Der Ivan kommt!

[Dinglir]

Turn one.

[SparkleyTits]

Axis turn 1 in AGN makes for a rather suboptimal move towards Pskov I would definitely hold there hard there with his opening if Lenin was my objective as you'll have plenty of time to fort up and get all your reserve activations ready for the first Axis assault!
The only issue is the route leading W of Pskov seems abandoned as that hex alone can buy you a turn or two making it very hard to assault that hinge before the infantry show up if the Soviets chose it but hopefully Huw won't go for it and will instead go for your checkboard as he does seem unfocused and spread out with his panzers, fingers crossed he does not jump on the opening!
The usage of Axis infantry MP is also unfocused meaning they aren't going to be set up to support the panzers in the Pskov area until turn 4

I agree with your Soviet air analysis
With opponents of equal skill level the Soviets don't have a very hard time to win in my experience and I am probably one of the laziest air users to boot, putting in as little effort as it required with them [:D]

[821Bobo]

To much reading for me so I will just briefly comment on center. You should have defended Dneper around Mogilev. Panzers can deffinitely reach and cross on T2.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

+1 follow. Always love the "Dinglir Manuscript". It should be on everyones read & comment list

[HardLuckYetAgain]

Dinglir

Meanwhile, in the center I am going to run, run and then run some more. I intend to establish my first real defense in the area around Smolensk and then let it gradually stiffen all the way to Moscow. This way, the Germans will be at a stiff disadvantage to their supply system once the battle is joined for real. It will also allow me to pour the initial resources north into the defense of Leningrad.

Smolensk is a bit tough for a real defense from my findings. Even with decent forts in that open terrain you will be hard pressed around Smolensk. Will be interested in seeing your results here.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

You are staying close in the south. I hope this works out well for you. I railed out all my units in the south my last game.

[EwaldvonKleist]

Great that you have decided to write a new book. I will not have time to read everything in the next week but be assured my interest and catch-up reading eventually!
Opening is solid but not extremely optimized, should give you some room to breath at Leningrad.
Regards
EvK

[MattFL]

Looking forward to this one.

Personally, I wouldn't have stood in the south the way you are and would have hopped all the biggest baddest units on the rails to the north and occupied Kiev and the Dnepr now giving up everything west of that. You are fortunate that his opening didn't net more of your units down there, no sense giving Huw another crack at them. You're even more fortunate that he failed to flip hexes running east, so his infantry isn't going to be able to threaten the Dnepr/Kiev until Turn 4 at the earliest, but which time you could be well entrenched and force him to head to the southeast route. But his panzers may still be able to net a bunch of your guys in their current positions, so will have to wait and see what happens down there.

I'm also not a big fan of the checkerboard style picket lines in the north and center if only because they are too far west. I like putting out some pickets around 2 hexes ahead of my main line, but that far forward and i think they all get encircled without really slowing anything down.

Looking forward to the next manuscript!

Huw Jones has been playing a long time, so I'm sure you'll get a good game from him (though i do remember him mostly playing Soviets from past AAR's....)

[Huw Jones]

ORIGINAL: MattFL

Looking forward to this one.

Personally, I wouldn't have stood in the south the way you are and would have hopped all the biggest baddest units on the rails to the north and occupied Kiev and the Dnepr now giving up everything west of that. You are fortunate that his opening didn't net more of your units down there, no sense giving Huw another crack at them. You're even more fortunate that he failed to flip hexes running east, so his infantry isn't going to be able to threaten the Dnepr/Kiev until Turn 4 at the earliest, but which time you could be well entrenched and force him to head to the southeast route. But his panzers may still be able to net a bunch of your guys in their current positions, so will have to wait and see what happens down there.

I'm also not a big fan of the checkerboard style picket lines in the north and center if only because they are too far west. I like putting out some pickets around 2 hexes ahead of my main line, but that far forward and i think they all get encircled without really slowing anything down.

Looking forward to the next manuscript!

Huw Jones has been playing a long time, so I'm sure you'll get a good game from him (though i do remember him mostly playing Soviets from past AAR's....)

Starting playing Germans a couple of months or so ago.

[Dinglir]

A few comments on the remarks you have all done so far (I'll lob them into one rather than trying to answer each of you seperately).

The North:
I credit the checkerboard defense using Airborne Brigades and NKVD Units to HardLuck, who demonstrated it to me rather well in our last game. I have no idea if he can actually claim credit for the idea, but I found that it works well for delaying the German advance.

I instinctively dislike sending all my units to Pskov to create a strong defense here. I don't really know why, but I prefer delaying the Germans here rather than trying to actually stop them. I have a feeling that doing so is considered to be a stronger move than it actually is, because noone has really found the proper way to beat it yet. I have some ideas I hope to try out when I get around to playing the Axis again.

The Center:
I have never really seen the Germans crossing the Dnepr on round two, and I am not so sure I like it. Such a move would leave the Panzers very short of fuel and very far from the backup infantry. If the Soviets rail in massive reinforcements, I fear that it may bite the Germans really hard. But as I said, I have never seen it done, so all this is just speculation on my part.

The South:
My last game against Sparkley, he decided to stay close in the south, and my Panzers got involved in a massive tanke battle running for four or five turns west of Kiev. I was very thankful, that Sparkley did not combine staying so close with defending the Rumanian Rail line. If he had left just a few divisions in place, I would have been forced to either give up the tank battle at Kiev, give up advancing the rail line on schedule or else split my forces risking a bit of both. As I largely used my rail capacity for other things this game, I wished to present the Axis with a tough choice between their targets. You will have to judge for yourself over the coming three turns or so, if that was a success.

