLP4hYy.jpg[/img]

Holds:

[image]local://upfiles/57112/4B933FE5F5E44310878C985BAFF12B0C.jpg[/image]



xhoel -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 2:15:23 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

What ToEs do you keep Finnish coastal brigades as compared to normal Finnish divisions? I guess you might make other distinctions between higher and lower XP or morale too. My reason for asking is that I found the ToE of coastal brigades left them with a lower CV/man than the ToE of Finnish divisions, other things being equal. This is only an impressionistic finding. So given the manpower constraints of Finland I put all coastal brigades on the lowest priority for max Toe whatever their XP/morale.


I have only 1 Finnish Brigade, the one shown above and I have them set on 85% Max TOE because I want them to retain their CV. They can hold their own just fine for now. Finnish divisions are set on 80, high morale ones are set to 100.



EwaldvonKleist -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 11:00:26 AM)

Congrats for taking Sevastopol!
[image]https://i.redd.it/vd7650y1et211.jpg[/image]

How do you evaluate the siege of Sevastopol campaign with hindsight (excluding the campaign devoted to taking all Crimea hexagons except Sevastopol)?
Do you think it has been worth it considering opportunity costs?

quote:

which would have been gamey and not really to my taste

All is fair in love and war(games).

I have a question regarding the game rules, the port of Temryuk does not allow evacuation of the Soviet Kuban troops, correct?
But I expect it to still provide supply and prevent the Soviet units from being isolated.


You achieved good timing, your attack on the Kerch bottleneck from behind will allow your crimea troops to join the Caucasus offensive the moment they are done on the Crimea.



xhoel -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 1:23:36 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: EwaldvonKleist

Congrats for taking Sevastopol!
[image]https://i.redd.it/vd7650y1et211.jpg[/image]



Thank you! It was a very tough (and frustrating) battle.

quote:

ORIGINAL: EwaldvonKleist

How do you evaluate the siege of Sevastopol campaign with hindsight (excluding the campaign devoted to taking all Crimea hexagons except Sevastopol)?
Do you think it has been worth it considering opportunity costs?



That is a difficult question to answer. I didn't expect the siege to take this long, nor did I expect it to be this bloody. Having 3 Corps dedicated to the siege meant that 18 artillery SUs plus around 24+ Pioneer Battalions weren't available for other offensives elsewhere. Not to mention the fact that many good divisions were not available for the offensive on Moscow or in the south because they were fighting in Sevastopol.

Has it been worth it to take Sevastopol? Yes, I think it has. I have given the reasons why I believe it is a good idea for the Germans to get Sevastopol so I won't repeat them again here.

Am I pleased with the way things went? Not really. Like my rant shows, I am disappointed that after a 5 week siege, the garrison completed a near impossible feat and teleported to the Kuban without suffering any additional losses. The Soviets pay very little for defending the city (which is why, I have to shake my head when I see Soviets abandon Sevastopol), unlike historically, where from June-July 1942 the Germans captured 95.000 men and killed 18.000 more in action. Compared to that, the Soviets in my game got a slap on the wrist.

Would I do it again if I was in the same situation? Yes, but I would avoid the mistakes I made so that the Soviets would actually surrender and not rout.

quote:

ORIGINAL: EwaldvonKleist
I have a question regarding the game rules, the port of Temryuk does not allow evacuation of the Soviet Kuban troops, correct?
But I expect it to still provide supply and prevent the Soviet units from being isolated.


Yes that is correct, Temryuk does not allow evacuation as far as I have seen. It doesn't provide supply either because the Kerch strait is closed, so supply from the sea is impossible. Will see once I get the turn and will let you know.

quote:

ORIGINAL: EwaldvonKleist You achieved good timing, your attack on the Kerch bottleneck from behind will allow your crimea troops to join the Caucasus offensive the moment they are done on the Crimea.


Indeed, that will be a nice addition to AGS, I have around 6 divisions there that will join the fight for the Caucasus and Stalingrad.

The elite divisions (4), Cavalry and Motorized (2) and the Panzer Divisions (2) will move north to assist the push on Moscow. I had to think long and hard about whether or not this is the right course of action and concluded that it is. Moscow is my nr.1 priority right now. The sooner the city gets cut off, the faster I can redirect my mobile forces towards Stalingrad. And the clock is ticking for the Germans, we only have 10 good weather turns left.




