My German Adventure!

[dmoose42]

Turn 7:

AGN moved north, striking Russian defenses south of the Luga and sending 10 divisions into shattered or routed status. We have panzers spread from the Narva river to 20 miles west of Novgorod and our scouts show no enemy troops with range. We pocketed 10 divisions in the Pskov swamps, along with 2 more divisions in routed status. We will force these to surrender next turn. We lost 700 men in the attack compared to 15k Russians (mostly POW’s).

AGS achieved another smashing victory. Our refueled panzers, after resting most of Turn 6, wheeled south advancing over a 100 miles to where the Sinyukha and Yuzhny Bug meet. This smashing attack, supported by the 17th Army to open a hole in enemy lines, caused a 50 mile wide salient 100 miles deep into enemy lines. The 11th Army then split its forces, with the Romanians swinging south to surround Odessa, and the German units swing North to meet our panzers. The result, 7 more Russian units pocketed and another 6 hopelessly pinned, and another 5 that I should be able to pocket next turn given my ZOC across the bottleneck. The 6th Army pushed forward towards Kiev, killing about 20k Russians with minimal losses, but it was more of a grinding effort. With the panzers distracted in the encirclement to the south though, this was the best we could do.

AGC struggled to push forward. Our panzers had limited supply, and the Russians are committing some of their strongest troops to this sector given that we are only 170 miles from Moscow. We have nearly encircled Smolensk (one pesky hex path for supply to trickle through). The 4th Army continued to push south, sending several divisions towards Gomel and pushing east towards Bryansk and Orel.

Russian attack turn – they only launched two attacks – one on an extended Romanian cavalry division, which quickly retreated and the other on our Smolensk pincer, which caused the soviets almost 1000 casualties before they aborted their attack with 12 losses for us.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #6: 14 units destroyed for a total of 221 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 139k men (19k last turn), 896 AFV (94 last turn), 318 aircraft (72 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 1.367 million men (113k last turn), 9401 AFV (238 last turn), 5496 aircraft (350 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4701 tanks, 3630 aircraft
Russia – 4.0 million soldiers, 54.5k guns, 11776 tanks, 6345 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 8:
AGS goes first. We smash the first portion of the pocketed troops in the south, netting us 48k prisoners. We then completed the pocket around the additional 6 units that had pinned last turn, so we will convert them into prisoners next turn. We dropped our infantry around this pocket to replace the panzers that had locked them into place. We then turned our panzers north back towards Cherkassy and pocketed another 9 divisions. Between Cherkassy and Kiev our Panzers loosely pocketed another 9 units, although the pocket is not tight, so the Russians may be able to leak out a few units. Against Kiev, our forces pushed the Soviets back and they only control a couple hexes (including Kiev), west of the Dnepr.

AGN followed this attack by being pissed off at the Russians for slipping a corridor of units to allow for resupply of the Pskov swamp pocket. As a result, AGN threw all of its resources into a rush to sea, reaching the Gulf of Finland 40 miles west of Pushkin with our mobile units. This expanded the swamp pocket to include 22 units, allowing us to force the surrender of 10 additional units relative to our original pocket. Next turn will be fun.

AGC followed up a couple turns of slow progress with a couple of epic victories. First, our resting panzers were back to relatively high fuel reserves (35-40 MP) which allowed us to pocket 5 units defending Smolensk over two hexes. These units will not escape. Three divisions pushed forward towards Vyazma, breaking the Russian lines and are posed to push further. They are now low on fuel and Vyazma is still 40 miles away, but the Russian resistance is in tatters. South of Smolensk, our panzers pushed to meet up with the 4th army, which was pushing towards Bryansk. 7 Units were captured in a pocket that has a wall of units surrounding it. It is highly unlikely that the Russians will be able to force one of our units to retreat to free the pocket. Of the 12 units pocketed, 2 are tank divisions, which are always yummy. Our push towards Gomel slowed as we met additional resistance, but also as we shifted two divisions east to support the encirclement at the Oster river.

