FITE v.5.0 Ian Soviets larry Axis

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 44

All the action this turn is down South where the Cavalry of the Southern Front continue to have success, breaking through the lines of the cut off pocket South West of Melitopol and encircling the 3rd Romanian Army's Mountain Division which then is overwhelmed by hordes of Cossacks on all sides and ceases to exist.
The 198th Infantry Division is also badly mauled and hopefully the rest of the Division along with the 68th can be finished off before winter.

The situation elsewhere remains stable. Larry mentioned in the diplo message he managed 88 attacks but only gained a single hex so my boys are doing well on the defence.

My reinforcements have slowed for now so I have had to strip a couple of Armies from the reserve line West of Moscow and they have been given orders for the front in the hope the advantage in Shock attack during the forthcoming winter may provide an opportunity to blunt the Germans further.

Just before winter I will do a full audit of losses and replacement availability so I can see if a Winter Offensive is viable. My impression from seeing the results of my bombardments is that the Germans must be coming under some pressure with Heavy Infantry squad losses as Soviet Artillery has hit pretty hard with the lines being so stable but as yet I am not seeing any notably weakened German u it's so maybe not.

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 45

Larry has apparently brought up a lot of artillery to the front lines along the Dnepr as there is a turn of heavy bombardment along with assaults on isolated salients which force individual rifle Divisions back, particularly along the central sector North of Kiev.

There is also a concerted attempt to relieve the German pocket in the car South North of Genishesk where The Soviets broke out from the Crimea but this is just thwarted by the Soviet Cavalry who hold off the Rumanian counter attack with some difficulty.

The above counter attack adds urgency to the task of eliminating the pocket and a full assault by combined arms is launched on the surrounded Germans and by turn end after furious fighting the entire 198th and 68th Divisions have ceased to exist.

In the North the 1st Guards Army supported by Armour crosses the River Luga and seizes Os'mino cutting off a good portion of 3rd Panzer Armee including it's HQ and much of 2nd Reichsfuhrer Division.

In the air Soviet bombers again concentrated on trying to degrade the concentration of German artillery raining down on the defenders of Kiev whilst Soviet fighters had another good turn against the Luftwaffe with German losses again higher than Soviet.

The partisans once again disappoint as Larry seems to have them bottled up out of harm's way.

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 46

More bombardment from the Germans and minor advances again between Gomel and Smolensk which is still the area of greatest stress.The Germans counter attack against the salients on the west side of the lower Dnepr continue and Smela is retaken from Soviet Cavalry.

A major success for Operation Quagmire however as following the crossing of the Dnepr north and south of Kanev the remaining German Division holding the bridge, the 157th is overrun and totally destroyed after fighting back several attacks. This will provide a more reliable supply corridor for the Soviet forces fighting on the west of the Dnepr.

In the north the Dauntless naval bombers hit German naval forces again off Narva that continue to bombard Soviet defence lines and manage to sink 4 destroyers.

Also in the north the encirclement of the 3rd Panzer Armee and 2nd SS Reichsfuhrer Divn near Os'mino is maintained and the pocket is bombarded and subjected to attritional attacks.

The supply lines to AGS in the south are attacked by strategic bombers whilst other Soviet bombers hit German airfields to good effect.

[larryfulkerson]

A couple of partisans have appeared up north near Pskov and I think I have them contained. I'll be rid of them shortly.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the beginning of the end. Ian has driven his Soviet units across the river and has forced another breakthrough. I have no units nearby to challenge them so I expect this break to be the one that wins the game for Ian. I want to keep going though just to see if I can recover from this. I suspect not.

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 47

Larry successfully bottles up my latest crossing of the Dnepr pulling in troops from nearby and this turn I deliberately let go of the throttle trying to let artillery in particular build up prior to the winter which starts in a couple of turns and gives the Soviets a temporary shock advantage.

There is a continued offensive in the north taking out more or the 3rd Panzer Armee and 166th Division south of the river Luga though Larry has managed to fight his way through the cordon around them to extricate some units.

