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Wehrmacht strength has gone up by 233K since the end of the blizzard, but Red Army has only grown by 252K. Arty G +161, R only +75. AFVs G +742, R + 1145. Shift in combat power therefore certainly favours my glorious legions, even ignoring growth in allied numbers (which I have ignored along with the air forces).
For R to have so little growth when their TOEs increase quite a lot, the inf xx in particular, when they're getting almost all his dead units back as shells, indicates continuing arms crunch and possible manpower shortage too.
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Thought on the mud period
No great insights. Delighted to have secured much improved jump-off positions for my secret summer O. Slightly frustrated at decreased strategic rail abilities, which has considerably reduced the size of the Panzer blob, but it's a good change so musn't grumble.
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Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi
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VOLTAROL - THE JOY OF MOVEMENT
I have to continue to do the best I can with what Ericv has wisely described as my 'appallingly weak' army. Only by the greatest of skill and tremendous courage can I now succeed in saving the world from enslavement by the Bolsheviks.
The heading comes from adverts for a cream that claims to remove muscle pain or some such. The time has now arrived when we can fill up our panzers with voltarol and make the most of the first clear weather in 30 weeks . YEEEEEEEHAAAAA
Nothing going on in the north, so we start with my diversionary offensive towards Toropets and Kalinin to pin down enemy forces in the central region. I have to do something with the armour here because,for months, I have not had any spare rail capacity to send them elsewhere. Advances of up to 30 miles are made against our mighty foes as we reach the outskirts of both cities. Elsewhere, we continue to decimate any enemy formations that try to stick themselves between our units and to push enemy units south of Moscow back over the Oka.
The bombing of enemy HQs behind the lines continues to be productive (Brian insisted it should be allowed once per hex even if not stacked with a combat unit.
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'Springtime for Hitler and Germaneee'
Rather a busy slide, but it was a busy turn down here.
Kerch stormed by Model's specialist assault xxx, and 270 miles to the east, a weakly held Voroshilovsk also falls to 2 Panzer Army. In the meantime. element of 1 Panzer army isolate the forces that had been placed to defend from an attack out of the Crimea and surround the port of Novorossiysk whilst 2 Panzer Army brushes away all resistance to advance 100 miles closer to Baku.
The funny map colours are to show the weather zones. Green and yellow are mud next turn, but the very pale hexes are in the european weather zone which is clear until October. Hence the slightly strange-looking distribution of panzer units.
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final position a lot clearer in this shot
The eagle-eyed reader will notice the little finger of converted hexes at the bottom of the screen at the source of the R. Laba. Under the nearby red HQ showing as '11-33' is my best mountain div, which I hope he won't find.I hope to sneak it down the finger next turn in the hope of cutting the coastal rail line in 2 or 3 turns. That won't isolate the mass of Russian units to the west, because the 2 little towns on the coast are both level 2 ports. One is only 2 hexes away from the SS unit adjacent to Novorossiysk, but the other on the rail line will be hard to take. However, cutting the rail line would stop most of them getting out to defend the main target of Baku, as well as giving Brian's morale another kicking.
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Thoughts on T47
I never said that playing G was never fun.
Losses 12.7K to 26.2. Air a brutal 189 to 314 after I overran a couple of airbases. 4 inf xx and 1 tank and 1 inf x shattered and 6 arty regts destroyed. 3 inf xx, 2 inf x and 1 HQ in the pocket east of Kerch.
Some might wonder why 1 Panzer Army (red units) went south west and south and not towards Baku. There are 3 reasons in order of decreasing importance:
1. Supply. A single line of supply anywhere is always going to be vulnerable to ground troops, partisans and paras (para drops allowed in this game). and the current route through Rostov is quite long. The route through Kerch is the only alternative until Novorossiysk is taken and its port starts functioning which will be 3 or 4 turns. Capturing it will leave port at 99% damage which repairs at 3 pts per turn. At 90% damage the port will function at level 1/10 but that's enough. I'm not find in the updated manual whether port repair happens before or after the calculation to see if the port is on the supply grid. Once N town is on the grid, my supply line will be much safer because it will be connected to my rail network by then.
