C'est La Vie: Skritshell (Axis) vs Scarz (Soviets)

[Skritshell]

Wanted to call this "Death Ride of the Wehrmacht", but that boat sailed off without me.

Settings:
Full FOW
Air AI off
TB on
No Motorization of units
No SD until blizzard

Day one Air bombings: I did a fairly standard air opening, just bombed fighter and recon bases, letting the Soviet fast bombers get run down by 109's. Only disaster was a bombing mission in the south that only rolled 1 fighter escort into the air interception.

Ground Phase: Once again, a fairly standard opening.

AGN took Riga on the march and is positioned to strike towards Pskov or Velkie Luki. Only thing of note is that 38th mot is broken down, with elements over 250miles from each other. It will be along while before all elements are reunited.

AGC completed a standard Minsk pocket, with PG3 capturing key stepping off points for a turn 2 assault towards the land bridge. Only element of PG2 sent south is 1st cav.

AGS's main focus was cleaning the Lvov Tarnopol rail line, the southern FBD has the furthest to go and I see little point in wasting time. No mechanized elements of PG2 were used in the south, I always hated the necessity of such a move in wite1 and my view on Kleist borrowing half of Guderians babies has not changed. Only disaster down here was the loss of 20 tanks in a hasty against a soviet mech division in light woods.

[Skritshell]

AGN: As can be seen my recon directive for the Pskov region did not fly, this is unfortunate but one can make a reasonable guess as to what he has where. The clump of depleted and unready divisions west of VL is almost too temping.

AGC: Blocking divisions can be seen in the swamps to the west of the land bride. North west of Vitebsk and north east of Orsha Mechanized elements can be seen out of position. Two options lie open, either a drive strait through the land bridge towards Smolensk, or swing north of the Dvina and knock some strong counters off the map?

AGS: It appears that the temptation of trying to save elements of SW Front retreating out of Galicia was to much, Scarz has adopted a position very close to the fire. Not a whole lot to say on this, should be a straightforward pocket.

[Skritshell]

AGN: Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, PG4 drove east, aborting the drive on Pskov in favor of securing a pocket SW of VL with PG3. I hope I did not make any mistakes judging zoc movement, but regardless of if the Soviets break the pocket for a turn, a dozen counters have had their fate sealed.

AGC: I believe the correct expression used here is "wanted his cake and eat it to". The grand dream was to drive PG3 north east of Vitebsk to link up with PG4 while PG2 swung south of the city through the land bridge before driving north to link up with PG3. It can be seen which part of that plan was successful. Infantry elements transferred from 9th Army to PG3 have arrived in the area and should be available for operations next turn.

AGS: This was perhaps the simplest part of the turn. PG1 drove north of Proskurov before swinging south to link up with 11th Army and the Romanian Cav Corps. The lack of concentrated mechanized reserves behind Scarz lines has the additional befit of ensuring that this pocket should likely hold. The only thing to note is that an attempt was made to also drive south of the city for a double envelopment, but after some tough going in some woods against Soviet mechanized divisions, the southern drive was aborted. The Romanian's did what they did best, fail to push security divisions and soviet forts. This made figuring out how to ZOC lock units an utter pain. On the bright side, they keep things interesting.

[freeboy]

plz explain
" no sd until blizzard "

[Skritshell]

ORIGINAL: freeboy

plz explain
" no sd until blizzard "

Supper depot. When an fbd sits on a rail to draw more supplies

[freeboy]

is it something thats reserved till then to thwart some red army advantage ?
Nit clear on why

[Skritshell]

ORIGINAL: freeboy

is it something thats reserved till then to thwart some red army advantage ?
Nit clear on why

Is an axis nerf actually. Super depots allow an axis player to pull enough supply to keep an army group full on supply in 41 and keeps the mechanized divs constantly topped up on fuel. Their is a trade off, as the other army groups will pull less supple, but often the trade off is fully worth the extra mobility.

[freeboy]

ok.. so the axis are too strong in 41 and its for play balance ? again thank you

[Rosencrantus]

ORIGINAL: Skritshell

ORIGINAL: freeboy

is it something thats reserved till then to thwart some red army advantage ?
Nit clear on why

Is an axis nerf actually. Super depots allow an axis player to pull enough supply to keep an army group full on supply in 41 and keeps the mechanized divs constantly topped up on fuel. Their is a trade off, as the other army groups will pull less supple, but often the trade off is fully worth the extra mobility.

