"AAR Germany faces East", formerly not an AAR

[Karri]

We need pictures...and a mini map movie!

[freeboy]

mini map movies are going to wait sorry, here is the first map! Lake piopus offensive .. DIE COMMIE SCUM! [:-]lol
Not I am Totally defensive in the Northern section against Weakened units that are pushing desperately to force into Eastonia... Also he is maintaining strong local air presessnce.
Note the rails.. supplie lines not even close to thos guys by the lake, think he may have missed that one! good for me.. I have taken two hex to cut of fthe supply at the lake.. and now its is the second turn of the offenses.... in the South, next post pix, I plug gaps and pray for rain!

[freeboy]

from KArri

Poland? No no no no. 10-20 hexes at most. Maybe next major river...it sounds like apart from Northern front he has been unable to fix the rail lines, thus that's the only palce where you should withdraw enough to give him supply problems.

Well, I am out of reserves, am using my reconstitued units as soon as I can get them to resonable levels of supply, and the South is too far to ship off troops too, he has total air supperiority! I do not know why my minor air units do not resurrect and I have thousands of 109s in the pool.. SO

I MUST withdraw every where and shorten my lines, next frease will see me out of Finnland too! not enouth Finnish troops to worry about at that point.. I may examine the North to see. but will set up river lines to take best advantage of the situation.. the Rails are all rebuil in the North, From the PArapit south he is still in the "red"

[freeboy]

Note the Red rails Sov that are not rebuilt and note also the Marshes, no way can I stay around and let them freeze, I am playing to save Berlin when the Fureher will be removed in summer of 45 and we begin using Sarin on the allies ! And are able to negotiate a peace after threatening NYC and Lindon Wash etc with mass terror! [:-][:-][:-]siccko!

ok really staying in these FORWARD lines, is impractical, even if I pushed him out of his bridghead....
I have to fall back and let 44 be a Soviet chioce to attack the North.. or the South?

[freeboy]

So feel free to examine your Fite map and present me with good river lines .. Estoni is a lost cause.. I need to back off unless the Lake Piopus offensive carries forward enough to warentthe next lines in the north.. the problem as I see it is there are no more mud phases, so I will need to retreat and dig in,..

BEACAUSE if he should RUPTURE me, not happpened yet, I would be digging in along the Oder! So I prefer to shrink and play mobile shuffles. Moving troops back and forth at stress points. and with extra troops along the front, pulling them when They get into the red and not worry about a major break in early 44 winter 44 45 will be interesting ! ny thoughts on using the panzer bregades? I am leaning toward YES.. need the units! that is like turn 317 if I am not mistaken

[freeboy]

IF I stay forward in the North here is a propossed Summer only lines taking advantage of the marshes allong the frontal zone.

[freeboy]

posible Frontal lines summer 44 in the Ukraine,

I am not too convinced on this one! Feel like the Bessarabia Romanian mountans are best anchor running up top the polish frontere.. humm, remember not too much fro troops.. so keeping myself in the game is the key.. the south only held do to the excess in STRONG armor that push the reds around handilly... I expect things are goingto improve for the reds and somewhat less so for me!
So, goals are;

A. Take advantage of the rivers and marshes... and passes

B take advantage of the polish lines.. frotifications are in place giving the Germans an 8x multtiplyer.. see your fite maps!

[freeboy]

So how do I defend this region? I cannot see holding this easily/well... maybe those super rivers.. but remember I need to stratch to the south and north! I just checked and the entire polish partition has a fortified line along its length! defenately my winter 44 45 line!

[freeboy]

Or I could move my entire forces back to the forts, then barakage all the Romanian passes and hold out in Bessarabia.. that looks better and better!

[Karri]

Well, I suggest a line running down from Riga along the Dvina river, then along Berezina river, perhaps with weak force along Dneper(if you can spare those)? Then along the swamps to Kiev, then again along the Dneper to Cherkassy and from there a straight line to Nikolaev. This however depends really on what kind of forces you have available, if it is as you say very little froces, I suggest the polish line: from Konigsberg to Black sea.

This line would have the benefit of giving the Soviets extreme supply problems, which to fix he needs to concentrate on the major rail lines...which in turn means you know his main axis of advance and can concentrate your reserves there. Also it would buy you at least a dozen or so turns to come up with reserves. The bad thing is, if he breaks through there isn't much ground to give up. And yeah, take the panzer brigades, you don't need those few extra tanks as much as you need extra units.


Also, if possible do as little counter-attacks as possible and try to build a line of depth...giving up a hex is easier when you have another one behind it with a fully supplied and fortified unit in it.

And remember to destroy each and every bridge along the way...

