MWiF Global War Hot-Seat (AAR)

[Red Prince]

In Persia, the Germans are starting to threaten the line, and the Italians are ready to take Teheran.

The base attack is 14:4 = 3:1/4:1 (50%). This can be increased to a straight 4:1 using Ground Support, and reduced to 16:6 if the LND in Baku gets involved. That makes it 2:1/3:1 (67%). Even at 2:1 odds, there is a 60% chance to take over Teheran.

The Soviets have 8 units (7 Corps, 1 Division) in the Persian Theatre, totaling 35 factors.

[Red Prince]

Here's a clean shot of the front lines. I'll have to make close-ups to give you the individual units, but this gives you a sense of (impending doom!) the situation.

[Red Prince]

Here's the "dirty" shot of the front lines. The lines have come together so much that I don't really know where to break it up for a better view of North and South Fronts.

The Soviets have 18 units left on this front with mobility (15 Corps, 3 Divisions), totalling 97 factors.

That doesn't include Sevastopol or Leningrad, since none of those units can move. If you also eliminate Rostov, and the GARR near Krasnodar, that leaves you with 14 units (12 Corps, 2 Divisions), totaling 77 factors.
-----
On this front, the Germans still have a significant edge. One way or another, they are about to break through toward the Turkish border. If the Soviets try to defend too hard, then the Germans can romp through the North, collecting cities and factories, and eventually they'll meet up with the Japanese on the other side of the Urals. As long as they don't wait too long to take Leningrad, they can eventually conquer the Soviet Union if the Russians hide in the Caucasus.

[Red Prince]

The next 2 posts have to do with the Turkish border.
-----
I'm starting to wonder if it's worth continuing to try to keep the Turks out of the war. They are going to be in it. That's almost certain now, but with HQ-A Guderian disorganized, the earliest they can enter the war is sometime during S/O '41. Here is what they will come in with:

[Red Prince]

What I'd like to propose is a controlled retreat. The following images show what could happen in the next impulse to get this done.
-----
The 2 hexes marked with a white "X" are the nearest hexes that the Germans need to be in for Turkey to be aligned. If the following setup happens on impulse #8 (now), then the Axis can't block the rail lines out of Baku before impulse #10. On that impulse, both INF rail out of Baku, and the CAV stacked with Zhukov also rails away. The 2 MIL left behind should be able to be rebuilt for next turn if they are killed. Zhukov moves along the rail lines as far as possible, and then he rails out on impulse #12 (if the turn goes on that long).

The SB-2 will be lost unless the turn ends before the Germans get there, but it should take the Axis 2-3 impulses to eliminate the 3-2 MIL and the MTN Division. If they don't try for the Astrakhan MIL, he can either stay where he is or try to create a ZOC to hold up the Germans for another impulse.

The reason I'm suggesting this is that I think these units are going to end up trapped in this area if they don't get out soon. If they meet back up with the main forces, they might be able to get far enough back (60 hexes per rail move) to wait out the German advance. Most of the Turkish units are slow, and only half can leave the country. What they are going to be useful for is cutting rail lines and collecting resources.

What do you think?
-----
Edit: Just checked where the rails go, and Zhukov and the CAV would have to go into the Oil hex next to Baku instead of where they are shown.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Aaron,

Which cities west of the Urals still have factories in them?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

What I'd like to propose is a controlled retreat. The following images show what could happen in the next impulse to get this done.
-----
The 2 hexes marked with a white "X" are the nearest hexes that the Germans need to be in for Turkey to be aligned. If the following setup happens on impulse #8 (now), then the Axis can't block the rail lines out of Baku before impulse #10. On that impulse, both INF rail out of Baku, and the CAV stacked with Zhukov also rails away. The 2 MIL left behind should be able to be rebuilt for next turn if they are killed. Zhukov moves along the rail lines as far as possible, and then he rails out on impulse #12 (if the turn goes on that long).

