Comrade Goofski - Barbarossa vs DicedT (No Diced T)

[KenchiSulla]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Cannonfodder

What are the Axis weaknesses in this game? I believe the key to success on the long term is throwing as many wrenches in the wheels of the Axis advance as possible....

Historically the Soviets did it by paying a high blood price.. Question is, are the losses you are suffering crippling?

warspite1

I do not know enough to know whether Soviet losses are crippling - they are certainly not great!

From what I've seen so far, the Germans biggest weakness is lack of numbers. If the Soviets get entrenched then the Germans haven't got enough to get through them without incurring losses such that they are no more than a busted flush.

This issue here is that the Soviets simply cannot hold the panzers anywhere to hurt - and just as importantly to delay - them and thus give time for reinforcements to get entrenched.

What about logistics?

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Cannonfodder

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Cannonfodder

What are the Axis weaknesses in this game? I believe the key to success on the long term is throwing as many wrenches in the wheels of the Axis advance as possible....

Historically the Soviets did it by paying a high blood price.. Question is, are the losses you are suffering crippling?

warspite1

I do not know enough to know whether Soviet losses are crippling - they are certainly not great!

From what I've seen so far, the Germans biggest weakness is lack of numbers. If the Soviets get entrenched then the Germans haven't got enough to get through them without incurring losses such that they are no more than a busted flush.

This issue here is that the Soviets simply cannot hold the panzers anywhere to hurt - and just as importantly to delay - them and thus give time for reinforcements to get entrenched.

What about logistics?

warspite1

Good point CF - and mud/snow too.

The latter first as I think its easiest. If I have it right the mud does not appear in sufficient quantities to delay the Germans for long. Sure, later in the game its mud and mostly snow, but by then the die I think is probably cast.

Re logistics, I had a couple - literally a couple - of hairy moments (and only one of those was serious, see me as Germans vs DicedT). But the Germans came through it and as I got to the doorstep of Leningrad, Moscow and Rostov, I don't think that is too much of a problem.

But of course this is based on a couple of games as Germany. This is why I desperately hope they do not issue 1.02 in its current form - I think it would be a massive mistake and unplayable from the Soviet perspective.

[warspite1]

30th June 1941
Turn 3

Mmmm I've had a paranoia moment as Brest-Litovsk has fallen. Increase = +10. Total = 12.
No front has priority still

Key news:

- Zhukov has arrived at the Southern Front (Kiev)
- Khrushchev still at Central Front (Smolensk)

- 17 Divisions deployed (1 failed)
- 3 Armies HQ awaiting deployment
- 26 Divisions pending deployment

Northern Front - all 6 remaining armies did not activate again. Three armies have changed to NEUTRAL???
Central Front - 2 armies fully activated and 2 partially. Two armies have changed to NEUTRAL???
Southern Front - 2 armies fully activated, 3 partially and 1 didn't.

Losses are:

[warspite1]

30th June 1941
Turn 3

I clearly have a lot to learn here about German play - even when the defenders stand firm, many times the German simply has a follow up attack that works - I thought there was a penalty for that?

I just cannot seem to make a stand anywhere.

First question is where to place the reinforcements?

- 19th Army in Mogilev (LtGen Kuznetsov Initiative 19: Threat -1)
- 16th Army in Kiev (LtGen Lukin 5: -2 oh dear....)
- 20th Army in Orsha (LtGen Remezov 30: 1)

I needed 20th Army in Polotsk but could not risk it.

Next I place a fortification south of Orsha but this is pointless if 3rd Panzer come at the city from the north...

I place a garrison in Polotsk

The 125th Rifle Division in Latvia is ordered to disband and form partisan groups.

I do not use the breakout card.

I release Vasilevsky (Initiative +14: Threat +7) and order him to take up command in the Northern Front 5pp. Who knows, maybe an army will actually activate there now?

I order 24th Army to be at my disposal next turn for placement in any front I choose.

Zhukov takes command in Kiev (which should add bonuses to the front).

I have 5pp left over.

[warspite1]

30th June 1941
Turn 3
Northern Front

The Finns have dished out a right pasting. Vyborg falls, and I can't move my surviving infantry to get them to safety. There is a sole Finnish Division on its own but I cannot attack as the army has not activated.

Two divisions and the HQ of 7th Army are cut-off and surrounded...

11th Army defending Kaunas has all but ceased to exist. There is nothing between the 4th Panzergruppe and Dunaburg. The bulk of 8th Army are surrounded just north of the Nieman.

[warspite1]

30th June 1941
Turn 3
Central Front

Goodness! The only real body of troops left on the Central Front - the Western HQ - have lost their HQ and so cannot move! So that's the end of them - unless mud happens next turn, which may save them for a turn.

