Nach Moskau und zurück - Gunnulf (A) AtAtack (S) GC-No early end

[Gunnulf]

T51 Moscow sector

Model methodically pushes his 9th Armee one attack at a time towards Moscow from the east in order to apply pressure and establish both better defensive positions, draw in reserves or ultimately wear down the defences to genuinely threaten Moscow later in summer. Meanwhile Von Kluge does likewise from the south-east in this case counter-attacking 2 tanks corps who took back a bridgehead last week with some pretty heavy losses to the tanks particularly. No risks being taken, digging in and rebuilding CPP at each bound, but he certainly won't be able to ignore the threat in this sector before long.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Gunnulf

T51 AGS

Mud returns to northern and central Russia, and AGS goes slow for a turn to let logistics catch up and rebuild CPP. Meanwhile the Italians continue to skirmish in the wastelands while the combined 11 Armee/4 Panzer schwerpunkt pushes on in a rather tenuous overextended way. ...

you have done a really good job on rail repair, in that sector.

Generally you're getting the reward of picking and setting the operational tempo and focus

[Gunnulf]

T52 AGS

you have done a really good job on rail repair, in that sector.

Generally you're getting the reward of picking and setting the operational tempo and focus

I'd say you jinxed it on the rail repair but the below already happened as the marauding Cossack cavalry comes out of the foothills and cuts the railroad! Took many leaks in the front line and we need to take an operational pause before we overcommit, there are benefits of a short pause for security, CPP and logistical reason and we are already ahead of where we wanted to be. As you say feels like so far we are nicely inside his OODA loop and in the driving seat in all the places that matter, but he will play his cards as some point soon I'm sure.

In the meantime down south at least we start to rail in elements of 4 Romanian Army, which might set some alarm bells ringing but they will be at least equal German/Romanian corps and covering good defensive terrain rather than left on the steppes. Likewise when the Italian Alpine troops arrive soon they will go to their natural environment rather than joining the more mobile Italian corps currently on the plains. This should give us a better basis to continue deeper if this feels right. One of the biggest issues with Air AI though is recon is very lackluster and difficult to influence in a way we would usually be able to with full control and we are a bit more blind as to what lurks ahead than we would like.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

Yup, looks like the Caucasus will die on the vine. Seems you attacked into his strength down here Bummer. Still should be interesting. Good luck to you.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

Yup, looks like the Caucasus will die on the vine. Seems you attacked into his strength down here Bummer. Still should be interesting. Good luck to you.

Also looks like a suicide run into your backfield by some Soviets you cleaned up too.

[Gunnulf]

Yep kamikaze cavalry that got hunted down and shattered, but not before it caused some mischief!
And yes he has a strong force down here, but if can dig him out a little more and keep him occupied we as least have 2 objective cities that we can secure and hold down this flank through the year. Who knows, a new opportunity might present itself later in summer, or even next year depending on how the rest battles further north go. But not going to burn out in an ambush while Stalingrad is still unclear. We are still not through June yet so have the luxury of being a little ahead of the curve and winter is a long way off yet, though no doubt it will creep up fast! I didnt mention I think that I went with 3 Assault HQs; 11 Armee, 1 Panzerarmee and 4 Panzerarmee, all down south. I might soon switch these out again but I am not completely done with 11 Armee yet, and if nothing else I need the extra Command points down here for the moment. 2 & 3 Panzerarmee's are both sat on the wings of Moscow still but there will be a role a bit later.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: Gunnulf

Yep kamikaze cavalry that got hunted down and shattered, but not before it caused some mischief!
And yes he has a strong force down here, but if can dig him out a little more and keep him occupied we as least have 2 objective cities that we can secure and hold down this flank through the year. Who knows, a new opportunity might present itself later in summer, or even next year depending on how the rest battles further north go. But not going to burn out in an ambush while Stalingrad is still unclear. We are still not through June yet so have the luxury of being a little ahead of the curve and winter is a long way off yet, though no doubt it will creep up fast! I didnt mention I think that I went with 3 Assault HQs; 11 Armee, 1 Panzerarmee and 4 Panzerarmee, all down south. I might soon switch these out again but I am not completely done with 11 Armee yet, and if nothing else I need the extra Command points down here for the moment. 2 & 3 Panzerarmee's are both sat on the wings of Moscow still but there will be a role a bit later.

Digging out Soviets in mid to late 42 is not a fun thing to do if the Soviets are defending correctly. I will sit & see what you will do going forward and comment later.

