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For the soldiers of both armies this period had the feeling of waiting for something to happen. Stavka continued to reinforce certain sections and build up its reserves. Paratroop formations were pulled out of the line and back to airbases and the great bulk of the VVS remained in deep reserve. It was clear to both sides that, at least briefly, the balance had changed. For the first time since June it was the Red Army that would determine where, and when, the next round of major operations took place.

In certain sectors, any idea of a period of calm, was but an illusion. Soviet partisans struck in the Ukraine, launched a major attack at Minsk and a smaller operation in the Valdai.



At the very least, all this was designed to force the Germans to allocate substantial forces to rear area security. The attacks also hampered their ability to shift forces to threatened sectors and interupted already stretched supply lines.

The Germans launched a number of localised attacks designed to secure a better defensive position or to drive back Red Army probes. In the south, Kerch fell, around Moscow both sides traded blows as they sought to test out the intentions of their opponent.



To the north of Moscow, the Panzer and Motorised formations were pulled from the front. In a reconnaisance attack NW Front's 55 Army was badly beaten but in turn revealed that the Germans had redeployed their Panzers to act as a localised reserve. West of Moscow, elements of Kalinin Front probed the German lines near Reza. Again the attack was a bloody failure but the initial assault destroyed their prepared fortifications, opening the way for a future offensive.


(Soviet units moving up to the front on the Moskva-Volga canal)

To the south of the Oka, the German Panzer Group was trapped in the front lines as the infantry in that sector had been badly beaten in the recent battles. Elements of 3 and 10 Armies hit the exposed III Panzer Corps even as the fresh formations of Leningrad Front filtered into their attack positions.



For the first time, Soviet forces deployed a new weapon, the multiple rocket launchers had proved to be highly effective at creating panic in the German defenders. Substantial numbers were now being allocated to the assault formations of Leningrad Front.



Stavka was content to use the battered formations of Western Front in a series of spoiling attacks, as it had taken substantial losses in the Kaluga battles and was not capable of sustained operations without a major refit. Any success would ease the subsequent attacks by Leningrad and Bryansk Fronts.

Steadily, the Soviet armed forces were recovering. There were 5.4 million men under arms (a leap of 200,000 in the last week), supported by 46,500 guns (an increase of 1,500) and 3,400 tanks (an increase of 200).



The relative shift in the tempo of combat was reflected in the losses of the two armies. The Axis forces lost 22,500 men, 82 tanks and 37 aircraft. Soviet losses were 26,000 men, 5 tanks and 144 aircraft (50 of which were SB-2s lost in a disastrous raid on German airfields near Rzhev).

Very interesting AAR, well written and described

I wish I would be able to write such sentences in english!

Nasty surprise to see Kaluga fall (and the disparity in losses - strongly in SigUp's favor - doesn't make it any more palatable). Yes, I realize I'm late to the party (I only drop in every so often here - even reading about this game is kinda intimidating).

So, despite your concerns about the loss of protective fortresses around Moscow, you're still planning to go ahead with an offensive. I guess you really don't have much of a choice and I guess that an all-out concentration on the approaches to Moscow would be counterproductive, as the Germans are at their strongest there and you would have trouble getting all your forces crammed into such a small place anyway. Still, I'm glad I don't have to deal with your predicament, as I don't see any easy or obvious way to lift the threat to Moscow.

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant
...even reading about this game is kinda intimidating.

Heh. That's the beauty of this colossal masterpiece. On topic, IMHO the pressure is really on Loki to have a great winter -- else 1942 will bring some very bad news.

ORIGINAL: STEF78

Very interesting AAR, well written and described

I wish I would be able to write such sentences in english!

Thank you, as you know I’m following your game closely (and with mounting panic). I guess I do have the advantage that I write for a living …

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant

Nasty surprise to see Kaluga fall (and the disparity in losses - strongly in SigUp's favor - doesn't make it any more palatable). Yes, I realize I'm late to the party (I only drop in every so often here - even reading about this game is kinda intimidating).