A Division of 21st Army Group I ordered to form in Mogilev has turned up South of Minsk?? I order it back to its army but does not have the AP to get over the river. What the hell was it doing there?

To the south, the remains of 4th Army head east as deep within the Pripyat as they can.

That just leaves 3rd Army to the north and which has already been outflanked by the 3rd Panzergruppe. It tries to head for Vilnius but only one weak tank division can get there.

Of the reinforcements, 21st Army in Mogilev had only two divisions activate and so cannot set-up to defend the river line. Further back 22nd Army did activate and I send north to try and reach Polotsk in the hope that mud delays the Germans.

[warspite1]

30th June 1941
Turn 3
Southern Front

To the south now. Lvov is a minor success story - it still holds out for the present. I should probably do nothing and hope that the Siege Artillery hasn't been ordered. However, a lone motorised division is located to the southeast. I order an attack with 2 rifle divisions at 100% readiness and a motorised at 81% with a 10% modifier. The German retreats.

Incredibly, of all the HQ not to activate - its Southwestern, unbelievable; and so my only large force - just like Western HQ in the Central Front - is stuck out in the open and about to be carved up....

12th Army stay south of the Dnestr so as not to get involved with the bulk of the panzers - but run the risk of being cut-off in so doing.

To the south, 9th Army - less 4 divisions holding Kishinev - hold the north bank. Southern HQ holds the lower Dneistr - and order some units to Nicolayev.

[Orm]

Zhukov takes command in Kiev (which should add bonuses to the front).

Remember to let Zhukov use his free card and blow up some bridges before the Germans capture them.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Orm

Zhukov takes command in Kiev (which should add bonuses to the front).

Remember to let Zhukov use his free card and blow up some bridges before the Germans capture them.

warspite1

I wanted him to take control first off as this boosts activation. As can be seen above, if I cannot run away then everything else is pointless.

I will certainly look to use whatever I can though - so long as I still have some units left to command!

[James Ward]

ORIGINAL: Orm

Zhukov takes command in Kiev (which should add bonuses to the front).

Remember to let Zhukov use his free card and blow up some bridges before the Germans capture them.

Yes the best defense against the siege guns is a blown bridge over a frozen river. Blow them behind your lines if necessary to make sure you have a shot at this.

[warspite1]

4th July 1941
Turn 4

Rats! I've had a paranoia attack. So what am I going to do as a result?

- I will have an army commander shot. And just to show who is in charge here I will shoot a LOYAL SOLDIER MajGen Ponedelin of 12th Army (my key army in the south) who had an Initiative level of +26...... I shall cleverly replace him with an APPARATCHIK with an Initiative of only 10 - MajGen Sharshin.
- No cards can be played except reinforcement ones
- One turn of confusion in the affected armies due to the sudden change of commanders? [I assume this means just in the army whose commander I just had shot?]
- Saved pp are lost - remind me not to bother saving them in future [:-]

- Paranoia level will reduce by -40 next turn as I feel much better now [8|]

[warspite1]

4th July 1941
Turn 4

Key news:

- Zhukov still at the Southern Front (Kiev)
- Khrushchev still at Central Front (Smolensk)

- 21 Divisions deployed (6 failed)
- 4 Armies HQ awaiting deployment
- 44 Divisions pending deployment

Northern Front - at last 3 armies fully activated, 2 partially. 3 are set at NEUTRAL [whatever that means]
Central Front - 3 armies fully activated and 1 partially, 2 didn't. 4 set at NEUTRAL
Southern Front - all 6 armies fully activated. 1 NEUTRAL I like Rocky - although he probably contributed to my paranoia attack [:D]

No front has priority

Losses are:

The Germans have 1.237m troops on the front. I have just 1.068m



I place:

24th Army at Narva
29th Army at Orsha
28th Army at Smolensk
30th Army at Gomel

[warspite1]

4th July 1941
Turn 4
Northern Front

The Finns have gone on the rampage. One Finnish division has crossed the border in Karelia. I hope the penalty is severe. I try attacking a lone Finn with two divisions but get defeated for the trouble.

In the Isthmus the Finns have broken the 23rd Army in two. Notwithstanding the loss earlier I decide to attack! Three Finnish divisions are assaulted by seven Soviet divisions, attacking from 3 sides for a 30% modifier. Most Soviets are at 100% readiness - the worst is 81%. I feel confident... but the Finns hold firm.

I have little choice but to send two divisions from the Leningrad MD south to try and get to Tichwin before the Finns.

Further south 27th Army and four divisions of the Baltic MD sit behind the river and wait their fate.

[warspite1]

4th July 1941
Turn 4
Central Front

The mud arrived but only really affected Central Front sadly.

There are 5 divisions left of 3rd Army. Two can make it to Vilnius the other three sit and hope.

In the Pripyat 4th Army cannot move and are about to be gobbled up.

