How to lose the war - PDH vs Cpt Flam

[Senno]

Hopefully the Soviets don't go on an attack spree in Spree. Their supply situation should limit that somewhat.

If not, I suggest we install a catalytic converter on the Soviet attack...

But only if Koniev throws a vicious left hook and motors up the autobahn in '42....[;)]

[TulliusDetritus]

PeeDeeAitch, jokes aside, have you seen this thread?

tm.asp?m=2739605

You might perhaps "convince" your opponent to use the house rule proposed there.

By turn 25 the SU has 8 Fronts in Action. To reflect to Logistic and command difficulties the soviets had at the time, players could agree to the following rules:

1: During turns 25-27 the soviets may attack with 4 fronts.
2: During turns 28-34 the soviets may attack with 3 fronts.
3: During turns 35-37 the soviets may attack with 2 fronts.
4: No Front can attack for more than 3 turns in row - i.e. they must rest every 4th turn.
5: On turn 38 the Axis can attack with 1 Army Group.
6: On turn 39 the Axis can attack with 2 Army groups
7: On turns 40 and 41 the Axis can attack with 3 Army groups.

[Encircled]

We could just suggest that neither side uses armor, or aircraft, and see how much fun that is?

I fancy my chances of getting a few Landsers to Tomsk by the beginning of autumn

Someone keeps going on about "Superhuman Germans in '41" so that shouldn't be a problem!

[Senno]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

We could just suggest that neither side uses armor, or aircraft, and see how much fun that is?

I fancy my chances of getting a few Landsers to Tomsk by the beginning of autumn

Someone keeps going on about "Superhuman Germans in '41" so that shouldn't be a problem!

Yeah, after all they never had any supplies, ever.

And what little they did have was Italian rifles and French ammo. They couldn't ever fire because their arms didn't get along.[:D]

[PeeDeeAitch]

Gentlemen, there will be no joking.  This is not fun, this is a war game.

[Senno]

Darnit, you would have to come tell us there's a war(game) on....[;)]

[Encircled]

You can't fight in here, this is the war room

[Senno]

It's a regular Catch-22....[:D]

[PeeDeeAitch]

Turn 2 recap.
 
General situation - I find that my long term investments in perpetual motion machines and cold fusion have left that foreign bank account a bit dry, since that is the case hostilities continued.  My FW 200 is still on the tarmac ready to fly to Dakar and then on to Natal as soon as my latest stock sale goes ahead.
 
North - I am slowed a bit by Russian Swamp-Loggers who did not hear the order to retreat. Their machines are no match for my units, but their sales of alligator shoes and Cajun foods slow down my souvenier hunting motorized units.  Still, by turn's end, Pskov is close to being encirled as both XXXI and LVI Panzer corps are ready to pounce.  In a failed move, instead of fuel being airdropped, the Luftwaffe drops off 10,000 tonnes of suppositories.
 
Center - Success!  Vitebsk is taken by a coup de main. The huge push of turn one and the focus of the defenders south and east of Minsk means the 3rd Panzer Group could roam far and wide till their gas gave out.  ZOCs across the Dnepr (they will be gone I am sure), and Minsk surrounded by 2nd Panzer Group.  The infantry ends most of the Bialystok pocket, but is too shagged out by the combat and demands vacations on the French Riveria before marching to the front.
 
(Both Center and North will have to rest, I am sure - two turns all out will mean horrible fatigue and no gas. Oh well, the game was fun for a bit north of the marshes.)
 
South - Here my idiocy indeed meant that the Lvov pocket was breached.  The defense is still forward though, along the line of forts (bit of the Stalin Line?) that come pre-packaged in game.  Reclosing the pocket was easy enough, and a bit of the new defenses were encircled (we shall see how strongly, I suspect not enough).  The Kovel Pocket did hold, but in an ongoing theme reducing the pocket was a nightmare as retreat was the order of the day for the Russians (even through ZOCs), and so not much else happened for these units.
 
The real coup was that the Romanians have been unleashed, and they are entering the fray with a string of "held" assaults against forts and general ineptitude.  We have agreed to a house rule of no invasions west of Odessa until 1943, thus guaranteeing I will be stuck with the Romanians until then at least.
 
