The Great Patriotic War (STE78 vs 821bobo)

[jwolf]

Stef will have to answer that for a true answer; my speculation is that for much of 1942 Stef has been on the defensive and scrambling to react to some powerful and occasionally devastating German thrusts. Sometimes you can't sort out the mess until the mud season when the fighting finally cools down.

[STEF78]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Stef will have to answer that for a true answer; my speculation is that for much of 1942 Stef has been on the defensive and scrambling to react to some powerful and occasionally devastating German thrusts. Sometimes you can't sort out the mess until the mud season when the fighting finally cools down.

You're fully right.

I suffered 3 pockets, got "fronts" broken into several parts, extracted one whole front from Moscow area and spread it in 2 parts....

It's not efficient but I was already happy to survive the 1942's summer.

I will keep this "bad" structure during the next weeks as I'm always short of AP's. Then russian army will become progressively more "well organized"

[STEF78]

Turn 79, 17th december 1942

Several areas of the front benefit of bloodbaths.... we are in a WWI war period.

Leningrad

New victory for the 55th army... 188K men and 3400 guns were required!



Kursk

Small ground gains



Stalingrad

A too hard nut...



Astrakhan

Italians slowly retreating to Roma

[STEF78]

Turn 80, 24th december 1942

1942 will end within 2 weeks and we attack and counter attack in several parts of the front. The main struggle takes place near Kursk.

We suffered heavy german counterattacks, included one with more than 1500 AFV



But we keep on attacking



Some TOE are changing, for example rifle corps below. I will spare some men



Air units TOE has also increaed from 20 to 32 planes per unit. It will allow us to achieve air superiority (+ 3500 first line planes)

[chaos45]

That was a brutal counterattack losses wise for the soviets....It really seems the newer patches are finally getting losses closer to right.

[jwolf]

It probably hit their morale hard, too. The men can be replaced; the morale is a lot more difficult to get or keep high.

[STEF78]

ORIGINAL: chaos45

That was a brutal counterattack losses wise for the soviets....It really seems the newer patches are finally getting losses closer to right.

sure but fortunately 1500 AFV doesn't represent the standard counterattack

[STEF78]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

It probably hit their morale hard, too. The men can be replaced; the morale is a lot more difficult to get or keep high.

True but most of my units are 3/7 points below the normal morale level so it's less worrying than losing morale points above this level.

[STEF78]

Turn 81, 31th december 1942

Last day of 1942, week after week, I'm able to gather more and more guns on the front line. 1943 will be interesting!



Near Stalingrad, I get my first significant victory despite a full div mot reserve activation



In the Caucasus, my brave soldiers still resist to the fascists

!

And the OOB

[STEF78]

Turn 82, 7th january 1943

Terra incognita! it's a curious feeling for me. I never reached 1943 as russian player. I lost or won before this year.

We are now at a stage where red army is growing but is not strong enough to push the germans back on a large scale. So we will have several weeks of "low" intensity fights. Each turn I create 1/2 rifle corps, 1 art div, several sapper régiments and air units.

In fact I think that Bobo could have tempted a winter offensive to Tula and Kaluga, gaining some complementary buffer . My line were strong but his offensive power was stronger. Now it's too late...

My main question now is what do I do before spring? Continuing some minor fights? Creating a "guards rifle corps ball" in a single place? Or waiting and sparing my units?

At the moment I benefit from new ratios



Leningrad

I'm facing a wall



Kursk

Without reserve activations, fights are won



Stalingrad

Some figts on the southern bank of the Volga, crushing the Romanians...



Caucasus

Fleeing through the moutains...

[chaos45]

By leningrad the terrain is bad for tanks really....which is why I never committed any tank corps or Cav corps to that area when I battled Pelton---however I did have alot of guard rifle corps and artillery divisions and in general the slow grinding offensive those give you is enough to grind down that area. It takes time but once the finnish lose several battles they start to become combat ineffective since they get lower morale south of leningrad.

Tank/cav corps ground is the south really its where you can take advantage of mobility and the Germans dont have as much terrain to double and triple their combat strength. Its why the Germans typically strike in the south in 1942 as fortified soviets in bad terrain in the north/center are really poor attack choices. The some goes for the Soviets in 1943 on---and I think you see this historically...in the center most soviet offensives in 1943 were horrible failures and only in the open ground in the south did they really "win" The success in the south then weakened german reserves in the center enough that in mid 1944 a massive soviet offensive actually succeeded. Terrain should help dictate the battle and it really does in the game if you use it right and analyze it well. Both on the defense and on the offense dont underestimate how much terrain can affect outcomes.

[STEF78]

You're right.

I have one tank corps in the nortth and it will be effectively better used South of Kaluga.

But I will keep some pressure in the north.

Bobo is very strong from Kaluga to Voronejh and around Stalingrad. I will try him to feel unsecure in all parts of the front.

[STEF78]

Turn 84, 21th january 1943

Nothing spectacular, my army is still growing and I'm maintaining some pressure on the german frontline. Some samples below

Bryansk

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't....



Kursk

Berlin will be reached before 1965....



Astrakhan

Some action on a secondary theater

[jwolf]

Berlin will be reached before 1965....

[:D][:D] I think you'll do all right, but it will take a long time before the German lines start showing a lot of pressure.

[STEF78]

Turn 85, 28th january 1943

No focus on Kursk this week, let's travel along other parts of the front

Novgorod
Terrain favors the defender... but not enough



Bryansk

2 german divs expelled!



Stalingrad

Some firepower here too but the german Pzd are close



And the OOB, approaching 8M men

[STEF78]

Turn 86, 4th february 1943

Nothing spectacular for 2 monthes, I trying to dig in the german front line and then to enlarge the hole.

German mobile units are much stronger than mine so I will not be able to reach ambitious goals before at least summer.

Novgorod

Even unentrenched german units in good defensive terrain can be hard to push back



Bryansk

This time it worked



Voronezh

Clear terrain favors the attacker... woaw! decisive comment after more than 4 years playing WITE... [:(]



Orel

Another grinding place but reserve activation makes it harder



Astrakhan

A weak russian army is beating weak italians

[Peltonx]

Good even game.

Nice to see allot of people finally enjoying games into 43.

[STEF78]

ORIGINAL: Pelton

Good even game.

Nice to see allot of people finally enjoying games into 43.

thanks

no spoil, but you will see that the german army can still bite in 1943 against an uncautious russian player

[sillyflower]

Maybe you are paying the price of letting Bobo read your AAR by giving away the secret below [:'(]

ORIGINAL: STEF78

Clear terrain favors the attacker... woaw! decisive comment after more than 4 years playing WITE... [:(]

[821Bobo]

AAR is few turns behind so no useful secrets here for me.

no spoil, but you will see that the german army can still bite in 1943 against an uncautious russian player

I have been preparing the surprise for 3-4 weeks and I am really happy that my "camouflage" paid off. These small joys make fun game even most of the front is static(and boring I guess for both of us) for last couple of months.