A Clash of Titans, Xhoel (Axis) vs Bitburger (Soviet)

[joelmar]

ORIGINAL: Telemecus
Was thinking mainly of Ochakow but secondarily of Odessa - means the rail route along the coast to Nikolaev is best, not the next most northernly one I used to use. Going through Nikolaev during the middle of the clear weather in 1941 will (probably) mean you have OK supply to Crimea (after adding on some auto rail repair from Nikolave to it), my old route used to leave units in Crimea isolated and out of supply come blizzard.

100% agreed. This might create some problems for a Soviet player that leaves the south as an unimportant theater.

[xhoel]

Yes I would agree that is a good route and will provide ok supply in the Crimea. Nothing fancy though, but should be enough to take it and hold it.

[xhoel]

T60, 6th of August- 13th of August 1942
AGN

German forces in the north punched through the heavy Soviet defenses that lay in their way, widening the bridgehead over the Volga. Our position is not the best, the Soviets have strong reserves nearby and can counterattack. The first objective of AGN is to reach Yaroslavl and cut the rail leading to Moscow. It will not be an east fight. The enemy sits on fortified positions in good defensive terrain.

Further to the south an attack by the XX Corps has cleared the woods south of Kalinin. The city remains in Soviet hands and no attacks were conducted this week.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions at the end of the week:

[xhoel]

AGC

The pocket on the Oka held but the enemy has moved powerful reserves to counter our advance. 5 Guard Cavalry Corps have been brought to the sector.The Soviets counterattacked the lone 18th Motorized Division, pushing them back and causing heavy losses. This has allowed the enemy to pull back a portion of their Rifle Divisions from the trap that we had prepared for them.

In the southeast the 1st Tank Army launched an attack against the 215th ID but failed to push them back, suffering heavy losses in the process.

Positions at the start of the week:



The Soviets put up very heavy strong resistance this week, holding back 3 separate attacks. Our objective was to destroy Soviet forces on the Oka, encircling the ones we can and routing the others. We managed to rout 11 Rifle Divisions, destroy 2 (in the pocket) and have encircled 3 Rifle divisions.

Seeing how advance northwest of the Pra river was impossible due to the heavy Soviet resistance, our forces switched direction, hitting the enemy north east of the Pra. This will be the main axis of advance from now on. With time running short, AGC needs to cover more ground and show a more aggressive spirit if we want to encircle Moscow before the mud season starts.

The fighting has been very heavy but Soviet resistance remains strong and we expect counterattacks next week as well. The elite XXX Corps coming to the sector after fighting in the Crimea will be a welcomed addition.

Midturn situation:





Positions at the end of the week:

Battle circled in red in the middle:





Notice the high KIAs.

[xhoel]

AGS

The pockets in the south held. The Soviets have pulled back from the Krasnodar region, moving towards the port of Tuapse while further to the north, Soviet forces have pulled back 50 miles to the Yegorlyk river.

The advancing 17th Army as well as forward elements of the 1st Panzer Army have captured Krasnodar and the ports of Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik. Soviet forces holding the entrance to the Kuban have not been attacked yet but will be destroyed next week. 2 additional Soviet Rifle Divisions have been trapped in the outskirts of Krasnodar.

The rest of the 1st Panzer Army has moved north but has been ordered to halt their advance in order for the formations to undergo R&R and to get better supply. A week of rest will do good to the formations. The 1st Hungarian Armored Division has been railed to Rostov and will join the 1st Panzer Army in their offensive.

Positions at the start of the week:



AGS positions at the end of the week:

[xhoel]

Casualties

The Soviets suffered 72.215 irrecoverable losses this week, while the Axis suffered 12.400 irrecoverable losses. AFV losses continue to be high, around 150 AFVs were lost during the week. The high losses in AFVs are starting to show in the TOEs. Many Panzer Divisions are operating on 50-60% of their authorized AFV strength and the lack of armored vehicles is affecting the fighting capability of said formations.

The good news of this week was that a lot of good German Generals were promoted and now have the rank to command Corps HQ.







Air losses were the lowest so far, the Soviets only lost 280 aircraft to 86 of the Axis.

Captured manpower centers are at 1.500. Considering 200+/- lost manpower brings us to 1.700. This means that the Soviets are recruiting around 90.000 men a week [(3936-1700)*40], with another 10.000+ recovering each week for a total of around 100.000 men. This is enough to cover their losses but the OOB will not be growing at such pace (assuming combat intensity stays the same).

Worth noting however that Soviet defensive capabilities will be improving in the coming months. Soviet NM for August is increased by 1 point and is now at 46 for normal units and 56 morale for Guard formations.

[joelmar]

@xhoel:

The Moscow operation is nail biting to say the least quite a grind you have there. With so many strong soviet units protecting the flanks, it's almost tempting to go for a frontal assault on Moscow. Those Crimea units coming back in the line combined with a threat of breakout in the south might well force him to thin out his lines and tip the balance of the scale.

And there is still time.

