The Rumble in the Tundra, a Vet (Sov) JB (Axis) rematch

[jasonbroomer]

Prologue

It’s not my finest portrait, but at least I still look like a man of destiny. I often find myself studying the picture here. It is a great place to escape the demands of my hectic life, affording sanctuary from interruption where serious contemplation can be undertaken.

I’ve often wondered where Time Magazine sourced this picture those three years ago. I wished they’d asked and I’m sure we could have produced a more fitting one. Anyway, at the time I confess that was a bit flattered to be named ‘Man of the Year’. Silly really. I must remember to have this removed.

Anyway, a quick wipe and flush, and my mind made up. As I wash my hands I spot in the mirror that the moustache is looking bedraggled. An unruly hair or two are plucked away. Leaving, in the hall outside, I notice my faithful German Shepherd dog dozing in the corner. A few months ago, he seemed so full of life and excitement, now he is just listless and dejected. I simply wonder what goes on in this canine mind.

I summon my senior commanders for an immediate conference. I will make the announcement that Barbarossa is to proceed…

[jasonbroomer]

Following on from Bish, Bash, Boche which finished almost a year ago, this is an AAR of our rematch between Vet and myself. We have both played much in the interim and learnt a considerable amount about this complex and intriguing game.

As before we are playing the '41 GC, although on this occasion with no early end (frankly I am unsure about the implications of this). We are currently at turn 7 and will both be updating this AAR with an 8 turn delay. Thanks in part to a favourable time difference between the players, turns are typically turned around quite quickly.

Agreed rules:

• no temp moto
  no paradrop
  naval allowed within 8 hexes of frontline
  no merging in pockets
  open TBs
  anything else common sense we agree as the game goes on

I shall also not break down RADs from FBDs (it sounds cheesy and I'm not sure WAD), though I may break up the Rom FBD early. I shall also refrain from changing scripted leader changes from TBs. Leaders are not accounted for in the TB calculations and it seems odd for example to be bringing the like Rommel to Russia - particularly if there is no impact on the TB. We agreed that if an important general dies, this may be amended.

In this AAR, I shall speak much about managing logistics. The Axis campaign slows considerably through '41 as supply lines lengthen and trucks break down. I hope to demonstrate that careful logistical planning can greatly diminish supply issues. I will track a couple of metrics to illustrate this - 'supply need' and 'trucks lost'

As before this is a joint AAR and Vet will contribute comments from the Soviet side

[M60A3TTS]

As before we are playing the '41 GC, although on this occasion with no early end (frankly I am unsure about the implications of this).

IMO as Axis you give away your best chance to win the game in 1942. If you aren't in a dominating position by the end of 1942, No Early End seems to just drag out the inevitable. But if you like to play the post-1942 period, certainly go for it. Under the right circumstances it can be possible to draw and maybe even win.

[Veterin]

As before we are playing the '41 GC, although on this occasion with no early end (frankly I am unsure about the implications of this).

IMO as Axis you give away your best chance to win the game in 1942. If you aren't in a dominating position by the end of 1942, No Early End seems to just drag out the inevitable. But if you like to play the post-1942 period, certainly go for it. Under the right circumstances it can be possible to draw and maybe even win.

I don’t plan to play any differently either way. This just gives us the optionality to continue the game if we want to. If axis reach the VC threshold for a win at any point in the game I’d consider that an axis win. Same for if I hit any VP thresholds early.

[jasonbroomer]

T1 Axis

Overview

The opening is becoming fairly standard for me. I don't like to commit to any strategic direction at this early stage, so I try to keep the three main army groups in their distinct areas. In the south I borrow a few units from AGC, but in return AGS surrenders its SS divisions to AGC when they become available on T2. This allows a Brady/small Roveno pocket to be formed in the south, while the motorised SS units are valuable in the more difficult terrain to the north.

Air

I work off the scripted directives, with a few tweaks. Bomb loads are changed to a maximise the number of bombs (i.e. smaller bombs). Recon is removed as you already have good intell on the Russian airfields. I find it worthwhile to add extra raids on Odessa. In the south I also add a few extra raids, as AGA doesn't participate on T1 I won't get chance to destroy the Southern Fronts VVS formations acting in GS. I activated the prepared but not active mission in the Crimea. This will lose a few bombers (of the poor Romanian ilk) and take out 100 or so Soviet air frames. In general, I target fighters on the ground over bombers, which are left to die running GS to ensure pilot kill.