[Gunnulf]

I agree, the early fights are done and he is fighting on ground of his own chosing now at the end of a very long axis supply chain. I still have some cards left to play, and a couple angles I've decided are important that I'll go into next few turns. I still have time on my side a little bit given that in a parallel historical world the Axis haven't yet captured Rostov for a few more weeks. But that doesn't change the fact that he's dug in where he is and not going to give ground easily.

Get popcorn, this will almost certainly be a tragic cautionary tale of what not to do and how to squander an early advantage!

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: Gunnulf

I agree, the early fights are done and he is fighting on ground of his own chosing now at the end of a very long axis supply chain. I still have some cards left to play, and a couple angles I've decided are important that I'll go into next few turns. I still have time on my side a little bit given that in a parallel historical world the Axis haven't yet captured Rostov for a few more weeks. But that doesn't change the fact that he's dug in where he is and not going to give ground easily.

Get popcorn, this will almost certainly be a tragic cautionary tale of what not to do and how to squander an early advantage!

Time is "never" on the German side fighting the Soviets. Historical vs actual is never a good yardstick in my book either. It is who you are playing that dictates the tempo of the game.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain

ORIGINAL: Gunnulf

I agree, the early fights are done and he is fighting on ground of his own chosing now at the end of a very long axis supply chain. I still have some cards left to play, and a couple angles I've decided are important that I'll go into next few turns. I still have time on my side a little bit given that in a parallel historical world the Axis haven't yet captured Rostov for a few more weeks. But that doesn't change the fact that he's dug in where he is and not going to give ground easily.

Get popcorn, this will almost certainly be a tragic cautionary tale of what not to do and how to squander an early advantage!

Time is "never" on the German side fighting the Soviets. Historical vs actual is never a good yardstick in my book either. It is who you are playing that dictates the tempo of the game.

But these are just things I adhere to which has served me well over the years. I will be waiting for the show but will be eating chocolate since popcorn gets stuck between my teeth and drives me ape sh*t crazy trying to find a toothpick to get the small pieces unstuck ;-P

[Gunnulf]

T53 Moscow Sector

Well, sort of the Rzhev sector but shifting slowly closer to Moscow anyway, one or two deliberate attacks at a time once CPP builds back up to acceptable levels. Partly to apply pressure and draw in re-inforcements, jockey for the best defensive terrain for when the tables turn, OR, put us in a position to genuinely threaten Moscow if he doesn't commit enough. Many of the front lines are just 1 or 2 divisions which aren't going to cut it. Also nice to see we control the skies still.

[Gunnulf]

T54 Caucasus Sector

Trouble brews on the eastern cordon as a horde of Soviet Tank Corps appear on the horizon across the steppes! Perhaps badly led, perhaps low on supplies as they are quite far from Grozny too but the attack is beaten off with heavy losses in Red tanks. I wish I had spent more time looking at the detail but didn't think to at the time. 3rd motorised is pretty high morale, CPP and supplies though which no doubt helped, plus only 41k soviets seems to indicate not many of these units at full ToE and certainly lacking infantry support. Either which way we count ourselves lucky, and subsequently other units from the Panzercorps mount a solid counter-attack to secure the perimeter and send those T34s that survive back to their start lines by the end of this turn.
Otherwise the Italian Alpine corps starts to arrive to take over some part of the southern flank in the hills and mountains where they belong. This will free up parts of 11 Armee to clear out the Soviets that are blocking us connecting the railway to Maikop. Without this important railyard we won't be in a position to push enough supplies east to drive further to Grozny...if that opportunity even prevents itself. If nothing else securing this key terrain will make defending our current gains easier.

[Gunnulf]

T54 Stalingrad Sector

4 Panzer grinds its line of advance, cutting off a Soviet Cavalry corps in the process, Meanwhile an almost fully refitted and CPP'd 17th Armee moves into position behind 1 Panzer in order to prepare to cross the river in force... Its pretty thick with Soviets though and not going to be easy from here on in and fully prepared to consider we might fall short at this city...

[Gunnulf]

T55 Tambov Sector

Quite quiet for 2nd & 6th Armee after the fall of Voronezh at the end of winter, consolidating against a possible counter-attack that never came, fortifying a perimeter, rebuilding and plotting. Now its clear that the Red are fully focused on fortress Stalingrad, and have their attention also fixed on the Caucasus and the small pressure on Moscow its time to launch a fresh offensive in the centre and the troops start to form up on the start lines ready to launch. Hopefully given that the Soviet troops are keeping their distance an element of surprise can be gained and even more optimistically we find the target relatively lightly held with Soviet strategic reserves already committed... Tambov is the main target, but 2 Panzer will also start a reconnaissance in force towards Ryazan again, while maintaining reserves in the existing Tula front line in case we need to come back in a hurry! Partially a diversion but if an opportunity arises then we will see...