The nine divisions left of the old Western HQ, saved last turn by the mud, also cannot move and sit out in the open like sitting ducks.

21st Army sit behind the river west of Mogilev but have had not time to dig-in - and gets no support from 19th Army which does not activate. 20th Army is therefore brought down from Orsha.

Finally, most of 22nd Army get across the Dvina but they are alone.

[warspite1]

4th July 1941
Turn 4
Southern Front

Who do I choose to defend Kiev? 16th Army, with.....4 divisions apparently...

The remaining divisions of Southwestern HQ abandon Rovno and converge on Vinnitsa and Zhitomir.

Two divisions of 12th Army reach Proskurow and a couple of tank divisions get across the river, but the remainder are sandwiched between the Romanians and the lead elements of the panzergruppe.

9th Army stay put for the time being in order to try and at lest make 11th Army pay if they want to cross the Dneistr. Southern HQ abandon the notion of spreading themselves too thinly and those units heading for Nicolayev head back for Odessa.

Finally, a big shout out to the boys of 26th Army who are holding onto Lvov like a bunch of troopers.

[warspite1]

8th July 1941
Turn 5

Looks like another paranoia event is looming. Minsk falls and paranoia is back up to 37.

In other news.....

My troubleshooters remain where they are.

Reinforcements:
34 divsions deployed
16 failed to deploy
2 HQ and 22 pending deployment

Activation - particularly in the south where Zhukov took command - is disappointing. I am presumably making paranoia worse by having three Tsarist commanders - but the up side seems limited.

North - 1 army fully activated, 3 partially and 1 didn't - 3 NEUTRAL
Central - 4 armies fully activated, 2 partially and 3 didn't - 7 NEUTRAL
South - 0 armies fully activated, 3 partially and 2 didn't - 1 NEUTRAL

I have 20pp this time around. Not sure why that has increased, it has been 10 per turn.

Losses rise ever higher, while German losses remain rise slowly and steadily [:(]

[warspite1]

8th July 1941
Turn 5

I am pretty stunned. My opponent seems to really know how to handle the Germans - but moreover the Romanians! Three major breakthroughs over the Dneistr - one of which was by Romanian forces...wow.

First question is where to place the reinforcements?

Thanks to the paranoia event I could not play the card that allows me to choose. I therefore cannot bolster Kiev, but have to place both in the Central Front. Mind you, bearing in mind Minsk just fell and I have two panzergruppen about to attack toward Mogilev, there probably wasn't much choice anyway.

I cannot run the risk of placing in Mogilev or Polotsk/Vitebsk even both in Orsha is risky given how fast he is moving. I place:

32nd Army in Orsha (MajGen Nikitin - Initiative 15: Threat -1)
31st Army in Smolensk (MajGen Petrov - Initiative 15: Threat -1)

Next I place a fortification in the forest at the north of the river line west of Mogilev.

I place a garrison in Ostrov.

I order 4th Army's 53rd Rifle Division in the Pripyat, to disband and form a Partisan group.

For 15pp I play the reorganise card to increase activation.

Krushchev is going to play the Lay Blame card for the remaining 5pp. Although this lowers Shaposhokov's Initiative (I don't know by how much*) it reduced paranoia - I really don't need another episode right now.

*EDIT - and here is the answer [;)] Sounds like a reasonable trade.

[warspite1]

8th July 1941
Turn 5
Northern Front - Finland

The Soviets are in real problems in the Isthmus. Another three divisions are about to be destroyed. I have no choice but to retreat behind the border to the fortified line and see what he does. To the east the Finnish division has not moved, but remains beyond the border so I hope the pp penalties are increasing?

23rd Army lost its HQ when trapped and so my divisions (oddly except one) cannot move...

I continue to move 25th and 29th Border Divisions toward Tichwin just in case.

[warspite1]

8th July 1941
Turn 5
Northern Front

Only two of 24th Army's divisions activated so I cannot organise the Narva defences yet.

The Baltic MD and 27th Army continue to wait behind the Dvina. A massive stack of armour sits outside Dunaburg; I don't think the wait will be long...

[warspite1]

8th July 1941
Turn 5
Central Front

3rd Army (5 divisions) vacates Vilnius in a pathetic attempt not to be surrounded, but cannot get far as the German infantry has almost out-run them. 2 divisions remain in the city.

29th Army north of Mogilev is one of those that has failed to activate, meaning one of its divisions is stuck on the Minsk-Moscow highway. therefore use 20th Army to assist 21st Army in manning the river line west of Mogilev.

22nd Army fan out along the upper Dvina, but there is nothing left to man the gap between Vitebsk and Orsha.

4th Army is trapped and surrounded in the Pripyat.

That leaves 30th Army to man the Dnepr west of Gomel and try and form a link with the 19th Army that has been ordered to garrison Mogilev and environs.