The Great Patriotic War (loki100 vs SigUp) ... SigUp welcome to read

[Stuyvesant]

I'm equally enjoying this and quaking in fear at the sheer size of this game. With the caveat that I don't know the first thing about how WitE works, two observations: Leningrad is dead in the water (even moreso, it seems, than when you did that Northern Front-only AAR a while back) and the invading Hun seems ready to kick in the door at Stalino. Now is not a good time to be the Soviet Union, it appears.

Good luck. I hope you get (have gotten) the mud you're wishing for. Looking forward to more.

PS: Hi jwolf! Fancy meeting you over here!

[Bozo_the_Clown]

BTW I am very much enjoying both your AAR and SigUp's from the other side.

Same here. I really like the intermixing of real life pictures. [&o]

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant

I'm equally enjoying this and quaking in fear at the sheer size of this game. With the caveat that I don't know the first thing about how WitE works, two observations: Leningrad is dead in the water (even moreso, it seems, than when you did that Northern Front-only AAR a while back) and the invading Hun seems ready to kick in the door at Stalino. Now is not a good time to be the Soviet Union, it appears.

Good luck. I hope you get (have gotten) the mud you're wishing for. Looking forward to more.

PS: Hi jwolf! Fancy meeting you over here!

And welcome to you too [;)] ... I was just off to add to the emerging tale of how Italy stole all of America's resources ...

In the campaign, Leningrad is doomed if a German player really wants it. The advantage is it massively shortens their front (from about 17 to 12 hexes) and they can use the Finns to hold part of that line. So that not only lets AGN's Panzers go off somewhere else but I guess about 2 of the 4 infantry corps on this sector.

The solution is a radical two step with SW Front to build up on this sector so the Germans have to wade through a sea of rifle divisions. We agreed, as part of kicking this off realistically, that I wouldn't pull much out the Ukraine (just what historically the Soviets committed at Smolensk). On reflection I missed a trick, its useful to make the Germans pay at the Luga (it costs for zone of control, river crossing and swamps) but the better line is the hills just south of Leningrad. I reckon I should have made that my main line, it would probably have held another turn.

I don't think he can do much more at Stalino. There are a mass of cavalry divisions down there, too weak to fight but ideal for chopping up extended lines of communication and I still hold the Crimea. He must be on about 30 hexes from his railhead.

I'm happy enough with my factory evacuation management, I knew I would lose one of the 'big 3' (Stalino, Kharkov, Tula) and probably something of another. The cost has been in terms of operational movement. I'm sort of trading trouble now for rewards in late 1942.

Moscow is now key. He has about 8 turns before the autumn mud and will lose one of them to a random mud event. My logic is it will take 2-3 turns to reduce my Vyazma-Rzhev line (I guess Rzhev will be hit by forces freed by the fall of Leningrad). I have a weak line just behind the current front but in poor terrain that is another 1-2 turns. A good line just in front of Moscow that will stand 2-3 turns and a final line immediately at the city. Then the city has its own fortifications.

I think I am safe (just).

As in the posts, my fear is a southern hook. But there are 4 armies of W Front in echelon there, none of any real merit but all will cost him time. And a lot of cavalry (in deep reserve or on the flanks). If the German infantry are still tangled with Reserve Front, I think that means a deep armour penetration is at risk of being cut off.

Great fun, but hugely depressing every time I get a turn back [8D]

ORIGINAL: Bozo_the_Clown

BTW I am very much enjoying both your AAR and SigUp's from the other side.

Same here. I really like the intermixing of real life pictures. [&o]

Thank you, it does sort of add to the fun of writing. I've found a few good sites, some are in (mostly) Russian but have images of less famous Soviet aircraft and a great one on the Soviet navy. I also have an obsession with images of Soviet traffic police, but I won't upset Stuyvesant by mentioning that ...

[jwolf]

Moscow is now key.

That certainly makes sense.  It will be very interesting to see how you and SigUp react to each other as he begins to attack the Moscow defenses.  He might have just enough time to get it during the snow turns, especially if the random October weather isn't quite as muddy as you would wish for.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Moscow is now key.

