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

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

BTW, how is your OOB "Tarhunnas"?


Leo "Apollo11"

[Tarhunnas]

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

BTW, how is your OOB "Tarhunnas"?

Here it is.

Hmmm, wonder how Busch got command of AGC? I suppose whoever was in command before must have been cashiered or died or something... I should keep track of these things, but it's easy to forget. I don't pore over the event log every turn.

[Tarhunnas]

Ah... dismissed. Happened this turn apparently.

[Tarhunnas]

Just checked leader deaths, but no one has died since I checked last. It strikes me that the trick for a German General to keep the Vic/Defeat ratio good is to die young (or early in the war) [;)].

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: Tarhunnas

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

BTW, how is your OOB "Tarhunnas"?

Here it is.

The numbers are not bad considering... the only very low number are tanks... but those were of old types anyway...


Leo "Apollo11"

[Klydon]

This is probably one of the lowest I have ever seen German tank strength at this point in a AAR. Considering I think the Germans had 150 operational tanks in March of 42, but got to 3k tanks by late June, it will be interesting to see how well your tank force bounces back. Luftwaffe seems to be in fairly good shape as well, but looks like you lost a lot of artillery. Probably from all the retreating.

Bock started out in charge of AGC unless you changed him, so that was not the first command change there.

[Ketza]

I am interested to see how his tanks bounce back as well. If he can show that they indeed can bounce back it may change Axis attitudes about keeping them back out of harms way.

His Luftwaffe looks to be in great shape.

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 40. March 19 1942. Snow.

I continue the offensives to recapture Kalinin and Kaluga. Here is a map of the Moscow front. The empty hexes have been attacked by me, but I am loth to occupy them unless I do so in strength, as I will be without fortifications and invite a counterattack.

White units are recently arrived reinforcements that have not yet been assigned.

[Tarhunnas]

In the south, Zaporozhye has been recaptured in an important psychological victory! Besides, it was a matter of prestige, as Q-Ball was determined to take it during winter. [;)]

The object here is to have a bridgehead over the Dnepr to enable a spring offensive to push him back into the Crimea.

[Tarhunnas]

Losses during the Axis turn. Almost 3-1 in men, and better than that in artillery and AFV.

[Empire101]

I have been following this AAR with interest.

It will be interesting to see what OKH's strategy will be in the summer of 42

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 41. Snow.

Continued local attacks. Kalinin and Kaluga are recaptured, but otherwise no real changes in the front.

The going is getting harder, as Soviet fortifications levels increase with the front being more or less static in many areas. I will soon have to storp the post-blizzard counterattacks and regroup and refit my mobile units for the summer offensive. The problem is that when that is done, most of the front will be in level 3 fortifications, and it will take hard work and lots of casualties to accomplish a breakthrough.

Map of the Kaluga area after German moves.

[ComradeP]

Your CV's are quite low, 1943-1944 level, so it will be interesting to see how much they can recover. Considering the recent roughly 50% increase in attrition casualties, it will be tough. Having lost almost 2 million men is going to hurt.

[Tarhunnas]

A map of the entire front after Axis moves turn 41.

[Tarhunnas]

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

Your CV's are quite low, 1943-1944 level, so it will be interesting to see how much they can recover. Considering the recent roughly 50% increase in attrition casualties, it will be tough. Having lost almost 2 million men is going to hurt.

Yes. To be honest, I don't really see a big 1942 offensive coming here.

[ComradeP]

Could you post a CR screen screenshot of the morale/experience of your Panzer and motorized units?

If I were you, I'd focussing on straightening the line and not on any too ambitious offensives. Pushing the Soviets back to the gates of the Crimea and the shores of the Sea of Azov as well as to Orel, Kursk (ironically, history repeats itself as there's a Kursk salient in your game too) and Kharkov gives you a fairly straight line. Although it's in places worse than the 1943 start line, it's better than what you have now. With the beating you got in winter, anything more ambitious than pushing the frontline 5 to 15 hexes to the east in the central and southern parts of the map doesn't have a good chance of success at this point, especially with your low mobile division CV's.

Also: do yourself a favour and park your mobile units behind the frontline during mud and the mud/clear turns, the same goes for any infantry division that is not really, really needed at the frontline. Attrition is brutal, so make sure you don't take unnecessary attrition.

The Soviets might dig level 4-5 forts, which will be really ugly, but that's a problem that you can think about when it happens, for now I'd advise planning for an offensive to straighten the line.

[Peltonx]

You need to do some more damage to The Reds.

I made the mistake vs Hooper of only striaghtening the lines and digging in. You do hold more manpower center then i did, I took out more production so all things being equal, you need to inflict some losses.

Just 4 or 5 pockets of 6 to 8 units would be enough. 30 to 50 units. That would really set him back, because of the manpower crunch and you might be able to hold the lines into early 43. I beleive Hoops had 8 million by turn 70 and after mud he took 1.5 million losses but replased them and added 600k.

So I am guessing if you can keep Q-Ball under 7 million by turn 70 you got it made.

[ComradeP]

Straightening the line would involve some mini-pockets, naturally. It's the most efficient way to do so.

[Mynok]

Looks like there might be an opportunity in the Kursk sector though without seeing the inf CVs it's hard to tell. He has some thin spots there that look exploitable.

I'm with Pelton that every unit destroyed is putting an extra crunch on the Soviet manpower and armaments.

[Fishbed]

Id rather go for the bulge north of Moscow. Only place with a sizable prize and a - relatively - non-threatened left flank. Guard units are fewer over there too, but well I guess all of this can change until you get several turns of clear sky again...