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@Axis turn 111

AGS continues its slow but steady march.

AGN has gained a foothold 10km east of the Luga River.

AGC: mostly dead in the water only 100 km from Moscow,
but southern flank is advancing very slowly toward Tula.

Elmer just keeps throwing bodies into the line.
Railheads are finally catching up a bit, though.

@Axis T115

Had some time today to turn a few moves...
Finally smashed Stalino,
main AGS finally busted through and is well past Kharkov now.

AGS / AGN are virtually static.

@ beginning of Axis turn 120 (August 12, 1942)

Looking grim here in this sector of AGN,
b/w Lake Ilmen and Vilikiye Luki.

These guys have been bogged down in the swamp and forest
for about, oh, a year (game time).

And now Elmer seems to be pushing into this area w/ the 4th Shock Army
(at Vilikiye Luki) and the 26th Army (at Lake Ilmen)

Going to have to send all scheduled reinforcements to this area for the time being,
before the rains and the winter, to shore up this area.

Which means nobody else will be getting reinforcements for a while.

w/re/to RR repairs: w/ two engineer chits to a stack (=6 stacks),
each area is consistently repairing now two hexes per turn.
So, maybe by Spring '43, I can have a good rail net to be able to more easily rail guys around the map.

Right now, need to fix that rail road from V. Luki up to Loknya and to Parkov,
then establish a line along that and get back out of the swamp here.
W/ two stacks of engineers in this area, will take about 10 or 12 turns.

Approximate turns remaining: 286.
So, if I can keep up a run rate of 10 moves per week in this one,
I should be able to finish this game around September.

@beginning of Axis turn 127 now (Sept. 6, 1942)

Two stacks of engineers (two chits each stack)
have completed repairs to the rail roads from Pskov to V. Luki.

Seven divisions now sit there around Loknya, all gassed up and ready to roll again.

Need to send 3 or 4 of those back to V. Luki area,
the rest back toward Lake Ilmen (going AROUND the swamp, not THROUGH it LoL)

Elmer really wants V. Luki ... going to have to drive him back into the swamp from there.
Not sure why RR is so much better to repair now,
but they are repairing consistently one or two hexes at each they at now.

Even a lone "one chit" engineer is repairing one hex per turn now.
A "two chit" stack usually repairs two hexes now, sometimes just one.

meanwhile, along the shores of of the Sea of Azov:

Rumanians / Italians plow the roads to Rostov and Novocherkassk

Rails there are to Stalino

The Voronezh Front shown below, with "fog of war" OFF
so that we can see the Soviet defense position here.

Looks like an area ripe for exploitation,
but German forces are thin.

Turn Axis 138 (Oct. 14 1942) second turn of full on storms for this (game) year,

finally got the Italians into Voroshilovgrad,
almost had the Germans into Novocherkassk when the storms hit.

Now, supply has tanked,
practically all units are in "orange" reorganize status,
so not much can do except dig in the mud again.

Was in the midst of getting the Italians back b/w
the Rumanians and Hungarians when the storms hit.

Another long winter ahead. Still a "marginal" victory for the Axis.

I created an easy-to-read version of what I consider the "basic" scenario briefing
and will post the entire, expanded briefing in an easy-to-read file later
here is basic information about the scenario, from the read me file (it is a two page PDF file that will open in a new window:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=19bclD ... 6vQbcquiJT

@Axis 146

Pretty fast to turn moves in the winter,
just dig in what you can and move the very few that can move if need be.

Elmer seems to have gone berzerk during his move 145.
Usually takes 10-15 minutes per move,
but on Soviet turn 145, it took almost 30 minutes.

In that 30 minutes: AGC is practically destroyed.
He's smashed right through and retaken Vyazma,
and is annihilating Germans all up and down the fronts.

Down south, he's made mincemeat of the Rumanians,
and is making mincemeat of the Italians and Hungarians.

What's left of the Axis units that can move,
is in full blown retreat.

That's a full-blown breakthrough.

Indeed it is. It took me by surprise, b/c Elmer up to that point seemed rather docile--to the point that, I had become convinced that he wasn't going to "counter attack" in this way. Boy, was I wrong!

So, that spurred me to finally read the entire briefing (LoL!! RTFM, right?). Many times I avoid reading the briefings b/c they are so hard for me to read in that little TOAW window, I just want to play, right? And, I converted the .txt files to PDF so that I could see them better. The "brief" briefing is linked in post #27 above.

Here is a link to the "expanded" briefing (this is a 15 page PDF file that will open in a new window:) WARNING: contains spoilers.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UXFuS ... 9kkoexcEEt

Interesting of note in the expanded briefing is the Bautrupp notes. N.B. where it says,

"The game engine repairs rail hexes each turn automatically, and it will tend to focus on broken rail lines near any bautrupp units [embarked or not]. Therefore, the player can easily channel rail repairs to specific important areas. Because it is a large map you may not notice all repaired hexes as they can occur anywhere." So I guess that solves THAT mystery!

@Axis #152

Here comes Elmer.
Looks like at least two, maybe three Shock Armies cutting right through the triangle.
And those are the units I can SEE (fog of war is on)

He's probably got at least two or three MORE armies following behind in there.

