Return to Smolensk and Beyond, IdahoNY vs Scar

[IdahoNYer]

16th Army doesn't do too badly. Of six attacks, three are held - although one hold hex is attacked again with a retreat result. Casualties are heavy for the Russians, and they do not occupy any of the "won" hexes.

9th Pz was pulled off the line, and sits in reserve at the important crossroads of Bologoe.

For this turn, we'll attempt to re-occupy the enemy zocs, just to convert them - pulling back immediately. I don't want to pull back too far, as this would expose 9th Army to the south in a salient and force it to abandon Kalinin - and I'm not quite ready to do that.

[IdahoNYer]

9th Army manages to avoid most Soviet attacks, only south of Kalinin does it receive any attacks, and holds one.

4th Pz Armee fairs less well, and reals under the weight of the Soivet attacks. LVI PzKps was pulled out of the line to the rear, but XIV PzKps remained forward. Will attempt to re-occupy the enemy ZOCs to convert them, and will slowly pull back to the fortified line being built.

The Soviet attacks here are primary with massed rifle divisions - lots of combat power, but little chance for a decisive breaktrhough.

[IdahoNYer]

Between Moscow and Tula, the Soviets also use mass infantry assaults to pound their way forward. Most of the panzer divs were pulled off the line prior to the attacks, only 20th Pz was engaged in a defensive fight. 2nd Pz Armee's XXIV PzKps remained north, bolstering 4th Army - holding off the line for potential counterattacks.

I'm going to try and hold Kaluga, which means holding the line farther forward than is probably smart - we'll see how that works out. I figure I'm 2/3s the way through the blizzard - only a coule of turns left....

[IdahoNYer]

To the south of 4th Army, 2nd Army takes it on the chin. Without prepared positions, and most formations just arriving in line, the troops do not hold up well against the mass Soviet infantry attacks.

Will continue to trade some space for time, priority is holding Orel in this area of the Front. 3xPz Divs from 2nd Pz Armee remain in Orel as a ready reserve to counterattack should we get snow again.

The challenge is to hold Orel without supporting fortified works - the terrain is pretty open, and the Soviets are pushing hard - but with infantry and not cavalry/tank combinations which is at least some good news.

[IdahoNYer]

Responsible for the frontline from Kursk to Belgorod, 6th Army is bolstered by both 1st Pz Armee PzKps immediately behind the front lines. Soviet pressure was limited to a narrow 30m wide attack zone aimed squarely at Kursk - which has a very robust infantry division as a garrison.

Priority here is to hold both Kursk and Belgorod, while trading space for time elsewhere. The Kursk-Belgorod Rail line is an active line that supported the attack north to cut off Orel earlier, and right now is threatend and likely will be lost.

With the two PzKps available, 6th Army's position is much better than it's neighbor to the north.

[IdahoNYer]

17th Army has arguably the longest frontage of any German Army on the line. Along most of it, it remains quiet throughout the blizzard. So far, Kharkov, only 30 miles behind the front, has remained safe and secure.

Of course, behind this quiet frontage, the initial reserves (10 Pz, 60th Mot) have long since been pulled elsewhere......and not been replaced.

[IdahoNYer]

However, at the boundary between 17th and 11th Armies, the Soviets make a solid push. With a Mountain Div detached to bolster 11th Army further south, the Soviets make good progress. 17th Army will pull back its furthest eastern positions and attempt to re-establish a better position.

11th Army is realing - with XXXXVI PzKps pulled off the line, and the Rumanians useless, the Soviets also make headway here as well. 11th Army will also trade space for time, hopefully preventing a linkup with the Soviet forces pushing north from the Crimea.

[IdahoNYer]

Last in the line, fighting against the Soviets attacking from the Crimea is the newly positioned 18th Army. Soviet's don't let up the pressure here either. With 4 of 18th Army's 8 German divisions still moving toward the front, the best the German's can do right now is delay.

While I don't want to pull back all the way to the Dniepr in the NW, or allow a linkup with Soviets attacking from the Donets Basin, I've starting fortifying positions along the Dniepr - just in case.

I'm hoping that the Soviets didn't anticipate success here, and are limiting in reinforcing their success - I know, hope is not a method, but right now, its all I have.....

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 35, Feb 12, 1942

Soviets continue heavy attacks along a broad front - apparently attempting to secure cities near the frontlines. Tank Bdes are introduced in a few of the attacks, as are cavalry corps. More holds are achieved, which is probably an indication of fatigue on the Soviets rather than a more robust defensive system. Truth is, I'm past most "stop lines" I had constructed with fortified units - the only thing I'm convinced that will "stop" Soviet progress is the end of the blizzard season.

Screen shots show end of the German portion of turn 35.

9th Army is the victim this turn of heavy Soviet pressure - largely spared so far, it is not equipped to respond to the pressue. Particularly worrisome is the attacks north of Kalinin - if successfull will collapse the line in front of Moscow.
So, I rail out LVI Pzkps (2xPz,1xMot) to counterattack the lead Soviet Tank Bdes - and the Soviets hold TWO hasty attacks!! This is not good.

With pressure on 16th Army to the north, and 9th Army unable to stablize the front with a heavy counter attack, the forecast is bleak!

Priority is still to retain Kalinin as it is a key stepping stone for future attacks toward Moscow from the north.