Overall, not as bad as I feared, not as good as could be.
 
Pictures will follow when I can muster the will.

[Encircled]

I won't be happy in the blizzard in '41 till my Romanian Fortress Brigades can rout a Guards Tank Army [;)]

[Senno]

I heard that lugers are very popular as souvenirs? Maybe the kitsch shops along the way should stock lugers?

[Encircled]

Maybe some sort of offer?

Buy one Luger, and receive this free Italian M13 tank (one previous owner, slightly fire damaged)?

[PeeDeeAitch]

Actually, my "delaying" plan for when I start the inevitable retreat (Dec, 1941) involves roadside souvenier shops, incorrect AAA maps, restaurants selling overly starchy food so the T-34 drivers get loggy, and long winding side-roads leading to "The Cave of Wonder" that every army will just have to visit.
 
I am basing these techniques off of memories from family vacations in my youth.

[Encircled]

Different countries, same vacations!

[Senno]

Don't forget to drive your tanks through the hollow tree....

You could confuse their sense of balance at the vertigo house, as well.... Ahh the possibilities....[:D]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

Different countries, same vacations!

To a veritable T[:D]

[PeeDeeAitch]

Turn 3 comes and with it the sudden realization that the Panzers of AGC have no fuel. I knew that I should have invested in the hybrid tanks that get 50 mpg...I wonder if it is too late to surrender?

Oh well, here is a shot from turn 2, Vitebsk taken in an all out blitz. The motorized division here actually dressed up as girl scouts and pretended to sell cookies, when the defenders of the city let them in it was curtains.

[PeeDeeAitch]

No other good turn 2 shots, the Ministry of Propaganda does not allow any pictures from the Southern Front to be seen for good reason. As mentioned above, turn 2 was interesting. Well, here is one on turn 2 from outside of Pskov. I wish heartily there were more Exxon gas stations along the way.

[PeeDeeAitch]

Part 1 - The North

My goal of taking Arkhangelsk has been thwarted by the designers as the map does not go that far. The commander of 4th Panzer Group notified me of this at the end of turn 3 and it sent the men into a funk. So much so that the planned encirclement of Pskov did not come about due to insufficient gas. It took all of turn 4 for things to be righted, and the men still blame me for their plight. I, of course, can never blame me.

Dashes are made into the Baltic states, but since the troops dashing are infantry it is more akin to a speed walker on a treadmill - impressive looking but not likely to reach the far wall anytime soon.

Still, by the opening of Turn 5 Pskov has fallen, and soon Leningrad will declare itself an open city so I might link up with the Finns. That is my plan at least.

At Turn 5 start:




The astute reader will see that the 18th and 16th armies are both heading for Leningrad. This is just in case the Soviets decide to fight there. I plan to concentrate my armies so that they are easier to surround and destroy when winter comes.

[PeeDeeAitch]

Part 2 - The Center

I have a philosophy based on my failures: always plan for the worst so when it the truth comes about and it is doubly bad than you imagined at least you are halfway there.

I do not encircle with the intent of encircling, but rather to make myself feel good for a turn until my opponant gets back to me. Turn 4 saw the attemtp to encircle smolensk with rested tanks. Due to the fact that my opponant actually had a defense, I was forced to keep going further east before closing the ring. The result was apparant to me - the ring would never hold so I planned to make it a two turn effort.

Thus turn 5 started with this:





My plan is simple. Do everything by half measures. My infantry is now hot on the heels of the tanks, and should help reclose this more than wide open ring. A centralized strikeforce can do things, and at least I can say I got 5 hexes from Vyzama by turn 5.

As long as winter holds off until February I feel I can break through on this front.

[PeeDeeAitch]

Part 3 - The South

Finally things start to open up. It has been a hard slog here, and I miss not having that panzer corps I sent to center on turn 2. Still, I have history to guide me. I plan to advance on to Kiev with strength and take this city by force in a titantic struggle. My flanks will be ably held along the river by the Romanians and Hungarians. I foresee no problems at all with this sound strategy.

It is deja vu all over again.

Here is the start of turn 5: