Connect Four Team Game

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: thedoctorking

ORIGINAL: Searry
Concentrating on the actual good AC was the goal. I don't know how effective it is to kill the obsolescent types as they look like free kills for the Germans to me?

I think you get morale and experience for killing I-153's and such. Also, those squadrons will continue to exist and can be re-equipped with better aircraft. In the last two games I've started as the Germans, I have concentrated on just killing as many Soviet a/c as I can.

Remember though that just maximising bomber kills only increases morale on your bombers. The key is really to get your Axis fighters into high morale and experience which you cannot really do on turn 1. At least in my experience in older versions the I153s really are the ones to get your 109s into the 90s experience zone early on.

(Attached is a picture for the post on turn 2 of South)

[thedoctorking]

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

ORIGINAL: thedoctorking

ORIGINAL: Searry
Concentrating on the actual good AC was the goal. I don't know how effective it is to kill the obsolescent types as they look like free kills for the Germans to me?

I think you get morale and experience for killing I-153's and such. Also, those squadrons will continue to exist and can be re-equipped with better aircraft. In the last two games I've started as the Germans, I have concentrated on just killing as many Soviet a/c as I can.

Remember though that just maximising bomber kills only increases morale on your bombers. The key is really to get your Axis fighters into high morale and experience which you cannot really do on turn 1. At least in my experience in older versions the I153s really are the ones to get your 109s into the 90s experience zone early on.

Their fighters have been having fatigue problems and have not been as effective as they hoped, I think. It seems like they are morale-cycling them now (turn 7). There are about 100 German fighters on each front plus the Axis allies in the south. This is another thing that gives our little cheesy 1934 planes a chance to still be effective.

[Telemecus]

Axis Centre Turn 2 Start

No combat during the Soviet turn - both pockets were broken in to just by movement. A corps of 2nd Panzer Group is also left isolated from supply. Some Soviet marauders even manage to break one hex of German rail.

[Erzac]

ORIGINAL: thedoctorking

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

ORIGINAL: thedoctorking

I think you get morale and experience for killing I-153's and such. Also, those squadrons will continue to exist and can be re-equipped with better aircraft. In the last two games I've started as the Germans, I have concentrated on just killing as many Soviet a/c as I can.

Remember though that just maximising bomber kills only increases morale on your bombers. The key is really to get your Axis fighters into high morale and experience which you cannot really do on turn 1. At least in my experience in older versions the I153s really are the ones to get your 109s into the 90s experience zone early on.

Their fighters have been having fatigue problems and have not been as effective as they hoped, I think. It seems like they are morale-cycling them now (turn 7). There are about 100 German fighters on each front plus the Axis allies in the south. This is another thing that gives our little cheesy 1934 planes a chance to still be effective.

There haven't been *cough*, nor will there ever be *cough*, any problems regarding fatigue or morale in the Luftwaffe.

Regards,
Erzac - Axis air commander(from turn 4 onwards).

[Telemecus]

Axis Centre Turn 2

Searry
my strategy is not caring about dnepr

Searry
they're plannning for a marsh insurgency clearly
too bad for them I will ignore my south flank completely
well... gotta screen them

[Telemecus]

Axis South Turn 2 Start

Only the pocket around Kovel remains intact

Joneleth
they lost over 250 tanks trying to break the ZoC block on Shepetovk

[Telemecus]

Axis South Turn 2

Our North commander, Neogodhobo, advocates stripping the Centre to reinforce the South - and with high ambitions!

Neogodhobo
We should probably send lots of fast div. In the south and take the enemy by surprise. Slow down the advance on center to boost south. South could probably get to Baku in the first year with almost all fast div.

On turn 1 a suggestion to cut the rail line in the centre of the Pripyat marshes by ZOCing Luninets with a motorised units was turned down

Joneleth
im honestly not convinced its worth ... a mot brigade in a swamp

Searry
you'll regret it

[/quote]

But by turn 2 with all the other rail exits from the marshes cut, the value of having removed the only rail exit for units stranded there becomes apparent.

Telemecus
I see everyone now agrees with me that Luninets was a good idea on turn 1? [:)]

Searry
yes it would have been great
live and learn [:)]

The great thing about being asked to write AARs for others is you can gloat in hindsight [:)]

Our South commander sets out their plans

Joneleth
my primary objectives this turn
1. secure the pockets i made on T1
2. become in a good position to take Ochakov on T3
3. Pocket as many units along the romanian border as possible
4. position my myself as good as possible to take Odessa on T3 to T4
oh right also my main objective is flipping 72 106

Enormous efforts are made in securing the pockets

Joneleth
i made a spreadsheet that would make you guys proud just to make out a plan of MPs how to make up that line so the lowest MP divisions exactly had enough to find its place in the wall

They are very confident this time their pockets will hold

Joneleth
i already have a 3 hex corrider with alot of units
i honestly dont think ieven if it had full MP it could do anything