Crackaces -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 2:16:16 PM)

Here is a problem that you have shown. In 2x3 the Soviets voluntary pull troops out of Riga turn 1 and suffer horrendous losses through interdiction.Soviets routing by a sea lane do not take sea lane interception losses. Just the regular losses of displacement. This rewards a situation that should not be rewarded.



xhoel -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 3:06:39 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces

Here is a problem that you have shown. In 2x3 the Soviets voluntary pull troops out of Riga turn 1 and suffer horrendous losses through interdiction.Soviets routing by a sea lane do not take sea lane interception losses. Just the regular losses of displacement. This rewards a situation that should not be rewarded.


I fully agree. It is ridiculous that voluntary evacuation takes more losses than a rout by sea. If anything it should be the other way around.



Telemecus -> RE: T59 (8/4/2019 3:19:04 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: xhoel
Sevastopol Rant


I love the way your headlines get right down to the point of the post! [:)]

Having been there and felt the exasperation of things like this I can truly empathise. There are two key points that stand out for me

i) Predictability of the game mechanics. I am not saying there is not a random element to war that is and should be emulated by random number generations. Or even that things can happen that you did not anticipate but with hindsight you can find out why. I do object to the game mechanics being random and indeed contrary to what the manual says they should be.

I know official support has ended for WitE. That does not mean sales are not still happening for WitE though and I do think the developers would be quids in with further sales if they provided some support for updating the manual. Chris21wen has done amazing work in updating the manual themself http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4529371 - and no doubt this will now be another update they can make for us. But even here we can only guess or outline the changes that need to be made. It would help a lot if at least somebody who can access the code could tell us what it is doing exactly so that we can correct the manual.

This is a beast of a game that can take some months or even years to complete. Big, interesting, complicated strategies rely on having some sort of predictability of what will happen if they succeed. It can be soul destroying when the time spent playing, and planning or even testing, beforehand does not come out right.

ii) Losses from routing across the sea I know this has been commented on before - the losses from units being routed across the sea are ridiculously low. We know of examples where units are not routed across the sea after a battle but transported in good order as part of a normal turn and still have losses of many thousands.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Crackaces
2x3 the Soviets voluntary pull troops out of Riga turn 1 and suffer horrendous losses through interdiction.


I am guessing the argument will be made that not everything is represented in detail, much has to be abstracted and the lack of losses in one place will be balanced out by too many losses in another place. Well xhoel was doing that other place - and it did not balance. I think it is perfectly acceptable to compensate for one known game mechanic flaw by using another such as isolating routing spots. But accept then it is a matter of taste rather than fair play.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:

ORIGINAL: xhoel
For Axis players: Try to take Sevastopol as soon as possible or at least get as close to it as possible in 1941. You can try attacks in 1942 but be aware that if the enemy reinforces the port, you will need to commit a lot of resources to take it.


I wonder if the new best strategy for 1941 should be for the Axis to get Sevastopol in 1941? I also think it would be worth getting anyway in 1942, and if you are going to get it anyway why not when it is easiest. Until now Crimea has been seen as a nice to have but not a priority in 1941. It certainly is not well placed with some of the old suggested rail repair routes in the south. But some of the new planned routes suggested that hug the south coast and use ports to accelerate the extension of the rail repair east are now ideal for a Crimea as a priority 1941 strategy.



xhoel -> RE: T59 (8/5/2019 1:11:20 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

I love the way your headlines get right down to the point of the post! [:)]


No sense in wasting time!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus i) Predictability of the game mechanics. I am not saying there is not a random element to war that is and should be emulated by random number generations. Or even that things can happen that you did not anticipate but with hindsight you can find out why. I do object to the game mechanics being random and indeed contrary to what the manual says they should be.


Fully agree with you here.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus I know official support has ended for WitE. That does not mean sales are not still happening for WitE though and I do think the developers would be quids in with further sales if they provided some support for updating the manual. Chris21wen has done amazing work in updating the manual themself http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4529371 - and no doubt this will now be another update they can make for us. But even here we can only guess or outline the changes that need to be made. It would help a lot if at least somebody who can access the code could tell us what it is doing exactly so that we can correct the manual.


Indeed, Chris has done a very fine job in piecing everything together. We would all be in a tight spot without access to the new manual. I have send him some suggestions about what to change whenever the new version comes out.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus This is a beast of a game that can take some months or even years to complete. Big, interesting, complicated strategies rely on having some sort of predictability of what will happen if they succeed. It can be soul destroying when the time spent playing, and planning or even testing, beforehand does not come out right.


