A Clash of Titans, Xhoel (Axis) vs Bitburger (Soviet)

[xhoel]

AGC

In front of Moscow the enemy gave little ground, shortening his line and relocating reserves elsewhere.

In the sector north of Moscow the enemy moved units into the corridor, using their usual hugging tactics to constrain our supply. Their thrusts were beaten back and the corridor was secured allowing us to extend the bridgehead further to the east. We now have a 30 mile wide crossing, with the town of Verbilki serving as a strong point of the defense of our gains. The fresh 7th Panzer Division managed to advance 20 miles east of the town before going on the defense in the wooded area there.
Further to the west, infantry divisions of the 9th Army cleared what was left of the Rzhev pocket and the city fell during the week.





In the sector south of Moscow the enemy launched a very powerful counterattack against our bridgehead over the Oka. Their assault faltered and they lost a massive amount of troops: 2.300 men dead and 152 tanks destroyed. The Panzergrenadiers managed to hold onto the bridgehead and the Panzerjager Battalions that were assigned to them last week played a crucial role in defeating the Soviet attack. Seeing how strong Soviet forces around the bridgehead were, 4th Army units assaulted over the river further south securing a secondary 20 mile bridgehead here.



Battle for the Bridgehead:





The 2nd Army keeps shifting formations to the north to cover the flank of the 4th Army. Its XII Corps dislodged the Soviet defenders north of Voronezh, tightening the ring on the city.





Moscow sector: before and after German moves:

[xhoel]

AGS

In the sector of AGS, the 3rd Panzer Division which had made a crossing across the Don last week was isolated by Soviet forces. The Soviets have moved numerous formations in order to block our advance across the Don and further north towards the Donets. The objective for AGS is the clearing of the Soviet pocket north of Rostov and the encirclement of the city in order for our infantry to capture it after the weather clears.



With the pocket clear our units moved towards the Don, where the infantry broke through the weak Soviet defenses. After that, the fresh XXXXVIII Panzer Division secured the bridgehead and moved to cut Soviet communication lines leading into Rostov. While the pocket on Rostov was closed, we missed an opportunity to enlargen the pocket as our units failed to enter the town of Azov in strength. As a result, 3 Soviet divisions will escape next week. The city however is doomed to fall, and with it the precious industry too.





The rest of our units further north, put pressure on the Soviet defenders south of the Donets but in terms of miles gained the results are lacking. We only managed to advance 10 miles, the biggest constrain right now being supplies and not enemy resistance.



The battered 3rd Panzer Division was pulled back from the line and will be sent for R&R. Next week the 1st Panzer Group will be pulled of the line (if possible) and will be sent to R&R and prepare for offensive operations when the weather clears. The LV Corps which was on R&R has managed to get all 3 of its Infantry Divisions up to full strength. The influx of green troops however has considerably lowered the experience of the divisions. This is especially noticeable when inspecting MG and rifle teams.

[xhoel]

Crimea

In the Crimea the XXX Corps broke through Soviet defenses west of Ak-Manay routing the defending Soviet units. In the direction of Sevastopol nothing new has happened yet. The Romanian formations there are in defensive posture. The main problem in the Crimea is the lack of supply due to the slow rail repair coming from the Ukraine. Something needs to be done soon to rectify the problem.

[xhoel]

Casualties and conclusions on the summer campaign:



The summer campaign was a successful one, albeit not to the degree we had expected. The Soviets have suffered in total 2.9 million casualties, of which 2.3 million (79%) are irreversible casualties (KIA and captured). An additional 560.000 are WIA/MIA. In addition to these manpower losses the enemy has lost approximately 39.500 guns of all calibers as well as 17.500 AFVs. In terms of units destroyed, the Soviets have lost 137 Rifle, 30 Armored, 16 Motorized, 12 Cavalry and 6 Mountain Divisions, along with various other formations. An additional 15 divisions (12 Rifle, 2 Cavalry and 1 Tank divisions) are encircled and will be destroyed as soon as the weather clears.

The heavy enemy resistance and failed attacks in certain sectors have taken a toll on our troops as well. We have lost 356.000 men of which 104.700 (29%) are irreversible (KIA and captured), 6.350 guns and 2.760 AFVs. We hope to use the break in the fighting to bring our formations to full strength, in preparation for the winter offensive.



