The Sky’s the Limit- PBEM GC 41 jubjub (Axis) vs. M60A3TTS (Soviet)

[M60A3TTS]

As part of the Leningrad air actions, we do take note of the opposing fighter forces involved. We count four German fighter groups, which is no small number. Clearly Leningrad is a priority for jubjub.

[M60A3TTS]

OOB Turn 40




Ground losses just over 4 million for the Red Army.




On map men. Still trying to break over the 5 million mark.




On-map AFVs. German reinforcements continue to roll in. Only the fact that this includes a thousand damaged vehicles provides some comfort.




On map guns




Here is the northern theater box.



In managing this box, I am maxing out the artillery and bomber values easily enough while trying to add the needed fighters, night fighters (all I have) and construction units. There are no engineer units as those don't come until later and even then I probably would find them of more value on the map. Flak is present but I plan on stripping them out by disband. The ground CVs that are generated by flak are just too low to be worth keeping here. I'd just rather pocket the manpower.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

As part of the Leningrad air actions, we do take note of the opposing fighter forces involved. We count four German fighter groups, which is no small number. Clearly Leningrad is a priority for jubjub.

What are you throwing at these Germans from the Soviet side? If anything.

[M60A3TTS]

What are you throwing at these Germans from the Soviet side? If anything.

There are several hundred fighters available to the Leningrad Air Command. At the same time, all these heavy rains are putting a damper on effective air action.

[M60A3TTS]

Week 41 29 March 1942

The end of winter and time to plan ahead. The enemy forces are in very good shape across the board, so a lot of preparation will be required.

There are 12 weeks that have passed since the start of 1942. This leaves 40 weeks in the remainder of the year. The VVS is to plan for operations in 32 of these, allowing 8 weeks for minimal or no operations based on weather or operational pauses.

Pilots
Total 9,561
Ready 8,708
Free 393
Pool 2,339
Train 200. x40 weeks = 8,000 to be trained in the remainder of the year
Strategic Pilot Reserve 2,767
Total pilot reserves including those to be trained in 1942 13,499

Aircraft
FFB Pool 1,714 (excludes all I-Type fighters)
Tac Pool 1,519
LB Pool 3,044
210 FFB produced weekly x40 weeks 8,400 for year
160 Tac produced weekly x40 weeks 6,400 for year
98 LB produced weekly x40 weeks ~ 4,000 for year
Recon a/c 339 in pool 6 built each week x40 weeks 240 for year
Transport a/c 26 in pool (not including U-2(tr)) 13 Li-2 per week 520 for year

Organization
163 FFB regts on map
29 are in the Strategic Pilot Reserve, leaving 134.
We have 63 tactical bomber groups flying Su-2 and Il-2 aircraft.
Will have 12 ShADs on turn 60. 1,4,6,9 SAD and 9ShaD Kbf remain on map. Will pick up 6 ShADs and 1 SAD by week 48, giving us full AOG coverage for tactical air groups.
Will have 12 IADs on turn 51.
There are 13 air groups flying IL-4 level bombers on map.

Air reconnaissance begins in earnest as the VVS attempts to identify enemy troop concentrations. There are 7 AOGs assigned to various air commands dedicated to reconnaissance. We begin the effort with 478 recon aircraft on map and in the reserves. A total of 30 are lost in this first week which isn’t sustainable long term, but this battlefield intelligence is needed for the short term. A total of 81 air missions are flown, with groups varying in size from 2 to 14. There is a motorized corps in the Rostov area which includes 5th and 9th Panzer Divisions, but very little else of a mobile nature seen at this stage. 6th Panzer Division and SS Totenkopf have been holding the line up north along the Volkhov River.

[FortTell]

160 Tac produced weekly x40 weeks 6,400 for year

Il-2 production will increase from 145 to 216/turn in September, so that should be another ~1500 planes in your arsenal.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

Week 41 29 March 1942

The end of winter and time to plan ahead. The enemy forces are in very good shape across the board, so a lot of preparation will be required.

There are 12 weeks that have passed since the start of 1942. This leaves 40 weeks in the remainder of the year. The VVS is to plan for operations in 32 of these, allowing 8 weeks for minimal or no operations based on weather or operational pauses.