I think you have hit the nail on the head here. This game is very very different from other games in many aspects. The fact that most of these games can go on for years should tell you something about the caliber we are talking about. For all that time and effort to go to waste because of a bug or something that is not properly documented it is absolutely soul crushing.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus ii) Losses from routing across the sea I know this has been commented on before - the losses from units being routed across the sea are ridiculously low. We know of examples where units are not routed across the sea after a battle but transported in good order as part of a normal turn and still have losses of many thousands.


This should be changed to reflect interdiction of naval transports coming in and out. I would also like to see a cap set on ports about how many units they can move around depending on the port size and unit size, like there is in WitW. In other words a level 1 port should not be able to evacuate 50.000 men in a week because the port doesn't have the means to load all the men and equipment in such short notice.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Telemecus I wonder if the new best strategy for 1941 should be for the Axis to get Sevastopol in 1941? I also think it would be worth getting anyway in 1942, and if you are going to get it anyway why not when it is easiest. Until now Crimea has been seen as a nice to have but not a priority in 1941. It certainly is not well placed with some of the old suggested rail repair routes in the south. But some of the new planned routes suggested that hug the south coast and use ports to accelerate the extension of the rail repair east are now ideal for a Crimea as a priority 1941 strategy.


I think that would be a good goal. 1941 is really the easiest time to get the city. Like my AAR has shown, a Guard Rifle Corps defending Sevastopol is a force to be reckoned with. Much better to take it before the Soviets have had time to tailor their defense.

I wouldn't say that Crimea should become a priority, but it does help a lot if you push hard in that sector. There are many positives to that.

What rail routes do you have in mind? Ports do not help though, since as long as Sevastopol is active none of the ports in the Crimea can be used for transport or supply.



Telemecus -> RE: T59 (8/5/2019 5:33:38 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: xhoel
What rail routes do you have in mind? Ports do not help though, since as long as Sevastopol is active none of the ports in the Crimea can be used for transport or supply.


Was thinking mainly of Ochakow but secondarily of Odessa - means the rail route along the coast to Nikolaev is best, not the next most northernly one I used to use. Going through Nikolaev during the middle of the clear weather in 1941 will (probably) mean you have OK supply to Crimea (after adding on some auto rail repair from Nikolave to it), my old route used to leave units in Crimea isolated and out of supply come blizzard.



joelmar -> RE: T59 (8/5/2019 11:58:46 PM)

quote:


ORIGINAL: Telemecus
Was thinking mainly of Ochakow but secondarily of Odessa - means the rail route along the coast to Nikolaev is best, not the next most northernly one I used to use. Going through Nikolaev during the middle of the clear weather in 1941 will (probably) mean you have OK supply to Crimea (after adding on some auto rail repair from Nikolave to it), my old route used to leave units in Crimea isolated and out of supply come blizzard.


100% agreed. This might create some problems for a Soviet player that leaves the south as an unimportant theater.



xhoel -> RE: T59 (8/6/2019 6:19:13 PM)

Yes I would agree that is a good route and will provide ok supply in the Crimea. Nothing fancy though, but should be enough to take it and hold it.



xhoel -> T60 (8/13/2019 3:03:40 AM)

T60, 6th of August- 13th of August 1942
AGN

German forces in the north punched through the heavy Soviet defenses that lay in their way, widening the bridgehead over the Volga. Our position is not the best, the Soviets have strong reserves nearby and can counterattack. The first objective of AGN is to reach Yaroslavl and cut the rail leading to Moscow. It will not be an east fight. The enemy sits on fortified positions in good defensive terrain.

Further to the south an attack by the XX Corps has cleared the woods south of Kalinin. The city remains in Soviet hands and no attacks were conducted this week.

Positions at the start of the week:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/C4uW7uL.jpg[/img]

Positions at the end of the week:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/kf1Omul.jpg[/img]



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/13/2019 3:09:30 AM)

AGC

The pocket on the Oka held but the enemy has moved powerful reserves to counter our advance. 5 Guard Cavalry Corps have been brought to the sector.The Soviets counterattacked the lone 18th Motorized Division, pushing them back and causing heavy losses. This has allowed the enemy to pull back a portion of their Rifle Divisions from the trap that we had prepared for them.

In the southeast the 1st Tank Army launched an attack against the 215th ID but failed to push them back, suffering heavy losses in the process.

Positions at the start of the week:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/LkxO3S2.jpg[/img]

The Soviets put up very heavy strong resistance this week, holding back 3 separate attacks. Our objective was to destroy Soviet forces on the Oka, encircling the ones we can and routing the others. We managed to rout 11 Rifle Divisions, destroy 2 (in the pocket) and have encircled 3 Rifle divisions.

