RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (Full Version)

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larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (7/30/2018 6:50:36 PM)

I blew a hole in the northern end of the Stalin Line and I'm driving units through it and I'm engaging his 2nd MLR and remnants. Ian has built a second MLR closer to Kiev and it looks to be pretty stout. And there's plenty of territory between this line and the 2nd MLR. So far so good.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/E01C7189011F49EAA3E0FB0F0A057136.jpg[/image]



devoncop -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (7/31/2018 2:56:21 PM)

Turn 11....27th July 1941

The German advance has hit crucial points in the line at Narva in the north down to Odessa in the South and fighting continues at the Narva Line with Soviet artillery trying to wear down some of the attacking units.

After initially repelling another German attack on Tallinn the Soviet Marines are forced out by the SS Politzei Division and the 21st Division and faces destruction in Estonia next turn.

The Soviets have now withdrawn to the pre Winter War borders and are manning fortified lines North of Leningrad.

In positive news the Soviet air force has increased in shock from 70% to 100% and can now at least compete with the Luftwaffe to a degree as the more modern MiG 3's start to arrive. Over 100 German planes are shot down this turn.I

Heavy artillery is taking its toll on the defenders of Odessa and it seems unlikely it will hold long into August.

Aside from a few straggling units holding Zinnitsa and Zhitamir the route to the Soviet defence line anchored on Kiev on the Dnepr is now clear.






larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (7/31/2018 3:41:50 PM)

I'm sneaking up on Kiev and it looks like Ian has turned it into a fortress. All the arty in the world behind the

front lines in support. I wouldn't be surprised to find out he's got a couple of those "suitcase" tactical nuclear

weapons. I'm not getting across the river at Kiev anytime soon. I'm estimating that it's going to take about 30

turns to reduce Kiev. At least.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/B13F18F9AED04592AC178F4E668C4B3E.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (7/31/2018 9:04:33 PM)

I've reached the suburbs of Orsha and the main river I have to leap over somehow. I've got plenty of engineers that

can ferry troops across the river. I just need to time it so that everybody leaps at once to saturate the defenses.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/B1AF548E802F4599AAE68172EC355626.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (7/31/2018 9:15:21 PM)

Here's the northern flank just now. I'm in the process of taking down the Talinin defenders. I've moved them out of

the city and I can use the airfield now but I'd feel a lot better if I can just destroy the Soviet unit and get it out of

the way. I'm going to sail the boats down to the coast to help support the attack.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/04FB1171C8A240869F8CB78A160FF542.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (7/31/2018 11:13:31 PM)

Here's what's going on down south. The Axis units are racing for the rivers and clearing the territory as they go.

Converting the roads and rails and not much else, just forging ahead. Taking risks and running mostly blindly. ALL the

units down south can be used for recon I've discovered. I'm running the recon units way ahead of the main body and I'm

using the AA units and AT guns and MP's to convert the hexes behind the lines. It's working out pretty much okie dokie.

I'm estimating reaching the river banks near Z-town in about 8 more turns or so.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/F033AF644E1D4A7CA99643A94A5C05FC.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (7/31/2018 11:33:48 PM)

This is what Odessa looks like just now. The Romanians have started the siege and the long range RR

arty is pounding the Soviet arty and getting hits. I want to knock out the arty before the attacking starts. Either

kill it or disentrench it so it can't shoot, either will work for me. It's too early to tell how long it's going to take

to reduce Odessa but I'm guessing about 10 turns or so.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/B4CD8F60AF304290B7B70F5214A86F14.jpg[/image]



devoncop -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/1/2018 7:16:09 PM)

Turn 12 ....30th July 1941

The Germans now have managed to get some high quality units from Panzer Divisions up against my dug in but conscripted Divisions along the Dnepr north and south of Kiev and this won't be pretty. My only hope is that the supply position may inhibit Larry from going directly across rivers by using bridging units and may force him to fight for the more heavily defended broken bridge crossings.

