So this will be my side of the story. I won't be a fast paced story because, as usual, I have too many things going on at the same time. The game turns themselves don't take that long but the write ups sure do.
And Jason should leave now. :knuppel2:
Oh and there could be spoilers in here... ie some decisions that you may not have seen during you playing, if yer playing. ;)
I mean it Jason. Bye bye. :knuppel2:
Ok, is he gone?
Right let's get started.
This is the pre-start turn of the game. Here I have to decide what my victory conditions will be and several other initial decisions. These are not always the same for each start.Sometime you have fewer decisions, sometimes more.
Here we can see the effects of one of the options we chose before the game began. No Mr Nice Guy in this war!
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There is also a nice short paragraph about Frederic whom the operation is named after, and a short paragraph reminding you that this is a pre-game 'set-up" step.
Last thing, before the decisions requiring our attention, is the effects of us choosing to have a pre-history with other "players" on our side of the Battle. These are realistic random possible outcomes of my history with some of the people from the first parts of the war. They can be both positive and negitive. Luckily I got 2 positive histories, although only minor bonuses. These will come into effect when I have decisions thta involve these individuals.
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From the first screen you can see there are 6 decisions awaiting my input. Let's see what I can do to influence the outcome of the battles ahead.
The first decision is the big one: What am I trying to achieve to win.
First we get a short description of the decision and at the bottom you can see the Political Point (PP) cost for each choice. As this is the decision sets the victory conditions it cost nothing but can net me some additional PPs base on the choice.
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Next is a comment from "The Corporal" requesting my input on how to run the operation.
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Then I am presented with the 3 options to choose from.
First option is to bow to the Fuhrer's obvious strategic genius and allow him to dictate the plan. This will give me the most PPs to work with through out the game but also comes with the most interference from the top.
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The second option is to just go straight for Moscow because that's the capitol and that's how you get the enemy to surrender. This will erk Hitler somewhat and I'll get fewer PPs to work with. But it comes with slightly less interference from Him.
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The last option is to pick my own target. This will piss off Hitler and I won't get very many PPs at all. The upside of this is that he won't interfere at all and I only need to hold my objective(s) for a month and not all the way until the end of Jan. '42. I can also get fired and lose immediately however.
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Since I'm still new to the game and because I don't think JP will expect it, I'll choose option 1 and get the most PPs I can to start and try to force my will on Hitler as we go. Should be exciting.
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The next decision I have is one of the random ones that may or may not show up. This time you can see at the bottom that there are PP costs for some of the choices.
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Most every decision will have some input from the people most affected by it. these can give you clues as to how each will respond to a given choice. Funk, here, is worried we don't have enough fuel, which we don't.
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Bock, rightly, points out that holding things up could be a bad idea.
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There are also usually some interesting historical facts added in which is a nice touch.
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Lastly there is a page that shows how the PP costs are calculated. Each choice has a base cost and that is modified by your relationship with the parties involved. Have positive relationship and the costs usually go down for the choice the principal wants you to take. This becomes more important as the game progresses and I start to piss people off.
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In the end I chose to gamble on maybe catching the train. It costs nothing to choose this option and 2000 barrels really isn't that much, about 4 days operation of half a Panzer Group in Blitzkrieg mode. I get a lucky roll and didn't piss off Bock.
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Next up is the planned routing for the Railway Pioneers to change the railway gage as we advance.
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Keitel helpfully points out that I should be busy elsewhere.
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Some info about the work to be done.
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And a handy map showing where the decision affects things so I don't have to keep going back to the main map to have a look.
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I choose to get involved because I don't entirely trust my Chief of Staff to get right what I have in mind.
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---page---
Now I need to decide the same type of thing for Army Group Center.
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Again I need to intervene to make sure things are going the direction I need them to.
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Next is a report about the status of the manpower of the Railway Pioneers.
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And the every helpful... nudge... from those above me.
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Here I agree that there is nothing to be done which pleases my boss but not the man in charge of the Railways. Oh well.
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Last we have yet another report about railways... I think a certain General Gercke likes complaining.
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And F.M. Keitel chimes in with his 2 pennies.
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I again I side with my betters, cause it's free to do so, and annoy the train guy. Her you can also see one of the many helpful mouseover help bubbles that lie beneath those question marks.
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With all that done I end the pre-start turn and send the turn back to JP through the PBEM++ system.
One last shot that show the strategic map of our forces and the locations of their HQs.
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Looking forward to following along.
The snarky notes from Keitel sells this one for me; eagerly awaiting more!
God damn it! No dessert for you until you've finished your Wing Leader!
Keitel is that prick who gave me grief over not being some clean-shaven super soldier while we were pulling 75-50 percent security in MOPP gear in Iraq in May/April in the '03 kickoff. I can just tell. >:(
June 22, 1941
0300 hours
It's a great time of day to start an operation. Love these diary excerpts, no effect on play but interesting to read.
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And just in case I forgot what I am supposed to be doing here's my formal orders from our glorious leader.
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But what's all this? A huge pile of paperwork to plow through before we get to stomp on some Russians.
Oh well, this is what it's like at the top... well at least the middle top...
Weather Dudes are promising no rain for a while... wonder if they're using better darts these days...
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Seven hard choices to make before the fun starts but first I need to check up on who my Chief of Staff is.
Damn! Korber... His job title should PoS not CoS... best not let him make too many decisions for me eh?
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First bit of work doesn't seem like it should be on my desk at... Who left this here? Korber!
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Well let's read what all the invested parties have to say anyways.
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Hmmm... still not sure what my input should be... I'm trying to start a war... more oil is always good... but we do need the Rumanians as cannon fodder... err... helpful allies.
