Thunder in the East - GC41 NEE K62 (A) vs AtAtack (S)

[K62_]

Most of the Stalingrad pocket is reduced and a motorized korps is dispatched north to join with the 2nd army forces advancing on Saratov.

map stalingrad end.JPG (107.41 KiB) Viewed 1853 times

[K62_]

Another motorized korps is dispatched towards Astrakhan. After cutting the last remaining rail line into the Caucasus it covers almost half the remaining distance to Astrakhan.

map astrakhan end.JPG (120.23 KiB) Viewed 1852 times

[K62_]

The pocket around Krasnodar has held. Hube's XIV motorized korps continues its advance and seizes Maikop and Gelendzhik. The Crimean troops have launched Operation Bluecher crossing over the Kerch strait and securing the port at Temryuk.

map krasnodar end.JPG (173.79 KiB) Viewed 1851 times

battle maikop.JPG (98.77 KiB) Viewed 1850 times

[K62_]

oob end.JPG (48.71 KiB) Viewed 1849 times

loss ground.JPG (34.8 KiB) Viewed 1849 times

loss destroyed.JPG (98.46 KiB) Viewed 1849 times

loss air.JPG (51.44 KiB) Viewed 1849 times

[K62_]

At this point my opponent has graciously conceded. It will be quite difficult for the Soviets to recover after the impending loss of all industry in Stalingrad and Gorky.

The Axis HWM is 831 VPs as of T14 and the following objective cities are also pocketed: Stalingrad (30 VPs), Krasnodar (10), Voronezh (10), Gorky (10), Yaroslavl (10). The weather prognosis for T15 is clear weather at all of these locations, and the expectation is for two more turns of light rain before the heavy mud arrives on T18. So it is not unreasonable to expect all of these objectives to be captured before the heavy rains, which would give a likely HWM of 931 VPs in '41.

Additionally Astrakhan (30VPs) seems a bit tough to defend for the Soviets. The Axis troops are within striking distance and the location is rather difficult to reinforce for the Soviets after the rail line got cut. It is also in the "arid steppes" climate that has clear weather until late November and a very low chance of blizzard. My intention was to keep attacking in this area even after switching to the defensive on the rest of the front.

As of mid-September, the Axis advance is close to the A-A line at most locations (Yaroslavl, Gorky, Saratov, Stalingrad, Astrakhan). I could probably get pretty close to Kazan too, but there's nothing in the Volga uplands that seems worth the front line extension.

The Axis losses from the summer campaign are relatively light overall. In terms of artillery, tanks and aircraft I actually have a bit more than on T1. On-map German manpower is 200k lower, but with 400k in pool that should not be hard to replace once the supply situation improves. (Granted, that may take until spring.) The Soviet losses are, in all likelihood, heavy enough to blunt any winter offensive.

I'd like to thank AtAtack for a hard fought game. Thanks to everyone else too, for reading through to the end of this AAR and for your thoughtful comments and questions!

[tm1]

At this point my opponent has graciously conceded. It will be quite difficult for the Soviets to recover after the impending loss of all industry in Stalingrad and Gorky.

The Axis HWM is 831 VPs as of T14 and the following objective cities are also pocketed: Stalingrad (30 VPs), Krasnodar (10), Voronezh (10), Gorky (10), Yaroslavl (10). The weather prognosis for T15 is clear weather at all of these locations, and the expectation is for two more turns of light rain before the heavy mud arrives on T18. So it is not unreasonable to expect all of these objectives to be captured before the heavy rains, which would give a likely HWM of 931 VPs in '41.

Additionally Astrakhan (30VPs) seems a bit tough to defend for the Soviets. The Axis troops are within striking distance and the location is rather difficult to reinforce for the Soviets after the rail line got cut. It is also in the "arid steppes" climate that has clear weather until late November and a very low chance of blizzard. My intention was to keep attacking in this area even after switching to the defensive on the rest of the front.

As of mid-September, the Axis advance is close to the A-A line at most locations (Yaroslavl, Gorky, Saratov, Stalingrad, Astrakhan). I could probably get pretty close to Kazan too, but there's nothing in the Volga uplands that seems worth the front line extension.

