1.04.10 Fulkerson vs KLilly

[larryfulkerson]

The morale of my air groups goes from 11 ( lowest ) to 68 ( highest ). So I've been thinking of moving the lowest morale dudes into the NR so I can temp. boost their morale. Increasing the morale will increase the range they can operate in but I'm not too sure what else benefit it might have. Higher morale can't hurt however and this is a game of inches so whatever advantage I can get where I can get it is a good thing I think.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the Air Doctrine settings I'm using. I figure that once a group has lost 1/2 of it's planes it's time to move it to the NR so it can refit
with some more planes and then it's back in service in a turn or two.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's what the Kiev area looks like after I got a chance to move. I moved quite a bit of stuff on the far west side. I'm moving the slowest
guy first and then forming the guys around him so nobody gets lost needlessly. Maybe on the other hand I should just move everybody
as far and as fast as they will go to the east?

[larryfulkerson]

Everybody got evacuated behind the river in the far south. All the industry was evacuated out of Kiev at least. Odessa is still holding
some HI or something but there's only so much rail capacity to go around. Maybe next turn

[timmyab]

You've still got way too much out to the West in my opinion.If you were to pack out the area to the SW of Kiev, you could make him pay the price for driving 1st panzer group into a culdesac.As it is he will most likely break South next turn endangering a large part of Southwest front.
The Dnieper North of Kiev looks a bit dodgy to me as well.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: timmyab
You've still got way too much out to the West in my opinion.....
The Dnieper North of Kiev looks a bit dodgy to me as well.

I quite agree. I moved the slowest unit to the east first and then formed the rest of the units around the first one and doing that isn't giving me the transition I was hoping for. I'm afraid I'm just going to have to sacrifice the slowest units and let them get left behind by moving everybody as far and as fast as they can go. Kevin is probably going to drive south around the Kiev area to get a pocket started and it's all coming down to shoe leather since he'll probably cut the rails leading out of that AO.

[larryfulkerson]

Another thing I've been doing is sorting the units on " %TOE " and all those combat units below 90% TOE are set to refit and all those combat units 90% or above are set to "reserve" if they will go there. Sometimes the best I can get besides "refit" is "ready". Anyway those units that need replacements attention get it and the units that can go to reserve help to solidify the front lines somewhat. That's the theory at least.

[M60A3TTS]

You should be moving some of your units out by rail.  The distance isn't great so it won't take a big bite out of your railcap, and there should be adequate MPs left to move a unit off the rail a needed hex or two.  He's definitely looking to break out, so I'd want to be defending well in the immediate area of the panzers.

[larryfulkerson]

I've noticed that most of the kills that I'm getting against the Axis planes are made by the more experienced pilots flying late-model
planes.

[randallw]

ORIGINAL: Panama

I'm always amazed that Kiev seems to readily fall in July in so many AARs when the SW Front was the strongest of the fronts and the southern forces of the Axis were the weakest part between AGC and AGS.

I believe players in the game are able to create a Lvov pocket, splitting up a division or two into regiments, creating a deep ZOC line, which historically did not happen.

[randallw]

Be aware that reserve units on defense may run if the main defenders have to retreat and the reserve unit morale is low.

[larryfulkerson]

Hey guys.........I found out that you can attach SU's to cities......or at least I found one where I could. I moved an air base onto Nickolev ( or however you spell it ) and thought to myself, what kind of support can the city lend to this air base and I looked at the city ( clicked on the city name in movement mode, not rail movement mode ) and found a label where you could click on "assign/form" and found some PVO AA units I could build. So I did. So now whenever the Axis attacks my air base in this city the city will lend AA support. Cool. Maybe I should park more air bases on cities to continue this effect whenever possible.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: randallw
Be aware that reserve units on defense may run if the main defenders have to retreat and the reserve unit morale is low.

OOOOoooooooooh. I hadn't thought of that. I'm going to have to look into the morale of the guys I put on reserve from now on. Thanks.

[randallw]

Yes, it looks very tempting to try to encircle a lot of SW Front, which tends to have better dudes than the Southern Front.  Try not to leave those mountain divisions out in some place where they can be surrounded; you can't order replacement mountain divisions, and merely mountain brigades aren't available until 1945.  You may want to consider a pullback so the new line sort of runs from that Southern Front Corps HQ, running northeast through Vinnitsa, continuing northeast in sort of a straight line.

I'm guessing your Soviet armor around Kiev, under Stavka command, is 21st Mech Corps?  That's a pretty poor unit and won't put up much of a fight.

Some of your HQs tend to close to the front lines; when they get bumped the MPs drop to 0 when your turn comes around and of course they lose supplies built up.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: randallw
Yes, it looks very tempting to try to encircle a lot of SW Front, which tends to have better dudes than the Southern Front. 

Try not to leave those mountain divisions out in some place where they can be surrounded; you can't order replacement mountain divisions, and merely mountain brigades aren't available until 1945. 

You may want to consider a pullback so the new line sort of runs from that Southern Front Corps HQ, running northeast through Vinnitsa, continuing northeast in sort of a straight line.

I'm guessing your Soviet armor around Kiev, under Stavka command, is 21st Mech Corps?  That's a pretty poor unit and won't put up much of a fight.

Some of your HQs tend to close to the front lines; when they get bumped the MPs drop to 0 when your turn comes around and of course they lose supplies built up.

All of this is good solid tips........thanks. I'll take notes on this and get 'er done.

[randallw]

Those AA units in cities will die if the city is captured, in case you were wondering about that.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: randallw
Those AA units in cities will die if the city is captured, in case you were wondering about that.

Thanks for the info but if the city is captured probably the AA unit will be the least of my worries. But you do bring up a valid point about posting AA units in cities that are in no real danger for the for see-able future ( I donno how to spell it ).

[76mm]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson
I think I have seen the RR Construction dudes gravitate to the Front HQ even though I have the Corps HQ locked. Anybody else see that too?

This used to happen but at least in my games has been fixed a few patches ago.

[Aussiematto]

I wish I was playing a GErman who had that infantry deployment down south. Hang tough on him... he's going nowhere as far as I can tell

[Tarhunnas]

You have apparently restarted the game? I missed that at first so when I looked at the screenshots I was initially very impressed by your counteroffensive already being west of the Dnepr... [8D]