If you are playing in the new public beta, super depots have been pretty heavily nerfed in 1941 (no more pulling 60k freight in a single depot with the right HQs in there), so much that they are not broken anymore and I believe both sides should be able to use this feature whenever they want.

[freeboy]

ok

[Skritshell]

AGN: Recon of Pskov area once again was lackluster. Further south the pocket has held. The limited infantry in range of the front will be unable to clean the pocket in a timely manor.

AGC: Scarz conducted no counter attacks, likely because his mech was not concentrated and out of position. The ZOC lock around Vitebsk has held. The lack of fuel in the panzers means only limited offensive action can be taken. Three options lie open. The first is a direct drive on Smolensk, while the most bold option this would leave the panzers heavily attrited with flanks exposed for a counter thrust. Conversely PG2 could drive south of the city while PG3 drives north, flipping tiles and closing the distance to Moscow. The last option is to consolidate what is taken, while the infantry arrive, resting the panzers for another day.

AGS: Once again the pocket has held, with a counter attack from inside the pocket that shifted a Romanian panzer regiment. The question now is how to precede. The Soviet center looks open, and a direct drive towards the Dnieper looks promising. In the south formations of Southern front are exposed while trying to escape into the step.

[Skritshell]

ANG As will be the theme this turn I chose a passive turn. Infantry of PG4 has more or less now reached the front, and in the spirit of conserving panzers, no assault was launched on Pskov. To the east motorized elements of PG4 clean the northern half of the pocket and can be seen grabbing some low hanging fruit.

AGC: The infantry of PG3 start the reduction of the pocket supported by motorized elements. The rest of PG2 launch north east and with the help of PG2 encircle 2 riffle divisions north west of Smolensk. PG2 has secured the Vitebsk pocket, flipped the land bride and has 1 Motorized Corps resting for operations turn 4.

AGS: The south was a bag of cats and I am rather unpleased with it. I attempted to do to many things at once, I wished to drive on the Dnieper crossings while at the same time bagging the remnants of Southern Front. Of the least most of the two I was successful, however the operation sucked in more of PG1 then I would have preferred. The Drive on the Dnieper stalled out before it could truly begin, ZOC locking a division in Vinnitsa and taking little ground.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

Check your Logistics Report. Your answer may be there.

[Skritshell]

AGN: Scarz has opted yo hold the Velikaya south of Pskov. This is a bold choice, but perhaps not necessarily a bad one, since at this point I believe he thinks PG4 is oriented towards Moscow. Speaking of the Panzer Group it is gassed up and well rested, with high CPP infantry now at the front, it might be time for a classic Pskov pocket.

AGC: The now almost total destruction of Soviet mechanized elements in the center allows one a certain level of operational freedom. However, as it is turn 3 fuel in the forward panzers is now becoming more critical, with much of PG3 low on fuel. The Soviet positions leave little to be desired. Scarz is desperately clinging to the upper Dnepr and attempting to hold the entirety of the river. To the east lies Smolensk, with at most a dozen combat ready divisions in the cities vicinity.

AGS: Here Scarz can be seen retreating with what remains of his SW Front towards Kiev and the lower Dnepr. Only a thin screen can be seen on the tributaries of the Yuzhny Bug. Their is now only one good tactical option left available. Drive east to the Dnepr crossings and the great steppe lands beyond.

[Skritshell]

AGN: PG4 runs out of fuel 1 tile before closing the pocket on Pskov. This is very disappointing as any potential momentum and surprise on the Leningrad axis will now be lost, as it will take 2 turns to fully secure and clean this pocket. The same amount of time for Scarz to deploy his reinforcements into defensive positions.

AGC: Opting to secure both flanks before a concentrated assault on Smolensk is made, PG2 drove south, pocketing a half dozen Soviet counters. To the north PG3 is concentrated and is refueling. Down by Gomel a motorized corps of consisting of GD, DR and 1st cav is pushing to secure the flank of AGC. While at the same time being a threat to constantly keep the soviets off balance and prevent them from completely neglecting the area.

AGS: With the soviets thinned out from the last month of border battles the going this turn was much easier for Kleist's panzers. The main constraint was fuel not soviet resistance. 2 PC can be seen splitting SW front in half, while the remaining panzer corps is on a "Tour de Bessarabia" alongside a Soviet mechanized corps.

[Skritshell]

I failed to take screenshots of both turn 5 and 6 recon phase. The Post turn synopsis will have to suffice.