That certainly makes sense.  It will be very interesting to see how you and SigUp react to each other as he begins to attack the Moscow defenses.  He might have just enough time to get it during the snow turns, especially if the random October weather isn't quite as muddy as you would wish for.

I think I've managed to derail him for one turn by undoing his gains in his segment with an effective counterattack.

The other thing that is in my mind is the reduced blizzard. I reckon that on one sector the Germans can fight back hard, so I'll probably take no more than 4-5 hexes in December and then see a stalemate. So if he is at the gates of Moscow, the front will probably end up where it is now (ish). Not the most reassuring place to start the summer of 1942 ...

[loki100]

Across the entire front, German pressure on the Red Army mounted. In the north, almost inevitably, the defences at Leningrad cracked.



Only the 43rd and 115th Rifle Divisions held out as organised formations having retreated into the northern sector of the city blowing the Neva bridges behind them.


(The Admiralty Clock after the initial German assaults).

Fearing that the Finns would outflank the Volkhov line from the north, Stavka authorised a major redeployment of the Northern Front. Tolbukhin's 24 Army fell back to prepared positions along the Msta defending the flank of NW Front. The rest of the front held a line in the marshes and low hills stretching from Nebolochi to Voznesanya on Lake Onega [1].

In the Ukraine, the Germans tried to eliminate the Poltava pocket using their infantry as they pulled some of their armour out of the line. Here Soviet resistance was sufficient to prevent any immediate advance towards Kharkov or Kursk.

In the south, they took N Caucasus Front by surprise as they pushed over the Mius towards Rostov.



50 Army tried to take advantage of their over-extension but the strung out 25 Motorised Division managed to hold a critical portion of the line [2]. Nonetheless Soviet mobile units struck deep into the communications of 48 Panzer and re-established supply lines to Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye.

Given the weak state of most Soviet formations in the south, the main hope was that the Germans were now badly over-extended and fully committed. Panzers had been spotted in reserve west of Poltava and it was presumed they would attack Kharkov in the coming week.

However, the battles at Vyazma drew most attention. 57 and 39 Panzer Corps managed to encircle the bulk of 20 Army and 33 Army in a pocket as they clawed their way through the Soviet defense lines. Facing a crisis that could have swept away Reserve Front's southern wing, Stavka reacted.



Almost every available bomber was used on the German 28 and 161 Infantry Divisions that sealed the northern edge of the pocket. Koniev then committed 21 Army to break in and ordered 33 Army to break out.


[3]

In consequence the planned breakout failed but a vital supply line was opened to the Vyazma units meaning that 3 German panzer corps were pinned between the Vyazma group and the main defense lines.


(21 Army attack)

Despite this respite, the situation at Moscow remained desparate. VVS recon flights could find no trace of the Panzers previously in action at Leningrad. It was assumed these were heading to the vital Moscow battles along with some of the German assault divisions that had done so much damage.

To improve the protection on Moscow's southern flank 34 Army was released from Stavka reserve and allocated to the Western Front. Koniev drew heavily on the reserves of the Moscow region to rebuild his southern flank. In turn 30 Army, previously involved in the Leningrad battle, took up blocking positions at Moscow having been allocated all the reserve formations from the Northern Front [4]



There seemed little doubt that September was going to see critical battles in the Moscow sector [5]



Losses for both sides matched the intensity of the fighting. The disaster at Leningrad saw another 160,000 prisoners taken and overall the Soviets lost almost 200,000 men, 700 tanks and 320 aircraft. German losses were 34,000 men, 190 tanks and 90 aircraft.

Overall the Soviet armed forces still had 4.5 million men in arms but reserves were increasingly short. Manpower was down to 175,000 and AP to little over 300,000.