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I think I'll just send a note "suggesting" they give us more oil and see how that goes over.
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Well no more oil soon but at least they seem happy to help out with bullet stops... umm... bodies...
What's next? Ah yes, fuel allocations for each of the fronts.
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I won't bore you with each of the Front commanders whining for more fuel and just show how the PP costs are calculated for this.
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This seems like a lot of PP's to pay just so I can piss two Generals off more then the other one. So I'll just shuffle that off to the shredder.
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Oh Crap! I hate getting letters from Himmler... the little weasel.
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And these attached notes should be good for a laugh... or a bullet to the head....
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I am a soldier, not a politician! I don't need to belong to the Party to get my work done.
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Next up in this report from the Luftwaffe. What's Chubby up to these days?
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I'll spare you the boring support letters this time and show what we can expect from the different choices.
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I'm going let Goring continue to blow up trucks and such for awhile yet and hope this slows the Russians down enough that we can surround large pockets.
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The last three decisions involve the security forces that are assigned to each Front. Need to chose when to have them switch from mop up operations to anti Partisan duties.
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Here's what can happen in either case.
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For all three Fronts I choose to have them continue to mop up for a week after the offensive begins. I plan on lots of Russians left behind my streaming forces.
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Right, with those out of the way I can now read some interesting, though dry, reports on the status of our troops.
This one is from Army Group Center. Like I said dry, but it pays to read these every day to make sure things are running smoothly.
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And this is a sample of the logistics reports each day. Very important stuff here. Must keep the Panzers feed with fuel.. and how they love to burn through it!
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Ok, can I now start to blow stuff up? No? What the...
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Oh with I need to setup some offensive capability for the Armies by playing some cards.
First up is Giving Focus in each Army Group. Since the Generals in charge of each Army Group are old infantry guys they won't let you give focus to the Panzer Groups if you are on bad terms with them.
So far Leeb likes... well doesn't hate me so he agrees that the 4th Panzer Group can get the focus.
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Then I need to assign the Front's artillery assets to and Army or Division. This can't be a Panzer Group because the artillery is mostly horse drawn.
Here I give AGN's artillery to the 18th Army to help them drive for Riga. I can change this later by playing this card on a different unit.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft001zb_zpshuydbeux.jpg&hash=9d0b8c269a1285273ad8e77c4644f16c85cda24f)
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All these cards cost PPs to play so I must be careful not change my mind too often.
Look at this! All our forces poised for the great dive East.
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OK, finally we get to the fighting. Honour of first combat goes to the 253rd and 32nd Infantry Divisions. Their target is to move the Russian 5th Infantry Division so the Panzers can breakthrough.
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The attack goes off flawlessly! Lots of damage to them and they retreat and we take no casualties.
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Here is the position of AGN after the first 4 days (each turn is 4 days) of fighting. Not a bad start. Shown also is the command radius of the 4th Panzer Group HQ. The farther out side the green ring a Division is, the less action points and other benefits from the HQ it will receive.
It's always a juggling act of driving hard and keeping the Panzer Groups together.
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Here is the result of AGC's initial drive. Great progress! I owe von Bock a cognac.
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And in the south von Rundstedt does equally well.
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Even our Finish allies make some head way.
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That's it until we receive reports of the Russian response to our... visit.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on November 30, 2015, 04:27:56 PM
God damn it! No dessert for you until you've finished your Wing Leader!
Don't worry that's tomorrow night's fun.
MD and Carl, thanks fer reading. Do you like all the detail in the decisions or should I just show what the question is and the result I pick?
There will be more combat shots I promise but the first few turns have lots of "paper work" to sort out.
Oops! I should have zoomed in on all those reports... :-[ Sorry about that. I'll make sure it's more readable next entry.
Quote from: Barthheart on November 30, 2015, 10:45:21 PM
MD and Carl, thanks fer reading. Do you like all the detail in the decisions or should I just show what the question is and the result I pick?
There will be more combat shots I promise but the first few turns have lots of "paper work" to sort out.
Personally, I like the detail - it just goes to show how nifty the game seems to be in what it is attempting to portray.
I'd love to see an AAR like this at some point from the Soviet perspective, too.
Quote from: Dammit Carl! on December 01, 2015, 07:27:51 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on November 30, 2015, 10:45:21 PM
MD and Carl, thanks fer reading. Do you like all the detail in the decisions or should I just show what the question is and the result I pick?
There will be more combat shots I promise but the first few turns have lots of "paper work" to sort out.
Personally, I like the detail - it just goes to show how nifty the game seems to be in what it is attempting to portray.
I'd love to see an AAR like this at some point from the Soviet perspective, too.
Hmmm... isn't Jason thread about this game doing the same thing? I don't know because I can't read it yet.
Yes, Dammit Carl, look down. I thought the combat was looking a little too easy for the Germans. But I'm guessing that's because the Russkies are still in Offensive Stance at the start of the game? How about the bonuses for Concentric Attack? Is that still in the game? I'm guessing the Bonus for Divisional Attack is out but what about units from the same corp?
:-[
Ooopsies. Spoke before I looked.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 01, 2015, 09:39:16 AM
Yes, Dammit Carl, look down. I thought the combat was looking a little too easy for the Germans. But I'm guessing that's because the Russkies are still in Offensive Stance at the start of the game? How about the bonuses for Concentric Attack? Is that still in the game? I'm guessing the Bonus for Divisional Attack is out but what about units from the same corp?
There's a lot going for the Germans the first few turns. They have Blitzkrieg stance which gives +40 AP and +20% combat. That on top of the Russian Offensive stance which gives -15% defence makes a huge difference.