Joneleth
its literally not possible for him to break it from that angle due to MP so i used it to block him from chaining up the romanian border with the other pockets
he would need to cross an enemy hex in ZoC across a river AND then move one hex west

although some doubts occur afterwards

Joneleth
ive concluded where the 2 weakest spots in my line is 70 88 and 67 81...in retrospect i did some wrong calculations i never needed to split up that SS division i could just have had the full division in that hex

But the turn ends in the same high hopes as it began

Joneleth
i think i can safely predict that if my current pockets hold and i take Odessa and Ochakov on next turn then i have won the south then we are looking at Rostov army group split in 41

[SparkleyTits]

STAVKA did warn about the swamps how there may be a possible pocket to be made there if two front commanders coordinated so we were all very happy that did not happen [:)]

The first few turns with the units in the swamps was all about the rail cap for us and no bigger strategic reasons so Axis aggresion would of likely payed off there

Like you said though, Hindsight is easy after the fact!

[Telemecus]

Axis Air Turn 2

Searry
I think .. this, could be heavy on my conscience though [:)]

Our air commander wrestles heavily with the Kabuki on his conscience. Ten minutes later..

Searry
so evil I love it...I fear my kabuki is going to extreme levels [:)]

Our bombing of Osinoves was unescorted - but it almost looks like our Ju88s were dogfighting with their MiG-3s!



Getting bases with enough ammo and fuel was a particular problem this turn. One curiosity was an airbase which started the turn on rails and full of aircraft but only 4 of fuel. The only explanation was that its air HQ had been isolated during our logistics phase - but this would not follow the manual and patch notes description of how airbase supply should work.

We are also starting to see shorter range bombers gravitate to the North where the ranges required are shorter anyway.

[Telemecus]

Axis Air Losses Turn 2

A lot of airgroups withdrawing soon were swapped to older models. And our air commander discovered that air transfering air groups to a base with no movement points left meant they could no longer fly for the rest of this turn. Together with aircraft going to reserve to recover from the exertions of turn 1 this meant a smaller air force for use this turn. Nevertheless our air commander scores a few "jackpots" in bombing airbases to give us the following air losses this turn

[Telemecus]

Axis Allocations Turn 2

For information only.

[thedoctorking]

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

Axis Air Losses Turn 2

A lot of airgroups withdrawing soon were swapped to older models. And our air commander discovered that air transfering air groups to a base with no movement points left meant they could no longer fly for the rest of this turn. Together with aircraft going to reserve to recover from the exertions of turn 1 this meant a smaller air force for use this turn. Nevertheless our air commander scores a few "jackpots" in bombing airbases to give us the following air losses this turn

Any time we kill 75 of your level bombers, I consider it a victory.

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: thedoctorking
Any time we kill 75 of your level bombers, I consider it a victory.

When I see 75 level bomber losses, I tell the Axis air commander that is too low - you are not working them hard enough [:D]

Our recon losses are also way too low! [;)]

[thedoctorking]

Connect 4 AAR
Soviet turn 2
This turn, we collectively showed our inexperience. In part, this was a consequence of communication difficulties between the members of our team and constraints in RL that distracted us from the game. Stewart (thedoctor) was off in Maryland at his mother’s, some time zones away from his teammates. Dade took a vacation week and went to his family’s home in southern Oregon. And Isaac (littlebrother) had a death in the family and plenty of relatives in town for a funeral. Our fearless leader, SparklyTits, is on the other side of the pond and needs to sleep sometimes – evening in Oregon is oh-dark-thirty in Manchester. So, we had advice from Sparkly but were on our own for the execution. Thus, the mistakes made through inexperience. Nonetheless, the overall outcome is still positive for the Motherland, I think. And like those Russian generals in the summer of ’41, we’re learning.
Some comments from Dade open our discussion of the northern front: “Alright Comrade Generals, here is my layman's assessment. Full disclaimer about the folly of underestimating one's foes, but I feel highly confident about our position. We haven't experienced as many losses as I'd expected. Comrade General Callicrate opened the pocket in the south which seems to me to be a disaster for the enemy. As for me, they've basically left me alone. The only pressure I feel is the area south of Pskov, where the enemy seems hell bent for Velikye Luki, his ultimate goal being Moscow. In fact, that's how it appears to me: our enemies are emulating the strategy of Le Grande Empereur. That is, grab Moscow at any cost.
If that is their strategy, I'm well-pleased. Firstly, I have doubts that they'll make there. But secondly, while they are throwing their hammers at Comrade General King ( by the way, Stewart, party members have suggested changing your last name to something a little less ---er --pre-revolutionary), I'll be growing stronger and weightier and I'll be poised just to the north of the jugular, the rail through Smolensk.”