I think you are very close to victory here, all you need is to hold out.

[freeboy]

yep.. I just HATE those air units.. that is the biggest drawback to forward defence, You cannot gettroops moved without a pounding.. for instance I have strong rested over suplied troops in Kiev area.. So I pull a stack and send them south to help my local counter attacks there.. they got pounded on the way, only about 100 km! OUCH!  see these pix below.. I deal with these probs every week.. weak? [&o]

[freeboy]

Here is a typical multi army probe.. crossing at three points? Is it a good move? It almost is.. can you see the errors?

[freeboy]

I will wait to post what my response was , resulting in all the units pocketed, HINT,  and six armored regiment and one mechinized core destroyed. The problem with these axis "victories" is they
 
A. use up supplies and men, and
B. divert troops that cannot be defending on the lines!
 
So why counterattack? YOU HAVE TOO or the enemy opens your lines up like a can opener and instead of great defenses behind rivers you are strugling along with little hope getting worn down by terrific Red numbers! did  curse Rossevelt for being a commie pinko today?[:-][:-] lol

[freeboy]

The big operation in the North is continuing , He pulls his guys out . I attack, I really do not know why he is trying to hold these unsupplied possitions!.. the results are great as several Red units dissolve and many are threatened with going "red"

[freeboy]

Karri, In the South I currently see the Red army rail lines appear.. so I do need to think about a tactical withdrawel as he is getting into me across several bridgeheads.. although the last counterattack destroyed some elements and I have fresh troops headed down..
 
Regarding the next lines.. I will need to see the force pools as to where Best to deply the lines... the north center seems pretty straight forward... I should get towo or three "digs" started though in the center... He also has rails in Finland.. UHG! looking like he is serious there, the benifite to keeping fightingthere is those six or seven armies hee has there theree? are not at Lake Piopus relieving the force I am destroying!

[Karri]

Well the answer is pretty easy, since I always make sure things like that happen: weak flanks. The 'starting point' of the attack seem to be guarded by a infantry(tank?artillery? dunno since the red arrow covers it) brigade and some artillery units. The attack front is only 3 hexes wide and more importantly in depth the 'supply line' is only two hexes wide, making it vulnerable to counter-attack. He doesn't seem to have engaged your other formations either, meaning you have plenty of reserves nearby.
The forward units aren't dug in either, which is the first rule of succesful attack...always dig in. My usual attack method is to attack a hex, take it and then move an infantry regiment there dig it in and continue the attack...always dig in at least one unit in the hex, otherwise it is extremely vulnerable to enemy counter-attack.

[Karri]

Poland-Romania line has the benefit of several rivers. These give a massive advantage as he can't attack as broad front, and with less strenght. And after he breaks through he has to face another river.

[freeboy]

"Dneper to Cherkassy and from there a straight line to Nikolaev"

What is that last place, it is not on my map?
nevermind found it

[freeboy]

Another crack , this time in the north central zxone, another couple of red units destroyed and my lines destablized..
In the North my attack is winding down.. a couple of units ,red, are now gone.. and ten or eleven units in the abortive armor attack see above are added to the six initial victums.. attacking into a rested over supplied army is a risky business,
The south is just stable... I am now stopping my counterattacks and setting temperary lines...
Finnland.. too many Reds ! I keep adding troops and am glad it will all be over! Very depressing there!

I have decided I need to get a lot of distance! so I pulling back as far as feasable... I need the shortest lines and will probably use the rivers and swamps in the North with another few deserter divisions setting up in the rear ukrain areas diging pre positioned trenches...[:D]

[freeboy]

No takers on the mini quiz?
OK look at the pix and see the two hex behind the river , red army side? He did not garrison them , only mobile artillery! I made my way across, pushed the art aside thus surronded the red army units on the Western side and after pocketing them launched an "all hands" attack with several korps worth of infantry, all at 150 supply at turns beginning supported by art and some smaller armored and maybe one full armor.. result? 19 dead armored reds and several displaced artillery... I think all those red art survived! I sure am glad he afttacked there.. those 20 or so units really could have hurt me where I am weakest!


The few remaining mud turns will see me "slip" back where neccessary and do my best to

A. reduce my losses

and

B. Inflict devestating red army losses at Lake Piopus in the Northzone. I definately am pulling back to Odessa and Bessarabia to slow doen the Southern attacks... will also start my second and third line defensive digs.... the North and South, Turkey, should hold till late 44 unless I crumble.. darn shock SUCKS without a preprogrammed shock bonus this game would have stalmated out with me seeing much better 43 44 results.. as is it puts me on the complete strategic defence.
Next game I am going for Moscow!