Pilots
Total 9,561
Ready 8,708
Free 393
Pool 2,339
Train 200. x40 weeks = 8,000 to be trained in the remainder of the year
Strategic Pilot Reserve 2,767
Total pilot reserves including those to be trained in 1942 13,499

Aircraft
FFB Pool 1,714 (excludes all I-Type fighters)
Tac Pool 1,519
LB Pool 3,044
210 FFB produced weekly x40 weeks 8,400 for year
160 Tac produced weekly x40 weeks 6,400 for year
98 LB produced weekly x40 weeks ~ 4,000 for year
Recon a/c 339 in pool 6 built each week x40 weeks 240 for year
Transport a/c 26 in pool (not including U-2(tr)) 13 Li-2 per week 520 for year

Organization
163 FFB regts on map
29 are in the Strategic Pilot Reserve, leaving 134.
We have 63 tactical bomber groups flying Su-2 and Il-2 aircraft.
Will have 12 ShADs on turn 60. 1,4,6,9 SAD and 9ShaD Kbf remain on map. Will pick up 6 ShADs and 1 SAD by week 48, giving us full AOG coverage for tactical air groups.
Will have 12 IADs on turn 51.
There are 13 air groups flying IL-4 level bombers on map.

Air reconnaissance begins in earnest as the VVS attempts to identify enemy troop concentrations. There are 7 AOGs assigned to various air commands dedicated to reconnaissance. We begin the effort with 478 recon aircraft on map and in the reserves. A total of 30 are lost in this first week which isn’t sustainable long term, but this battlefield intelligence is needed for the short term. A total of 81 air missions are flown, with groups varying in size from 2 to 14. There is a motorized corps in the Rostov area which includes 5th and 9th Panzer Divisions, but very little else of a mobile nature seen at this stage. 6th Panzer Division and SS Totenkopf have been holding the line up north along the Volkhov River.

If that is the results of your search they suxxor at spotting anything. Saves lives and just steal the information from Briton Ultra program with your spys.

[M60A3TTS]

If that is the results of your search they suxxor at spotting anything. Saves lives and just steal the information from Briton Ultra program with your spys.

Later, when you see the Red Air Force lose over a thousand planes in a week, you'll be even less impressed.

[HardLuckYetAgain]

If that is the results of your search they suxxor at spotting anything. Saves lives and just steal the information from Briton Ultra program with your spys.

Later, when you see the Red Air Force lose over a thousand planes in a week, you'll be even less impressed.

LoL, so true

[M60A3TTS]

Week 42 5 April 1942


The fighting for Leningrad resumes after a week's pause.

Under blizzard conditions, Ferdinand Schoerner with his LIX Corps supported by I Corps, X Corps, and L Corps hurls his forces at the entrenched Soviet forces consisting of seven rifle divisions of 4th Shock and 55th Armies. The attacking forces consist of an astonishing array of units aside from the infantry divisions. Penal battalions, pionier battalions, flak battalions, StuG battalions, SS troops from Norway, a panzer regiment of captured French tanks salvaged from the 1940 campaign, the SS Deaths Head Division. Even the Fuhrer’s personal bodyguard is here. Artillery of all types imaginable: 105mm, 150mm, 210mm, 305mm Skoda howitzers, 355mm howitzers, 600mm Karl siege mortars. By comparison, defending Soviet artillery can only field a half dozen or so 150mm howitzers and two or three dozen 122mm howitzers. But there are several battalions of heavy 120mm mortars and these are fired with frenetic rapidity to do as much damage as possible.

Vasily Gerasimenko can only remain in his headquarters and receive the inevitable reports of one strongpoint after another being blasted and in turn assaulted by the invaders. Gradually the three defending divisions of Pavlovo are forced from the city. Two divisions retreat in good order but one is routed. Next, the heavily wooded positions southwest of the coastal fortress and port of Osinvets is given up, again with the retreat of two Soviet divisions while another is routed.

The final tally is 6,000 Soviet losses to 3,000 German. The bulk of the Soviet forces remain to fight another day.

[tm1]

Week 42 5 April 1942


The fighting for Leningrad resumes after a week's pause.

Under blizzard conditions, Ferdinand Schoerner with his LIX Corps supported by I Corps, X Corps, and L Corps hurls his forces at the entrenched Soviet forces consisting of seven rifle divisions of 4th Shock and 55th Armies. The attacking forces consist of an astonishing array of units aside from the infantry divisions. Penal battalions, pionier battalions, flak battalions, StuG battalions, SS troops from Norway, a panzer regiment of captured French tanks salvaged from the 1940 campaign, the SS Deaths Head Division. Even the Fuhrer’s personal bodyguard is here. Artillery of all types imaginable: 105mm, 150mm, 210mm, 305mm Skoda howitzers, 355mm howitzers, 600mm Karl siege mortars. By comparison, defending Soviet artillery can only field a half dozen or so 150mm howitzers and two or three dozen 122mm howitzers. But there are several battalions of heavy 120mm mortars and these are fired with frenetic rapidity to do as much damage as possible.

