Winter War - Finns vs. Commies - Order of Battle WW2

Started by airboy, October 31, 2016, 06:42:07 PM

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Crossroads

Thanks airboy, very helpful! And what do you know, the spoiler option was there too  O0
Campaign Series Legion | CS: Vietnam 1948-1967 | CS: Middle East 1948-1985

CS: Vietnam DAR: LZ Albany as NVA (South Vietnam 11/17/65)  
CS: Middle East AARs: High Water Mark (Syria 10/12/73) Me vs Berto | Riptide (Libya 8/6/85) Me vs Berto | The Crossroads (West Bank 6/5/67)  Me vs Berto

Boardgame AARs: AH D-Day | MMP PanzerBlitz2 Carentan | OSS Putin's Northern War | GMT Next War: Poland | LnL Against the Odds DIY

airboy

#31
North Turns 5-7

I destroyed the Russkie unit at the town and am advancing East along the road.  I'm having to pursue a couple of shattered units that are retreating.  My lone artillery unit keeps falling further behind.  My single fighter unit keeps annoying the Red Air Force.  I have 35 turns left, so I'm using a steady pursuit and not advancing further than spotting range.

North Turn 5


Turn 6 - Slow advance and pursuit


Turn 7 - Hitting more blocking forces
I eliminated all of the stragglers by Turn 7 but hit another blocking force.  I have no idea why I spotted the unit in the South East. 
My fighter unit must be withdrawn to reinforce.  It is getting close to destruction.  I think the Commies have two fighter units they are shuffling in and out.
But overall, this is an largely uneventful advance.  I've outrun my artillery support and my air support is getting shot up.  But if I don't run into either large numbers of Commie units or worse - units with heavy artillery support I should be able to capture the secondary victory hex by turn 10 or so.

airboy

#32
North Front Turns 9 - 12

I got lucky in this scenario.  I thought that the North front was more lightly defended.  I knew from looking at the map that it had a long way to go to reach the final victory hex.  I put both of my Ski units in the North.  But I ended up not taking my anti-tank gun or most of my infantry.  I had just enough units in the North to have local superiority - barely.  I've seldom split my forces more efficiently than I managed to do in this scenario.

Turn 9 - Boom goes the Commie!

I timed the screen capture just right to capture the "boom" of a dying commie unit and the appearance of the dead bodies.  This photo will honor the pages of the school history books of Finnish children for a generation.


Turn 10
My two ski units are on the flanks.  I show where they will move next turn to almost encircle the probable defenders of the target town.  The slower infantry unit will move straight up the road.  Since I have 30 more turns and this is the last victory hex before turning sharply South, there is no need to attack on Turn 11.  Just moving into position properly will work well.


Turn 12
The defender ended up being a Commie Heavy Infantry Unit.  This is bad news.  But they are almost surrounded and that means an easy victory - next turn.  This is the start of turn 12 so I will have no attacks this turn to enable the encirclement and prevent the heavy infantry from escaping.  This also shows that I'm close to the Eastern edge of the map which is across the frozen lake.  I'm mostly heading South after I take this victory hex.

JasonPratt

...who else keeps being distracted from Airboy's fine AAR by OBSESSIVELY FINDING THE FROZEN PALM TREES NOW!?

I blame you, Crossroads.  :tickedoff:
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

airboy

#34
Wrapping Up the North front Before Linkup with the South - Turns 13 - 18

I got an unexpected gift from taking the far NE secondary victory hex - a nice Commie Tank painted with a beautiful Finnish Flag.  The Finnish women gave the troops vodka shots and kisses.  The tank is a mixed blessing.  First, I can't buy any armor so this is the only tank I'm likely to get.  Second, I can only reinforce one point per turn (which prevents me from moving or attacking that turn).  But it is a tank which is at least a more mobile anti-tank gun.

I only have two apparent blocking units left from the Northern Communist Forces.  It was not that hard to eliminate them.  I also FINALLY got air superiority.  I don't have  any attack value, but my fighters finally removed the commie air attacks. 

By Turn 18 you can see the last airfield and the final victory hex in the SE corner of the map.

Tank!!



Turn 13 - Only 2 Blocking Units Left?



Turn 18 - Last Screenshot in the North Before the Linkup with the South

airboy

#35
Central Front - Turns 11 - 18

The Northern forces had a lot more ground to cover than the Central Force.  My Central Forces also got quite scattered by the Commie counter-attack on my supply base.  The early screen shots show the Finn advance units moving very slowly.  A couple of reasons for this.
1] I want to concentrate my central forces again.
2] I don't want to be ambushed
3] I would like to have a coordinated attack on the final victory hex and the associated Soviet forces there.
4] My central forces are moving ahead of the Northern Force.  There is no hurry since there are 40 turns in the scenario.

Turn 11 - Finn Advance Units Start Crawling Forward on Purpose


Turn 13 - I encounter a Soviet Blocking Force while my troops are not concentrated.


Turn 14 - The AI Makes the Dumbest Move of the Scenario.  The Commie Tank Does not see the Finn AT Gun - Yet!


Turn 15 - Surprise! says the AT Gun


Turn 16 - Last Blocking Unit?


