Seminole (Soviet) vs A Game (Axis)

[Seminole]

I'm running this AAR quite a few turns behind the real action so I don't have to 'hide' things, but the purpose of any AAR is to learn from the mistakes of others, so feel free to offer advice to either side even if it isn't timely.

To portray the scope of the War in the East I've decided to include with each turn a before and after moves shot of the entire front (1600x2545) at zoom level 4. When appropriate I'll include shots with more detail so that specific maneuvers can be better illustrated.

So far, with the exception of the end of the second turn, I've maintained saves of the before and after move for the Soviet side. If you're interested in seeing something I can probably dig it up.

While I've been playing Grigsby eastern front games since Second Front came out for PC, this is only my third go at a Soviet '41 GC against a human. I've played one complete '41 GC as the Soviet against the AI that I used to learn the game interface and engine (at least insofar as you can from the Soviet side!)

My interest in the eastern front would probably classify me as a 'German fanboy', but I've only played the Road to Leningrad scenario as them so far. I tried to play the game out of the box as the Germans in the '41GC without reading the manual and was overwhelmed by everything available. Two turns in I realized I needed to start as the side that didn't have to figure out how to build a railroad so I could learn the interface while I played to keep my interest in the manual.

My military 'heroes' are Guderian, Jackson, and Patton. 'Mystify, mislead, and surprise' are the order of the day. So when in doubt, don't be surprised to see me attack!

[Seminole]

Turn 1 - 6/22/1941

The war begins!

[Seminole]

Baltic Sector: 6th Pzr Div crosses the Daugava and cuts the rail links to Riga. 36th Mot Div and XXXXI Pzr Corps HQ approach Riga from the SW.
90th Rifle Div moves from the confluence of the Venta and Abava rivers in a bid to re-open the Baltic pocket. Their scouting elements link up with 11th Rifle Div and open the pocket to port supply. 84th Rifle Div moves to the SE to link up with the southern bubble of the Baltic pocket. 5th Tank Div in turns moves SE and encounters German infantry behind the Neris river.
East of Vilnius the 37th Rifle Div (Western Front) moves west to a position on the river.




Minsk Sector: No chance to break the initial pockets that hold most of Western Front. The German infantry appear to have tried to swarm north and south of this pocket. Stavka orders Western Front to invade the General Government (Nazi occupied Poland) and take the war to Berlin!
The forces in the pocket concentrate on making contact with the enemy wherever possible, while the armored/motorized forces move east in a vain effort to reach friendly lines.
Farther east the remainder of Western Front takes positions at the Berezina river crosses, and wherever terrain might conceal them from German recon and compel a fight to before slipping past.




Lvov Sector: The Lvov pocket is tight, with an armored wall holding the eastern side of the trap anchored in the center on Tarnopol. This heavy concentration has left many units of SW Front unmolested, and they fall back to better defensive terrain while a few units are ordered forward to lock horns with the panzers and increase pressure on German supply columns.




North of the Lvov pocket few units are not cut off, but ZOC locked from escape. Stavka orders 15th Rifle Corps to support Western Front's invasion of the General Government with a push toward Lublin.




Odessa Sector: Suspecting complicity between the Rumanians and the Germans after the actions resulting in the Lvov pocket Stavka orders a general withdrawal, with select units taking favorable positions on high ground and behind the rivers to slow the Rumanians should they make the mistake of attacking Mother Russia.

Stavka's underlying strategy in the initial stages will be to construct a defense in depth to permit orderly withdrawal. Suitable terrain features will be utilized to slow the German advance, and where feasible counter attacks and counter manuever will be conducted to try and disrupt the momentum of the assault and unbalance German spearheads from their objectives.
Spies indicate high level cooperation between the Germans and Finns. Stalin agrees to Stavka's request to build a fall back line of fortifications on either side of Lake Janisjarvi and commit several rifle divisions.

