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At Kursk I close the pocket and it seems I was able to get most of the threatened units trapped:

In the south I think I lied about doing HQBU last turn. I remember now, I did not do it south (as I should have), but that meant I could do the Corps at Moscow which has resulted in cutting off the city. So, lucky mistake I guess

In the south I now have the AP to do the HQBU and I position the Corps 'inconspicuously' for a strike south to dislodge the Red Army at Z-town. He should know the signs by now. If Panzers only do so much in a turn, chances are good that HQBU has taken place. At Poltava the 2 Pz Div.'s that arrive on turn13 have unloaded their machines at the railhead. After it was clear that I had sufficient strength at Moscow, I have been railing all reinforcements south.

Finally the supply situation.

An FBD should finish the first loop south of Mogilev next turn, with help of the Const. Bn.'s of one of the RHG commands.

+ 1

On we go.

Turn 15

3 more turns of good weather.

In the north I hope to complete rolling up his line and establish a short front before mud hits. All armor is still committed at Moscow though, so it is a job for the infantry.

Moscow should be secured next turn. No need to assault now, when I can do it next turn against an isolated garrison.

The Kursk pocket gets opened by 2 deliberate attacks against a motorised regiment.

The units wont survive, but this buys a crucial turn for the defence of Voronezh

Darbymcd did not evacuate his forces on the Dnepr bend. He had some good units defending his northern flank, but the timely arrival of the 2 fresh Pz Div.'s ensures doom for those troops as well:

The attacks down south did come at a hefty price; even though I always manually select airgroups for bombing (and supply) missions, twice the selected fighter groups did not sortie and I lost most of the Stukas of VIII Flieger Corps (I moved VIII flieger corps south at turn 3 to help with the mass of Red Army there):

Since Stuka production is quite pitiful, this hurts. Much more than the scores of Ju-88's that have been shot down over the summer.

Soviet losses have reached the 3M mark:

OOB

Finally, the supply situation south of Moscow.

I cannot push further east of Moscow as I moved the FBD there when it reached Rhzev

Turn 16

2 more turns of good weather.

In the North I launch the southern attack to clear the Red Army west of Yaroslav. This will not be completed before mud hits which is a pain, but well worth it imho considering how short my lines will be, giving me room to put together an assault army and put it in strategic or at least opertational reserve for the winter.

Edit: An important piece of advice for new players.

Look at the highlight at the bottom left. I had 3 units stacked in Rhzev, which prevented auto repair Bn.'s to go there..
Try to avoid stacking units on damaged rail, even though it can look neat/historical to have units in cities as to not impede your auto rail repair.

For me, this loss of a turn is rather important as I needed the autorepair to continue north of Rhzev to help supply.

Moscow easily falls. I do the assaults with overkill; more or less a celebratory overkill assault to reward the landsers for all their efforts. Not so good for efficiency, but my mission on this front is accomplished for the summer anyway.

I highlight Gorky in the north east as it has a lot of industry.

I did want to create 1 or 2 small pockets to destroy on the last turn of summer, but instead I create some guard units as I get some unexpected holds.

At Tula, 1 last ittybitty pocket before the panzer troops will be either pulled of the line or finish a continuous front east of Orel.

East of Kharkov, I form one more pocket in the south. I could have succeeded in getting 6 more divisions, crippling his sector here, but that would have been impossible to make secure, providing the prospect of complications during mud. I want something that I can simply destroy on turn 17 and go for the smaller pocket.

On the sea of Azov, I close the door on the group of forces that have been on the Dnepr bend since the start of game, no point in letting them rejoin the main force. They will have port/beachhead supply though, so they may be there a while. There are some strong units in there, so am glad I cut them off.

Just like in the far north, I start another operation that will run into mud. I feel making a play for the 3 Stalino cities has to be tried to deny my opponent an anchor in the south that can be strengthened over the mud period.

Ground losses. With likely 22 units that will be destroyed next turn (excluding the Army trapped on the shores of the Sea of Azov) I should end summer with 3.5M Soviet losses.

I have started to use the Rumanian Air Force to attack the Red Airforce in the Crimean.

No real strategic purpose, just to give them experience and inflict losses.