Strategic: Huw is certainly no push over. Being six turns in, I am nailbiting every time I give the turn back to him. I consider myself quite "rusty", and I hope to get myself back in shape over the first ten to twenty turns, so that I'll be able to present a game with some fewer flaws.

[821Bobo]

The Center:
I have never really seen the Germans crossing the Dnepr on round two, and I am not so sure I like it. Such a move would leave the Panzers very short of fuel and very far from the backup infantry. If the Soviets rail in massive reinforcements, I fear that it may bite the Germans really hard. But as I said, I have never seen it done, so all this is just speculation on my part.

It is long time I played Axis but I have been always trying to get across on T2. Yes, 1-2 Panzer divisions will be most probably pinned down and out of fuel on the east bank, but on the other side having bridgehead will put Soviets out of balance. In the first few turns there is not enough units for proper defense and blocking bridgehead can consume a lot. As a result Soviets will be weaker on other places. Leningrad approaches, landbridge etc.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: Dinglir


The North:
I credit the checkerboard defense using Airborne Brigades and NKVD Units to HardLuck, who demonstrated it to me rather well in our last game. I have no idea if he can actually claim credit for the idea, but I found that it works well for delaying the German advance.

I can not claim checkerboard defense at all. Others way before me demonstrated the technique. I just have my take on it is all.

[821Bobo]

Yep, checkerboard is here from day one.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: 821Bobo

Yep, checkerboard is here from day one.

I did use a checkboard defense in the Board game, "Fire in the East" back in 1984, does that count? ;-P

[Huw Jones]

ORIGINAL: 821Bobo

The Center:
I have never really seen the Germans crossing the Dnepr on round two, and I am not so sure I like it. Such a move would leave the Panzers very short of fuel and very far from the backup infantry. If the Soviets rail in massive reinforcements, I fear that it may bite the Germans really hard. But as I said, I have never seen it done, so all this is just speculation on my part.

It is long time I played Axis but I have been always trying to get across on T2. Yes, 1-2 Panzer divisions will be most probably pinned down and out of fuel on the east bank, but on the other side having bridgehead will put Soviets out of balance. In the first few turns there is not enough units for proper defense and blocking bridgehead can consume a lot. As a result Soviets will be weaker on other places. Leningrad approaches, landbridge etc.

I have done it as well and also think its worthwhile.

Although you will have to wait to Turn 2 to see if I have done it in this game.

[Dinglir]

Turn two.

[Telemecus]

Dinglir
In order to do this, I have gone over the Air Regiments type by type, noting how many replacement aircraft is available and setting up the correct number of Air Regiments to receive replacements (ordered by experience). In the instances where I have to few replacement aircraft available, I have set the most
experienced Air Regiments to automatically upgrade the aircraft type.

I noted before you posted this might be a bad process as it ends up leaving a tail of near empty other airgroups - is this a change of policy or are there different reasons here?

[MattFL]

Nice update, keep 'em coming.

As for the encircled MOT division in Estonia, he'll definitely get away and my guess is if HJ wants he could try to encircle or zoc lock your 2=5 and 5=5 in the process potentially drawing you into a fight with some of your best units that you don't really want. But this requires a totally wasted turn or even two of PZ Division movement into an area that PZ's shouldn't even really be in delaying any real attack on anything meaningful. It's shocking to see your High CV soviet units in and around that area. It almost forces him to rescue that MOT unit or face serious attack and possible disaster if he remains encircled as you have the CV there to put a real hurt on him. So all in all you have put him to a decision. Of course another option for him is to just ignore your big CV Units and try to smash through the PSKOV line to the western hex of PSKOV while flipping hexes for his infantry next turn and then put you to a decision of whether to pull your big CV units out or risk getting them caught out there even if they rout the MOT unit.

So right now he has a difficult decision to make but my guess is that next turn you'll have a difficult decision to make. If I'm SHC in this situation, no way I risk losing my best units in a stand up fight with panzers in Estonia. The threat of it is enough to make him act, then the right play is pull them back to safety.


In the south, German Panzers seem to be attacking towards Bucharest. [:D]

[Dinglir]

ORIGINAL: Telemecus

Dinglir
In order to do this, I have gone over the Air Regiments type by type, noting how many replacement aircraft is available and setting up the correct number of Air Regiments to receive replacements (ordered by experience). In the instances where I have to few replacement aircraft available, I have set the most
experienced Air Regiments to automatically upgrade the aircraft type.

I noted before you posted this might be a bad process as it ends up leaving a tail of near empty other airgroups - is this a change of policy or are there different reasons here?

The idea is that all those empty or near empty Air Units will be sitting in the National Reserve waiting for aircraft numbers to be available for replacements.

I have never tried this particular strategy before playing as the Soviets, but I would like to try actually making my airforce capable from the beginning of the game. I guess that having four Air Regiments of 15 fighters is better than having six Air Groups of 10 each. This game, I set out to test my theory.

[Dinglir]

ORIGINAL: MattFL
So right now he has a difficult decision to make but my guess is that next turn you'll have a difficult decision to make. If I'm SHC in this situation, no way I risk losing my best units in a stand up fight with panzers in Estonia. The threat of it is enough to make him act, then the right play is pull them back to safety.

I believe this game is all about making the other guy face some difficult decisions, as that makes the chances of him making errors that much bigger. Setting up my units this turn, I was very conscious of the risk of losing high CV divisions, as I certainly did not want to do so.

As for HJ's thoughts on the situation, I guess we can only hope for him to comment (hint, hint).