Russian attack turn – they Russians launched a series of counterattacks, but again they were only successful against a Romanian calvary division in the south. Overall, our troops held on (though the combat is getting closer, as many of the attacks were in the 1.2 to 1.7 range against me. We will have to start being a little more careful as to our troop positioning given that the Russians seem to be gaining strength in terms of combat readiness.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #8: 18 units destroyed for a total of 239 units destroyed. (this includes 21 armor, 11 motorized, 7 calvary, and 43 infantry divisions. The rest are crap units – 95 anti-air, 12 security, 38 fortified, etc. Not that I’m not glad to be rid of them, but I try to focus on the core units destroyed).

German Losses to date: 163k men (24k last turn), 1083 AFV (187 last turn), 393 aircraft (75 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 1.545 million men (178k last turn), 10120 AFV (719 last turn), 5801 aircraft (305 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4521 tanks, 3588 aircraft
Russia – 4.0 million soldiers, 53.2k guns, 10490 tanks, 6249 aircraft

Overall, I’m happy with my progress so far. However, I do seem to be burning through tanks rather quickly, which makes me a little concerned about my future ability to smash the Russians.

[dmoose42]

Turn 9:
Pocketing Update:

AGN goes first…first order of business is to clean up the pocket. 143 thousand Russians are now POW’s and 527 AFV’s are history.

AGC forced 11 thousand Russians to surrender around Smolensk, but the fortified soldiers in the city look like a tough nut to crack. We decided to let them ripen for another turn. In the Oster pocket, another 56 thousand Russians surrendered, along with another 300 AFV’s.

AGS – we knew one pocket would be able to reconnect to supply, but the Russians were able to break out of a second pocket as well. We will still be able to pocket a few units, but ultimately our plan was too ambitious and we let the Russians get away. That being said, our smaller pocket did hold, leading to the surrender of 38 thousand troops.

Axis Attack: Overall we acquired 200k Russian prisoners in our pockets along with 26k dead and 22k disabled for a total damage inflicted of 248k men and 894 AFV’s. This is before we begin our offensive operations for the week.

German attack: AGS then pushed forward. Its panzers full of fuel, half the Army reclosed the pocket that we had let slip open, tightening the pocket on 16 divisions. They will not escape this time. The other half of the Army sped southward between Kirovograd and Krivoi Rog, capturing significant amounts of land and disrupting dozens of Soviet airfields, causing 511 aircraft losses, most of the them on the ground. Our infantry rushed in behind, filling the gap, and pocketing 3 more stranded Russian units.

While we have been busy pocketing and destroying Russian units, Kiev has remained in Russian hands. We cleaned up some of the units around the city, and after we liquidate the pockets next turn, we will focus on isolating Kiev for its destruction and capture.

AGC: Our progress slowed after a great victory last week, with our units still 40 miles from Vyazma. That being said, we made significant progress towards Bryansk (only 50 miles away now) and tightened our grip on Smolensk, with the closest Russian 50 miles away. The surrounded enemies troops will likely surrender next turn. Our troops continued their push south as well, following the Russian withdrawal to the gates of Gomel. We’ll see if the Russians further retreat in the face of our armies.

AGN: A significant amount of AGN’s time this week was spent cleaning up the Pskov swamp pocket, which limited our offensive actions this turn. That being said, we used our mainline forces to inflict damage on the Russians, and gained a toehold on the ridges southwest of Leningrad. We are feeling confident about our ability to crack the main Russian line next week.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #9: 59 units destroyed for a total of 298 units destroyed. We got an additional 3 armor, 2 motorized, and 25 infantry divisions this turn. It will take the Russians some time to replace those losses.

German Losses to date: 188k men (25k last turn), 1173 AFV (90 last turn), 455 aircraft (62 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 1.851 million men (306k last turn), 11369 AFV (1239 last turn), 6462 aircraft (661 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.4 million soldiers, 33.5k guns, 4473 tanks, 3588 aircraft
Russia – 3.8 million soldiers, 52.6k guns, 9365 tanks, 6150 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 10:

AGS’s latest pockets yielded another 140k men and 184 AFV. I believe the Russian southern front is on the verge of collapse given the staggering losses they have endured at the encirclement actions of von Kleist. As we survey the battlefield, we see more opportunities to encircle units and instruct our panzers to burn every drop while we have them on the run. AGC assaulted Smolensk, resulting in another 23k in prisoners.