So, despite your concerns about the loss of protective fortresses around Moscow, you're still planning to go ahead with an offensive. I guess you really don't have much of a choice and I guess that an all-out concentration on the approaches to Moscow would be counterproductive, as the Germans are at their strongest there and you would have trouble getting all your forces crammed into such a small place anyway. Still, I'm glad I don't have to deal with your predicament, as I don't see any easy or obvious way to lift the threat to Moscow.

Aye, I was really hoping to keep Kaluga, my view was it would take him one more turn to encircle the city and that it might fall just as I started the counterattack. This is the first time (well apart from Rostov which is geographically sort of the end of the line anyway) that SigUp has just gone in hard and routed me out.

The game is really deep, but its also a bit like the AGE games. You can spend ages understanding how that game engine handles frontage, range, target selection etc and build your moves around that. Or take a broadly common sense model and do that.

Clearly in PBEM doing the second against someone who does the first is asking for disaster, but you can learn a lot vs the AI basically building up your knowledge.

I’ve just had back the last axis turn before the blizzard strikes, so a lot to mull over, in doing my final preparations.

The only real problem in this game is there are a lot of ‘rich get richer’ loops and very few that trigger major reversals. One reason we are using restricted logistics is to see if that recreates the historical pattern of offensives just stalling. Having said that, the next phase sees an imposed set of rules to simulate the shock of the Soviet counterattack. So I should make progress in December/January, maybe some in February – though its equally possible we may both stand off at at that stage.

I need a large army in 1942, and a plan – as above STEF78 has just produced a masterclass in how dangerous the Germans can be in 1942.

ORIGINAL: jwolf

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant
...even reading about this game is kinda intimidating.

Heh. That's the beauty of this colossal masterpiece. On topic, IMHO the pressure is really on Loki to have a great winter -- else 1942 will bring some very bad news.

Yep, no pressure …

Actually I’m very aware I need to get this right – I basically have two choices … go out to basically kill Axis forces (esp panzers) or go for objectives. They are not mutually exclusive but they do produce rather divergent operational models.

I basically have two choices … go out to basically kill Axis forces (esp panzers) or go for objectives. They are not mutually exclusive but they do produce rather divergent operational models.

I'm seeing exactly this dichotomy in my Russian game against the AI. My winter strategy was to beat up the Germans where possible, and establish lines I could fight and hold once the rules change in March. This worked well, but the stakes weren't as high for me because the AI 41 campaign was not nearly as successful as SigUp's has been.

An additional objective you might have is to accumulate victories towards Guards status for as many units as possible. I found that I was doing that anyway because I almost always used mass attacks in order to have a good chance at success.

I guess ultimately you have to fight the 41-42 winter while looking ahead to the 42 summer and what you think or hope you can do then.

Hi loki100!

Do you have any supply problems in your armies? Could you tell me the numbers for Supply Stores and Global Supply Stock? Also, how many Heavy Industry and Armament factories do you have?

Thanks in advance!

ORIGINAL: jwolf

I basically have two choices … go out to basically kill Axis forces (esp panzers) or go for objectives. They are not mutually exclusive but they do produce rather divergent operational models.

I'm seeing exactly this dichotomy in my Russian game against the AI. My winter strategy was to beat up the Germans where possible, and establish lines I could fight and hold once the rules change in March. This worked well, but the stakes weren't as high for me because the AI 41 campaign was not nearly as successful as SigUp's has been.

An additional objective you might have is to accumulate victories towards Guards status for as many units as possible. I found that I was doing that anyway because I almost always used mass attacks in order to have a good chance at success.

I guess ultimately you have to fight the 41-42 winter while looking ahead to the 42 summer and what you think or hope you can do then.

I think that at its simplest, around Moscow its attack to cause damage (and gain Guards), in the Ukraine its to go for depth so that the 1942 summer battles don't start on the Don. But there is a bit of a mix as I do have an idea what line I'd like to reach ... not least to shorten the front which will help me to defend in depth come 1942.

Against the AI, I think it will give you a bad time in 1941 and it handles the shift to the strategic defense in 1943 pretty well. On my second go vs the AI in 1942 and both times its disappointed – in effect it doesn't concentrate its mobile forces so it starts well but ends up running out of steam (not helped by keeping AGN's Pzrs in the north).

