Trippin' the Trappen

[Bonners]

I'm greedy and really enjoy this AAR so I'd like to see the full update. Thoroughly understand if you dont have time and just decide to do a summary to get up to date.

[Keunert]

as long as you continue the aar i am fine with both solutions. really looking forward to read about your campaign again!

[Reconvet]

ORIGINAL: Bonners

I'm greedy and really enjoy this AAR so I'd like to see the full update. Thoroughly understand if you dont have time and just decide to do a summary to get up to date.

+1

Really great lecture, I learned a lot following this AAR. Thanks for sharing your experience. [:)]

[wallas]

ORIGINAL: LiquidSky

As you will see over the next few turns, my ability to push forward is not impeded by little things, like Russian tank corps [:'(]

Tank corp make lousy defence units, I have learned a valuable lesson with them. Attack punch only with them and you dont need more then 3 in any given army imo. Mech units on the other hand ewwwww all around goodness

[James Ward]

^ Yes the Mech are the best all around Russian units. I don't think you can ever have to many of them.

[LiquidSky]

Turns 50 to 60

In general, I managed to clean out the Don bridgehead (no more Russians on my side of the Don). I have reached Stalingrad, but I am just bringing up infantry to assault the city. My strongest Panzer Corp is pushing along the Volga, heading for Astrakahn. The Rumanians in the Caucaus are slowly encircling a Russian hedgehog position at Elista. Krasnador has fallen, and Berlin wants me to take Poti, Grozny, and Stalingrad. (I failed once already to take Stalingrad).

Here is an amusing (and fuzzy) animated GIF to show you what the troop movement was like over the last few 10 turns:

[LiquidSky]

Turn 60: September 7, 1942. Weather: Clear

The Russians have been stubbornly holding onto Elista with three tank corps (an impossible obstacle for the Romanians to dislodge). But since I have 3/4 of the entire Romanian army in the area, I am outflanking him on both sides. Soon he will either have to run, or suddenly face low supply when I cut the road off behind him.

During the mud turn (last turn), A lot of those Romanians had pretty low supply, so I have reached an end to my supply line...The Job of the Italian army (with the help of a panzer corp) will be to free up the rail line that comes east from Krasnador which will help the Romanians supply considerably.

The Romanian spirit level is at 100, and they seem to get 400 replacements each turn (either infantry/staff/engineers).

[LiquidSky]

The 14th Panzer Korp of the 1st Panzer Army consists of the 22nd Panzer Division, the 1st SS Motorized Division, the 4th SS Motorized Division, the 13th Panzer Division and the 3rd Panzer Division. A very powerful force. Most of the Korp is at full strength (except for the piddly SS Panzer bats....it's goal is to push along the road beside the Volga to cut off the rail line from Astrakahn into the Caucaus.

The rest of the Romanian army will be used to screen the Volga, one unit per hex. Surely nothing bad will happen to them come winter? Nahhhh....

[LiquidSky]

Stalingrad...the city of stalins. Every citizen a member of the Stalin fan club. Having missed taking it once, the prestige cost has gone up to 10. (from 8) Not sure if I will take it in time this round either.

My motorized divisions where supposed to outflank the city to the north, but seem to have run into a fair bit of Russian-ness. I almost think that he doesn't want me to go that way. He even counterattacked me on his turn in an attempt to push me back over the Don, losing 4400 infantry in one assault. OUCH. I took advantage of his attack to take his fortification hex away from him (due to his low readiness/entrenchment level, and Manstein's awesome awesomeness)

I then play an entrenchement card on the two motorized infantry units that take the hex, in hopes his counterattack fails....fingers and knights crossed.

The rest of the 11th army (the infantry korps) are converging for the assault on Stalingrad. Probably some time in before the end of September.

[LiquidSky]

What used to be the Russian Don Bridgehead has become the German Don Bridgehead. With a couple of road bridges secured, I can afford to push in a bit against his weakened units. I have no real goal in mind, other then gaining some space to retreat along come winter.

Before the fall of Krasnador, I was saving my political points to get enough to play either No Grozny or No Poti. Unfortunately, I didn't quite have enough when the Russians evacuated the city in front of my troops. With the Poti mission lasting until early/mid November, and Grozny lasting until mid October, I have a lot of time before I have to worry about avoiding them....if I want to.

So with almost 200 pp's I put the 11th army on priority, along with the infantry korps, to get them ready for the assault on Stalingrad, and have purchased (so far) 3 infantry cards in a row...with a fourth one to go next turn. The current cost this turn was um.....75 (77?) and will probably be 90ish next turn. I got 9000 infantry, 5000 infantry, 7000 infantry on those three turns, and the surge is going to hit the front lines next turn (using advanced Supply rules also affects replacements...they flow from OKH to Army..then Army to Corp...then Corp to unit over three turns.)

Oh..the Romanians you see in the upper right corner where the last reinforcements I will see until late November. Lucky for me, the Russians had just cut a hole in my line, so I plopped them both on next to his spearhead and slapped him back over the Don (after losing my Romanian panzers due to breaking, curse small units!)

I will send them back eventually to the south where they can become prisoners of war if the Russians cut off the caucuas during winter.

[LiquidSky]

Turn 63: September 13, 1942. Weather: Clear.

In order to keep up with the aar's I am going to skip turns every once in a while. The last turn was rain (and nothing happened on either side) and the front is fairly static, except in the Caucaus.

