1.04 The Wolf and the Bear (no Gids)

[Tarhunnas]

And production. This is filtered to German production.

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 44.

Time to do something about the Soviets in the Tula salient. The leading corps of 4th panzer army has just arrived, and has been hidden in nearby woods to conceal their presence. They go straight into battle and smash an armored fist into the soft underbelly of the Soviet Tula penetration. They meet up with an offensive effort from the 2d panzer army north of Tula, and best units in the Soviet army suddenly find themselves cut off.

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 45. April 23 1942.

The Tula encirclement holds! Here is a screenshot before German moves.

I reprint a comment from my opponent: "shocked though my whole shockarmy gone".

[Tarhunnas]

The Moscow area after German moves. Pocket partly reduced, but it takes time in the mud. Just North of Moscow, some preparatory attacks were made, but that has now stopped due to the mud. One panzer corps from 4th Panzer Army has just been transferred to 3d Panzer army in preparation for the thrust east to encircle the enemy in the Moscow area, as soon as the ground is suitable for offensive operations.

[Tarhunnas]

The Crimea after German moves turn 45. One panzer division has been transferred to 11th army, to make it feasible to clean out the Crimea when the clear weather arrives.

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 46. April 30 1942.

The last units in the Tula pocket surrenders. Misled by red propaganda and intimidated by the revolvers of the commissars at their backs, the last Red units fought with utmost desperation. The 4th Shock Army and the 60th Army have virtually ceased to exist. Here is the tally of destroyed units.

[Tarhunnas]

The OKH has been considering plans for the coming summer offensive. An inventory of industrial targets in the area beyond Moscow shows that there are a number of attractive targets within striking distance. If not all can be reached before the Soviets evacuate them, just forcing the Soviets to move them should cause a dent in production.

Stage one of the coming offensove will be the elimination of Soviet forces in the Moscow area, stage two will be a strike eastwards for the industrial targets.

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 48. May 14 1942.

4th Panzer Army takes advantage of an unexpected mid May snowfall (!) to launch a little offensive that surrounds Tula.

[Tarhunnas]

Meanwhile, SS LAH is refitting. STill not very impressive in CV. The new recruits don't have the experience of the veterans now in POW camps in Siberia.

The Fuhrer has forbidden the division to wear their armbands until they have redeemed themselves.

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 49. May 21 1942. Still snow in the central weather zone, and the rivers are frozen!!!!
OKH meteorologists are starting to wonder if a new ice age is in the offing...

Unfortunately, the Soviets had strong forces left near Tula and struck back, opening a path to their surrounded units. We close the encirclement again. Map after German moves turn 49.

[Tarhunnas]

To the north of Moscow, 3d Panzer Army has made a penetration that actually seems to have broken through the defensive belts, and reached the green fields beyond...

[Mynok]

Are you able to use infantry at all in the initial breakthrough attacks?

[Tarhunnas]

Yes, why shouldn't I? It is not as easy to concentrate infantry in the required amounts in 1942 though. And the Sovs are tougher. One line of lever 3 forts after another...

[Mynok]

Just curious if they were useful or ended up getting massacred.

[Tarhunnas]

The Ice Age continues! This is the weather map turn 50 28 May 1942. Snow and ice. Come on, there will not be snow and frozen rivers in Moscow at the end of May! [X(]

[Tarhunnas]

Turn 51. Jun 4 1942.

Ok, the snow has ended. Mud in the center, so operations around Moscow and Tula have ground to a halt.

In the South, 4th Panzer Army has been revving their engines, and now with clear weather they are let loose. An almost successful encirclement east of Kharkov, just one hex missing. But the mud will do some of the work for us.

Map of Kharkov area after Axis moves.

[Tarhunnas]

Checked leader losses. It appears that Guderian has gone and died! [X(] Wonder how that happened. And Antonescu! Isn't he supposed to be far from the front? Is there some way to se where, when and how they died?

[Klydon]

Wow.. lot of dead Rumanian generals there.

Ouch on losing both Guderian and Model. Heinrici is damm good too.

[Ketza]

Who let Hitler loose with a Luger?

[Mynok]

Man, that's some tough leader losses there.