I've rested the bulk of the VVS for the last 3 weeks so I'm going to gamble on airpower en-masse for 3-4 weeks to really help me break open his lines and hit his reserves. Thats the one area where I have the odds on my side – otherwise its pretty much 1-1 across the front

ORIGINAL: Oshawott

Hi loki100!

Do you have any supply problems in your armies? Could you tell me the numbers for Supply Stores and Global Supply Stock? Also, how many Heavy Industry and Armament factories do you have?

Thanks in advance!

I've not noticed any real problems. The formations attached to the Volkhov Front are low on supply but then I am really letting that sector starve in any case. I lack the capacity for an offensive up there so they may as well dig in. I suspect SigUp is of the same mindset.

I'll put in a fairly complete overview of the industry situation with the update.

The autumn rains had stalled the German advance in early November. Even the return of solid (if frozen) ground by 8 November only saw a limited renewal of their offensive. Still, Kaluga and Rostov were both taken as German spearheads reached the outskirts of Voronezh and Soviet rearguards fell back over the mighty Don.

On the other hand, especially on the Oka-Voronezh sector, November had seen a series of small scale Soviet offensives. These had relieved the threat to Tula and forced the Germans to react. At least one Panzer Group was now locked into the front lines as their infantry were no longer able to hold off the mounting pressure of Western and Leningrad Fronts.

Losses across the month reflected these new dynamics. The Germans had been unable to repeat the major encirclements of the summer and early autumn and losses between the two sides were much more equal. Axis forces had lost 90,000 men (killed, badly wounded or captured) for 130,000 Soviet losses. German tank losses started to escalate with 400 AFVs lost against 670 Soviet losses (mostly older T-26s and BT-7s). Even in the air, losses were more even, with 200 Axis aircraft lost and 630 Soviet (again mostly older models as the VVS was undergoing a major re-organisation).

Not only were the Germans paying a high price for small gains, but it seemed as if the partisan movement was winning its war to their rear. Their rail lines at Kiev were blown again and the Velikie Luki-Vyazma sector saw a sustained series of attacks, cutting the main supply lines to Army Group Centre.



Equally, Soviet forces were recovering from their battering in the summer and autumn and the Red Army had grown by 600,000 effectives in the month.



Notes:

1 – The VVS is back from its holidays in the Urals, that is 2000 more front line aircraft than last week.
2 – Following a discussion on the main forum, I've re-organised my usage of the rear Military Districts. Urals MD now has command of all the rear area units north of Moscow and the Volga MD of the units gathering along the Volga. I'll hand over the Moscow rear to the Moscow Defense Zone when it arrives next turn thus leaving very little reporting directly to Stavka.
3 – Leningrad Front will take on 2 Shock Army (next turn) thus using up its spare command capacity. The only front I am worried about is the Bryansk Front but the conversion of cavalry divisions to corps will help, if I need to I can hand one army over to either Western or South-Western Front.
4 – Transcaucasus Front has taken over from the Volga MD between South and Caucasus Fronts. About half its manpower is still locked (till January) so this gives a slightly false idea of its effective combat power.


(Sturmoviks assigned to Leningrad Front)

If this gave grounds for optimism, the reality was that Leningrad, Kiev, Kharkiv and Minsk all lay far behind the battle fronts. 5 Soviet Republics were completely under German domination [1] while the rumble of artillery from the front lines could be heard in Moscow.

Soviet industry was still badly disrupted by the losses and evacuations but supplies and ammunition were plentiful. The main lack was in terms of artillery with few rifle divisions now having over 100 pieces.



In planning for the counteroffensive, the long front was divided into five sectors. North of Torzhok (Volkhov Front) no active operations were planned and the two sides were settling down into defensive positions. In the Crimea, 44 Army would try to regain Kerch if the opportunity arose but this operation was secondary to the main plans.

At Moscow, the bulk of 4 Fronts were involved – North Western, Kalinin, Western and the Moscow District forces. The primary goal here was to regain, the line of the river Larna – Borodino – Kaluga. In combination this would create valuable depth to the Moscow defences.



If successful, would drive the Germans back roughly 60km from the Moskva-Volga canal and shorten the front by around 6 hexes (ie allow 2 armies to move to reserve).