During the German turn the Rumanian 11th Division down near Odessa got roughly handled during an assault on the engineers of the Soviet 7th pontoon Regiment and lost 71 Infantry and Engineering squads to just 13 for the Soviets....if only I was only facing Rumanians...[;)]

In the far north there was evidence that even the Germans are not infallible however as the 2nd Regiment of the 14th Rifle Division in Finland inflicted no less than 93 Infantry and Engineering Squad casualties on the 6th SS Geb Division for the loss of only 3 of their own. More such heroism is needed as Zhitomir is overrun and Pskov looks about to fall giving a clear run from the south up towards Leningrad. The Finns have reached the fortified line north of Leningrad but come within range of the fearsome heavy naval batteries of the port and suffer badly..

At the start of the Soviet turn Air lossess are shown as 210 Axis and 122 Soviet which is encouraging and more Soviet aircraft are deployed across the front in an attemopt to combat still heavy interdiction. This pays immediate dividends as the Luftwaffe loses KG27 and JG 5 that are obliterated over Moscow Military District and KG 51 which evaporates over Narva by the Leningrad Military District air defences.
A sally out from Soviet defence lines near Smolensk allows artillery bombardment of Surazh airfield where a large number of Heinkel 111's,ME109's and Dorniers are destroyed or disabled.

The crunch against Kiev and Smolensk is likely in the next turn or two and it is absolutely crucial the two cities hold out for a few turns as next turn the Soviet Shock Armies begin to arrive and they will be vital to save both Moscow and the rest of the Motherland but only arrive slowly......



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/1/2018 8:19:17 PM)

Here's the T13 front lines before I have started moving anybody.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/158C235F1EF54E79AD1568A3996389BE.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/1/2018 11:13:12 PM)

This is the face of war near Pskov just now. We're still fighting over the rails in the city and those leading away

from the city too. I need that rail to feed the units further to the east when they get there and they will be there in

another 10 turns or so.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/794CE6683350427F823F136FF8E54165.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/1/2018 11:18:50 PM)

I have concentrated on the rails to the northern front and it's up to the front lines up there and the supply levels are

fantastic. Now if I could just get across that river. I see we're fighting over the river crossings still. I'm going to

bring in the boats to help with the northern crossing if they will reach that far.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/6F7D41D05B474BE2A17B990365EF7C88.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/1/2018 11:26:35 PM)

The supply levels near Pskov drop off the cliff on the east side of the river more or less. There's a need for more

supply to the east of the river to continue the advance. I'd best make that the next most needy spot for the RR engineers.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/2C7BAF01FB604B9EA3E236F208D4F10B.gif[/image]



devoncop -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/2/2018 7:49:55 PM)

Turn 13......13th August 1941

The good news is that all fronts just about remain stable this turn though the line adjacent to Pskov city is under incredible pressure and the city itself and its destroyed bridge is already in German hands. Pskov fell about 3 weeks later than historically but that means little at such an early stage.

Slightly further north at the Narva line the 254th and 11th German Divisions continue to be held off by the fanatics of the NKVD 20th Division and elements of the 55th Division but pressure is also increasing there too with the Kreigsmarine also being a nuisance.

At the Finnish Border the Finnish infantry continues to suffer from artillery fire the other side of the fortified line north of Leningrad. Given the Finns cannot enter Leningrad until after it falls it is likely they will pull back until the Germans do the dirty work I would think.
The rail line from Moscow to Leningrad seems absolutely vital and I am frantically trying to spare some troops to protect it when the Pskov line gives way but it is a struggle.

The air war is much more even this turn unfortunately with both sides losing around 200 planes though another German unit...this time JG 77 is wiped out totally over Moscow.

Further south the defenders of Odessa came out of reorganisation this turn and are in reasonable shape with the artillery within the city causing the besieging Rumanians a decent amount of casualties.

The defence line running North East and South West from Kiev along the Dnepr is under pressure at every crossing and the Germans are in particular force at the Orsha crossingwith both 7th and 19th Panzer Division's involved in the fight. For now the Soviet defences are holding.