T1 air phase, limuted bombing.png (666.45 KiB) Viewed 3322 times

We are playing with open TBs and I am mindful that areas such as Finland could do with some bombers, which in general the Axis has in excess, so I actually sent some stukas to the reserve ready to be transferred the following turn. In the event, I found some level bombers lazing around instead.

I didn't bother with any AS, except over this area in the south

Don't forget to NP around Ventspils to ensure that the Soviets are isolated in Kurland

T1 no cheeky Rom bashing allowed.png (1.02 MiB) Viewed 3322 times

In my game with HYLA, he made massive GA raids against this key Rom division (frozen on T1) which is blocking the rail line out of Galicia. He subsequently managed to massed enough ground forces to retreat this unit, thus allowing units to be railed to safety.

I also sent the specialist NP planes from FFO to the TBs (via the reserve). These BV 138C are a bit fragile and not produced in large numbers. Ju88A with mine loads outs can do the job.

T1 Too fragile, off to NA via reserve.png (1.21 MiB) Viewed 3322 times

[jasonbroomer]

T1 Ground phase

I was a bit rusty playing Axis T1 and really should have had a practice run before hand. I really wanted a good opening against such an experienced and able player like Vet. I ended up in getting into a muddle at times and agonising over some moves. I am trying to play at an advanced level and being conscious of rout routes etc. HLYA's guide in the war room is invaluable in this regard though my opening deviates from the guide half way through, once troops are being redeployed from AGC to the south. I believe this is too committing.

Trying to accomplish so much led to brain overload at regular intervals, resulting to some silly unforced errors. In the north, I absent mindedly prematurely closed the northern pocket

T1 AGN premature closing of pocket.png (3.71 MiB) Viewed 3315 times

Troops will always rout out of pocket (unless isolated in the previous turn), so I was left with troops that I didn't dare attack and will have to be screened off instead. As the picture details there is one motorised division on the rail line which has to be removed - these rails need to be repaired ASAP.

In the event I was very lucky as this unit didn't break despite the overwhelming force used

T1 AGN at least I didn't rout it.png (3.18 MiB) Viewed 3315 times

and kindly retreated into the pocket. Actually the Soviet infantry division to the south of this battle was a real nuisance. I toyed with routing it but eventually just screened it away. I did end up slowing down one of my FBDs though (arrgh).

The northern sector is relatively straightforward to do. There are a couple of iffy attacks which might need a second attempt i.e Liepoja and Riga. As these are ports, you will only get two chances. Both these were successful in this game, In fact my Riga attack did something that I've only read about in the past:

T1 AGN phew just, and a retreat.png (1.28 MiB) Viewed 3315 times

Firstly, I only just won the combat (note AS was flown and 2 pioneers added to the battle which probably made the difference), secondly the Soviet motorised division retreated into the Kurland pocket. Nice!

[jasonbroomer]

AGN Continued

This left the final position thus

T1 AGN happy enough with this.png (3.66 MiB) Viewed 3309 times

The pocket is pretty secure all round and has a decent thrust as far north as Rezekne and Polotsk. This gives options for a push to Leningrad or Moscow. It's always good to give the Soviets plenty to worry about.

AGC

Again I find myself making the same old mistakes, however, BL was taken without a combat delay

T1 AGC BL taken without delay.png (2.51 MiB) Viewed 3309 times

A minor advantage but satisfying to achieve.

The final position was thus

T1 AGC main pocket sb secure.png (3.69 MiB) Viewed 3309 times

But some attacks were made with regiments when divisions were required. I was also a bit slovenly about the attacks at the border and infiltration I am coming around to HLYAs view that these units should be cleared from their forts on the first turn.

