RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (Full Version)

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larryfulkerson -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/15/2020 12:55:39 PM)

I use the combat planner to prevent the RBC to do a conventional attack instead.



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/15/2020 5:46:41 PM)

Larry, thanks for the advice! I need to start doing that. As you can see, the Romanians (cut off and RBCing for numerous turns) were able to cut the entire Soviet southern wing off. There are also, currently no Soviet supply points south of Stalingrad because those brave Romanians overran them. :) The Romanians also managed to cut off parts of the northern attack by overruning the supply point up there. As for the Immortal German recon company, this time it absorbed the attention of two Soviet divisions and retreated four times before it finally dispersed.

Not much action on my part this turn. My men are out of supply and I can't keep up the frontal assaults on Kalach so I rested.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/673B78FF34364A16949D1405E66ADB43.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/15/2020 7:31:48 PM)

We've done another turn and this one went better. Marc did not make as much progress and my supply problems in the south were a bit better. I followed the sage advice from everyone and used the attack planner which helped me to eliminate most of the rear enemy ants both in the north and the south and to put some real hurt on weak units Marc had in the front line. I also rested another turn at the Don crossing sites and contented myself with barrages that seem to have damaged his units quite a bit. I figure if I'm barraging and Marc is not my guys recover supplies and cohesion while the barrages have the nice side effect of periodically reducing his fortification level.



[image]local://upfiles/39741/35F606501D4442DA8F78F0D651D22B05.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/15/2020 10:47:00 PM)

This was from the middle of the turn. Thanks to you guys I figured out how to deal with the RBC problem and there are no more hero battalions retreating to my rear to cut me out of supply. It was a low supply turn (as shown by my supply values) but I actually made some progress. I crossed the bridge just north of Kalach and then, in the final combat round after this, I captured the bridge north of that as well. In the south Marc and I are engaged in a swirling tank battle where I think I'm holding my own (amid very bad supply) but I do have a tentacle stretching out.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/6EC95A02009E4F60A34BEDB85EAC103E.jpg[/image]



Lobster -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/16/2020 12:42:18 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: John B.


quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones


quote:

ORIGINAL: John B.

There also seems to be a bridge hex (circled and empty) that I can't enter.


The bridge in question is a railroad bridge. TOAW does not allow land troops to cross unless there is a road bridge. Have no idea why.

Regards



[image]local://upfiles/5722/467652F54D434C57806833FE10C210B3.jpg[/image]

Ah, thanks! At least I'll stop trying to approach it from different angles. :)


Sticking a road across the hex side works. Reminds me of the Soviets retreating from the Germans across a rail bridge in the first week of Barbarossa in 1941. A horse team pulling a wagon were got stuck on the bridge because the horses had fallen between ties and broke their legs so all the other horse drawn rigs got stuck behind the horses that broke their legs. The Soviets had to get their tanks across so a KV1 was sent ahead to 'clear' the bridge. Horses and all. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it again.



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/16/2020 12:29:50 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Lobster


quote:

ORIGINAL: John B.


quote:

ORIGINAL: rhinobones


quote:

ORIGINAL: John B.

There also seems to be a bridge hex (circled and empty) that I can't enter.


The bridge in question is a railroad bridge. TOAW does not allow land troops to cross unless there is a road bridge. Have no idea why.

Regards



[image]local://upfiles/5722/467652F54D434C57806833FE10C210B3.jpg[/image]

Ah, thanks! At least I'll stop trying to approach it from different angles. :)


Sticking a road across the hex side works. Reminds me of the Soviets retreating from the Germans across a rail bridge in the first week of Barbarossa in 1941. A horse team pulling a wagon were got stuck on the bridge because the horses had fallen between ties and broke their legs so all the other horse drawn rigs got stuck behind the horses that broke their legs. The Soviets had to get their tanks across so a KV1 was sent ahead to 'clear' the bridge. Horses and all. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it again.

Oh man, that reminds me of the famous Sherman quote "I confess without shame that I am tired & sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. Even success, the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies […] It is only those who have not heard a shot, nor heard the shrills & groans of the wounded & lacerated (friend or foe) that cry aloud for more blood & more vengeance, more desolation." Ugh!