[thedoctorking]

There is a concentration of German armor north of the direct Riga-Velikiye Luki rail line, and it is possible that he plans to swing north in a surprise move. Those units appear to be all regiments, however, as visible both by the fact that they didn’t convert hexes in their ZOC and the low entrenchment levels that they achieved. They appear to be there to prevent a Soviet counterstroke towards the south rather than to push aggressively north themselves.
Giving credence to a northern strategy is the continued air assault on the port of Osinovets. Two raids of 40+ Ju88’s attacked the city this turn. Mig-3’s of 7 PVO Corps were in the air to meet them, and 8 fascist bombers met their end. The port suffered 5% damage.
No attempt was made to isolate or attack Riga. The units there will be free to move overland towards the main line of resistance and or dig in for a lengthy defense of the city, resupplied by sea as long as we hold Leningrad.
The main German armor in this sector is south of the Sorot/Velikaya river junction, either aiming for an indirect move behind Pskov or to push directly along the Velikiye Luki line. German infantry units have crossed the Dvina upriver from Riga and are also apparently heading for the upper Velikaya line along the road to Velikiye Luki.
Our response to this threat saw the 24th Army brought up from its reserve positions around Rzhev to garrison the Velikaya line south of the Sorot junction. Unfortunately the 22nd Army, originally stationed around Velikiye Luki, was called south for the unsuccessful counterattack in the Vitebsk sector – a problem with crossed signals of communication between North and Central commands. Therefore, Velikiye Luki is currently undefended. If there is a German armored corps somewhere back behind AGN’s lines that did an HQBU last turn, we could well have Germans in there next turn.
Another, less serious, mistake was the organization of the defense of Riga. We left two divisions in there, but did not garrison the hex to the southeast that is the only non river hexside of the city. It is now conceivable that a German infantry corps could move in there with enough MP for a deliberate attack on the city, capturing it next turn. This is not a critical mistake – the units there would retreat or rout and would be very unlikely to be destroyed. Still, an unfortunate tactical error that lessens the chance that we can hold Riga as a fortified outpost in their territory like Odessa to the south.

[thedoctorking]

The Central region was the site of an unsuccessful counterattack that unfortunately leaves a lot of our best guys vulnerable to a powerful German counterpunch. Since this appears to be the area of main German emphasis, this could be a significant failure. As the turn opened, there appeared to be a major opportunity. A possible panzer corps could be cut off in front of Minsk, and two other panzer corps HQ’s were vulnerable to being displaced, while two panzer divisions were way out front of their buddies and vulnerable, perhaps even to destruction.

[thedoctorking]

So we proceeded to try to implement this aggressive strategy. Pocketing the units in front of Minsk was easy. They turned out to be regiments, though, meaning that only one division was cut off. A panzer corps remains unaccounted for either in this sector or to the north, leaving open the possibility of an HQBU and a significant pocketing move.
The attack in the Vitebsk region did not go so well. At great expense, Zhukov was transferred to command of 13th Army, and all corps HQ’s under his command were disbanded. The three best 13th Army divisions went into the attack, supported by a ton of SU in the Army HQ. Failure.
The reason for the failed attack is unclear. The on-map reported CV was 16 Soviet to 9 Axis. We are playing with the +1 attack, so this should have ended up well over 2:1. The actual outcome was 1:1.44. I opened up the save game and ran the attack ten times, with ten Soviet successes. I did half of those attacks with the attacking units attached to Rifle Corps HQ’s, which were then subordinated to 13th Army, with no remarkable difference in the final CV. I did a few without Zhukov, with the mediocre original 13th Army commander. None of them were German successes. I can only think that crappy luck, especially lack of air support, was the key.

[thedoctorking]

Then, some other divisions were brought in, and once again, failure, even more dramatic this time. All the divisions that participated were almost out of movement points, making escape impossible. The army from Velikiye Luki, the 22nd, came down to at least encircle the division in Vitebsk, in the process leaving Velikiye Luki empty, a potentially critical mistake that I attribute to my dismay at the failure to the south. At least 20th Army took a useful rear guard position controlling the crossings of the Dnepr, which will force any German offensive north towards the upper Dvina.
The only thing that might save us in this sector is the fact that last turn’s supply deliveries to the forward German armor were probably pretty minimal, meaning that they won’t have too many movement points. Except, of course, for that corps we couldn’t locate, which might have done an HQBU.

[thedoctorking]

In the swamp region, the Germans made no effort to cut us off. It would have been a mistake, as suggested last turn, but it also demonstrates their lack of concern about destroying Soviet units. We continued to retreat and extracted a few units via rail to bolster defenses in the land bridge region.

[thedoctorking]

To the south, once again there appeared to be an opportunity. As anticipated, the Germans made a major sweeping movement to the south, encircling much of the remainder of SW Front. They made no effort to squeeze the pocket to the west. The pocket was held solidly by a line of armor and motorized regiments. Once again, with the +1 attack bonus, we thought we saw an opportunity to break the pocket at both ends and isolate the entire German armored force in Army Group South.