Concentric attack bonuses are still there and I use them a lot in the opening moves. There's no Div or Corp bonus.
For the Germans you need to rush ahead and then time when you are going switch from Blitz to Sustained Off, when to advance your Forward Supply Base and when to Rest and Refit your Panzers. Each of the last 2 actions will cause your troops to sit still for a turn or 2. Moving the FSB will cause a 1 to 2 turn stoppage of fuel deliveries to the front.
Timing is everything and I think I have a plan.... we'll see it works in the coming turns.
Gotcha. Does the rest of the war effect the campaign at all, like abstracted events in the west or Med? And how are reinforcements handled in the new game? Don't mean to ask too many dumb questions but just wondering how different it is from DC 1 and DC 2.
Don't think the rest of the war affects what's going on here... don't think it had much affect in the real war ... did it?
Reinforcements, for the Germans at least, as done in recruitment waves as per historically. These pools then flow down to the individual units. You can set priorities on who gets the stuff first... all like DC2. There's also the historical arrival and departure of certain divisions... with a bit of randomness .
I'll be following this, good stuff. AGC looks a little strung out, are there AP's penalties right from the start when out of command range?
Yep. But I also have +40 AP bonus for the Blitzkrieg stance so I can still do a lot of moving and fighting. But I do need to clear a path so my HQs can advance and still be in the supply chain or there will come a time when the panzers won't move very far....
June 26, 1941
Things are going well. The weather for the next 4 days is great again and again I have lots of decisions to make.
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There are some other report I want to read before getting to the paperwork.
Let's check in with Logistics. Good flow of fuel to the front, some bonus oil from last turns decision. And lots of additional PPs. This is important with so many decisions to make.
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Next up is my report card for the first 4 days. Seem to be pretty good so far. Keeping the corporal happy is essential to keeping him from changing his mind.
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Now here's a report on the losses suffered over the last 4 days. Not too bad. 1:10 in men losses and 1:4 in armour.
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Here's the same info in graphical form.
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Here's a sample of an Army Group Log report. Fuel flows from the main supply to the FSB to the PG HQ. Good so far. But I'll need to switch out of Blitzkrieg stance as it just burning fuel!
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The top decision on the pile today is not a pleasant one. This is why i didn't join the party... the bunch of animals.
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However there's not much one person can do against this lot so I'll just carry on with my duties....kind of pissed of my boss though...
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Next up is more stuff that I really care about but I daren't let the bumbling Chief of Staff of mine take care of.
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I choose to take no action and work with what I have. Someone else can fight this battle.
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Again with fuel?!? Man you'd think there's a war on and we don't have enough...
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Better keep the flyboys happy so we can have them moving dirt soon.
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I'm sensing a pattern here..... This is a fight I really don't want to get involved in....
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Ok now something of some import.... and it's got to do with fuel... sigh... The infighting in Logistics is going to cost us this war!
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Currently Grecke is not so happy with me while Wagneris more amenable... so let's play nice with Grecke this time.
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Finally something that doesn't involve fuel... well not directly anyway.
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Since AGN is heading towards Hitler's #1 priority I better make sure the trains run properly. More kudos from Grecke.
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And the same thing for AGS... but the cost is way higher and I need to save PPs... so I irk Grecke again... oh well.
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Here's my standing with the people that are directly tied to me in some way. Looks like I'm still walk the line pretty good.
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Now to some fighting! Let's take a look at the Finns first. I need to be a bit careful with the Finns. If I push them too hard and they take too many casualties they will withdraw from the war and free up a bunch of Russian troops.
If I'm too soft with them then the Russians will have a hayday. But I need to at least have them take back their original territory so here we go.
First we take over a new fort they built during the last few days.
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And they fight really well!
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Another small battle and some maneuvering and the front now looks like this. Those red B's on the map are the original borders of Finland. If a Finnish unit ends the turn beyond that line then I lose a pile of PPs... so best not...
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Because I was able to give AGN's command focus to 4th Panzer Group last round, this round their HQ has some cards I can play. I choose this one as it adds even more APs to the panzers! But doesn't take effect until next turn.
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Playing these types of cards costs PPs as well so you don't want to make the decision lightly or change it too often.
After AGN's actions this is their final disposition. Not too bad, another good pocket formed, Kaunas taken and more railway secured.
Here's also thee 4thPG HQ command radius.
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And here is a report I can get by pushing this button.
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Hmmm... seems the 1st Panzer Div is taking a beating... Let's see his direct report...
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That doesn't looks so bad but maybe I'll make sure they aren't leading the charge next turn.
From AGC we get this wonderful battle report from the final crushing of the Bialystok pocket!
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And then this disappointing battle report from Brest-Litovsk... next round it will be mine!
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AGC's final positions after all the actions. Very good progress towards Minsk and maybe another entire army to be pocketed. 3rdPG HQ is a little exposed but I'm counting on the Luftwaffe to pin down the Russian 3rd Army.
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Seems the Russians have ideas of pushing into Rumania. A lot of their troops have actually advanced up to the border. This will make the Rumanian front a tougher nut to crack but push back we did. Hopefully hard enough to so Stalin the error in his thinking.
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The rest of AGS is making good progress after crushing a pocket in the rail junction and driving right up to the gates of Lvov. We have reports of a large garrison unit there so they don't attack it this round.... well... they also ran out of fuel!
This is going to be a problem. I need to take Lvov to break the Russian resistance in this area but I need fuel to move the Rumanian armour in the south!
This may accelerate the time table for AGS to start switching out of Blitzkrieg stance....
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The entire front at the end of this rounds actions.
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From all this I'm starting to get the feeling that Stalin might be focusing on the Southern front. there seems to be more enemy units there than elsewhere... but it may be too early to tell.