Smolensk is pretty well defended. Pskov can hold for a while.
Of those three cities, Riga is the weakest right now.

AGS? What's that??
LoL the Italians and Hungarians are virtual prisoners.
All retreat is cut off for them.

Maybe half of the Rumanian army remains around Sevastapol.
Maybe I can evacuate them by sea.

Kharkov and Kiev are virtually defenceless.
Most of AGS Germans has now also been either cut off or destroyed.
What a disaster! <shakes tiny fist at Elmer!>

Been watching this closely. The Soviets are greatly overpowered. Steve ran 2 tests elmer vs elmer: 1st resulted in German defeat in 1942, 2nd resulted in German defeat in 1943.

I'm also playing this scenario, but doing a lot of tweaking in hopes of getting a better game out of it. Haven't got past about turn 60 as I have to start doing more tweaking and restarting. Can't seem to turn out turns nearly as fast as you can.

Well, I am retired so I have plenty of time ,,, I play this scene in between other scenes, while awaiting moves from IRL opponents (who are kicking my arse also!)

IMHO, "elmer v. elmer" tests might not give the best look at overall scenario. That may be good for testing, but Human v. PO is really the test for designer acumen. Of course PBEM human v. human is the ultimate test of designer acumen. The different nuances (b/w Human v. PO, and Human v. Human) are vastly different.

For me, in this play, I have been very impressed by the PO as Soviets all through the game, and especially so w/ his counter-offensives now. But I am just kibitzer level player ... an "expert" Human (as Germans) might have easily over run Elmer by now in this go. I should hope so (b/c in this play, I have not ventured into "master" TOAW strategies / tactics). Generally, I just push the chits around and hope for the best, without going into too much of more underlying things that experts go for.

In this regard, it has been a very informative scenario to begin to learn those underlying things, such as (e.g.) where are my best tanks? Which battles must I forgo (b/c of weather, e.g.) Which airfields should I target? Which battles should I support w/ air?

I am (I hope) a rather good player at defense, so Elmer's PO "berzerKer" advance is welcome to see, to see if I can delay / hold and find some way to take back the initiative from him. Right now, at this point (Turn 152?) that is the only strategy I have, so it will be interesting to see if Elmer can take full advantage of his current initiative.

Compare, though, what a Human Player might do in this situation? I think that I would be pretty much ready to surrender in that case. But, b/c Elmer is "hindered" by not having skin (that is, he is not a "fleshy" opponent) then I continue to hope that I might find a way to turn the tables.

Your mileage may vary!

After Barbarossa, the Axis side never has enough units to hold a line, so the CvC test runs were only to see how bad it actually was [didn't want to release a stinker].

On the other side, what I see in this AAR is the Axis Player overextended and ran most of his units into the red, leaving them very susceptible to a Soviet counter attack. It happened historically, I've done it myself and I'm sure a lot of other players have also. But really, an experienced Axis Player will have no trouble with Elmer.

Thanks for your replies, they help to salve a bit of the pain Elmer is inflicting upon me now. I tried very hard from the first to not overextend the German lines, but over time Elmer (by his sneaky, sly, saving up of his units apparently) made me overly confident ... and so now I pay the price for that overconfidence.

One thing I did notice during around turn 140 or so, a German SS unit showed up unexpectedly in Orel ... a unit that (historically) was noted for their brutality.

Nice to see that little slice of history show up. Well done design in that regard.

Okay, well, now I will try to salvage what I can in "the triangle" of Riga / Pskov / Smolensk. AGN is still holding Narva, so we'll see what the Germans can devise in future. Currently Goering's Flieger ground units are starting to dig fortifications around Berlin. I'm going to make Elmer pay as much as I can for his belligerence and stick it out to the bitter end. Great scenario btw, loving it immensely and will definitely be playing it again!

Have a great gaming day!

near end of Axis 156 (Dec. 16, 1942):

a look at AGN. Elmer has retaken Narva,
but looking pretty solid there around Lake Peipus.

Seeing more SS units showing up, nice historical touch there,
the 15 Lettische was Latvian

In south, a Slavic SS unit (14th?) has also shown to "help" around Kharkov.

I put the "SS" markers to show where SS Polizei is now
(and also labeled Lake Peipus), those grafx are not from game but paint shop.

Some replacements are starting to show up now, too, for rest of Wehrmacht,
so maybe I can regroup and stab at Elmer again come Spring '43.

He seems to have slowed his roll a bit, maybe resupplying / rearming,
or having to deal w/ all those prisoners he's got now LoL!

@Axis turn 160 (dec. 30, 1942)

The Russians have crossed the ice of Leka Peipus,
and now are moving to encircle Pskov.

Riga is practically defenseless.
Smolenks holds, but not for too much longer.
Same w/ Kharkov.

The Germans are practically destroyed...
Probably down to less than 1MM soldiers overall,
and of course the Soviets have much more. Just a matter of time now.

All the little possession flags in this screenshot is the main rail lines
(or what is left of it) LoL

Apparently, the Italians etc. down near Stalino
have simply been left to freeze to death / starve.

