Stalin's fired, I'm in charge! III 1/2- Tullius (Soviet) vs Marquo (Axis)

[TulliusDetritus]

I try to keep contact with the enemy. This is where I plan to launch a big (oh well...) offensive. The artillery units you see are brigades, which I had created like one year ago.

Once the big brothers arrive I might send the little brothers up north, to keep trashing the Finns if they dare to block me!

[TulliusDetritus]

Down south, I am finally linking forces: the ones south of Rostov and the ones in the vicinity of Stalingrad. I suspect Marquo plans to hide behind the Don. Chicken!

If anything, the two Tank Armies I am keeping here (they are being put to good use eh!) should convince him that that is a wise idea

After all he is far from his own rail lines, since I kicked him out of Stalingrad area.

[TulliusDetritus]

[center]Turn 94[/center]
[center]1 April 1943[/center]

First part done [8D]

I finally have the historical number of artillery and rocket divisions: 37 regular and breakthrough and 7 rocket.

On the next turn I will start churning out the rifle corps: 6 per turn on the next 2 or 3 turns. HAHA, Marquo, we're coming! Confess your sins and prepare a nice testament Dreams dreams dreams!

[TulliusDetritus]

And of course I still want to get to Kursk (so I keep pushing) and I am way too impatient [:D]

Anyway, here is my down payment, a taste of what he might be swallowing in the near future

In the northern part basically only rifle divisions were involved (no corps that is). In the southern part of the screenshot there were corps involved. Yes, there is indeed a difference. Artillery brigades (NO divisions) were also involved in most of the attacks.

Also note that two of the successful attacks failed at first. I then attacked again (same stack but some units didn't have MPs left, same deliberate attack). And I kicked them out. Serves them right!

Oh, and most of the scummy enemies were in fortified hexes (minimum 1, and some level 2).

[TulliusDetritus]

Up north (as I suspected) Marquo has brought a bully to stop my bullies [:D] Anyway there's going to be a truce here. I abandon the pursuit mode and redeploy the forces to form a continous line.

I will attack if there are nice opportunities but I won't be bringing more units here. I plan to divert some rifle divisions from the NW and Kalinin Fronts (among others), but they are not expected to be sent to the north. The real enemy is in the south.

[TulliusDetritus]

And as predicted (that was easy eh), in the South he's hiding behind the Don [8D]

[TulliusDetritus]

By the way, did I say I want the bloody Second Front NOW!

What are the British and Americans waiting for? Attack in let's say er... Sicily! That might divert part of the fascist hordes...

[Klydon]

A Luftwaffe division shows up and you call it a bully? [:D]

When you first mentioned bully, I thougth a panzer division may have showed up, but then I saw the Luftwaffe division and laughed. Go kick that units butt. They are not even as good as the Finns and are just there to show some solidarity with their Finnish friends.

[TulliusDetritus]

ORIGINAL: Klydon

A Luftwaffe division shows up and you call it a bully? [:D]

Ah, you're observer. I am not! [:)] I hadn't moved the mouse over the unit. Yes, it's the 12 Luftwaffe Field Division. I guess the offensive CVs made it for you. I have to pay more attention.

The thing is I see a grey unit and I start trembling! [:D]

I will follow your advice and give them some stick as they clearly want to get some.

[governato]

Regarding your Artillery units:

- did you assign them to a Military district or just to STAVKA? (I think the former option makes them gain experience faster, especially with a M.D leader with a decent admin score).

- did you notice a significant difference in training speed between units 'on trains' and those in normal status?

both options are easy to test, but as you already have the units on the field I thought I should ask..

Tx!

[TulliusDetritus]

ORIGINAL: governato

Regarding your Artillery units:

- did you assign them to a Military district or just to STAVKA? (I think the former option makes them gain experience faster, especially with a M.D leader with a decent admin score).

- did you notice a significant difference in training speed between units 'on trains' and those in normal status?

both options are easy to test, but as you already have the units on the field I thought I should ask..

Tx!

The units you create are attached to Stavka. Hmm, if I do that when I reassign them to another HQ, shouldn't I pay APs? I did a test (assigning one of them to Moscow MD and then tried to reassign it to another command: I was forced to pay 1 AP). I really cannot afford that luxury. I prefer to see them as white units. This way I exactly know where my reserves are. After all that's what they are: strategic reserves. I can't help it, I'm an organization freak [8D]

As for the second question, you mean the units that end up the turn on train? I'm afraid I haven't paid attention to that.