[1] – Cherepovets is the only important target in that sector as a valuable source of manpower. My assumption is there will be no serious attempt to take it given the fragility of the Finnish army.
[2] – 3-2 in terms of shown CV, plus massed airstrikes failed dismally
[3] The breakout I think shows that there is a definite gain in the combat engine for attacking en masse. In effect, rather nicely, it does simulate that 'quantity has its own quality'.
[4] – my plan is multiple defense lines, strongly held for Reserve Front, weak but deep for Western Front. I hope to do enough damage to AGC in the current battles that the units from AGN replace rather than reinforce them. There is some grounds for this optimism given that the displayed CV for most infantry divisions is 6-7 and some as low as 4.
[5] – I also don't expect the infantry from AGN to be in action for 3 weeks. They will have to march most of the way as the German railheads are at Luga and Smolensk (both linear tracks with no side connections). An alternative is they may be used to dislodge NW Front from its well built up defences in the Valdai where so far pressure has been limited.
[6] – should stress with the reduced blizzard, I am not going to regain a great deal of ground at Moscow if the Germans fight here. So its not just about holding them away from Moscow till the autumn rains, I am worried about 1942 (if I survive that long)

[jwolf]

I'm amazed you were able to open that pocket at Vyazma.  I would have thought your troops were hopelessly trapped.  Kudos for a very well planned counterattack, and I am deeply curious how SigUp will react.

[Stuyvesant]

Lord! I just realized it's only August! Leningrad has fallen (well, effectively it's dead, anyway), the Germans are essentially pushing over the white picket fence around Moscow's front lawn... I realize that the fall mud will be here shortly, but boy, this looks grim.

Still, your (temporary?) success at Vyazma should throw a spanner in the works. For a bit, at least.

If the Germans can redeploy their Panzers from AGN to the Moscow front, will they be able to use them effectively, or will the supply constraints be too much for them? And how long does it take in this game to fix/upgrade a poor supply line? In other words: could the Germans spend the fall and winter building up a supply network that would be strong enough to support a very heavy push on Moscow in 1942?

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

I'm amazed you were able to open that pocket at Vyazma.  I would have thought your troops were hopelessly trapped.  Kudos for a very well planned counterattack, and I am deeply curious how SigUp will react.

There has been a fair bit of discussion on the main forum about this. In effect, the on counter CV is rather indicative than accurate. In this case, sheer mass, on the attack, yields an improved combat odds for the Soviets. Then there is an odd in-game rule of giving the Soviets +1 shift in odds at the end (so 1-1 becomes 2-1 etc). So what looks like a doomed 4 vs 6, becomes a decent 3-1 (I actually reran that combat as a test after sending the turn) and got an even better result, so its not a wild fluke. Add to that, I think the German infantry in AGC is exhausted and pre combat bombing disrupted them.

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant

Lord! I just realized it's only August! Leningrad has fallen (well, effectively it's dead, anyway), the Germans are essentially pushing over the white picket fence around Moscow's front lawn... I realize that the fall mud will be here shortly, but boy, this looks grim.

Still, your (temporary?) success at Vyazma should throw a spanner in the works. For a bit, at least.

If the Germans can redeploy their Panzers from AGN to the Moscow front, will they be able to use them effectively, or will the supply constraints be too much for them? And how long does it take in this game to fix/upgrade a poor supply line? In other words: could the Germans spend the fall and winter building up a supply network that would be strong enough to support a very heavy push on Moscow in 1942?

You've obv been reading the next update even as I write, for that was exactly the point I was going to make.

My stunt around Vyazma has bought me 1 week (ie they will get finished off next turn). I am due one non-autumn mud turn at Moscow (now please [;)]). There is a build up of motorised (and I guess Pzr but my recon isn't good enough) just south of Vyazma that I guess is the AGN mobile units and I guess are going for Tula and Moscow's south flank.

More generally, I need to hold SigUp as far west of Moscow as I can, partly to secure the city this year, but also I don't want to start the German 1942 offensive when they are 4 hexes from the city. It is going to become very congested I fear.

[loki100]

At the end of August, the tempo of ground combat briefly dropped. On a line from Rzhev and along the Desna, German infantry made slow inroads. Bryansk was cleared of Soviet defenders a second time. This time the Soviet response was more muted, 33 Army made one last attempt to break out of encirclement and north of Rzhev German infantry were thrown back over the Volga.



Instead the focus of the war was in the skies. With their ground offensive stalled, the Luftwaffe shifted its targets from the Red Army to VVS bases in the Moscow region. In a week of sustained aircombat 490 Soviet and 73 German aircraft were destroyed. In addition, a further 15 squadrons were so demoralised [1] that they were pulled into reserve.