The Soviet air force remains active hitting more airfields, concentrating predominantly on the south where bridges and the rail artillery outside Odessa are also targeted.

Larry once again destroyed pretty much any partisan that moved so the boys on the front lines are on their own again.

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 48...3rd December 1941

Last turn before Soviet Winter is due and Larry contents himself with bombarding the Soviet lines from a distance so no assaults are made.

The news string announces that Soviet production is geared up and supply level increase by +2 as Allied lend/lease begins.

In response to German bombardment the Soviets again deploy the air force to good effect with regard to the long range bombers who manage to hit more airfields in the south and the US naval bombers whose Dauntlesses manage to sink two more Finnish destroyers leaving just the larger Kriegsmarine contingent shelling Soviet lines from the sea. Minor Soviet shelling takes place against Finnish troops across the border north of Leningrad and German positions on the Dnepr.

The only assaults are made in the north where a fruitless attempt is made to break through German lines held by SS Totenkopf and 8th Panzer Division units but the assault is repulsed with significant losses on both sides.

Next turn the Soviets will get a slight shock advantage but Larry has dug in well along the lines and it will be interesting to see if any breakthroughs can actually be made.

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 49

Technically the first turn of winter though shock levels actually only equalise this turn to 100 each on both air and land. Given that in addition Larry has brought up what appears to be every artillery piece ever manufactured in the Reich to just behind his front line there will be no breakthrough this turn at least. Instead orders are given for total concentration of air assets by the soviet bombing wing on airfields to reduce interdiction and on counter battery fire by Soviet artillery to reduce support for front line German formations.

As always the Romanian and Slovak air forces are hit hardest in the south and several squadrons are wiped out but despite 125 bombardment attacks being launched there are only heavy casualties inflicted on German ground forces in a couple of places.

This will not be a quick war I think.

In addition Soviet forces remain under pressure in the central areas and indeed the crossings over the Dnepr that have led to several salients are also under some strain...

This is by no means one way traffic........

[MikeJ19]

Very interesting stuff. I really enjoy your reports!

[devoncop]

Thanks Mike.

Fun to do and help with keeping track of what I am trying to do !

[devoncop]

Turn 50....10th December 1941

A quick inventory check reveals the following snapshot:

Not having played this scenario before the numbers to me seem ok but others may know different !

1) Heavy Rifle Squads:

On hand ....11888
Assigned.... 6453
Lost........ 4744
Rate........ 729 per turn


2) Early T34/76's

On hand.... 743
Assigned... 2854
Lost....... 1096
Rate....... 153 per turn


3) Yak 1's

On hand.... 3887
Assigned... 379
Lost....... 303
Rate....... 188 per turn

It should be noted that as of last turn Lend Lease started kicking in and the first Hurricanes and Spitfires started arriving which should improve Soviet fighter performance.

If anyone is interested in losses of any particular squad types let me know and I will add those details.

The press from the Germans against Soviet positions around Smolensk and Kiev and the Dnepr North of Smolensk continues and the Soviet lines are definitely taking some punishment from artillery but there is no meaningful shift.

During the Soviet Turn there is more degrading of the Romanian Airforce in the South and after heavy artillery and air attack the 19th Army supported by 25th Mechanized Corps forces it's way back into Kremechug on the lower Dnepr North West of Dnepropetovsk.

The Soviet artillery is busy also in the North but another attack against SS troops on the River Luga fails despite both artillery and air support.

Once again air losses are in favour of the Soviets and it is hoped the Germans are feeling the pressure on this front at least.

[devoncop]

Turn 51....14th December 1941

The Germans renew their assault on Perekop at the entrance to the Crimea but are repulsed but there is very heavy fighting around Kiev and Smolensk and more ground is gained as Soviet NKVD troops are pushed back leaving the German 262nd Division and Grossdeutchland Division only 10Km from Kiev city centre.