In the air the Luftwaffe has decimated the VVS in a series of battles both offensively and defensively. The Soviets have lost 13.000 aircraft, while the LW has lost 1.600. Intelligence indicates that the Soviets only have 3.000 operational aircraft right now but those numbers will surely rise as the fighting slows down to a crawl in the following weeks. Our air groups are in top form right now and we are expected to play a major role in the winter offensive that will follow.



OOBs:

The Soviet OOB is suffering but it will be able to recover in the upcoming weeks. Intelligence estimates predict that the Soviets will add more than half a million men to their OOB before offensive operations can resume again. By November, the Soviet OOB is expected to reach 4.4-4.5 million men and also will see an increase in operational AFVs, aircraft and artillery tubes.



In term of actual objectives the Wehrmacht has performed quite well:

AGN completed it's objective and took Leningrad just before the weather turned bad.
AGC is within striking distance of Moscow and the city will be the main battleground of the winter.
AGS has captured Kiev, Kharkov and Stalino, has encircled Rostov and is withing striking distance of both Voronezh and Sevastopol. Once the weather clears, AGS will have the duty to capture Voronoezh and capture/isolate Sevastopol.

Objectives:

[xhoel]

That's about it for the summer campaign. I hope you guys have enjoyed it. I have not gone past T13 in so long so I'm into uncharted territory here. The hope is that we encircle Moscow and Voronezh and then we will switch on the defense. But as always advice and feedback is welcomed so let me know if you think that something needs to be changed about the AAR structure (too many pics, too much text etc) or about the strategy.

Best regards,
Xhoel

[SparkleyTits]

Your AFV numbers and manpower ratios are solid mate, well done.
Just over 8 times the kills and with your captured manpower centres your 42 will be well set up mate.
In your position trying to garrison as much as you can over winter will likely pay divedends for next year.
Soviet OOB is enough to threaten you for some control over winter but he is at least blunted enough to have to make choices on all out offensives or building up for 42 which he will need to balance well and think ahead on, both you can use to your advantage which is nice.

The realist in me says if I was in your position I would of been very tempted to halt all offensives this turn, build up my forts for winter and send all my AFV & selected infantry off to their winter homes.
In actuality though denying a Moscow snow brawl is always too tempting & I would of caved and had to try it too. All forces ahead!!! [:D]

This is a brilliant AAR and I am very excited to see it become a long standing game buddy

[xhoel]

Hey ST, thanks for the comments!
I plan to send as many forces as possible to their winter homes but first Moscow has to be taken care of. The offensive on Moscow is not only being done for the sake of taking the city itself but because the Soviets have a massive amount of troops deployed in the sector. If left to their own devices, they can be a major threat come December. I'd rather close the ring on the city, and eliminate as many units as possible before going on the defense. And if by some miracle, the city falls during this time, it will be an appreciated surprise.

[SparkleyTits]

Yeah it's definitely got a nice risk, reward so I understand completely.
It's all but impossible to deny the lure of Moscow even in the snows, it's the sweet sirens song none of us can ignore!

I hope it pays off bud but if it doesn't then completely selfishly it'll still make for a fun winter read [:D]

[xhoel]

That is a spot on description for Moscow really haha!

We will see. I do want to weaken the Soviets more before the winter actually kicks in but it is not like I have a lot of time to do so.

[SparkleyTits]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUfQUzPjDuI

The conundrum we all feel when infront of Moscow and a huge stack of Soviets [:D]

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: SparkleyTits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUfQUzPjDuI

The conundrum we all feel when infront of Moscow and a huge stack of Soviets [:D]

Hahaha [:D][:D]

[timmyab]

Excellent AAR.

Looks like a tough nut to crack. Not trying to put you off or anything, but I think the Soviets can hold it assuming non-random weather. The Oka bridgehead will be particularly tough to break out of. Good luck.

The battle of Moscow is about to begin. Hitler knows he must break us in this city or lose the war [:)]

[xhoel]

Thanks timmyab. I got the turn back yesterday and realized I have messed up a lot. Comes with the territory of being a noob I guess. Right now the offensive on Moscow isn't really looking like the best course of action. I will explain in detail when the AAR gets updated though!

[mouse707]

Nice AAR. Don't be swallowed by the deepness of Russia. Moscow is tempting but you have very few turns to achieve your movement. It seems quite risky

[xhoel]

Thanks. I have changed my mind in regards to Moscow due to developments in T18. Will see where we go from here.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: xhoel

Thanks. I have changed my mind in regards to Moscow due to developments in T18. Will see where we go from here.