Russia may be vast, but the ability of Von Kleist to pocket enemy formations in the south is unmatched. From an OOB perspective, this drops the Russians to 3.68 million in the field.

AGS moves first, capturing Nikolaev, pushing to within 30 miles of the Dnepr east of Nikolaev, and pocketing 7 units around the Yuzhny Bug. Further north, we captured Krivoi Rog, and the leading elements are 50 miles from Dnepropetrovsk. In the Kiev battle, we have the city nearly surrounded, as our units were under heavy fire crossing the Dnepr and multiple units lined up to assault Cherkassy next turn. The difficulty of crossing the Dnepr has really slowed our advance in this sector.

After liquidating the prisoners, AGN wheeled east, as the Russians heavily fortified positions in front of our main attack last turn. Concentrating our panzers into a single attacking force, we blew through the Russian lines south of Kolpino and where able to follow through with our motorized divisions to seize the hills overlooking Leningrad. Our troops are slightly overextended to make this breach in the Russian lines, as our infantry are a couple of hexes behind our mobile units, but we are in good position to crush the Russian resistance and force them to retreat into the city.

AGC had a fabulous turn after a slow infantry advance last turn. Our infantry punched a hole in the Russian lines between the Ugra river and Bryansk, a gap nearly 100 miles wide. Through this hole streamed the 3rd panzer group, which through the hole, swung north to capture Vyazma and create a salient 50 miles wide. The 2nd panzer group, stationed northeast of Smolensk, then attacked at the head of Dnepr, driving a wedge in the Russian lines and then striking southeast in a pincer movement to meet up with the 3rd panzer group. This attack caught 13 Russian divisions (including 2 armor) in a pocket that is now 50 miles deep. It is unlikely that the Russians will be able to free this pocket. Our commanders sent the attached picture demonstrating AGC's prowess (clearly their prowess does not extend to photography).

Casualty report:
End of Turn #10: 29 units destroyed for a total of 327 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 211k men (23k last turn), 1283 AFV (110 last turn), 492 aircraft (37 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.113 million men (262k last turn), 11913 AFV (544 last turn), 6742 aircraft (280 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.42 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4454 tanks, 3647 aircraft
Russia – 3.74 million soldiers, 50.7k guns, 8771 tanks, 6405 aircraft

[CapAndGown]

You need to send Leni Riefenstahl to the front to do your photography.

[dmoose42]

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

You need to send Leni Riefenstahl to the front to do your photography.

Definitely. Though I'm pretty sure an intern would do a better job than I!

[dmoose42]

Turn 11:

AGN surveyed the battlefield and decided to continue to push east, gaining 20-30 miles towards the Volkhov. Losses were minor (about 1500 men), but minimal losses were inflicted on the Soviets as well (about 8000). It looks like taking Leningrad will be a tough proposition. The leaders of the 16th and 18th armies were seen arguing about which army would suffer the most losses. We really want to take Leningrad, but if we can swing around and capture the Lake Lagoda ports to cut of supply, that may be our only option. This wasn’t our best turn, but it is what it is.

AGC struck next, destroying the pocketed soldiers from last turn, netting about 88k in soldiers and over 200 AFV’s. AGC notes that Russian resistance in the central front has basically collapsed with no troops west of the Bolva river near Bryansk. The Russians do appear to be putting together a defensive line at the Moskva river, but Kaluga and Tula appear basically undefended. Our panzers are low on fuel, so we can’t take full advantage of this opening this turn, but we will burn all of the fuel we have pushing our advantage. In relatively limited action, our infantry captured Bryansk, displacing a couple Russian units and our soldiers ended up within 20 miles of Kaluga, and about 70 miles from Moscow.