In positive news we are now almost at turn 16 which will be halfway to the first ceasefire [:)]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/3/2018 3:08:45 AM)

This is the area south of Kiev and shows the Axis forces traversing a wide open area recently vacated by the

Soviets. Very few Soviet forces in this area so the main problem is traversing it quickly and repairing all the broken

bridges. I'm hoping I can use the engineers to leap over the river and mix it up with the Soviet units along the riverbank.

Supply levels are low in this area.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/B7586A1D1EFC4ED898794C606D5E92F8.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/3/2018 3:06:10 PM)

Here's the Orsha area just now and as you can see the attacks have started on the crossings and I'm hopeful that

some crossing somewhere will get me across the river. If I can get a toe hold somewhere I think I can defeat the Soviet

defenders here. Some of those stacks seem insurmountable.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/4069647A9848443EA0E20C1EE31DAB39.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/3/2018 8:51:45 PM)

I've gotten Kiev boxed in and units are streaming north and south from here. The railhead is almost at the front

lines and supply is good here. I'm going to try to see if I can leap the river from this side and if not then I'll look

for a place further north but somewhere I'd like to get across the river soonest.


The railheads in the north near Leninigrad are caught up to the front lines so the RR engineers are moving to

other railheads. There's one near Minsk that I'm working on next to catch the rails up for the takedown of

Smolensk. And of course the south needs some rail work. I think I'll send one RR engineer unit south as a token of

my acknowledgement of their plight. There's not much to do to get the Smolensk line caught up. Maybe 20 hexes of repair.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/641C0893777D402F97B6452C42D3531B.jpg[/image]



devoncop -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/4/2018 2:15:02 PM)

Soviet Turn 14.....6th August 1941

First things first....The Soviet defensive line held.....just ! All major crossings at Narva, Orsha, Smolensk and Kiev remain in Soviet hands despite ferocious German attacks and though Pskov river crossing still is held by the invaders the Soviet defenders on the North bank held their ground to prevent any breakthrough.

At the start of the Soviet Turn air losses were running at around 130 planes each which given the ramping up of Soviet production later in the war and the current handicap in air shock I am happy with.

Although the lines along the major rivers have held I am conscious I need a meaningful reserve for when they break. A substantial defence line has been formed West of Moscow and there are already meaningful forces at Leningrad Kharkov and Dnetpropetovsk what I really need is a decent mobile armoured force just behind the creaking lines but as yet nothing is available.

Making do with what I have the 27th Army is sent to East of Mogilev where the line seems particularly rocky whilst the 8th Army is sent to further south near Gomel to respond to any breakthroughs to the west in that sector.

Further reinforcements from 30th Army are despatched to the far north to assist in shoring up defences against the Finns.

Multiple bombardments from the encircled garrison in and around Odessa cause more casualties to the Rumanian besiegers and the heavy artillery batteries around Kiev and Smolensk also do decent damage but the rest of the artillery attacks are merely pinpricks and each round of fire brings more and more German interdiction..

Just before the turn ended Soviet air losses had increased to over 340 whilst German losses were about 280....Many Soviet formations were in reorganisation last turn which didn't help as only a few squadrons could fly.

Now to see if the heroic "Battle of the Bridges" can continue to cause the Germans problems or whether (and where) the front will shatter......




larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/4/2018 6:33:57 PM)

Here's the T15 front lines before I have started moving anybody.
[image]local://upfiles/16287/E3B0D8F934E34244B73DB7D082FBA28B.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/5/2018 10:51:13 PM)

Here's the Gomel area just now and you can see how Ian and I are fighting over the river crossings and the war has stopped until this little conflict is settled. I notice that Ian has placed some stout units in each of his crossings and that's going to complicate things a lot. The advance has stopped at this river's edge.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/2A474FE0DBE949F0A744963E55C10556.jpg[/image]



devoncop -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/6/2018 11:26:27 AM)

Soviet Turn 15....10th August 1941

A quick history check :

Historical dates for significant events around this time :

5th August 1941.....Fall of Smolensk

1st September 1941..Shelling of Leningrad began

13th September 1941.. Leningrad cut off from rest of Soviet Union

19th September 1941...Fall of Kiev

25th September 1941...Crimea cut off by Army Group South......


