German 1941 GC - normal - Finished (DV - T56)

[Grotius]

According to the manual (p. 28), Challenging has all the game options set to 90 (you) / 110 (AI). What's nice is you can make your own custom difficulty level and change it on the fly, even mid-game. I just bumped the AI up to 110 in every category except Logistics in my game, though I left myself at 100. (I don't think you can click the "Challenging" option once you've started, but you can replicate it by changing the number in each game option.)

[garymiboy]

Great and simple AAR !!.i picked up a lot of tips from that thanks.. just trying to make my mind up which one to try first [&:] any suggestions guys?

[CharonJr]

T16 north:

The Soviets abandoned the salient and have moved south, pushing where I thought they would not push...

XXXXI and LVI Panzer are pulled back, this will be pure hell for mobile units soon.

A infantry line is established with me trying to get a Finnish unit in between each German one here. Fallback positions are prepared behind a line along the river Syas.

Next turn I will retreat into the line of heavy trees here as my first line of defense.

2 additional divisions are moved across the Neva in Leningrad.

Pavolo is taken by deliberate assault from 6 units across the Neva with additional units moving into this new opening.

In the end the Soviets are only holding NW Leningrad which should fall next turn and I start to move some divisions that participated in the assault to the SE.

Around Kalinin the pocket starts to be reduced with German troops falling back to Torzok and Kalinin.

[CharonJr]

T16 center:

The Moscow pocket held, and in contrast to my expectations the attacks on the isolated units are working like the proverbial hot knife through the butter - with a few high resistance areas sprinkled in between.

Most armored units are replaced by infantry to the east of Moscow, some armor helps with reducing the pocket while heading back (supply and fuel is my problem with the mobile units, most have 100%+ ammo).

[CharonJr]

T16 south:

Voronezh is encircled and together with the Don this will be my first line of defense here.

Voroshilovgrad is surrounded and I will try to form a first defensive line for the winter along Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad-Rostov.

Rostov is completely encircled now, too. The armor will be moved to the back on the next turn.

The first encircled fortification at the Krim is eliminated, the second one encircled this turn.

Due to the long way the MTNs have to take to the north by train I will only send the 2 German divisions by rail, the Hungarians will walk like the Romanians. Actually the Hungarians will stay right in the south.

XXXXVIII Panzer is pulled back to the north of Dnepropetrovk to wait for the mud close to a railhead.

[CharonJr]

T16 results/misc:

This turn has been brutal on the Soviets, maybe this is the house of cards Hitler has been fantasising (is this a word? )about.

The Soviets lost 138 units this turn (but more than 50% of those were sub-divisional units), 565k men, 5k guns and 0.7k AFVs with Germany again staying at turn 15 levels.

And there are still some units left who are trapped inside pockets.

Except for cleaning up the pockets this will be the end of my offenses for this season, I will try to establish some defensive lines next and shorten the front where it is needed wither due to the distance from a railhead or it is simply a waste of units to hold it.

The potential Soviet breakout in the north has me worried a bit, I will try to get additional units there ASAP, but have to leave enough troops around Moscow, too. When leningrad falls (hopefully next turn) the situation should improve. But till my freed up troops reach the line it might get a bit dicey.

11. Armee, 6. Armee and 1. Panzergruppe are assigned to Heeresgruppe A as is Luftflotte 4, XIII Korps gets assigned to 11. Armee and LII Korps to 6. Armee - hmm, which reminds me, Stalingrad should be somewhere to the east

2. Armee is assigned to Heeresgruppe B and reinforced by XXIX Korps and LIII Korps, bringing Heeresgruppe Mitte (AGC) back into its command limit. 17. Armee is assigned to Heeresgruppe B, too and reinforced by IV and XVII Korps.

[2ndACR]

Dang, I could only hope to grab Leningrad. I at turn 14 and have busted thru south of Novogord but not sure I can make lake Lagoda, much less get the Fins involved.

[CharonJr]

ORIGINAL: garymiboy

Great and simple AAR !!.i picked up a lot of tips from that thanks.. just trying to make my mind up which one to try first [&:] any suggestions guys?

Road to Smolensk is a good start IMO, followed by Road to Leningrad.

CharonJr

[kevini1000]

This has to be a very major victory for the Germans for the first year at war with Russia. But the Russian's should be able to build up there force levels a bit during the mud. They most likely be able to attack come the winter. You might have to do some more damage just to spoil there attacks possibly.