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/18/2020 3:03:33 PM)

Happy December 1st! Marc has been constantly attacking me up and down the line. The swirling tank battle continues in the south with one German unit making a break for my rear lines. He also started pushing me back on the northern face of the Stalingrad front but did not seem to make any significant gains. Sadly, it looks as if another German armored division is on its way to the front while supply shortages continue to plague the Russian army.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/AB94BDA4A11242D3876612023E8688D8.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/18/2020 3:07:38 PM)

But, as you can see, there is now an official Stalingrad pocket! Several Romanian and German units evaporated on the southern face of the pocket (which was a very pleasant surprise) and I was able to push one unit north as well as push further across the river just north of Kalach. We'll have to see how Marc responds but Kalach is now in serious danger as I can bombard it down and then assault from several sides.

No Russian reinforcements for several more turns. I need to remember to repair bridges over the Don. Finally, the super rivers are now frozen and can be crossed.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/8D8F87EC50F9462295DBA5F5AAC4CABE.jpg[/image]



MonkeysBrain2 -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/18/2020 3:42:10 PM)

Just press on onward, this is your moment. [:)]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/18/2020 3:57:54 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: MonkeysBrain2

Just press on onward, this is your moment. [:)]

Absolutely! This has been a long time coming!! But, Marc is a great player so we'll have to see how he responds.



MikeJ19 -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/18/2020 9:56:56 PM)

Well done, looking forward to seeing what happens next...



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/21/2020 10:13:20 PM)

Very bitter fighting in the snows of the Steppe. Here is the situation at the start of the turn. Marc did 52 attack or so and there was one with 100% casualties on both sides. There is no quarter given between Nazis and Commies! Marc pushed back north of Stalingrad but there is nothing of importance there. And the swirling tank battle continues to the south where many of my units decided to reorganize.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/85F6C1B6C07141A598AB5B6AAEA8358F.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/21/2020 10:15:58 PM)

But, the big news of the day is that the Soviets actually took Kalach! [X(] There were two rounds of bombardments and then I decided to give it a go and the Germans pulled out. I also made progress unhinging the southern wall of the pocket with another German Regiment disappearing (most of it fled so those squads will come back as replacements). Things are getting a bit dicy near the bottom left of your screen. It looks like a fresh German division is headed my way. Everyone's troops are tired so that could help Marc make major inroads. No Soviet reinforcements are on tap for another week or so.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/039F45F1AB2448ED88E73EF8CF087117.jpg[/image]



MikeJ19 -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/22/2020 12:11:49 AM)

John,

This is an interesting battle. That fresh division has a long way to go to interfere in the battle around STALINGRAD.

Good luck,



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/22/2020 12:42:45 AM)

Mike, I think you're right, and, as you can see in the picture taken near the end of my turn, the pocket is starting to shrink. Everyone is exhausted and disorganized but the Germans seem to be the ones who are losing (albeit slowly) in that area. And, as you can see in the south, Marc's armored attack appears to have gone nowhere thus far, but he is wily and keeps pushing his breakthroughs. The mechanized battalions you see in the rear advanced there and then broke apart under attack. let's hope that have to reorganize this turn rather than cause mischief.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/B951DEB7824F4D3A9F243C224ADB22F4.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/22/2020 12:44:04 AM)

But, as always, there is a high butchers bill to pay. Here are the infantry losses to date for the Soviets.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/548F602EAD0848F7BA4CA58E35657521.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/22/2020 12:44:52 AM)

And the tank losses. I have no idea about German losses but I think they're pretty high.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/4398E7E70B2648758363ED14120B0D22.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/22/2020 5:59:47 PM)

Another turn and I finally got a reinforcement! A reconstituted mech battalion, but better than no reconstituted mech battalion. Marc is pushing hard southwest of the pocket and he clearly has fresh troops there judging by the combat strength of what he has in the front line. He keeps unmaking the pocket and may be putting fresh troops in there as well.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/909F6ABE3DDE4ED9B06AD5B0AF2AACDA.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/22/2020 6:02:47 PM)