Seeing how advance northwest of the Pra river was impossible due to the heavy Soviet resistance, our forces switched direction, hitting the enemy north east of the Pra. This will be the main axis of advance from now on. With time running short, AGC needs to cover more ground and show a more aggressive spirit if we want to encircle Moscow before the mud season starts.

The fighting has been very heavy but Soviet resistance remains strong and we expect counterattacks next week as well. The elite XXX Corps coming to the sector after fighting in the Crimea will be a welcomed addition.

Midturn situation:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/0glMdhE.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/l0KmRkB.jpg[/img]

Positions at the end of the week:

Battle circled in red in the middle:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/5blXKmx.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/VniQrdN.jpg[/img]

Notice the high KIAs.

[image]local://upfiles/57112/9E85EC015F434A5B95F4EC9840E00838.jpg[/image]



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/13/2019 3:11:50 AM)

AGS

The pockets in the south held. The Soviets have pulled back from the Krasnodar region, moving towards the port of Tuapse while further to the north, Soviet forces have pulled back 50 miles to the Yegorlyk river.

The advancing 17th Army as well as forward elements of the 1st Panzer Army have captured Krasnodar and the ports of Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik. Soviet forces holding the entrance to the Kuban have not been attacked yet but will be destroyed next week. 2 additional Soviet Rifle Divisions have been trapped in the outskirts of Krasnodar.

The rest of the 1st Panzer Army has moved north but has been ordered to halt their advance in order for the formations to undergo R&R and to get better supply. A week of rest will do good to the formations. The 1st Hungarian Armored Division has been railed to Rostov and will join the 1st Panzer Army in their offensive.

Positions at the start of the week:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/tdHJuWK.jpg[/img]

AGS positions at the end of the week:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/HvwkCzS.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/yeZf4PE.jpg[/img]



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/13/2019 3:31:38 AM)

Casualties

The Soviets suffered 72.215 irrecoverable losses this week, while the Axis suffered 12.400 irrecoverable losses. AFV losses continue to be high, around 150 AFVs were lost during the week. The high losses in AFVs are starting to show in the TOEs. Many Panzer Divisions are operating on 50-60% of their authorized AFV strength and the lack of armored vehicles is affecting the fighting capability of said formations.

The good news of this week was that a lot of good German Generals were promoted and now have the rank to command Corps HQ.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/DXD5tTi.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/oO0o7i9.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/T04QUYh.jpg[/img]

Air losses were the lowest so far, the Soviets only lost 280 aircraft to 86 of the Axis.

Captured manpower centers are at 1.500. Considering 200+/- lost manpower brings us to 1.700. This means that the Soviets are recruiting around 90.000 men a week [(3936-1700)*40], with another 10.000+ recovering each week for a total of around 100.000 men. This is enough to cover their losses but the OOB will not be growing at such pace (assuming combat intensity stays the same).

Worth noting however that Soviet defensive capabilities will be improving in the coming months. Soviet NM for August is increased by 1 point and is now at 46 for normal units and 56 morale for Guard formations.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/nxniZDd.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/QrZb8n4.jpg[/img]



joelmar -> RE: T60 (8/13/2019 5:47:10 PM)

@xhoel:

The Moscow operation is nail biting to say the least quite a grind you have there. With so many strong soviet units protecting the flanks, it's almost tempting to go for a frontal assault on Moscow. Those Crimea units coming back in the line combined with a threat of breakout in the south might well force him to thin out his lines and tip the balance of the scale.

And there is still time.



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/13/2019 7:24:22 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: joelmar

The Moscow operation is nail biting to say the least quite a grind you have there. With so many strong soviet units protecting the flanks, it's almost tempting to go for a frontal assault on Moscow. Those Crimea units coming back in the line combined with a threat of breakout in the south might well force him to thin out his lines and tip the balance of the scale.

And there is still time.


I am glad you are enjoying it. I have thought of going for a frontal assault as a distraction in order to pull some of his reserves away from the flanks. Right now that plan is on the drawing board but I will see how things go. The arriving 2 Corps from the Crimea should help. Right now I am focused on a full on assault to take as much territory as fast as possible. Time is the worst enemy right now. The strength of Soviet reserves really is remarkable, those Guard Cavalry Corps and Guard Rifle Corps are very strong formations and I am learning to fear their counterattacks.



joelmar -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 12:47:26 AM)

For sure all those red units are a sight to behold :-)

The northern shoulder is also inviting. So the arrival of the Crimea units is a nice ace in your sleeve. I know how hard it is to push back such a solid wall of units, even without the menacing guards, and you are more or less locked there, changing attack lines is not easy when troops are engaged, his time of reaction is faster than the time it takes you to switch your spearheads so it's very easy for him to reshuffle to meet the threats. Pressure from all sides might be a key to unlock that door.

