End of the Japanese Empire, Dmitry (Allies) vs LoneRunner (Axis)

[LoneRunner]

October 1941

I'd been dreading UK's assault on the China coast. A lot of coastline to defend and not enough units to spare.

Pacific Oct 41 crop.jpg (50.57 KiB) Viewed 2306 times

UK units advance from Indochina and threatened Nanning. Not a strong force, but enough to get my attention and weaken the attack on China. Luckily I had just captured Wanting and Kunming and was able to transfer units from that battle south to Nanning. Unluckily I was hoping to use those units in an all out assault at Lanchow.

Japan was relatively quiet. My three carriers (one received in reinforcements) refitted in Japan ports. Not enough MPPs available to complete repairs.

[LoneRunner]

October 1941

Both Northern and Central fronts mired in mud. Not much movement there.

Russia South Oct 41 crop.jpg (237.09 KiB) Viewed 2297 times

Perfect weather in the South. Moved two armies, a corps, and air units into position for a November attack on Stalingrad. Must take the city before winter snows.

Notice I re-cut the Astrakhan rail with a corps.

Armored forces swung south toward the Caucasus. And Wow!

Dmitry had massively reinforced the Caucasus. I counted ten land units within sight. Could be more. At the end of October, Russia only owned 32 land units total. That means almost a third of Russia's strength sits in the Caucasus. Only 20 land units to defend both Moscow and Kuybyshev.

Suddenly I'm presented with an opportunity and game changing decision.

Plan 1. Trap those ten Russian units in the Caucasus with minimal force. Take Stalingrad. Then swing the bulk of Army Group South toward Kuybyshev and Perm. Given decent weather, I may be able to knock Russia out of the war by Fall 42.

Plan 2. Continue with the bulk of Army Group South into the Caucasus. Take Baku and advance into Persia. Threaten both India and Middle East while UK is occupied in Japan. Reinforce Central Front with Leningrad units and take Moscow Spring/Summer 42. Continue through Kuybyshev to Perm. Russia should surrender by Summer/Fall 43.

I decided on Plan 1. With Plan 2, Japan will likely fall long before Russia surrenders. As a result, UK, USA, and Chinese units could reinforce Russia. In Summer 43, I may face a combined Allied army in front of Perm while maintaining a Middle East offensive. With most Axis units occupied on two fronts, a USA invasion of France or Italy in late 43 would cut the Axis off at the knees.

Plan 1 is the safer alternative. Take out Russia, then go after the Middle East. If Japan can survive long enough, I may be able to threaten the Middle East while UK is occupied in the Pacific.

You'll see that this decision had a huge impact on the remainder of World War II.

[LoneRunner]

Fall 1941

The Murmansk Convoy Battle was not going well for UK. The Axis assigned six subs, two maritime bombers, one fighter, and a heavy cruiser to raiding/combat duty in the North and Barents Seas. With most of the UK fleet in the Pacific, the Allies scraped the bottom of the barrel for ships to keep the supply line open to Russia.

From May through October, the Allies lost two destroyers and a battleship while sinking one sub and a heavy cruiser. Minimal supplies squeaked their way into Russia. By October most Allied ships in the Barents Sea were in extreme low supply. In addition, the Murmansk rail had been cut and Axis units were advancing on Arkhangelsk.

Dmitry decided to cut his losses and return the fleet to England. Unfortunately for him the Kriegsmarine was waiting. German subs clogged the narrow northern route between the North and Barents Seas. The German surface fleet proudly sailed out of the Baltic into the North Sea.

In a short running battle, the Allies lost another two destroyers and the Formidable (carrier). No Axis ships lost. A major victory.

However, UK would soon get revenge.

[LoneRunner]

Nov 1941
An Allied corps landed on the Chinese coast an captured empty Nanjing. Ouch. Japanese morale drops to 48%.

Long range transports lurk throughout the west Pacific. Now I'm scrambling to defend any important city within two hexes of the coast, an impossible task for the Japanese army.

North China Nov 41 crop.jpg (260.65 KiB) Viewed 2256 times

[LoneRunner]

Nov 1941
Mud and rain seize the entire Russian front cutting Axis advance to a crawl. Only two Russian armies and anti-air killed on the entire front. Ouch.

South Russia Nov 41 crop.jpg (267.5 KiB) Viewed 2251 times

Dmitry reinforced his Southern Front with another three units, including a tank, encircling the lone corps cutting the Astrakhan rail. What's his fixation with the Caucasus?

