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

[xhoel]

AGC

German forces in front of Moscow have started giving chase to retreating Soviets formations. A line of regiments remains in the rear to hold the Volokolamsk fortified line. They will gradually be substituted by fortified zones. German forces are now withing 20 miles of Moscow.



In the Ryazan sector the Soviets surprised us with their move. Instead of pulling their forces back as we had expected, the enemy ordered their forward units to hold their ground and attack the enveloping German units in coordination with arriving Cavalry and Tank Corp reserves. The Soviets prove victorious in a hard fought battle on the swamps and manage to push back 1 Panzer division and 1 Motorized division.

The Soviet reserves have arrived in strength, 5 Guard Cavalry Corps as well as 6 Tank Corps are present in the area as well as multiple Guard Rifle divisions.

The plan for the week had 1 goal: to encircle the strong Soviet units that are in contact with our line and secure the said pockets. The Soviets prove resilient to the attacks, constantly causing more casualties to our advancing units than they are taking themselves. However against the sheer force of the motorized and panzer formations they are forced to give way. All Tank Corps are forced back with 3 of them routing in the process. Numerous other Soviet forces have been forced to retreat as well. We have secured the pockets and we are hoping that our units will manage to keep them sealed but the enemy is far too strong in the area and has far too many units here for us to be sure about our success.

In the Tambov sector our forces continue attacks on weak Soviet forces and are advancing slowly.

Positions at the start of the week:



Infantry is the king in dense terrain (swamp). Soviet Guard Rifle Corps CV doubles to reach a stunning 645.



Positions after German moves:





Moscow sector overview:

[xhoel]

AGS

In the sector of the 2nd Hungarian Army and in front of Stalingrad we have launched attacks targeting weak Soviet forces and have had success in pushing them back and destroying fortifications in the process.

2nd Hungarian Army sector before and after:





Stalingrad sector before and after:





Further to the South the enemy managed to break the encirclement that we had established last week by launching a counterattack by 3 Tank Corps. The lone panzer regiment had no other choice but to pull back. However this is nothing but a delay as the fate of the Soviet defenders has already been sealed. After multiple attacks the pocket was resealed again, this time, there is no chance the Soviets will be able to break it. 16 Rifle Divisions, 2 AT- Artillery Brigades, 1 Tank Corps and 1 Naval Rifle Brigade are trapped in the pocket. Soviet forces in the area appear to be quite weak.

In the Voroshilovsk and Krasnodar sectors we initiate small scale attacks probing Soviet defenses. The line north of Voroshilovsk is very weakly defended but we do not have the forces to exploit this opportunity yet while the Soviet line in the mountains around the port of Tuapse is rock solid and will not be moved unless we really concentrate units here. Meanwhile the 11th Army has reached Krasnodar and will soon be thrown into action.

Pocket before and after:





I accidentally moved the panzer division into a ZOC-ZOC hex when i was trying to attack. Bad misclick and quite annoying.

Voroshilovsk sector:





Krasnodar sector:





Two good holds in the area by the Soviets.

[xhoel]

Casualties

This week has seen the lowest losses for the Soviets so far only 72.650 men lost. On the other hand AFV losses have been quite high as the Soviet mobile reserves are being thrown into action.

Losses in the air have been quite high for us this week, 206 aircraft lost to the Soviet 453.

[TunganNinja]

Excellent work so far! All of your efforts are rapidly approaching a crescendo.

Now that you are north of the Volga in force, I see a significant opportunity in the North that is practically beginning to be exploited. Bear with me here, and please tell me why this would or wouldn’t work...

I see two salients at this time: the Moscow salient, and the Cherepovets salient. Both are supplied by a single rail line. Both have significant overextended forces (I count approximately 40 or more divisions on frontlines West of Cherepovets!) Both salients’ rail lines are relatively close to your spearhead MLRs (The Cherepovets to Voldoga rail section is 70 miles to interdict, and 80 miles to cut! Compare that with Kovrov which is 60/70 miles respectively.