Vasily Gerasimenko can only remain in his headquarters and receive the inevitable reports of one strongpoint after another being blasted and in turn assaulted by the invaders. Gradually the three defending divisions of Pavlovo are forced from the city. Two divisions retreat in good order but one is routed. Next, the heavily wooded positions southwest of the coastal fortress and port of Osinvets is given up, again with the retreat of two Soviet divisions while another is routed.

The final tally is 6,000 Soviet losses to 3,000 German. The bulk of the Soviet forces remain to fight another day.

Interesting I must look and see if that Penal unit and the Norwegians are in my current game.

I think your opponents time has run out for possibly getting those bonus Finnish Divs but he is certainly determined to take the city regardless.

[M60A3TTS]

I think your opponents time has run out for possibly getting those bonus Finnish Divs

From my limited understanding of what is contained in the manual, I believe you are right.

[56ajax]

There is only a 5% chance each turn that Finnish Divs will be released anyway. And yes the time period has expired.

[ylyg123]

Hey M60! Thank you for this amazing thread, I am a complete noob and I have learned a lot (struggling to learn). I have seen from other thread that in turn 7, somehow all the pilots in national reserve will be killed by game bug? Is that still the case? Thank you!

[M60A3TTS]

Hey M60! Thank you for this amazing thread, I am a complete noob and I have learned a lot (struggling to learn). I have seen from other thread that in turn 7, somehow all the pilots in national reserve will be killed by game bug? Is that still the case? Thank you!

Thanks for the kind words and glad you're enjoying this.

The bug you are referring to still exists, although to clarify, not all pilots in the national reserve are killed, but wounded pilots are eliminated in the reserve presently, and on turn 7 when the size of air units drops from 67 to 32, any pilots in the reserve that exceed that 32 are removed. The excess planes are sent to the respective pools. On map, units are treated differently. The planes are reduced, again being sent to the pool, but the excess pilots remain in place. So, now in May of 1942 I still have formations in my back pocket that are on the map and can be disbanded. Those pilots in the disbanded unit then go to the free pool where they can subsequently replace lost pilots while still retaining their original experience levels in the mid-60s like so:



The alternative is to use the trained pilots the AI will provide you at a time when their skill is rather lacking, like so:



You can decide for yourself which pilots you would rather have.

[M60A3TTS]

Week 43 12 April 1942

Heavy rains across most of the front shuts down any fighting except south of Rostov. Here the remaining Soviet units that were previously pocketed are forced to surrender. Our ground losses for the week are just over 56k.




Air recon missions are flown in the Vyazma-Kaluga area but little is revealed.




Air recon in the south shows a definite buildup in the Rostov-Stalingrad direction. Elsewhere nothing definitive appears in the Kursk-Kharkov region. One panzer unit around Shigry, northeast of Kursk.

[M60A3TTS]

Week 44 19 April 1942

Heavy mud pretty much everywhere so no ground action takes place this week.

We've spotted additional evidence of armor around Kursk.


And something is definitely brewing in the direction of Stalingrad.


His air recon right now focused on Voronezh.


We currently have 6,120 aircraft on the map to the German 2,352 and Axis Allies 172. Meanwhile, the last SAD disband takes place and so next up will be a gradual reinforcement of new air divisions.

[M60A3TTS]

Week 45 26 April 1942

Time for another ground update.

Axis VP count is 628. He needs another 122 to win.

We'll look at dead Soviet leaders. A couple infantry 6 leaders KIA in Govorov and Zhadov, but that's the worst of it.

Apparently AI Stalin has become the benevolent despot. Only one leader executed.




OOB



Soviet manpower growing on map.



Artillery on map


Closed the AFV gap with the arrival of tank corps


Losses on the ground


And in the air. Not much action in winter has the aircraft pools beefed up on both sides.

[jubjub]

We'll look at dead Soviet leaders. A couple infantry 6 leaders KIA in Govorov and Zhadov, but that's the worst of it.

Only one KIA, but it's an important one. Model only lasted one turn on the map.

kia.png (256.95 KiB) Viewed 962 times

[M60A3TTS]

Week 45 Map Stuff

Heavy rains at Leningrad have stalled the German offensive for now.




Farther south from Lake Ilmen to Velikye Luki. Things are now quiet and not expecting that to change.




Here are German forces from Velikye Luki east to Kaluga and then south towards Orel.




We've created some space with German troops from Orel to Kursk.




Similar situation along the River Oskol in the Belgorod-Kharkov region.




Same again in the area Voroshilovgrad-Rostov-Krasnodar. He has certainly set himself up well for a potential southern campaign given we're still in the last days of April.