FIFTY SHADES OF WiTE: SILLYFLOWER V BRIANG

[HITMAN202]

A potpouri of comments and a question.

1) You will always be a lawyer. You can't divorce yourself from the influence of your professional education on how you think and reason.

2) Dull and defensive ?? Ney my friend. You wit is a rapier.

3) What factors lead you to air supply in the winter turns ???

4) Matrix needs to hire you as the WITE poster boy. A little makeup (or a wig) could alter a Dan Aykroyd look-a-like.

[Northern Star]

I don't agree that 1.08.08 is pro-German, I think the Soviets are able to make a high cv defensive line and also counterattack in summer 41.
See the cv of Soviet units in turn 5 in this screenshot, and let me know...

[sillyflower]

If russian morale is higher in '41 under .08, you and Charlie have a good point. Is it? You could get these CVs from high quality russian units before .08 and it would be more useful to have this shot taken from the Soviet side. FOW can be very misleading in all versions.

.

[sillyflower]

ORIGINAL: HITMAN202

A potpouri of comments and a question.

1) You will always be a lawyer. You can't divorce yourself from the influence of your professional education on how you think and reason.

2) Dull and defensive ?? Ney my friend. You wit is a rapier.

3) What factors lead you to air supply in the winter turns ???

4) Matrix needs to hire you as the WITE poster boy. A little makeup (or a wig) could alter a Dan Aykroyd look-a-like.

1 I took to the law because I already thought analytically and logically. I always described my original degree in experimental psychology as 'torturing rats and humans' so being a lawyer was little different: though done more politely.

2 I try. People often tell me that I am trying anyway. To quote the late, great Bob Monkhouse "people laughed at me when I said that I wanted to be a comedian. They're not laughing now".

3 Same as any other turn really. Fuel to any unit that needs with priority for those most likely to need it next turn. Supplies only to units very low on supply/ammo unless they have moved to where they can't be attacked next turn.

4 The real SF is the glamorous and photogenic one.I'm photo phobic as it were except when being a lawyer when cameras never bothered me. NB unlike some doctors I know, I would need a haircut more than a wig [:'(]

[sillyflower]

T36



Once again, ths Crimea is the focus of all the action. Lacking the forces this turn to try to break through at the eastern end, 18th Pz xx bravely closes the westernmost entry point to the Crimea, thereby cutting off all the communists who didn't make it back in time - about 8 xx and 6 x. It is bound to get isolated or routed in turn, but it's brave men know that they will suffer only minimal casualties if routed under .08 so they don't care. He won't be able to get much out before I reseal the pocket next turn.

A weak pz corps of 2 more divs arrives on the map ready to get stuck in next week, as does Model's elite 1st inf xxx (changed to a rather nasty green/brown colour to avoid getting muddled with 11th army). LW and Rumanian air assets also arrive as there are a lot of soviet airbases in the Crimea itself.

[sillyflower]

Thoughts on T36.

Losses at turn start 19.1K G to 13.6K R. lot of soviet air activity, including a bit of futile airbase bombing so losses were 77 to 189.

In turn losses 3.3K to 14K, air 32 to 62. 4 russian units (1 inf x and 3 regts) were destroyed.

North of Moscow I finally remembered to relieve 12 Pz so hopefully 2 pz div will now get some morale-boosting target practice. I live in hope that during refit 12 Pz will get some decent tanks: it currently has T 38ts and Mk 1s which don't really go with it being the best unit on the map.

My blizzard O and prep for the snow O are badly hampered by the lack of RR capacity. I suspect that some reinforcement divisions will still be sitting on the western map edge until April, or possibly later, as I move from defensive to offensive posture. I even have 2 FBDs doing nothing as I cannot spare any trains to move them. Not a huge problem as there are few unconverted hexes apart from an unimportant patch or two in the middle of nowhere which the construction battalions are sorting out. NB whilst I have my whinges about .08, it is generally a very good thing IMHO and I do approve of the extra cost of moving units by rail.

[chaos45]

For FEb blizzard you are doing smashing as either way the Soviets are going to lose alot of troops and equipment by the crimea. Gonna be a rough 1942 for Brian

[sillyflower]

I'm trying to make it a short summer for him [:D] but RL has slowed his turns a bit

[chaos45]

As once u smash his units you are pocketing it doesnt look the units guarding the crimea are strong/well entrenched should should easily follow up with a breach in a turn or two.

