Guns on the East Front! v3.3 Telumar vs Governato

[Tcao]

Talking about rail repair, in my game I combine the rail repair Regt first, then divide them into two units (Brigade scale), Brigade scale rail repair unit in this scenario has 94% to repair a damage rail with full MP, 89% after move on hex, 76% after two hex move.

my 2 cents

[governato]

ORIGINAL: Chicom Redneck

Talking about rail repair, in my game I combine the rail repair Regt first, then divide them into two units (Brigade scale), Brigade scale rail repair unit in this scenario has 94% to repair a damage rail with full MP, 89% after move on hex, 76% after two hex move.

my 2 cents

That is a good trick and works as intended. If one wants to maximize the *overall* number of rail hexes converted, then keep the RR units split. This also works on a single rail line if you keep the rail repair units in adjacent hexes. If you want to make sure that a *specific* hex gets repaired, then merge them into brigades or into the original parent unit. Keeping the railhead forward is vital for AGN and especially for AGS. This will be even more true once the new patch and EFv3.5 come out as they will have additional penalties
for units far away from the railheads.

[governato]

The fight along the Minsk-Smolensk-Moscow highway is the crucial one in the Barbarossa scenario. Moscow is a vital node for the Soviet Union. Capturing Moscow at any time in the campaign gives the Axis a 10% chance of a Sudden Death Victory. If that happens in 1941 before Turn24, the chance is 25% in v3.4. These probabilities are high, but by no means certain, as most historians agree that the Soviet Union would have kept fighting, had Moscow be taken. However, this feature gives the Axis a strong incentive to push forward until December.

Telumar advances during the first turns was right on schedule. The border force annihilated and Minsk was stormed on turn 3. Knowing Telumar as a skilled, methodical player I set a screening force around Smolensk, without trying to make stand. The area just East of it is crucial, the so called 'land bridge' between two large major rivers (the Dvina and the Dnepr) and the only direction along which the Axis can maintain decent supply. Telumar kept two Panzer Groups with AGC and I made sure to keep Bryansk Front along the Dnepr river to avoid a strong Axis push South in the direction of Kiev. Blowing bridges without losing units on the wrong side of the river is crucial.

Around Turn 10, the Axis must make some hard choices. Supply is low and the railheads can only be pushed fast (by putting three/four split RR units on the same line) along a few directions. Telumar correctly stops one Panzer Group to refit (probably it'd be even better to leapfrog them) and keeps a Supply unit (or two?) just ahead of the railheads.


One interesting thing to keep into account is the low recon values of the scenario. Enemy units a few hexes away from the front line are hard to spot, especially if your air units are too far behind (the Red Army air force, the VVS, will only be able to fly occasionally, if at all, until August). I decide to make my stand at Vyazma while AGC infantry is still a few hexes behind. It gives me time to dig and set fall back lines. The crucial turns are 10-15. There is a lull in Soviet reinforcements (historically that was the time between the first mass draft and the organization of new replacement armies). If the Red Army loses too many units it won't be able to field reinforcement and all will be lost. On the other hand the Axis will be tired and low supply units suffer stronger losses. Push further East or take a break? If going for a last strike before the Fall rains, where should it be?

Note for Telumar: keep showing the supply levels! Comes v3.6 I will need to set a 'Overstretched Suppy' level. Units that receive less than that amount will suffer additional (if not permanent) losses. I wish the level was set by the unit supply, rather than by the hex supply level, but beggars can't be choosers [:)]

[governato]

It is at this point that (in my opinion) Telumar makes a mistake: he keeps pushing along too many directions and uses two Panzer Group to encircle Western Front West of Vyzma. That means pushing North of Vyzma pointing at Rzhev. This is a rugged area with a poor supply network, where his tank units get bogged down and are hard to extricate. Once I have Telumar committed there, I decide to make a stand . My units suffer horrible losses, but 1:5 infantry loss ratios are OK and the old tanks (T26s and BT-7s) will be replaced comes 1942. One idea I'd like to test is to use the two panzer groups to go SE of Bryansk and then turn them North along the Oka or Tula. Terrain there is open and there are railroads that can be repaired.

Below is a map of the historical front for the same period.


Advice for the Red Army Player for the Summer campaign: Western and Bryansk Fronts.


- split your armies to cover your front and avoid having entire armies encircled. Once an army is split, dig two Corps and keep one behind in Tactical reserve, or better use a surviving mech Corp, if you have one handy. Keep unsplit armies for counterattacks.

-make counterattacks, but make them count, and always, always assume that your units will go into reorg the next turn. If they are too exposed when that happens, they will be toast.

- There is space to trade in front of Moscow and it may pay off big to divert one or two armies to Leningrad, which will otherwise fall. It does takes some guts and skill to pull it off.

- do not underestimate the psychological game: smashing an overexposed Panzer spearhead will make OKH less daring, he does not need to know that the Red Army won't be able to pull such a feat every turn....