A further look at the situation in the North is where the real gold lies. Despite the interruptions to the rail this turn near VV, the northern spearhead is capable of being better supplied at the current range. A lunge to cut the rail would only be moderately far from rail, and would disappear if a path can be drawn to Finnish lines. And a most critical difference, the enemy is not dug in along the path to cutting the northern rail! Consider the enormous rail transport cost involved in bringing in troops to cover your advance. Also consider the fact that half of the Soviet forces West of Cherepovets, in the SouthWest, are too far from rail for immediate evacuation. Even if evacuation was possible, all of this rail use, combined with the reinforcing of Soviet forces to prevent cutting the rail, brings these two things away from Moscow to a less important part of the front.

Ironically, this is a distraction that will benefit you more: you have the initiative; he has to react without fortification to help hiim; it will cause mass panic on his northernmost frontlines; and you otherwise have a very low ability to reach Kovrov from a northern axis of advance; so a Cherepovets offensive would be a effective use of their positioning.

I don’t know if my proposal is radical to you. But I am begging you to consider. I understand that a low resolution understanding of the front would be critical of diverting troops from an encirclement on Moscow, but I hope I have convinced you otherwise. I will leave because I have said enough. Also I am on my phone.

Cheers,
Tungan

[MattFL]

Really interesting update Xhoel. Most interesting is the Soviet decision to give up their level 3 Forts west of Moscow and pull back to the city. To me, this is akin to capitulation of the city. I still believe your northern thrust by Moscow is incredibly vulnerable, but as i'm not playing the game I have no idea of the actual reality of the Soviet Situation. Clearly he thinks Moscow is a goner, so that speaks volumes.

The surrounding of the Soviet Guards on your southern Moscow Pincer is disastrous for Stalin. But this is what happens when the Russian advances massively powerful guards formations into the teeth of the Germans and protects their rear with a CV 6 unit in a swamp. X+ CV out in front, 6 CV protecting. And this is an ALT CV game. Is the Russian mad?

It's a great AAR, I really enjoy your AAR style, but this is academic at this point.

[xhoel]

@TunganNinja: Destroying the Cherepovets salient is my objective for when snow begins. I cannot divert forces there now since that would require a lot of units and that would come at the expense of not taking Moscow which is my primary goal. Not to mention the amount of time it would take to cut the enemy off, secure the pocket and destroy it.

Any Soviet player would gladly trade in 40 low quality divisions in order to save Moscow. The flaw in your plan is that you believe the Soviets will move units from Moscow to the north. I guarantee you that they won't. The second I loosen up my grip on Moscow, Bitburger will breathe a sigh of relief.

I think you have misunderstood my intentions for the northern spearhead. Their goal is not to reach Kovrov. They simply have to advance to meet up with the forces that are coming up from the south.

So to recap, I intend to do what you have proposed, but not now. I will rather wait for Moscow to fall and for snow turns to arrive. Moscow has priority over all offensive operations and that will not change for anything. I really appreciate you proposing it though, it is nice to hear peoples proposals.

@MattFL: The Soviets have level 3 forts in front of Moscow too and Bitburger knows my best units are located on the flanks. Them pulling back to interior lines is a smart choice as it allows them to create reserves since the frontline now is much shorter. It would be a mistake to think that Moscow is lost and I do not think the Soviets believe that (for that matter neither do I). From where I am sitting the operation can go either way now. The Axis are running on borrowed time.

I partially agree with you on your second comment. However you should notice that the X+ CV means nothing considering the forces he has in the vicinity. Look at post #621 and you will see that the Soviets managed to force a retreat of 2 units that had a defending CV of 126 (so X+).

The fact that he didn't pull those units back but chose to counterattack shows you how aggressively the Soviets are playing. By doing that he has delayed my advance by a whole week.

I am crossing my fingers and praying to the gods of war so that the pockets can hold. If they don't, that will mean another week of resealing them and 1 more week delay in advancing forward. But I hope they can hold.

Thanks for the kind words, it is nice to hear people are enjoying it, God knows I spend way too much time writing this up and organizing all the screenshots.

[chaos45]

your doing a bang up job on the AAR.

One thing I would mention is don't discount taking ground in the south...every dot city or better with a manpower point you take weakens the soviets and gives you more Hiwis for the long game.

[xhoel]

Thanks for the kind words chaos45! That is in my plans but Stalingrad and Moscow have priority right now.

