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I've made great pains to repair the rail all the way out to Kiev and except for the breaks in

my backfield I would have a lot of supply there. I'm moving the RR engineers to the breaks to

see if they can't fix the rail again. The Kiev project is on hold while repairs are being

made because there's not enough supply to continue. Needless to say that the supply levels

on the east side of the Kiev river have fallen off a cliff. I see now the importance of

qwelling the partisans. Qwelling: (verb) to take down, to squash, to thwart.

The RR engineers that are still in service in the north are now extending the rails toward the north and they are almost

done. Then the priority will be to extend the rails to the east to feed those folks that need the supply so badly. I've

been extending the rails all the way up to the front lines in order to be able to run the RR arty units withing range of

the Soviet arty in their own backfields. Some of the RR arty has the range to hit the heavy arty pieces way in the

backfield.

Here's how far the advance has gotten in the south. Other units are following on and will arrive here in a couple of

turns. Meanwhile I'm fighting over the river crossings again.

Soviet Turn 20....the last days of August 1941

Down in the deep South at Perikop Soviet cavalry dug in in the ruins of the city succeed in fighting off assaults from the 7th FJ Division supported by Rumanians and thereby protect the access to the Crimea gaining valuable time as defences around Sevastapol are strengthened.

There is a more serious situation developing on the Central Front however where the 19th Panzer Division, having forced the crossing of the Dnepr at Orsha has run into the 24th Army which is struggling to hold them, whilst nearby at Mogilev there is a similar problem trying to hold the 12th and 3rd Panzer Divisions.

For now the situation in and around Kiev and all points South is much more stable.

Smolensk also continues to hold out though the defenders are under a lot of pressure. In an attempt to help out the Soviet air force commits a lot of its operational fighter bombers co-ordinating with outbound artillery against attacking infantry Divisions and manage to inflict a satisfying 20% damage with over 70 German Infantry squads destroyed.

In the North the Narva river line also just holds but just to the south the German offensive threatens to outflanking the line on the southern flank.

Behind German lines several partisan groups are under pressure from internal security forces but they continue to hold on and I am hoping more rails and bridges can be overrun.

I just got some new moves from Ian and the first thing I'm doing is checking out the supply situation. It looks like the

mud season is arriving early for my side. This level of supply is typical of what I see during the mud season and that's a

bad fore-warning. That means that when the mud season DOES arrive the supply situation is going to be worse than this. I

may have to pull back a lot of the troops in this picture.

The supply level up north is adequate for operations and so I'm putting the pedal to the metal and making some progress.

The front line appears broken and it's slowly backing up as the hexes are gained. The Soviet units are tired and poorly

led and I have hopes of being able to gain the railroad to Novgorod.

Up in the upper left corner of the front lines I've been bombarding and probing for several turns now and the forts I'm

attacking this time are still a leafy green. I'm getting nowhere fast. Even with the support of the ships and

aircraft. I'm going to have to make the effort to get across the river some other place. Some better place.

Here's what's going on in my backfield....partisans. Several of them. I've got some of them cornered and there's at least

two that are free still. I'm looking around for them now. Some of the damage to the rails I have fixed but there's still

more to repair yet. The supply situation directly to the east is still crippled.

I've done the hard part and have gotten across the river, now I'm trying to expand the foothold on the east side. Supply

drops off at the river crossings and is low on the east side of the river but the pushing and shoving is continuing and

I've rested some divisions sufficiently to make them combat worthy and I'm driving them into the front lines and it's

making a difference in that the Soviets are backing up slowly and giving way.

Here's the Gomel area just now and as you can see I'm slowly getting across the river in several spots. I had to

commit the Panzer's in one case and now that they have made a hole I need them in another spot. I'm trying to pull a left

hook on Leningrad and I'm running out of available units and a Panzer unit would fit the bill admirably.

I just now did a save game with the PBEM++ system and that wrote a SAL file to my hard drive and I've zipped it up and

attached it here below so that, I have reason to believe, you can do an end-turn and watch all the battles

execute for the last and final time for my turn. And it's going to be quite a fireworks display. Especially for

Ian. Take notice of the fact that I've been using my front line units in "T" mode a lot because they tend to cover

for each other. I haven't tried that in "L" mode yet, that's next.

Edit: Yes, I DO want Ian to take a look at it. That's' how we learn. Not that I'm anything special or an expert.

Larry have you considered an airborne assault with your paratroopers and commandos on the points marked with a back circle? The bridge appears to be held by a AAA Bn and should fall with a attack by a paratrooper Regt. If you are able to take the bridge in tack you will cut Ian's supply and give you an crossing. It will also force Ian to attack your assault force so of course you will have to relieve them very quickly.

Bold shock action will always carry the day. It can also lead to heavy losses.