[Seminole]

Turn 2 - 6/26/1941



Rail armament factories from Mogilev, Odessa, Kiev and Kremenchug

Baltic Sector: Riga remains unmolested, and the Baltic port of Ventspils remains under Soviet control. It is used to evacuate by sea units cut off from Riga.
6th Pzr Div scraps in successive battles over 30 miles with the 6th NKVD Border Rgt through swamps, light woods, and finally across a river into the high ground just NE of Riga where they are finally routed. Perhaps frustrated with this hearty resistance 6th Pzr Div breaks back toward the SE, crossing the Aiviekste and stopping to cool off in Lake Lubanas.
Totenkopf SS Mot Div fights across the Daugava and sweeps the defenders before them, reaching the Malta river where they coordinate with 1st Pzr Div (XXXXI Pzr Corps) to force back the defenders from the banks. However, they do not cross the river, but instead rest on the western side.

Minsk Sector: It appears the heavy panzer/motorized forces that were just west of Minsk have moved in two directions. NE crossing over the Daugava/Disna/Dvina confluence and linking with units in AGN, as well as creating a smaller pocket just over the Berezina, NW of Mogilev.
Western Front units pocketed hopelessly far from the front lines continue seeking out German units to 'hug', and press the battle deeper into Poland. 5th Rifle Corps is given orders to liberate Warsaw!

Lvov Sector: German armor thrusts east and then loops south around behind Proskurov, pocketing the defenders on the Zbruch river and linking with 76th Inf Div pushing NE from Rumania to the Dnestr river.

Inside the Lvov pocket fighting continues with units pushing west and tearing up Axis rail wherever possible. Farther north 15th Rifle Corps still isn't completely cut off, and continues the push west toward Lublin. Stavka informs them the Germans are falling into a trap, and they should push on in spite of rumors that Wehrmacht motorized units have reached the fringes of Rovno.

I don't have the 'after moves' save for this turn, so I can't comment too much more on the Soviets other than to say Southern Front continues to fall back on the Yuzhny Bug while the Dneipr river line is fleshed out with fresh reserves. In the north the Luga river line recieves its first units as well.

We restarted this game a few weeks into it last time because of Soviet success in breaking German pockets ruined their initial timetables. I think that has resulted in slightly less bold moves this time, and more emphasis on effective containment than wild plunges east.

[Seminole]

Turn 3 - 7/3/1941

Rail armament factories from Bryansk, Kirovograd, Nikolaev, Gomel (+HI), HI from Mogilev

Rains come to the North Soviet Zone. This has the unfortunate effect of slowing reinforcement of the front by foot.

[Seminole]

Baltic Sector: The Germans are apparently content with isolating Riga, but have captured the Baltic port of Ventspils, trapping one Rifle Div and AT Bde
6th Pzr Div again resumes the push north into the Baltics, tangling this time with 8th NKVD Rgt.
1st Pzr Div and Totenkopf batter against the 9th Arb Bde and 181st Rifle Div, who holding the Malta river line. The Germans pay a higher price in time than blood for these victories.




Mogilev Sector: Minsk is captured, but the Germans lose more precious time as the Arb Bde and Rifle Divisions grudgingly give ground 3rd, 4th & 17th Pzr Div, accompanied by 29th Mot Div. 11 battles force the Red Army from the banks of the Berezina, but the German bridgeheads extend no more than 30 miles east from last week's positions.
The battle exhausted formations are pulled from the Drut except for a screen at the crossings and units are brought in to stiffen the Dnepr north of Mogilev.




Lvov Sector: The Germans slip north of Rovno and NE from Prosukurov, pushing defenders off the S. Sluch river and bagging a large assortment of SW Front units. The one bright spot is that Rovno's defenders repel two assaults.
SW Front was caught off guard expecting the German armor to move SE toward Kirovograd and Cherkassy. This was an avoidable loss of men and material. Units in the pocket move to meet their captors, with the hope of increasing fatigue and supply costs to the speedy Germans.
In response to the panzer threat Zhitomir is declared indefensible, and units are withdrawn from the Teterev river.



