TR 1942

[Edwire]

Hi all,

I've been playing Third Reich 1942 v1.9 for sometime now. In real time we are in T27. The first mud was just finished and action are flaring up everywhere from Northern Arctic to North Africa. I will post some AAR (propaganda [:D]) here, hope you enjoy it.

T1

Ok, the scenario start with ceasefire on T1 for troops redeployment. I shift some troops and aircraft around, but nothing major except the ITALIAN CSIR is withdrawn from the East Front to Italy, then they will be shipped to North Africa. I have choose "Early Case Anton" which withdraw the entire Vichy Forces in exchange for 1 French corp and freedom of movement in Vichy territory.

T2

Finnish front :
Other than the Kriegsmarine tries to annoy the Murmansk garrison, all is quiet in this front. Intelligence report no Soviet reinforcement are being sent here, and limited method of sending reinforcements here means the Axis will stay quiet on this front.

Army Group North :
Fortify position and keep Leningrad besieged. The 2nd Shock Army is not spotted moving anywhere means STAVKA might attempt to open the Leningrad siege early.

Army Group Center – Yelets / Voronezh
Intelligence reports very small Soviet movement – Soviet armies stays at the gate at Kharkov but does not attack at all. What could they be planning? I got the feeling that Stavka was actually trying to get the VP bonus by capturing Kharkov by T6, but made no attempt this turn. Nevertheless, AGC strike first by smashing 13th Army, 40th Army, and 48th Army, opening a highway to Voronezh. The objective is Voronezh, but the main objective here is to assist Army Group Caucassus to destroy as many Soviet troops as possible before they are able to retreat across Don River. This area will be the main spark in the early turns.

[Edwire]

Army Group Caucassus – Voroshilovgard

Similar to the troops in Kharkov, the Soviet troops here does not move at all, in fact, they are reinforcing the front line. Here the III Pz Korps launch limited action to strike at 37th Army and 12th Army and luftwaffe destroy bridge in Svaboda, Kalach, and Rostov to intredict Soviet supplies in this sector. Wheter the Army Group will dash to Caucassus is actually not decided yet. It wil depend on other fronts condition and Soviet reaction.

[Edwire]

North Africa
I took the “Early Case Anton” TO, this gives the Axis 1 “French Legion” corp in exchange of early Vichy France withdrawal. Reinforcements are immediately sent to reinforce Tunis and Algiers. Meanwhile, the British took the bait of the “DAK deception group” by sending 3 tank Brigades and 1 French company to the far south. DAK German troops march along the Gazala road while the Italian secure the southern flank and tries to encircle tobruk. I took the decision to ignore the British troops in the south, this will turn out to be grave mistake and come back to bit the DAK later on.

[Telumar]

Yes, keep it going. This is a really interesting scenario, i played that myself once. Pity my opponent dropped out after 20 or such turns.[:@]

I too took the Early Case Anton TO. It's quite a powerful option. However i lost early in the eastern part of the African theatre (the classic DAK campaign) and found myself too early on a painful retreat into Lybia. You already indicated that it didn't go well in your game. I'm curious to see how you did/do.

[SMK-at-work]

I'll let Edwire write the AAR and just interject occasionally.

This is the first time I've played TR.....and until U read this AAR I had no idea there was a VP bonus for taking Kharkov!!

[governato]

show us the whole map every now and then! It is easy to lose the grand perspective here , because the scenario is so vast.

[Edwire]

Thanks for all the comment guys, appreciate it
This week will be quite busy for me, i will spam the AAR on the weekend [:D]

I'll let Edwire write the AAR and just interject occasionally.

This is the first time I've played TR.....and until U read this AAR I had no idea there was a VP bonus for taking Kharkov!!

Well it was in one of the briefing document. I believe you mentioned you have read it [:D]

Btw, anyone can recommend a good site to upload pictures e.g. photobucket? I can only attach 1 picture per post here. Thanks!

[SMK-at-work]

Reading is not the same as remembering :p

[Edwire]

Whew, sorry for the late update. Work caught up with me [:@]
I will post the situation on each front instead of by turn..

