1.04.10 Fulkerson vs KLilly

[larryfulkerson]

Good idea.  Thanks.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the T27 front lines before any Soviet movement has taken place:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the ground losses as of T27:

[larryfulkerson]

And the OOB:

[larryfulkerson]

And the state of Soviet Production so far:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the front lines before any Soviet movement in turn 29:

[larryfulkerson]

And the OOB:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the ground losses so far:

[larryfulkerson]

And the state of Soviet production in turn 29:

[JKLilly]

Hi all:

Checking in again. I'm Jauary 1 41 and surprise! Larry has invaded amphibiously with some polar bears in the South!

That's a nasty surprise. Plus, his partasan offensive continues to cut my rails about every other turn. Right now, I'm just waiting out the winter. 41 campaign? Gotta decide. Have a few turns to think on that. My panzers are in better shape than the last time I played Larry, but he's also in much better shape.

Interesting to see how this plays out. I've always wondered what would have happened if Hitler had taken Leningrad and used it as a logistical base. Then fought the war north south. But there is still unlimited space to the East. The Finns are key. Anchoring my North, even some limited offense.

I do hate plugging holes with the Panzers but at least I'm not giving up much land. But we'll see how the attacks in the south develop.

Friends to all, k

[Klydon]

Looks like the Russians are bouncing back.

I disagree on making the fortified locations at this point and time, especially against the Finns. The issue is they are a heavy drain on armaments points and if attacked, (they don't defend well at all), they surrender and you lose 100% of whatever they had in them. I would disband them and get regular units in their place before the Axis figures that out.

The other thing for the Russians is that while they need to make a big push, they also need to conserve command points. You are going to need them for new unit formation for 1942 and also for forming rifle corps.

Something else I didn't see is have you formed any cav corps? You can put them together now and with that, you can directly assign support units to them, making them even tougher. They will be your best offensive unit during the winter and also the most mobile.

Also, I would be interested to know where you have your shock armies at. With their moral bonus, these should likely be leading your counter offensive. They should also have your better army commanders. A stocked up shock army can do some serious damage.

Something else I am seeing looking at the map. While the situation down south is not dangerous right now, I think it will become very dangerous in the spring and summer. The Germans could launch a limited offensive out of the D and Z town area and cut off a lot of the Southern Front. I would look at making a push here as well.

Another thing is take a look at the rail lines behind the Axis lines. If you are close to lines that run north and south behind the front lines, you want to try to get control of those for yourself and not give the Germans a chance to repair them. An example would be the line right behind where you are attacking where the hole was in the German lines up north.

Lastly, while it hurts to do it, I would also continue to move industry that is relatively close behind your lines if you have not been. The sooner it gets moved, the sooner it will get set back up and start producing at full capacity again and you won't have to worry about it during the summer onslaught. On top of that, it will free up your rail cap to move reserves where they are needed instead of having to decide between moving troops or moving industry.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Klydon
I disagree on making the fortified locations at this point and time, especially against the Finns. The issue is they are a heavy drain on armaments points and if attacked, (they don't defend well at all), they surrender and you lose 100% of whatever they had in them. I would disband them and get regular units in their place before the Axis figures that out.

I only would use them to get forts built faster. Once the fortification level is high enough the forts I built can be disbanded safely.

ORIGINAL: Klydon
The other thing for the Russians is that while they need to make a big push, they also need to conserve command points. You are going to need them for new unit formation for 1942 and also for forming rifle corps.

I can see that. Good point.

ORIGINAL: Klydon
Something else I didn't see is have you formed any cav corps? You can put them together now and with that, you can directly assign support units to them, making them even tougher. They will be your best offensive unit during the winter and also the most mobile.

I haven't formed any Cav corps yet, but I plan to.

ORIGINAL: Klydon
Also, I would be interested to know where you have your shock armies at. With their moral bonus, these should likely be leading your counter offensive. They should also have your better army commanders. A stocked up shock army can do some serious damage.

I'm not sure where they are myself. But I'm pretty sure that I need to use them more on offensive missions than regular armies because of the moral bonus.

ORIGINAL: Klydon
Something else I am seeing looking at the map. While the situation down south is not dangerous right now, I think it will become very dangerous in the spring and summer. The Germans could launch a limited offensive out of the D and Z town area and cut off a lot of the Southern Front. I would look at making a push here as well.

I'm thinking KLilly will push hard in the Dtown and Ztown area(s) when the blizzard ends. I'm going to have to be on my guard to pull back before being encircled there. He's been known to enjoy making pockets when the opportunity presents itself.

ORIGINAL: Klydon
Another thing is take a look at the rail lines behind the Axis lines. If you are close to lines that run north and south behind the front lines, you want to try to get control of those for yourself and not give the Germans a chance to repair them. An example would be the line right behind where you are attacking where the hole was in the German lines up north.

My armies aren't strong enough to push that far very fast yet. And the blizzard is going to come to a close before I get close to the Axis lines of supply.

ORIGINAL: Klydon
Lastly, while it hurts to do it, I would also continue to move industry that is relatively close behind your lines if you have not been. The sooner it gets moved, the sooner it will get set back up and start producing at full capacity again and you won't have to worry about it during the summer onslaught. On top of that, it will free up your rail cap to move reserves where they are needed instead of having to decide between moving troops or moving industry.

Good idea. I hadn't thought of that myself. That's another reason I loose these games. Other people think ahead and do things like this.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the T31 front lines before any Soviet movement yet:

[larryfulkerson]

And the ground losses so far:

[larryfulkerson]

And the OOB:

[larryfulkerson]

And the state of Soviet production in T31:

[76mm]

Larry, I would think about putting a couple of units to fortify the gates to the Crimea, its wide open right now. I also recommend keeping the fortifications well-manned, because the tricky Germans can make it difficult if you wait...

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: 76mm
Larry, I would think about putting a couple of units to fortify the gates to the Crimea, its wide open right now. I also recommend keeping the fortifications well-manned, because the tricky Germans can make it difficult if you wait...

Good idea; I'll do it. KLillly is a tricky dude. It'd be just like him to break through my defenses and storm the Crimea just because he can.

[Aditia]

About those fortified zones, don't you need to be some distance from the Fritzes to be able to disband them? In my 43-45 game I made limited use of fortified zones and disbanded them as soon as friendly untis came within 6 hexes, just to be safe

[76mm]

ORIGINAL: Aditia

About those fortified zones, don't you need to be some distance from the Fritzes to be able to disband them? In my 43-45 game I made limited use of fortified zones and disbanded them as soon as friendly untis came within 6 hexes, just to be safe

For normal units this is true, but I have disbanded fort zones adjacent to enemy troops.