Stavka recieves a surprising report from 15th Rifle Corps. 45th Rifle Div has reached liberated Lublin! No doubt this news will be met with consternation in Berlin!




Elsewhere in the Lvov pocket fighting continues. 72nd Mnt Div is within spitting distance of the Slovakian border.

Nikolaev Sector: The pace of the panzers makes the units on the northern Dnestr too vulnerable, so they are pulled back and the approaches to Cherkassy and the lower Yuzhny Bug are reinforced. The Kharkov MD takes responsibility most of the Dnepr river line while N. Cauc MD takes most of the Ingulets river line.
Kishinev falls as 11th Army hammers the defenders eastward.

[swkuh]

[;)] Enjoying your posts.

Suggest you do a commentary on the actual events of the Eastern Front, at least for the first few months. Might sell but might be appreciated here!

[Seminole]

Suggest you do a commentary on the actual events of the Eastern Front, at least for the first few months. Might sell but might be appreciated here!

If anyone can suggest a detailed operational history of East Front I'd enjoy using this game engine to bring it to life. Once at the base library I found a gorgeously detailed almanac of the various fronts and operations across the whole of World War II. I can't recall the name, but if anyone has suggestions I'd like to put them on my xmas wish list.

[Seminole]

Forgot to mention turn 3 saw two generals KIA:
Mikhail Khatskilevish (6th Mech Corps), who won't really be missed and Vasily Yushkevich, a more than competent infantry commander (6 Morale, Admin, and Infantry rating) with potential to command a Front. I'm not sure what happened with Yushkevich, as he isn't in the game normally by turn 3, insofar as I can tell he was assigned to 6th Mech Corps after Khatskilevish and subsequently killed the same turn, because at the start of turn 4 Aleksandr Vasilevsky is in charge of 6th Mech Corps.

Is there a way to look at the leaders data or other game info? I'm not sure what files to check, or if specific software is required to access them.

Turn 4 - 7/10/1941

Rail armament factories from Krivoi Rog, SU-2 factory from Kharkov, BA-10 and T-50 factories from Leningrad. Reading Walloc's factory movement guide I definitely have some refining to do in this category of my game. Early on I've tried to slow the Germans as much as possible in order to evacuate as much as possible. Until the rains fall the bulk of rail movement allowance will be shipping factories to the Urals.

[Seminole]

Finns don't attack, but Stavka orders forces of north of Leningrad to abandon the new Finnish border in order to help bolster the line against the Germans.
7th Ind Army continues to dig in, receivings air reinforcements and setting a screen to buy time before the Janisjarvi Line is hit.



Baltic Sector: Luga Line is completed, but entrenchments are practically non-existent.
8th Rifle Bde is pulled out of the Finnish port of Hanko to garrison Tallinn.



Riga is still held by the NKVD, but the Germans have swept the rest of Latvia of Red Army forces.
Northwest Front continues an orderly fall back to the Lake Ilmen-Velikie Luki Line. Pskov will probably fall next week.



Moscow Sector: Reserve Front is activated. Receives air base reinforcements and 22nd, 24th, 31st, 33rd, 34th Armies are assigned and begin staging the Rhzev-Vyazma Line on the upper Dnepr river.
Several fresh divisions are assigned to Moscow Military District and dig in around the capital.
Western Front pulls out of Mogilev/Dnepr positions as German motorized/panzer formations threaten to flank them after pouring into the land bridge and bridging the river west of Smolensk. Security detachments are left in contact with German motorized/panzer units on Dnepr between Mogilev and Smolensk.



Bryansk Sector: Orel Military District and Western Front are interspersed. When Bryansk Front is activated we'll focus on re-aligning forces properly.
Gomel to Kiev sector is thin, but the threat is low at this time.



Liquidation of the Lvov pocket continues slowly.



Southern sector awaits next plunge by the panzers. Zhitomir is taken and a small pocket is formed around Vinnitsa. Units in the pocket try to form a wall to slow the infantry making the long march to the Dnepr.
Current river line of Southern Front is hanging in the air and can be easily turned on the right flank. Will have to rapidly fall back when the time comes. Waiting to see where AGS tries to bridge the Dnepr.