Dmitry, it would be great to see your comments on your Caucasus strategy.

Moved another army and artillery near Stalingrad. Tried a quick assault on the city this turn but got a bad roll on the first attack. Decided to wait for reinforcements and try again next turn.

[LoneRunner]

Dec 1941
Rain and mud again shut down the entire Russian front. The Axis destroyed only two corps and two anti-air on the entire Russian front. I had Dmitry on the ropes but that opportunity has sunk into the thick wet earth. At the end of 1941 Russia forces have increased to 37 land units compared to a low of 28 in September.

South Russia Dec 41 crop.jpg (269.64 KiB) Viewed 2244 times

Good news is that I finally captured Stalingrad. Bad news is that I'll lose that corps on the Astrakhan rail.

[LoneRunner]

Dec 1941
The Allies continue to peck at the Chinese coast. Last month it was Nanjing, this month it's Canton. I'm needing to draw units from the Chinese offensive to defend against these petty attacks. Which I'm sure is Dmitry's objective.

Japan Dec 41 crop.jpg (44.93 KiB) Viewed 2241 times

Japan's production is down to 316 MPPs. Barely enough to cover land unit losses and operate units to hot spots. Damaged air and sea units are on their own. I can forget building anything new or investing in research.

[LoneRunner]

This is my first game after Patch 12 and wow, Soviet Winter effect much harsher than pre-Patch 12.

The Winter effect takes place between the Allied and Axis turns, such that the Axis see the results of the effect at the beginning of the Axis turn. I understand the timing of the Winter effect is somewhat random. Mine happened at the beginning of January 42.

Here's the situation on the Southern Front at the beginning of my Jan 1942 turn:

Russia South beg Jan 42 crop.png (1.09 MiB) Viewed 2218 times

Every Axis unit in Russia (except the Finns) was hit with 1 to 3 points of damage. In addition, every unit's morale was crushed. And unit morale affects readiness which affects combat results. No German units are ready for battle, not even close. Try attacking in snow or frozen with damaged and low morale units and prepare to get whacked.

What's worse is the damage to my headquarters units. Notice on the map, Rommel was knocked down to a 7, Manstein and what's his name are down to 9. As a result just about the entire German army is in low supply.

First I have to repair all the headquarters units, then next turn bring everyone else up to full strength. Two wasted turns, maybe three if readiness is still busted. The German army is going nowhere for two to three turns. Well, actually I'm retreating. That lonely tank near Grozny is pulling back into safety.

May sound like I'm complaining about the new winter effects. And maybe I am, haha. But, actually I think the developers did a great job recreating the effects of the first winter. IRL the first winter caused enormous casualties and the German army required months to recover.

In addition to the Winter Effect, Dmitry counterattacked during his turn on both the Central and Southern Fronts, destroying a tank and two corps. Ouch.

Wow, Russia is definitely back from the dead.

Germany MPPs Jan 42 crop.jpg (143.46 KiB) Viewed 2220 times

According to the MPP report, Germany lost almost 3,400 MPPs worth of units in January, most of the losses caused by the Winter Effect. That's more than four turns of production. Wow. To say the Winter Effect is huge, is an understatement.

[LoneRunner]

Every six months, especially when playing an experienced opponent like Dmitry, I step back from preparing my next move, review WaW reports, and rethink my strategy.

Here's the unit report for the end of January:

Units Jan 42.png (658.43 KiB) Viewed 2165 times

Germany: 87 land
That's an increase of 19 units from May 41. I've focused on building land units for the past six months because Germany needs a lot of units to occupy conquered portions of Russia, stretch the Russian front, and man the Atlantic coast. By summer of 42 UK could begin launching raids on France or Italy.

USSR: 37 land
USSR is only collecting 420 MPPs a turn as of January. That includes 80 MPPs from Vladivostok and zero from Murmansk. I'd love to cut the Vladivostok supply but Japan can't afford the ship. With only 420 MPPs, USSR will not be buying new units, pretty much just replacing losses. I spotted a Russian tank at level one last month. Dmitry will be scraping the barrel to upgrade his tanks later this year and will probably forgo spending 175 MPPs to research the next level. So hopefully I'll only face level 2 Russian tanks through 43.

