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An excellent operation.

Turn 5 status report:

The battle rages around Smolensk as the Germans attempt to pincer our glorious socialist showpiece city. The Germans wipe out two of our finest mobile divisions, destroying 349 tanks. Brave soldiers of the Red Army resist and knock out 134 German tanks, disabling and damaging many more. The outskirts of Smolensk are littered with the burnt out corpses of tanks. Timoshenko notes the exposed 17th Panzer Division with Grossdeutschland, and decides to commit all the best Soviet infantry into the battle. He attaches the best NKVD detachments to keep order and shoot retreaters, airborne brigades and 2450 assorted guns and mortars to batter the German formation. The enemies have a CV of 11 and we have a combined CV of 63.

Disaster. The 3rd Panzer DIvision set in reserve joins the battle and severely blunts our attack, which helps the Germans orderly retreat. Some panzers are damaged or knocked out entirely. 50,000 Soviet elements are disrupted, and their CV drops severely. The assault succeeds, but at what cost?

Why there are no Soviet bombers in attacks?

Turn 5: Most fronts are quiet. A minor pocket in the south manages to escape the Axis clutches, a single attack is launched on the Luga line and our defense of Kiev is being prepared. 250k men are sent to Kiev to stand.

Turn 6: The Germans have launched a giant offensive, smashing through our frontline at Smolensk, capturing the city and slaughtering the defenders. Thirteen divisions have been badly mauled in the fighting on the Western Front. Although encirclement is avoided, the city of Smolensk is now in dirty German hands.

My compliments to Gunnulf who is expertly controlling the supply situation, I have never seen such high CVs on German ID and Panzer Divisions pushing into the Soviet Union.


These are a few examples of the battles raging at Smolensk, where the Germans manage to rout an entire Army and near destroy many more formations.

Turn 6: In the south, a similar story. The Germans smash through our weak formations infront of Kiev and prepare to siege the city. Seven Soviet divisions under the 5th Army (Popatov) which were previously encircled now surrender, and a further five divisions are caught out of position infront of Kiev.
If I cannot free these units, it will be the equivalent of an entire Army being destroyed.

I will post the results of my glorious counterattacks!

Tovarish Boris Shaposhnikov has decided to counterattack nearby Kiev! A powerful German panzer division is targeted with the entire reserve of the Soviet Southwestern front. Mortars, artillery and additional air support is allocated to assist Major L. Bobkin in smashing the Germans here and liberating Soviet divisions! A massive 60+ CV is brought to defeat the Germans here.



The entire pocket is saved for a turn! The Germans suffer massive AFV losses! Many are knocked out or damaged. A mere 1000 Soviet AFVs are knocked out or damaged! A glorious victory comrades!

https://youtu.be/V12qpQtK9Ss

NOT ONE STEP BACK COMRADES! NOT ONE STEP BACK!

Still turn 6: Managed to build up the courage to do my work today only to find myself ritualistically and habitually launching WITE2. I then launch counter offensives at Smolensk. Many guns have been destroyed! These successful attacks will certainly increase the morale of our men!

Still turn 6: Counteroffensives in the Leningrad Front are immensely successful destroying many Axis guns.
Counteroffensives in the Southern Front... Less so.

ToxicThug11 wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:01 pm Still turn 6: Managed to build up the courage to do my work today only to find myself ritualistically and habitually launching WITE2.

You are the best!

Stamb wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:43 pm

ToxicThug11 wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:01 pm Still turn 6: Managed to build up the courage to do my work today only to find myself ritualistically and habitually launching WITE2.

You are the best!

Did you know that Grigory Kulik was a Ukrainian?

ToxicThug11 wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:01 pm

Stamb wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:43 pm

ToxicThug11 wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:01 pm Still turn 6: Managed to build up the courage to do my work today only to find myself ritualistically and habitually launching WITE2.

You are the best!

Did you know that Grigory Kulik was a Ukrainian?

I did not. But now I will remember it.

The loss ratios seem fine, even for the tanks. However, the percentage of tanks lost is way too high on both sides. This holds true in 1943 on as well when the Soviets are on the offensive.

The issue is not the outcomes of these battles. The issue is that the Soviets are able to amass and concentrate such ridiculous amounts of men and material into a single point so early in the war.

IMO, if the developers are moving towards buffing German armor outright, they are looking for problems in the wrong place.

jubjub wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:36 pm The loss ratios seem fine, even for the tanks. However, the percentage of tanks lost is way too high on both sides. This holds true in 1943 on as well when the Soviets are on the offensive.

The issue is not the outcomes of these battles. The issue is that the Soviets are able to amass and concentrate such ridiculous amounts of men and material into a single point so early in the war.

IMO, if the developers are moving towards buffing German armor outright, they are looking for problems in the wrong place.

I agree. I think the root cause is either way too many available MP or too few MP are needed for traversing terrain (at this stage of the war.). Another possible solution, that is IMO needed anyway, is to add an MP cost for coordinating multiple units in an attack, maybe varying for total size and number of involved units. However this will require most design and programming time.

After being told of the importance of the tank in the coming war in 1939, Semyon Budyonny remarked:

"You won't convince me. As soon as war is declared, everyone will shout, "Send for the Cavalry!"

Indeed, it seems that Budyonny is being proven correct.
Vast hordes of Budyonny horsemen swarm the Southern Front near Kirovograd and Krivoi Rog, surrounding German panzers and preparing to smash them!

The 9th Army commanded by Ivan Bagramyan attempts to assault both Panzer Divisions. We attempt to rout the Germans, failing in the northern attack and succeeding in the attack against the battle against the 9th Panzer Division


https://youtu.be/G4kvVbEEtMY

Budyonny March "March of the Red Cavalry"

Seems my opponent has gracefully resigned and surrendered (probably after seeing two panzers routed near Crimea) so I will focus on my games with the mighty fracas and jubjub.

A glorious victory comrades