(Mig 3 on the Moscow sector)

Stavka opted to concentrate the bulk of the VVS in the Moscow sector.

When the Germans renewed their ground offensive they would not be allowed uncontested air superiority.

The second focus was the first act of major sabotage by the partisan formations.



The German railheads had reached Smolensk but a critical section in the woods north of Orsha was blown.


(Destroyed German train near Orsha)

In addition to their active campaign of sabotage against the few working German rail lines, the partisans were sending back invaluble intelligence of German units. Also, they provided a useful reminder that despite its defeats, the Soviet state was still present in all corners of the USSR



Stavka took the view that the next few weeks would be critical. A powerful German focmation was spotted just south of Vyazma and it was presumed this would either drive on Tula or try to cross the Ugra at Kaluga.



If this period saw only limited shifts to the front lines it brought no let up in terms of losses. There were 79,000 Soviet (50,000 as prisoners) and 31,000 German casualties, the Axis lost 170 tanks and the Soviets 403.



Despite the heavy losses, overall the Soviet armed forces had just over 4.6 million under arms. In effect, somehow the 570,000 losses (350,000 prisoners) in August had been replaced. However, reserves of manpower were fast running out. Only 140,000 were now available and the average rifle division was some 4,000 men under notional compliment. Losses were equally heavy among the Soviet tank forces which had dropped from 5,500 at the start of August to 3,700.

However, what made the losses worse was the amount of the Soviet Union now under occupation.



At the start of August, the Germans were just over the Luga, fighting at Velikie Luki and struggling to close the Smolensk pocket. Further south, they were at the outskirts of Gomel, 30 km west of Kiev and yet to breach the Dniepr.

Since then, the Ukrainian capital and the birthplace of the Soviet Union had both fallen. Moscow was directly threatened, German spearheads were close to Kharkov and over the Mius having captured most of the Donets. Even in the Crimea, they had pushed through the Sivash marshes.

Similar gains in September, would see the destruction of the Soviet state.

[1] Morale under 35 or less than 50% of their aircraft in use

[jwolf]

Nice update, especially the great pictures you have a knack for finding.  That milkmaid partisan looks pretty tough!  Does the plane say "death to the German occupiers?"

Did your partisans actually cut the supply line for AGC, or was that just a side link?  This does sound very early for a partisan hit.

In spite of the reduced logistics, SigUp has done very well and your last map looks ominous.  Good luck with your defense!

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Nice update, especially the great pictures you have a knack for finding.  That milkmaid partisan looks pretty tough!  Does the plane say "death to the German occupiers?"

Did your partisans actually cut the supply line for AGC, or was that just a side link?  This does sound very early for a partisan hit.

In spite of the reduced logistics, SigUp has done very well and your last map looks ominous.  Good luck with your defense!

Pretty good translation, you'd transliterate the cyrillic as Smert nemetskim okkupantam so yes, occupiers rather than invaders. Little known bit of utter trivia is Ian Fleming, in James Bond books, not the films, made the 'fictional' Soviet opposition - SMERSH. Which was the real life NKVD unit set up in late 1941 to track down German spies, the full name was Smert' Shpionam - death to spies.

That was his main (only) line. At this stage of the war if you can get the partisans up and running and get in a lucky hit you can really do damage. Later on its a bit less important though a lucky strike can disrupt rail movement at a critical point. This is the earliest I've managed, but I've basically got all the IL-4s and U2s on night missions and am dumping a lot of supply back there (at the moment, supply is not my problem, its manpower to use it).

If you can read Russian, there are a lot of sites with excellent photographic resources - mostly you just need enough to run the search and to transliterate. I suppose I'm running a risk with GCHQ these days but that is one of the sacrifices needed ... I do like the cow one, I've used it before. If we get far enough into the narrative, I've got a few of Soviet traffic police that I like to use as well - I reckon with them directing movements you'd be very careful where you parked your T-34.

