8MP Team Game - The Axis team

[Telemecus]

Turn 36 19-February-1942 Soviet Turn

When we get T36 we see what the Soviets have done in T35. The Soviet storm in the blizzard is no more than a trickle.

A few combats in the centre, some recon and bombing our storks again.

[Telemecus]

And something is making them curious there?

[SparkleyTits]

Just a simple misclick don't worry about

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: SparkleyTits
Just a simple misclick don't worry about

Misclick? ... 29 times in the same area? [:D]

[Telemecus]

Turn 36 25-February-1942 Centre

A couple of attacks south of Tula but otherwise there is little in the Soviets drive now. A large amount of interdiction in the Soviet phase indicates some moving back. On the other hand the AXIS BLIZZARD OFFENSIVE is starting to surround Soviet units. However using so many motorised units in this weather is leading to significant losses of AFVs.

[thedude357]

Turn 36 Army Group South

Still a little bit of a blizzard but mud finally comes and the end of winter is in sight. 1st Rumanian Guards move to the rear for morale gain and the front is mostly quiet. A few skirmishes Southwest of Voronezh but nothing major. With the European weather zone being snow, the Romanians and 11th Army attempt a breakthrough at Ak'Manay but the Soviet resistance holds...for now.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: SparkleyTits

Also a great picture to show the difference in how good regiments are on defence compared to divisions!

Yup, I believe I was the first to write about this on how good regiments are. BUT they do have a crux that can be used against them and they will feel the pain too if you know what to do against them. I worked on a solution and wrote a little about it in the Dinglir AAR now I get to try the new strat which works pretty well

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

ORIGINAL: M60A3TTS
I have to point out, the freebies here are courtesy of the AI. The I-153s that were bombed had some regiments on day and others night missions. Air doctrine is not an issue, nor is it recon spam, the planes just don't fly. I've believed for some time there is an issue with Soviet planes flying in the north, and this example does not change my opinion.

It was because the Soviet airbases were put in swamp hexes.

DOH!!!

[Telemecus]

Turn 36 25-February-1942 Air

During Soviet turn 35 we got a significant number (for blizzard) of interdictions. Soviet combat aircraft continue to be active solely between the Oka and Voronezh. Our stork recon aircraft continue to be their priority target for airbase bombing. Throughout though they are losing large amounts of aircraft - especially their fighters and fighter bombers.



The Soviet airforce conducts a lot of recon West of lake Ilmen. Which finds their lone recon airgoup based near the front easy pickings. The two tac/dive bomber airgroups used to attack the recon air base are withdrawing soon so are also used for spam ground bombing the frontline. The Finnish air force continues to bomb the I-153 airgroups east of the Volkhov - no Soviets try to intercept us.



In addition to the agglomeration of air groups mid way between Voronezh and Saratov there is a new grouping at Arzamas. We decide to concentrate our air campaign on just one of them - with the Arzamas group chosen as closest to our existing air assets. It is blizzard so we are only able to bomb one airfield twice but conduct a number of fighter sweeps. By concentrating our air war in one place we find in almost every encounter we out number them several times over. Typically our fighters are flying at much shorter range whereas theirs are flying at their maximum radius, an advantage further multiplied by the effects of the blizzard on flying.



With the normal Soviet Supreme Commander away their acting Supreme Commander for this turn gives us an interesting assesment on Axis air missions which they admit is the first time they have looked closely at.



Almost all Axis air missions visible as battle reports are recon missions. In our team set up every commander can make recon missions in their go. The Axis have so much recon that there is usually no need for it to be rationed or allocated. I think our opponents acting Supreme Commander has overestimated how much time recon does take. But it is true for my part I do chose where every recon mission goes rather than scatter gunning recon or using the AI. And each mission is chosen to maximise its informational value. So even if I just want to check if there are any more units in a general area, I would also chose a hex in an area which already has a unit whose detection level can be raised at the same time. Hence why so much of the recon is in the same hex as an enemy unit rather than in empty space. Typically there will be target detection levels for different units and places that we want to end our turn on for the purposes of optimising interdiction and multi-turn tracking. Usually a unit (other than airbases) on detection level 4 has a two-thirds chance of being visible at least in outline the next turn - so next turn we only have to raise its detection level and not find out where it is. Recon can also help to uncover what is our opponents air doctrine and where their fighter cover is or is not. So every recon mission may be trying to uncover information on two or more dimensions. And yes recon does have a combat value of its own too. A significant number of Soviet interceptors are lost chasing our recon planes. And the soviet interceptor force left after chasing recon is no longer fresh but will have enough fatigue to take the edge off its performace before it then comes into contact with our fighters and bombers.

