1.05.18 beta Farfarer vs Fulkerson (sov)

[M60A3TTS]

For your blizzard offensive, try to think in terms of concentration of mass which is a pretty basic military principle. You're now parcelling out replacements from the pool based on their TO&E percentages. In doing so, you're giving everybody a few extra foot soldiers but in the end won't give you what you want which is overwhelming numbers at the point of attack. The same thing is evident with your air force. You have plenty of planes which is nice, but what forces are you going to bring to bear where you are going to focus your attack? Practically speaking that means moving more airbases closer to the point of attack and filling them with planes. Sure, a lot won't fly in bad weather, but every bit helps. Which armies are going to try and break through the line of forts you will encounter? Are they being provided with sapper regiments and artillery? You should, and in fact those are the armies you should have set to refit. Leave the others alone, you're not attacking the Finns after all. Pull the cavalry divisions together now so you can form them into corps. Six of them would fill 2nd Shock Army which is one thing you might consider. Put tank battalions in the build queue so they will be ready to attach to those corps as soon as they are formed. Take some of the rifle brigades you have and let them replace the cavalry of the Caucasus Front. Lastly, find any 3-5 CV rifle divisions and assign them to 1st Shock Army. You will want that unit in a position to attack wherever you are going to.

Next turn is pretty important, if he doesn't attack in force anywhere you probably can thin out the line in places if you need extra rifle divisions where you're attacking. Start a more intense recon so you can get a bead on his line of fortifications in the area you're going after.

[larryfulkerson]

All good ideas thanks.  This is why you win and I don't.

EDIT: this post just cried out for a picture in it. This is the T24 front lines after recon but before movement.

[larryfulkerson]

I just now spent about 80 AP's changing the I-16 series of fighterbombers to Lagg-3's and the Su-2's to Mig-3's.   Plus I changed out the leader of the Leningrad
front for one better.  Now I'm going to inspect the Army HQ's to make sure they each have sappers and arty SU's.  I've already bought a lot of Mortar and heavy
Mortar SU's for the HQ's.  This will make them better yet.

[larryfulkerson]

I've filtered this CR on units to show only rocket units and it seems that ALL of them are Guards units already. I'm not sure what this is
a symptom of if there's a problem with the game engine or if it's really the case that they earned a guard status already.

[M60A3TTS]

The reason for that is actual Katyusha rocket units were given the name "Guards Mortar" or "Guards Heavy Mortar". In WiTE they're called light rocket regiments, but still include guards in the name.

[larryfulkerson]

I've started separating out all the Cav units so I can start building Cav Corps in December '41.  I've got about 400 AP's saved up so I expect I can build a alot of them.
Is there a drawback to creating Cav Corps?  Can a person build too many of them?

EDIT: Here's the Leningrad Front. If it weren't for the low CV's I'd be attacking with these guys already.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's my moves such as they are. I switched from a defensive stance to an offensive stance ( from single-unit stacks to
three-unit stacks). And I actually did some attacking.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the OOB, losses, destroyed units, and production:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the T25 front lines before any recon or movement:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's my moves with an overlay showing my attacks. I'm trying to really work the attrition thing. I've started separating out the Cav units
and the tanks so I might be ready to start building Corps units with them. It's going to be a while before I can build some tank Corps I
realize but I was thinking of building a tank-only type of Army just to see what kind of utility I might be able to get out of it sometime in the
future.

[larryfulkerson]

The Victory Point screen says Far has earned a Major Victory if he holds onto at least 200+ points so I'm pretty sure he might just have
won this game already. Maybe.

Here's the OOB, losses, destroyed units, and production:

[larryfulkerson]

I'm down to my last 3,000 Rifle Squads in the pool and the manpower has only 89,000 in the pool and I'm loosing 102,000+ men each turn now with all the
attacking going on.  I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep up this burn rate.  I realize that Far is loosing troops too but I want to be ready for the
Spring '43 attacks that are going to happen.  Far is not one to turn down a good opportunity to attack.  So I'm in a quandry about how to run this winter offensive.

[larryfulkerson]

T26: Here's the front lines before Recon or Movement:

[larryfulkerson]

I managed to blow some holes in the Axis lines. It may or many not be the start of something good. I hope so but Far is wily. I bet
he might manage to wiggle out of my traps more often than not. We'll see.

[M60A3TTS]

Look at you. [:)]

Keep in mind what you need to do in order to keep the momentum. Only refit the armies that are on the point of attack and send your reinforcements there. Get those cav corps up there along with the shock armies as best you can and keep punching away there. Attacking up north is likely too costly for you due to the natural defensive terrain. There's a reason the siege of Leningrad went on until early 1944.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the Soviet moves with an overlay showing my attacks.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the OOB, losses, destroyed units, and production. Manpower is the bottleneck still.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: M60A3TTS
Look at you. [:)]

yeah, I can't believe it myself.

ORIGINAL: M60A3TTS
Keep in mind what you need to do in order to keep the momentum. Only refit the armies that are on the point of attack and send your reinforcements there.

I gotta keep the push on because he's just reacting now. I gotta herd the sheep to the killing fields and destroy them. Well, shear them.

ORIGINAL: M60A3TTS
Get those cav corps up there along with the shock armies as best you can and keep punching away there.

Yeah, I've made some more this turn. I'll rail them down there asap.

ORIGINAL: M60A3TTS
Attacking up north is likely too costly for you due to the natural defensive terrain. There's a reason the siege of Leningrad went on until early 1944.

D'oh. I needed to read this BEFORE I opened a can of whop-ass up there. The good thing is that he lost 110,000+ this turn alone.

[larryfulkerson]

I just got the moves from Far for the next turn and he had a quote in his email:
"Finally a turn without crippling partisan attacks. Unfortunately I fail the die roll again and it is a Blizzard in Berlin and the Kuban. Pulling back."

Here's the front lines for T27 before any Soviet recon or movement:

[larryfulkerson]

Here's my moves such as they are. I'm not really moving all that fast, just a hex or two at a time. But the front line IS moving.