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: joelmar

The Moscow operation is nail biting to say the least quite a grind you have there. With so many strong soviet units protecting the flanks, it's almost tempting to go for a frontal assault on Moscow. Those Crimea units coming back in the line combined with a threat of breakout in the south might well force him to thin out his lines and tip the balance of the scale.

And there is still time.

I am glad you are enjoying it. I have thought of going for a frontal assault as a distraction in order to pull some of his reserves away from the flanks. Right now that plan is on the drawing board but I will see how things go. The arriving 2 Corps from the Crimea should help. Right now I am focused on a full on assault to take as much territory as fast as possible. Time is the worst enemy right now. The strength of Soviet reserves really is remarkable, those Guard Cavalry Corps and Guard Rifle Corps are very strong formations and I am learning to fear their counterattacks.

[joelmar]

For sure all those red units are a sight to behold

The northern shoulder is also inviting. So the arrival of the Crimea units is a nice ace in your sleeve. I know how hard it is to push back such a solid wall of units, even without the menacing guards, and you are more or less locked there, changing attack lines is not easy when troops are engaged, his time of reaction is faster than the time it takes you to switch your spearheads so it's very easy for him to reshuffle to meet the threats. Pressure from all sides might be a key to unlock that door.

Some Pop-corn here please!

[xhoel]

Their defensive CV is scary to say the least. Light woods helps a lot on the defense and the fort levels are really good too. I hope to breakthrough next week and then just keep advancing in one route instead of switching directions every other week. And yes his reaction is faster and can counter my advance, that is the good thing about Guards Cav Corps, they can move a lot and attack a lot.

Will see how things go. I am crossing my fingers in the hope that he hasn't counterattacked a lot during his turn.

[Fetterkrolle]

@Xhoel It's been a while since I have seen any pictures of the whole front, especially near Moscow. I am guessing you are trying to make a big pocket around moscow, stretching from around Yaroslav in the North and Ryazan in the South. and I guess they might meet up somewhere around Vladimir. It would be interesting to get a more zoomed out picture so we can see the entire front near Moscow next turn. And hopefully see the begining of a huge pocket being formed[:D]

[xhoel]

I will make sure to post a whole picture of the Moscow sector next turn. I haven't done so so far because the advance of the spearheads has been slow. You can take a look at the plan on page 16 post#472.

That is the plan and I am working towards it

[EwaldvonKleist]

My prognosis from a few turns ago hasn't materialised so far-I expected a slow collapse of the Soviets while they seem to do surprisingly fine at the moment. The Moscow offensive remembers me a bit on the stalling offensive of the 6th army at Stalingrad. Progress is still made but resistance becomes ever stronger. But I still think you are doing fine.

[xhoel]

It is the terrain and all those reserves that he has committed. Before summer began, only a handful of Guard Rifle divisions were at the front, no Cavalry Corps, no Tank Corps, nothing. Now Guard formations occupy the flanks of Moscow and the whole front of Stalingrad, Tank Corps launch raids on German flanks and Cavalry Corps move freely to new blocking positions and counterattack in strength. Add to the mix Guard Rifle Corps which are a force to be reckoned with. I have to praise Bitburger for his performance, he is a tough and smart opponent.

It makes for an interesting game however, through all the frustration of failed attacks and bad rolls the game is quite contested and far from being one sided. The Red Army will only grow stronger each month now as NM increases constantly. The next few weeks will be decisive with regards to the success of Operation Clausewitz, I really hope I can make it work!

[John B.]

As always, I really enjoy your AAR. No hard feelings but I hope the Soviets hold on so we get to see this AAR continue!

[xhoel]

Thanks for the kind words John, glad to hear you are enjoying the AAR. Knowing my opponent, I am sure that the game will go to 1945 even if Moscow falls

[mouse707]

Thanks for your very interesting AAR i'm reading during my hollydays. In our game with Bitburger, we fight for Berlin in April 1945. He kept the German army in a very good shape until the very end of the game

[Beria]

I also like this AAR very much. I have not made any comments until now because I find it very clear, readable and interesting. A good combination.

[xhoel]

Thank you both for your comments gents, I appreciate it a lot. Stay tuned for more updates!

[xhoel]

T61, 13th of August-20th of August 1942.
AGN

Soviet units attacked a forward position defended by 3 Infantry divisions in the north, forcing them to pull back in a fierce battle where both sides took heavy losses. The Soviets have ordered their best units to dig in in front of our main axis of advance but their northern flank on the Volga looks vulnerable. Our forcess exploited this weakness and broke through the Soviet defenses on the river line opening the way for the 3rd Panzer Army to advance north of the river and cut the rail line leading to Yaroslavl. The Soviets will have to redeploy their units to protect their rear but we expect counterattacks next week as well.

Our forces have pushed back Soviet troops near Kalinin but suffered very heavy losses due to counterattacks by 3 Rifle Brigades. The 79th ID has pushed to the rear of the city and it will probably fall in the following weeks.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after German moves:



Marked in red are 2 Soviet holds. A 3rd attack succeeded in pushing them back.