[Seminole]

Turn 5 - 7/17/1941

Rail HI factories out of Kiev, Kirovograd, Odessa. Yak-6 factory moved out of Leningrad

Two more good generals lost in the opening month's melee:
Ivan Galanin and Konstantin Rokossovsky are MIA since mid-July and assumed KIA.

[Seminole]

Nikolao Vatutin is appointed command of 7th Ind Army with the personal orders from Stalin to not retreat from Lake Janisjarvi. He promptly disbands the fortified regions on either shore of the lake and moves the reserve divisions into the line. 142nd Rifle Div screens the northern defenders. 3rd NKVD Border Rgt screens the southern side.
Two fresh divisions are railed to take up reserve positions behind the line for the attacks sure to fall in two weeks.



On the Karelian Isthmus only the border rgts are left, while everything else is moved to the hills south of Leningrad. Fortified regions are constructed on the old Finnish border.

The Germans have battered a spearhead through Pskov and 70 miles toward the Luga River Line.
Germans Infantry push into Pskov and the swamps to the southeast of the city.
6th Pzr Div pushes the left flank of the narrow NE panzer plunge.
14th Mot Div sweeps on the right flank, making contact the Red Army in front of the swamps of the Shelon river and turning north.
Totenkopf SS takes up the lead and four encouters with the 2nd Naval Inf Bde and 3rd Rifle Bde. 1st Pzr Div is called in to assist in routing 3rd Rifle Bde. and pushing back 2nd Naval Inf Bde before the SS stop to rest and 36th Mot Div joins the panzers.
36th Mot Div and 1st Pzr Div are forced to regroup and make a second effort at dislodging 2nd Naval Inf Bde for a final time when they fall back in good order to the 4th Naval Inf Bde and surprise the nazi invaders, repulsing their initial assault.



South of Leningrad Bdes and Sec units are moved forward to hug the spearhead led by 1st Pzr Div and try to buy the Luga river line a little more time to dig in.
30th Army (NW Front) holding the Luga from Novograd to the rail crossing at mid line has a new general, Andrei Eremenko
8th Army (NW Front) is reinforced with elements from Stavka and Moscow MD.
27th Army (NW Front) still mans the Shelon river line, with paras and armored divisions (5th Arb Corps) holding the hills to the south.



Reserve Front manages to cut off 20th Pzr Div and re-open the Vitebsk pocket momentarily. Velikie Luki defenses consist of a scattered screen of hardpoints established on the most suitable terrain.



Three infantry divisions, under scattered commands of Western Front and Orel MD squander an opportunity to push back 1/20th Mot Div and turn the tables on the 19th Pzr Div which hooked around to try and cut them off. They will certainly be trapped next week.
29th, 32nd, and 38th Armies are organized under Stavka and begin digging in back stop lines behind Orel MD and SW Front sectors.
When Orel MD switches to Bryansk Front they will be assigned.



The Dnepr defenses between Kiev and Cherkassy are stiffened in anticipation of AGS attempted crossing.



Southern Front pulls back to the Ingul river line after panzer and motorized forces bridge the confluence of the Sinyukha and Yuzhny Bug rivers.



Motor pool now exceeds need: 108k (102k).
Leadership changes:
Meretskov is put in charge of Reserve Front
Zhukov is put in charge of NW Front
Timoshenko is put in charge of Orel MD
Vatutin is put in charge of 7th Ind. Army (Northern Front)
Bobkin is put in charge of 8th Army (NW Front)
Eremenko is put in charge of 30th Army (NW Front)
Berzarin is put in charge of 27th Army (NW Front)
Khozin is put in charge of 22nd Army (Reserve Front)
Vasilevsky is put in charge of 20th Army (Western Front)
Zakharov is put in charge of 12th Army (SW Front)

[Seminole]

The NKVD plan to drop agents and radios into the over run territories is already paying dividends to the Kremlin.
Special emphasis is placed on learning how far the Germans have repaired and replaced the rail network.
Red lines indicate functioning track, while the yellow lines are where current repair is underway.
Stalin order the agents to begin passing explosives to the partisan bands already rallying behind the lines.