Soviet Turn 21 ..........31st August 1941

(Turn made before I read Fogger's fiendish suggestion above......There was some frantic redeployment among the Soviets facing the rampaging AGN troops around Narva and the lines to the south so that bridge may have been reinforced........but I can't remember !!)

There was a significant success for Germans of AGN during Larry's turn with the line now threadbare and crumbling to the south of Leningrad and it may be that the Narva river line may have to be abandoned to avoid being outflanked.

Both Kiev and Smolensk still hold (historically Smolensk fell on 10th Sept anyway so I am hopefully going to match that achievement....ideally without getting 300,000 troops caught in a huge pocket which the Soviets managed in 1941 !)
Kiev fell on 19th September 1941 which also should be matched as artillery in Kiev continues to cause significant German infantry casualties.

The odd one out is likely to be Odessa as the garrison there is getting worn down badly so holding until the historic date of 16th October seems unlikely though the mud induced ceasefire around turn 32 may save it for a while.

This turn a minor success was achieved by the US Naval Bombers which arrived as part of an intervention force sent after Larry bullied Sweden into the war on the Axis side. The Kreigsmarine operation supporting the attacks around Narva was hit and a battleship sunk and several smaller vessels badly damaged by the Dauntlesses.

Elsewhere Partisans continue to do great work and the beginnings of a reserve Shock Army force is being assembled for offensive operations later in the year.

Another complete Soviet Army is railed in to try and protect the Moscow to Leningrad rail line.

Over 350 planes from both sides are lost as the air war continues to intensify.

ORIGINAL: fogger
Larry have you considered an airborne assault with your paratroopers and commandos on the points marked with a back circle? The bridge appears to be held by a AAA Bn and should fall with a attack by a paratrooper Regt. If you are able to take the bridge in tack you will cut Ian's supply and give you an crossing. It will also force Ian to attack your assault force so of course you will have to relieve them very quickly.

Bold shock action will always carry the day. It can also lead to heavy losses.

Hey Fogger dude....that's a good idea. I'm going to have to give that some thought. I'd need to get across the river in time to save my paratroopers but yeah that sounds like something I should consider seriously.

Here's the T22 front lines before I have moved anybody.

Ian sent me a new set of moves and I've watched the playback and was amazed at the number of units he got this last turn

and was railing them directly to the front lines without any rest. I guess they will have to make do with those little

half-hour combat naps that you can sometimes have a chance at. I'm moving units and I've come to those that work in the

south and I've come to some that are making tracks in the wilderness, the trackless desert areas in the south inbetween

interesting spots. I was surprised to find out that there is a trickle of supply already there when I got there. How

cool is that? I might be able to keep the advance going to the east if not south into the Crimea. A lot of my Romanians

are still busy at Odessa and it appears that they will be there for quite a while yet. The RR arty isn't producing the

hits I had forcast in my head. Maybe there's just not enough arty yet and more arty will make the difference.

The northern front lines are a free fire zone and my boys are on the warpath this turn with all kinds of attacks scheduled.

I'm hoping to be able to make a hole somewhere to be able to roll up the Soviet lines and kill some Russians.

Soviet Turn 22…...3rd September 1941

Like Jaws closing on a helpless swimmer Army Group North closes on Leningrad and the defenders South of the city in the crumbling defence lines are forced to give further ground though the impression of a coherent front just about remains.

In an attempt to prevent a serious situation becoming critical 13th Army deploys and dogs in along the northern bank of the Volkov river trying to defend the crucial Leningrad/Moscow rail line.

The situation just East of the central Dnepr is similar with Panzer Armies just being held from a total breakthrough towards the main MLR West of Moscow by a hotchpotch of tired and battered Soviet Militia Armies.

The strongpoints around Kiev and Smolensk continue to hold which is vital as Larry needs to take these to ensure supply to troops driving towards Moscow is adequate.

In the deep South Odessa also remains firmly in Soviet hands with the Romanian troops besieiging them taking more artillery losses.

Further to the East advance elements of a Panzer Grenadier Division that had pushed forward to Melitopol is counterattacked and a recon unit destroyed.

There is now less than ten turns until the first ceasefire...it is vital that Leningrad, and just as importantly it's lines of communication remain in Soviet hands until then.

Here's what the front lines look like in the Leningrad area just now. I've been pushing and shoving and the front

lines are moving slowly and I'm having to move the arty north a little bit to be in range still. I'm trying to make a

breakthrough so I can roll up the Soviet lines and kill a few of them. It seems like no sooner than I have killed a unit

that two more appear where the first one came from. I feel badly outnumbered in some sections of the front lines.

Here's a look at the Smolensk area and we're still pushing and shoving. I'd like to think the Soviet units are

slowly falling backward, giving way, but it's happening so slowly that you can't see it happening. Like a flowing glacier.

Yeah, that's it....the front lines are moving at a glacial pace. I'm still looking for weak spots to try to make a hole

and drive through it.