But then I keep shrinking the pocket. Given how beat up my forces are (and the fact that the low supply event happened to me) I don't think I'll be visiting Rostov anytime soon, but I think I have a pretty good shot at retaking Stalingrad. It depends how much Marc gets in the way of reinforcements and when my reinforcements show up.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/43149C9C78F3468582933943197C998C.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/26/2020 4:40:51 PM)

It's still early December 1942 and we've now got pockets within pockets. This game is like a giant venn diagram. :) Here is the situation at the start of Marc's turn. As you can see, he has a number of my units in danger of being surrounded.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/A02ED0A117A14666BBB8D9768E9C333C.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/26/2020 4:48:19 PM)

At the end of my turn the main Stalingrad pocket has been collapsed a little bit more while I was able to open a line to my troops Marc had surrounded. In the south, my attack stalled and was not repeated.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/89816062E60344FB835C81FBA8D38BF1.jpg[/image]



MikeJ19 -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/26/2020 5:27:24 PM)

John,

This looks like an interesting battle - I may try it after the Road to Moscow series.

Good luck



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/26/2020 8:34:17 PM)

It became even better after (a) it dawned on me that my HQ could bombard and (b) all of you pointed out how to avoid RBC. :)



MikeJ19 -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/26/2020 11:13:12 PM)

John,

Good points, I like it when people give me pointers and I learn something new. I often chase the RBC units around - sometimes I like it, other times it causes no end of problems.

All the best,



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/27/2020 6:00:08 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: MikeJ19

John,

Good points, I like it when people give me pointers and I learn something new. I often chase the RBC units around - sometimes I like it, other times it causes no end of problems.

All the best,

There are a few times when it is worth it to try to RBC someone (when it gives you an extra hex to attack from for a different battle) but ever since people on here pointed out you can plan a battle that is almost always what I do. It saves a whole lot of frustration.



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/30/2020 8:27:10 PM)

Here is the start of the next turn. The Stalingrad pocket is slowly being squeezed out while Marc's counter attack did not reseal his own pocket of me, but his troops are fresher and I'm still suffering from the low supply event. Still, the game is now listed as a draw.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/24EC9CD4ADF04C3991E2B8F7613AEE56.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (5/30/2020 8:28:57 PM)

and smaller still. The worrying thing this turn was that although several German battalions in the pocket evaporated I had numerous attacks listed as "excellent" that made no progress with heavy casualties. On the bright side, my artillery caused 10% or so casualties during several bombardments.

Still about 3 days away from any reinforcements.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/57EE0132082E4EE6997B126AA8406577.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (6/2/2020 10:39:16 PM)

It still early December with a whole lot of game left. As you can see, Marc is pushing to the north a bit but the pocket is pretty tightly cut off right now. He does still hold the remaining supply head there.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/C698AE36C0CB4644B907A5F4348E4398.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (6/2/2020 10:41:05 PM)

Near the end of my turn and I did not make much progress at all in reducing the pocket. My boys are tired and out of supply. I can't even get good recon on the hexes I"m attacking. He held me twice on attacks against his pocket forces but I did manage to eliminate the German regiment and Romanian battalion that was caught in the middle. I'm trying to rest a few divisions in the face of his push, but resupply is very very slow.

[image]local://upfiles/39741/367EF6E9B07E467AABDCABDEA9937982.jpg[/image]



John B. -> RE: Shivering in Stalingrad (6/5/2020 9:57:24 PM)

Another turn and more dead pixels litter the steppes. Marc's counter attack has not really penetrated but he still has some strong units. And, his pocket is holding pretty firm. I attacked a number of battalions that were all deep into the red zone and did not inflict any casualties (and took quite a few myself. Marc did lose a hex in the north of the pocket when a German regiment evaporated and retreated from a hex in the south part of the pocket but I was not able to exploit into it.

In today's humorous note, STAVKA gave me a new HQ so I could start my drive on Rostov. Err, I mean, glorious STAVKA sent me huge numbers of reinforcements for which I am eternally grateful. [&o][&o][&o]

[image]local://upfiles/39741/9241957600664B228EBE7907F787F92E.jpg[/image]



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