The Anti Bolshevik Crusade - Tarhunnas vs Q-Ball (no Q-Ball please)

[Ketza]

Feb is when I was able to launch a lot of counters as the Soviets started to weaken and my CV started to bounce back. Start looking for those snow opportunities!

[TulliusDetritus]

Ketza, I don't think a German snow offensive is going to be possible here [:(] I would say you're going to see the Soviet steamroller during the snow turns (and if you don't it's because Q-Ball will stop it but there should be plenty of nice opportunities for the Red Army)... That's what I saw -to my surprise- on my game. Germans were really trashed during the blizzard = they were REALLY weak during the snow... So the Red Army was on the move, a mini Blizzard Part II.

[Peltonx]

I thk he might be better off waiting until snow, he needs to get his mech divisions out of the front to refit for a few weeks. The CV's will jump way up with 2 weeks.

If he would have dug in sooner he would not have had to commit his mech units until January and still be at 1/2 ToW by the snow fall.

I will be interested in seeing how the summer goes and if he can recover.

Pelton

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 32. January 22 1942

Continuing pressure along most of the front. Here are losses from the last Soviet turn. Still around 100 k men per turn. I put in the OOB as well.

[Tarhunnas]

A troublesome situation on the Orel front. The Blue division of Spanish volounteers surrounded. I wondered how this could happen, but it turns out the Blue division was attacked and retreated east! Idiots! Well, no way it is possible to rescue them. I hope Spanish Fascism puts value on taking the consequences of ones actions, because there sure is going to be some of that here! Map before Axis moves.

[Tarhunnas]

Here is a snapshot of the Moscow front after German moves. It will be interesting to see if Moscow can be held.

[Sabre21]

Oh boy...I wouldn't have put an Hq and a sec unit on the Moscow hex. I would have placed your panzer unit there and an infantry div where the panzer is. If you have a railhead at Moscow, the panzer unit will be able to refit a lot quicker.

As a Soviet player, I would attack that panzer west of Moscow using 2 stacks of 3 each from the northwest and southwest then move a full stack from the west into the vacated hex and attack Moscow. The only hopeful thing here is that Q-Ball might not be able to know you have an hq and a sec unit in that hex and plan the attack accordingly.

[Tarhunnas]

ORIGINAL: Sabre21

Oh boy...I wouldn't have put an Hq and a sec unit on the Moscow hex. I would have placed your panzer unit there and an infantry div where the panzer is. If you have a railhead at Moscow, the panzer unit will be able to refit a lot quicker.

As a Soviet player, I would attack that panzer west of Moscow using 2 stacks of 3 each from the northwest and southwest then move a full stack from the west into the vacated hex and attack Moscow. The only hopeful thing here is that Q-Ball might not be able to know you have an hq and a sec unit in that hex and plan the attack accordingly.

I had to make a few counterattacks. After that the units didn't have the MPs to get them where I wanted them. Then I made a mistake and moved a unit away from the hex with the sec unit and the HQ. I realize that is a far from ideal position, but sometimes one has to live with ones mistakes and accept what is possible. In other words, I messed up some, but I can't just show screenies of my successes. [:)]

[vlcz]

ORIGINAL: Tarhunnas
A troublesome situation on the Orel front. The Blue division of Spanish volounteers surrounded. I wondered how this could happen, but it turns out the Blue division was attacked and retreated east! Idiots! Well, no way it is possible to rescue them. I hope Spanish Fascism puts value on taking the consequences of ones actions

All that fascist propaganda about allways advance “Avanzar siempre!!” has hurt them this time, they definitively will go “Plus Ultra” this time

[Tarhunnas]

With admirable speed, the 250th "Blue" division is reformed. Apparently, there is no problem finding 13,000 new eager and willing young spaniards to serve on the Eastern Front.

Comment: I would have expected them to use a separate replacement pool, or maybe this division shouldn't reform automatically?

[Tarhunnas]

The Moscow front after German moves turn 33. The frontline is at the eastern suburbs of Moscow. The city itself is nearly impregnable, but it might eventually get surrounded.

[vlcz]

With admirable speed, the 250th "Blue" division is reformed. Apparently, there is no problem finding 13,000 new eager and willing young spaniards to serve on the Eastern Front.

Comment: I would have expected them to use a separate replacement pool, or maybe this division shouldn't reform automatically?

They have initially 60000 "voluntarios" , from which 36000 fought initially or as replacements.. in that date the regimen should not have any problem in finding volunteer (or convinced ones) to send against russia while politics dictated the division maintenance...

I think in game terms the division should have no cost in manpower for the germans (full armaments to pay for it) until November 1942, when it should withdraw ... or be substituted by a SU "Legión Azul"... that little unit should be irremplazable , as historically their unofficial motto was "Sin relevo posible, hasta la extinción"...that traslates roughly to "Without reliefs, until extinction"

[Tarhunnas]

ORIGINAL: vlcz

With admirable speed, the 250th "Blue" division is reformed. Apparently, there is no problem finding 13,000 new eager and willing young spaniards to serve on the Eastern Front.

Comment: I would have expected them to use a separate replacement pool, or maybe this division shouldn't reform automatically?

They have initially 60000 "voluntarios" , from which 36000 fought initially or as replacements.. in that date the regimen should not have any problem in finding volunteer (or convinced ones) to send against russia while politics dictated the division maintenance...

Ok, no problem with replacements then. Thanks!

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 34. February 4 1942.

The Soviets are attacking along the whole front. The entire line between Moscow and Dnepropetrovsk is ablaze!

Comment: I think the winter effects are OK now, however, I do think it is unrealistic that the Soviets can sustain an offensive over the entire front for several months. IMO the didn't have the supply or ammunition for that kind of effort.

[Tarhunnas]

Losses for the preceding Soviet turn. The numbers are slowly going down for the Germans. Keeping in mind that much of the German losses is attrition, the Soviets are paying a heavy price too. Some attacks have been bloody failures.

I am experimenting a little with reserves, and they have apparently made a difference in some cases. I am not sure how effective they are in general, but I hope they are discomfiting the Soviets.

[Tarhunnas]

The Moscow area after German moves. The defenses are in much better state now. Two panzer divisions are in reserve status under the SEC division. I am a little worried about the northern flank though. The empty hex is there because a Soviet cavalry corps was counterattacked and routed out of the hex. I didn't want to occupy it.

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 35. Continuing Soviet pressure with attacks all along the line between Moscow and Zaporozhye. Nothing interesting to show in a screenshot.

[Peltonx]

Hang in there man. What you want is to have him hitting u all along the front and not in 3 or 5 spots hard.

I thk you have seen the worst of it now. If you can pull 4 to 6 mech divisions out of the front 2 turns before snow and refit, you have enough punch to make a hole. The other mech divisions will still have allot of MPs to exploit the hole.

He is still going to have issues come spring becauce of his manpower and rail losses. Kinda a totally different thing then my game vs Arstavidios, but I am guessing with the same results.

Keep doing the rope a dope [:D]

Pelton

[Scook_99]

Hang on there! From your last casualty list I see a total of 500,000 killed and captured, relatively light losses overall. You will recovery quickly, and we expect you to do your duty! The Fatherland is counting on you!

[Tarhunnas]

ORIGINAL: Scook_99

Hang on there! From your last casualty list I see a total of 500,000 killed and captured, relatively light losses overall. You will recovery quickly, and we expect you to do your duty! The Fatherland is counting on you!

Thanks, but I think You're mistaken. My overall losses are 1.7 million.