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Our only achievment, our only hope. The Soviet Army remains in existence. But it must turn and fight soon, before our people lose the will to continue.

ORIGINAL: horza66

ORIGINAL: randallw

What difficulty setting is this on?

The Iron Dream: An Impossible AAR

[;)]

Impossible!

That explains the advances of the German army, because frankly I couldn't believe my eyes... Moscow on turn 7 [:)]

September opens with our first serious attempts to hold ground.

When fortified in the swamps of Cherepovets our forces can at least inflict casualties before falling back.

It's not the despair I can't stand, it's the hope.

The Northern Front manages the first genuine victory of the war so far. Of five attacks launched upon their positions they turn back three.

The ubermensch are not invulnerable, not unstoppable. They can be defeated.

We do not have the advantage of swamps in front of Gorkiy. Yaroslavl beats off three attacks successfully, but elsewhere we are beaten back consistently.

We begin forming a series of defence lines in front of Gorkiy. If the Fascists drive on Gorkiy now they will be swept away. However if they choose to drive for the Volga and Oka and force crossings we could have enough time to establish a true defence in depth. We can only pray.

His forces drive to the Volga and cross the Oka. Our first line of defence is hammered back, apart from one division of stubborn Moscow militia.

The Raputsitsa is coming. Can we survive until then?

We are at breaking point. The people of suffered a litany of defeats and we have given them only a handful of victories. We have been unable to stop the steamroller. We need lose only a few more major cities to lose their faith in us. And those cities are under threat.

The Fascists are within 10 miles of assaulting Cherepovets. Their attacks are more cautious now, but they still make steady progress. We cannot expect to hold it, even fortified as it is.

Penza and Saransk are both significant cities. The fascists do not have significant forces here, but our lines are very thin. Any determined drive here will take these cities.

Thanks for sharing, though I think the only thing you're going to prove is that the Impossible setting is......Impossible.

When 3 divisions can hasty-attack and rout 2 units out of a Heavy Urban hex, not much you can do with that

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Thanks for sharing, though I think the only thing you're going to prove is that the Impossible setting is......Impossible.

Maybe he's not trying to prove anything.

Let me man post without prejudice, I enjoy reading this nightmare

We have defended strongly in the South to give us enough time to evacuate as much of the Donbas factories as we can. Stalino has now fallen, and Makeevka, Gorlovka and Voroshilovgrad will surely follow. We have fortified along the banks of the Don so our forces can find a safe haven as they are thrown back. We hope to hold Rostov, but there is no hope for the others.

The crux of the matter: Gorkiy. We have been evacuating the factories, but we realise that if we lose this, we lose everything. We cease such evacuations entirely, and concentrate on railing our troops to the front.

However it may already be too late. The forced crossing of the Oka has led to a rout. Gorkiy may be lost to a drive from Arzamas. The next two weeks will be critical. Defeat stares us in the face.

ORIGINAL: color

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

Thanks for sharing, though I think the only thing you're going to prove is that the Impossible setting is......Impossible.

Maybe he's not trying to prove anything.

Let me man post without prejudice, I enjoy reading this nightmare

I was looking for a challenge. I certainly got one. [;)]

It looks hopeless right now. But the mud is coming.....

You have inspired me to travel back to Easy settings! Not for a challenge, not for learning just for fun. Will jsut haave to remember not to use the same strategy in my other games though where supplies do have a little bit of relevance [:D]
Do you think Adolph used Easy settings and thats where it all went wrong?

ORIGINAL: buchand

Do you think Adolph used Easy settings and thats where it all went wrong?

That would explain a lot. [:D]

Voroshilovgrad, Makeevka, Gorlovka, Penza, Saransk fall.

The Fascists launch 17 successful attacks in front of Gorkiy. But they spread the attacks across the front, driving us only 20-40 miles back. A determined drive for Gorkiy would have taken the city - does he not realise how close to victory he is?

Already the weather is on the turn. The mud will arrive within days, and give us a few weeks to construct an impregnable defence. Another impossible task.

The mud arrives, and with it a moment of glory. The Rumanians leave their Armoured division exposed, and we manage to surround it just as the weather closes in.

We examine the rest of the front line and see other opportunities opening up. They have been relying on their attack strength to fight free of entanglements, and there are many, many holes in the line through which we can infiltrate and cut supply lines.

We do not expect this to lead to any great victories - as soon as the frost hardens the ground they will surely fight free of any pockets we create. However a week spent relieving besieged troops is a week they are not advancing deeper into Mother Russia.

The crossing of the Volga by an unsupported Panzer Korps had thrown our forces into disarray. Yet with the mud and fresh reserves railing forward we are able to cut their supply lines. Depite the oceans of mud the Nazis prove capable of preventing our completing the pocket with successful counter-attacks.

Some fresh sources of hope. The ubermensch do not understand the great extremes of weather. They do not understand how close to victory they are.

We complete the pocket on the Volga, and another South of Gorkiy, and fascist forces are drawn away from the key area to relieve their comrades despite the mud.