However, the important thing, the pocket, went well and looks secure. Note that I attack the airborne units highlighted in black. These units can be troublesome if left to their own devices. Note also the motorised regiment highlighted in red. This is sent early in the turn (remember HLYA's sound advice to work up from the south, not top down) to this key rout location. Securing these towns will bag an extra couple of divisions into the main pocket. Actually, the routed Sov unit just to the north of this was the result of another boo-boo from the south. I should have followed HLYAs guide more closely!

[jasonbroomer]

T1 AGS

Once again, silly errors were made

T1 AGS issues.png (2.15 MiB) Viewed 3303 times

Compounded by

T1 AGS I always forget that Tarnopol needs a DA.png (1020.15 KiB) Viewed 3303 times

Doh, a second failed attack on Tarnopol. It needs a heavy DA. The put the entire programme of attacks off kilter and a fresh panzer division had to be brought forward to had to do the deliberate. After then it was a real scramble to get the result I was after, but thankfully we got there without stealing too much from AGC's resources.

T1 AGS probably beakable.png (2.74 MiB) Viewed 3303 times

Far from perfect but it will do the job. I am quite sure that this pocket is breakable but it doesn't really matter as it can be resealed. A good tip is to remember to refuel your panzer divisions when they are close to a captured airfield. They can be refuelled this way to around 85%. It makes a huge difference to their MPs in the following turn. This applies to AGN and AGC panzer formations as well.

I made a number of errors in the south and had trouble securing this pocket. Hopefully it is only breakable from the south, I don't really want my panzers isolated. To break the pocket will require Soviet units to be sent from the outside, these will be condemning themselves to joining the pocket when it is reformed.

I like this opening. It doesn't take many resources from AGC (2 divisions or so). It secures a decent sized pocket - though yes a full Rovno captures more, it takes a lot more resources from AGC. It also stops unit from being railed out of Galicia and sets up a T2 pocket by following the blue line

[jasonbroomer]

T1 AGS cont

I was pleased by a couple of nuances. In the past I didn't seal this mini pocket in the south as recommended by HLYA as I felt that these Soviet troops near the border are doomed anyway

T1 GS seals this pocket to trap AT brigade.png (755.03 KiB) Viewed 3298 times

However, moving up the German mountain division as advised in the guide seals a mini pocket as marked. Doing so prevents any chance of the AT brigade in the area from getting away (something that I am getting good at when I play as the Soviets).

I have also come up with a useful role for the GD brigade:

T1 AGS we take a pop at the 34th Tank to ensure no MPs to get away.png (1.29 MiB) Viewed 3298 times

A deliberate attack on the 34th armoured division. Win or lose doesn't matter. The deliberate attack will tie down this Soviet formation enough so that it doesn't get enough first turn MPs to prevent it from escaping the T2 Galicia pocket. It's all a bit RND, but potentially the 34th can be a powerful formation.

Overall

First turn casualties don't really matter as its what's in the pockets that counts. I feel comfortable that the main pockets are secure and have plenty of units within them. It is not a perfect opening and could have gone better, I score it 8.5 out of 10. Three or four units escaped unnecessarily and some of my units are out of position thanks to some of the errors I made. My opening against HLYA was better, perhaps a 9.

The air war went okay

T1 EoT air losses.png (451.92 KiB) Viewed 3298 times

But I really don't see this as a key part of the game.

[Jango32]

For the record the hasty attack on Tarnopol is not so much a silly mistake as it is dependent on your scenario generation RNG. Sometimes the rifle division there spawns in an awful state which makes it reliable to be hasty'd out of the way, sometimes it spawns in a healthy state which makes it very painful to brush aside.

[M60A3TTS]

T1 AGC BL taken without delay.png

This could be interesting. Tolbukhin does not command 28th Rifle Corps on T1. Obviously the assigned commander Popov died. If you know where the 28th Corps HQ ran off to, could be worth surrounding in hopes of killing off a very solid Soviet general.

[Veterin]

JB and I both enjoyed our last game together a few months ago so a rematch was due! We've both learned a lot since our last game so i'm looking forward to seeing how this game plays out. This is my first Soviet game since i last played JB as i've been learning Axis but i feel like it will make me a stronger player now. I have a better understanding of what Axis can and can't do. Similarly, so far we are 8 turns in on the game and it's clear JB has further improved his game too.

