Once more into the Breech with D21

[larryfulkerson]

I'm pretty much through with the workshop and now I want to do a regular AAR with D21 and I restarted using the latest
version of D21 and it's T3 and my Axis units are sneaking up on Riga. I want to do this game entirely by hand instead
of using Elmer at any point. Although on turn one I let the Air Assistant take control because of the predilection to
do air attacks on the part of Elmer and I must admit, he did a thourough job of it. The air lossses meter showed
like 2500+ Soviet T1 losses and the loss of only 43 Axis planes, mostly fighters I think.

[larryfulkerson]

It turns out that I'm wrong about the aircraft losses. The heavest losses were among the bombers. I guess that's
partly because the bombers went on airfield strikes primarily without escorts. Some of those Soviet fields were
really far out there. I don't remember Elmer striking any fields that had fighters concentrating mostly on the
Soviet heavy bombers. I'll have to check out the Soviet losses when it's their turn.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's what it looks like down south right now. I'm trying to surround the Soviet units before I destroy them so that
none of the losses will go back to their pools on the Soviet side. Every little bit helps.

[TPOO]

I wish I knew you were going to start a new AAR as I have an updated version which fixes some minor things, strengthens a few Soviet units and the JU 87 issue from another thread.

You have much better Rail repair in this game then the previous one which should help a lot with forward supply. It is essential that one take advantage of the rail repair advantage on first 3 turns.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: TPOO
I wish I knew you were going to start a new AAR as I have an updated version which fixes some minor things, strengthens a few Soviet units and the JU 87 issue from another thread.

You have much better Rail repair in this game then the previous one which should help a lot with forward supply. It is essential that one take advantage of the rail repair advantage on first 3 turns.

I can start over with the newer version. Did you post it anywhere yet? How can I get my hands on it?

[TPOO]

I have one more thing to fix and then I will email it to you. Probably tomorrow.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: TPOO
I have one more thing to fix and then I will email it to you. Probably tomorrow.

I await on pins and needles.

[marion61]

If you don't mind, could you also post it on the forums? Please![:)]

[larryfulkerson]

And while I'm waiting on the new version I'll practice using the old version. This is a view of the Minsk area right now.
I'm surrounding and destroying small groups of Soviet units pressing toward the east.

[larryfulkerson]

It's 10:51 tucson time and I've just received the new D21 files from Rick and I've restarted the game and Just after
getting the begin turn message I did a save game and zipped it up and attached it here below so that those of you
that are following along can have some units to look at and reports to review etc. Rick said he's going to post the
new files in the Mods and Scenarios section of the forum so you can get your hands on the scenario too.

[larryfulkerson]

This is my first official picture from the new version of D21. The yellow lines depict what I think I'm going to try to
do this time. My goal is to destroy as many Soviet units as possible and whittle down the number of units I have to fight
at the same time I want to grab all the important places, like Minsk and Riga and Daugavpils and Pskov. We'll see how
well i do.

[larryfulkerson]

Before I move any of the LCU's I like to make sure the aircraft are supporting and I opened the air briefing and turned
on the Air Assistant for all the airfield attacks Elmer likes to do. I turned on the air assist and the missions
changed almost instantly to airfield attack. There's lots of targets at first and then as the turn progresses the
number of targets decreases.

[larryfulkerson]

OKH was at Berlin and I decided to move him to Koningsburg to perform some of his HQ magic on the adjacent aircraft.
I'm hoping the present of the HQ will help keep the aircraft supplied and in high readiness. That's the theory.

[larryfulkerson]

I see there's been a change to the Ju-87B aircraft model. The anti-ship value was boosted a lot. Now it's even deadlier
to the Soviet ships than it was before. That's a good thing.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a view of the middle of the front lines as the fighting breaks out and the pushing and
shoving starts up. I've forced my way across the river and actually I don't know why I'm pushing
so hard because the plan calls for surrounding all these Soviet troops before killing them all
in a pocket. I guess I'm trying to make the pocket smaller. Ideally, one hex.

Edit: Oh, and I wanted to say that I dropped some paratroopers on the exit avenues from the local
battlefield to try to prevent the Soviets from getting away before I can kill them.

[larryfulkerson]

Further north of the last image this image shows how the combination of several Panzer units has resulted in me getting
my units in and amoungst the Soviet units to surround them and isolate them before I kill them. I'm hoping that this
will leave a huge hole in the Soviet lines.

[larryfulkerson]

This is right after the first combat round and the Soviet defense is soooo weak that I get them to RBC when I breathe
on them. So the entire front has backed up and is in danger of collapsing.

[larryfulkerson]

Down south the Panzer forces have defeated the Soviet defenders and have gotten into the Soviet backfield and have
spread out and are busy converting all the roads and rails. Especially the rails. The Axis rail damage percent is 0
so everytime I step on a railroad hex it's just converted to repaired Axis rail and that's dandy right now. So the
more rail I can convert is best.

[larryfulkerson]

Okie dokie....this is the beginning of round three and I've been moving units and the terrain is different on the
ground where the boots are. The front lines are swirling in little groups having it out in isolated local fights
in additiion to the toe-to-toe fighting that's taking place. Soviet units are disappearing here and there, a few
at a time. Mop-up is continuing.

[larryfulkerson]

The idea was to have two pincer movements meet somewhere to the east and surround all that Soviet stuff but the Soviet
front lines were so brittle and so soft that crushing the shell toward the middle is working too. I'm guessing that
not much of this stuff will get away in the Soviet turn so I'm thinking I'll be able to kill most of it.