Fabio's Eastern Front- a case of the blues?

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Carlos's T55

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And mine - at this point I had 135k rifle squads in service, and 4.7k in reserve

In this picture I've turned supply on so you can see the obvious problem to the south - the Fascists have cut the Caucasus off, and now the troops there have only minimal supply!

However we have easily broken through to Stalingrad, although the Germans have had time to deeply entrench themselves. It's going to be a meat grinder!

The Italian defences along the Don were not too much bother!

[captain10]

I think the lesson learned here is to use the Panzer Armies together, in order to make pockets and close them fast.
Sending the panzers in almost opposite directions, and across a major river meant taking a huge risk.

You`re right, Fabio, it was too bold to use my panzers that way. I should have use them all against one point, and then, if I would have defeated the Russians, I could have advance everywhere in the South Area.

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Carlos's T56

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And mine - Carlos took another hex near Stalingrad (just NW of it), but the substantive forces from the north have arrived to shore the line.

To the south things are looking a bit dodgy - units are not recovering quickly at all, and I'm running out of them....

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Carlos's T57

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And the end of my T57 - we're not having much trouble with the Italians, but there's not really enough strength there to do anything serious except perhaps keep Carlos a bit worried.

To the south the Transcaucasian armies are about as close to Stalingrad as they're going o get for a while....although I don't know that yet and it doesn't look entirely bad.

And to the north-west, poking its head into the picture for the first time is some combat overspill from the area around Voronezh where I'm trying to keep pressure on so there are lots of units that need replacements on the Axis side!

I have 131k squads in service, and slightly more than 9k in reserve.

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Carlos's T58

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Yes the Reserve army that advanced across the Don was supposed to have a regular army and some support troops do so with it......the Commissars are making inquires among the commanders why that didn't happen!

Telumar you asked a while back about disbanding the reserves - this is when I tend to do it - once they start taking significant losses - I need the units as long as they can perform a useful function, but I don't want them sucking up replacements. So 2/3rds of that Reserve are retired from the line and will be disbanded next turn - the other 1/3rd is in "reorganisation" and will be disbanded asap.

South of Stalingrad things are looking grim - Carlos may think he's having trouble routing my troops, but I don't! Only 1 army remains intact - another has been broken up and the HQ is routed.

At Stalingrad "the grind" is occurring - there's not much movement but there are plenty of casualties all-round as I try to wear down the Axis invaders!

There are 126k squads in service, and 8.5k in reserve.

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Carlos's T59

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Yes the Soviet Caucasus Front has collapsed in disarray - one corps has been recalled from the defence of the Crimea, but it won't be much except a speedbump on its own!

The grind at Stalingrad continues.

121k squads with 9.5k in reserve.

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Carlos's T60

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And at the end of my T60 - there is nothing south of the Axis forces except the garrison at Baku.

The grind at Stalingrad continues.....

Fortunately the large reserves of rifle squads I have means that a couple of the destroyed Caucasus armies are going to be reconstituted next turn - it might be difficult to get ammunition to fighting units in the south, but apparently it's easy enough to form them in the first place!!

118k squads in service, 4.5k in reserve

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Carlos's T61

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The focus now moves south - Stalingrad remains a meat grinder - there are multiple attacks every turn to try to wear out the Axis occupiers, but not much movement!

Down south the 47th and much of the 44th armies have hurriedly reformed at Gorki from remnants and new troops and take up positions behind the Terek River - we know the leading panzer divisions are relatively weak and ill-supplied and perhaps we can make this expensive for them.

Field troops are withdrawn from Rostov to shore up the eastern defences, and preparations are made to withdraw the other armies along the Western Don before they are surrounded....

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Carlos's T62, and the Panzers enjoy some open road diving....

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I'm not hanging around Rostov to be encircled - the troops that can flee south, while the reconstructed Southern and Caucasus forces boot the 24th Pz out of Grozny and take up defensive positions along the Terek.

Also as many troops as can be spared from the Kerch Isthmus guarding the Crimea stream across to the Kuban to help with the defence.

2 more armies are due to arrive at Baku next turn, and given the low strengths and long supply lines of the Axis units I can see I am hopeful of holding Baku....although it is now just a matter of time before he takes Rostov and opens the rail line through to give himself better supply and that's going to be a problem....but it's a few moves away yet, and perhaps the grind at Stalingrad will have achieved something before then.....

104k squads in service, 4.5k in reserve

[governato]

Oh so historical...OK I hope for Carlos that he put the Romanians in safer place than South of Stalingrad...
The Red Army infantry is shrinking fast, is it because you are you are also attacking in the AGN sector?

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Mostly attacking just north of the maps we've shown here - from Voronezh to Kursk.

I might do a comparison of what's happened there over the turns so far....

Edit: So here's my comparison of the northern sector between Turns 50 and 62 - as you can see there has been some movement - Pskov has been liberated, and the front moved a bit further south from Staraya Russa.

Notice the decrease in Soviet strength and Axis reinforcements at Narva in the north!!

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And here's the changes in the centre between Voronezh and Bryansk....not much movement - a couple of hexes around Voronezh, and the initial penetration at T50 had to be withdrawn to provide reinforcements south....lots of fighting tho....