Subscribed. O0
June 30, 1941
Minor counter attacks by the Russians that manage to open a pocket we formed in the north. No matter we'll close it up again.
Here's a look at how the fuel is getting to the Panzer Groups. First is for AGN and AGC.
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And then for AGS.
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Don't want the truck columns to be longer than 10 hexes or they start to have breakdowns. But I also need to have good location for the FSBs.
For AGN I'd like to move it to Kuanas but need to make the location more secure.
AGC should have the FSB set up in Minks to reduce the number of moves. This will stretch the truck columns a bit but I think it's worth the risk.
For AGS, Lvov is a good location for the FSB but I have to capture it first.
Next is a look at the casualties. Over 400,000 for the Russians vs our 37,000. Very good start. I need to keep this ratio up.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003c_zpsnjvqyfak.jpg&hash=de7f82b8f312325d51a812bd9f1cfbb5e0cda4ec)
Logistics reports are showing that there is starting to be a problem with remnant Russians behind the lines slowing our troops. The security battalions should be doing a better job of this...
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003d_zpsrv4iivh3.jpg&hash=d3aa7f10bfdc240c00c24f528b3fe14e99d55a5c)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003e_zpssw5xv3xc.jpg&hash=856ce2997cd6c6c79acf98c298d7d15f09e456b2)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003f_zpsiofgiurb.jpg&hash=157c58c61907e99afc0d7585ecb2c1d99856fc65)
And the overall Logistic reports shows how we received so many PPs this turn.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003g_zpsctdzvxwt.jpg&hash=18b660865de945a84f4aa31fbde9b4fca3df64d7)
First decision of the day is this nonsense. I tell them to go get stuffed.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003h_zpsegrhkgde.jpg&hash=0e55f9c644495a785186a3e4d2fc6a5d2c21d517)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003i_zpsnnoxiiqs.jpg&hash=7e3c4b768a0f8f6f7eea5a6160935c8117c6f4f9)
Then there is the matter of railway infrastructure. I think we should fix it all up in case this becomes the main focus at some point. Also better to help supply the 2 Panzer Groups in this area.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003j_zpshwyugm4p.jpg&hash=e2737f2f9c176057061d8ea46a9ad3afde6a69bb)
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More railroad stuff this time for the south. Keitel is pretty clear on where he sits on this matter, so I'll go with his recommendation this time.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003l_zpsxzbfoso2.jpg&hash=059eb7857eccfebb4a70910de1f151c06216948c)
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Now someone is stealing the tires right off our trucks! Shoot the bastard. Send the spares to AGN as they are the focus right now.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003o_zps2e6nlb3i.jpg&hash=542ee61c5aa39f6efdf235a66d28ea688fb92aa9)
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AGN's FSB becomes available to move but like I said we'll wait a turn or 2 before moving it.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003q_zpszemet52t.jpg&hash=55c234c9ab9ad2f312f144ca12c7517b2bf8c594)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003r_zpshqafghbk.jpg&hash=ffbed1028d4415d6d8c79a02e048dc878241387b)
Ok on to the fighting. Here we see that the Finns are making great headway. This is tying up the Russians well and maybe even going to defeat them. Let's hope the Finnish Government sees this as a chance to go beyond the borders.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003s_zpsavpdyypv.jpg&hash=09d92f9e7de4a1133d5d5fd000379a21c49ce51c)
AGN recloses the pocket, for good this time, and makes a dash for the Dvina River. Capturing the bridges before they are blown is a big deal. A blown bridge can really screw up your logistics.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003t_zpsatmkuvxh.jpg&hash=0a3f40f7232fd27d4794ba6d2c284eadbbbdee20)
AGC pushes very hard and almost surrounded Minsk. Should take it next turn. They also managed to clear Brest so no the roads/rails are open all the way up.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003u_zpseernv2jk.jpg&hash=a013da699468f29898d7a42e4375ed410a7787f7)
This, however, is a little worrying. IT's almost the entire Western Front Army hiding in the woods! If they get to activate next turn I could be cut off in a bad way....
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003ua_zpsjgalzu4d.jpg&hash=a2a948a49a8d0a82fc23614c099844a1e16d2b75)
In the south, 1 Panzer Group shifts north away from Lvov and leaves it for the infantry to clear. They do however push a breakthrough to make it look like we're going to pocket Lvov.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft003v_zpsfvomoi1h.jpg&hash=3125eaa09881c8b33462298eb328e347c9b5c3a7)
That's just bait however, because 1 PG is going to change stance next turn and will be immobile while that happens. Hopefully Stalin just pulls out of Lvov and doesn't attack those 2 dangling units.
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I've also ordered our siege artillery to Lvov in case Stalin makes a stand.
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Further south the Romanians are doing well at approaching Odessa. 11th Army is pushing hard to breakthrough the Russian line. I still think this is where Stalin's main effort is focused.
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Sorry for the delays :-[
Ugh! Really sorry for delaying this game. From now On I'll be playing faster to give Jason a proper game and pace but My reports here will be minimal if at all... I just can't find the time to continue the write ups as they have been.
July 4th saw mud in the south and hoped Jason didn't notice the 1st PG wasn't attacking because they were disorganized from switching stances. It seems to have worked.. or he couldn't actually move down there...
So now it's July 8th and the muds gone and 1st PG is ready to go... and go they did! Here's a start of turn and end of turn shot of the entire map.
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In other news the other 2 AG's are moving slowly. 9th Army and 16th Army were ordered to change stance since they were behind the front line anyway. So this turn they are slowly moving forward while they re-organize.
4th PG is making slow headway and one element got itself cutoff. Managed to rescue it though.
