My First AAR - Russia 41 (Full Version)

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tm1 -> My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/7/2021 2:06:38 AM)

Well my first full AAR so this should be fun since its my 4th game with the new system so It could be a short lived game.

I will be commanding the Ostheer with the AI in charge of the Red Army
The AI will be more or less in charge of the Luftwaffe and the Theatre boxes.
Ill just change things here and there if need be.

Turn 1 AGN

Following some advice from players and other AAR's I decide to change my usual plan for the North and smash the line completely I usually just push enough troops aside and then encircle the remainder with infantry and let the Panzers move forward.
This new plane still achieves my objectives but with less in pockets.




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tm1 -> RE: My AAR Russia 41 (5/7/2021 2:21:35 AM)

Turn 1 AGC
For the Center i still use my same tactics from WITE1 days and encircle the central Soviet forces and push to Minsk, the big difference I notice with the new game and the old is the distance travelled in the open moves dont think I ever captured Minsk or Riga on first turns and almost get to Smolensk.

Again from looking at other AAR's and advice try to push most of my Armee's forward and let 2nd Armee with some help destroy the pockets, seem to alway get bogged down trying to capture Smolensk or pushing past it.
The Pripyat marshes are a slow slog and The Desna and Dnepr River's are a pain to force across sometimes.


[image]local://upfiles/44686/2AFE582106D44FF6A275ADB3653E4C54.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My AAR Russia 41 (5/7/2021 2:33:29 AM)

Turn 1 AGS
After a lot of thought and decision I decided I will stick to my tried and true plan of destroying The Lvov pocket it means releasing The Soviets further South but I will deal with that in due course.

Kiev and Odessa are my main objectives but so is the destruction of the Soviet Armoured Forces centred around Lvov, the more troops and material I can capture the better.
6th Armee with help of some Panzer Grenadiers encircle more troops though there is a 1 hex gap they may slip through we will have to see what the AI does.


[image]local://upfiles/44686/C1572995DA894B13A1DFBC15959FF2E1.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My AAR Russia 41 (5/7/2021 2:38:13 AM)

Ground losses
As with any game wish they were higher on the Soviet side, lost 154 AFV on my side that is not good


[image]local://upfiles/44686/E8B5F891B58547A48082F8C28379B649.jpg[/image]

Guess its time to let the AI have its turn.




tm1 -> RE: My AAR Russia 41 (5/11/2021 12:44:52 AM)

AGN turn 2

Kicked off this turn by eliminating the Soviet pockets and taking control of most of Lithuania, 4th PanzerArmee has pushed through and is in striking range of Pskov.

Need to get 18th Armee to clear the rest of the Baltic states ASAP, also 16th Armee to cover 4th Panzer's right flank quickly don't want the Russians cutting the 4th off.


[image]local://upfiles/44686/B5727B5951094293ABA6465C445E944F.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My AAR Russia 41 (5/11/2021 12:58:11 AM)

AGC turn 2

A surprise success 3rd Panzer unit punched through weak Russian lines and captured Smolensk in this turn my best effort yet, totally taken aback however I expect the units to be cut off, with a bit luck that is all that will happen and I can relieve them in turn 3.

2nd Panzer is moving steadily towards Mogilev and The Dnepr River, cleared most of the pockets but the Infantry Armee's are some way behind the Panzer's, need to get a move on and get through the Marshes, I really don't want to be bogged down early.
Over all it appears to be looking good (famous last words )been in this position the last 3 games and get tied up around Smolensk for to many turns.





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tm1 -> RE: My AAR Russia 41 (5/11/2021 1:15:08 AM)

AGS turn 2

Another good start cleared the Lvov pocket but as predicted the Soviet forces along the Romanian border withdrew. 6th Armee and part of 1st Panzer pocket a few Divs on the drive to Kiev which is good, using elements of 4 Army's further south I create a big pocket against the Hungarian border, 35 Red Army units are cut off, it will take some time to clear them I will use the Axis Allied Army's for that as I want to keep my German Armee's pushing forward. Further South grabbed some smaller pockets while heading to Odessa.



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tm1 -> RE: My AAR Russia 41 (5/11/2021 1:20:45 AM)

Turn 2 Losses
Always nice to see such high capture figures of Soviet troops as things will change very soon, but 555,000 is in the right direction I hope.
I feel my AFV losses are too high this early but I need to move as far and as fast as I can then prepare defence lines.