So to do a quick comparison with our game .....Smolensk still holds out....[:)]

.....No shells yet fall on Leningrad thanks to Narva Line holding [:)]

.....Still over a month to try and keep Leningrad supply open.[:(]

.....6 weeks to try and hold Kiev though forces remain strong there.[:)]

.....7 weeks ahead of schedule AGS is about to cut off the Crimea.[:(]



devoncop -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/6/2018 11:36:02 AM)

During the German turn there was a devastating assault on Orsha and the crossing is now in German hands though the eastern bank remains in Soviet control. The assault on the Orsha crossing cost over 380 Infantry and Engineering Squads, 62 tanks and 36 aircraft to the Soviets and German losses were only 50 Infantry and Engineering squads though 123 german tanks and 21 aircraft were also lost. This was the worst Soviet losses since the opening days of the campaign.

A similar assault on the Mogilev crossing by 3rd and 17th Panzer Div and 293rd Infantry Division was however beaten back by the Soviet 23rd Mechanised Corps.

Kiev and Smolensk crossings both remain firmly in Soviet hands as does the Narva river line to the west of Leningrad and Odessa's guns continue to wear down the besieging Rumanians.

An attempt to commit Soviet bombers to combat support and direct bombing missions is abandoned as losses mount. By the end of the Soviet turn the Germans have lost about 210 aircraft this turn and the Soviets about 320.

Soviet reinforcements have slowed however and there is for now only a trickle of fresh units arriving from the east.

There is now only 16 more turns or so until the first mud induced ceasefire is due which will be extremely welcome.




larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/7/2018 12:33:12 AM)

Here's Kiev just now. I've gotten it surrounded on the west side and I'm fighting over other river crossings too.

The fighting is fierce and sharp. The losses are heavy on both sides. But eventually I'll get across the river one way or

another. I just don't know where the first breakthrough will occur. Actually it's just as well that I'm not on the east

side of the river yet because the supply levels are so low no operations can be supported. So it's just as well. The

rails are getting closer all the time.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/385F3D63791847788E9420BF3EB8FC96.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/7/2018 1:17:14 AM)

Here's what it looks like from Orsha down to Kiev and as you can see the river crossings are all plugged up

with Soviet units and there's no way around them and several attacks are already scheduled but I haven't moved everybody

yet so there's more attacks to do yet. I'd rather grab the river crossing proper but the hexes on each side of them are

important too. I've been looking around for engineers to put somebody on the river hex(es) so that a three-way attack can

be generated. That's what got Orsha for me. That and about 100+ aircraft. Which brings up a good thought:

maybe I should rail some RR arty to this spot to help out the advance. I've got them at Odessa and near

Pskov right now. Maybe I should spare one for this spot. I think maybe I can do that.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/5E7716754D35406F8ACD34F2CBA6BBFA.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/7/2018 1:38:27 AM)

Here's the condition of the three regiments of a typical Infantry Division right now. One of

the regiments is 5% lower in supply than the other two and is yellow instead of green. Now I know that the regiments need

to be in the low 70's to be green. Good to know. So the condition of the regiments is that they are still combat ready

except one and it's close enough to stand on the front line for now. Any red ones go back to areas of higher supply to

refit ASAP. None of the regiments is hurting for any line items and if this is really typical I think we're a go for

lift-off for further advance.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/5ED53AD2145C429CA603ECEAA3475310.jpg[/image]



devoncop -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/7/2018 6:52:46 PM)

Soviet Turn 16

The big news this turn is the fall of Narva which was reduced to rubble before the Germans pushed the gallant defenders back towards the new defence line anchored on Kingisep and the capture of Mogilev on the Dnepr.
A number of crossings are now in German hands including Zhlobin and Rogachev though Kiev and Smolensk remain Soviet.The 27th Army holding The area around Orsha is now under intense pressure.