[Seminole]

Turn 6 - July 24, 1941

KV-1 and armaments factories are railed out of Leningrad. Vehicle and HI will take one more week, so we will wait to move those until the Luga river line is breeched.

[Seminole]

Janisjarvi Sector:
142nd Rifle Div, screening the northern shore defenses is engaged by the 1st Fin. Inf Div, as well as 1/163rd and 2/163rd (German) FI Inf Div. Taking advantage of a discordant attack (Karelian Fin. Army and Finnish High Command) and brilliant battalion level tactical reinforcement by Gen. Vatutin two attacks are rebuffed.
A third attack is launched by 5th and 7th Fin. Inf Div. and meets with success as the exhausted defenders quit the field.
The southern screen (3rd NKVD Border Rgt) is routed, but serves to hold the Finns from assaulting the main line for another week.
The fortified region anchoring the north shore of Lake Ladoga is dismantled to make room for another Rifle Div, and the 21st Tank Div is sent via rail to join 7th Ind Army and act in reserve with 286th Rifle Div.
A new fortified region is setup on the eastern shore of Lake Janisjarvi.




The Finns approach the northern fortifications of Leningrad tentatively.




Luga Sector:
Totenkopf SS Mot Div and 3 German Inf Div have established a 30 mile front on the western banks of the Luga River. Again brigades are sent to make contact with the thin spear stretching from Pskov harassing supply efforts to the schwerpunkt with constant raids.
6th Pzr Div and 14th Mot Div take up positions on the left flank of the schwerpunkt.
1st Pzr Div and 36th Mot Div rest in their positions while the infantry divisions stream up the Pskov corridor.




Velikie Luki Sector:
20th Pzr Div reaches the river bank opposite the city as Reserve Front rotates units to get fresher divisions on the line and give battered units a breather.
Vitebsk and Smolensk are still in Soviet hands as the Wehrmacht eschews direct assaults on the cities and instead continues to starve the defenders.



Smolensk Sector:
The pocket is squeezed, but not yet overrun. Supplies are airlifted to the besieged divisions inside.
It appears that lack of fuel is keeping AGC in check. That and commitment to mop-up duties.
During the pause Stavka reorganizes as units previously under Corps HQ command reporting to Orel MD are re-assigned to Western Front armies, leading to serious command overload.




Kiev Sector:
South of Kiev the Wehrmacht bridges the Dnepr.
11th Pzr Div, 16th Mot Div, Viking SS, 71st and 111th Inf Div with heavy support manage to obtain significant leadership bonuses and effectively displace the 124th and 193rd Rifle Div (180 - 169 becomes 367 - 142)
10th Pzr Div and 10th Mot Div cross the river and attempt to establish a bridgehead.

Before pic:



All the airbases of SW Front and Kharkov MD are mobilized to harass the invaders and destroy their pontoons while SW Front scrambles to organize a prompt counter attack under the generalship of Georgy Zakharov's 12th Army.
13th, 17th and 35th Tank Div are supported by 124th, 135th, 193rd, 195th, 200th Rifle Div also accompanied by 37th Cav Div.
In all 86,449 men, 1019 arty, and 549 Red Army AFVs collide with 28,161 Germans supported by 321 tubes and 124 AFVs.
Russian losses measure 5651 men, 46 guns, and a staggering 321 tanks but they succeed in pushing the fascists across the river, leaving behind 3,049 men, 75 guns, and 59 of their AFVs.
Stalin personally congratulates Zakharov on the phone, and exhorts him to hold the Dnepr line as long as possible while reserves are being rapidly mobilized on the steppe.

