41-45GC Smokindave (Sov) vs. Zonso (Axis)

[smokindave34]

Losses through turn 12....

[smokindave34]

And OOB.....

[smokindave34]

Turn 13 STAVKA report:

Leningrad Front - 33rd army continues to hold onto a few hexes around Leningrad. They will only last 1-2 more turns. 4th panzer group has finally left the battlefield and is certainly heading south to support the attack on Moscow. I would expect it will take them 2 turns to get in position to support Army group center.

[smokindave34]

Western/Reserve Fronts:

The battle for Moscow has begun! 3rd panzer group pushes due east towards Moscow. 2nd panzer group is well south so I'm expecting that Zonso will use 3rd panzer group to bludgeon his way straight towards the capital. I have some fairly strong units directly in front of Moscow and should be able to slow the panzers down for a turn or two. I still can't discount a push north of Moscow and move some units of 43/22 armies to defend the Lama river and the Moscow-Volga canal.

South of Moscow I pulled back the 31st army to the Nara river and have collapsed my defenses to give me some more depth in front of my capital.

This should be a close battle. I think the chances of me holding Moscow at this point are 50/50.....

[smokindave34]

Bryansk front:

The mission of Bryansk front is to slow 2nd panzer group long enough to allow the 34th and 49th armies to dig in near the Oka river. I suspect he's going to head north with 2nd panzer group to threaten Moscow....

[smokindave34]

SW front:

XXXXVIII and III panzer corps have me set up for an encirclement (it looks like III panzer corps is either really close to a railhead or had a HQ buildup). I decide to pull back most of SW front again - I can trade space for time as he only has four more turns of clear weather.

I have lots of cavalry down here (most of them assigned to Souther front armies) and I've been trying to keep them out of harms way so I can use them to their potential during the blizzard. I plan on pulling them back at least 10 hexes behind the front line during the mud and putting them on refit to re-gain some morale.

[smokindave34]

Southern Front:

Most of Southern front runs east as Zonso is across the Dnepr in force and recon shows XIV panzer corps with lots of fuel. Again I decide to trade space for time....

I finished railing out the last of my armaments points here this turn.

[smokindave34]

OOB through turn 13...

[smokindave34]

Production statistics....

[randallw]

I see Soviet players shoving everything forward to defend as far west as possible, and I wonder if you Axis players are salivating at seeing all these targets to crunch on, especially tank and motorized divisions.

[smokindave34]

T14 STAVKA report:

Leningrad Front - Leningrad falls and the Finns attack. 23 and 28 armies defend themselves in the wilderness. NW front forces shift south to face a new threat from 4th panzer group.

[smokindave34]

North of Moscow:

4th panzer group re-enters the battle after a 2 week refit. Vyshny Volochek falls and strong axis forces threaten Moscow from the North. 48 army is shifted south to defend Kalinin.

3rd panzer group continues to push due east towards the Kremlin. I have strong forts in this area and Zonso is going to need to use his infantry to dig me out. I'm weak along the Moskva-Volga canal and hope Zonso doesn't push me in this area. I feel better now about holding Moscow than I did last turn but I still think there is a chance Zonso could take it.

[smokindave34]

Southern Moscow - Leading elements of 2nd panzer group (XXXXVI pz corps) start to push north towards Tula. Reserve front and Moscow M.D. forces dig in on the Ula river and await the facist forces. It's too late in the summer for any encirclement of Moscow but I expect Zonso to push 2nd panzer north in an effort to capture Tula.

Just south of Moscow I am very weak. If Zonso were to send 3rd panzer down and around the south of Moscow he may be able to break through - I just hope he doesn't see this possibility.

[smokindave34]

Bryansk Front:

My entire front falls back in the face of 2nd panzer group. This is my last withdrawal for the summer - mud and winter are approaching and I'm tired of giving ground......

[smokindave34]

SW front

The northern portion of SW front falls back to even out the line with Bryansk front - other than that I hold the line. Cavalry forces charge ahead and manage to cut off XXXXVIII panzer corps east of Kharkov. That will put the breaks on the panzers in this area until after the mud clears.

[smokindave34]

Southern Front:

Panzers move close to Stalino but the axis infantry is lagging far behind. I continue to dig in on the Donets/Tofets/Kalmius river lines. My goal here is to hold this line until the blizzard starts. I should be able to do some damage to the axis forces on the open steppe here.

[smokindave34]

T14 OOB:

[sillyflower]

I think you are being to defensive You are still giving him an awful lot of running room. I recommend combining what you are doing with advance chequerboard to slow him down.. Also chequerboard behind your Moscow front line will help to slow him down and make it much harder for him to pocket anything. If he sticks his armour though, bite its head off.

Sticking to his frontline units keeps their fatigue up and supplies down, which slows him down and that's what it's all about. Use you weakest units - that's what your brigades are for. They have no other useful funtion at the moment and layer them in depth if possible.

[smokindave34]

Thanks sillyflower. I was reluctant to checkerboard (especially in the south) because I didn't want to get pocketed. I've been trying to find a good use for all my tank brigades, I'll start using them to stick to the axis spearheads. I didn't consider the effect on his fatigue.

[Flaviusx]

Don't checkerboard. Too expensive against a good Axis player. Start picketing the mobile units. Slap a zoc on everything. Use expendable units for this, including bad rifle divisions. Spread your units around more, don't stack as much. Put lots of stuff on reserve stance, anything that absolutely doesn't need refitting more or less. Including units on your own front line which are not in enemy ZOCs, btw. That helps prevent deep and narrow penetrations -- it forces the Axis to zoc your front line to prevent reactions from those units in addition to whatever is in the rear.

I'm starting to believe that reserve stance is seriously underused by too many Soviet players and is causing them a lot of problems throughout the entire game. If you have enough stuff on reserve stance you can really make life difficult for the Axis.