AGC - Yelets Sector

T3 This sector is the flash point of the opening turns. As the Soviet keep their armies in front of Kharkov, OKH is determined to crush them before they are able to retreat. The Soviets were caught unprepared, resistance was minimal initially - the panzers are only 1 hex away from Yelets and Voronezh. Soviet reach quickly by sending mobile formations and quickly develop into fierce armored clash.



By T5 the battle is over. At the cost of 1 GD regiment, the majority of the soviet armored formations were wiped out, while some retreat to the Voronezh in the East. The panzers however, are immediately dead tired and unable to take advantage of the gap, fearing of more soviet presence. Instead they turn South to complete the original goal: encircle Soviet troops near Kharkov. The Soviets were already retreating, in order to cut off the escape route, Bradenburgers were deployed. A Hungarian mobile division ventured to far ahead and eliminated,but this greatly halt the speed of the Soviet armies trying to escape. AGC also assisted by the AGS advance in the south. One bradenburg regiment was also lost in the process.






On T8, AGC is ordered for a limited advance to the North. Reconnaissance showed more Soviet formations are preparing in the far North. For now, i'm content by keeping the Soviet busy here while the remaining troops besiege Voronezh and keep the pressure on the retreating Soviet armies as several Soviet armored formations managed to breakthrough the encirclement, but by T10 the Soviet armies fate was sealed. I lost count how many Soviet armies were eliminated, but this leave the front line without a single immediate soviet presence.
Thanks to this, AGS managed to reach Don River without trouble.



T10

[Edwire]

AGS - Rostov and beyond

As the main Soviet reaction is to contain the AGC offensive in Yelets, AGS only encounter limited Soviet reserve. By T3, the initial soviet defense were teared apart and the Rumanians dashed through. The majority of AGS panzers were ordered north to assist AGC to trap the Soviet armies near Kharkov.



However on T5 suddenly 3rd Gd Tank Army launch surprise counter attack from across the River, eliminating 1 Rumanian infantry division and trap 13. Pz Div. Thankfully, XLIX. Geb Korps is in the area and quickly counter attack, resulting the destruction of all but 1 Heavy Tank regiment of the 3rd Gd Tank Army. Rostov itself is heavily fortified, the Axis troops need some rest before the attack can begin.

T5 Start :


T5 end



Again, thanks to Soviet attention were drawn to the Yelets sector, on T10 AGS found an undefended river crossing and the panzers immediately dashed south and encircle Rostov completely. Assisted by bradenburg, they even caught and eliminate Krimski Front HQ.

[Edwire]

AGC/AGN - Rzhev Sector

While the majority of AGC effort is to push in the Yelets sector, the Rzhev salient must be expanded as well. If not, this area will be very vulnerable against soviet attacks later in the game and it took considerable axis infantry divisions to cover the length of the front line here. At first, AGC (and later joined by AGN) only launch limited attack to push the front line bit by bit. But the lack of Soviet response means eventually the Soviet defenders were encircled. This finallyhappens on T5 where the german panzers once again prove their superiority by breaking through and caught an unidentified front line HQ which eventually got destroyed.



The goal was to make straight line from Staraya Russa to Rzhev. However by now Soviet has thrown anything they can to halt the Axis advance, and the terrain prove to be disadvantageous for the panzers. AGN request OKH to make panzer-buldozer to deforest the area.... Even by T10, the front line only pushed few hexes from 5 turns ago but breakthrough seems imminent...

[Edwire]

Tobruk

Ah, Tobruk. The deadly stretch of desert where the Western Allies is struggling against the famous Desert Fox. But this time it is completely the opposite.

At first, on T3, it seems victory is imminent with the rail line cut (although only the "Deception" regiment). Some tank brigades and Frech companies were trapped. Some tank brigades managed to escape though.



However by T5 the british counter attacks and re-establish the rail line, although damaged. Meanwhile, the DAK were thrown against solid rock of Tobruk fortification. By now Tobruk is fortified to the teeth that the only way is to attack from all direction. The Italians need to do their job by attacking from the east. Not likely. They are being pushed west instead. The British did an excellent job in pin-pointing counter attacks that wear out the Axis troops bit by bit here.