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RedJohn -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/11/2021 1:26:49 AM)

Wow, I'm surprised you got Smolensk on T2 - seems like a bit of a coup.




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/11/2021 1:33:12 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: RedJohn

Wow, I'm surprised you got Smolensk on T2 - seems like a bit of a coup.


I expect that to be one of those rare occasions that happens I'm far from a experienced player, its just a fluke knowing my luck now I get stuck in Smolensk for 5 turns.

cheers




carlkay58 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/11/2021 1:40:29 PM)

The Smolensk capture depends on the AI defensive strategy. I have seen that happen about one out of every five or so games. It is possible that it could fall more frequently than that but the Axis players are just too timid.




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/16/2021 11:04:01 AM)

AGN Turn 3

18th Armee reaches the Latvian Border while 4th Panzer captures Pskov and advances towards Novgorod, lead elements of 16th Armee have linked up and are covering 4th Panzer's southern flank, the rest of the 18th is not far behind and is moving into position to push on the Valdai Hills.

Things are looking good at this moment I was still concerned that the Panzer's may get cut off when the Soviets had there turn but this did not happen.


[image]local://upfiles/44686/2A59324DB7864F3CBB3ECFB708CF7B83.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/16/2021 11:20:53 AM)

AGC Turn 3

Still didn't completely clear the Minsk pocket and the Infantry Armee's are still way behind The Panzer's, the units at Smolensk did in fact get cutoff when the Soviets had there turn but was easily reopened.

2nd Panzer crossed The Dnepr River en mass and two pockets were formed, one trapping a strong Tank Div.

I often make unorthodox moves hoping they pay off, I saw a opportunity to take Velikie Luki and had managed to get two 9th Armee Divs in position to support two PanzerGren Divs of 3rd Panzer and took the city also pushed a Panzer Div from the 2nd up there to support. this was either going to work or a complete failure losing both Panzegren Divs but it seems the AI decided to pull back its forces. which gives me some breathing space next turn to the infantry in place.

Starting to get 2nd Armee forming up to move in between 4th and 6th Armee's.

lots of Soviet troops encircled.



[image]local://upfiles/44686/AF4AC6FFB05E47EBBD4F90CC2DF3B8C6.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/16/2021 11:40:33 AM)

AGS Turn 3

This turn started with 1st Panzer forming another encirclement of Soviet forces in 2 places adding to the big pocket around Stanislav which I only managed destroy about a third of the trapped units.

I have to commit the bulk of 17th Armee to destroy this pocket as well as half of 11th the help trap the these new forces, this will mean delays in moving forces further into the Ukraine and in particular the drive on Kiev by 1st Panzer.

A direct drive on Kiev may mean a narrow front push and I don't want my Panzer's cut off during the AI's turn so destroying as many units as I can will be the price for a wide front push.

The drive on Odessa is fine, 4th Rom Army and parts of 11th are within striking distance so that's good.
No counter attacks of any kind yet by the AI on any fronts and the weather for the first 3 turns has been kind, it is only early days though.


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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/16/2021 1:32:14 PM)

AGN Turn 4

The Red Army falls back as 18th Armee moves to the Estonian border and cuts off a lone tank Div.
4th Panzer pushes the defenders back away from Pskov and drives towards Novgorod at the moment there are no units defending the city, the way looks open to capture it.

Further south 16th Armee is finally getting into position, a lot of units need rest an refit will have to pull some back but not yet.

The weather holds good along the entire front, need to get 16th Armee further north so as I can use the Panzer's to push hard without getting cut off when the AI has its turn, just don't seem to have enough infantry up there.


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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/16/2021 2:00:43 PM)

AGC turn 4

Well the two PanzerGrens Divs were not cutoff the plan worked this time. Finally cleared the last units near Minsk and 2nd Panzer destroyed both pockets along The Dnepr River which gave me another chance to encircle another 15 Red Army units, it was to good a opportunity to miss.

The infantry is getting closer every turn, however both 4th and 2nd have the fun filled job of trudging through the Marshes to reach both Gomel and Chernigov while 9th will be facing the heavy woods of the kalinin region which will once again slow everyone down.

