loki100
Posts: 10920
Joined: 10/20/2012
From: Utlima Thule
Status: offline
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T1
Since this is a shared thread, clearly there will no discussion of certain long term choices (such as where I plan to set up the final defence of Berlin), but we'll be about 4 turns behind the action, so I'll mostly write it as a normal AAR but maybe with a bit of a focus on why I'm making some choices.
The game has been out for a wee while and its fairly clear that there is much less scope for perfect moves than in #1 simply due to the greater number of trade offs.
Speedysteve has discussed the set up rules. One we've gone with is TB locked. I realise the lure of maximum agency but I think that option brings a lot of problems. If the axis player is only thinking of win in 15 turns or end the game, then its not going to work as designed, its meant to set up long term problems if you try for short term benefits. The other reason to leave alone is if you cancel a unit transfer it cancels all the transfers for that unit – and some seem to spend a lot of time moving from Theatre to Theatre. That means later on you can be critically short in a given theatre and not really aware of why. So it introduces a lot of double checking for not much gain.
While I'm musing, a general view on playing WiTE2. Many will prefer one side or the other but the two sides are much more different than in #1. Its a bit like with WiTW, it really is worth playing the 'other' side to gain a better insight into their strengths and weaknesses.
So … time to report on the game.
My air strategy was two fold. I actually didn't want to put too much effort into D1 airbase bombing, but wanted to weaken the VVS with a first hit. So I set up 5 GA-airfield blocks, one up into Latvia, one north of the Bialystok pocket (no … its a salient … at the moment), one to the south, one around Lvov-Rovno and one Odessa and Moldavia.
For the latter I assigned the relevant air groups (as I didn't want those Ju-88s later on flying up to the opening battles of AGS and taking high operational losses, the rest were auto assign.
So thats the outcome – not bad, not great. My losses were concentrated in occasional instances where a flight of bombers were caught unescorted.
Note I only killed 450 pilots (so 2 weeks of their trained pilot production).
I wasn't sure if I was going to bypass Riga or take it, so wanted enough interdiction there, and off Ventspils, to cut Soviet supply. Note the interdiction line – that comes because naval interdiction missions drop interdiction behind themselves en-route to their target (recon missions have a similar effect). This can be incredibly useful as a tool to isolate sectors – you could even set a different route out and back. I committed the Baltic naval air group and a Ju-88 AOG (with the mine loudout).
As mentioned, most of my losses came off individual encounters
Now I've weakened the VVS a little with the bombing but my goal was to do real damage around GS interaction. As the axis player you actually don't need GS on T1, you'll win most battles so its not much of a force multiplier. But what it is is bait, again I took out some decent stuff but also over 4 weeks of Soviet pilot production. That is going to make the Soviets reliant on placing low experience units in the reserve for 4-6 weeks till their pilots train up – effectively limiting the VVS for some time.
I should have turned off GS for the last battle, that saw Ju-88s unescorted and close enough to fresh Soviet fighters – without that the pay off would have been much better.
On the ground, nothing particularly creative. I'm out of practice and mostly went for safety first in pocket design. As ever with AGN, plagued by indecision over Riga, in the end took it as the potential as a port depot is too much and no point shedding VP I can avoid.
Overall fairly pleased, almost all the rail from Kaunas to Daugavipils captured so a lot is intact. I've put the majority of the rail repair SU into 18A so that will help fill in the gaps in Latvia and Lithuania.
As you can see LVII Pzr is on this sector – next turn it can either help towards Pskov or swing east along the Dauga/Dvina.
So AGC. As mentioned, I've been cautious, no moves past Minsk towards the Berezina, I'd rather optimise the pocket and protection of movement corridors.
Note I haven't attacked the western edge of the main pocket – you can run up some nasty losses here and I'd rather wait for a turn of isolation to work in my favour.
Reviewing that image, I've not done a great job in protecting the Brest-Minsk rail – the loss of admin moves for the repairs could cost me a turn to Minsk, that is already set up and repairing.
AGS, another location of constant indecision as to what to do. In the end I took Lvov (& cleared the rail line) just with infantry so decided to push the Pzrs at Rovno. That has a few advantages, it sidesteps some rough terrain and opens up a drive south or east next turn, while clearly most of the Soviet units will fall back, I can set up a running battle.
Unless the Soviet side seriously reinforce, their formations in the Ukraine are going to be strong for about 4-5 turns, at that stage they weaken rapidly.
One thing worth bearing in mind. Low TOE formations that are isolated will often collapse in the logistics phase or when you move next to them. So you can save yourself a lot of CPP by moving around the FZ lines and simply mop up what is left next turn.
Losses. In general, I'm happy if my mine are under 10k on T1. Mostly reflects a cautious approach to how I organised the turn.
Only 7 held results (3 converted to scouted).
Note that one contributed almost 12% of my total losses, in the main even wins vs SW Front are costly, if you fail it can be really brutal.
So the big question is whether the northern pockets are going to be broken?
Going forward, the LW is going to be fairly useless for the next couple of turns. I'll have to rest some units due to losses and I can't bring up the fighters on most sectors – equally don't want to have to risk unescorted bombers. So I don't see any reason not to push it on T1 as long as the loss ratio works in your favour.
I've done a fairly bland opening which has the advantage that I can see what the response is, especially as I have a couple of Pzr Corps in the positions where they react in very different ways.
I've just got T4 back, so as we're managing a complete turn every 2-3 days, should be a regular flow of posts from now on.
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Taming the Tiger or Slaying the Bear......loki100 (Axis... - 
Hopefully I won't 'do a Stalin', though, and lock myself away for a few days with a stash of Vodka for company. 
I sent a friend to have a word. Neither him nor his Cows need be concerned about this anymore. 
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