[EwaldvonKleist]

Hello,
i am fairly new to WITE and have played some minor scenarios so far, but i have been following the AARs for a while already (they made me buy this game). Great AAR so far Flower, thx a lot!
Two questions: With which VC do you play (sry if i overread the information in the first post).
Which sense has the crimea operation of BrianG? Ingame (Stalin for sure thought different about this), the Blizzard should allow the russian player to prepare a good offensive position for 1942 (like reconquering the eastern bank of a great river)? But easiest way to defend crimea is on the land bridge (3 hexes)? And from a geometric point of view, the crimea attack force is very easy to cut of because you only need to block the 3 hexes and some harbours (don't yet know the details about harbours yet). So whats the sense of this operation which seems to be a waste of troops?

[sillyflower]

Welcome to the forum EVK and thanks for your kind words. To answer your qu's

1 we are playing alt VC - you can see this and the game version at top left of the screenshots. There was some discussion with Pelton earlier on this thread about what this means ie what I have to do in '42 to win.

2 I agree with you. I ignored the Crimea in the summer because I had better targets. When he advanced out in the winter, my Rumanians retreated in front of him in the hope that he would do what he did so that I could do what I am doing now. Surprisingly, he even seems to have abandoned his fortifications in the entrances when he advanced out which was unwise. He generally likes to be very aggressive and my whole strategy in this game was designed to counter that because he does it very well. There is no 'right way' to play either side. If there is I don't know what they are but there are plenty of wrong ways. However, you will have to ask Brian what his thinking was because I have no idea.

[EwaldvonKleist]

Thx for welcome me and for answering the questions. When playing VC 260 the chances to win decisively in 1942 are very good i suppose (noob opinion based on the AARs i read and considerations basing on historical developement)?
I will ask BrianG in his thread.
IMO it is a shame that the retreat rules overhaul changed balance so much-would have been interesting to see how things worked out with "fair" conditions. Why did you switch to the newest game version during the ongoing campaign? If understand this patch right, it favours the defender over the attacker, so why did you update exactly when the attacker/defender role switched? (pls dont take offense i have no clue about this i just want to understand).
Looking forward to the Spring Awakening/Case blue.

Edit: His answer: Create guard units/army, missed retreat by one turn.

[sillyflower]

I think most russian players resign long before Germans get 260 VPs. If they do hang on until 260, there really isn't much point in carrying on after that point. I expect many would have disappeared before now if they were russians in this game.

I think all almost all GCs have house rule to use latest version. The game has got better. Brian has benefited from .08 too with the free return of dead units. That said, I think that I have benefited more at this stage in the game.

.08 only benefits the defender when he has higher morale. People have different views on .08, and I suspect that it benefits each side differently at different times in the game so it is not possible to know its full impact. I expect .09 to help a lot and hopefully it is not too long away.

[sillyflower]

Can't post any more turns at the moment because I haven't had a turn back from Brian for the last 10 days. He's finding his current situation a bit demoralising, but wants to fight on.

[AppendixSE]

ORIGINAL: sillyflower

Can't post any more turns at the moment because I haven't had a turn back from Brian for the last 10 days. He's finding his current situation a bit demoralising, but wants to fight on.

Lots of respect for players who doesn't turn give when things looks bad.

Also a very good AAR. Really appreciated. I also like the fact that it isn't a lot of whining about the game engine but instead a sound discussion of pro's and cons. Other threads sometimes turns into a "complaintfest".

Look. I came out of lurk mode just to give positive feedback [8D]

[sillyflower]

Thank you, and I'm delighted that you decided to lose your Matrix virginity here.

[sillyflower]

Just had the turn back from Brian before he went on holiday for a week, so here comes T37, the last of the blizzard turns so I'm going to bore you all with lots of extra screenies.




Pretty much no change since the end on November

[sillyflower]

Moscow



Our gallant forces defeated all 9 ground attacks made by the communists in their last turn, and sent packing all enemy units which advanced to where they should not have.

[sillyflower]

South




East of the Donbass cities we carry out the weekly tidy up interlopers. In the Crimea area, the dastardly Bolsheviks thwart 2 attempts at breaking into the easternmost entrance to the Crimea. These attacks could not be preceeded by ground bombing. Whilst I had lots of willing bombers, no fighters would support them and recce had shown large numbers of enemy fighters in the area. However, all enemy units north of the Crimea have now been pocketed securely. Meanwhile, more units from 1 Panzer and 18th armies reach the area and more fighter support is brought up to just behind the front lines.

[chaos45]

actually FM Silly very disappointed you are going to let some of the russkies escape into the crimea the fuhrer will be very upset.