We are not yet in the full blast of air war, but for blizzard it is certainly warming up. We still have to keep a lot of the air force in the national reserve because of the need to release vehicles to the pool. But nevertheless the air losses show a worrying trend for the Soviet side. They are starting to lose more interceptors than they produce again while we lost fewer.

[Telemecus]

Turn 36 Allocations
For information only - team allocations for turn 36.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

Soviets are really targeting recon aircraft????? For the amount of aircraft they are losing for the amount destroyed I believe this to be highly in the German favor. The Soviets, in my opinion, are gaining nothing.

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain
Soviets are really targeting recon aircraft????? For the amount of aircraft they are losing for the amount destroyed I believe this to be highly in the German favor. The Soviets, in my opinion, are gaining nothing.

Yes - since summer 1941. And in particular Storks which I would have thought the last choice of recon aircraft to target?

However I have heard from other games this is thought of as a good way to build experience. Also recon aircraft - and recon air bases - tend to be the easier ones to get at/ less protected. In which case Storks just happen to be the ones at the furthest forward bases. What aircraft of what type are being targeted would just be incidental then. I guess that is the reasoning here?

[Telemecus]

Turn 37 4-March-1942 Centre

Having tried to surround Soviet units last turn we find our spearheads subject to multiple soaking attacks followed by final successful attacks once our ammo is low. 20th Panzer division suffers from two successive retreats. A useful reminder too that the red army in 1942 has some capabilities it did not have in 1941.

Elsewhere the AXIS BLIZZARD OFFENSIVE continues...

[thedude357]

Turn 37 Army Group South

The most action this week involves the Crimea. Another week of snow and 11th Army was able to successfully dislodge the Soviet defenders at Ak'Manay, and then a follow up attack that pushed them even further towards Kerch. This was with the help of attacking reinforcements from the 22nd Airlanding Division. The Soviets will really have no choice now but to abandon the position or risk being cut off and unable to evacuate.

[Telemecus]

Turn 37 4-March-1942 Air

Apart from recon the Soviet air force conducted just three missions in its turn which did not include any ground support where its ground forces attacked. Their air force continues to exist only in a concentration of bases near Arzamas and East of Voronezh, plus biplane fighters in a group of airbases in the far North and a lone airbase near Voronezh. The Luftwaffe bombers continue to concentrate what they can achieve in blizzard into daylight unintercepted raids on one airbase near Arzamas, the Rumanians on the lone airbase near Voronezh which is in range of their dive bombers. But for the most part the action lay largely with the fighters and recon air groups.



With just enough for one industry bombing top up raid



Meanwhile the Finnish air force continues to clock up victories in unescorted unintercepted daylight bombing of the biplane fighters at airbases in the far north.



What the air force can do is limited by the blizzard weather. But we have turned that to our advantage by making our opponents fighter arm fly repeatedly at its maximum range in these worst weather conditions. The result is an air war largely relegated to the fighter mission air group of our respective air forces. And one in which, relative to our production levels, we are ahead in this turn.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

Turn 37 4-March-1942 Air

Apart from recon the Soviet air force conducted just three missions in its turn which did not include any ground support where its ground forces attacked. Their air force continues to exist only in a concentration of bases near Arzamas and East of Voronezh, plus biplane fighters in a group of airbases in the far North and a lone airbase near Voronezh. The Luftwaffe bombers continue to concentrate what they can achieve in blizzard into daylight unintercepted raids on one airbase near Arzamas, the Rumanians on the lone airbase near Voronezh which is in range of their dive bombers. But for the most part the action lay largely with the fighters and recon air groups.

Huh....????? Still not intercepting bombers. Wonder what is up.

[Telemecus]

Turn 37 Allocations
For information only - team allocations for turn 37.