By T6, the Indians arrive and it become perfectly clear that Erwin Rommel will never be promoted as "Field Marshall".



By T8 the DAK are in full retreat. Don't worry, all DAK troops are accounted for, other than the deception brigades. Wait, where are the italians? Apparently they are being turned into plumbers by the british....
I don't need to continue to T10 for this theater right??

[Edwire]

T1-T10 overview

I can say the first T10 works very well for the Axis in the eastern front. The Yelets operation severely deplete the Soviet arsenal early in the game and this area is wide open. Unfortunately there are no strategic advantage on pushing east. OKH weight the options, either strike north to Moscow or south to Stalingrad, or actually keep pushing east all the way to Saratov?

In the north, AGN/AGC joint operation is in the brink of breakthrough near Rzhev. In time, this will relieve some infantry divisions for somewhere else. Leningrad siege was briefly relieved but the local panzers managed to counter attack and seal the gap once more. Leningrad is still besieged.

In the south, AGS just started its operation against Rostov. The elimination of Soviet Front HQ should help Axis in the long run when the tide is turned. Don River is reached without much trouble. Sevastopool still stand strong though.

In the Balkans, the local Croat/Hungarian/Bulgarian/German/Italians tries to surround and eliminate Partisans strong point one by one. Nothing interesting to report yet so far. Yet. Did i mentioned "yet"?

In North Africa, err.... above post already mentioned everything.

In Finland, action only just begun in Kandalaksha. Early on, the Axis push forward but the Soviet released the Archangelsk group and after some counter attacks by the Soviet, it become stalemate.



Thankfully the Allied did not bomb German industries (they did tries to bomb the logistics though). The EEV remains at zero.

[Ruppich]

Looks like Tobruk still undoable in this scenario.
Its to easy defendable, just park troops there and dig in. cause tobruk is a supply point, the germans cant do much to take it. Any thoughts?
Did u try any attacks on Tobruk which where beaten back?

The Allid player should loose any of the supply units.
So any supply counter you take of the map is good in long term.

[SMK-at-work]

It took me a while to come to grips with the game - I'd just come off playing 5 games of "Eastern front" at an army/Corps level and a lot of different production & unit features - life isn't so easy for the Axis now

From the allied POV there are a number of features I think could be improved - probably a lot of the forces in the mid-east should be fixed if Turkey is going to be an option (personally I think there was no chance Turkey joining the war in any meaningful manner for either side....Mark knows this ) - that would probably give the DAK a fighting chance.

But of course one of the reasons we play these games is to "do better"....and if the British don't screw up the Desert Campaign then the DAK should be in a bit of trouble - to get the same results as Rommel you do need to have a genius on one side, and a bit of an idiot on the other!!

But there are a few small features that favour the axis - Turkey possibly entering the war is the main one. Also all ports taken by the Axis get a "free" garrison so they can't be snuck into by the Soviet fleets - but most Soviet forts do not have fixed garrisons so they can be taken by the Bulgarian fleet in the black sea if not garrisoned...cutting supply. Also if the Axis advances through the Caucasus it's trivially easy for the Axis to bridge bomb isolate Astrakhan and the Caspian sea - Baku has a supply point and so should every other major port on the Caspian sea be due to the shipping that crossed it.

And getting a Mulberry Harbour in the Balkans is a bit odd - the partisans captured a port and suddenly had a supply point......perhaps the Mulberry's could be a disband-able unit/option or similar...I'm not sure whether I get any more now or not for ht rest of the game??

Bombing industry is not straight-forward either - if you can't see a unit on he hex then it seems you cannot bomb it - and usually only 1-2 units are visible on industry hexes, so it's not worth wasting the aircraft for no effect! I did a campaign when I took a theatre recon upgrade that go a few points, but not enough to have any effect.

All in all it's been a learning experience....

[USXpat]

Just a few notes --

Tobruk is an issue. Possibly owing to a combination of supply point, level of supply point, possibly too many English/Commonwealth units available, maybe their TO&E is too strong, maybe Axis OOB/TO&E is too weak, or Axis supply insufficient.