I generally write my AAR as and when i'm playing the turn so that's how it should be read.

We've decided on an 8 turn delay but can amend if another update frequency makes sense. We want to be as open as possible in this AAR without giving away anything that the opponent wouldn't already know so we have to strike a balance there. This game won't move as fast as our other one (pretty much daily turns for 2-3 months!) but turns are still fairly quick being 1-2 days at most.

T1 - Soviet Perspective

1.png (29.27 KiB) Viewed 3213 times

A huge opener from my worthy opponent. 760k pocketed along with 11k guns, 4.5k AFVs and a whole lot of trucks. Will need to unit scout the Rovno pocket as there might be some opportunities to break it (unlikely) but the others look 100% tight.

I do find Soviet T1 very painful. A crazy amount of admin! Naturally the first thing I do is change all my HQs to supply priority 4 and cancel all the auto-transfers across the map for the next 20 turns. I don’t have the willpower to do the entire game all on T1 (if only there was a setting to do it for us!).

I can’t find the exact details in the patch notes anymore but I recall there being some changes to low exp pilots sent back to the pool as air is sent to the TB. They will no longer get added back to units if they are below the national air morale which is a great change. On this basis, it’s “ok” to send aircraft to the TB now. The VVS will get destroyed heavily in 41 no matter what you do but I do plan on using in specific circumstances. Everyone has their own process but these are the steps I take on T1

- I start of by changing all aircraft on map to report to Arkhangelsk command so it’s all in 1 HQ. Makes it a lot easier for sorting air assets.
- I send low exp air groups to reserve for training (generally less than 45ish). Soviets have more air assets than they can use initially anyway as they are limited by airfields and flying range.

2.png (802.54 KiB) Viewed 3213 times

- Where there air groups that are virtually wiped out of aircraft but have good pilots, I send them to North Caucasus air HQ and place them all at Saratov. I then place this HQ on rest + restricted. I do not want these filling out with new aircraft/pilots automatically. As and when I build up surplus of both, I can pick which aircraft/air groups I want to fill out and use on the frontlines
- Its tedious but I group all airplanes of the same type into an AOG so I have groups full of Migs, Yaks, SB2s etc rather than all co-mingled. For fighters I try and avoid mixing area of operations too so if I’ll concentrate i-16 Type 24 to one area on map and ill put the i-16 Type 29 in another area of the map. Ideally I don’t want to mix fighter aircraft in the same air battles.
- I try and avoid overloading airfields but it’s a bit impossible given all the moving parts and I don’t spend the time + effort calculating every transfer before I move air assets around.
- Where possible, never transfer aircraft to airfields that are likely to be overrun the next turn. When you transfer air long distances it often uses 100% of the flying miles for the turn. When an airfield is overrun, if the air groups have already used all their flying miles then they do not evacuate and all aircraft/pilots are destroyed on the ground.
- Each to their own but I’ve consolidated all my air into the Leningrad and Southern air command as they have leaders with the highest Air stat. Hopefully some of the bad leaders from the other air HQs get killed/dismissed. The other reason I like this approach is it gives more flexibility for GS as you don’t need to worry having GS commands not pre-set for specific fronts. You can run several fronts to the one Air HQ for GS purposes. Just make sure it remains under the 600 CP limit for Air HQ.

3.png (2.07 MiB) Viewed 3213 times

Soviets have an opportunity to use air in the first few turns with “lower” losses as Axis are unable to set up effective AS given they advance so quickly In the ground phase. I’ve put all my airforce on rest this turn with the exception of long range bomber command where I wanted to run some indirection on the key paths of advance. The main benefit of this is it reduces admin movement so will slow down the axis advance a little bit even without combat. This is very important on the Luga/Smolensk front as you need time to build up enough of a defence in the favourable terrain. The indirection on the Riga area failed as axis fighters flew and intercepted/killed my bombers in the area given he moved them up to Riga.