AGS is contemplating its options. The Russians attempted to withdraw from Kiev, but with our panzers full of fuel we may attempt to encircle them, rather than attempt a frontal assault. In the south, apparently our Nikolaev pocket was able to escape via the Black sea, but there are only nonimal Russian forces between our lines and the Dnepr. With luck, we can reach the Dnepr, begin to lay siege to Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye, from which we will have to decide if we want to push north towards Kharkov, or bypass Kharkov to capture Stalino. However, after a careful evaluation of our supply lines, we decided that a large push east this turn would extend our supply lines too much. Instead, we used our panzers to loop around Kiev, pocketing 6 more units (one armored), and advancing our infantry as far as there would go. Additionally, we pushed forward to Dnepr along the Cherkassy/Dnepropetrovsk line. The Russians have set up fortifications across the north side of the Dnepr here. Part of me hopes they stay, in which I can use my Kiev force to encircle them from behind. Keeping their forces pinned here will prevent them from putting up any resistance south of Dnepropetrovsk where my troops have reached the Dnepr with limited Russian intervention.

Soviet Report: The Russians launched a number of counterattacks, mostly unsuccessful, and none in the south. We lost about 1000 men compared to over 10k for the Russians (31 AFV vs. 180 AFV), but they did put a serious dent in one of our panzer divisions near Leningrad – so we’ll see what impact that has going forward.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #11: 25 units destroyed for a total of 352 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 233k men (22k last turn), 1408 AFV (125 last turn), 527 aircraft (35 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.317 million men (204k last turn), 12874 AFV (963 last turn), 7072 aircraft (330 last turn)

[dmoose42]

TURN 12:
KIEV SURRENDERS! Another 51k troops are taken off the map. AGS then blasted its full might through the Dnepr past Kiev, our panzers opening up a 100 mile gap in the Russian lines, and capturing Sumy and Poltava, and only 80 miles from Kharkov. Additionally, we were able to pocket an additional 6 Russian units north of Cherkassy and 3 more between Cherkassy and Dnepropetrovsk. Further south, we have units bordering both Dneproptrovsk and Zaporozhye, and breached the Dnepr just north of the Crimea. The attached picture shows our progress in the South.

AGC agonized over striking towards Moscow – we could probably get within 30-40 miles or swinging north and trying to capture Rzhev and encircle more Russians. After some deliberation, and the realization that the temperatures are starting to get cooler now that we are in September, we struck north with our panzers, encircling Rzhev, and along with it, 12 russian units. They should help us feed our soldiers next turn. This attack expended all of our reserves, and left our front lines between Bryansk and Vyazma only with units every other hex. The Russians are too weak to attack in a meaningful way along this front, but we lack the unit density to make much progress. Separately we also surrounded a couple more units at Velikie Luki, which will fall next turn.

AGN: We decided to hedge our bets in the North. The Russians are fairly strong in the north, with some hexes displaying defensive values in the 60-70 range. These would be costly to take. Currently, we are fortifying our soldiers in the hills south of Leningrad – between fortified zones and the hilly terrain, we should be able to repulse any Russian counter-attack, and we are repositioning our forces to strike east, with the goal of surrounding Leningrad (boy this is sounding familiar). While getting the Finns in the war in a more serious way will certainly help, we also are pinning down a serious portion of the Russian strength here as they have collapsed in front of AGC and AGS.

