Another 5 turns have passed so another forces overview. The overview shows 2 things very clearly: Overall German strength has declined over the past 5 turns while overall Russian strength has hardly increased. Instead Russian production was focused heavily on mobility (trucks) and supporting weaponry (artillery). Despite the huge production difference, I managed to inflict great losses on the Russian armies, mostly in the South. But despite keeping my infantry relatively intact, my air force, artillery and flak suffered greatly.
The production difference has finally been made good by the fall of Baku. Germany now controls 3 major centers and 7 minor ones, giving it 110,000 production. The Russians now control 4 major and 4 minor centers, for a production of 120,000. At least, as soon as Baku is fully restored, which will take a few turns still.
German advantages in supporting weaponry have almost vanished except for mortars and a slight edge in artillery. But the biggest problem is the fact the Russian infantry now outnumbers the German infantry 2 : 1 and has much better Staff support and mobility. The non-existent mechanized corps I feared early in the war have now turned into reality.
The other factor against Germany is that for the short term, it is more likely that production will fall into Russian hands (Riga, Kharkov) than into German (Sevastopol) due to the distribution of forces along the front.
Will the capture of Baku turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory?