- having an idea of how many German Panzer units are in the OOB and of how many you *actually see* is very helpful.

- try to save your HQs from encirclement (easier said than done), as losing Support squads (representing the logistic infrastructure and staff units) will affect the supply levels of entire fronts for a long time. An HQ has 30 Support squads, but the Red Army only gets 3/turn. You do the math.

[governato]

Here is a view of the front in the AGC/Moscow sector at the start of Turn 18, (October 19th, 1941) after the start of Mud season and its Shock penalties. The Red Army is down to only 1300 modern tanks over the whole front (pretty close to historical). . 1800 KV-1 and T34s have been destroyed in combat, together with several thousands obsolete tanks. The attritional tank losses amount to 750 of various (mostly old) types. Telumar will not start any Operation Typhoon aimed at Moscow and will begin Winter preparations at the end of the Fall rains.

[governato]

ORIGINAL: ogar

Nice to see this detailed and educational AAR continuing.

We endeavour to give satisfaction, my dear sir. Please feel free to provide comments and suggestions! EF v3.4 is a lot different (better?) from its first version, a lot of the improvements came through user feedback, especially games that went past Summer 41.

[Telumar]

We endeavour to give satisfaction, my dear sir.

This is how it is [:D]

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I will continue with the course of events in Army Group South's sector, after that it is time for some neat statistics.

The Army Group didn't start as stunning as the other two Army Groups as it was facing somewhat more valuable opponents. The objective is to take Kiev as fast as possible, then rush into Eastern Ukraine as far east as possible and into the Donbas with the objective of Rostov. If possible the Krim peninsula shall be entered too and ideally Sevastopol shall be taken.

Here we see the situation on turn 2 when 11th Army and the Romanian 3rd Army went into action, too. The bulk of Panzergruppe 1 is heading straight towards Kiev with no opposition left in its direct path. Elements of Panzergruppe 1, together with elements of 11th Army, are tasked with cutting off retreating mobile elements of the Kiev M.D. while the Romanian 3rd Army heads for Odessa (it is important to destroy as many of the early Mech Korps as possible - don't let them live for another day to fight. Well rested and with some experience these can carry out dangerous counterattacks. Due to a low FSDE they don't resupply really well, but they suffice for a first, hard strike against an exposed Panzer spearhead.).

[Telumar]

Turn 4 - in the second week of July Kiev has been reached while 3rd and 48th Panzer-Korps are preparing to cross the Dnjepr river into the rear of fortress Kiev. In the south, Odessa, only symbolically defended by a weak parachute corps, has been cut off. Remnants of 25th and 26th Mech Korps are trapped in the Vinnitsa Kessel.

[Telumar]

On turn 5, Odessa fell in a direct attack. At Kiev, the Soviet position has been compromised as armored forces crossed the Dnjepr and drove deep behind the city. Consequently Fabio abandoned Kiev, which was entered by German forces at the end of July (turn 6). In the south, advance forces reached Dnepropetrovsk. The screenshot shows the situation at the end of turn 6. It is now important to pursuit the retreating Soviets and deny any kind of organized retreat. Note that the railhead has not even reached Zhitomir and is still roughly 300 kms behind Kiev.

[Telumar]

The drive towards the east went on, with supply being a bigger problem than Soviet delaying actions. On turn 10, Kharkov and Kursk fell, Belgorod had been cut off and the Perekop Isthmus has been reached. Fabio only fought delaying actions in Ukraine, at least it seemed so. I think he desperately needed his troops elsewhere (Moscow, Leningrad) and here is enough space to trade for time, at least as long as Rostov and Stalingrad do not come under threat.

[governato]

I remember thinking...where is the Luftwaffe? The VVS had been blown out of the sky (literally, it will take months for it to get any influence). Stefan would have perhaps gained some good info from his
recon air units if he had placed them closer to the spear heads. A lot of my units got lucky and sneaked out, and were redirected to the fords on the Dnepr,
but Kiev is a deathtrap for the Red Army if not handled carefully...

[Telumar]

Mid September - turn 13 - Voronezh has been reached, but at this stage my units were in no condition to attack the city, also the Soviet defenders were well fortified. Between Voronezh and the Donets river, elements of 6th Army and Panzergruppe 1 were advancing against light resistance towards the lower Don Bend which would bring them in the vicinity of Stalingrad. In the Donbas 11th Army, supported by the Italian and the Hungarian Expeditionary Korps was closing in on Rostov.

[governato]

A side note: I suggest 'Three Kings' a good book on the role of Axis satellites during the 1941 ride through Ucraine. EF has proficiency values for Romanians and Italians that are a little better than in most other games and they are slightly better than soviet infantry units. However, heir formations have poor supply values, to model their obsolete/poor logistical assets. Summer 41 is a good opportunity for the Axis to increase their proficiency through 'easy' battles.