The SB-2 will be lost unless the turn ends before the Germans get there, but it should take the Axis 2-3 impulses to eliminate the 3-2 MIL and the MTN Division. If they don't try for the Astrakhan MIL, he can either stay where he is or try to create a ZOC to hold up the Germans for another impulse.

The reason I'm suggesting this is that I think these units are going to end up trapped in this area if they don't get out soon. If they meet back up with the main forces, they might be able to get far enough back (60 hexes per rail move) to wait out the German advance. Most of the Turkish units are slow, and only half can leave the country. What they are going to be useful for is cutting rail lines and collecting resources.

What do you think?
-----
Edit: Just checked where the rails go, and Zhukov and the CAV would have to go into the Oil hex next to Baku instead of where they are shown.

There is no need to retreat on this front. Just leave the units where they are. I, for one, would like to see the Germans try their luck with a 1:1 assault.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

Aaron,

Which cities west of the Urals still have factories in them?

Perm, Kazan, Gorki, Saratov, Stalingrad, and Krasnodar all have printed factories (as does Leningrad). Then there's Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk and Tashkent to the East and South.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

What I'd like to propose is a controlled retreat. The following images show what could happen in the next impulse to get this done.
-----
The 2 hexes marked with a white "X" are the nearest hexes that the Germans need to be in for Turkey to be aligned. If the following setup happens on impulse #8 (now), then the Axis can't block the rail lines out of Baku before impulse #10. On that impulse, both INF rail out of Baku, and the CAV stacked with Zhukov also rails away. The 2 MIL left behind should be able to be rebuilt for next turn if they are killed. Zhukov moves along the rail lines as far as possible, and then he rails out on impulse #12 (if the turn goes on that long).

The SB-2 will be lost unless the turn ends before the Germans get there, but it should take the Axis 2-3 impulses to eliminate the 3-2 MIL and the MTN Division. If they don't try for the Astrakhan MIL, he can either stay where he is or try to create a ZOC to hold up the Germans for another impulse.

The reason I'm suggesting this is that I think these units are going to end up trapped in this area if they don't get out soon. If they meet back up with the main forces, they might be able to get far enough back (60 hexes per rail move) to wait out the German advance. Most of the Turkish units are slow, and only half can leave the country. What they are going to be useful for is cutting rail lines and collecting resources.

What do you think?
-----
Edit: Just checked where the rails go, and Zhukov and the CAV would have to go into the Oil hex next to Baku instead of where they are shown.

There is no need to retreat on this front. Just leave the units where they are. I, for one, would like to see the Germans try their luck with a 1:1 assault.

The Germans won't try a 1:1 Assault. They'll wait until the troops from the North start coming down to activate Turkey.

[Red Prince]

Just a reminder: If/when Italy liberates/aligns Persia, they'll have 2 units that can start screwing with the Soviets in the Kara-Kum Desert.

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

Just a reminder: If/when Italy liberates/aligns Persia, they'll have 2 units that can start screwing with the Soviets in the Kara-Kum Desert.

Yes. But Italy has to build the units first.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

Aaron,

Which cities west of the Urals still have factories in them?

Perm, Kazan, Gorki, Saratov, Stalingrad, and Krasnodar all have printed factories (as does Leningrad). Then there's Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk and Tashkent to the East and South.

Thank you.

How about the factories that were railed out? Where did they go? Are there still 2 in production? Perhaps a screenshot of the Production Planning form with the Expanded view would be the easiest way to display that information.

I count 8 non-oil and 1 oil resource in 'Siberia' (across the map edge shown running north-south in this screen shot). And there are 8 factories that start over there. I am not counting those that the Japanese have already taken.

Are there any saved oil points over there? If not, I recommend saved all the oil south of Stalingrad somewhere far to the east at the end of this turn. It will hurt production, but those 8 oil points will be very useful come the winter.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

Just a reminder: If/when Italy liberates/aligns Persia, they'll have 2 units that can start screwing with the Soviets in the Kara-Kum Desert.

Are they going to get an Italian HQ to keep them in supply? Can they overcome the ferocious defense that a 2-2 Mil blocking a rail line can put up?