4.png (1.38 MiB) Viewed 3213 times

JB has done the smart move and placed a unit just south west of Proskurov. As can be seen from the yellow rail hexes, this along with the Romanian infantry at the bottom stops the ability for the SW front to rail out. Without rails, a lot of these units will be caught in a pocket over the next turn or 2. Depending on how lucky the soviets are on T1, they might have enough firepower to dislodge the German unit near Proskurov (usually a panzer regiment with SU’s attached – I attach RFFS to this) or attacking the Romanian on the border. The 12=12 across the river looks daunting but when attacking in overwhelming numbers, defensive CV crumbles quickly by the end of combat which is where it counts. I’m undecided at this stage if I’ll attempt it as it will mean sacrificing a few units in the attack. Will check how much I could get out without rail first and then decide

[Veterin]

T1 - Soviet Perspective Cont...

5.png (2.08 MiB) Viewed 3212 times

Starting on the Rovno pocket, I should be able to break the small one near Drohobycz however they will be in ZOC and will be repocketed next turn. If I can break the main Rovno pocket (most likely from the south or east) then that will allow me to cause a bit of a delay. I’ve got a few +18 MP mech/tank divisions both inside and outside the pocket so should be enough to get through ZOC. If he is holding the pocket with a full wall of regiments rather than relying on ZOC alone i won't be able to make it through.

6.png (1.1 MiB) Viewed 3212 times

7.png (1.22 MiB) Viewed 3212 times

Rather than try and rail units out, I might use their sacrifice to try and break the pocket and hopefully isolate him if I can find 2 gaps in his wall. An interesting trick here is you can see if there is a unit within 1 hex of yours by checking if you are allowed to move into that hex or not. This only works for 1 hex into the enemies territory so it’s not a huge advantage but it’s a useful trick to use nevertheless.

[Veterin]

T1 - Soviet Perspective Cont...

8.png (1.75 MiB) Viewed 3211 times

Rovno pocket broken and isolated the axis spearhead In turn. It’s not a huge set back for Axis forces in the area but i'll take every bit of delay i can get! There only seems to be 3-4 panzer/motorised divisions in the pocket

9.png (1.56 MiB) Viewed 3211 times

1 hex short of isolating a whole bunch of Germans in the centre.

[K62]

1 hex short of isolating a whole bunch of Germans in the centre.

This is actually better than isolating them! The Germans are usually well supplied after T1 and won't care that much if they don't get anything on T2. But these units will be resupplied by a lot of trucks making multiple ZOC-ZOC moves through swamps. This will probably kill or damage a few hundred German trucks in just this area.

[jasonbroomer]

T1 AGC BL taken without delay.png

This could be interesting. Tolbukhin does not command 28th Rifle Corps on T1. Obviously the assigned commander Popov died. If you know where the 28th Corps HQ ran off to, could be worth surrounding in hopes of killing off a very solid Soviet general.

I great spot. Tolbukhin did take over from Popov who died defending BL on t1. Tolbukhin got caught in the Bialystok pocket but sadly he slipped away

[jasonbroomer]

1 hex short of isolating a whole bunch of Germans in the centre.

This is actually better than isolating them! The Germans are usually well supplied after T1 and won't care that much if they don't get anything on T2. But these units will be resupplied by a lot of trucks making multiple ZOC-ZOC moves through swamps. This will probably kill or damage a few hundred German trucks in just this area.

A fair point. IIRC those units didn't get any supply anyway so it made little difference. If they had been isolated, it may have affected their MP allocation though but I'm guessing.

By this stage of the turn I wasn't thinking straight so these moves were not very considered.

[Veterin]

1 hex short of isolating a whole bunch of Germans in the centre.

This is actually better than isolating them! The Germans are usually well supplied after T1 and won't care that much if they don't get anything on T2. But these units will be resupplied by a lot of trucks making multiple ZOC-ZOC moves through swamps. This will probably kill or damage a few hundred German trucks in just this area.

A fair point. IIRC those units didn't get any supply anyway so it made little difference. If they had been isolated, it may have affected their MP allocation though but I'm guessing.

By this stage of the turn I wasn't thinking straight so these moves were not very considered.

Yeah I would have much preferred isolation as it would have destroyed/damaged a lot of elements from isolation mechanic alone. Infantry that close to the border on turn 2 would have requested very little supply anyway.