The Axis losses from the summer campaign are relatively light overall. In terms of artillery, tanks and aircraft I actually have a bit more than on T1. On-map German manpower is 200k lower, but with 400k in pool that should not be hard to replace once the supply situation improves. (Granted, that may take until spring.) The Soviet losses are, in all likelihood, heavy enough to blunt any winter offensive.

I'd like to thank AtAtack for a hard fought game. Thanks to everyone else too, for reading through to the end of this AAR and for your thoughtful comments and questions!

Well done to both of you.

[Sammy5IsAlive]

Congrats on your victory and well done to AtAtack on hanging on for so long.

How much did you use temp motorization after the first turn?

I haven't played the Soviet side in the campaign - to what extent were the 500k that AtAtack had in his reserve in the early turns "stuck" and unable to be immediately deployed? The game felt like the Soviet OOB never got started at all which compared to other games seems a bit unusual.

Well played both !

[K62_]

How much did you use temp motorization after the first turn?

I motorized one division per turn but not always. On some turns it was a single regiment and on other turns nothing, The biggest difference it made was, when breaking into the Crimea, being able to pocket the Perekop garrison. This led to Sevastopol falling 2-3 turns faster than I had planned.

So overall it was useful but not as much as open TBs. This let me get the best SUs from the TBs. They participated in a lot of battles and secured a lot of vulnerable flanks against Soviet counter-attack.

[EwaldvonKleist]

Congratulations to both of you and very good job! Thanks for doing the AAR, I hope it was not the last

Especially impressive logistics and quick dash for Moscow T7-T9.

[jasonbroomer]

Impressive campaigning. Thanks for the AAR

[K62_]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! For anyone interested in logistics, here are some short summaries for each turn from the logistics report:

Code: Select all

T2
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    1521       3328       1134       3722       4350         17    1st Panzer Group 
    1247       2628       1075       1055       2178          2    2nd Panzer Group 
    1552       2142       1234       2222       3169         40    3rd Panzer Group 
    1299       2045       1125       1810       2263          8    4th Panzer Group 
 
   11051      36282       7687      17186      50322         79     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    8692       9533        411       5167      28059         17     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T3
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    2333       3887       1619       2755       1113          0    1st Panzer Group 
    1680       2960       1682        455        525          4    2nd Panzer Group 
    1316       2295       1276        549        669          0    3rd Panzer Group 
    1342       2112        990        439        301         26    4th Panzer Group 
 
   11078      42960      10879       6856      18444         43     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    4747      14382       1358       3152      19377         10     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T4
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    1777       3051       1432       2024       1326          0    1st Panzer Group 
    2172       2967       1445        397        624          5    2nd Panzer Group 
    1202       1883        949        715       1201          0    3rd Panzer Group 
     919       1873        951        519        729          0    4th Panzer Group 
 
   11919      33871      10343       6861      17043         19     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    3584       8366        585       2513      15765          8     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T5
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    1618       2326       1191       1132       1578          2    1st Panzer Group 
    2941       2952       2003       1107       1069         13    2nd Panzer Group 
    1066       1082        709        120        505          0    3rd Panzer Group 
     855       2210       1019        494        932         11    4th Panzer Group 
 
   14157      29233      10696       6814      23909         52     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    6537       9452       1332       4392      27494         16     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T6
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    2062       2738       1583       1220       1325          7    1st Panzer Group 
    3413       1742       1145        538        243         11    2nd Panzer Group 
    1486        858        639        212        283          0    3rd Panzer Group 
    2068       2271       1165        539       1797          2    4th Panzer Group 
 
   21033      28130       9862       3964       9343         38     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    5418       8783       1151       3091      19799         13     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T7
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    1989       2805       1399        910       3184          5    1st Panzer Group 
    3802       2846       1235        542        502          1    2nd Panzer Group 
    2070       1729        767         74        203          0    3rd Panzer Group 
    2086       2432       1509       1107       2258         39    4th Panzer Group 
 
   23959      30209      10111       4651      16642         79     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    3595       7315        750       1766      11472         14     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T8
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    2159       2992       1751       1316       5034          2    1st Panzer Group 
    3643       3722       1936       2327       7166         70    2nd Panzer Group 
    2623       2115       1188        501       1812          5    3rd Panzer Group 
    1934       2503       1376        795       4011         37    4th Panzer Group 
 