The battles along the Dnepr have been particularly fierce. One rare successful defence was the Soviet 25th Mechanized Corps inflict 60 Infantry and Engineering squad losses,17 tanks and 6 aircraft on the German 57th Infantry Division supported by elements of 10th Panzer Divn. Soviet losses were 8 Infantry squads and 2 T26 "Tanks"....

The heavier battle was further north where units of the 7th Army
stood their ground against three rounds of intense assault by 217th Infantry Division and 8th Panzer Division...for the loss of 98 Infantry squads the Soviet troops inflicted more than 250 on the Germans plus 31 tanks.

Air losses this turn were almost exactly 200 for both sides.

Partisans are now beginning to be useful and rail bridges West of Minsk have been blown this turn...



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/8/2018 1:47:03 AM)

Here's the T17 front lines before I have started moving units. Some Soviet counterattacks happened near D-town.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/0470758BE18C48B0B851FBF5AE717DA4.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/8/2018 6:50:51 AM)

The supply levels at the fringes disappeared all of a sudden and I've built this supply map to help me trace

the supply flow and I've found a couple of places where partisans have made themselves at home on my railroad hexes and

they are tearing up the rails in my backfield. I'm going to have to chase them down and kill them and fix the rails for a

second time so far. This isn't their first incursion in my backfield. I'm having to deal with them on an ongoing basis

now.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/514AD987757D48CF890F9330A5F68B93.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/8/2018 7:06:28 AM)

Evidently, the partisans are working in wolfpacks or at least this group is....they have destroyed some rail and

dropped some bridges and are generally making a nusance of themselves.


I'm going to rebuild those bridges, beautiful bridges, long-lasting bridges, and I'm going to make Mexico pay for

them. 100% fool-proof guaranteed.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/82545D8098A349F3AC22C772E2094B75.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/8/2018 2:38:42 PM)

Here's what it looks like around Pskov just now. The fighting is over the river crossings and in this case the

railroad lines. I'm seeing a massive delay in the schedule and getting something done in this area is hard. The supply

levels are fine but the resistance is heavy. It's not clear that the Axis forces will prevail in this instance. Ian has

been railing unit after unit into the Leningrad area and he's been beefing up the front lines and making it harder yet to

make any progress. I'm thinking the advance has halted in this area.

[image]local://upfiles/16287/5DB7DC1206EE425CAA8F2121D35A4D2A.jpg[/image]



larryfulkerson -> RE: FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis (8/8/2018 3:35:10 PM)

I've been moving units for about an hour now and already some attacks are scheduled for the Smolensk area extending

to the west to Orsha where the Germans and Russians are deep into negotiations with an agreement about to be reached

hopefully. There's been a lot of pushing and shoving and I wouldn't be surprised if a fistfight broke out. There's been

rhumors about shooting going on. I'm going to have to send them an email to request an updated report, or rather, I would

but the internet hasn't been invented yet, so instead I'll dispatch a runner and supply him with a vehicle to speed him

along. I should have an answer back within about two hours or so. Ordinarily I'd use the radio but the Soviets are

jamming it with marching music. From Moscow. On every frequency we use. They must be broadcasting on almost every

frequency. They listen for German traffic on the radio and jam it when they find it. We've started doing the same.


Sometime early in 1944 the Germans are going to develop the "U" band on their radar sets and they are going to dedicate it

to gigahertz for line-of-sight transmission at almost light speeds. They would station a 4-E aircraft at 30,000 feet and

use him for the relay station to reach units at the fringes from Moscow in realtime. This is the birth of micromanagement.

There was a memo about it.
[image]local://upfiles/16287/E6C4B41B31B1499C9EA976D8C440BA8B.jpg[/image]



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