He is indeed. I keep on looking at the other AARs that are more or less up to the same point with a lot of jealousy. From email chat, I think he's too strung out now in the Ukraine, but then for both of us that is now a sideshow. What he has been doing very well, is being disciplined about allowing his motorised units to recover and then lashing out in an army sized encirclement. As in my comments, you see the success of this in my POW count. Something like 60% of my August losses were POWs and that is steadily pruning my armed forces. I can't blame the 95% morale I agreed to (not least I suggested it), but it is having some impact on my flow of units from shell, to a useable 42-44 morale rifle division. I have some under 30 on quiet sectors.

Where I think this may cost him is that I have lost very few APs or Trucks and am even starting to pull out Heavy Industry now. But my reward for that diligence lies at the far end of 1942 and I've got to survive till that stage yet.

[Powloon]

Hi Loki,

Hope you are well? Great AAR as always and an interesting game position! I can see why you would want a turn of mud. Any sign of where the 4th Panzer Group has gone after the fall of Lenningrad? It would be quite telling where his main axis of attack will be for the remainder of 41 although looking at the map its pretty safe to assume he has Moscow in his sites. Is there any chance of posting a map with the fort levels around moscow?

Do you know where his rail line is in the South? Just wondered if you had a spare cavalry unit or two you could potentially amphibiously land at Oohakov near Odessa assuming it is ungarrisoned which might increase your opponents paranoia[:)]

Good luck with the game definately adding this one to read with my morning coffee.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Powloon

Hi Loki,

Hope you are well? Great AAR as always and an interesting game position! I can see why you would want a turn of mud. Any sign of where the 4th Panzer Group has gone after the fall of Lenningrad? It would be quite telling where his main axis of attack will be for the remainder of 41 although looking at the map its pretty safe to assume he has Moscow in his sites. Is there any chance of posting a map with the fort levels around moscow?

Do you know where his rail line is in the South? Just wondered if you had a spare cavalry unit or two you could potentially amphibiously land at Oohakov near Odessa assuming it is ungarrisoned which might increase your opponents paranoia[:)]

Good luck with the game definately adding this one to read with my morning coffee.

good to hear from you ... hopefully I've learnt something from handing you the keys to Moscow on turn #8 [8D]

I've lost the AGN armour but I think they are around Smolensk (there is a mass of unidentified counters and HQs there), also one of the AGC Pzr Grps has disengaged this turn so I think SigUp is either going to go NE and get in behind Rzhev or, more likely reinforce the Pzr Grp that is pushing for Tula

In the south his rails are still west of Kiev (I don't think there is a southern branch), in the centre past Smolensk (but I've just blown up a load so that may not be working)

We've agreed no early war naval invasions, which is a real pity as last turn I could have taken a division across the Sea of Azov and really made a mess of his rear lines on the Mius. It was sooooo tempting. Here's my forts (well for turn 12) at Moscow. I'm happy enough if he goes in through the lines of Reserve Front but the flank defences are still really just filling in. But there is a weak line that possibly disrupts my Rzhev defenses, though I suspect its a bit out of the obvious route and may give me a number of counterattack options.

[Stuyvesant]

Damnation. I could've sworn I had put together my usual combination of poor smirking observations and clueless questions and posted the reply, but I must've forgotten to hit the 'Post' button. Shame, as I was preparing a nice zinger about the partisan cow and her herder before jwolf stole my thunder (something along the lines of the milking of the cow being a Scorched Earth policy taken to extremes).

Anyway, I wholeheartedly concur that you manage to find some very quirky pictures to enliven your AARs. And I thought I could decipher 'Smert' and something that looked like 'occupiers' on the plane, but you've already addressed that as well.

So, what remains is to express my concern about the proximity of the Nazi Hun Hitlerite invader to the capital of the Proletarian Paradise - things are looking quite grim right now.

And a question, since I don't understand this game: what determines where someone's railhead is? Does it have to end in a (sizeable) city or some other landmark? It appears to be more complicated than simply the closest spur of railroad line that can trace back to... somewhere (the edge of the map? Designated supply points on the map?). Seems pretty critical for the logistical side of the game, so I thought I'd ask to find out how that works.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant

Damnation. I could've sworn I had put together my usual combination of poor smirking observations and clueless questions and posted the reply, but I must've forgotten to hit the 'Post' button. Shame, as I was preparing a nice zinger about the partisan cow and her herder before jwolf stole my thunder (something along the lines of the milking of the cow being a Scorched Earth policy taken to extremes).