UK: 38 land, 17 sea
Some might say that UK is too busy in the Pacific to cause problems in Europe. However, take a look at the screenshots of the Pacific. Close to 50% of UK units in the Pacific are Commonwealth partners (Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, etc.). I've counted maybe 15-20 UK land units in the Pacific. So Dmitry is saving his British units for somewhere else. I'm guessing that England and North Africa are well manned. Perhaps 3 units in North Africa, 5 in England. I'd place at least 5 in England because with UK occupied in the Pacific, he knows I'm tempted for Sea Lion. That leaves 10-12 units to cause trouble in the Middle East, Italy, or France.

UK has lost a lot of ships, falling from 36 in May 41 to 17 in Jan 42. Numbers of air and land units haven't changed much. According to the research report, UK has spent nothing on research since Sep 1940. Where's all UK's MPPs going? I'm guessing Amphibious Assault craft. That could be dangerous for both Japan and Germany.

China: 12 land
China's MPP report shows them bringing home 70 MPPs a turn. Not even enough to cover losses. If Japan could apply a little more pressure, their line may break. However, that's asking a lot with UK constantly raiding the Chinese coast.

USA: 7 land, 2 air, 6 sea
USA has not added any land, air, or sea units since May. Must be spending most MPPs on research. The MPP report dows show a big jump in unit spending at year-end. Plus USA will get lots of units when she joins the war. Plus, Pearl Harbor is not happening. There's another 4 or 5 extra capital ships for the Allies.

Morale
Japanese morale is in the toilet, 47% at the end of January. I can already feel the effects of low unit morale. Elite army attacks on Chinese units that used to knock 6 damage points off an entrenched army, now are lucky to get 3 or 4.

Russian morale is suffering, 61% at the end of January. If I can get them below 40% their unit morale will drop maybe 7% per turn and their units will lose a lot of readiness. Dmitry is probably already considering boosting Russian morale with a raid on France or Italy or both.

[LoneRunner]

March 1942

Russia Center Mar 42 crop.png (1.45 MiB) Viewed 2140 times

Army Group Center is again mired in snow and mud. That's six straight months of bad weather on the Moscow front. Most of them involving mud. All Fall and Winter the Axis has basically crawled toward Moscow one hex per month. The weather has got to break sometime, right?

Notice I've prepared for the opening assault on Russian fortifications. Two supporting artillery. Two HQs close behind the front line, each providing 8 supply. Tanks on the right wing wait to envelop Moscow from the south. Also, off screen a couple more tanks move north toward Ryazhsk.

With all the bad weather, USSR's land units have increased to 40 at the end of March. Compared to 28 at the end of September last year, arrggh.

Here's some advice for new players hoping to improve their game play:

The three keys to success in WaW are supply, supply, and supply. Yeah, sounds pretty simple, but man supply gets complex.

And the key to supply, especially in Russia, are HQ units.

HQ Management for Beginners (and everyone else)

Some people don't bother managing HQs. Too much trouble. Don't like micromanagement. That's a huge mistake. HQs extend supply and provide combat bonuses. Supply and combat bonuses are both crucial to unit combat effectiveness.

Each HQ can command a certain number of units. The base is 5 units.

Researching "Command & Control" (C&C) increases unit command by one unit for each level. C&C also increases command range and HQ command rating. And C&C is cheap to research. And its improvements are automatic! Yes, researching C&C is a must for any major.

HQs have three modes: Auto, Auto-Assist, and Manual.
Auto allows the AI to fill all command slots.
Auto-assist allows units to be manually assigned an HQ. But if you leave command slots open, the AI will automatically fill open slots with a unit.
Manual requires units to be manually assigned to an HQ.

I don't use Auto because the AI doesn't always select the best unit for command. When left to its own the AI may select a garrison unit behind the front. I don't use Manual because if you accidentally leave a command slot open or move a unit out of command range, the AI won't fill the open slot. Might as well fill all open command slots, even if they're not optimal.

I set the mode for every HQ unit to "Auto-Assist". On the first turn of the game and as I build them.

At the beginning of each turn before I move, attack, reinforce, or upgrade any unit, I click on each HQ unit. When you click on an HQ in Auto-Assist mode, units within command range are highlighted in colors:

Blue indicates that unit is not commanded by any HQ. An uncommanded unit will not perform well in battle. Also, air units that are not commanded by an HQ will not be supplied by an HQ. That means the air unit is supplied by the hex and in Russia that's usually bad.

Green highlight indicates that unit is commanded by the selected HQ.

Red highlight indicates that unit is commanded by a different HQ than the one you clicked on.

