Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: Jajusha
Hows the AAR going? Bet all the germans are having fun with the northern theater for a change. Can you imagine what it is like to wake up, have a nice breakfast then bam, another unbreakable encirclement! That's what i get for relying on peasants!

Meanwhile, Christmas preparations on Stalingrad are going well, i got a report from the NKVD that Édith Piaf won't be able to attend, but we will have the Union of Soviet Composers performing a grand 4 day concert. Finally, in Leningrad, the Stalin's organs - Katyusha will be all the music the germans will get :p

Really, enjoying this campaign tons, the fact everything from moskow up starts in static mode was a big disadvantage for me, especially since i spent the 3 first turns AP organizing and reeiforcing Stalingrad Front, but that just represents the soviet command mayhem. This campaign is also less of a grind then the 41 campaign as i don't have to spend copious amounts of time just transporting units from the far reaches of the map to the front lines.

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Amazing amazing pocket near Rzev, i thought i was prepared for by moving the guards to engage but i swear i had not seen the buildup near the lake Ilmen. Let's see what can salvage...

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ORIGINAL:  gids

wow the russians are feeling the water coming to their chin by now :p

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ORIGINAL:  Jajusha
nope. in the north a river, mountain terrain and swamp, i made all the calculations possible and it was unbreakable on my side.

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ORIGINAL: Kronolog

How many tanks does the average panzer division in the 4th panzer army have? Great AAR, btw.

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ORIGINAL: Klydon

Unreal. Has the Russian been trying to attack in the south? With 1st and 4th panzer and 11th army gone, that doesn't leave a lot down there. 

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Original: Jajusha

I don't have access to the AAR screenshots but going back to my memory i'm almost sure that those units where still in Static mode (as most of the northern soviet units start the 42 campaign in that state). If that was the case, the tank brigades would come out with 8 MP (again, if memory serves) and would not be able to move to that square. The rifle brigade would most likely be able to move there and break that pocket. Looking back now i would have been able to have 1 more turn there, but those trapped units couldn't fight forward against an axis wall nor fall back enough to secure a supply link against MOT divisions.

It's hard to express how tied i was back there with literally every unit north of Moscow in static mode and having spent the 3 first turns of AP in the southern theater. Rail movement was limited due to the copious amount of hexes required to move to the northern reaches of the map and fear of weakening my other fronts too much.

Or, i can just blame it on the Soviet High Command for issuing Order 227:
"Is there something we lack? We lack order and discipline. This is our main shortcoming. We must establish the strictest order and iron discipline in our army if we want to rescue the situation and defend our Motherland. Panickers and cowards will be eliminated on the spot. Commanders of companies, battalions, regiments and divisions, along with their commissars and political workers, will be considered traitors to the Motherland if they retreat without orders from above." So, that move above was technically a step back :p

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Original: Jajusha
Wow, you actually managed to squeze to the fin border! I was reluctant on having tank corps on reserve as they could rout and clear the way further, but to think you managed to squeze inside 5 zones of control and still fight!

Well,looks like Leningrad is going down, just when we are starting September. The lack of rails, the static north front, but specially your deception in the south where critical for this( or i was too blind to see anything else then Stalingrad must not fall in the first turns)

I don't want to help you any further, but i can't stop but noticing you had ALOT of air support to clear the Ilmen-Volochek pocket, but none to help the panzers. I think you spent all your air miles while clearing the pocket (as it was the first actions in the turn, correct me if i'm wrong). I try to disable air support when doing such trivial missions (just press D, select ground support off) then turn it back on for the real fight. Again, i "think" this was what happened, but the panzers could just be outside of air range.

I'll try to get one more turn done today, i have too much to do and too little AP, at the start of your northern offensive my lines where a messed colored puzzle with so many units railed away from their hqs and fronts, and tank corps cost 15(!) AP to relocate hq's if the leader misses the admin roll.

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Original: Klydon
I assume the Rumanians are in the Crimea?

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ORIGINAL: fiva55

Damnation, perhaps lady luck really left us when our Führer died. A month of planning, weeks of carefully assembling the forces and all our losses sustained by our diversionary attack in the South, all ruined because of a lucky Soviet recon plane....

Still, most of our armoured forces have arrived, and there is no need to camouflage our efforts now. Now is the time to trust the skill and courage of the German soldier!

German forces ready to break through Soviet reinforced lines

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ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

I think that's the right strategy on the '42 campaign; the Soviet player is really in a pickle up north, because of the crazy salients, and all the units are STATIC. Especially all the units being STATIC; mobilizing them would cost a huge amount of trucks.

In a GC game, the Soviets won't be in that type of position