Operation Barbershop - Carnage(Ax) vs. Redmarkus(Sv)

[Redmarkus5]

Winter 41/42 Loss Statistics as at Turn 29.

[Klydon]

I think the forts are something like the Stalin line strong points. Some troops and some blockhouses, etc. I don't know that I would consider them a-historical at all since there was a Stalin line, but it is also unlikely the Russians will build more. It is something the Germans are much more likely to construct as the game goes along.

Good job on AGN. They are not going to be the same at all after this. Too bad you can't really get something going on Northern Front's right flank to complement the drive on Pskov. I think that would scare the heck out of him up there as AGN would face serious logistics issues if not destruction.

[raizer]

You get 2 or 3 cav divisions thru a couple of gaps and they will cause major major problems. 

[Redmarkus5]

Thanks. I don't recall the Germans building anything resembling the Stalin Line though. Maybe the game needs the Stalin Line to be added in places (AGN had to fight through it IIRC) and the German fort capability to be removed or reduced?

My plans for AGN do include more pressure on the right. There is a brand new army being moved up NE of Novgorod (dotted red arrow) and all of NW Front are refitting. I will launch a new offensive all along the Volkhov in the next 2-3 turns, once he has started to move more troops to defend south of Novgorod and weakened his lines.

Hopefully, he won't rush back to Pskov because his retreats down south have made it hard for me to kill or capture more of his troops. I want to eliminate AGN as a threat for '42, if possible, so that I can concentrate on defending against AGC and AGS.

I have cavalry standing by, but the gaps are still too narrow and the terrain plus blizzard make movement difficult. Cav will hopefully become more effective behind the left flank of AGC in late January and should really worry him there..

[raizer]

the swamps and rivers are all frozen solid during blizzard and provide no benefit or hindrance to movement, or combat, if Im not mistaken... 

[Klydon]

Actually I think many of the Soviet forts do represent aspects of the Stalin line (look at the number of forts the Soviets start with inside the 1939 Russian border). The Stalin line was not really a line anyway, but a series of fortifications/strong points.

The Germans did not construct a line perse, but did establish a series of fixed/fortified positions in important communication centers as the war went along. (A fort in Velikie Luki would be an example of this).

[randallw]

Remember there are a lot of swamp ares in the north and they prevent air ops by airbases there, so check where you've put the bases.

[Redmarkus5]

I don't have many swamps in the Area of Ops between Ilmen and Saliger - it's all forests. The blizzard reduces Soviet movement dramatically, although the effect on combat values is not as bad.

My air doctrine is set to 110% for the entire blizzard period. I will reorg the air units and relocate them once I have decided where to build my defensive line. For now, I just moved them off the rail lines to allow the passage of my ground units.

[Redmarkus5]

TURN 30 - NORTH

Operations continue. I now count 9 enemy mobile divisions (5 Panzer and 4 Motorised) in the line between Novgorod and Seliger. Given the terrain, lack of rail and the remaining blizzard conditions, this gives me the best chance so far to degrade the Axis armour.

I think that the best Axis move would have been to pull back rapidly to Pskov area and draw me forward, away from my railheads and into clearer terrain where a Spring counter attack could send me running.

[Redmarkus5]

TURN 30 - CENTRE

Now that the enemy has been forced to leave his entrenchments, I am able to make a number of initial break thoughs. It remains to be seen how many of these can achieve real penetrations.

[Redmarkus5]

TURN 30 - SOUTH

Minor operations only in the south, but Poltava has fallen, denying the enemy another batch of warm beds.

[Redmarkus5]

This final image shows my starting positions on turn 25 (ghost units) and my positions at the end of turn 30.

[MrLongleg]

Attack as brutal and as often as you can. It will take a long time until you can get so many kills so easily again. While you can afford the losses, he can't. I just went through that experience on the German side in my game against Miller41 and it was not pretty. If you attack the same unit again and again its morale will break and after that you can kick them over the map with very high German retreat losses.

[randallw]

Look at those pretty little fort units waiting to die.

He must be feeling desperate, putting the armor up front to stop breakthroughs, giving up potential blizzard protection in cities.

[Klydon]

Red, I had posted about the amphib stuff in the bugs forum. Joel confirmed it as a bug and it is on the bug list. 

[Redmarkus5]

ORIGINAL: Klydon

Red, I had posted about the amphib stuff in the bugs forum. Joel confirmed it as a bug and it is on the bug list. 

Many thanks for that. I hadn't got around to adding it to my master list

Annoying bug! Things would have been a whole lot different in the Kuban if that feature was working. I'm kind of surprised nobody knew about it before, given the advice I received here to launch an amphib op... (I like to try and sound 'military', but actually I just don't know how to spell 'Amphibious' and 'Operation' )

[Redmarkus5]

ORIGINAL: randallw

Look at those pretty little fort units waiting to die.

He must be feeling desperate, putting the armor up front to stop breakthroughs, giving up potential blizzard protection in cities.

Yes to both. The forts just evaporate at the first probe if they are unmanned, which is a huge relief. Many of them have been empty, so he must either be hurting badly or he's pulled a lot of men back to the west.

I was very surprised to meet so much armour in the woods - I was expecting broken-down infantry divisions and security divisions and they could have slowed me, I am sure.

It looks like about 40% of the Axis armour is now committed and that should have an effect on his capabilities come spring.

[Redmarkus5]

ORIGINAL: Haudrauf1962

Attack as brutal and as often as you can. It will take a long time until you can get so many kills so easily again. While you can afford the losses, he can't. I just went through that experience on the German side in my game against Miller41 and it was not pretty. If you attack the same unit again and again its morale will break and after that you can kick them over the map with very high German retreat losses.

Good advice. My challenge right now is that many of my units are 'unready' and needed to be put in refit mode. The blizzard isn't a bed of roses for the Soviets and I don't want to over reach - there's still a long struggle ahead...

[BletchleyGeek]

ORIGINAL: redmarkus4

ORIGINAL: Haudrauf1962
Attack as brutal and as often as you can. It will take a long time until you can get so many kills so easily again. While you can afford the losses, he can't. I just went through that experience on the German side in my game against Miller41 and it was not pretty. If you attack the same unit again and again its morale will break and after that you can kick them over the map with very high German retreat losses.

Good advice. My challenge right now is that many of my units are 'unready' and needed to be put in refit mode. The blizzard isn't a bed of roses for the Soviets and I don't want to over reach - there's still a long struggle ahead...

I wouldn't do exactly as Haudrauf suggests. You already got the Donetsk line back in the South, on Leningrad it doesn't look to me you're going to go much far away. I would suggest - if possible - to concentrate on the flanks of AGC aiming at Velikiye Luki and Smolensk. A secondary operation looks like feasible just in front of Kursk, in the Bryansk - Sumy sector. I'd suggest you to use this secondary operation as a diversion but would be nice if you could give him the impression the main show is taking place there.

[Redmarkus5]

My main effort is currently towards Velikiye Luki and Smolensk, as you suggest. He appears weak across the whole of the AGC front.

I won't be going for the 'attack, attack, attack' option, but I do want to do as much harm to his armour, out in the blizzard and woods, as possible. I may not get another chance like that for a while and I am happy to spend infantry and horses to damage Axis panzers.