FITE2 EARLY START Loveman2 vs thomasharvey

[thomasharvey]

T161 1/3/43 Here the final battles for the Romanian Army.

[thomasharvey]

T162 1/6/43 This shows the Germans did not extend their defense line to the Baltic. It left 9 hexes empty from the last German unit up to the Baltic coast. The Russian tanks rolled in and around the German line. The Germans have a defense line all the way south into Hungary but did not fix the front near Berlin.

[thomasharvey]

T162 1/6/42 Here is a larger view. I suspect the Germans have panzer reserves to send in and hold the line. In fact, very few panzer units have been destroyed during the war. I have avoided them and will have to deal with them soon. Berlin is circled on the map.

[thomasharvey]

T162 1/6/43 Here is a view of the southern front. The two Romanian pockets are shown getting smaller each turn. The German defense of Hungary is noted along with Budapest.

[thomasharvey]

T162 1/10/43 Here is a view of the Berlin front. Note Berlin circled in blue along with many German units in pockets. The German front gave way once again to try and avoid Russian tanks in their rear. Not all the Germans can escape now.

[thomasharvey]

T163 1/10/43 Here is a view of the Hungarian front. Budapest is circled in blue.

[Lobster]

Europe and the rest of the world will become as a dystopian novel by 1945 under the thumb of Stalinism.

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: Lobster

Europe and the rest of the world will become as a dystopian novel by 1945 under the thumb of Stalinism.

I'll repost here my comment from Post #149:

"Thinking about it, it's interesting to speculate what would have happened, politically, if the Soviets had been able to so rapidly and decisively overturn the Axis offensive. Looking at the screenshots, the Soviets have an enormous amount of fighting power already in place and by the end of 1942 I would expect them to overrun central and southeastern Europe.

Under these circumstances, it would become quite plain to the western Allies that within a couple of years, the Soviet Union would be in a position to dominate all of continental Europe. With the Casablanca Conference still well in the future, I think Britain in particular would be pushing for a negotiated settlement with Germany to prevent a complete Communist takeover of Europe."

[thomasharvey]

T165 1/17/43 Here is the Oder River front.

[thomasharvey]

T165 1/17/43 Here is the Berlin front from space.

[thomasharvey]

T165 1/17/43 Here is Festung Bucharest! Will Bucharest hold out longer than Festung Berlin?

[thomasharvey]

T166 1/20/43 Here is a view of the Berlin-Oder front. The lead Soviet forces are 18 hexes from Berlin.

[rhinobones]

Looks like the Soviets are about two years ahead of the historical schedule. Is this due to excellent play on the Soviet side or does the scenario need to be tuned up a bit? Either way, I’m enjoying the AAR as is.

Regards

[thomasharvey]

T168 1/27/43 Festung Bucharest fights on.

[thomasharvey]

T168 1/27/43 The Battle for the Oder river is heating up. Berlin is noted.

[governato]

what's the trucks situation for the Red Army, is there a surplus in your inventory? Just curious how the Red Army was able to make so much progress so early.

[thomasharvey]

ORIGINAL: governato

what's the trucks situation for the Red Army, is there a surplus in your inventory? Just curious how the Red Army was able to make so much progress so early.

T170 2/3/43 Plenty of vehicles available of all types.

[thomasharvey]

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

Looks like the Soviets are about two years ahead of the historical schedule. Is this due to excellent play on the Soviet side or does the scenario need to be tuned up a bit? Either way, I’m enjoying the AAR as is.

Regards

The German Army Group Center was destroyed in the winter of 41. The Russians then grouped all their rail repair units together and repaired the rail line between Moscow and Minsk as fast as possible. The Germans could not stop the Red Army until after the line was repaired past Minsk. Only then were the rails repaired north and south. The improved road from Moscow to Minsk also helped speed things along.

[rhinobones]

ORIGINAL: thomasharvey

The improved road from Moscow to Minsk also helped speed things along.

Improved Road defeats "mud" . . . sounds like a winning move. Did the Soviets actually have that many miles of improved roads?


Regards

[thomasharvey]

ORIGINAL: rhinobones

ORIGINAL: thomasharvey

The improved road from Moscow to Minsk also helped speed things along.

Improved Road defeats "mud" . . . sounds like a winning move. Did the Soviets actually have that many miles of improved roads?


Regards

As far as I know the only improved road in Russia at that time was Minsk to Smolensk to Moscow highway. There are very few rivers across that route either so it was the easiest path to and from the border to Moscow. Both sides can use it for rapid advance.