Tackling the Russian bear (No Tarhunnas pls)

[glvaca]

CENTER
One of the few voluntary retreats Tarhannus makes is in the very Center West of Vyazma. 2nd Army infantry follows up happily.
One PzCorps of PzG2 & one of PzG3 gets a HQ buildup. The PzG3 Corps (green circle) is actually in the frontline and has attacked heavily during the turn. As it turns out they are actually almost cut-off next turn but have almost full movement nonetheless.
Every infantry division I can find is railed in to reinforce the Rhzev drive which has started on a budget.
9th Army's strength is constantly sapped by the need for a strong flank defense.
Next turn an important decision will have to be made, where will I go?

[glvaca]

CENTER ZOOM
The battle for the flanks can be better seen from this picture. If he even manages to break through my lines and cut that rail for one turn, the consequences could be fatal. Many of the reinforcing divs are therefore directed to the flanks while they are desperately needed to help the assault.

To make matters worse, Rhzev is relatively strongly held and must be taken in order to allow the RR conversion to continue unimpeted.

Still, Moscow is tantalizingly close.

[glvaca]

SOUTH
The Kiev pocket is eliminated but, as can be seen, sustantial effort was needed to clear the pocket so quickly.

PzG1 is concentrated (bar 1 Corps which didn't have fuel) West of Poltava, which falls to infantry of 17th Army.
Kharkov, here we come!

[glvaca]

OOB

[glvaca]

Losses

[glvaca]

TURN 13
After the relative calm of the previous turns, the East front erupts again as PzG-en 1, 2, 3 & part of 4 launch the second phase of Operation Barbarossa. With the border battles well behind, we need to make up for lost time and focus on capturing territory, maybe some industry and above all, manpower.

All SS are end of turn.

NORTH
With the Volkhov well behind the front line, I finally start making progress towards the NE and the linkup with the Fins is getting closer. Novgorod falls and the West bank is almost cleared. Still, he maintains that annoying and threatening bulge aimed right at my supply line which is a constant source of concern.
Nevertheless, I think it was a mistake to bypass Leningrad, it's simply taking much longer than I expected. Truth be told tough, Tarhunnas is showing he is a top notch opponent by fighting hard up North. I'm sorely missing I & II Corps in the drive on Moscow.

[glvaca]

NORTH ZOOM
I decide to move out Von Manstein's Corps to help in the Center.

[glvaca]

CENTER
Here, things are happening. PzG Guderian, consisting of 3 PzC & XIII C., with assistance of 2nd Army infantry blows a 100Km wide hole into the Russian line between Kaluga and Orel and exploits all the way to Tula and beyond with scant opposition.

PzG3, punches straight for Moscow in an effort to fix his attention on the immediate treat, and one he cannot ignore. Rhzev is taken but a stuborn division in the swamp hex to the East repels 3 attacks.

4th Army advances and covers the right flank of PzG2. Now, the battle for the flanks will begin in earnest.

I took a serious gamble by choosing to go deep and wide at this point. I'm chronically short on infantry and I dare not use 4th Army in the drive as well. Any weakness on the flanks will be exploited ruthlessly.

[glvaca]

CENTER RIGHT ZOOM
Close up shot of the Right flank in the battle for Moscow.
I misclicked and as a result the Mot. Div in the red circle ended up a little too far forward instead of where the arrow points it should have been. Please note, nothing is visible in the neighboorhood far and wide and I did do extensive recon!

[glvaca]

CENTER LEFT ZOOM
For the first time in this campaign, I run into heavily defended and fortified hexes. His constant penetrations on the flanks force me to create a strong cordon to saveguard supplies for next turn. With the RR converted to the hex just SW of Rhzev I'm in pretty good supply overall.
Alarmingly, several Cav divisions are identified very close to the RR forcing more and more infantry to be committed on the flanks.

I've had my eye on the red circle area for a while but judged the moment to soon to attack in that direction. Hopefully, he will not be able to reinforce that area by next turn.

[glvaca]

SOUTH
Sensing what was coming, Tarhunnas withdraws his MLR to just a couple of hexes SW of Kharkov. With the infantry chasing away his screening units, the Panzers exploit and attack the MLR and Kharkov itself, which falls to a deliberate attack the defending mountain division being of poor morale.

I decline further exploitation at this point, better to let the infantry catch up and clear the way next turn.

[glvaca]

SOUTH ZOOM
And close up South.

[glvaca]

OOB

[glvaca]

Losses

[glvaca]

Units lost.

[glvaca]

TURN 14
Start after recon.

CENTER

[Peltonx]

Wow he is hurting with only 3.1 million men.

Moscow is clearly withen reach with weak defences as he basicly has very little left and probably with low moral.

Nice job.

[glvaca]

ORIGINAL: Pelton

Wow he is hurting with only 3.1 million men.

Moscow is clearly withen reach with weak defences as he basicly has very little left and probably with low moral.

Nice job.

Agreed, most on-map units (except in front of Moscow) have been reduced to shells after repeated combats, retreats, routes. But even so, they appear in the frontline again and again, forcing combats, delays, fatigue, etc...

I'm not really complaining and surely not whining [;)], but the relative ease routed units are rallied, and have movement to push back ZOC's is something that I find questionable. There's nothing worse than having a cluster of routed units next to the fartest flipped hex, they'll just rally and take the whole lot back!

Perhaps a rule that prevents units from Rallying when closer than 10 hexes to an enemy unit would be appropriate?
Or perhaps s strong movement reduction (quartered?) after being rallied?

[glvaca]

CENTER RIGHT FLANK
A classic example of Tarhannus style of play.
The black arrow, a cav div. pushes straight through ZOC and just falls short of some bomber airbases. in addition, if I just cut it off and leave it there it would:
1. take a lot of units make sure he can't move.
2. failing that, it might interfere with RR conversion next turn. And that risk can't be accepted.
The result is that 2 divisions spend their movement on repeated combats to dislodge and then route the Cav back to his lines. 2 divisions not available for flank protection further East.

The black circle a cav division that was most likely routed last turn combines with other units to isolate the misplaced Mot. Div. Generally, from what seems out of thin air, a multitude of units appear and start pressing on the flanks and at the point of penetration. Everything in reach is zoc-ed.

[glvaca]

SOUTH
A dense checkerboard defense covers the direct route to Stalino but most of these units must be weak.