@Telemecus: It would appear so. There are some Guard units that are unaccounted for however. They were defending the Don during the last couple of turns but have been pulled off the front and I don't have eyes on them. Most Soviet units are not depleted, the ones in the South that I showcased are an exception. It seems that Bitburger chose to order some of his rebuild shells to hold the Don river line because he did not expect an attack, which was a mistake from his side.
Indeed, the Soviets are counterattacking and holding their ground quite well were it matters. The OOB is indeed low, losing units turn after turn does not help the Soviets at all.
Here is the OOB at the end of turn 61:
@MattFL: I thought you meant the forces defending on the Volga bit now I understand you mean the northern flank and I agree with you. I have plans to reinforce the area but right now it is not my greatest concern. To answer your question: any penetration in that sector would be dealt with by using local forces. The spearheads would not be pulled back to deal with it, they would press on.
His OOB is low indeed (see above) but the fact that he has concentrated his best forces in and around Moscow which has really good terrain and fort levels means that he can still be quite strong in one sector and counterattack very well.
I will try to get a screenshot of the front the way EvK does it in his AAR but my skills are lacking in that area
@Fetterkrolle: Easier said than done. From what I can tell he doesn't have enough units in the area and even the ones that are there are relatively weak although he has brought fresh reinforcements in. I think he doesn't want to move forces there to delay me for 1 turn at the risk of weakening the defense of Moscow. Like I said to MattFL I plan to reinforce the sector with 2 Infantry Divisions soon so whatever window there is, the Soviets should use it fast or their chance is gone.
@Rokko: Thanks for the kind words, it is nice to hear that people are enjoying the AAR. Your observation about the 11th Army is not exactly correct. I decided to split the 11th in half, sending the elite XXX Corps with 3 of my best Infantry divisions (commanded by Model) north together with a Panzer Corps that had 2 Panzer, 1 Cavalry Divisions and 1 Motorized Brigade (commanded by Hube). That makes a total of 6 divisions and 1 brigade sent north to support the southern push on Moscow. The rest of the 11th Army (6 Divisions) will be committed to the south. It will receive a Corps from the 6th Army (to ease the command overload) and help the southern push. The 2 Corps that I have sent north will be reassigned to the Armies operating under Army Group Center. So no worries, those forces will help the push for Moscow
The supply situation of the southern pincer is indeed concerning for me but I am confident that my forces will be able to reach their objective even with the limited supply coming from Ryazan. The advance of Army Group North which crossed the upper Volga during this turn means that I can utilize the rail line going through Yaroslavl (if the city falls) to improve the supply situation of the pincers (once the pocket is closed).
I do not think that the Soviets are about to crack. The fight for Moscow is very bloody and difficult and I am well aware that it will be a slow grind until the pocket is closed. My current objective is to reach Kovrov and take the town, which would cut off all rail in and out of Moscow thus prohibiting large scale evacuations and worsening the supply situation for the Soviets. We will see how things go.
Thank you everyone for your comments and questions. I hope I have answered everything and been clear in what I mean.
Cheers!
