Pride goes before a Fall Blau - 42-45 GC AAR

2ndACR · Post by **2ndACR** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:31 pm

That would be the 42 campaign.  The historical start strength (shudder the thought).

Mynok · Post by **Mynok** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:33 pm

That sucker needs to be sitting in a city in refit mode.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:39 pm

Beginning of turn 12. Much of the southern front is ablaze with Soviet attacks. Only a few of them are successful though; most are costly failures, and none result in serious breakthroughs.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:40 pm

In the sector south of Voronezh, there are two proto-breakthroughs, but I think we will be able to nip them in the bud...

Klydon · Post by **Klydon** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:52 pm

Not a good move by the Russians there. Lets just hand the Axis 2 tank corps. Lot of command points going to go up in smoke. 

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:19 pm

Turn 12.

I sent reserves down south - and they want to be used. Counterattack! The Soviets have left themselves weak on two spots, so I encircle one of their concentrations! That panzer corps sure came in handy!

In the Tula sector, I shift to the west and once again encircle a bunch of divisions - and threaten Kaluga. Attack and encircle where the opportunity presents itself. The target is to destroy the Soviet army as a fighting force, not to get stuck in slogging matches for geographic objecyives, and it is working fine so far...

Up north I eliminate the Oranienbaum bridghead. Why bother? In the words of George Mallory: "Because its there"! Besides, it will shorten my front the right way, not by withdrawing but by eliminating enemy protrusions!

But all my operations hang on a shoestring now... and my mobile divisions are getting weaker and weaker. I feel my operations are very much bluff and bluster. I need a breathing spell, but if I let up, the Soviets will just grow stronger faster than I do! What a dilemma! Something has to give, sooner or later...

Overview of front end of turn 12, four encirclements marked with crosses.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:23 pm

The Tula - Kaluga pocket. I also threaten to cut off an entire protrusion of the front. Oh how I wish I had had a panzer corps on the other side... but my resources are finite. I wonder what this will prod Ivan into doing... Will he retreat or counterattack?

In case you wonder why I left the lonely SS-brigade as a weak spot in the encirclement. Another division was going to that hex but got clobbered by interdiction and lost its last MP:s. Interdiction can really mess up the best of plans [:(]

CapAndGown · Post by **CapAndGown** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:44 pm

What are you spending your administrative points on? I notice you still have a lot of static divisions/regiments.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:06 pm

I activate a lot of divisions, that's where the AP goes. For example, you see the 12-25 panzer division to the left in the map above. That was just activated, but it costs like 30 AP to activate a panzer or motorized division. I have activated a score of divisions up near Velike Luki.

molchomor · Post by **molchomor** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 3:58 pm

Very nice AAR !

Btw, did you consider to go for Leningrad (the "right hook" encirclement) at the start of the campaign ?

Would take a lot of APs to free up the necessary pz divisions I guess.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:18 am

ORIGINAL: molchomor

Very nice AAR !

Btw, did you consider to go for Leningrad (the "right hook" encirclement) at the start of the campaign ?

Would take a lot of APs to free up the necessary pz divisions I guess.

Thanks!

As you say, most of the forces in the north starts in static mode in 1942, and the soviets are heavily entrenched there. It would take a zillion AP to activate the necessary forces, or it would take time to move them there from the south, and any offensive would be a slogging match. The right hook is not really a viable option in the 1942 scenario I think, but it certainly would have been nice to be able to pull it off.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:43 am

Turn 13.

Oh joy! All the encirclements are holding except for the two Tank corps south of Voronezh. No matter, that was the smalles one, they will not be themselves again for a while. The other three are the important ones.

Most of the turn is spent simply digesting the encirclements. I feel like a Boa Constrictor after a hearty meal, it's all I can do to digest the prey... In the Kaluga sector, the encircled units are a bit hard to chew though. Forts level 3 are hard to crush after one turn of encirclement. I will let them ripen for another turn. Menawhile, a newly activated panzer division helps to bite another chunk out of the Soviet line. If I could only have pressed one more hex forward, I could have cut off the entire Sukinikhi bulge...

But as you can see, I have spent the APs to activate a corps of AGC (the blue units). Next turn...[8D]

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:56 am

So how are the numbers looking? Losses after turn 13 show a slightly better ratio than before. About 2.5 - 1 in men, 4-1 in artillery and 3.5 - 1 in AFV. I suspect this is not enough though...

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:59 am

Unit losses are more encouraging reading! Maybe not much compared to 1941 of course, but still a respectable tally I would say.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:48 am

Turn 14, Late september.

I wind down operations on in the Velike Luki sector. I have reached my objective, I have hurt the Soviets, kept them occupied and removed any threat to Smolensk and AGC supply lines.

Instead I shift a couple of divisions to the Tula - Kaluga sector. Here, it seems the climactic battle of the campaign is playing out! With the help of a freshly activated corps of AGC, I cut through the fortifications and trap the entire Sukhinikhi bulge! If I can pull this off and destroy all those units before mud arrives, Ivan will be hurt a lot, and we can hope to start 1943 with a resonable balance of forces...

In the south, the Soviets make energetic attempts to cross the Don east of Rostov. They succed in establishing several bridgeheads, but I beat all of them back, except one... The area is starting to suck up reinforcements, and my center between Voronezh and Boguchar is weakening... I don't like this, but I have too few troops.

Kaluga - Tula area, end of turn 14.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:51 am

For some strange reason, I seem to have awesome amounts of trucks! Twice as many as I need, and then I have activated a lot of static divisions! [X(] I could start a used truck sale!

Wonder how this happened? Could it be captured trucks?

jjdenver · Post by **jjdenver** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 1:07 pm

Great AAR - I'm really enjoying reading it. I can't wait to see how the rest of 42/43/44 play out. Very interesting.

Mynok · Post by **Mynok** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:15 pm

What's the dark purple army?

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:11 am

ORIGINAL: Mynok

What's the dark purple army?

11th army, of Crimean fame. They are in large part the reason I had the punch to keep up the offensive in that sector.

Tarhunnas · Post by **Tarhunnas** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:57 am

Turn 15, 3d october

I cannot crush all the encircled Soviet units near Kaluga, I don't want to tie down my panzers with mopping up operations, and my infantry is to weak when the sovs are in level 3 entrenchments. I have to leave most of the encircled russians to sweat for another turn. Still, I do yet another breakthrough and encirclement (see arrows). My mobile divisions are rolling wrecks now - this has to end. Yet, I cannot let go, I feel I have the Soviets by the throat in this sector. If my panzer divisions had been themselves, I could have cut off Kaluga and the units around it, but now, I just don't have the strength...

Down at Rostov, the reds have started a veritable meat grinder! Again and again they come across the river, I push them back, but they come again. They suffer horrendous casualties when retreating back across the river, but my divisions are skeletons with CV 2 or 3. I send down a couple of divisions fron AGN that were freed when I crushed the Oranienbaum bridgehead.

Pride goes before a Fall Blau - 42-45 GC AAR

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