I was facing a dilemma as to what I should do about 3rd Panzer, I could push through and drive on Vyazma or even swing further North an head for Rszhev, I didn't have the fuel to actually take one or the other but I could would have been only two hexes away from either but this meant a narrow front push.

To the south of 3rd Panzer 2nd had a solid anchor which protected me here but to my north the were a number of Soviet units that were just a bit to close for comfort.

I had no supporting infantry to cover me so I chose more conservative tactic pushing them back but pushing part the way to Vyazma.
I'm now just 5 hexes from the city





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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/16/2021 2:22:14 PM)

AGS Turn 4 / 5
Ok seems I forgot to save AGS turn 4 screen shot so this is that turns finished turn including the AI's movements.

Once again there were just to many Red Army units centred around Stanislav thanks partly to the Red Air force supplying the pocket including all those trapped by 1st Panzer however I destroyed all the rest but again had the chance to trap nother 20 plus and I took it.
There is now 33 trapped units but the even better I have a lot the Panzer units in good place to push on Kiev.

Odessa is almost isolated, the bad news as you can from the screen after the AI had its turn another wall of Russian divisions has been thrown up across the Ukraine.

It seems no matter how many you cutoff, isolate and or kill they just keep coming at you.

I have to rest troops but how many and when, if I stop moving forward the Russian lines will harden.

I estimate it will take me at least two weeks to clear out all trapped troops and another week to get everyone to the front, while still trying to take Kiev and Odessa.






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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/16/2021 2:27:28 PM)

Losses Turn 4

I also missed getting a screen shot for turn 3, anyway here is how it looks after 4 rounds with the AI.

On another note the weather in the Leningrad / Moscow region is now rain and mud for turn 5 so that is going to slow things down.

The south is still clear which is good.

Well that's it for tonight I will do one or two turns tomorrow if I can.


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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/17/2021 12:07:33 PM)

AGN5 Turn 5

As I mentioned in a previous post rain and mud have hit Northern Russia, 18th Armee continues to push into Estonia, the Russians have virtual abandoned the country sending there troops to face 4th Pz Armee.

I use the weather to consolidate the 4th's position and also move 16th Armee up to cover the southern flank with a lot of regt level units holding the line, will the AI attack in this situation.




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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/17/2021 12:28:31 PM)

AGC Turn 5

In the centre 3rd Pz Armee is in a holding position though I do expand the perimeter around Smolensk and Durovo as 9th Armee gets there and takes over from the two PzGren Divs at Velikie and is starting to take up positions in the North.

South of the 3rd 2nd Pz is more or less static, I did destroy some of the trapped troops but there is still a lot.

4th Armee is almost up in position to support 2nd Pz with 2nd Armee still running last and still a long way from The Dnepr River.
It still has a lot of marshlands to cover to get there.




[image]local://upfiles/44686/2C98C1F610E54D38A6EB0F2CDBB511F3.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/17/2021 12:52:14 PM)

AGS turn 5

The southern drive seems to me to be the most effective at this moment pushing against Kiev and Odessa.

The pocket at Stanislav is finally destroyed taking almost one third of AGS force over two or three turns and basically rendering them needing rest and refit urgently.

Its all well and good to create these big pockets destroying them quickly and moving forward is another thing altogether, as it takes time away from pushing further East.

The pocket at Vinnitsa is still there though I managed to destroy about a quarter of the Soviets trapped there.

6th Armee and 1st Pz pushed onto Kiev which was good but the wall of troops the AI put up stopped me from coming behind Kiev to encircle it, so I chose to break through the wall and trap more troops.

Better news was the fact that I captured Odessa with two strong assaults, so now I can drive along The Black Sea Coast and try to capture Sevastopol as well as Zaporozhye.

Though the Odessa force could use a rest to, as the AI has thrown a lot of Tank and Mech Divs to block my way.







[image]local://upfiles/44686/32403A873E5C4B7489522BB8E5787804.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/17/2021 12:59:42 PM)

Losses Turn 5

Not as many troops captured or killed this turn as the AI in the North kept falling back and my troops in the Centre and South suffer fatigue and there attacks are less effective.
The weather also played its part, still I am not unhappy with still a number of pockets to destroy with hopefully fresh troops.