The 14th Panzer Korp, heading for Astrakahn chewed up and destroyed a fairly large chunk of the Russians blocking it along the Volga road. I am still mightily impressed at how strong the panzer divisions are over open terrain, attacking at least twice, and sometimes three times in a turn.

A single unit is not a defense, in that the amount of AP's spent in killing/retreating it is probably close to the cost of entering the hex.

[LiquidSky]

The Romanian army is too slow to surround the Russians at Elista, but are forced to spread out more to close the holes. As a result, Elista fell during the rain turn, when it was attacked by four sides on a single Russian defender.

Another thing I noticed is a lot more Russian fighters intercepting. Either he has moved his airforce closer to the front, or I am getting closer to where he has hidden his planes.



The forest and rough/forest hexes towards the coast are getting to be too tough for the Hungarians to fight through. It will probably have to become a quiet front.

The German 5th army managed to capture a bridge intact over the river and will soon cut south to follow the rail line to Grozny.

[LiquidSky]

The fighting for Stalingrad has begun! The first fortification on the outskirts of the city is blown completely away by 80 stacking points of artillery, modified by Freedom for the Corp, and Initiative for a division. The three sided attack afterwards then easily pushes the defenders into the city.

Emboldened by my success, (and feeling somewhat bad that I overkilled the hex), I attack the next fort up the line, this time with no artillery. It falls, but with a lot more casualties. A fresh, unused infantry divisions moves into the fort, and promptly digs in (Entrench).

North West of Stalingrad, another fortification falls to artillery barrage and three german infantry divisions (who suffer about 1200 infantry losses). These fortifications will come in handy during the winter.

It is going to be a long slug-fest to take Stalingrad. I am pretty sure I will take it by the end of October, but it will be quite bloody. Even if I take my time and attack every three turns to max out my artillery.

[LiquidSky]

Total infantry so far is about 800,000 for the Axis to 610,000 for the Russians. However, around 200,000 of mine are minor axis, and another 50,000 are emergency troops.

That would mean there are more Russian then German infantry on the map.

And he is getting, on average a Rifle division per turn, with a lot of little brigades. And extra Mech corps/tank corps to boot. And I am getting nothing until the end of November. And the cost to play my infantry card is now over 100 points. (115 I think)

And he has yet to play his replacement cards in quantity.

[LiquidSky]

Turn 64: September 15, 1942. Weather: Clear.

Here is a glimpse of the whole front. Only small gains this time, with another fortification cleared in front of Stalingrad. I like how the Romanians seem to be controlling about 1/3rd of the total front.

[LiquidSky]

Turn 65: September 17, 1942. Weather: Clear.

I had a larger number of 'hold' results this turn then I am used to, I suspect that my forces are starting to get too beat up. My infantry clear the last fortification in front of Stalingrad, leaving the entire city exposed to my forces. After a few turns, I will launch my attack on the city itself. (SO that my artillery replenishes).

Here is Stalingrad, and surroundings:





The drive to Astrakahn hit a snag, as my two SS mot divisions were unable to take the town of Yenotayovsk. The rest of the panzer korp moved forward over the open terrain, so the town will fall next turn. Astrakahn only 13 hexes away along the road!.

[LiquidSky]

Turn 67: September 21, 1942. Weather: Clear, with a hint of cold.

I have given a lot of thought as to how I want to win the game. My opponent seems to be throwing all his new divisions into the Caucaus' as they arrive, which probably means that I won't get to Baku before winter. And when winter hits, I am pretty sure I am not going to like it, as the Russians will be able to hit where ever they want along the line.

At the moment, I am sitting at 435 Victory points. To reach 500 (and keep it at the end of he game) is probably impossible. But I should be able to keep 350 for a minor. The Russians are getting beat up, and he doesn't appear to be keeping any strategic reserves available for a winter offensive....so a winter offensive will probably be a general offensive, hitting my lines wherever I am weak.

And with a frozen Volga, I will be very very weak in the Caucaus.

Whew...I need to cheer myself up...here is a graph of total losses inflicted by me on the Russians...





Yes...you see that correctly. I have killed/maimed/tickled almost 1 Million Russians. And lost 300k Axis. More then a 3-1 ratio.

[LiquidSky]

My drive towards Astrakahn has hit a new wall of Russians...which are in better supply then the 14th Panzer Korp. Part of the problem is the 1st Panzer Army is split into two, with the Army HQ and IIIrd Panzer Korp sitting near Stalingrad. Since we are using Hardcore supply rules, my supply has to flow first to 1st Panzer Army before moving down the (long) road to my Korp HQ.

To solve the problem, I transfer the IIIrd Panzer Korp to 11th Army (Manstein) so he can use it to push north of Stalingrad. I then move the 1st Panzer HQ to the Rail Junction with the next east-west road from the Volga for a shorter supply path.

Now I am in green supply on or adjacent to the road, and yellow supply for three more hexes away from the road (fine for attacking).

[LiquidSky]

My 5th German Army, tasked with taking Grozny is slowly pushing South-East. One good thing I am noticing is that with the mountains and bad terrain along the coast, it is easy for me to screen it with weaker units, and concentrate more army on the drive for Grozny.

If/when my tanks cut the rail line from Astrakahn, the drive to Grozny will get much easier.

[Jeffrey H.]

Seems like if he hit you hard around Frolomo or whatever, you'd be in a tough spot.