Elmer has just bypassed them, in favor of bigger fish, I guess.

@Axis turn 165 Jan. 17, 1943

AGS @ Stalino / Voroshilovgrad: somehow, the minors have retaken both Stalino and Vgrad after Elmer rushed his Soviets past these cities, apparently in a mad dash to Kharkov; also somehow, these minor forces have NOT been designated “overextended” (yet) and are maintaining a supply level of 2%. Elmer has returned, though, and is now in process of retaking Stalino. Some of the remnants of AGS are making their way to this area.

in other areas:
AGN: two divisions of Germans that were in Finland made their way to port, and (via sea) have repositioned themselves east of RIga. Pskov has been abandoned, and those five or four divisions are battling their way back to RIga.

A few Soviet recon tankers have crossed the Niemann River, and I think that must have triggered activation of six Volks-Grenadier infantry divisions in areas around Berlin.

There are six more Volks-Grenadiers in reserve, waiting for an unknown event to occur before activation.

AGC: Smolensk ist kaput. Those units will just have to resign themselves to a holding action as long as possible there.
Bryansk forces have been fighting there way west, but are nearly cut off and may find refuge in Pripet Marsh.

Kiev: evacuating, pulling what I can back to Warsaw. Kharkov: holds, w/ four divisions there, but they are cut off, too.

Sevastapol: evacuating by sea to Odessa. Have pulled two Rumanian divisions and one German division out from there,
about three more Rumanians divisions remain there, awaiting evacuation.

As stands now, Germans are gearing for defense of the Reich. Will have to step up my game to hold as long as possible, mostly I have
just noodled around in this game, but Elmer has really put up a great game at plus 2 intel and "strong" as settings for him. As kibitzer, very impressed by his PO in this one.

With any luck, maybe I can hold out until '44 ...

@Axis turn 174 (February 17th, 1943)

Soviet Black Sea fleet has closed off Sevastapol,
about 1/2 a Rumanian division is stuck there now,
I got the rest out (about five divisions)

Kharkov holds. Stalino and Voroshilovgrad hold.
Smolensk holds. Riga ... still fighting in suburbs.
Elmer gives them only token attention now,
he seems pretty focused on Berlin now.

ORIGINAL: tyronec

The last ten or so moves, w/ no supply to speak of,
I spent the turns mostly trying out rail repair.

I found that stacking lots of RR embarked units
(five or six to a stack, next to broken rail)
nearly always repaired nearby broken hexes.

A stack of four, three, or two seemed to have
increasingly less chance to repair.

I didn't try stacking un-embarked RR repair units,
will try that next.

I can't fathom out quite how this works either.
It does seem that repair works less well during the early moves of the game, one possible explanation is that uncaptured rail hexes slow down the conversions in some way. Maybe the engine tries to repair those hexes and those attempts get wasted.

I think I have finally figured out how the RR repair works for the Germans,
looking back on the game, and reading more notes about it...could be wrong, but,....

RR repair is muchly "automated" and there are (iirc) a maximum of 12 hexes repaired per turn....
and "stacking" repair units (along w/ nearby supply points) will "optimize" repair in that area.

So, at beginning of game, when there are many rail to be repaired all over the map for Germans,
repair will occur more toward the rear areas ... no matter how many repair units you stack at front.

As result, as game progresses, you will see the rail lines being built from "back to front" ...
and, as result of THAT, eventually you will see "forward" repair being done.

I hope this makes sense. At least, that is the sense I am getting from it now, looking back.
For me, I like the way it was handled, and had I known more about the mechanism at first,
I would have handled my German and Rumanian RR engineers differently.

I get sense that German RR / supply is almost a "game within a game", and can be frustrating to the German side during the first year or so (game time), as it should be.

Now that it s pretty much a moot point for the Germans,
I focus on disrupting SOVIET rail w/ remnants still in Russia.

Well, back to the game: I managed to turn about seven moves for the Germans over the last few days.
Now I am focused on defense of the Reich from the Soviet Colossus. Am now at turn 183 or so.

Kharkov holds, w/ about four divisions there holding the burnt-out remains of that city and supplied by air I guess.
Smolensk has been abandoned, the but three divisions that were there are now fighting their way back toward Minsk.
Pskov units abandoned that area and have fought their way back to Riga, and Riga holds.

The German Homeland Defense Front is holding at the Polish border, and SS and other infantry are building reinforcements in Berlin.
Maybe I can make another offensive stab at Elmer when the weather lifts, but Berlin is safe for now.

But Elmer PO has the initiative and is trying to cross at River Bug.
To my benefit, many German HQ units have been evac'd by air from Kharkov / Smolens and are in process of refit to front line defense.

Going to be an interesting game to hold the Reich as long as I can. For Der Fuerher!! For the Reich!!!
Here's a look at Kharkov @Axis 182 PS: the arrow pointing to air briefing,
many times this "sidebar" of air briefing is not accurate, you have to look at "air briefing" from drop-down menu to get an accurate read from that .... seems to be a "glitch" in IV ....