In addition, paratroop units were pulled out of their defensive positions and redeployed to airbases around Moscow [2]


(elements of 1 Shock Army moving to their pre-offensive positions)

The main blow was planned to land south of the Oka. SW Front was ordered to relieve the threat to Voronezh and attack towards Kursk. Leningrad Front, heavily reinforced with Katyushas and backed by some of the best VVS squadrons, was expected to take on the German Panzers and Infantry facing them. Clearing the south back of the Oka around Kaluga would assist Western Front's operations and allow the offensive to develop towards Bryansk. Bryansk Front, with the bulk of the Red Army's mobile forces was to take Orel and then support Leningrad Front's operations.



In the Ukraine, South and Transcaucasus Fronts were attack towards Kharkov and the Donets. South Front had just received substantial reinforcements, including mobile units to provide the capacity to exploit any German retreat. To the south, Caucasus Front was ordered to retake Rostov and try to reach the Mius.



One major concern was that overall the Soviet Forces lacked superiority in anything but aircraft. The solution was to concentrate on key sectors. Overall, Germany and its allies had 5 million men (3.4 million German), 47,000 guns, 3,000 tanks and 3,500 aircraft. This was matched by 5.5 million men, 48,000 guns, 3,600 tanks and 7,000 aircraft.



Even as reserves moved up, front line formations rehearsed their assualt plans and the VVS deployed its fighters and bombers [3], it was clear that the margin for success was wafer thin.

Comments:

[1] – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bielorussia and the Ukraine
[2] – by out house rules, I'm only allowed two drops in December (ie the one I saved from November plus 1 for December), so I'm tempted to keep this as a threat. But then a well placed drop may well mess up a critical turn of reserve reactions by the Panzers.
[3] – I've decided basically on a single massive air campaign in December. If it moves, someone is going to drop a bomb on it. The result will probably be to wreck the VVS as an offensive weapon by mid-late January but it may just give me the edge I am going to need. Around Moscow, its almost all Pe-2s, Il-2s, Yaks and lend lease. The Ukraine has to make do with Migs/Lagg-5s and SB-2s.

Do not use the Moscow Defense Zone as it is not an MD so it will cost full AP cost to move armies & CU from the MDZ. Overload the Volga instead, perhaps some of the Volga units can be shifted to the South Ural MD?

Also, now is the time to build the support units you want to have for the '42 summer. This will give them time to train experience, which takes ~25 turns.

What is your RR Brigade count?

VOLGA md can act as a substitute for Voronej front, providing suport for armies atacking along the Voronej-Kursk axis, while the towns of orel and kharkov are the northern/southern limits of it;s command range .

of course being frozen and overloaded, it would not help with leader checks .

ORIGINAL: loki100

The solution was to concentrate on key sectors.
(...) (VVS:) If it moves, someone is going to drop a bomb on it.

Go, Red Army, go!

Probably it's just me, but I really miss the logic behind the industrial evacuating while standing on the edge of a major offensive?

ORIGINAL: Wuffer

Probably it's just me, but I really miss the logic behind the industrial evacuating while standing on the edge of a major offensive?

For the longer term strategy (i.e. summer 42) it makes sense. But I agree the politics of those evacuations would have been very tricky to work out with Stalin.

ORIGINAL: gingerbread

Do not use the Moscow Defense Zone as it is not an MD so it will cost full AP cost to move armies & CU from the MDZ. Overload the Volga instead, perhaps some of the Volga units can be shifted to the South Ural MD?

Also, now is the time to build the support units you want to have for the '42 summer. This will give them time to train experience, which takes ~25 turns.

What is your RR Brigade count?

thanks for that – hadn't realised that pitfall as up to now I've been leaving all the rear formations under Stavka control. I'm hoping from now on not to use the MD to control combat units, so overloading is not such a worry.

Here's a list. I probably should have more, but I am trying to ensure my armament points go to building artillery. I think I have enough, as long as I don't make massive gains in the winter.

ORIGINAL: Gabriel B.

