T00 Events

[golden delicious]

I had no idea that the Pestilance penalty was so severe, but I believe you. I'm glad it's over already because the number of my HRS's is rising slowly and my units are gaining back their strength slowly. Most of them are at half strength right now.

It's a bit of an equaliser as a % penalty is worse the more equipment you have on the board.

[popejohnpaul]

I had no idea that the Pestilance penalty was so severe, but I believe you. I'm glad it's over already because the number of my HRS's is rising slowly and my units are gaining back their strength slowly. Most of them are at half strength right now.

It's a bit of an equaliser as a % penalty is worse the more equipment you have on the board.

Right you are. Now that it's over my HRS numbers are inflating.

The spring mud season is over, my rail cap. has been raised a bit and the supply situation is a lot better. I've made a movie to show you what I mean. This is as of T90 round 1.

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[popejohnpaul]

It's now T90 round 1 and here's what's going on west of Moscow right now. I've made a huge bulge in the Soviet lines but I'm having problems closing it off, surrounding the group of Soviet units. The Soviets keep throwing units at the problem and that sometimes just makes the bulge deeper. I've got to cut that group off it's supply source somehow to make it easier to take them down.

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[popejohnpaul]

It's now T90 round 2 and I thought I'd take a look at a typical recon unit to gauge roughly how much recovery needs be done yet. I've discovered to my horror that there are at least two different models of tank that aren't being built and I'm down to the last few of them on hand. At least I'm fat on trucks. This unit will start to receive some halftracks in T161 but I don't think that will beef up the unit very much. The formation report says that this unit's strength is down to 2 and I don't remember what it's original strength was. Stand by one and lemme check T1's value for this unit. The original strength was 4 so it's down to the typical 1/2 strength that most of the units have now.

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[popejohnpaul]

Stalingrad is just off-map to the east and this is what it looks like NW of the city right now. I've reached the Don River and I'm fighting over the river crossings while at the same time I'm pushing east to get at the main port this far south ( Stalingrad ). A glance at the air war losses panel will give you the impression that the air war is heating up somewhat. I think it has something to do with the better weather we're having now ( 29Apr42 ). I have 23.9 HRS's assigned and 813 HRS's on hand. The Soviets are producing Rifle Squads at the rate of 1475 per turn. Plus every turn they receive several reinforcements.

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[popejohnpaul]

It's now T90 round 7 and this is what it looks like around Kalinin right now. It appears that I may have forced a hole in the Soviet lines that will allow me to get into their backfield. It would be really cool if I could sneak down to Kalinin itself and plug the hole where the river flows through the city as the first step to cut off some Soviet units from their supply. To finish the surround I'm going to need to capture more of the river crossings to the east. So I'm planning on rolling up the Soviet lines and push east from here.

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[popejohnpaul]

It's now T91 round 3 and this is what it looks like around Tula right now. It appears that I may have found a way to get into the Soviet backfield to cut some roads and capture a river crossing or two. But Elmer will probably see what's going on and put a stop to it. I'm trying to get a good surround on several Soviet units so I can destroy them. The more of them I can destroy the easier it will be to destroy them globally. The Soviet shock is 110% and mine is 100% and I'm not sure why. Is there a Soviet offensive taking place? Did they get promoted in shock because it's 1942 now? Enquiring minds want to know.

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[popejohnpaul]

What I've been doing lately:

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[popejohnpaul]

It's now T92 round 1 and this is what it looks like south of Moscow right now. In the south half of this image you can see me surrounding several Soviet units just before I destroy them. That will clear out the terrain southwest of the river and then I can attempt to fight over the river crossings to advance to the east some more. The rails are repaired all the way to the tip of the spear so the supply level is great.

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[Cpl GAC]

North and South of Moscow, remember;

"Klotzen, nicht Kleckern!" - Heinz Guderian (Strike Together, Not Divided!)

Pull those Pz Korps together.

[golden delicious]

North and South of Moscow, remember;

"Klotzen, nicht Kleckern!" - Heinz Guderian (Strike Together, Not Divided!)

Pull those Pz Korps together.

Didn't Moltke say March dispersed, concentrate to fight? Same principle....

Especially in these scenarios with low unit count, there's a real art to working out how little you can get away with in quiet sectors so that all available strength can be concentrated at the decisive point. Check those FlAK and PAK detachments; a lot of them have rifle squads and can often hold a hex on their own. Break your infantry divisions down to regiments. If you're tempted to attack the tip of an enemy salient, it means you have too many troops there. Strip them down and pass the balance forward.

[popejohnpaul]

North and South of Moscow, remember;

"Klotzen, nicht Kleckern!" - Heinz Guderian (Strike Together, Not Divided!)

Pull those Pz Korps together.

Didn't Moltke say March dispersed, concentrate to fight? Same principle....

Especially in these scenarios with low unit count, there's a real art to working out how little you can get away with in quiet sectors so that all available strength can be concentrated at the decisive point. Check those FlAK and PAK detachments; a lot of them have rifle squads and can often hold a hex on their own. Break your infantry divisions down to regiments. If you're tempted to attack the tip of an enemy salient, it means you have too many troops there. Strip them down and pass the balance forward.

Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate your advice...I need all the advice I can get. This is further in the game than I have ever been and it's all new to me. I think I need to move the Panzer divisions to the south where the terrain is ideal for fast movers. It's flat, open, and the Soviet units are sparse. I can make all kinds of progress down there with fast movers.

About 1/3 of my units are already broken down into pieces. Several of them have been evaporated in attacks so far so I need to monitor them closer then I have been doing. My aircraft losses have been low so far in this game but Soviet attacks are picking up to be about twice as frequent as earlier. Having gone through a grueling winter I really appreciate the better weather.

My main goal now is to destroy the Soviet army before it gets too big and powerful to stop. After the Soviet units are gone I can concentrate on the high point objectives. I'm wondering how big they will end up being toward the end of the war.

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[popejohnpaul]

It's now T92 round 5 and this is what it looks like south of Rostov right now. The supply lines are repaired all the way to the tip of the spear down here so the supply situation is great. I was doing great until Elmer started railing all kinds of troops to this AO and now my hands are full. There are plenty of gaps and the Soviets are finding them so I'm having to deal with rogue units in my backfield constantly. I'm going to have to break down a lot of units into pieces to have enough boots on the ground to form a solid front line.

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[popejohnpaul]

This is what it looks like near Voronezh right now. I seem to have made a hole in the Soviet front lines and I'm in the process of rolling up the defenders a few at a time and destroying them. Elmer is probably going to wake up to the fact that he has a hole in his lines and do something about it. So I can expect more Soviet units being railed to this area sometime soon. Additionally, I'm going to have to break down a lot of these units to give me more boots on the ground. I'll need them as soon as the front line gets longer and longer as I stream to the east from here.

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[popejohnpaul]

It's now T93 round 1 and this is what it looks like near Kalinin right now. I'm in the process of surrounding Soviet units shortly before I destroy them. The effect is a slow motion rolling up of the Soviet lines. The attacks lately have been especially bloody with lots of units evaporating, both his and mine, and the Soviet shock is 110% and mine is 95% so they are more stout than earlier. I must needs suppose that this kind of warfare is a preview of what might happen in 1943 and later years.

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[Cpl GAC]

I think; if the Germans want to crack Moscow after the initial rush of Barbarossa an important first step is to take Ryazan. That really puts a monkey wrench into the Soviet defense and logistics.

Beyond Voronezh is bleakness, I'd roll that turned flank north - toward Ryazan...

Why do I get a sense of foreboding as I look at your Romanian-led expansion into the Caucasus.

Would you share the outer space screenshot of the blue/red front line?

Thanks for sharing and letting us meddle.

[popejohnpaul]

It's now T93 round 2 and this is what it looks like near Kalinin right now. I'm approaching a major river ( the blue line )and I'd like to find a way to trap these Soviet units on the west side of the river before they escape across the river and out of harm's way. So I think what I'll do is stream some units into the Soviet backfield somehow and capture or block the crossings across the river. Meanwhile cutting off the Soviet units from their supply source. That will make it easier to take these guys down.

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[popejohnpaul]

I think; if the Germans want to crack Moscow after the initial rush of Barbarossa an important first step is to take Ryazan. That really puts a monkey wrench into the Soviet defense and logistics.

I agree. The yellow path seems to be the easiest way to get there as I've already started a bulge in that general direction. I'll see if I can't make that happen.

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Beyond Voronezh is bleakness, I'd roll that turned flank north - toward Ryazan...

Seems like the right thing to do to me as well. I'll see what I can get my guys to do.

Why do I get a sense of foreboding as I look at your Romanian-led expansion into the Caucasus.

They aren't the best choice for that mission, I agree. But I'm fresh out of available Germans so what else is there to do? I'm also forced to use the Italians and Bulgarians and Hungarians down there as well. I'm going to have to keep an eye on them as they will eventually need to be backed up by the Germans. I need to establish a reserve down there stat.

Would you share the outer space screenshot of the blue/red front line?

Here's a shot of the far north. Not much going on up there.

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Here's a shot near Leningrad and you can see me pushing east slowly. Most of the troops I wanted to use in this area were the Finns but there aren't enough of them left to be of much help so I'm supplementing with German troops.

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Here's the money shot, the area around Moscow. The front lines in this area don't change very much from turn to turn. I'm fighting over each hex, one at a time.

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[popejohnpaul]

Here's the area NW of Stalingrad right now. Progress has slowed in this area due to injections of troops via rail by Elmer the last couple of turns.

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This is the deep south and I've relaxed the priority down there and I'm waiting for the repair of the rails before plunging deep into mother russia willy nilly.

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Thanks for sharing and letting us meddle.

Thank you for your contribution(s). It's you guys that keep me going on this project.

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[golden delicious]

They aren't the best choice for that mission, I agree. But I'm fresh out of available Germans so what else is there to do?

It's not actually mandatory to advance in all directions. You could hold the Soviets on the line of the Don or the Kuban with a minimal force and use the remainder to reinforce your push further north