Anyway, I wholeheartedly concur that you manage to find some very quirky pictures to enliven your AARs. And I thought I could decipher 'Smert' and something that looked like 'occupiers' on the plane, but you've already addressed that as well.

So, what remains is to express my concern about the proximity of the Nazi Hun Hitlerite invader to the capital of the Proletarian Paradise - things are looking quite grim right now.

And a question, since I don't understand this game: what determines where someone's railhead is? Does it have to end in a (sizeable) city or some other landmark? It appears to be more complicated than simply the closest spur of railroad line that can trace back to... somewhere (the edge of the map? Designated supply points on the map?). Seems pretty critical for the logistical side of the game, so I thought I'd ask to find out how that works.

I've managed that a few times, think I once wrote a long and (alledgedly) erudite response to a Prawnstar AAR (dunno why as I've never really understood EU3) and it went awol

For the moment this is all about Moscow, we can seek advantage for later on the flanks but the first phase of the war (ie up the autumn rains) is now all about this aspect of the battle. I fear, as above, the AGN Pzrs are in the sector and I'm going to have 3 Pzr Grps trying to get around my south flank. I'm not really sure what I can do - any mistakes are too late to unpick so its a case of stick with what I have.

That is basically, despite all my losses a well dug in defense line on the direct route and I've shuffled in most of my few good divisions (there are some over 50 morale by design and they are in those forts). Around Tula its simply pure depth, alleviated by strong points. So SigUp will make progress but I'm hoping it is slow.

Where I am not sure is who gains the most if the front lines get very stretched. I don't have a lot of hitting power, but I do have a lot of high mobility units (most of the cavalry have over 15 MPs as they have been resting and decent morale). So the scope for a raid into an exposed rear is very much feasible.

Supply in this game is a wierd mixture of something that should be on the Hogwarts syllabus, something that is wide open for abuse (if you want to study that syllabus) and something that seems to work quite well by common sense and without too much player interaction).

Both sides have 2 types of rail repair units. One is a generic type that lives (best) with high up HQs and the AI detaches to need. They tend to be pretty literal minded (ie they start close to your railnet and move very methodlcally). The second (I get these in 1942) is under your control and for the Germans in 1941 are key to constructing a supply line to each of the main Army Groups. Your distance to where-ever that is (west of Kiev, east of Smolensk, almost at Leningrad) determines supply to your front line units. Too far and they suffer morale losses and generally slow down - which I think is what has stalled SigUp around Stalino.

You can move supply up by airdrops (once upon a time using your bombers) or by a trick that is meant to reflect prioritising a particular Corps (german)/Army (Soviet).

[loki100]

As German pressure intensified, the nature of the Soviet propaganda shifted. No longer was the focus just on Stalin or the Communist Party, increasingly the struggle was presented as a patriotic war for Russia, with the heros of the past enlisted in the current struggle.


(invokes the names of Alexander Nevsky, Dimitry Donskoi, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Michael Kutuzov)

The second week in September saw German pressure across the front. In the north, elements of Army Group North forced the Msta line but overall their gains here, and in the Valdai were limited. Slowly both the Leningrad and NW Fronts were pushed back from Lake Ilmen but were able to absorb the opening blows.



In the Ukraine, German troops moved towards Kharkov and cleared the east bank of the Mius. However, in doing so they left themselves badly overextended and elements of 37 Army were able to cut deep into their communications and drive a German mountain division back in complete panic.



However, it was at Moscow that the main fighting took place. The Soviet units at Vyazma were destroyed and another 120,000 prisoners taken. Around Rzhev, the German infantry renewed their offensive making limited gains in vicious battles but this time they managed to fend off a major counterattack by 21 Army.