VOLGA md can act as a substitute for Voronej front, providing suport for armies atacking along the Voronej-Kursk axis, while the towns of orel and kharkov are the northern/southern limits of it;s command range .

of course being frozen and overloaded, it would not help with leader checks .

again thanks, that is more or less how I've organised things. So Urals has the reserves behind and north of Moscow. Volga to the south and South Urals has all the deep reserves – I'm building up fort lines at some critical locations in anticipation that they will be combat zones in 1942.

ORIGINAL: Wuffer

ORIGINAL: loki100

The solution was to concentrate on key sectors.
(...) (VVS:) If it moves, someone is going to drop a bomb on it.

Go, Red Army, go!

Probably it's just me, but I really miss the logic behind the industrial evacuating while standing on the edge of a major offensive?

As jwolf says, I have no great expectations (oddly from emails SigUp feels he is doomed) as to what I am going to gain. My logic is that if he wants Moscow in 1942 he is going to take it. My plan is to gain the depth so that he has to spend the entire campaign season on that task. This may force him to look elsewhere for critical gains. But at the moment I can find the rail capacity to shift large blocks of factories so I'm cleaning out almost everything that could feasibly be at risk in 1942.

ORIGINAL: jwolf

ORIGINAL: Wuffer

Probably it's just me, but I really miss the logic behind the industrial evacuating while standing on the edge of a major offensive?

For the longer term strategy (i.e. summer 42) it makes sense. But I agree the politics of those evacuations would have been very tricky to work out with Stalin.

I've been giving Stalin free access to the special Central Committee vodka stocks so he doesn't notice that all the industry in Moscow has surprisingly been disappearing.

But yeah, it is on the gamey end of realistic.

Having kept to my plan to put up an active (& forward) defense in 1941 I feel I am owed a wee bit of foresight.

4 – 10 December: To perish or to live? (turn 25)

The predawn silence, in a huge arc around Moscow, was shattered as almost 18,000 Soviet guns roared into life. Overhead, the first wave of the VVS' bombers crossed the front on their way to raid German airbases and reserve formations. Even as the opening artillery salvos died away, the second wave of Soviet bombers hit front line formations.


(Pe-2s in action north of Moscow)

To the north of the city, elements of North West front attacked from their bridgeheads over the Moskva-Volga canal.



52 Army drove back elements of 23 Infantry Corps, threatening German communications between Konakovo and Klin and fending off a counterattack by an SS Motorised Brigade. Reserve formations pushed past the burning buildings until their advance patrols reported contact with at least 3 Panzer divisions well dug in along the rail lines.



To the south, 55 Army made substantial inroads towards Povarovo driving in elements of 5 Infantry Corps and, Kalinin Front's 21 Army supported these operations by attacking 42 Infantry Corps at Istra. For the moment, they made no effort to follow up their gains, contact to exert pressure on the flanks of the German forces north of Moscow.

North of Kaluga, Kalinin and Western Fronts made gains. 20 Army was committed against the entrenchments of 39 Panzer and 38 Infantry Corps. Backed by over 1000 guns and 3 waves of VVS airstrikes, the Germans broke after heavy fighting. The battlefield was littered with bodies and 24 German tanks were knocked out.




(elements of 20 Army moving past a destroyed Pzr III)

Just north of Kaluga, elements of 3 and 13 Armies hit a motorised division from 57 Panzer, again backed by a massive barrage. As the Germans fell back, second echelon forces from 13 Army pushed into the gap torn in their lines.



To the south of Kaluga, 6 fresh divisions of 1 Shock Army, elite units drawn from the Siberian reserve and backed by massed artillery and katyushas, hit 3 Panzer Corps.




(KV1s of 1 Shock Army moving up to the front after the infantry offensive)

Elsewhere, Leningrad Front had mixed success. Poor planning and preparation led to a major defeat for 32 Army where 3 Panzer held its section of the German defensive line with ease. However, 24 Army pushed back elements of 13 Corps and cavalry formations from 43 Army were able to exploit the gains. Bryansk Front's 19 Army further weakened the German line screening Orel by forcing 17 Panzer Division back near Tepioe.

Opposite South West and Southern Fronts, fighting was limited. Here the Germans had pulled back from their exposed positions on the Don and contact was limited to sharp encounters between their rearguards and advanced Soviet units.