[jasonbroomer]

T2 Axis

Logistics

I have yet to speak on logistics. Inexperienced players might want to ignore this section, I suggest you come back and read it though at some stage. On t1 I tend to place my panzers on priority 2 and it is very beneficial to refuel by air as the panzers are moved up. Infantry corps tend to be placed on priority 2 but some are 3 or 4. When a unit is within 3 hexes of a depot overflowing with supply, I take the view that supply priority of the unit should be increased. Why not? Axis IDs tend to have 12MPs when modestly supplied, this lifts to 16MPs when well supplied. A significant uplift, especially if part of an assault army as it permits a potential DA and sufficient SMP to regain the lost CPP in the right circumstances. It is good practice to stockpile a unit with supply when near a supply depot before venturing to the front.

In this game, I am going to take FBD routes that I have never tried before. These are likely to reduce my supply levels in the first couple of turns but hopefully enhance it during turns 4-6 when supply is more critical. In this game I lost 899 trucks by the start of turn 2. I will compare my truck losses versus what I lost playing HLYA, where I lost 998 trucks in the same turn. Surprisingly, I lost fewer trucks this game. I guess because Vet had restricted certain units from receiving supply, but these units will have a greater deficit in their at hand supplies.

Monitoring where trucks are lost is a headache. A good proxy for this is the 'supply lost' statistic in the logistics report, as this readily details which armies are suffering the greatest supply loss. I also think that supply lost is a further important consideration. Rail supply capacity is limited and trucking supply wrecks trucks. Reducing wastage thus brings double benefits. As I believe that trucks lost and 'supply lost' are closely correlated, I will publish only the former in this AAR.

I shall also provide numbers for 'supply need'. This is a slightly arcane statistic but one that I coming around to concluding to be a rather useful one. Supply need indicates what is required to bring all units supply up to their maximum. Thus, smaller the number the better. Again I shall compare my progress versus previous AARs. Note that in my game against HLYA my logistics were already running well. Inexperienced players will do to get anywhere close to my metrics.

So far my supply need is 9528 (v 9809 against HLYA)

Of course logistics are only a facet of the game, where the objective is to win. Winning the logistics task will not win you game. Your strategy as Axis will also impact your logistical scores, for example a Leningrad push is usually very expensive in trucks. It is up to each player to determine their ideal. I merely wish to show what is possible. I will not detail precisely how I do supply (half the fun in the game is discovering these things yourself) but plenty of clues will be dropped through the course of this AAR.

In this game I sent AGNs FBB northwards (in blue cirlce) rather than eastwards with the intention to connect Riga to the main network

T2 AGN SoT rails.png (4.19 MiB) Viewed 3054 times

RADs will typically repair dual rail lines ahead of single rails. Thus by leaving the RADs to deal with the rails to Kaunas and Vilnius. I normally have these cities with operational depots by t2. Firstly RADs are always a turn 'behind' as they deploy after the logistics phase. Secondly, gaps have been left in the rail line, highlighted in yellow (in T1 RADS where assigned to a suitable corps HQ to concentrate the area where they will deploy). The plus is that two have fallen nicely as highlighted within the pink star, these will speed my expansion eastwards.

T2 will be a bit sweaty. Will my RADs fill in the gaps to connect the line and when will newly built depots begin to operate?

[jasonbroomer]

T2 Axis AGN

Bugger, for some reason my NP didn't fly to isolate Ventspils. This means that Soviets will be able to escape.

T2 AGN SoT Great my NP didnt fly as ordered at Vent, breaking pocket.png (3.69 MiB) Viewed 3050 times

My initial reaction is to blame the buggy game system. I later work out that the fighter escorts for the NP didn't have sufficient supply to fly so the mission got postponed I had neglected to manually resupply the airport.


Vet flies a lot of interdiction over advance paths

T2 AGN SoT Soviet interdiction.png (3.87 MiB) Viewed 3050 times

This usually has limited impact and at worst occasionally costs me a MP or two as it negates administrative movement.

We deal with the northern pocket with our usual efficiency

T2 AGN EoT pocket dealt with.png (3.76 MiB) Viewed 3050 times