More reinforcements are poured into the Dnepr line under the oversight of Kharkov MD at the Cherkassy and Kremenchug rail bridges. Our initial success on the Luga river and in repelling invaders over the Dnepr result in a decision to reinforce the river crossings and try to buy Kharkov, and the entire south, an extra week from the raging panzers.

After moves:



Das Reich, LAH, and 25th Mot Div, with the regiments of 16th Pzr Div in tow, push north along Kirovograd. Their flank turned, Southern Front decides to pull back from the northern Ingul river to the Ingulets river, leaving a NKVD border regiment in Kirovograd with two divisions and several Arb Bdes to screen the new line.
Further south the German 60th Mot Div reaches the outskirts of Nikolaev with 13th Pzr Div only 20 miles behind.
The Rumanians are reportedly only 20 miles from Odessa.

[Seminole]

Turn 7 - 7/31/1941

Rail 16 Armament factories from Dnepropetrovsk and HI from Krivoi Rog

[Seminole]

Janisjarvi sector: 2 Fin Inf Divisions hit the northern flank of the line and are repelled with heavy losses: (3821 men, 34 art to 827 men, 21 art, 17 AFV)
6 Fin. Inf Div hit the southern shore line, where reserves bring the defenders to 4 Rifle Div, and losses are nearly as bad: (3262 men, 28 art, 13 AFV to 761 men, 15 art, 13 AFV)
Again Vatutin's generalship is the key as CV is multiplied from 506 to 1976!
"If the Finns want to get across Lake Janisjarvi they're going to need a bigger boat!" he boasts to Stalin.



Luga sector:
5 German Inf Div try to force a crossing on the Luga toward Leningrad. Zhukov reinforces the three Rifle Div with 107th Tank Div and 4th Gds Len. PM Rifle Div. The results are 2-1 losses in men by the attackers, but at the cost of half of the 107th's AFVs.
The German emphasis turns toward widening the spearheads contact with the river, and pressing into the swamps toward Novgorod.
211th Rifle Div, serving as a screen between the rivers, is pushed back.
German generalship rules the day in the battle of Bateckaya, as 3 Rifle Div retreat under assault from 1st and 11th Inf Div. Even without Pioneers and only 1 Howitzer Battalion the level 2 forts are destroyed.
Just south of that battle, German infantry sweep back the Cadet Naval Inf Bde and 111th Rifle Div, forcing them into the edge of the swamps between the German lines and Novgorod.
In a more dubious command decision 1st Pzr (accompanied by 14th and 36 Mot Div) is called upon to clear the swamps near Novgorod. Three successive attempts come to naught at the cost of ~2000 men, 28 art, and 14 AFVs for less than ~900 men, 14 art, and 9 AFVs lost for the Russians.

22nd NKVD Rifle Div continues to hold Riga. OKH directs reserves (79th & 95th Inf Div with 285th Sec Div) to march into the city. Briefed by OKH to expect to be greeted with open arms by the 'liberated' Latvians the Germans instead find a rude Ivan who slams the door in their face.
547 men and 12 tubes are lost while the Russians report to Zhukov only 23 of their number are casualties in the ambush. 1 Red Army AFV is damaged when it throws a track running over a German field gun.



The Germans only offer a thin screen from Pskov to Velikie Luki, but to the west of Velikie Luki panzer/motorized formations are spotted.
Air patrols identify the German railheads south of Pskov. Zhukov eyes the German regiments along the Shelon river, holding Pskov's flank, the neck of AGN...



AGC continues to make contact along the Mezha river, trying to push infantry heavy stacks through the land bridge.

West of Bryansk XXIVth Pzr Corps and XXXXVII Pzr Corps (crossing the Dnepr north of Gomel) link up, trapping the 9 Rifle Div and 1 Mot Div. Supplies are dropped to the some of the defenders, with hope the pocket can hold for another week and delay the panzers. With the concentration of forces on the lower Dnepr and the Luga sector Stavka lacks defense in depth on the Bryansk Front. Continued recruitment is the only solution until the Germans breach the Luga Line and move in force across the lower Dnepr.