2nd and 3rd PGs have been ordered to change to Sustained Offensive and so have not really moved this turn to stay protected next round.
Also all FSBs have been ordered to move forward so the next few rounds will be short on fuel... lets see how this works.
If I survive it might be time to rest and refit the PGs breakdowns are becoming a problem..... need to get all the infantry to the front before I can do that though....
July 12th sees mud in AGN and AGC so once again the weather covers up my inability to fight with 2nd and 3rd PG as the reorg to Sustained Offensive. O0
No mud in the south so we drive hard and manage 2 encirclements and a break out.
Quick animation of the first few weeks of the war.
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July 16th and the Southern front has broken wide open. Panzer units are running amok and are in danger of out running their supplies.
14th Panzer Division has entered and captured Kiev!
Lots of PP spent this round on rest and refit and changing stances. AGN and AGS FSBs are in place and working. AGC FSB will be in place next round just in time for 3rd Panzer Group to come out of refit for new offensive operations.
4th PG should go into rest and refit next round as they are suffering heavy breakdowns and stress.
The open steppes of the southern front:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft007a_zpsu4gqtwek.jpg&hash=fbfe9b4f39eea10cbaaa7e5136af1ac625748bb3)
Hello Bart, bad news it seems: :(
Quote from: JasonPratt on January 03, 2016, 02:34:10 PM
I suspect from the existence of a Bart update on his thread, that it's my turn again; but my main cooling fan bit the dust (no pun intended) on the computer I'm using to save videos for my AAR snapshots. It'll be several days before I'm up and running again. If anyone is reading both threads, please let Barth know (and pass any other messages back and forth.)
Quote from: Crossroads on January 03, 2016, 02:44:36 PM
Hello Bart, bad news it seems: :(
Quote from: JasonPratt on January 03, 2016, 02:34:10 PM
I suspect from the existence of a Bart update on his thread, that it's my turn again; but my main cooling fan bit the dust (no pun intended) on the computer I'm using to save videos for my AAR snapshots. It'll be several days before I'm up and running again. If anyone is reading both threads, please let Barth know (and pass any other messages back and forth.)
Thanks for the note Corssroads... hope he can fix his PC soon and nothing important went with it....
Wait! He's making videos?!? Now I really feel lazy.... :buck2:
July 20, 1941
I'm feeling a little behind schedule in my overall advance.... especially in the center. Man that's a lotta troops he's got piled up there. 2PG and 3PG are still re-organizing from their stance change so not much advancing there on my part. Trying to shore up the line with the infantry armies including the newly arriving 2nd Army.
Same slow moving in the north as 4PG reorgs.
In the south we are driving wildly across the steppes... maybe to wildly... need to rest and refit 1PG when the infantry catches up....
Might try and close the Pripet Marshes pocket and trap at least 3 full armies there.....
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft008a_zpsbfbdejpf.jpg&hash=c2306d745e9abe1d115099902085d5b91f94758a)
Nice write up! O0
July 24th, 1941
Slow week as we consolidate our gains and have the infantry try to catch up with the Panzers... at least in the South.
The Center is a big solid block. 2PG still in reorg. 3PG makes some attacks but fail because I'm an idiot and didn't check the target first. They were all in Defensive posture! :buck2:
The North is moving again but I need to swing 4PG slightly south to help break the log jam in the center.
The South is till wide open need to be careful not to over extend.... but it is nice tank driving country.... 8)
This screen shows why it's important to read ALL the reports no matter how boring. It seems my Russian opponent feels the need for some artificial help..... I'll take that as a good sign of panic... O0
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The big news this round in the massive pocket in the marshes! If he doesn't back out now he'll lose 4 complete armies. :D
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft009b_zpsetetuafi.jpg&hash=015a7ecbd08f1cc1e2d660e050b9e670ac6ddac8)
July 28, 1941
Ugh! Another week of mud! That's 4 in total so far. It has really hampered operation in the center. That combined with re-org of 2GP and 3PG has meant almost no movement in weeks!
No the Russians have a large wall of troops there....
Trying to reposition 2 PG and 3PG so we can bypass the river and break through the open ground just north of Minsk.... just need a few clear weeks in a row.... :knuppel2:
Not much else happening. 18th Army sprints north and find a small Russian Army around Talinn. In the south still consolidating gains.... in the mud. We did push a few divisions across the river south of Kiev just to frighten the Conscript Army there.
Here's the first 40 days of the offensive.... still think I'm behind and must keep up the pressure on the Russians.....
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2FJune_July_zpskmtitwji.gif&hash=30db8ec2e3b1d05caa762e337b70a0c12b4ef096)
It looks like you withdrew a bunch of Finnish divisions when they were on the cusp of victory...could they not advance further? Looks like you pulled three or four divisions out, leaving a hole which his one division gladly filled.
^^ This is in area the game's taking some liberties btw, as historically Finns launched their attack into Karelia not in June but in July 10, 1941. No big deal, enjoying this DAR immensely O0
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 31, 2016, 08:41:26 AM
It looks like you withdrew a bunch of Finnish divisions when they were on the cusp of victory...could they not advance further? Looks like you pulled three or four divisions out, leaving a hole which his one division gladly filled.
Yeah the Finns are allowed to only go so far then you have to stop attacking or face penalties.
There is a German unit attached up there so I thought I'd try and push it beyond the "NOGO" line to see if the penalty applies to it. It does so I had to pull it back.
So now I'm shifting a few of the eastern most divisions to the Leningrad area in case I can get the Finns released then they will all fall on Leningrad from the north.
I said this on Jason's thread, but Vance it applies equally to you:
"A brilliant AAR, well written, great humour, and an excellent read. Well done. O0 I look forward to your next instalment."