Around Voroshilovgrad, elements of Trans-Caucasus and Caucasus Fronts hit the mostly Rumanian forces guarding the northern flank of the German forces on the lower Don.

North of Voroshilovgrad, 19 and 9 Armies made inroads into the weak axis defences and a frontal attack by 18 and 54 Armies cleared the Rumanian 4 Corps from the city. Here, for the first time, axis forces retreated in panic, leaving 7000 dead, wounded and prisoners on the roads leading west from the city. Stavka ordered an artillery salute from the walls of the Kremlin to celebrate the liberation of the first significant Soviet city from axis occupation.



However, any hope of a major breakthrough was lost when, to the south, elements of 1 and 4 Rumanian Corps held the small town of Sverdlosk, inflicting heavy losses on the attacking formations of 61 Army.



After a week of sustained fighting, Soviet forces had driven back the Axis invaders across sections of the long front. However, the gains were isolated, rarely more than 10 miles deep and Soviet patrols were reporting encountering strong reserves and secondary fortification lines. On the other hand, mobile units were moving up to exploit the gains in the first week.

The opening battles of the Soviet counterattack had seen substantial losses. Almost 23,000 axis and 32,000 Soviet soldiers had been killed or seriously injured. 88 Axis tanks had been destroyed for a cost of 216 Soviet. In the air, the VVS had paid a heavy price for its attacks on the German rear as well as close support for the Soviet infantry. 128 aircraft had been lost and it was estimated the Germans had lost 39.



(Order of Battle at end of week)

ORIGINAL: loki100

I've been giving Stalin free access to the special Central Committee vodka stocks so he doesn't notice that all the industry in Moscow has surprisingly been disappearing.

That's actually a pretty good strategy. SigUp should probably do the same for Hitler. [;)]

Congratulations on a good start (well it seemed that way to me) to the winter offensive. Even if you end up short of your goals at least you have the initiative for a season and that is a very welcome change of pace.

ORIGINAL: jwolf

ORIGINAL: loki100

I've been giving Stalin free access to the special Central Committee vodka stocks so he doesn't notice that all the industry in Moscow has surprisingly been disappearing.

That's actually a pretty good strategy. SigUp should probably do the same for Hitler. [;)]

I believe Hitler was a tea-totaller. But perhaps giving the Führer access to the Strategic Pastry Reserve would have the same effect. Throw in a couple of secretaries that are forced to listen to Adolf's reminiscences of his artist's life in Vienna, and you can be sure that the GroFaZ will be out of commission for the better part of the day, every day. [:)]

It's hard to gauge your offensive so far, loki, it being only a week old. You're mostly victorious, but certainly on a map it doesn't look like more than a few shallow penetrations, dents in the front rather than big, gaping holes. Again, your offensive is only a week old, so a lot could change. Still, you pushed aside a fair number of Panzer divisions and you even brushed an SS unit aside (Himmler will be sad, I'm sure). Shame that those Romanians (no, not those routing Romanians, the other Romanians) managed to hang in there and kill 1,600 Soviets.

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant

It's hard to gauge your offensive so far, loki, it being only a week old. You're mostly victorious, but certainly on a map it doesn't look like more than a few shallow penetrations, dents in the front rather than big, gaping holes. Again, your offensive is only a week old, so a lot could change. Still, you pushed aside a fair number of Panzer divisions and you even brushed an SS unit aside (Himmler will be sad, I'm sure). Shame that those Romanians (no, not those routing Romanians, the other Romanians) managed to hang in there and kill 1,600 Soviets.

Loki shouldn't worry about an occasional failed attack. If they all worked, it would mean he's not being aggressive enough. This will be his only good shot at the Germans for a long, long time so he really has to make it count. (Well that is my rookie's opinion; others including Loki himself may believe differently.) It usually takes a few turns to see how much of an effect an offensive has, especially a grinding type of offensive which is all Loki can do for now. His goal is to put pressure on the German front line units, giving them a choice: stay and get ground up to dust; or fall back and concede territory. I think he's off to a good start but we won't really know for a little while.

If the German side wants to keep his armor in the open and allow it to be punished by the blizzard attrition, along with heavy fighting, oblige him. [:D]

On no, what happened, another good reading AAR coming to an early ending?