I'm taking another look at the pro-Axis Turkey trigger events and %'s. My position on Turkey is different and probably warrants an article or two.

The English were strong advocates for joining the fight in the Balkans. Allies only get one temporary mulberry there. The Balkans were a nightmare for both sides, suffice that adequate supply levels either come from the Allies coming up through Greece or taking Romania/Bulgaria and linking up from the east. Going in through the Adriatic while Italy is still in the game, while possible, has its hazards.

Russia could use more garrison units, but the OOB is maxed out. To create more allied units means eliminating or combining others. That has the potential to throw off the events and I'm extremely reluctant to do that. Rear area security ends up being on the player. Same with bridges - the Soviets have engineers and rail repair units to offset the Axis bombing of critical lines, with Sea Transport from Astrakahn or further east being an emergency back up.

Bombing of Axis Industry. Maybe I can flesh out notes further. To get the most out of strategic bombing means hitting Axis industry at every opportunity, even if the results are not immediate. Initially, an avg of 2-3 Axis industry should be spotted per turn. As Allied Theater Recon gradually increases, which can be hastened with the Theater Recon disbands (big boost for a few turns followed by a permanent +2 TR each), an average of 5 targets can be spotted. There are turns where none will be seen, turns where 7, 8 even 9 will be seen. Coupled with the ground war, the results can be catastrophic for the Axis - even with the Axis being able to absorb/repair 2 hits and later 3 hits per turn. That's been tested and verified up to an EEV of 750. There are two significant EEV reduction events that need to be toned down.

Hope that helps for now... I'll do my best to get what may be the last update for the pbem version of the scenario out soon.

[Edwire]

Since Mike has posted his bit, I will post mine as well [:D]

We are on T45 now with interesting development I would say. As I gradually eliminate the Partisan from the North the South, the Partisans in the South got very strong and overwhelmed some of my coastal garrison, and the British were quick to take the opportunity. At first I can only defend while the Allied slowly creeping to Athens. Suddenly Turkey decided to join the war on Axis side when i capture Grozny. This turns the tide in Balkan although the Allied are still holding fiercely. I'm not sure how this will turn out. But Turkey joining the war also mean instantly opening the third front in the theatre.

Tobruk - i think the issue is the fresh and strong Indian formations in the Middle East that once it is known that the Axis player does not take the Baghdad coup TO, the entire formation can be moved to North Africa. Tobruk itself is a fortified hex, Allied player only need 3 turns to get to fortified status. IMO these two are the main issue that make the capture of Tobruk become near impossible for the Axis.

Bridge bombing is the same for both side. I enjoy bombing Russian bridges early in the game to cripple supply lines but now situation has been turned. It is not seldom my supply in the Caucassus area got severed.

I will try to catch up the AAR.

[Ruppich]

ORIGINAL: Edwire
Bridge bombing is the same for both side.

if i remember correct the russian side does not have any AA units at the beginning or very few.
and they have to be railed

[SMK-at-work]

Since I started it it behooves me to give up some other thoughts

Regarding Russian garrisons - I think getting rid of the minor navies would be the best answer - the Romanian navy only had 4 destroyers, 6 "torpedo boats" and a couple of submarines, and was only used for convoy escort. Similarly the Russian arctic fleet can probably be done away with to stop the reverse happening up there.

Also as an aside I think the Axis should only be allowed to use its naval movement in the Baltic & Med, or to shift units back to the mainland/home territory if cut off as an honour rule - they really had no ability to do major amphib assaults by this stage of the war.

Bridge bombing is an irritation - I've bumped up the fighters and flak at the 2 in question so we'll see if that helps some! But perhaps the answer is just to win the ground war a bit faster!

Edit to dd: The surrender of the Balkan allies is probably a bit arbitrary too - Bulgaria surrendered just because a partisan unit entered it, and Romania almost did so because a couple of Bulgarian units moved towards it - we replayed that turn otherwise it would have been a bit silly.

[SMK-at-work]

Question for USXpat or anyone else - I have received a couple of "early refit" disbands for 2 British Corps.......what effects do these have? The Corps are both fighting hard ATM so I wouldn't want them to disappear for a few moves!!