Thanks for such an entertaining read. :)
Thanks Boggit. Glad you're enjoying it. I just wish I had more time to devote to playing a writing it up.
Aug. 1 1941
We've been at war for just over a month now (and longer at this DAR thanks to me :-[ ) and I'm feeling a bit bogged down.... at least in the middle.
With some better weather this round I did manage some small breakthroughs in the middle. 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups shift north an try to get back out into tank country.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft010a_zpso7rfsja7.jpg&hash=47e14829bd06e57001b256504d5098e4573baaa3)
In the south 1st Panzer Group, tired of waiting for the infantry to catch up, sweeps across the river and up behind Kiev. Maybe that can spook the Russians enough to shift some units from the center.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft010b_zpsmdiudeum.jpg&hash=cf56f190ae3681891f730f61cf62a6c7cd92242b)
And ya gotta love this massive pocket. 4 entire armies cut off in the marshes with little hope of rescue. I think I'll just let them rot there....
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft010c_zpswgsytluz.jpg&hash=2cb351413c4a38074c6c522fb107f4c8f7294448)
Aug. 5th, 1941
So here comes one of the dreaded Fuhrer Conferences where he can change the entire set of victory conditions on me.
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Here's what it's all about:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft012b_zpsdbsjqln5.jpg&hash=5e3d2cc1aff4b45e9f0252b98294b598dc9054b3)
So I choose to kiss ass as much as possible to keep things on an even keel. 70% of a good out come and I roll 89!
So the Corporal accuses me of being a spineless suck up and changes the game plan. Instead of Leningrad being the focus of the war now it's Rostov.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft012c_zpstfp6g899.jpg&hash=c90c6217f2a6889ca633d894dbde10d16239d779)
This is not so bad as most of the Russian army seems to be busy in the North.
First thing to do is surprise Jason with a shift in the operational boundaries for 4th Panzer Group. It's an expensive card to play but will let me push all of 4th PG across the North/Central boundary and swing behind this little adventure that he has begun along the boundary.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft012d_zpsddlmmpiz.jpg&hash=4c906b16d64a6e5e6f16ed6a9ec039a698176d4c)
Next up is to continue to swing 2nd and 3rd GPs north a bit to get through the new gap I'm opening. Need to break off this "finger" off that's poking where it shouldn't. Also you can see how low my PP level is getting... need to be carful I don't run out or decisions will be very hard to steer my way....
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Lastly is the South where the focus now is. Rostov doesn't look that far away so maybe we can pull this off. 1st PG, orange, needs to slide south without giving too much away while 17th Army, yellow, moves into the hold the line north. 11th Army will try to contain any Russians in the south that might get frisky.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft012f_zpsksqjvfy4.jpg&hash=c51f67b9fa51958816a980ce960dd80443f3a989)
Finally I thought you all might be interested in the manpower levels of our two armies and the casualties so far. i need to kill more Russians... still too many of them....
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2Ft012g_zpszhoczdjk.jpg&hash=cffdd835407d47aa4392d1df2b50bd2c605fab76)
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August 9, 1941
Not much to report except I may have made a huge blunder.... :P
Seeing Leningrad had only a Front HQ and 2 infantry divisions that were out of command because the rest of their army was marching towards Tallinn, I launched the Finns at Leningrad. And Failed to take the city. So now having 3 Finn divisions across the border could cost me a pile of PPs... next turn might be very hard.
I did manage to take Tallinn so that cut off some more of his troops, but he's got a pile of stuff there and more headed that way....
In the middle I managed to extend the break through but not break off the finger which has gotten wider.
Down south 1st PG is driving hard for Kharkov then on to Rostov, while 17th Army drives up towards Moscow and 11th Army pins the southern troops.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1294.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb613%2Fbarthheart%2FBarbarossa_map%25200_turn0_round14_b_marked_zps9dwjvwmp.jpg&hash=41a535e4f70e532ae21ff9b2f0fa3d35386e5f1b)
13 August, 1941
Do these steppes never end! Crap but this is a huge country......
Anyway good weather again helps with the panzer Groups. And my Finnish expedition achieved nothing and cost me 30 PP...F$@&!
The situation in the North is now a complete cluster... Russian troops are appearing at an alarming rate near Tallinn. I managed to kill a few while they tried to join up but there's more coming to the rescue. I've decided to pull 4th PG back to the north now that the Central breakthrough is fully achieved.
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In the Center 2nd and 3rd PGs have made it to Smolensk! Now.... to drive on Moscow just to keep the Russians off balance or to swing south and try to close the largest pocket in history? This is an actual question to any one reading this. What do you think?
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Down south 11th Army continues to try and crush the pocket that leads to Sevastopol, while at the same time push the conscript armies, that appear like cockroaches in a cheap apartment, back across the river. 17th Army is moving as fast as it can to take the place of 1st PG. Meanwhile 1st PG swings a bot south but must stop here for rest and refit. Tanks need fixing and troops need some rest if we're going to get to Rostov before the mud.
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Can your supplies sustain a drive on Moscow? If not, I'd go for the Pocket. Your lines in front of 2nd Army look awful thin. And what will Comrade Jason expect you to do? The Russians don't seem to be very mobile in this game so there maybe plenty of time to grab those.... 6 armies or is it 8?
I'd pocket, dont think you can bag them all unless you can cross some units from AGS over the theater line. I am curious to see what he has on that road to Moscow, could it be open or lightly defended?
Pocket. Weather's still good and likely to remain so.
Also hedges the bets against just what he's got there deep.
Great stuff...finally caught up with this!
AH, people are reading... good stuff.