[Telemecus]

Turns 22 to 37 Operation PEGASUS PLUCKED: A Retrospective on our 1941/42 Winter - The Name

Pegasus Plucked is the operational name we gave to our winter defence and offence. It was chosen under the Führer's principles of open and democratic decision making. Crackaces openly told us that was what it was going to be and democratically voting for it was obligatory. In the Führer's Germany the winner is always so overwhelmingly popular they have to get 100% of the vote!

It was named in memory of the many Soviet cavalry found flying eastwards in the skies after being routed by Crackaces' quad cannon. [:D]

[Telemecus]

Turns 22 to 37 Operation PEGASUS PLUCKED: A Retrospective on our 1941/42 Winter - The Plan

The topic of our winter defences first came up again in turn 14. The outline plan from then shows a black line connecting terrain features with a defensive value even during the blizzard such as the valdai hills. While we expected to go beyond this line, we would have also have expected to retreat back to it in winter. Much of it was still in enemy control. But for the parts that were not there was the prospect of building forts to give lots of time to build up high fortification levels. Already a large part of the south that was not near any major cities or our lateral connecting rail line was being left out of this. However the feeling, particularly from our Centre commander Stelteck, was that a more elastic defence was appropriate. In the end forts were built along the Mius and the flanks of Moscow, but not until the clear weather was over.

However one key assumption changed. Rather than assuming that even if we took Moscow we would lose it, Stelteck (then centre commander) assured us that it could be held - but on condition that he got three of the mountain divisions. A commitment that was made and delivered.

Unlike planning for our 1942 summer campaign however little more thought was given to the winter until it was upon us



With timmyab joining the team as our Chief of Staff their first act was to lick our planning for winter into shape. The picture below shows their plan which became our plan for the winter defence. The area immediately south of the Finnish no move line was subsequently changed to weak as we realised in fact, in the worst case scenario, we could withdraw the Finns to defending the base of the isthmus with Leningrad so they need not be outflanked.

Motorised forces that were sent back to winter quarters were specifically to be assigned to "Panzer Hubs" near the front were they would still be available for emergencies or defence on the front if it fell that far back.



Finally the plan called for a reserve to be made - this was planned to be held mostly behind Moscow. The picture below shows the state of our defences at the end of turn 22. Fortification levels shown in grey circles show a healthy cluster around Moscow and on the Mius, but little elsewhere.



The first full systematic reconnaisance was held since the mud period at the end of turn 22. It was becoming really clear that the Soviets were preparing an all out assault for Moscow. The cavalry we saw East of Tula was still there with four lines of units and tank brigades at each end. We expected the main Schwerpunkt to come through here. The terrain is harder for reconnaissance North of Moscow but we assumed there would be a similar build up there for a pincer attack north and south of Moscow. So just as we concentrated our forces to attack Moscow in Operation Tottenritt, the Soviet team were concentrating theirs for a recapture. There was still a tank park at Saratov which presumably were tank brigades still being trained up. And a concentration of units appearing at Stalingrad. But the cavalry near Rostov had gone and there seemed to be little more than a single line of units in the South. All three of their guards divisions on the other hand were being held in defensive positions.

We had a worrying paucity of forces and fortification between the Oka and Tula. We had to counter any attempt on Moscow by reconcentrating our forces between Tula and Kalinin. And just like Operation Tottenritt to take Moscow, it meant all three ground commanders had to play their part in keeping Moscow. North had to guard the northern flank of Moscow. Meanwhile our poor Southern commander, who had been stretched during the summer and was told their boundary would be shifting to south of Voronezh was now told they had to shift their boundary north again - and help in the threatened sector. The calculated risk was that the lack of mobile forces in the far south meant we could afford a shallower line down there.



By turn 25 our recon had still not picked up a larger concentration for Soviet forces north of Moscow that we assumed would be built there. So our chief of staff reassessed that the real northern hinge of the Soviet advance would come much further north in the Valdai sector. As a result we scrambled forces to improve our situation in those areas. This final assesment before the blizzard was very prescient.

[Telemecus]

Turns 22 to 37 Operation Pegasus Plucked: A Retrosective on our 1941/42 Winter - The Ground War

After the snow period where we advanced on to Kolomna and captured Vyshny Volochek and surrounding areas we started the blizzard in some trepidation as we felt we had not properly prepared. We soon caught up.

The picture below shows our front lines at the start and end of the first blizzard.