[mouse707]

Any advance in this game ?

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: mouse707

Any advance in this game ?

Turn 63 update is coming soon. Expect a nice big haul on POWs!

[xhoel]

T63, 27th of August-3rd of September 1942.
AGN

The enemy has pulled back on a wide front from the Cherepovets salient, choosing to shorten their lines. Our forces give chase and have managed to catch up with them as well as push back several enemy formations.





Axis attacks marked in black.

In the Yaroslavl sector the enemy has moved their best units north of the Volga and counterattacked successfully recovering 20 miles (2 hexes) in quick fashion. It appears that the Soviets want to protect the rail line leading into Yaroslavl at all costs.

Our forces launched attacks in two directions this week, aiming to trap the strong Soviet forces west of Yaroslavl in a ZOC lock. After heavy fighting especially in the south, we have managed to do so. Among the ZOC locked units are 3 Guard Rifle Corps and 1 Guard Cavalry Corps. However our positions both north and south are vulnerable to Soviet counterattacks and we expect heavy attacks.

More infantry formations are moving to the front in the sector. As soon as Stalingrad falls, the OKH plans to release a Panzer Corp for operations in this sector. Meanwhile the GD Motorized division has begun filling up its ranks. It sits at 72% TOE and the morale from all the influx of new recruits has dropped 6 points (from 99 to 93).

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after German moves:



Notice the heavy losses from the battle shown above:



GD Motorized Division:

[xhoel]

AGC

German forces in front of Moscow continue their advance slowly, destroying enemy fortifications and recovering terrain. Several attacks were launched this week, aimed at pushing back weak Soviet forces.

Moscow start of the week:



After German moves:



The pockets that were formed last week held even though the Soviets launched a strong counterattack aimed at reliving their trapped forces. The heroic defense of the LVI Panzer Corps however managed to stop the Soviets and the outer perimeter was held.

Due to the strength of the trapped forces and the favorable defensive terrain, a lot of infantry formations were committed to the clearing of the pockets. While this operation was successful, the commitment of so many infantry divisions to the task meant that the burden of the fighting to advance forward was left to our armored formations.

Nevertheless they were able to advance forward 20 miles and create a corridor that will need to be reinforced next week. The main goal right now is to press forward as fast as possible, to retain the initiative and to deny the enemy a chance to build fortified lines. Local encirclements are to be discouraged unless they do not hinder the general advance.

Our units are now a mere 50 miles from Kovrov and we expect the Soviets to launch some strong counterattacks to delay our advance. The arrival of the Infantry units will be vital to the offensive in this sector.

The other sectors of the front were quiet this week as we are thinning the lines here to send more forces north for the big push. Nothing of value to be reported save for a couple of small attacks.

Kovrov sector start of the week:



Kovrov sector after German moves:



Moscow sector overview:



Penza sector after:



2nd Hungarian Army sector before and after:

[xhoel]

AGS

Soviet partisans have launched attacks against rail lines in several key locations however the fact that we have multiple lines running means that they have not managed to cut off the supply of our formations fighting at the front.



Circled in red are the locations of Partisan Battalions.

The pocket south of Stalingrad held and our Rumanian Allies (and Italians) were tasked with clearing most of it, which they did successfully. German asisstance was needed in some positions but all and all the Rumanian forces were the main force behind the clearing showing how useful they are to the cause. At the end of the fighting we took around 125.000+ POWs.

In their already known fashion, the Soviets continue to “hug” our units in order to delay our advance and hinder resupply operations. With cleanup operations completed, the 1st Panzer Army as well as elements of the 17th 6th and 11th Army began their advance north towards the Volga and Stalingrad. In the process, many of the defending Soviet formations were routed and our forward elements have reached the Volga after a stunning advance of 70 miles. A stubborn Soviet hold south of the Myshkova river prevented us from sealing another pocket this week. Due to the strong Soviet resistance we have isolated the enemy and ZOC locked them but they will be able to link up to the main body of their Army next week.

Meanwhile, directly west of Stalingrad, the 6th Army is preparing to cross the Don in strength and push towards Stalingrad itself. The enemy has not evacuated the tank factories from the city yet.