Interesting that you all said pocket as that's what I was leaning to as well. I need to break up the "finger" and the 2nd and 3rd PG can start to extend the breakthrough towards Bryansk then Orel. I want to go that far out as I know that the Russians are still having C & C issues and can't move far or fast. Although they seem to be able to create Conscript Armies and place them about any where....
17th Army will be tasked to push up from the south towards Kursk. Then it should not be too hard to close the pocket.
Now if Jason figures out what's happening then maybe then the wall of Red will come apart and we'll get some movement there. 4th Army there is still on Blitzkrieg and their fatigue is building but I can't pull them out to the line to rest and refit with all those Russians piled in that line....
Should be an interesting few weeks in the East.......
Aug. 17, 1941
More great weather this week. Time for some tank action!
In the north, 4th PG transfers back to Army Group North and immediately strikes a weak spot held by a few conscript divisions, crushing them easily. Units from 18th Army then strike and close the noose. Another pocket is formed.
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Way down south we can see that 1st PG is still in their rest and refit so can't move... for 2 more turns! Hopefully this doesn't become too obvious...
17th Army continues it's rush to fill the gap north of 1st PG and then push towards Kursk.
Elements of 11th Army have pushed the Russian 45th Conscript Army into some hills with their backs to a river... should make supplies harder to get. Also Going to push towards Stalino to see what's in the way on the road to Rostov.
4th Army of AGC is finally going to abandon the Russians starving in the swamp and move towards the solid line of Red..
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Further south the rest of 11th Army with help from the 4th Rumanian Army are trying to clear the way to Sevastopol. They need to capture a small town, lightening bolt, to cut off supplies to the rest of the troops in that pocket.
Meanwhile 3rd Rumanian Army is slogging it's way to the front.
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Now for the good stuff, AGC.
2nd Panzer Group preforms a major breakout! 17 Panzer Div. takes Vyazma and then keeps on driving because the Russian have abandoned the highway. They stop less than 100 km from Moscow!!
4th and 10th Panzer Divs head off towards Orel and also find no opposition... if they can reach Orel they will severely hamper the supply route to the Big Red Line.
18th Panzer and Das Reich Divs head off looking to see if there are any backfield enemies and find nothing. They will continue to push south to help seal the pocket.
1 Cav Div is going to probe north so we don't get surprised....
3rd PG and 9th Army are going to continue to reduce the Finger and lock down troops so they can be used to break out of the coming pocket. 3rd PG HQ is a little exposed but I think the Russians will be panicked enough so as to not be a problem... I hope.
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If we can close this pocket it will surely break the Russians!
Progress for the first three weeks in August.
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Cant wait to see the russian reply, they look like there in deep sh*t.
You must announce atari...more than once by the look of things.
Quote from: Cyrano on March 20, 2016, 09:40:01 PM
You must announce atari...more than once by the look of things.
Ahhhhh.... sorry Jim I have no idea what that means.... ???
Quote from: Barthheart on March 21, 2016, 07:12:28 AM
Quote from: Cyrano on March 20, 2016, 09:40:01 PM
You must announce atari...more than once by the look of things.
Ahhhhh.... sorry Jim I have no idea what that means.... ???
Its a term from the ancient game 'Go', similar to 'check' in chess.
Quote from: bob48 on March 21, 2016, 07:34:42 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on March 21, 2016, 07:12:28 AM
Quote from: Cyrano on March 20, 2016, 09:40:01 PM
You must announce atari...more than once by the look of things.
Ahhhhh.... sorry Jim I have no idea what that means.... ???
Its a term from the ancient game 'Go', similar to 'check' in chess.
Thanks Bob.... being a younger man I wouldn't know such things... ;)
Aug. 21, 1941
Well, the old saying "Just because you CAN do a thing, doesn't mean you SHOULD do a thing." has come back to haunt me. My adventure towards Moscow may have just sacrificed 2nd Panzer Group.... but I can't stop now....
In the North, a new conscript army appears near the eastern most border with Finland. So we shift some troops back that way to make sure they stay honest.
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18th Army continues to trade punch with the Leningrad Military District forces near Tallinn. I was actually able to strike at the HQ this week.
16th Army takes Ostrov and with 4th PG starts to reduce the pocket. The SS take a drive north looking for... loot...
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The center has become a very fluid, very scary mess...
The Russians finally make a push to save the troops in the swamp (yellow). Unfortunately the only thing in their way is the 4th Army which is severely exhausted since it has been unable to pull out of the line since the start of the offensive. These units are extremely brittle and not much more than speed bumps.
He's also managed to move some troops out of the line and try and counter 2nd PG, which is strung out and mostly out of command range now. 17th Panzer Div reached Moscow just in time to see the creation of a massive garrison unit there. Oh well, hopefully that cost him some badly needed Political Points. Now out of command range they will try to pull back but it will be slow, only 30 action points while OOC...
Das Reich makes a dash for Gomel. If they can reach it before the Ruskies then the supply for his rescue attempt will be cut off.
9th Army and 3rd PG try to reduce the bulge near Orsha... and maybe take the city so my supply lines can be shortened!
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Here's the Russian supply situation right now...
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With everything in motion now this has become very unstable and potentially very dangerous for us....
In the south things are starting to heat up as well.
1st PG is still in refit and should be ready to fight next turn... I hope... because the conscript pile just appeared out of Stalino! (red)
6th Army starts to push hard north to trap the rescue attempt and help take Gomel, while 17th Army continues to push North East to relieve 1st PG.
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And in Crimea this pocket is still holding up the better part of 2 armies! I've sent the siege arty there to help break the stalemate... but it will take 16 days to get there... I hope to have broke it long before then...