And talking about APs... I can't:
1) appoint leaders [:(]
2) pay attention to the air war (manual upgrades) [:(]
3) rotate low moral units: I am forced to send these trashed units to the rear, but the gap is not filled; when the unit has recovered (3, 4 or 5 turns later) it comes back

edit: and in fact, I plan to use them (artillery divisions) pretty soon en masse and all of a sudden. I would be forced to pay many APs to reassign them to the Front HQs. They have to be ready. I call them, some train and there we go.

[governato]

You are in luck. If you play with any recent patch there is no AP cost in assigning units from Military Districts to any unit, and similarly from STAVKA to a M.D.

12.2.1 v1.05.59 – January 31, 2012
Soviet units attached to a Military District may change their HQ attachment at no admin point cost (same as units attached to Stavka).

I tried it and it works as written. I find M.D.s actually help me keeping my Red Army well organized.

Also, keeping units 'entrained while they train' would give you a significant added flexibility when you decide to deploy them, saving a few precious MPs.

I think I should just fire up a GC and test if M.Ds make a significant difference for unit training. I will report.

[M60A3TTS]

There's a Moscow Military District and later a Moscow Defense Zone. The Defense Zone is not the same as the MD and does cost to transfer units from it.

[TulliusDetritus]

I see, thank you [:)] I had tested with the Moscow D.Z. in fact. My bad. I tried with a proper M.D. and it works as you say.

The Moscow M.D. is already gone. The only option would be the Volga M.D. near Saratov.

Anyway if I well understood the units should be within the range of the HQ. Because after all Zhukov is already the Boss-in-Chief of the whole thing (stavka). I mean, a proper world class leader who should speed the training. But only to the units within range (not isolated that is, in red)?

The Moscow M.D. would not have been an option though. Stuck near Moscow (IIRC), Marquo's recon planes would detect them pretty soon. And of course he would notice they are on the move (once they are sent to the front to create a big mess). Hell, this turn one of his recon planes flied over Saratov! [:D]

But anyway, I should appoint a good leader to this Volga HQ. As I said I want to churn out rifle corps now. And there's still the problem of the support units... I have to raise them (APs) and then spread them among the new corps (more APs).

Trained or not (I don't think the difference will be that great), the artillery divisions will see action pretty soon concentrated in a 15-20 hexes frontage (may or june maximum). I suspect the German units cannot resist these attacks (especially when there's going to be corps instead of a mix of divisions and some corps), as per the small experiment this last turn, which I might call Operation Crazy Little Ivan [:D]

[TulliusDetritus]

As you can see Marquo is getting a little bit paranoid [:D] And he is not aiming at the Urals because I guess his recon planes don't get that far.

[Schmart]

ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus
I finally have the historical number of artillery and rocket divisions: 37 regular and breakthrough and 7 rocket.

Not trying to steal your thunder, as those nasty fascist pigs deserve the artillery pounding they are about to get, but just letting you know those historical numbers are for the END of the war. In early 43 the artillery division numbers would have been about half of what you've now produced. You may run into a tight Arm Pt situation if you don't control the max TOE of all those Art Divs.

[TulliusDetritus]

ORIGINAL: Schmart
You may run into a tight Arm Pt situation if you don't control the max TOE of all those Art Divs.

"Tight"?

LOL

Say desperate as it is more accurate! [:D]

I'm at work but I don't need to have the turn under my eyes to tell you I have right now exactly ZERO armament points right now... [:o]

I didn't have enough armament points to begin with. Because had I bought only the rifle corps the situation would be the same. AND I should be able to create these corps. I won't stop doing that as I stubbornly said. If I can't do anything until 1944 so be it... Game over on my book [8D]

Said this, you raise a more than valid point! And just like infamous General Turgidson I got a little bit excited methinks.

And I think it's too late, the artillery units already have circa the 90% of their TOE [:D]

[TulliusDetritus]

[center]Turn 95[/center]
[center]8 April 1943[/center]

Hmm, I'm beginning to smell a big fat commie rat. Oops, no wait, I am the "commie" here [:D]

Marquo keeps leaving buffer hexes, especially in the south. Not sure he is preparing some sort of trap.

[TulliusDetritus]

Here you are an example [8D] Pre Soviet moves, recon planes used.

[TulliusDetritus]

Here I could understand it more, as this is where I attacked the last turn (Operation Crazy Little Ivan that is).

A trap (I will discuss this) or some sort of terror (I doubt it) it's a good thing if he keeps offering me free hexes. I really need a more or less historical 1943 frontline. Psychological, ok.

But hell, I started the game with a simple idea: no matter what I will be getting to Berlin [:(]