The expected offensive broke to the south of the Oka but no where were the Germans able to force a crossing. Perhaps mindful of their flanks, the Germans were relatively conservative and were finally stopped some 50km west of Tula. However, Soviet recon identified that the Panzer Group that had been in action at Vyazma had been pulled out of the line and identified fresh formations just east of Smolensk.



Again, the Luftwaffe prioritised attacks on the VVS rather than operations in support of their army. The result was another round of brutal air combat ending with 496 Soviet and 87 Axis planes lost. In an attempt to stem the losses, Stavka authorised a series of night attacks on the German airbases and ordered Soviet fighters to adopt new combat tactics.




(even the modern Yak1s were unable to cope with the intensity of German pressure but it was still possible to replace the gaping holes torn in the front line squadrons)

Equally, partisan operations were stepped up. Specialist NKVD squads were sent to reinforce the partisans north west of Vitebsk and the result was the destruction of almost 50km of tracks and bridges.




(Partisan brigade on its way to interdict German communications north of Vitebsk)

Overall, there was little that could be done at Moscow. Reinforcements were allocated to Reserve and West Fronts and fall back lines were prepared. It appeared as if the Germans had two Panzer Groups in reserve and till these were committed, the current defensive positions had to be held.



Soviet manpower reserves were now around 150,000 but more worrying was the lack of means to equip them. Overall AP were just over 200,000 and the Soviet armoured forces were down to 3,300 machines. To make this worse, there were no available replacements for the steady attrition.



The remaining Soviet industrial base was working to capacity. However, with so much being evacuated from the central industrial regions to the Urals it was inevitable that production would be badly disrupted.



Overall the Soviet armed forces still had 4.6 million and of these 1.2 million were in the 3 fronts directly involved in the battle for Moscow. NW and Leningrad fronts had 900,000 under arms and the 3 Ukrainian Fronts had 1.2 million. Another 200,000 were guarding the southern Caucasus and roughly 600,000 were in various formations forming up in the deep rear.

[Stuyvesant]

Grim stuff. The German penetration towards Tula looks ominous, although equally it might leave their spearheads vulnerable to a counterattack. The scariest thing (to me) is that the Germans seem able to launch offensives from multiple locations, and they have reserves at hand, and it's still only early September. It's promising to be a long, long autumn...

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Stuyvesant

Grim stuff. The German penetration towards Tula looks ominous, although equally it might leave their spearheads vulnerable to a counterattack. The scariest thing (to me) is that the Germans seem able to launch offensives from multiple locations, and they have reserves at hand, and it's still only early September. It's promising to be a long, long autumn...

I think SigUp needs to decide soon what he can do with the balance of 1941. Realise its only early September but we are due 3 turns of mud (2 fixed), snow and then my chance to counterattack in December. So he has about 5-6 turns where he can do as he wishes.

At the moment the Tula drive is not too worrying. There is a cats cradle of low value units down there and a lot of well rested cavalry so a single Pzr Army (which is what I think I am facing) is going to get pinned, either in my defenses or needing to guard its flanks (one Pzr div is already broken down).

There is another Pzr Army around Vyazma and I've lost sight of the AGN armour. So he can commit the second Pzr Army from AGC in support of the Tula drive, that will give him that city (plus Orel by default) and expose the south flank of Moscow - but I think 5 turns is too little for that to be a major threat.

His alternative I guess is to use the AGN armour + the AGC reserve and clean me out of Rzhev and develop a northern hook. That will have the secondary advantage of bouncing me from the Valdai. My feeling is that is an essentially tactical operation designed to grab good defense terrain for the winter and a launch pad for 1942.

My partisan stunts will be a factor. I think I've just wrecked his main supply line so it will be harder to build up supply with the Panzers for a deep incursion.

So all in the air - I think my partisans have just saved Moscow for 41 but I am as much worried about the risks in 1942 given that the new winter rules are much more realistic.

I also need to start building up for the counteroffensive - that may mean weakening the front lines a bit as I rest and refit key formations (I have a few Siberian rifle divisions with very high morale and ideally these need to be gathered into a key shock army)

[topeverest]

Loki,

Is the view shown in your pictures only available if you have one or more of the expansion games, or are there settings I can play with?

ORIGINAL: loki100