1.04.10 Fulkerson vs Pelton

[Ketza]

Larry he is setting up the next pocket just north of the last one coming from TULA.

[kevini1000]

I thought it looked bad for the Russian's here in 42. Not this bad however.

[Flaviusx]

If you haven't set aside tank corps and shock armies to deal with this sort of thing then it is too late. You shouldn't be sitting on 400 APs. Spend them. That 1941 army isn't going to stop the Germans, you need to upgrade the Red Army ASAP and as APs allow. That means:

1. No rifle brigades.

2. No tank brigades. (Convert as many as these as possible to corps. Possibly leaving a residue of two dozen or so brigades. Eventually you will disband even those.) These become available starting April. Stuff these with attachments, sappers and tank battalions.

3. Some guards rifle corps. You can build these from June onwards. Don't make too many of these, they are expensive as hell and the early TOE for them isn't amazing. Stuff these corps with 3 attachments, preferably sappers.

4. Shock armies held deep in reserve on rail lines, available for commitment to the German offensive concentration. You have no deep reserves. It's all upfront, and once the crust is broken, game over.

5. Ditto tank armies. Hold those in reserve as well. This will give you badly needed mobility; they are fragile early one, but can deliver hard knocks to exhausted panzer divisions out in the open, and axis minors (like those Hungarians.)

6. Preplan lines of defense to fall back on, based on important terrain features. That means diggers on the Volga, for example. You do not want to extemporize fortification in the middle of a breathrough, have them ready to go beforehand. Use rifle brigades for this before May 1942 (at which point they can merge into divisions.)

7. Almost forgot: cavalry corps. Again, stuff with attachments. These suckers are actually stronger than the early tank corps and surprisingly mobile. Again, hold them in reserve.

[larryfulkerson]

Thanks for your advice Flaviusx dude.

Here's the pocket in turn 48 before any Soviet movement:

[larryfulkerson]

Okie dokie........ I've done some air attacks and here's the air losses so far:

[arras]

You seems to not use rail movement effectively. On the turn when pocket was created and turn after, his outer line was very weak. If you would have railed some units East of the pocket, things might have looked differently.

I do not know if you could (perhaps you did but was not successful), but those two motorized units should have been attacked on any cost on turn T46. Remember, you need just bit more than 1:1 ratio to defeat him.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's what's left of the pocket in T49:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the entire front lines in T49:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the Ground Losses so far:

[larryfulkerson]

And the OOB:

[larryfulkerson]

And the state of Soviet Production:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the front lines after the Soviets get to move: I've started forming my carpet defense all over the map but there's some places
where there's no defenders yet. I'm railing all the people that I have to the spots needed but there aren't enough people. So I've had to
build some rifle divisions from fresh scratch and hope they refit quickly.

[arras]

When you make screenshots (smaller ones), can you turn on defence value instead of movement on unit counter? (shortcut Z I think)

It gives us better impression of the situation. Especially if you on defence.

P.S.: what was already mentioned, forming strategic reserve, perhaps mobile army made of some tank brigades, few cavalry corps and some infantry positioned deeper in your territory on rails. And made of your better units.

Even better one such army for each sector (Notrh, Center, South). But you may be short of soldiers for a while now for that.

Defence should have also strategic not just tactical depth. Carpet is not sole solution to your situation I think. On the other hand such strategic depth can allow you perhaps for economy of forces so might have been better in this situation.

[Flaviusx]

Carpet is overrated and I doubt will work against Pelton, who knows his business. But it's a damn sight better than the crustal defense in play earlier.

You really do need to form strategic reserves in great depth with Red Army Mk2 stuff -- stuff that can be railed to any point along the entire front where an Axis offensive occurs and shut down the panzers. A merely tactical carpet defense can't perform that role.

And by Red Army Mk2, I mean corps and guards and guards corps. And get rid of the rifle brigades, start merging them into divisions. This is the problem with a carpet: it gets in the way of upgrading the Red Army. You wind using too many ant units that would be better served as building blocks for stronger units. But everyone is in love with a the stupid mass carpet for 1942 right now and this fad dominates Soviet play. I think it's a poor choice taking the longer view. It's also boring as hell even if it works -- I much prefer shutting down the Whermacht in a mobile campaign of counterattacks based on mobile reserves.

These strategic reserves can themselves be put to work digging forts in your far rear.

[Flaviusx]

Also, the carpet is mostly pointless in large portions of the front: if you have to make it, do so where his panzers are. Right now we know exactly where they are: in the south, marching forward into the yawning gap of your lines and probably set to flank the entire carpet defense from the rear. I would in fact be stripping some portions of you front line and rushing them south. You have too much up in the far north in particular where the defense can be accomplished economically with fewer forces.

[WarHunter]

Fulkerson,
May i suggest you look at a complete strategic withdrawl from the Northern front and send that Front south into the meat grinder.
The only VP city in the area is Cherepovets. Down south are many more.

Another option is to go out in style and attack along your entire front and bleed the axis. Use your airforce and bomb everything. Rotate your unready units and attack some more. Push forward, inflitrate, make the axis respond. Grab the initiative where you can. Victory is just a hope away.

If you are going out into the night, take some of the sob's with you.

[randallw]

I look at those vast areas where there seems to be nothing ahead of the Axis, and wonder why you aren't trying to set something up in front.  Newly raised units will be low on experience; you are better off hoping that units on the battlefield for a few months will be better quality.
 
Some areas of the defensive line are 3 hexes deep; if you strip away one line you may be able to form some type of defense at the Don.  If your opponent is able to get through there without much difficulty....well.......

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the front lines in T51 before any Soviet movement but after recon:

Good idea randallw dude.....I'm going to take some of those northern units and rail them south to at least form some speed bumps for the Axis tanks.

[morvael]

Interesting AAR, subscribing to it right now. I'm really interested in seeing how the "production" power of USSR finally overwhelms "combat" power of Germany. Please, continue playing!

[76mm]

Ouch, that's a big hole, but looking at your front, I think you could peel off at least one front, maybe two, from the north, and build units like crazy in the south.