   25217      34559      11576       6584      26450        120     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    2127       4218        590       1364       8325          2     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T9
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    2469       2499       1459        203        286          0    1st Panzer Group 
    3230       2922       1886       1351       2016          6    2nd Panzer Group 
    2403       1970       1225        299       1184          4    3rd Panzer Group 
    2435       2670       1236       1235       2411         50    4th Panzer Group 
 
   24613      29146      11476       5130      16750         87     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    6576       9267       1062       2769      18129         22     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T10
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    3021       2223       1209       1209       4556         30    1st Panzer Group 
    2370       2092        956        957       2818         37    3rd Panzer Group 
    2463       2600       1705       1847       3764         15    2nd Panzer Group 
    1969       2767       1241        553       2207          9    4th Panzer Group 
 
   23855      28482      10363       6841      22132        106     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    3959       6543        612       2434      14121         11     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T11
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    3522       3826       1817        349       1468          2    1st Panzer Group 
    2649       2425       1149       1141       1782         52    3rd Panzer Group 
    3007       2901       1615       1046       2594         14    2nd Panzer Group 
    2059       2374       1063       1343       3573          3    4th Panzer Group 
 
   27797      30880      11380       5544      18077         86     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    1752       4588        504        921       5705          1     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T12
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    2600       2198       1289       1150       2766          8    1st Panzer Group 
    2473       2161       1194       1553       3989         27    3rd Panzer Group 
    2906       2991       1292       1784       6744          9    2nd Panzer Group 
    1677       2442       1183       1544       1139          1    4th Panzer Group 
 
   26277      28537       9921       7736      22743         56     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    2137       4046        582        947       6234          7     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T13
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    2555       1459        947        555       1091         11    1st Panzer Group 
    2987       2148       1299        885       3543         53    3rd Panzer Group 
    3362       2616       1513        348       1414          0    2nd Panzer Group 
    2263       2188       1309        539        984          9    4th Panzer Group 
 
   28349      25944       9542       3967      15288         86     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    4295       5696        643       1473       9497          8     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

T14
Sup Need     Sup Rec   Sup Lost   RepFr Rec  RepMn Rec  RepFr Lost
    2474       1239        929        381        416          0    1st Panzer Group 
    2895       1980       1317        751       1581         15    3rd Panzer Group 
    3111       2453       1715        615       1138          1    2nd Panzer Group 
    3734       2233       1552        787        860         30    4th Panzer Group 
 
   31815      26601      10722       5509      21258         56     GROUND COMMAND TOTALS  
    4801       7197        513        781       4331          5     AIR COMMAND TOTALS  

The drive on Moscow was mainly supported by the Minsk-Gomel-Bryansk-Orel-Tula railway. I used super depots at Bryansk and then Tula.

[K62_]

And here's a comparison of trucks etc. between the start and the end of the campaign. There were a bit over 40,000 captured Soviet trucks in total.

trucks comparison.jpg (104.58 KiB) Viewed 1626 times

[Commanderski]

Did you do anything with your Luftwaffe? I would be interested in your air settings as you did move remarkably fast.

Also do you think there was anyway your opponent could have stopped you?

[K62_]

Did you do anything with your Luftwaffe? I would be interested in your air settings as you did move remarkably fast.

Also do you think there was anyway your opponent could have stopped you?

I've used the Luftwaffe a lot but always mindful of how it consumes freight. Only fighters came forward consistently with the panzer groups. LBs operated from the border airfields and did a lot of ground support while in range. I also built or extended several airfields in the Tulcea area so they could support operations in the Crimea. Recon was done mostly by long-range recon, also operating from the border airfields as long as possible. I did move Stukas forward for the final advance on Leningrad but they were only there for one turn. Ju52s were brought from all the TBs and they saved a lot of trucks by moving freight closer to the front line. I had them on trained pilots only, but they still suffered a lot of operational losses - the only plane type that couldn't be completely replenished from production.

I can't speak for my opponent but AtAtack is welcome to comment here anytime. The Soviet defense was very tough in areas where it had time to settle down. But the reason the Germans are so strong in '41 is that they can often maneuver around those areas.