Some Pop-corn here please! ;-)



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 3:57:19 PM)

Their defensive CV is scary to say the least. Light woods helps a lot on the defense and the fort levels are really good too. I hope to breakthrough next week and then just keep advancing in one route instead of switching directions every other week. And yes his reaction is faster and can counter my advance, that is the good thing about Guards Cav Corps, they can move a lot and attack a lot.

Will see how things go. I am crossing my fingers in the hope that he hasn't counterattacked a lot during his turn.



Fetterkrolle -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 7:39:38 PM)

@Xhoel It's been a while since I have seen any pictures of the whole front, especially near Moscow. I am guessing you are trying to make a big pocket around moscow, stretching from around Yaroslav in the North and Ryazan in the South. and I guess they might meet up somewhere around Vladimir. It would be interesting to get a more zoomed out picture so we can see the entire front near Moscow next turn. And hopefully see the begining of a huge pocket being formed[:D]



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 8:00:15 PM)

I will make sure to post a whole picture of the Moscow sector next turn. I haven't done so so far because the advance of the spearheads has been slow. You can take a look at the plan on page 16 post#472.

That is the plan and I am working towards it :D



EwaldvonKleist -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 8:45:30 PM)

My prognosis from a few turns ago hasn't materialised so far-I expected a slow collapse of the Soviets while they seem to do surprisingly fine at the moment. The Moscow offensive remembers me a bit on the stalling offensive of the 6th army at Stalingrad. Progress is still made but resistance becomes ever stronger. But I still think you are doing fine.



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 10:08:16 PM)

It is the terrain and all those reserves that he has committed. Before summer began, only a handful of Guard Rifle divisions were at the front, no Cavalry Corps, no Tank Corps, nothing. Now Guard formations occupy the flanks of Moscow and the whole front of Stalingrad, Tank Corps launch raids on German flanks and Cavalry Corps move freely to new blocking positions and counterattack in strength. Add to the mix Guard Rifle Corps which are a force to be reckoned with. I have to praise Bitburger for his performance, he is a tough and smart opponent.

It makes for an interesting game however, through all the frustration of failed attacks and bad rolls the game is quite contested and far from being one sided. The Red Army will only grow stronger each month now as NM increases constantly. The next few weeks will be decisive with regards to the success of Operation Clausewitz, I really hope I can make it work!



John B. -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 10:28:44 PM)

As always, I really enjoy your AAR. No hard feelings but I hope the Soviets hold on so we get to see this AAR continue!



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/14/2019 11:26:46 PM)

Thanks for the kind words John, glad to hear you are enjoying the AAR. Knowing my opponent, I am sure that the game will go to 1945 even if Moscow falls ;)



mouse707 -> RE: T60 (8/18/2019 9:00:37 AM)

Thanks for your very interesting AAR i'm reading during my hollydays. In our game with Bitburger, we fight for Berlin in April 1945. He kept the German army in a very good shape until the very end of the game



Beria -> RE: T60 (8/18/2019 11:57:35 AM)

I also like this AAR very much. I have not made any comments until now because I find it very clear, readable and interesting. A good combination.



xhoel -> RE: T60 (8/22/2019 11:54:30 PM)

Thank you both for your comments gents, I appreciate it a lot. Stay tuned for more updates!



xhoel -> T61 (9/4/2019 5:05:31 PM)

T61, 13th of August-20th of August 1942.
AGN

Soviet units attacked a forward position defended by 3 Infantry divisions in the north, forcing them to pull back in a fierce battle where both sides took heavy losses. The Soviets have ordered their best units to dig in in front of our main axis of advance but their northern flank on the Volga looks vulnerable. Our forcess exploited this weakness and broke through the Soviet defenses on the river line opening the way for the 3rd Panzer Army to advance north of the river and cut the rail line leading to Yaroslavl. The Soviets will have to redeploy their units to protect their rear but we expect counterattacks next week as well.

Our forces have pushed back Soviet troops near Kalinin but suffered very heavy losses due to counterattacks by 3 Rifle Brigades. The 79th ID has pushed to the rear of the city and it will probably fall in the following weeks.

Positions at the start of the week:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/qob267R.jpg[/img]

Positions after German moves:

[image]local://upfiles/57112/1A1EE23B09244957825D96C1D8F8A645.jpg[/image]

Marked in red are 2 Soviet holds. A 3rd attack succeeded in pushing them back.



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