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: Red Prince

Just a reminder: If/when Italy liberates/aligns Persia, they'll have 2 units that can start screwing with the Soviets in the Kara-Kum Desert.

Are they going to get an Italian HQ to keep them in supply? Can they overcome the ferocious defense that a 2-2 Mil blocking a rail line can put up?

There are already 2 Italian HQs in the area. What 2-2 MIL? Blocking which rail line?
-----
I'm trying to figure out the best way to get you the information you seek . . . I haven't changed things since last turn yet, so I don't know for sure. Let me see if I can gather this info for you about factories, etc.

[Red Prince]

Okay, here's the Production Planning Form showing the factories that are Producing, and an image showing when and where new factories are scheduled to arrive

[Centuur]

First: I think I've captured a bug. According to RAW:

Minor country units can move and fight outside their home country.
However, you can only move a minor country land or aircraft unit
outside the home country controlled by the minor, if half or more of its
on map land and aircraft units are currently inside its home country

Iraq has got two units in total, and they are all in Persia. That isn't allowed (or am I missing something here). I also see a lot of Rumanians and Yugoslavs appearing in France. Half of those units have to stay in the home country. Are they there?

Second:
Don't you dare withdrawing from the Persian mountains. Also: don't even think of leaving the Caucasus and don't even think of letting the Germans align Turkey. That's defaitism. Any USSR soldier or commander thinking this, should be shot by the political Kommissar. I think you are getting my point here. At this moment, German forces are still away from the Turkish border, so start praying the turn end soon and next autumn will be full with rains, storms and blizzards. Also: it is still about 10 hexes for the closest nothern German unit towards the Turkish border. It might take the Germans a while to move those hexes...
And finally: there are an awful lot of Alpine hexides on the northern region of the Caucasus. You need about 6-8 units to defend the northern regions of the Caucasus on the European map. I don't know how the total view is of the unified map, but if you can get the ARM/MECH together with one extra HQ into that area, than, together with some reinforcements, you should be able to get a defense together into the mountains, forcing the Germans to attack at odds of 2-1 max, since he can't attack from a lot of hexes on most places. Sure, it will be a very tough fight and nobody will garantee if the USSR is going to survive, but he's got a fighting chance in the mountains.
There is no way the USSR can come back out of Asia, if he hasn't got the oilfields around Baku under his control. He needs this oil and with only one oil from Perm, it is over for the Soviet Union. Therefore: I keep repeating my question: are there convoy points in the Caspian Sea? They should have been put there at setup. Since you are silent, I assume there aren't convoy points in the Caspian Sea. That is a mistake (but it is understandable, since every new player doesn't realise the awesome power the Axis have and almost every new player thinks that putting the 3 USSR convoys in the Caspian is an idiotic move...).

Third: rail the Stalingrad factory out first. Keep retreating half of the army towards the Caucasus and half of the army towards the Kuybishev - Kazan - Kirov area. But slowly please. I would suggest to rail move Yeremenko out of Krasnodar into Siberia, put the GAR in the city. In Rostov everyone stays. All others will move away.
Rail lines between the south and north are going to be cut in two Axis impulses time (if the turn doesn't end or bad weather comes around in the next turn). This also means that probably one factory isn't going to be railed out in time towards Siberia (assuming the Germans aren't going to capture Grozni next impulse. Use the MIL around there as the speed bump to prevent this). This also means that the factory out of Krasnodar is probably going to end up in Baku.

The thing here is, that as soon the Germans have left the European map in numbers, partisans should be arriving in the USSR, cutting supply lines. The Germans need 30 garrison point to prevent this, and units in the ZOC of enemy units or on the Asian/Pacific map don't count...