So you changed to pursue Moscow now? Oh goodie. I will be waiting for some pictures if you did.

Thank you.

[xhoel]

T18, 16th of October-23rd of October 1941
Situation Overview and Evaluation

I know that usually AARs tend to skip the mud period of 1941 but considering what occurred during this turn I decided to include this turn and the others that follow to the AAR.

The Soviets exploited the empty space between our units to go on the offensive before the weather went bad last week. This has seen a major advance to the west, in the sector of the 2nd and 6th Army (trapping 3 Infantry divisions behind enemy lines) as well as in front of Moscow and on the Rzhev sector, where after a successful attack, Soviet forces have moved north, attempting to trap our armored formations located east of the Moscow-Volga Canal. These operations on the Soviet side have been more of a result of our mistakes in failing to ensure that we have a continuous front, therefore giving the enemy the opportunity to exploit our mistake to the fullest.

The arrival of the mud does not make the situation any easier. Army Group South has been hit the worst. In the Rostov sector, numerous formations have been isolated due to supply columns not being able to reach the front. A similar situation has occurred in the Crimea and in the Voronezh sector.

Offensives on Moscow and/or Voronezh are completely out of the question now.

AGN

In the sector of AGN the enemy has made small incursions to the west in the 16th Army sector south of Novogorod. These advances were checked by our units and a continuous front has been reestablished. The sector that is doing the worst supply wise is the Svir sector where several Finnish formations are cut off from supply. Little can be done for the Finns except to hope that their rail repair Battalions behind the front speed up their work in repairing rail lines. Next week, a number of Finnish formations will be departing the front. AGN has already worked out the details of which units will be taking their place.

The boundary between AGN and AGC has proven to be a problematic sector. Here the Soviets have exploited the gaps in our defense to advance west and have trapped 1 Infantry division (of the 9th Army) behind their lines. The gaps in our defenses have been closed by the quick deployment of 1 Panzer and 1 Infantry Division.
Before:



After:



Before:



After:

[xhoel]

AGC

The Soviets launched a successful attack at the feet of the Moscow-Volga Canal, and drove hard west, in an attempt to cut off supply to our spearheads located in the sector. Powerful local counterattacks by our formations lead to the shattering of 1 Cavalry Division and forced a Rifle Division to retreat thus reestablishing a 30 mile long corridor. Our armored formations have been pulled off the front line and will be sent to the rear for R&R in the following weeks.





Circled in black, failed Soviet attacks, in red, successful ones.

In front of Moscow and on the Oka the enemy has made advances too. They were quickly checked by our troops. No more surprises are expected in this sector.

Before and after:





The sector of the 2nd Army is where things are really FUBAR. The Soviets have trapped 2 Infantry Divisions behind their lines and there are no units in the vicinity which can control their advance. There is a 150 mile wide front open for business. Reinhards Panzer Corps has been railed to Orel immediately and one Hungarian Mobile Brigade has left its garrison in Kursk and is headed to the front.

Before and after:

[xhoel]

AGS

In the Voronezh sector, the enemy has crossed the Don in 3 places and cannot be pushed back. Our units have been split up in regiments to create some sort of wall and hinder further advance.





The most concerning sector of AGS is the one located north-east of Gorlovka, where the enemy not only has trapped one Infantry division, but has concentrated at least 15 cavalry divisions ready to exploit the situation. There are no reserves in this sector except for the Rumanians that have already been dispatched. The only thing that eases our mind here is that the Soviet logistics are as stretched as ours.





In the Rostov sector, our units have given ground to the enemy and some formations have been pulled back in order to remain in supply. One Soviet Cavalry Division which had left Rostov in order to complicate our supply situation was destroyed during the week. Fuel has been flown in for 1 Panzer and 1 Motorized Division in order to allow them to retreat west and be put on R&R. Hopefully the rail repair will improve the situation soon.





Crimea

The situation in the Crimea is just as bleak as everywhere else. The XXX Corps has ordered its units to pull back, leaving only the 92nd Airlanding Division to hold their postions on Ak Manay.
Several Romanian formations have been pulled back as well. Only a thin screening of 3 divisions remains in front of Sevastopol.

[SparkleyTits]

This is giving me some unwelcome flashbacks of the first time this happened to me too, it's a quite a shock to say the least [X(]
On the good side though I am damn well sure it's something you will never let happen again after experiencing it once [:D]