South of Kiev XIVth Pzr Corps again bridges the Dnepr, this time III Pzr Corps pushes the salient a further 10 miles NE from the riverbank. 10th Pzr Div takes up position in the vanguard, but 12th Army again rallies all nearby units for a counter-attack. 4 Tank Div, 1 Mot Div, and 6 Rifle Div participate as 10th Pzr Div is forced to retreat back across the river nearly 30 miles, losing almost half their AFVs.



With the Germans across the Dnepr Kiev is evacuated, and the units on the western banks of the Dnepr are brought back east over the bridges in Cherkassy.
The Germans continue to push along the northern reaches of the Ingulets river, their motorized scouts barely 60 miles from Dnepropetrovsk. In turn Southern Front pulls its MLR back to the Bazavluk river, the natural obstacle before the Dnepr bend.
North of Nikolaev 60th Mot Div follows up on scouting of the Ingul river line by 239th Inf Div. 1st Rum. Arm. Div. moves across the river, but is forced back by the response of 47th Tank Div, 2 Rifle Div, and 4 Cav Div.
With rail repair pushed up to the outskirts of Odessa the Axis converge on the two Rifle Div garrisoning the port. 1 German Inf Div, 2 Rum. Cav Bde, 5 Rum Inf Div, and 1 Rum Inf Bde begin the seige.

[Seminole]

Turn 8 - 8/7/1941

Rail armament factories from Poltava and Kharkov

[Peltonx]

Great job Seminole. GHC spearheads are way to thin and you have made him pay. Should delay him atleast a turn an mybee 2.

GHC is really not using the infantry to grind forward and if they keep using the tactics they are the panzer divisions will be about usless soon.

The panzers are flashy, but the infantry do most of the hvy lifting.

[Seminole]

Janisjarvi Sector:
Finns try another pair of assaults on the south shore. Fortifications are reduced from 3 to 2, but the odds still favor the defenders even without reinforcements. Finns lose over 4000 men to ~1500 Soviets.



Leningrad Sector:
7 Inf Div and 16 SUs try to cross the Luga at the railroad bridge, and are turned away with 3-1 losses by 3 Rifle Div reinforced by another Rifle and Tank Div.
Deflected from the NE axis of advance the Germans push east toward Novgorod.
Mot Inf again lead the charge into the swamps. Several attempts yield only 10 miles of progress before the 1st Pzr Div is committed. While is succeeds in convincing 111th Rifle Div to fall back the exhausted Germans fail to take up their positions. 55th Cav Div and 2nd Gds Len. PM Rifle Div sneak back into the swamps and resume their efforts to screen Novgorod. The German lines are still 20 miles from Lake Ilmen.
27th Army continues to hold the Shelon river with 5th Arb Corps (newly assigned to Moscow MD) against a screen by regiments of the 12th and 58th Inf Div. Wary of a German armored/motorized diversion south of Lake Ilmen, 27th Army will retreat to the Polist river when the Germans reach shore of the lake.
Work on the Volkhov Line begins, with the construction of fortified regions at the rail crossings and gap through the swamp on the eastern banks of the river. As the Germans push NE the Northwest Front will roll back into these positions and Northern Front will prepare for the siege of Leningrad.
Skirmishing in Riga by two Inf Div accompanied with two Sec. Div fail to make an impression on the 22nd NKVD Rifle Div. Even with the apparent hopelessness of their situation they fight on against the fascist invaders, tying up almost 7 times their number in troops. Stavka orders 8th Rifle Bde (formerly the Hanko garrison, now waiting in Tallinn) to commandeer small commercial craft and merge their troops with the defenders of Riga. The German neglect of the Baltic coastal facilities may yet pay dividends for the Soviets.



Moscow Sector:
24th Army (Reserve Front) is pulled back from defending the northern Dvina east of Velikie Luki and takes up positions in the woods south of Rzhev. This requires the abandonment of Velikie Luki by 22nd Army as the city was being flanked from the SE, and no longer defensible.
The Germans have split into two large infantry concentrations heading toward Vyazma and Kaluga. Without the panzers progress is slow.
Fortified Regions are created at the corners of the capital. The bulk of reinforcements over the next three weeks will come to dig in and protect the Kremlin.



