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ORIGINAL: Seminole

Notably, this week Stalin ordered the construction of fortifications in Moscow, even before the question of Smolensk has been settled.
The people's spirits are bolstered knowing that the state is in for the long haul, regardless of disasters to come.

This is only spreading fear and panic! You should be assuring your population that Smolensk will not fall to the Hitlerites and you will soon be pushing on to Berlin. I'm disappointed in this messaging.

By the way - this is a very thorough AAR. Thank you.

ORIGINAL: Seminole

This will be my first Soviet grand campaign. Any tips about unknown pitfalls (e.g. don't disband HQs destined to upgrade) are welcome.

LOL, I would not know anything about disbanding Soviet Corps HQ's...

You are the master of opening German pockets it seems. Are you all using motorization?

I am the master of feeding pockets is probably more accurate.

When we initiated this game motorizations hadn’t yet been nerfed. So we house ruled it out.
I’m still of the mind for the Soviets it shouldn’t create a unit with MP on par with an organically equipped and trained motorized formation.
Probably true for the Germans as well. Maybe within admin movement zones, but not enemy terrain.

I tried to fight almost as hard in the south as in the north and center, but the boundless clear terrain and reduced MP of bounced defenders leads to snowballing pockets if you try to keep up the fight. I am hoping for some kind of bleed over into extra damaged gear being lost and additional fatigue from repeated isolations of the German mech, but they seem to always have a few more formations left over unmolested to take off for over a hundred miles into the rear if they clear a path. Unit density is already becoming an issue in the south, and it is feeding the pocket problem.

In retrospect the ‘winning’ move seems to be to run. :/

I’m leaning on the fact (most) units lost until October are reconstituted, and I expect by then to tighten up my play significantly in offering pockets.

Turn 6 -
July 27, 1941

Weather



Overall strategic map at the start of the turn:



Summary:



Production:

AGN - 8th Pzr squeezes north of Pskov, isolating the defenders with Totenkopf holding their LOC.
36th Mot Div has cut off Tallinn from Leningrad. The 6th(?) Pzr Div appears to be returning to Pskov.



Zhukov orders successive lines of defense around the Pskov pocket. The Germans will have to bleed to proceed from here on Leningrad.

In the Velikie Luki sector the seam between AGN and AGC spearheads is clear. The Soviet defense is muddled here, but STAVKA insists it be shored up to make the Germans fight for this difficult terrain instead of advancing freely.



Smolensk is pocketed this turn, with the German mech encircling the city in a cordon of steel.. With the city lost, the Reserve and Western Front pull back to establish new lines with favorable terrain. Too big of an ugly encirclement if they tried to hold the swamps east of Smolensk.



The Central Front takes the line and assumes defensive positions west of Bryansk.
17th PD and 29th MD take Gomel and present a threat to Chernigov

New defensive lines are setup to help contain AGC:

AGS - Southwest Front flees the shattered Dnepr line, leaving behind the contingent at Kiev to try and hold for another week or two.
The Germans have another large pocket in the Dnepr bend.



We’re able to break it on both ends and slap back the 1st Hun. Mot Bde with formations doomed in the pocket for good measure.
10th PD and 25th MD are cut off. 11th PD is only 20 miles from Krivoi Rog, which is abandoned.



Really feel helpless down here. He can operate almost fearlessly because the clear terrain leads to terrific losses, terrible MP, and a negative snowball if you fight.
It seems that the optimum strategy would be a more rapid withdrawal feeding a few blocking forces with few major counter attacks to ensure you can continue to pace panzers east.
Not in my nature, and Stalin demands we throw back the invaders. We’ll see how well I can temper my lust for pockets with my need for some units on the map to create enemy pockets.

We continue digging in to hold Crimea.
The new ports on the map and the extended defensive terrain on the southeastern coast lend itself toward fighting here.

Overall map at the end of turn 6:

Turn 7
August 3, 1941

Weather conditions:



Turn summary at outset:



Overall strategic map at the beginning of the turn:

AGN - Meat grinder as the Germans try to bull forward.
Germans haven't yet made it to the Narva River. Digging continues and the Soviets will cycle forward naval cadets in the swamps to screen the line while pulling the divisions back to take up fortifications behind the river.



At Pskov the defenders have surrendered, but 32nd Army under the Reserve Front stitches together a backstop between Leningrad Front and Northwest Front to protect the approaches to Lake Ilmen. Heavy woods and rough terrain we don’t want to surrender without drawing Axis prep and blood. Here the German progress is slipping behind the historical schedule.



Several formations trapped behind the lines by the German advance to the Gulf of Finland. Supplies aren't moving this way, and we need to get as many map counters back as we can.

The defenses in front of Velikie Luki are beginning to buckle. AGN has sent 6th Pzr Div to the east to threaten an envelopment in conjunction with AGC.

Meanwhile, AGC has not wasted much time prepping for the next phase, and the panzers succeed in breaking the Soviet lines and attaining operational freedom with as little as 150 miles between the spearheads and Moscow.
STAVKA is alarmed.



In the center the infantry continue pushing, more or less in line with historical progress.

AGS

It feels like all the units cut off week after week accomplished nothing but feeding the monster.
The Axis are running almost two months ahead of historical in some places down here.
I just have no idea how to slow them down.
Trying to cut off spearheads and force fights has just resulted in the Germans routing my units, then encircling them the next week and gobbling them up the week after that.
If I counter attack to delay the inevitable I just throw good money after bad.



Plans are made to strongly anchor the Crimea.
I'm not confident I can deny the enemy Rostov at this time.
With Moscow under threat reserves will be going to the center moreso than the south.

Overall map at the end of turn 7:

Nice, I love the commitment to leave nothing in a clear hex.