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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/17/2021 1:07:45 PM)

Supply turn 5

Since I am still trying to figure at how all this supply business works and and if I am in the red green or otherwise I have not bothered posting any of it, but i thought I would do so for this turn.

It looks to me if I am reading it correct that my Army's are all in the green at the moment more or less which is good.

I am going to leave here for now and do hopefully a couple of turns tomorrow.

Hopefully the weather comes good but if does not well it will be part of the learning curve.

Update on closer inspection of the final figures I think I am in the red in the total scale of things oh well.




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tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/19/2021 11:10:54 AM)

AGN Turn 6

Well things seem to be slowing down 18th Armee made the most gains, 4th Pz cut off 2 Divs but little else, I was hoping to take Novgorod but no luck just Luga.

16th Armee moved the least just consolidating the front line, despite good weather the momentum is slowing, lack of supplies and fatigue taking its toll.



[image]local://upfiles/44686/0CB65ACE6225425E9B524B5A265810F7.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/19/2021 11:23:40 AM)

AGC Turn 6

The centre has come to a virtual halt as well with only the southern wing which is still trudging through the marshes and a small push at Korma which opened the front line and a pocket by 2nd Pz to give some more breathing space for 3rd Pz.

The 9th moved very little as well, this is my usual situation for the past 3 games, get to about and stall for 3 or 4 turns.

I just could not destroy the pocket at Mogilev it would have meant pulling Pz units out of the line, next turn hopefully I can clear them.


[image]local://upfiles/44686/7660A08CDEA14875AE83AD9C47CC27FE.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/19/2021 11:37:14 AM)

AGS Turn 6

Well at least here in this sector I am moving more, the drive along the coast proceeds steadily.

In the centre 3rd Rom and 17th Armee move up as do the Hungarians, I nice percentage of the wall the AI put has been destroyed by 1st Pz only to be replaced by a much stronger one full Tank and Mech units.

This is not going to easy to encircle particularly since 1st Pz is strung out at regiment level.

However really good news is Kiev has been captured.

My German Korps are all over the place with no real cohesion need to get 17th Armee in the line and move a 11th Armee Inf korps back down with the rest of the 11th.

I even have a corp from 3rd Rom Army behind 1st Pz




[image]local://upfiles/44686/CAC7CA55E80440E494DBE81B3DB1EA36.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/19/2021 11:46:54 AM)

Losses Turn 6

The amount of trapped and captured Red Army troops starts to get less as my Armee's just don't have the legs to encircle the big pockets.

What I do find even more alarming is the fact that after looking at my actual field strength of my AFV the numbers show I have 3,619 AFV's however only 2,639 are operational, that is a full one third of the force damaged.



[image]local://upfiles/44686/958FA448C38448C18EC07735194D0635.jpg[/image]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/19/2021 11:59:11 AM)

Supply Turn 6

And here is one of the main reasons my offensive is faltering, lack of supply, I am down something like 6 k and its only turn 6.

After reviewing another AAR I realise I may have screwed up my supply chain, as I seem to have not put depots in the best places.

With the supply issues and AFV crisis and the all round general fatigue I have decided to halt the general offensive with a few exceptions, maybe conduct some local attacks, but just stay in a holding position till 6th, 4th and 2nd Armee's move up and also try to get a better supply line going.

I'm loathed to slow what momentum I still have but don't want to run my Army into the ground before winter hits.



[image]local://upfiles/44686/59E13546D78A48468A53973ED417749E.jpg[/image]




Bamilus -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/21/2021 4:51:51 PM)

Might nice Soviet bulge in AGS.... [X(]




tm1 -> RE: My First AAR - Russia 41 (5/23/2021 10:39:36 AM)

AGN Turn 7

Well the AI is doing some strange things in Estonia one turn they just fall back and abandon the country next turn they deploy for a fight, however turn 7 once again its abandoned almost and I take Tallinn.

18th Armee pushes towards the Narva river threatening to cut off a small pocket of troops.

4th Pz makes some pushes and pockets 9 Red Army Divs, still didn't take Novgorod and 16th Armee moves to take up the vacated 4th Pz positions.

I more or less did the total opposite of what I had Plan to do which was rest but when a opportunity arises I took it.

[image]local://upfiles/44686/5E829992982643EE89F501FF16B201F4.jpg[/image]




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