Bryansk Sector:
6 Rifle Div remain trapped in the pocket west of Bryansk. Efforts to reach them with cavalry fail, as the weary troops in the pocket make slow progress east. Hopefully their sacrifice will keep the panzer/motorized forces holding the kessln, already low on supplies and at the end of their supply tether, from making any aggressive moves on Bryansk next week.
Gomel is evacuated with the Germans threatening to encircle the defenders and add to the disaster in the sector.



Kharkov Sector:
The Germans make 31 attacks (8 of which the Russians hold!) in an effort to broaden their bridgehead and swing behind Cherkassy. 10th Pzr Div again finds itself in the vanguard, having crossed the Sula river east of Cherkassy.
The second pincer of this German operation fails to create a southern bridgehead to complete the encirclement of most of Kharkov MD's units. In the battle of Kremenchug 1 Mtn Div, 1 Mot Div, and 2 Rifle Divs hold off the first wave of Germans in inflatable boats.
It's clear that the forces of Kharkov MD are in desperate trouble. The Dnepr line will almost certainly be hit from the rear to effect the second crossing even if the assault boats again flounder.
Stavka, perhaps drunk on the measure of success they've enjoyed in the last few weeks, order Southwest Front to abandon the defensive depth they had just assumed and seek to squeeze the single pincer. 10th Pzr Div again finds itself in the crucible.



In 10th Pzr Div's haste to avenge the last two weeks setbacks they lose contact with the 11th Pzr Div securing the bridgehead over the Sula. 10th Pzr Div also has a new CO, Generalleutnant Wolfgang Fischer. Eager to prove himself he orders his elements 10 miles farther into the steppe even after his rear guard reports having lost visual and radio contact with 11 Pzr Div.
8 Rifle Division descend on 10th Pzr Div. Generalleutnant Fischer orders every man for himself as their desperate situation dawns on him. Amazingly only 1516 men are lost, with 23 tubes and 24 of 53 AFVs left behind. The 10th Pzr Div routs over 50 miles, making its way somehow back across the Dnepr and attempting to rally NE of Kirovograd. 3 straight weeks of humiliation at the hands of the Red Army have shaken the 10th Pzr Div's morale for now.



In the south over 187k Axis troops descend upon the 22k defenders of Odessa. Even with massive fortifications the Russians are routed from the city by the initial assault.
East of Kirovograd the panzer/motorized formations of AGS pull back from their front line to regroup. Southern Front takes the opportunity to resume their defensive positions on the Ingulets north of Krivoi Rog. A lone panzer division has outrun its supporting infantry. Southern Front quickly takes the opportunity to encircle the panzers and cut off their fuel supply. Men on horseback are poor match for men in tanks, but men in supply trucks is another matter entirely...



South of Krivoi Rog 13th Pzr Div crossed the Ingulets and the Dnepr, only to find itself beset upon by 4 Cavalry Div and a freshly recruited Rifle Bde from the Crimea. 13th Pzr Div's LOC to AGS are tenuously held by 60th Mot Div, GD Mot Rgt, and the Slovakian Mobile Div. 106th and 130th Rifle Div try and fail to dislodge the Slovakians with heavy losses, but a follow on attack by 47th Tank Div supported by 9th and 26th Cav Divs force a retreat and the panzer/motorized spearhead finds itself cut off with XXXXVI Pzr Corps HQ. Next week Nikolaev will be abandoned as 9th Army makes its way into the Crimea.



In all the Red Army makes 29 holds, but is forced to retreat 58 times and routed 9 more battles. This performance greatly pleases Stalin in comparison to the opening month's woes, but it leads to a dangerous self-confidence that infects the operations of the next few weeks. Strategically, the initiative is still firmly grasped by the Germans.