Sath

[AKCLIMBER]

Really enjoying your entertaining and educational AAR. Thanks! It's ARRs like yours that prompted me to give WitE a try. I'm a "real time" wargamer - Close Combat & BftB for the most part - haven't played a turn based game in over 20 years. Keep up the excellent work! Glad you decided to try for Moscow - no guts, no glory, after all! It'll be very interesting/entertaining to see how you make out during the mud and winter months. I'll be keeping a close watch on your game.

Thanks again & cheers!

[randallw]

That was a spectacular turn 16.

[CharonJr]

Thx, but there might be some hard times ahead, from what I saw I will not be able to drive my railheads far enough east to get supplies to all of my frontline - center and south will be the main suffers (as BigAnorak correctly pointed out ahead of time).

But with the loses the Soviets have taken I cant really imagine them doing that much harm, but we will see. The 2-3 turns after the next one will get dicey.

CharonJr

[randallw]

Always a temptation to push panzers as far as their MPs will allow them.

[CharonJr]

Has anybody heard anything about some additional options to be integrated into the "rail view"?

After spending about 1 additional hour after having essentially completed my turn in thinking what my supply situation will be in what hex whe the mud arrives and making some adjustments. I think that having the option to simulate supply under different weather conditions would be helpful. You would still have to take into account your railheads progress and the terrain at the outskirts of your future line of supply, but it would be a great help to get a general idea about the situation and help with getting an idea about the range of supplies some turns in the future.

In addition with me currently playing the new turn I find myself basically making the same calculations all over again since I didnt take any notes yesterday. But IMO calcualtions/simulations like these are something were a computer has a huge advantage over a traditional boardgame and it would be nice to see something like this in the game.

Has anybody heard anything about something like this even, or is it even in the game already and I have simply missed it?

CharonJr

[karonagames]

I'm a bit betwixt and between on this idea, as historically the Axis did not have any idea what impact the bad weather would have on their already overstretched logistics system, and the game is already being played through the lens of hindsight.

The "brake" in this game is always going to be logistics - you may be able to find the ways and means to keep the AI off balance and achieve better than historical advances, but you still need the fuel and ammo to support those advances and should really be planning on staying within the logistics umbrella at all time.

[CharonJr]

Yes, but when a player realises that (to quote the manual's quote here) "Amateurs study tactics; Professionals study logistics", why bother him with the tedious task of manually calculating everything instead of using the advantage of computers to give him a hand here.

Which reminds me, when does the mud actually hit, before or after the players logistics phase? Or to directly ask the question I really am bothered about, will I need to put my HQs/units in their "mud positions" at the end of turn 17 or during turn 18?

CharonJr

[CharonJr]

Just took a look at the manual again, the way I read it the weather will be changed before the supply phase, so essentially I would have to end my turn 17 in positions siutable for mud conditions, correct?

CharonJr

[karonagames]

Yes, Weather is the very first part of the logistics phase, so everything thereafter will be based on the weather determine in the weather phase.

[CharonJr]

T17 north:

NW Leningrad is taken and the Finnish froces are freed up to attack.

XXVI Korps will garrison Leningrad and send back some its more usefull support units to its HQ, in addition its support level is lowered to 1.

XXXVIII Korps heads south to close the gap and with the rough hexes they occupy this should actually make decent defensive positions, too.

The first divisions of I and LI Korps from leningrad arrive and take XXXVIII's positions.

After some "bump and retreat" (hasty/deliberate attack(s) on the Soviet frontline, retreat to the defensive position) to the south of the Finnish border my units have mostly taken up their positions in the heavy woods line. Instead of stacking them seperately I think I will stack 1 Finnish with 1-2 German divisions here with 1 free hex between each stack.

[CharonJr]

T17 center:

Moscow is attacked with the harder positions being hit first since I will have the best likelyhood to get decent support then.

3 armor and 2 infantry divisions (using deliberate attacks) manage to take W Moscow.

Next I have to attack all the remaining "minor stacks" in order to get additional troops into position for the remaining 2 major battles.

North Moscow is taken by deliberate assault from 4 infantry divisions with heavy air support, but I am running out of infantry and other units with enough MPs for deliberate attacks now, at least with not having to resort to cross river attacks.

But if my intel is right it should be the weakest stack, too, 2 divisions + 1 brigade. 2 infantry divisions and all the air support I can muster are everything I can throw at them, at least on paper I should have a chance, CV 20 vs CV 6 + a level 4 fort.

Modified combat odds were at 3:0 in the end, Moscow has fallen!

Most of the mobile forces (except those who participated in the attacks on Moscow) are moved west to avoid supply problems due to the mud.

Due to supply considerations I will form my first line of defense more to the west than previously planned. I try to incorporate some small town in order to make it easier for my troops during the blizzards.