In response STAVKA authorises the release of Strategic reserves from around Rzhev and five Armies move towards the Front. In addition, the 4th Shock Army is railed down to Kiev from the more stable Northern Front.

Heavy casualties are caused to German Heavy howitzer batteries outside both Kiev and Dnepropetovsk.

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 52....17th December 1941

As Christmas 1941 approaches the German actions this turn are largely restricted to bombardment but it is gratifying to note that the attacks are now only causing 2-3% casualties in the main which is much less than previously so it may be the counter battery fire is having some effect.

The final planned phase of Operation Quagmire swings into action with the main prize the pocketing of large numbers of German troops in the Dnepropetovsk salient. The invaluable Soviet pontoons are again thrown across the lower Dnepr and and hope is that the diversionary attacks slightly to the North have already pulled in what Axis reserves are in the area.

The 9th and 16th Panzer Division and 110th Infantry Division with supporting artillery are cut off by two crossings of The Dnepr to the North and South by Infantry, Cavalry and tanks and just to the south elements of the 3rd and 4th Rumanian Armies and the 297th and 73rd Infantry Divisions are also surrounded at Zaporozhe.....if these pockets can be maintained and the trapped troops eliminated this would be a huge development for the Southern Front.

In the far North the Finnish Navy games over from the Kriegsmarine off Barca bombarding my lines so the US Dauntlesses are sent back into the fray and a battleship and 3 destroyers are sunk.

Finally the 4th Shock Army finally manages to push back German defenders to the eastern end of the Luga river line in the North though a strong Panzer presence may prevent further advances.

[larryfulkerson]

As you can see the red dots have slipped across the river and have surrounded a lot of the Axis forces in the corner where the rivers meet. This is an alarming complication and spells real trouble. The tide of the war has definately turned. And the worst part of this is that the Soviet Winter Offensive hasn't started yet. Ian has been making a lot of good moves lately.

[MikeJ19]

Larry,

That does not look good for you. I do not see any forces you can use to plug this hole. This is going to be interesting.

[devoncop]

ORIGINAL: MikeJ19

Larry,

That does not look good for you. I do not see any forces you can use to plug this hole. This is going to be interesting.

Hi Mike

I hope you are right but
I wouldn't be too sure.

Each time I have launched cross river probes Larry has managed to bus guys in quickly enough to contain things but I am hoping the earlier moves may have swallowed up the AGS reserves.........we will both soon find out [;)]

[MikeJ19]

Ian,

Hopefully, he does not have any real reserves left and that is a very big hole.

If you can quickly destroy the units you have surrounded, you may be able to a lot of damage to his line...

Have fun

[devoncop]

Soviet Turn 53

I open the turn with much anticipation to find...........

The breakthrough has not been blocked at last ! A few AA units and Military Police have been thrown in front of the extremities of the break to north and south but otherwise the route west appears relatively clear.

I am racing reinforcements in the form of Tank Brigades and Cavalry in the main that had been held in reserve back in Stalingrad to the area and Rifle Divisions are taken from second line positions further up the Dnepr to bolster the corden. Spearheads make it as far west as Nikopol but are stopped by determined resistance from dug in Military Police.

Elsewhere the 4th Shock Army in the north manages to push the Germans further back south of the River Luga but the intensity of the fighting burns up a lot of the turn.

Artillery fire and heavy bombing raids have started to reduce the Dnepropetovsk pocket and I am now hoping the cordon is strong wnough to prevent a break out.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a T54 close up of the area of Soviet intrusion and you can see how much worse it is than last time. My defenders are being pushed aside and destroyed and the Soviets are spreading out and expanding the footprint. I need to fly in a lot of planes for the CS they might provide. I'm parking units on the bridges to the west just in case I need to drop the bridge(s). Ian is obviously railing units into the AO so I'm wondering if I ought to pull the Rumanians out of the Crimea before they get cut off.

[MikeJ19]

Larry,

I was thinking the same thing. Also, could your breakout attempts be focused on the roads? This should help you and slow down Ian.

Have fun,