Turn 18 - Southern Forces Close to Link-Up With Northern Forces
If you look at this screenshot carefully you can see the two forces converging.  This is the last screen shot of a separate force.  The last set of shots are the slug fest with the remaining Communists.  One last thing.  I'm about to capture the only airfield in the SE.  That grounds the Commie Air Force and also allows the Finns to see if there are any remaining Commie units in the area.  Unlike my US Marines AAR in the Pacific, in the Artic the Soviets have not learned to conceal their units from being spotted from the air. 

airboy

This is probably my last update for a couple of days.  I have a bunch of work to do for the end of the semester.  I'm also sick from the poor air quality from all of the forest fires in the Southeastern United States.  Jason knows what I'm talking about.  We are all praying for rain since we are in a profound drought, it will stop the fires, and the air quality will improve.  My chest feels like it did prior to heart surgery a lot of the time in the last week.

Sir Slash

That's a really great series of AAR's. We're going to have to change your name from 'Airboy' to 'AirMAN'. Incredibly dry here in Fla. too. No rain for almost 2 full months so I can sympathize with you there. We need a choking, hacking emote.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

Crossroads

Quote from: JasonPratt on November 28, 2016, 08:28:46 PM
...who else keeps being distracted from Airboy's fine AAR by OBSESSIVELY FINDING THE FROZEN PALM TREES NOW!?

I blame you, Crossroads.  :tickedoff:

I am a Finn after all, I tend to notice frozen palms in the midst of Winter War...  :hide:
Campaign Series Legion | CS: Vietnam 1948-1967 | CS: Middle East 1948-1985

CS: Vietnam DAR: LZ Albany as NVA (South Vietnam 11/17/65)  
CS: Middle East AARs: High Water Mark (Syria 10/12/73) Me vs Berto | Riptide (Libya 8/6/85) Me vs Berto | The Crossroads (West Bank 6/5/67)  Me vs Berto

Boardgame AARs: AH D-Day | MMP PanzerBlitz2 Carentan | OSS Putin's Northern War | GMT Next War: Poland | LnL Against the Odds DIY

Crossroads

Quote from: airboy on November 28, 2016, 09:41:29 PM
This is probably my last update for a couple of days.  I have a bunch of work to do for the end of the semester.  I'm also sick from the poor air quality from all of the forest fires in the Southeastern United States.  Jason knows what I'm talking about.  We are all praying for rain since we are in a profound drought, it will stop the fires, and the air quality will improve.  My chest feels like it did prior to heart surgery a lot of the time in the last week.

Thanks for the stories, was rooting for you! A most happy ending, too  :bd:

Let us pray for some rain then, we do suffer from forest fires during the summer as well. Not a nice experience at all...
Campaign Series Legion | CS: Vietnam 1948-1967 | CS: Middle East 1948-1985

CS: Vietnam DAR: LZ Albany as NVA (South Vietnam 11/17/65)  
CS: Middle East AARs: High Water Mark (Syria 10/12/73) Me vs Berto | Riptide (Libya 8/6/85) Me vs Berto | The Crossroads (West Bank 6/5/67)  Me vs Berto

Boardgame AARs: AH D-Day | MMP PanzerBlitz2 Carentan | OSS Putin's Northern War | GMT Next War: Poland | LnL Against the Odds DIY

JasonPratt

Quote from: airboy on November 28, 2016, 09:41:29 PM
This is probably my last update for a couple of days.  I have a bunch of work to do for the end of the semester.  I'm also sick from the poor air quality from all of the forest fires in the Southeastern United States.  Jason knows what I'm talking about.  We are all praying for rain since we are in a profound drought, it will stop the fires, and the air quality will improve.  My chest feels like it did prior to heart surgery a lot of the time in the last week.

I'm all the way on the other side of the state from Gatlinburg -- didn't even know it was happening! Fortunately also waaay upwind.  :-\ :'(

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/29/worst-possible-conditions-residents-flee-gaitlinburg-tenn-as-flames-lick-roads/?tid=pm_national_pop
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

airboy

Quote from: Crossroads on November 29, 2016, 01:56:31 PM
Quote from: JasonPratt on November 28, 2016, 08:28:46 PM
...who else keeps being distracted from Airboy's fine AAR by OBSESSIVELY FINDING THE FROZEN PALM TREES NOW!?

I blame you, Crossroads.  :tickedoff:

I am a Finn after all, I tend to notice frozen palms in the midst of Winter War...  :hide:

I've visited Helsinki 3 times.  Lovely place. 

Sir Slash

"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

JasonPratt

We're going to segue into Airboy's remark about kisses and vodka shots now, aren't we?  ^-^
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Crossroads

Quote from: airboy on November 29, 2016, 05:08:39 PM
Quote from: Crossroads on November 29, 2016, 01:56:31 PM
Quote from: JasonPratt on November 28, 2016, 08:28:46 PM
...who else keeps being distracted from Airboy's fine AAR by OBSESSIVELY FINDING THE FROZEN PALM TREES NOW!?

I blame you, Crossroads.  :tickedoff:

I am a Finn after all, I tend to notice frozen palms in the midst of Winter War...  :hide:

I've visited Helsinki 3 times.  Lovely place.

If there's a fourth to be let me know, beer's on me  :)
Campaign Series Legion | CS: Vietnam 1948-1967 | CS: Middle East 1948-1985

CS: Vietnam DAR: LZ Albany as NVA (South Vietnam 11/17/65)  
CS: Middle East AARs: High Water Mark (Syria 10/12/73) Me vs Berto | Riptide (Libya 8/6/85) Me vs Berto | The Crossroads (West Bank 6/5/67)  Me vs Berto

Boardgame AARs: AH D-Day | MMP PanzerBlitz2 Carentan | OSS Putin's Northern War | GMT Next War: Poland | LnL Against the Odds DIY