Stalingrad before:





Main focus of the week before:



And after together with overview for Stalingrad:





Manych sector after and Soviet losses from the cleanup:





Industry in Stalingrad:





The heavy fighting of this week as well as the constant advance have taken a heavy toll on the 1st Panzer Army. Its Panzer formations are operating way under their approved TOEs (50-70% of their tanks) as there is a shortage of Panzers all across the front and the repair shops cannot keep up with the amount of damaged AFVs that are being send for repair. This has greatly reduced the combat effectivness of our mobile formations.

AFV shortages all along the front and in the 1st Panzer Army:







Notice the AFV numbers. At full strength these units should have 216/226 AFVs. Current divisions have been reinforced with independant StuG/Pzjager Bns which further increases their AFV count. However most of them are in a poor situation, Tank wise.

Notice the 16th Panzer Division. It only has 61 medium tanks (or 52% of its prescribed force). However only 42 of those 61 tanks are operational, which drops the strength to 36%. Situations like this can be seen all along the front.





In the Voroshilovsk sector we have pushed forward east of the city and will attempt to sever its communication lines, thus forcing the enemy to pull back. Meanwhile the 97th Jager Division has reached the outskirts of the port of Tuapse.

Voroshilovsk and Krasnodar sectors before and after:

Before:





After:



Attacks marked in black.

[xhoel]

Casualties:

The destruction of the 2 pockets this week marked the heaviest blow that the Soviets have taken since the start of the summer campaign. The enemy suffered 276.130 irrecovarable casualties and also lost 4.704 guns and 863 AFVs. To make matters worse, they lost very valuable formations in the form of the 7th and 2nd Guard Rifle Corps as well as the loss of 4 Guard Rifle Divisions. Even though we managed to destroy a lot of units, around 15.750 men managed to reach Soviet lines and escape capture. The Soviet OOB is at an all time low yet the enemy keeps resisting strongly in the Moscow sector.

German losses have also been high due to the heavy fighting, around 17.000 men have been killed or captured and we have also lost 702 guns and 226 AFVs (the strength of a full Panzer Division).

Total losses and AFV losses:





Troops escaped from pockets and destroyed units:





Air losses have been moderate, 106 (26 Transports) Axis to 509 Soviet.

Air losses:



OOB:

[John B.]

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to see the game is still going on. And the soviets seem to be taking the punches but hanging on. How long until mud?

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: John B.
How long until mud?

7 turns I think? Assuming weather as expected.

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: John B.

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to see the game is still going on. And the soviets seem to be taking the punches but hanging on. How long until mud?

A pleasure John. The Soviets are holding quite well considering the heavy losses that they are taking. They are a strong opponent.

6 more turns of clear weather (64-69). Turn 70 is mud.

[chaos45]

Going to be interesting to see if Moscow falls....I will say all the pressure on Moscow is very obviously draining soviet forces from the entire rest of the front.

[Rokko]

Thanks for the update, this is rapidly turning into a real nail-biter!

I assume the objective for your southern pincer is to take Kovrov and the forest hex north-east of Ivanovo, both some 5-6 hexes from your current spearheads.
Have you considered, what happens to your southern pincer once the mud hits, what with two panzer armies and no rail head in sight?
Perhaps the Soviet retreat in front of Moscow presents an opportunity to capture the nearest rail line, if time and the current forces permit.

[xhoel]

@Chaos45: True, the Soviets are focusing heavily on Moscow and other sectors have been weakened by it. It will be a very close call. From where I am at, this can go either way.

@Rokko: Glad to see people are enjoying it! The main objective is to reach Kovrov thus cutting off rail in and out of Moscow. After that, ideally I will want my Panzers to cross the river and link up with the 3rd Panzer Army somewhere near Ivanovo.

Yes I have thought about my supply situation. The plan is to divert the armor west once I reach Kovrov in order to take that rail line and pocket the Soviet forces there. Without the rail line, my advance will have to stop at Kovrov since once mud hits my spearheads will be isolated. I am thinking that I might not be able to close the Moscow pocket before mud hits because of this diversion. I will however do my best to get my units as close as possible. Will have to see how things work out.