Zonso
Posts: 49
Joined: 1/28/2011
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Due to work committments Dave has withdrawn and resigned from our game in Jan '42, so I thought I would make a couple comments in closing. First off, the other side makes for some interesting reading, especially some of the advice given. Dave played a very strong game and did not make any mistakes at all imo. In fact it was me making all the mistakes throughout and I learned quite a few things moving forward. Dave is a very methodical player and used terrain and sacrificial units to great effect. My only criticism is he may have been more aggressive, especially in the blizzard, when seeking attacking opportunities.
My initial plan was to strike in several areas to try and keep the Russian side off balance. That style did not pan out very well against Dave's carpet and checkerboard defense, and his use of key terrain and strongpoints to delay. He also was very adept at sneaking in units to isolate spearheads when I wasn't careful on the flanks. Many times it was me continually off balance and trying to catch up. His timing was great also in retreating just before lines began to establish and before I was able to gather sufficient forces to create a pocket. That coupled with his use of river lines and 'instant' (it seemed) Level 2 forts really never allowed me to take off. I used HQBU 4 times and only once, the Tula pocket, was I able to take advantage of it.
I had never tried the Lvov opening before until this game and due to my inability to keep that pocket and following pockets properly sealed, I lost valuable time and could not keep any momentum going in the South. I also dithered too long with Panzer Group 4 after I saw I no longer needed them in taking Leningrad. I should have regrouped and used them sooner for an attempt on Moscow. In hindsight I should have kept the Panzer Groups more concentrated and focused.
Part of my difficulty was supply. I began to deal with Partisans on Turn 2 I believe and my supply lines were cut at least 4 times, maybe 5, during the summer campaign, leaving the advancing forces high and dry. I even resorted to bringing a FDB back to try and connect some of the adjoining rail. I had dedicated fighter groups on night missions most of '41 and they did not record a single kill as far as I saw. They definitely didn't prevent any partisan supply drops!
Reserves also played a huge role in the fall of '41 for the Russian and in the Blizzard for the German. The initial Russian reserves were quite shocking as many, many units from several hexes would respond repeatedly. I had to resort to excessive attacking troops in order to prevent from responding. I think this is an area that needs looking at because it seemed very excessive. On the other hand, I had setup several divisions and regiments in Reserve for the Blizzard and made sure the Leaders up to ArmyGroup had high initiative, yet they only committed a handful of times when there were multiple opportunities for more. In fact, i had setup my whole Stalino defense based on a combination of Panzer Corps and Mountain Division backstopping in reserve. However, they rarely helped and that whole line collapsed quickly, much to my surprise.
All in all, a good challenge and a good learning game.
< Message edited by Zonso -- 5/11/2012 5:26:48 PM >
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RE: 41-45GC Smokindave (Sov) vs. Zonso (Axis) - 
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