AGN: With the Pskov pocket now secured, PG4 was free to flip tiles to the north, ZOC locking another division along the way.

AGC: I had in mind a classic double envelopment of Smolensk. To this effect I was mostly successful. PG2 did outstanding able to easily break the soviet lines and swing all the way around the city. The going to the north however, was much less favorable. A combination of misjudged attacks along with some eyewatering German CV drops made for a complete failure of an offensive. I was hesitant to burn the tanks of PG3 in the woods north of Smolensk. I have paid for this greed with an open pocket and expected AFV casualties in PG2.

AGS: In the south I have adopted a strategy of attrition. The rail lines have a long way to go and I see little point in advancing beyond supply range when counter within range can be removed. Thus PG1 swung south, encircling a vast amount of land and a handful of valuable soviet trucks in depleted mechanized counters. If the pocket will hold is dependent on the amount of fuel available to the soviets.

[Skritshell]

AGN: Not a lot happened in the north this turn. PG4 is consolidated and waiting on infantry. Scarz can be seen with fresh rifle divisions on the Luga, I imagine they are all 50 moral 45xp divisions. The decision I am facing over the next turn is to push for Leningrad or not. I have not committed a substantial amount of recourses to this front, and PG4 spent a number of turns messing around west of VL and around Pskov.

AGC: The expected counter attack against the regiments of 17th panzer took place, pushing the second regiment back with light casualties. Hoth's panzers had an easier time this week, linking of with PG2 north east of Smolensk. To the west of Smolensk PG2 drove east, capturing Vyazma on the march. Scarz made the mistake of having depleted units in the city refitting, with nothing of any combat value. The capture of Vyazma deprives Scarz of a hardpoint to hold his center on, while allowing me to threaten a breakout in multiple directions.

AGS: Last turns loose pocket did not hold. This turn the kessel was sliced into more containable elements. To the north east of Kirovograd a drive by a corps of 1PG was abandoned after 2 failed attacks by exhausted motorized elements. The main event is to the south east of Kiev, were 4th Mountain has secured a bridgehead across the Dnepr.

[Skritshell]

AGN: I am dissatisfied with how I have handled this front thus far. I have let my infantry wander, and the only way I am going to make good ground here is to burn panzers crossing the Luga. This is a proposition that I am very hesitant to commit to, as I have played against a lot of German players that burn 60+ tanks a turn in the north to take 3-4 tiles. I feel no desire to fall into the same meat grinder. In order to take Leningrad in 41 I would need to average 2 tiles a turn across the whole front, something I feel is unattainable with the resources I have committed. The question now is more one of strategy. If I withdraw PG4 from the north I will be removing one axis that Scarz has to commit heavily to a defense. Controversy, the further commitment of PG4 in the north is unlikely to take the city, and at its most will suck in another dozen Soviet rifle divisions to some of the best defensive terrain on the map.

AGS: Here the plan of operation is much simpler, the Smolensk pocket needs to be cleaned as fast as possible. Elements of PG2 have rested and are high on fuel and CPP. The task now is to clean the pocket and open up a greater avenue of advance on Moscow. I see two paths to do this, driving east of Yelna could create a possible pocket to the north, although the heavy woods along the Ugra make this a difficult proposition. To the north west of Vyazma, Scarz's failed attack to open the Smolensk pocket has left some rifle divisions hanging. Further south, by Gomel, another choice has developed. Scarz has left a potential corridor open east of Chernigov, a drive along this corridor in combination with a thrust from AGS could see a large pocket at Kiev. In order to do this the advance of the Gomel-Bryansk rail line would be compromised.

AGS: The Pocket here has held. The cleaning of the turn 5 pocket will like occupy the majority of the southern half of AGS. The bridge head across the Dnepr established by 4th Mountain last turn has developed into an opportunity for PG4 to drive north and link up with AGC.

[Q-Ball]

You are meeting/exceeding the primary objective at this point: Destroy Red Army units. Job #1 is to encircle as many Red Army units as you can.

What is the Red Army OOB? With all that carnage it has to be 2.5 mil or so? If that's the case he doesn't have enough to cover the front

[deaniks]

l

He's a couple of turns ahead and he show's me his front and yes it seems to be kept at a 2.5 million range for the most part I told him that I see a win by Jan 42 or the latest July 42. Unless Scarz some how pulls a amazing winter offensive a 42 win is inevitable from what he's showed me