[IdahoNYer]

Further south, near Kursk, the Soviets make a very concentrated push to penetrate the front. Fortunately for the Germans, 1st Pz Armee with 3xPz and 2xMot Divs are backing up 6th Army here. In fact the Soviets do succeed in creating a "bulge" in the German lines some 30 miles deep in a week of attacks - right between the two PzKps of 1st Pz Armee. III PzKps attacks from the north, then returns to Kursk. XXXXVIII PzKps attacks from the south, then assumes a fallback position behind at the tip of the Soviet penetration - just in case the Soviets attempt to continue the attack west. The result of the counterattack...5 of 6 Tk Bdes routed, front line re-established, and the PzKps ready for the next thrust.

Although successful, the counterattack is a temporary fix. The Soviets can, and likely will, continue their "steamroller" massed infantry attacks - which are successful in pushing the German line west. The counterattacks do limit the Soviet ability to "exploit" with Tank Bdes - which are vulnerable to the counterattack, even in Blizzard.

[karonagames]

Kalinin as it is a key stepping stone for future attacks toward Moscow from the north.

Absolutely - if you hold Kalinin come the summer, then Moscow is pretty much in the bag.

[IdahoNYer]

Turn 37; Feb 26, 1942....Screen shots showing the Soviet attacks from last turn.

As the Blizzard winds down toward the end of Feb [&o], the Soviets appear to be transitioning to the defense along most of the Front. While that is a welcome respite to the three months of pounding attacks, it just means little opportunity for a rapid counterattack in the snow before mud hits....and probably a pretty good fortified line to overcome in a summer offensive.

In any case, pressure on 16th and 9th Armies has easied considerably. While we lost Vyshny Volochek, Kalinin just might be held - as well as a nice salient held by 9th Army. Good jumping off points for summer offensives.

Of course, this could just be a re-grouping for one last push. 4th Pz Armee's LVI PzKps remains north to bolster 9th Army's northern flank just in case. Priority remains to hold Kalinin.

[IdahoNYer]

In front of Moscow, Scar maintains the pressure, but not where I feared, and expected. The red arrows show where I was majorly concerned that he would continue to push - flanking the 4th Pz Armee by pushing around its flanks. Instead, he opted to grind foward at the tip of the salient. Effective that the attacks pushed the Germans back, but no chance of breakthrough or critical threat to the German rear areas. Fine by me at this point. While 4th Pz still has some viable combat power, most of 3rd Pz Armee is spent.

The other good news is that 4th Army's L Korps held on to Kaluga and defeated a major Soviet attack.

Focus remains to hold Kaluga, and if possible, hold the front as close to Moscow as possible. Priority remains holding Kaluga.

[IdahoNYer]

Between Kaluga and Orel, the pressure relaxes significantly. I expected continued mass infantry attacks along 2nd Army's front and that did not occur. XL PzKps remains in Orel with over 300 panzers, ready for counterattack. I think the Soviets have shot their bolt here and are transitioning to the defense. (Fingers crossed)

[IdahoNYer]

The Soviets make limited attacks toward Kursk, nothing that really threatens the city with III PzKps deployed to defend it. Like to the north by Orel, I think the Soviets have transitioned to the defense. Priority is to hold Kursk, but also to build up strength for a counter attack.

[IdahoNYer]

From Kharkov south, the front is remarkably quiet. Very surprisingly, neither 17th, 11th, or even 18th Army is pressed. Considering that 11th Army was, with the exception of XXXXVI PzKps, largely in an "unready" status - this is fantastic news. I was very concerned that the Soviets would link up with the Crimean forces. Apparently that is not going to happen.

With only XXXXVI PzKps in the area, there won't be much opportunity for a quick counterattack here.

It is time to give some thought on where to:

1. Launch a winter counter attack before mud hits - probably just local attacks considering the overall shape of the army.
2. Launch the summer offensive. Moscow should be the priority, but it might be too heavily defended. Need to think on this some more....

[Q-Ball]

You appear to be the first German player to emerge from the Blizzard in some sort of reasonable shape. Nice job!

I also think your opponent made many many fundamental errors, including:

-Linear Defense
-Complete lack of aggressiveness in the Summer (passing up easy counterattacks)
-Running when he didn't have to
-Failure to mass reserve armies in winter

Nevertheless, you have taken advantage of all of that and apparently made it through in OK shape.

Post losses and strengths, but you appear to be in OK shape!

[Ketza]

Can you post losses?

[76mm]

Nice job getting through the blizzard.

Just curious, in your blizzard battles, what was the typical loss ratio for Germans/Russians? As Sovs, I am typcially seeing losses about 1.5 times German losses, but sometimes parity.

[IdahoNYer]

Q-Ball:

-Linear Defense: Was wondering that myself - Scar told me he pulled back alot of troops to fortify rear-ward positions. Made it hell to cross the Dneipr.
-Complete lack of aggressiveness in the Summer (passing up easy counterattacks): Yeah, that's one take away if/when I play the Russians - indirect counterattack whenever possible - cutting off German spearheads and pushing regiments back. His first attack was very, very late.
-Running when he didn't have to: He was definately in Sir Robin mode until I closed on Vyazma. Then it was hold until you die - at this point, when I expected him to pull back, he stayed resulting in two very large, late campaign pockets.
-Failure to mass reserve armies in winter: I truthfully think he was just out of troops with less than 4 million avail at the onset of Blizzard.

76mm:

Blizzard battles when the Soviets were successful, resulted in about 1 - 1.5 loss ration German/Soviet. Very seldom did the German losses
grossly exceed the Soviets in a Soviet win. If the Germans held, could expect a few hundred German or less to a couple thousand Soviet.

Will post some loss/combat power screens shortly....