Operation Barbershop - Carnage(Ax) vs. Redmarkus(Sv)

[Redmarkus5]

These are my anticipated MLRs through to the Blizzard turns of winter '41-'42.

[comsolut]

That intermediate LR behind Smolensk will need some attention and fort building in advance since there are no natural obstacles.

Just my two cents.

[comsolut]

Also I think you could add a line from Norvograd to the Gulf of Finland along the river as a 4th line before Leningrad.

[Klydon]

Hmm. That is some big stepping back, especially the third line. You give up a ton that you should be fighting for imo, especially from Moscow to the north. That is a lot of nasty terrain he has to plow through and I doubt he can do it unless he makes that his main effort.

I don't know I would throw a lot into the defense of Estonia since he can easily cut it off from the south by the lakes. You could still evacuate through the port, but really those troops would be put to better use in the Leningrad area. You won't delay any rail building he may be doing up there because the Axis typically doesn't build up there.

Going to be ugly with so many troops at the front. Will be interesting to see what happens.

[comsolut]

In my games I may have fought too much, so I am watching this AAR with keen interest as to remarkus4's strategy.

[karonagames]

I like the digging at Leningrad, but I can't see much in front of Moscow. That Rzhev/Kaluga/Bryansk defence line really needs to be started on as early as possible- if you can get it to lvl3 by the time the nasties arrive it will really slow them down.

Dig for Victory!

The spade is the single most import piece of equipment for the Soviets in 1941. It is one of the ways to get CVs that can compete with the Axis and force him to make deliberate attacks and slow his rate of advance to a crawl.

The MLR in the north looks like it assumes Leningrad will be lost - You need a more positive attitude comrade![;)] The other MLRs will work well if you can delay back to those lines until the Mud arrives

[Redmarkus5]

My basic thoughts are along these lines:

1. Those are the forces the game has given me - there's no more on the map.

2. I want the enemy as far from his railhead as possible when winter comes in order to prevent him from pulling back, digging in and refitting his panzers. If he keeps advancing he may get over-excited.

3. My Moscow defence line is the next one I will build, assuming the main line holds for a turn or two.

[Redmarkus5]

Well, I messed up with the screenie again. I'm back in the saddle at work and a bit more stressed than normal.

Carnage managed to pocket my troops around Pskov and make a big dent in my line in front of Smolensk this turn, but I have reformed the line and started to build up the Reserve Front around Vyazma.

My suspicion is that Carnage will attempt to take Moscow from the west and NW simultaneously, and that he might even bypass Leningrad in order to do that. However, I have built up a double defence line around Leningrad and Novgorod anyway.

In the south, I still have small 'pockets' running loose and I was able to completely sever the lines of supply for most of PzGrp1 this turn, west of Kiev. This should slow him down as he turns back to fix this and suffers a supply hit.

Further south, Odessa has not yet been besieged.

More next turn...

[randallw]

Unfortunate you've already had to give up the main defense south of the marshes; it's very doable vs the computer Axis but human Axis players usually make their way through.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 7.

Cory made a huge push towards Leningrad this turn, leaving my pocket around Pskov in his rear and also leaving his flanks exposed. I injected cavalry and other nearby units into the gaps and cut his spearheads off from their supplies for a turn. Sadly, I lack the combat power to actually attack his Panzer Divs.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 7 Centre.

In the centre the Axis has smashed their way into Smolensk, creating a pocket around Vyazma and penetrating to my reserve line. I attempted to cut his supply again, but lacked the MPs to get through his ZOC, which were tighter here than up north...

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 7 - South

The Axis were forced to halt their advance for a turn while re-opening their supply lines. Pockets around Zhitomir and Vinitsa remain, and I am happy with the trade-off of about 10 divisions for a week of limited movement.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 7 - the whole front.

The Axis primary avenues of advance are clear:

1. Toward Leningrad via Pskov, ignoring Tallin. I have delayed this advance by 1 week with my flanking moves. The pocket at Pskov may also cause problems for the enemy.