Before heading onto the current stats, I am cautiously optimistic about being able to capture Moscow in 1941. That being said, I’m very conflicted about whether or not to push for it. It very like may have to come in the snow turns before the blizzard – is it worth it to over-extend my lines in that way? I will post more pictures as I go. Any advice is welcome.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #12: 13 units destroyed for a total of 365 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 254k men (21k last turn), 1505 AFV (97 last turn), 597 aircraft (70 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.436 million men (119k last turn), 13570 AFV (696 last turn), 7410 aircraft (338 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.46 million soldiers, 33.8k guns, 4785 tanks, 3522 aircraft
Russia – 3.74 million soldiers, 51.4k guns, 6891 tanks, 6900 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 13:
AGC struck first, capturing Velikie Luki and some 17k prisoners. However, the Russians were able to penetrate the Rzhev pocket – I was able to recircle it, but two units were able to escape (I had to rout them to efficiently close the pocket again. Western Moscow is only 30 miles away from my lead elements now and we have infantry next to Kaluga and two hexes away from Orel. Towards Velikie Luki we push our panzers NW from Rzhev to nearly encircle a pocket with 10-15 Russian units in it. We were disappointed that we couldn’t close the pocket (a couple of unfavorable rolls), but without any rail lines, we will be able to get these units surrounded next turn. While I could push harder to take Moscow before the mud, we made the decision to defer that attack if opportunities to obtain more encirclements are there. We are hoping that this will weaken the Russians’ winter offensive.

AGS struck second, consolidating the pocket north of Cherkassy and gaining some 35k prisoners and 200 AFV’s. In the other three small pockets we nabbed an additional 28k prisoners. Overall, there was minimal fighting as we advanced basically unimpeded, reaching Kharkov with two armor divisions and only 20 miles from Kursk. The south has turned into a footrace to see if the Russians can outrun my troops east. North of Kiev we pocketed a few divisions around Chernigov that will take a turn or two to clean up. The Russians are probably sacrificing these troops in the hopes that they hold up my advance.

AGN continued to engage in trench warfare with the Russians, launching deliberate attacks from multiple hexes to dislodge the Russian defenders. We did split off a couple of divisions from Leningrad on the Gulf of Finland – but they will continue to be in beachhead supply. We also pushed east slightly, but our biggest progress was causing about 12 Russian units to rout, hopefully positioning us better for next turn. At this point, we’re optimistic that we can clear out the Russian defenders in front of Leningrad by the mud season, and push east to cut off their supply, hopefully allowing us to take the city during the snow turns.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #13: 30 units destroyed for a total of 395 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 276k men (22k last turn), 1616 AFV (111 last turn), 685 aircraft (88 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.599 2.436 million men (163k last turn), 14519 AFV (949 last turn), 7654 aircraft (244 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.44 million soldiers, 33.6k guns, 4730 tanks, 3531 aircraft
Russia – 3.77 million soldiers, 51.8k guns, 6026 tanks, 7121 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 13 - Rzhev encirclement

[dmoose42]

Turn 14:

AGC forced the Rzhev pocket to surrender, netting 58 thousand prisoners and another 192 AFV’s. In bolder news, we decided to press northward in a giant encirclement action, seizing Torzhok, and plopping some infantry next to Kalinin and other units approaching Vyshny Volochek. Separately, elements of the 2nd panzer group units pushed east to the Moskva-Volga canal, coming within three hexes of northern Moscow. We are optimistic about completing this encirclement next turn, potentially capturing upwards of 25 units. In the southern portion of the front, we reached Kaluga and are 30 miles from Tula and Orel. Looking at the picture of the front (previously posted), I worry that this diversion will just chew up my panzers basically take them out of action for the rest of the turns before mud. We will see if we made a fatal mistake.

In other news, elements of the AGC pushed south to meet up with AGS near Sumy, encircling a wide swath of land stretching west to the Dnepr. Our spies estimate that there are 18 more Soviet Units in this sector.

Aside from meeting up with AGC, the majority of AGS pushed the border west nearly 100 miles, and surrounded Kharkov, seized Belgorod, and reached Kursk. A momentous day for AGS. The one exception is our siege of Odessa, which cost us 1300 Romanians this turn as we attacked. We have decided just to attack every turn until the Russians surrender.

AGN continued its grind towards freeing Leningrad, nearly reaching the Volkhov River. We have shipped north the 40th Panzer Corps with two armor and one motorized decision to help break the stalemate.

