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Duh - it takes APs to disband a unit and I have zero left!!! next turn...

ORIGINAL: hgilmer3

I remember thinking you were obnoxious, no offense! But obnoxious people get things done sometimes. [:)]

Hi. I wasn't ignoring you - I actually didn't see this post until today.

What happened was that I waited two years for the game I have always dreamed of owning and when it came I found some important 'issues' on day one (e.g. the Soviets running away in the south). I was surprised and disappointed.

However, when I tried to flag these (and other) points, I was told that I hadn't played the game long enough to have an opinion. That's when I became an annoying and obnoxious presence in the forum.

Now that fixes are being delivered/promised, you will see that I am back to my normal self, which is about halfway between "slightly annoying" and "OK, but only in small doses"

Turn 70.

The mud has returned. The front has stabilised (one game feature I really like is that the AI doesn't go in for lots of foolish local attacks, even where it is relatively strong - it seems to take a strategic posture of defend or attack) and all of my reserve armies are out of the line and in refit mode.

I am disbanding my forts and have stood down the Red Air Force for a full reorg. My intention is the launch of a major offensive on 01 January 1943 against AGS.

Turn 74.

Winter '42. The AI is inactive this turn and I am waiting until January before launching my winter offensive. I will keep the bulk of my reserves in the centre for now, to see if the AI makes a move first.

Refit is now set to OFF for all units and the Air Force has been supplied with the new IL2M and La 5 aircraft, where APs allow...

I have disbanded most of my forts - this should improve my die rolls. This turn I will also review the stats of my Army and Front commanders and make replacements where they are needed.

Note that many of the reserve units in this image are actually stacks 2-3 units high, and almost all are now Corps level.

Objectives for the Winter Offensive 1942. Codename "Operation Moonlight".

As the AI is making no aggressive moves, I have redeployed my reserve armies southward to kick-off the offensive slightly earlier than planned. Initial probes to test the line and possibly secure bridgeheads start this turn against the weakest parts of the enemy line. The main assault starts next turn.

I manage to achieve some initial break-ins, but the winter effects on the Axis in '42 are much less severe than '41 and the defensive line is stronger than expected.

In addition, I messed up my HQ transfers and I have now moved two reserve armies south that are still attached to the Moscow MD.

Lesson learned!

Do you have Shock Army or Tank Army HQs heading up the main attacks?

No, just my standard armies for the initial assault. The shock armies are in the second echelon. Probably a mistake, but the experience of the summer led me to expect an enemy collapse...

I made a lot of mistakes with this operation, due to overconfidence. However, the break in continues and I may just get away with it.

Key lessons learned (or re-learned).

1. Prepare every offensive in detail - don't go for a 'hasty approach'. The Axis defence remains very tough, even after heavy losses, and when behind a natural obstacle it is hard to crack.

2. Form RR support units at Army level as the Soviets. I had been forming these at STAVKA level, which worked well until I advanced further to the West. I thought I could re-attach these STAVKA RR 'ants' to a new HQ, but that doesn't work. Now, most of them are sitting around with red supply states, so I have to return them to STAVKA.

3. Stack 3 Corps high at the point of a Soviet attack and on a front at least 5 hexes wide. You will need a gap of 3 hexes with no enemy ZOC in order to push your second echelon through.

4. Remember that Corps-level Soviet units eat up three times the Rail capacity that Divisions do. If you move your armies around behind the front, be prepared for several movement turns to get them all into position.

5. Think carefully about your chain of command before you relocate an army. Will you be moving the Front HQ as well, or will you need to re-assign the Army to another Front? This will cost you 30-50 AP, so you are limited in how often you can make such a re-assignment.

6. Note that the AI appears to be programmed to defend in '43 and it seems to form better lines and now holds any city hexes in its front line. If you battered through these gaps in '42, they may not be there in '43.

redmarkus4,

thanks for all the hard work your doing and in particular the detailed observations you have been expressing.

Cheers PW - it's a pleasure!

The German units that begin the war are high quality, both in experience and morale; if you don't kill them off they'll remain tough even years into the war.
 
A unit destroyed, then rebuilt from scratch will probably not be as good as the original.  If you have destroyed 40 or 50 divisions that leaves quite a few that are still tough.

OK, thanks.

Status update on Operation Moonlight, showing the start line, the current extent of the advance and the objective.

I would keep looking for weak spots ( Rumanians and security regiments ).
 
When mud comes, do you withdraw Guards units from the front to refit?

I do refit during the mud phase.

However, the Rumanians have been fighting like lions. One Rumanian mountain Bde held off 3 Corps, including a Guards Corp as they tried to cross the Dnepr for 3 consecutive turns!

Mountain units do tend to be tougher.

Yes. I thought it was quite realistic - quality outweighing quantity.

Turn 84.

The Axis defence in the south is crumbling at last. It's been a tough fight, but Kiev has now fallen - abandoned by the AI, although there was a danger of it being pocketed.

The advance is on schedule for completion by the end of February '43, if not sooner.

The clean up in the south continues and a further Pz Div is pocketed, bringing my total to 5 Panzer and 3 Motorised Divisions destroyed.

Meanwhile, I have been conducting a smaller operation in the direction of Minsk. This is difficult ground and the defenders were entrenched with defence CVs of 14-20+. However, good progress has been made, although I may have to stop short of Minsk itself and resume in the Spring/Summer.

Any Front HQs overloaded with too many units?  I'm trying to see how badly it hurts.