Second supply issue is that the threat to the supply line is bad enough without a threat from the west/south west.
2. I want to tie up his forces in the SW. The bulk of his combat power seem to be there and I want it to stay there, but pinned into a manageable area. Hence also my hope of sneaking a mtn div through to cut the rail line. Whether the trap works or not, once the SW is sufficiently secure 1 Pz Army can turn back to the main objective, hopefully accompanied by all my best infantry divs.
3 The weather is better in the European zone.2 Pz army advanced as far as I wanted to go this turn given the alternate mud turns in the weather zone my supply route is in.
< Message edited by sillyflower -- 6/19/2016 3:10:02 PM >
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Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi
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T48 mud outside European zone.
Can I call Brian ein Schweinhund because he broke my rail supply line, without breaking the rules? He is slowing down my plan for Sexit aka Soviet exit from Europe.
All credit to him and there wasn't much I could do in the mud. Fortunately, the 1st Hungarian Armoured div was already on the way to the front, because no other combat unit was capable of retaking the marsh hex.
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Revenge was taken in the western Caucasus.
Last turn's decision to establish an alternative supply route paid off as access via the Crimea was established, and Novorossiysk and Krasnodar fell to liberating forces. It will take 4 weeks to have a functioning port at Ntown which is connected to the rail network. Luckily for me Brian had forgotten that it was clear in the European zone otherwise I might have struggled to open the line to the Crimea. The sideways crab movement at the eastern end dictated by the clear weather zone.
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Thoughts on T48
Losses a very healthy 1.8K to 34.2K, air 95 to 152. 3 inf xx, 2 inf x and 2 regts destroyed.
Brian had forgotten that the Europe zone was clear. My armour in the Kuban area had a reasonable amount of petrol thanks to the efforts of the LW the previous turn. That enabled me to clear the Kuban and to take Novorossiyk and Krasnodar and to clear a much needed supply route from the Crimea.The mud in the Rostov area prevented me from restoring the rail line south so that will have to wait until next turn. The most annoying thing for me was not being able to convert any rail lines down there this turn.
Overall, a better turn than Brian had expected but that vulnerable rail needs to be better protected - at least for the 4 turns it will take until N towns port is working.
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Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi
Reply: They already know you're a gamer. What other shame can possibly compare?
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I've been following this AAR for the last several months and am especially studying the thought process behind snow/blizzard tactics, and the Rostov breakout. My understanding is sillyflower is an aging lawyer and current WITE superstar at the height of his fame, while I am a young aspiring lawyer ready to absorb the wisdom of elders and then use it all to take their jobs/win at WITE.
That sneaky purple mountain division looks like it could be nasty if Brian doesn't retreat fast enough. I wonder how he is building long-term defensive lines farther to the east to protect Baku.
< Message edited by Girshwin -- 7/1/2016 8:06:39 PM >
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Good for you. I retired early as a lawyer (aged 59) as I always wanted to quit at the height of my game - and before any of my partners wanted me to. I think I achieved both.
The secret of learning from your elders is to learn the right bits of wisdom....................
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Post: I am always fearful that when I put this game down on the table and people see the box-art they will think I am some kind of neo-Nazi
Reply: They already know you're a gamer. What other shame can possibly compare?
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Joined: 8/4/2010 From: Back in Blighty Status: offline
More fun in the Caucasus
Not such of advance to the south east as I try to keep concentrated in the European zone and I'm not ready for a dash to cut the Astrakan-Baku rail line, with mud for the next 2 turns. Clearing the east flank of my supply line.
My mtn div cuts the coastal rail just west of Sukhimi. It was only protected by an inf xx with fewer than 2,500 men which promptly routed when attacked. He has the port of Tuapse in the 'pocket, so I tried a bit of port bombing but only got 1% damage on a level 5 port. Best to save the bombers for Baku which is only level 3. Hopefully I can keep those troops (which seem to be the bulk of his combat power in the Caucasus for some reason) bottled up until I can capture the rail line at Baku which will isolate them all, and Sevastopol. In the meantime 1 Pz Army starts marching east to join the main offensive when the weather improves.
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RE: SILLY's SWANSONG NO BRIAN G - 
. YEEEEEEEHAAAAA 
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