Russian Update: The Russians launched a few counterattacks, but were unsuccessful in all 5 attacks, suffering 5500 casualties compared to 468 for me. I lost 1 AFV, they lost 75.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #14: 24 units destroyed for a total of 419 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 298k men (22k last turn), 1757 AFV (141 last turn), 747 aircraft (62 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.756 million men (157k last turn), 15041 AFV (522 last turn), 7844 aircraft (190 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.45 million soldiers, 33.5k guns, 4722 tanks, 3541 aircraft
Russia – 3.72 million soldiers, 51.0k guns, 5154 tanks, 7274 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 15
AGN decided that trying to push the Soviets out of Leningrad before the mud would not be successful and retreated back to their fortified positions on the hills. Our motorized forces then swung south and seized Novgorod, pocketing 9 units west of Novgorod. South of the Ilmen river, our forces pushed east, meeting up with the AGC’s 2nd panzer group, pocketing 11 units. Those two pockets should yield us another 100k-150k in prisoners. Once our pocketing efforts are complete, we will begin scouting out were we should prepare our defensive positions for the winter.

AGC captured 30k prisoners for the first part of the pocket. Our troops swept up and captured Vyshny Volocheck, and pinned several units in Kalinin. It will be interesting to see if the Soviets stay and let me pocket them, or retreat. In front of Moscow, not much changed as we are preparing to dig in for the winter.

AGS – In the south, we seized Kharkov, and continued to push east past the Oskol river. Further south, we seized Zaporohyze and have troops lined up against Russian positions at the Crimean isthmus. Odessa cost us another 1500 Romanians…sigh..

Casualty report:
End of Turn #15: 35 units destroyed for a total of 454 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 319k men (21k last turn), 1855 AFV (98 last turn), 786 aircraft (39 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 2.955 million men (199k last turn), 15276 AFV (235 last turn), 8022 aircraft (178 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.45 million soldiers, 33.5k guns, 4747 tanks, 3583 aircraft
Russia – 3.71 million soldiers, 50.5k guns, 5642 tanks, 7358 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 16: it’s now October – mud will be here shortly. Our main goal is to consolidate our positions and shorten our lines as much as possible.

AGN: We eliminated the Novgorod pocket – 42k men and 200 AFV surrendered and pulled back into tight defensive positions on the Leningrad front. That freed up a mobile division to assist in forcing 25k Russian soldiers to surrender west of Leningrad who were pinned against the beach. We have another pocket of three units we will be able to clean up next time.

AGC: We surrounded 9 more units north of Velikie Luki and will force their surrender next turn, with the ability to destroy more units. On the Moscow front, we pulled back to shorten our lines given the Russian strength in the area and began fortifying our positions on the Oka river opposite Orel. We will have a strong defensive position here for the winter, and we’ll see what condition our panzers are in once they finish their exploits in the north.

AGS reported no resistance except at the Crimea isthmus. Our units sped another 80-100 miles east, reaching Stalino, which will we have surrounded next turn and our panzers ended up one hex away from Voroshilovgrad. We will likely reach Rostov in another two turns (could be next turn if our panzers are able to be refueled).

Soviet Turn: The Russians tried hard to push us back in the Moscow sector, including attacking an exposed infantry division three times. We repulsed all of the attacks (at least one of which appeared to be a lucky roll). AGN all reported several attacks on its fortified line, but reporting less than 200 losses compared to over 3000 for the Russians.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #16: 17 units destroyed for a total of 471 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 341k men (22k last turn), 1920 AFV (65 last turn), 813 aircraft (27 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 3.103 million men (148k last turn), 15724 AFV (448 last turn), 8185 aircraft (163 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.46 million soldiers, 33.5k guns, 4892 tanks, 3650 aircraft
Russia – 3.71 million soldiers, 50.5k guns, 5178 tanks, 7551 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 17: We will likely reach tank parity with the Russians this turn, as they continue to lose AFV’s at a heavy rate.

AGN liquidated the remaining 25k of Russian troops receiving beachhead supply. This allowed us to shorten our lines and free up another two divisions to act as a strategic reserve along with 3 armored and 3 motorized divisions. Based on the mud and what the Russians do next turn, we may launch another attack or simply bide our time.