[Red Prince]

And this is the Expanded version of the Production Planning Form, showing where Oil Points are currently being saved. The ones close to the front are from early turns before I knew the war was going to start early. After that, I started moving my save locations farther to the East.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Centuur

First: I think I've captured a bug. According to RAW:

Minor country units can move and fight outside their home country.
However, you can only move a minor country land or aircraft unit
outside the home country controlled by the minor, if half or more of its
on map land and aircraft units are currently inside its home country

Iraq has got two units in total, and they are all in Persia. That isn't allowed (or am I missing something here). I also see a lot of Rumanians and Yugoslavs appearing in France. Half of those units have to stay in the home country. Are they there?

First things first:

Iraqi units: 1 in and 1 out means there are still half or more in the home country. That means the 2nd one can leave.

Rumanian units: this was part of the original test (see Post #1), which has Rumania aligned as a full Axis Ally. Under those conditions, Rumania no longer needs to keep any of its units in the home country.

Yugoslavian units: they have a lot of units; 3 are in Yugoslavia, 5 are outside the home country . . . see Iraqi units for the reason that can happen.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Centuur

Second:
Don't you dare withdrawing from the Persian mountains. Also: don't even think of leaving the Caucasus and don't even think of letting the Germans align Turkey. That's defaitism. Any USSR soldier or commander thinking this, should be shot by the political Kommissar. I think you are getting my point here. At this moment, German forces are still away from the Turkish border, so start praying the turn end soon and next autumn will be full with rains, storms and blizzards. Also: it is still about 10 hexes for the closest nothern German unit towards the Turkish border. It might take the Germans a while to move those hexes...
And finally: there are an awful lot of Alpine hexides on the northern region of the Caucasus. You need about 6-8 units to defend the northern regions of the Caucasus on the European map. I don't know how the total view is of the unified map, but if you can get the ARM/MECH together with one extra HQ into that area, than, together with some reinforcements, you should be able to get a defense together into the mountains, forcing the Germans to attack at odds of 2-1 max, since he can't attack from a lot of hexes on most places. Sure, it will be a very tough fight and nobody will garantee if the USSR is going to survive, but he's got a fighting chance in the mountains.
There is no way the USSR can come back out of Asia, if he hasn't got the oilfields around Baku under his control. He needs this oil and with only one oil from Perm, it is over for the Soviet Union. Therefore: I keep repeating my question: are there convoy points in the Caspian Sea? They should have been put there at setup. Since you are silent, I assume there aren't convoy points in the Caspian Sea. That is a mistake (but it is understandable, since every new player doesn't realise the awesome power the Axis have and almost every new player thinks that putting the 3 USSR convoys in the Caspian is an idiotic move...).

Please look at the pictures I've been showing (Post #2149 is good for this) and tell me if there are any convoys in the Caspian . . . having shown what is there, I didn't feel it necessary to actually say it.

It's fine for the Russians to hide in the mountains if I'm Germany. They can't come back from there either if they are conquered. All of those units vanish. The Soviets just don't have 6-8 units to put in those mountains, I'm afraid.

[Red Prince]

ORIGINAL: Centuur
Third: rail the Stalingrad factory out first. Keep retreating half of the army towards the Caucasus and half of the army towards the Kuybishev - Kazan - Kirov area. But slowly please. I would suggest to rail move Yeremenko out of Krasnodar into Siberia, put the GAR in the city. In Rostov everyone stays. All others will move away.
Rail lines between the south and north are going to be cut in two Axis impulses time (if the turn doesn't end or bad weather comes around in the next turn). This also means that probably one factory isn't going to be railed out in time towards Siberia (assuming the Germans aren't going to capture Grozni next impulse. Use the MIL around there as the speed bump to prevent this). This also means that the factory out of Krasnodar is probably going to end up in Baku.

The thing here is, that as soon the Germans have left the European map in numbers, partisans should be arriving in the USSR, cutting supply lines. The Germans need 30 garrison point to prevent this, and units in the ZOC of enemy units or on the Asian/Pacific map don't count...

It's going to be a while before Partisans become a problem. Remember that SS and ARM/MECH/MTN units count double. Most of the hexes needed to get Turkey aligned are on the Eastern European map, and with as few units as the Soviets have left, I won't need everyone available to go hunting down factory cities.