2. Toward Moscow via Smolensk, apparently with no turn south to create a Kiev pocket. This is the most dangerous threat and I am hard pressed to slow it down.

3. Towards either Moscow or Rostov (possibly both) via Kiev-Bryansk/Kursk. I slowed this move last turn, but will now have to defend along the Dnepr for as long as possible.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 8 - North

The enemy has now cleared their line of supply, but Pskov and Tallin are still in my hands. I am forming a temporary line along the Luga SE to Novgorod. Holding Leningrad through to turn 15 is going to be challenging.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 8 - Centre

I have pulled back south of Smolensk to deny the enemy the option of forming another major pocket and to shorten my line. I am doing my best to put units into the line in front of Vyazma, but a crisis further south has drawn a number of my reserves away.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 8 - South

Here the Axis have punched forward across the Dnepr in force. He will need to protect his right flank, which may limit is forward momentum next turn, as I have assembled cavalry and armour to the south of the bulge in order to exploit north toward Cherkassy, if permitted. I will be surprised if Cory allows me to sever his lines of supply again though. This assault is superficially the most worrying, but the road from Cherkassy to Moscow is three times the length of the one through Vyazma, so the direct route must remain my main concern and the focus of my resources.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 8 - Front

The full map showing the Axis actual lines of advance this turn and those anticipated for the next 2-3 turns.

[Klydon]

I don't think you should be concerned over Leningrad at this point. By looking at the big map, you look to have Leningrad's lines of communication secure, so he can't do an end around with the panzers. He has a lot of grinding to go to even get to the outskirts of Leningrad and he has also not breached the Volkhov and you are also in good shape south of the lake there.

Unless he commits a lot more troops to the attack, he isn't grabbing Leningrad any time soon.

Interesting developments in the center and south.

[Redmarkus5]

Thanks.

Turn 9.

Not a lot of movement from the enemy this turn, so I took the opportunity to shorten the line even further (red arrows) and defuse the crisis in the south temporarily. I guess he is resupplying and preparing for his big push.

Reinforcements are arriving and I am starting to build another reserve line in front of Moscow.

Work on re-structuring and upgrading the Red Air Force is well under way and my first fully rebuilt and modernised groups go into action this turn.

[Redmarkus5]

Turn 10.

The important enemy thrusts this turn:

1. North. West of Leningrad to create a small pocket along the coast. I have pulled back into my first defence line, but still hold Novgorod.

2. Centre. Vyazma-Rzhev; another small pocket created, but I have again been able to pull the bulk of my forces back and reform my lines.

3. South. Across the southern Dnepr in the direction Crimea. I have been able to pull back cohesive forces to defend the entrances to the Crimea, but my lines further east, in the direction Stalino-Rostov, are more porous and need to be reinforced.

Other key developments are the continuing evacuation of industry (I am moving factories only when they come under direct threat, rather than moving them all in mass, on the basis that this will have less of an impact on overall production) and the reactivation of the Red Air Force.

My approach with the Air Force was:

1. On turn 1, I set the Doctrine to 110% required to fly and pull back all air bases from the front.

2. Over the coming turns, I moved all aircraft (all classes, all models) to the National Reserve.

3. In each sector, but with more concentrations around Moscow, I positioned some advanced Air bases within range of the front, and some reserve Air bases 20+ hexes behind the front.

4. I allocated my most modern aircraft to the advanced air bases.

5. I allocated outdated air units to my reserve air bases and started the process of manually upgrading, particularly the transports and ground attack AC.

6. Moved the long range transports forwards (this turn) and set them to Night missions (?) so that partisan operations have a chance of starting with a big bang.

7. Set the Doctrine to 50% required to fly and focused on Intercept to try to start degrading the enemy's air supremacy.

8. Started work on getting my Recon air units up to scratch in preparation for the winter offensive.

Let's see if I can hold Moscow until then.