AGC moved next, collapsing the pocket north of Velikie Luki, seizing another 46k in prisoners (only 44 AFV though). We lost 353 men. We then pulled our panzers out of the hills to avoid getting bogged down in a war we could not win. Separately, we captured Kalinin. However, achieved limited progress on the rest of the front. Until our panzers return, we will not be able to break the Russian lines around Moscow.

AGS: We captured Kursk and continued to advance east, nearly surrounding Stalino, and pushing nearly 200 miles east of Kharkov. AGS sent 40k troops north towards Orel to see if we could force a Russian retreat given the threat of encirclement. We are now 70 miles from Rostov, which we hope to capture before winter sets in.

Soviet Turn – they attacked a number of times, largely unsuccessfully – with nearly 8000 casualties compared to 641 for me. However, strangely enough they largely withdrew their forces directly between me and Moscow – if all of Russia didn’t turn to mud next turn, this would be a clear advantage (but maybe they knew the mud would be paralyzing).

Casualty report:
End of Turn #17: 32 units destroyed for a total of 504 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 367k men (26k last turn), 1968 AFV (48 last turn), 827 aircraft (14 last turn?)
Russian Losses to date: 3.273 million men (170k last turn), 15880 AFV (156 last turn), 8369 aircraft (184 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.48 million soldiers, 33.1k guns, 4944 tanks, 3653 aircraft
Russia – 3.76 million soldiers, 51.0k guns, 5637 tanks, 7465 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 18… mud…not much happened other than AGS was able to continue to push east (although at a slower rate), given the lack of Russian resistance. Our lead elements did reach the Don south of Voronezh. Additionally, the Russians withdrew from Orel, allowing us to capture the city, which we did so gladly. We were able to force a couple units to surrender – 11975 Russian casualties vs. 20 Germans lost for the Axis turn. AGC and AGN were largely locked in place.

The Russians didn’t attack at all on their turn. MUD!

Casualty report:
End of Turn #18: 6 units destroyed for a total of 510 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 390k men (23k last turn), 1994 AFV (26 last turn), 827 aircraft (0 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 3.320 million men (57k last turn), 15911 AFV (31 last turn), 8415 aircraft (46 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.44 million soldiers, 32.8k guns, 4944 tanks, 3674 aircraft
Russia – 3.88 million soldiers, 52.7k guns, 6047 tanks, 7802 aircraft

[dmoose42]

The southern front when mud arrived...

[dmoose42]

Turn 19 - 21 MUD - not much happened. We pocketed a few units that were exposed and tightened our lines and prepared for winter...

Turn 22: SNOW – we have freedom! At least for a couple turns.

AGN used the snow to strike northward, capturing a hex adjacent to Leningrad. We then launched our armor against the Russian formations to the east, pushing them back multiple hexes. Next turn we will advance our infantry to surround Leningrad, cutting it off from the rest of the Russian forces and start pushing east to secure the ports. South of Lake Ilmen, our troops stormed north, cutting off three infantry divisions and making a bid to cut off the Leningrad armies in the rear.

AGC: We withdraw significant forces from the Vishny Volochek sector, leaving a thin line across the river, and repositioned 7 divisions south to strengthen our lines. In the Moscow sector, we decided that digging in was the best course of action, positioning several panzer units in cities to protect them from the upcoming winter. We also opportunistically launched a small counterattack that cut off three Russian divisions from the rest of the army. Hopefully we will make them surrender next turn.

AGS made the most progress, continuing to push the Russians back towards Voronezh and we are at the city limits. Perhaps next turn we can seize the city. Rostov appears to be unobtainable as Russian defenses have stiffened a bit and the snow has reduced our movement capabilities. We have stabilized the front (and we liquidated the Stalino pocket), but we will probably have to dig in half way to Rostov. Fortunately, the Russians are not in a position to launch a meaningful counterattack.