[Gunnulf]

T56 Tambov sector

The main issue we've found with Air AI has been pretty sparse air recon results. No doubt I'm not doing something right, but I won't go with AirAI again mostly for this reason. Anyway, we go in blind instead and trust in the gods. 2 Panzer Armee's reconnaisance in force turns into a bit more of a commitment and we commit infantry to guard the northern flank at least. In fact an opportunity arises to further focus Soviet attention and sow confusion by Totenkopf establishing a bridgehead across the river. Meanwhile the mobile elements punch through screening forces and reach the suburbs of Ryazan.

2nd Armee similarly breaks through the initial forces screening the main target of Tambov and 6th Armee starts to echelon through, keeping a full corps of 4 divisions with as close to full CPP as possible in reserve. So far we have no idea what lines in the gap between 2 Panzer and 2 Armee but there are 2 fresh corps in their initial positions to avert disaster if its a hornets nest, but I think its a bit of a ghost sector...

[Gunnulf]

T56 Stalingrad sector

Meanwhile this seems to be where the bulk of the Red Army is, which is of course rational as its been the flashing light obvious target for many many months. 17 Armee does manage to breach the river defences on the second attempt, and elements of 1 Panzer follow through and establish a solid bridgehead on the east bank. Still a solid mass ahead but while we don't hold out too much hope of capturing the city this well defended OKH insists we give it a damn good go given that its still only July. There are a few months work ahead to even get to the suburbs though. No blitzkreig going on here as either flank will be a nightmare logistically. We can apply some brute force and a little manoeuvre and see what damage we can do... Of note also we see the a Guard Rifle unit for the first time I think, not for the last I'm sure now we are seeing some more hold results.

[Gunnulf]

T56 Caucasus sector

In the good news column 11 Armee clears the perimeter around Maikop to finally allow the railyard to be connected to the system. This should be important to project our rail-net further out as Krasnodar wasn't going to cut it alone range-wise. The rails are not overloaded for sure with current troop numbers but while its unlikely we will get a chance to push hard on Grozny unless/until Stalingrad falls at least it just became a little more feasible. Also the Italian Alpine corps starts to secure the pass to Tblisi so at least we shouldn't have to worry so much about further incursions from this angle for the moment. Again a bit better air recon would be nice to know what trouble is forming up to the east...!

[AlbertN]

You've lots of 3 Forts. Were the Russians hugging you for a long while that you fortified up or you're simply building and disbanding fortified zones to go past the 1 limit of fortifications?

Because I sure have problems keeping up high level forts but I also had a rather fluctuating front.

Edit: Also last turn is on last patch for combat numbers sake?

[Gunnulf]

These are a couple turns delayed, posting what I wrote slightly after the event, the latest patch kicks in next turns. I'm sure there are no spies but we agreed to delay a little on his suggestion just in case he couldn't control himself

In terms of level 3 forts, they built up to 3 as while his troops pulled back a distance the front line counts as in contact so long as you haven't cleared out the hexes in front. If you advance with divisions in this case the ZOC goes out 1 hex of course so your division then technically is behind the front line. However when he pulled back I advanced regiments and this kept the front line ahead of them and they build up to level 3 forts over time, while keeping the line of forts behind them with the original trenches. Once they were build fully I cleared the perimeter with patrols so subsequently don't suffer front-line attrition. Because of the mostly clear terrain and the juicy target of Tula I considered this the most at risk vulnerable sector for a counter-attack in winter, and again this summer but in the end nothing came and I was left unmolested to build this mini-Maginot line. I will kept the fort units as a fall back position but I think all the work on the forward line will be wasted as I need to get that infantry corps into action now I think to get forward on the flanks.

[Gunnulf]

T57 Caucasus Sector

2 Soviet Tank corps makes mischief raids with accompanying Ski troops (essential in July), but both beaten back easily when they run out of tanks. More repairs needed to the forward railtracks but nothing disastrous with an FDB on hand. More troops with arrive soon to help make this perimeter less porous.
Meanwhile the Italian Alpinists slowly secure the pass. We won't be able to push all the way to Sochi but at least lock down this avenue of threat.
We might be being optimistic but hoping a few sustained turns of naval patrol blockade might be squeezing things a little. As it stands because the rails along the black sea coast are not continuous then everything has had to come in via truck for a while now along a long rough road. No air supply observed which might be a sign not needed, or that he knows JG3 is at Krasnodar. With human air control I'd like to do some interdiction on that road, despite rough terrain being difficult to interdict of course but with Air AI not able to guide it to do this effectively so its a moot point.