[Telumar]

ORIGINAL: governato

I remember thinking...where is the Luftwaffe? The VVS had been blown out of the sky (literally, it will take months for it to get any influence). Stefan would have perhaps gained some good info from his
recon air units if he had placed them closer to the spear heads. A lot of my units got lucky and sneaked out, and were redirected to the fords on the Dnepr,
but Kiev is a deathtrap for the Red Army if not handled carefully...

Most of the Luftwaffe was engaged in AGs Center and North's sectors. At around turn 5 i had Fliegerkorps 1 at Zhitomir and the Romanian air force at Kirovograd. Bombers were well behind near Rovno, but as said, these were mainly tasked with supporting AG centre.

It is difficult to trap the Soviet mobile units that start in Western Ukraine around Lvov and Tarnopol, except you redirect forces from the Kiev axis towards the south/southeast. But Kiev is an important objective, so.. 11th Army, mainly infantry, heading from northern Bessarabia towards the NE is too slow, also because it starts on turn 2 only. I don't remember how many units i managed to trap however. Too few i would guess.

I recall that you basically gave up Kiev without a serious fight as German Panzers were roaming into your rear - just in time to not suffer an additional production loss due to an early capture.

[governato]

ORIGINAL: Telumar


It is difficult to trap the Soviet mobile units that start in Western Ukraine around Lvov and Tarnopol, except you redirect forces from the Kiev axis towards the south/southeast. But Kiev is an important objective, so.. 11th Army, mainly infantry, heading from northern Bessarabia towards the NE is too slow, also because it starts on turn 2 only. I don't remember how many units i managed to trap however. Too few i would guess.

I recall that you basically gave up Kiev without a serious fight as German Panzers were roaming into your rear - just in time to not suffer an additional production loss due to an early capture.

Opening those turns was dreadful...but yes in this game I opted to trade space for time in the South. Btw I did the opposite in a v3.4 game with Cfant and and it was painful. Saving a strip 2-4 hexes deep East of Kiev (I got to keep Bryansk) cost ~ 10,000 squads, a lot of them in pockets. Turns 8-14 are the most crucial in the game.

[Telumar]

ORIGINAL: governato

ORIGINAL: Telumar


It is difficult to trap the Soviet mobile units that start in Western Ukraine around Lvov and Tarnopol, except you redirect forces from the Kiev axis towards the south/southeast. But Kiev is an important objective, so.. 11th Army, mainly infantry, heading from northern Bessarabia towards the NE is too slow, also because it starts on turn 2 only. I don't remember how many units i managed to trap however. Too few i would guess.

I recall that you basically gave up Kiev without a serious fight as German Panzers were roaming into your rear - just in time to not suffer an additional production loss due to an early capture.

Opening those turns was dreadful...but yes in this game I opted to trade space for time in the South. Btw I did the opposite in a v3.4 game with Cfant and and it was painful. Saving a strip 2-4 hexes deep East of Kiev (I got to keep Bryansk) cost ~ 10,000 squads, a lot of them in pockets. Turns 8-14 are the most crucial in the game.

I could have headed east more aggressively, but i was concerned about supply, low readiness and possible counterattacks against exposed spearheads.

Well.. ~10,000 squads, what is this for the Soviet player...[:D][8D]

[Telumar]

Turn 15 - end of September - Fabio was now pouring more troops into the south, a slow, but steady stream. With my own logistics on the ropes the advance was halted around Voronezh, where i now had to guard the northern flank where the presence of Soviet troops represented a threat against the line along the Donets river. 6th Army and elements of Panzergruppe 1 were still advancing into the lower Don bend while 11th Army began its operation against Rostov with a crossing of the Don east of the city. At the Perekop Isthmus, heavily fortified Soviets and Romanians were staring at each other. I would have to bring up sufficient artillery to break that position, but given the supply network, the damaged (unusable) rail network and the need for artillery in other sectors this would have to wait at least until after the mud, probably, and as it turned out, until spring '42.

[Telumar]

The battle for Rostov I

On turn 15, 11th Army began its operation against Rostov by crossing the Don river east of the heavily fortified city. The plan was simple, obvious and viable to minimize own losses: cut off the city and let the defenders starve for some turns before an assault. Meanwhile Fabio was bringing up troops to hold open lines of communications to the city, but it finally was the mud that saved the city. For the time being i thought. Situation on turn 17, beginning of the 'Rasputitsa' season:

[Telumar]

The battle for Rostov II

At the end of October, the ground dried again and offensive operations were resumed. I managed to finally cut off the city on turn 19, but Fabio had brought up fresh reinforcements during the mud while my own troops are totally exhausted and only minimally supplied.

[Telumar]

The battle for Rostov III

While i held up the siege, the Soviet build-up continued. I was in no shape to launch an attack against Rostov. Not now and given the supply situation not even in the upcoming weeks. There was no possibility to bring in fresh troops (as i had no fresh units in the vicinity) and there was good reason to assume that a Soviet attack could easily cut off my units south of the Don..