The Russians only launched two attacks – one in the Moscow sector which was repulsed and one against the Romanians who beat a hasty retreat. In total we lost 172 men compared to 2200 Russians.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #22: 7 units destroyed for a total of 523 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 487k men (23k last turn), 2178 AFV (125 last turn), 828 aircraft (1 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 3.535 million men (92k last turn), 16105 AFV (125 last turn), 8708 aircraft (168 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.41 million soldiers, 32.1k guns, 5052 tanks, 3619 aircraft
Russia – 4.35 million soldiers, 57.6k guns, 6742 tanks, 8057 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 23:

AGN: The three trapped Russian divisions south of Lake Ilmen surrendered, 26k prisoners in all. Our troops then marched North, putting the Soviet armies east of Leningrad under pressure and threatening to roll up the Soviet troops west of Vyshny Volochek. In the Leningrad sector, we pushed more Soviet troops across the river. The only hex south of the Nesta still in Russian control is Leningrad proper, which we hope to take next turn. To the east, the Russians only control 6 hexes west of the Volkov river, which we hope to capture next turn and then set up winter fortifications.

AGC: The three trapped Russian divisions surrendered – 27k soldiers in all. We shortened our lines a bit and generally positioned our soldiers for winter. Our only main axis of advance was east of Orel, where we continued to push the Russians back, with the main objective to shorten the line to reduce the size of the Voronezh salient.

AGS: The Russians started throwing crap units in our way to slow our progress, as we really were able to only gain a hex or two in most places given the higher movement costs in the snow. We were able to push through near Voronezh and establish positions along the Don River for 130 miles to the south. This will form a good base for our troops to dig in for the winter. Near Rostov, we are still 50-60 miles away. We have given up on capturing the city this year.

Russian turn – they launched one attack near Moscow which was barely unsuccessful (1.96:1), but otherwise it was quiet.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #23: 9 units destroyed for a total of 532 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 508k men (21k last turn), 2269 AFV (91 last turn), 830 aircraft (2 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 3.662 million men (127k last turn), 16199 AFV (94 last turn), 8850 aircraft (142 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.39 million soldiers, 32.0k guns, 5115 tanks, 3783 aircraft
Russia – 4.38 million soldiers, 58.5k guns, 6971 tanks, 8063 aircraft

[dmoose42]

Turn 24: Last week of snow. We used the opportunity to consolidate our positions and generally try and pull our armor back to safety. Minimal fighting (less than 15k Russian casualties).

At the end of the 1941 German campaign, the final results are:

Russian units destroyed: 535

Axis Losses:
Men: 526k
AFV: 2352
Air: 832

Soviet Losses:
Men: 3.721 million
AFV: 16383
Air: 8957

OOB:
Germany:
Men: 3.22 million
AFV: 5011
Air: 3757

Soviets:
Men: 4.30 million
AFV: 6675
Air: 7846

[dmoose42]

Turn 25: Blizzard! The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! Oh no! We largely just let our troops rest in their positions, awaiting the Russian onslaught. Fingers crossed.

RUSSIAN TURN UPDATE! - They attacked along the entire front. Fortunately, our fortifications held them to around 10-15 victories. Overall, we lost 6000 men compared to 54 thousand for the Russians. They also lost 230 AFV’s where we lost 3. We’ll definitely come under more pressure given the Russians were able to wear down our fortifications. However, we held them off for one turn.

Overall approach is to shelter in place in AGN and AGC. AGS is retreating given their reliance on the Romanians and us not wanting to allow to many deliberate attacks. We included a picture of the front prior to the Russian portion of the turn.

Casualty report:
End of Turn #25: 0 units destroyed for a total of 523 units destroyed.
German Losses to date: 571k men (45k last turn), 2412 AFV (60 last turn), 836 aircraft (4 last turn)
Russian Losses to date: 3.815 million men (94k last turn), 16647 AFV (264 last turn), 9129 aircraft (173 last turn)

OOB Update:

Germany – 3.13 million soldiers, 30.8k guns, 5131 tanks, 3735 aircraft
Russia – 4.31 million soldiers, 58.1k guns, 5797 tanks, 7523 aircraft