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My gamble in the Center may have just cost me the war but we'll see. A large part of the learning curve of this game is pacing. I still don't have that down and it can cost you dearly as you over exert your troops....
That's one aspect of the game that's not changed with the larger scope-- the supply problems and the ease with which this game allows you to hang yourself. Those vast open Russian steppes look beautiful until you start to run out of gas, then they become scary places. I think you're still doing great Barth.
Looks like no breathing room for either of you, good stuff. what kind of condition is 2nd and 3rd PG in? Did you refit them earlier?
3rd PG was refit back in mid July, and I think 2nd was as well but can't find anything in my notes....
But that's a long time ago now and they really need it again. I should also refit 1st PG once the pocket up north is reduced.
4th Army still needs to change stance and then refit.... if it survives his current push.
Yeah with my breakout I've kind of put us both in a tight spot... I think this will settle matters one way or the other. If I trap the huge pocket he'll be in real trouble... if I don't, well then my units are really exposed... just hope the Russians are still having problems with activations.....
August 25, 1941
Good weather holds so it's Panzer Time!
First though the story in the North:
The Russians thought they'd get frisky and have moved a new conscript army up to the Finnish border. Just to keep them honest we attack across the border and force some cavalry to retreat.
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A little further south 16t Army and 4th PG have reduced the pocket near Ostrov so 4th PG drives north while 16th will finish the stragglers.
18th Army continues to have great effect against the Leningrad MD Army and the 52nd Conscripts. We have been getting reports that Commissar Khrushchev has been in the area for weeks trying to "encourage" their men to fight better... but to no apparent avail.
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If we can capture Luga it will make an excellent airbase for the Luftwaffe to strike at Leningrad.
In the center General Bock and myself are not seeing things eye to eye and as a result he's interfering with operations. (Bad relations can result in penalties for subordinate Armies.) In this case 2nd PG is the focus of his wrath and they don't get enough fuel to act properly. (Penalties are huge reductions in action points.) With the fast encircling units far out of comms they are severely hamstrung and only able to move a short distance.
However with the help of AGS the massive pocket has been closed. And in fact split into two less massive pockets.
The northern one has only the city of Orsha within it. If I understand the supply rules correctly, once pocketed only troops in cities get any supplies, the rest outside the city slowly run out. In any case I need to take Orsha to shorten my supply lines or all my trucks are going to break down driving across country.
2nd PG HQ pushes dangerously forward to try and get comms back with the forwards units, while 3rd PG and 9th Army continue to reduce the Finger, barely a knuckle now near Orsha.
2nd Army has push farther across the Dnepr River to form the middle wall in the pockets.
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The southern pocket contains only the city of Gormel. It is a long thin pocket with not very wide borders so it maybe harder to maintain in the short term. But most of their units are far forward and out of place to open a supply path. 6th Army from AGS continues to plow into the southern wall of the pocket pushing towards Gormel.
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This southern pocket also contains the Russian valiant attempt to rescue the Swamp People. I only have the exhausted 4th Army units as blocking and the most they an do is use up action points. Hopefully the relief of the Swamp arrives just as the supplies drain up from being in yet a larger pocket.
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1st PG comes out of rest and refit swinging. The Russians boldly throw a Conscript army in the lower gap between 11th Army and 1st PG (yellow). But that will come to a grinding halt as I have managed to destroy their HQ and block any forward motion.
So now the plan is for 1th Army to take up positions along the orange front, while 1st PG and 11th Army start the drive on Rostov by rolling over the 40th Conscript Army.
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Further south the Russians with draw their HQs and the majority of their troops out of the hold out city. Of course because I have siege arty on the way...
So the new plan here is for the 11th Army unit to pull out and slide North East while the 4th Rumanian Army finishes taking the city then holds this southern front.
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We are now at the end of August and I'm really worried about the weather. Especially when you get a forecast like this:
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If it rains in the coming weeks the central front will become a real cluster ____!
August 29, 1941
No mud! Not much action either really.
Some reports that I haven't shown in a while:
First is a report showing how much of the Red Menace we have removed from the fight, and a spy report:
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Next we see how much my pointless attack with the Finns cost me....
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Never again.... I'll retreat back from the border next time and let him come to me....
Then we have my reports card for that war so far... not bad... never was a "people" person....
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Here we can see that my worthy opponent seems to be panicking again as he's taken another helper... good sign for me... I guess..
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And lastly is the overall causality report... Reds still on a steeper slope than me....
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Now for some reports from the front. AGN is still pressing on towards Leningrad. Not much tank country up here so once the 16th Army has caught up with the fighting, I may swing 4th PG south and into AGC's control again and drive on Moscow.
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Khrushchev is still reportedly with the Leningrad MD HQ.... wonder why?
I've turned on the "regime colours" map overlay for these shots so it's easier to see who owns what.
In the Center, the large pocket still holds but is one again. So I split off a different chunk. The idea with pockets is to keep the separation large so that they run out of supplies before they can make a connection to the outside again. I still need to make the inner separation larger then 2 hexes but they should be slowing down soon...
The stars mark Orsha and Gomel, the cities I need to take to make the pockets into death traps. 9th Army has done a great job of chewing off the "finger" at the north end of the pocket.
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The Southern Front is starting to take shape. Crushed his minor thrust. Captured the rail crossing in the Dnepr bend. Now 11th Army needs to regroup and push towards Rostov along side 1st PG while 17th Army holds the north-east and the Rumanian Armies guard the South.
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And to rescue the Lost Division!
Well this has come to and end... the Russians surrendered... gracefully as I continued to hold up the game with slow turn arounds.... :-[
Go here to read the wrap up from both sides:
http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=17083.0