I evaluate each blue highlighted unit to determine if that unit needs to be commanded by an HQ. For example, maybe the unit is going to be involved in an important battle or is likely to be attacked during the enemy turn. If you decide to command the unit, right click on the unit and click "Attach" to attach the unit to the selected HQ. If "Attach" is faded when you right click, that means the HQ doesn't have any open command slots. You have to detach another unit to open a command slot.

While the HQ is selected, right click on a green highlighted unit. Click "Detach" to remove command from that unit. Now you got an open slot and you can assign another unit to the HQ. You can go back and forth all you want detaching and attaching units with no penalty.

Once you move, attack, reinforce, or upgrade the unit, you can't attach or detach it with an HQ. Once you move an HQ, you can't attach or detach units with that HQ. So it's critical to finish HQ assignments before you start moving units.

The minimum you should do each turn is assess blue highlighted units. They are uncommanded and lose combat effectiveness. Especially make sure all your air units and tanks are commanded.

If you want to go the next step, make sure that important units are assigned to the highest rated and most experienced HQ. For example, if I have a critical battle coming up, I'll assign all units I expect to involve in the battle to the best available HQ. Sometimes I have to juggle units between HQs to make that happen but it's worth it.

Anyway, I hope that helps some of you new (and old) players.

[LoneRunner]

March 1942
The USA declared war on the Axis last month, February 1942.

OMG, USA mobilization was 62 in August. Their only provocation was Japanese advances in China. Maybe 15%? Meanwhile UK declared war on Indochina and Iraq and whoever else was in the way with zero impact! Apparently UK's early declaration of war on Japan had no effect on the timing of USA's march to war because USA normally enters the war in January or February sans Pearl Harbor.

I was hoping to delay USA's entry to mid 42. USA's early entry pretty well ends Japan's chances to cripple China. And good luck to Japan outlasting USSR. Do I sound upset? Yeah, I almost resigned at this point. But then the old wargamer in me kicked in, haha.

Pacific Mar 42 crop.png (1.07 MiB) Viewed 2128 times

Here's the situation in the Pacific at the end of March. I've retaken Nanjing. Japan's army is still strong, 54 land units. China continues on the ropes with 15 land units but has recovered from only 12 units in January.

I've reinforced Japan as much as resources allow. Both Tokyo and Yokohama are defended with armies. All three carriers hide in port. Yes, I should have set them in fighter or mixed mode, ouch. I've scrimped and saved MPPs to fully reinforce all three. Japan's three ship surface fleet protects the coast.

Korea is defended with 3 garrisons. Yeah, ouch. But that's all I got.

Japan's super secret amphibious assault on Okinawa is developing. Notice that I've got transports hiding south of Pyongyang and in Kyoto harbor. The cost of two transports was huge considering Japan's scarce resources but I got to do something. Japan's lone sub has moved up to blaze a path for the transports. I've even got a para unit ready for opportunities.

[LoneRunner]

April 1942
Snow and mud again grip the Moscow front. Seventh month in a row of bad weather. My hopes of conquering Russia in 1942 are melting in the muddy snow drifts.

Russia Center Apr 42 crop.png (1.4 MiB) Viewed 2111 times

Despite the bad weather I launched the opening assault on Moscow and killed the defending corps. Unfortunately, due to the mud I was unable to advance into the fortification.

My tanks on the right wing moved forward one hex in a slow motion envelopment. Not going to catch many Russians at that speed. Rommel and accompanying units are moving north to aid in the envelopment but until the weather clears, it ain't going to happen.

Notice I moved a para unit into position. If the skies clear but mud persists, at least I can capture the hex with a para.

Southern Front

Russia South Apr 42 crop.png (935.33 KiB) Viewed 2111 times

Ahhh, sunny weather in the south. I was able to clear the Krasnodar pocket and advance on Grozny. For the third time I'm in position to cut the Astrakhan rail. Dmitry is forced to move north or south with the Caucasus army. And again I'll have to decide whether to race for Baku or Kuybyshev with the bulk of the Southern Front.

With improving weather in the south I was able to destroy 2 armies and 2 corps. Not great but I'm keeping up with replacements. Russia's land unit count at the end of April was 36.

[LoneRunner]

May 1942

Pacific May 42 crop.png (1.83 MiB) Viewed 2077 times

Japanese landed two special forces on Okinawa in a surprise attack that destroyed two fighters and a maritime bomber. Banzaiiiii. Naha harbor was bombed to dissuade reinforcement. I've got to take Naha, otherwise those SF units are in Okinawa to stay.

UK correctly ignored the Okinawa attack and landed three units in Hong Kong and on the Chinese coast. Dmitry invaded with UK allies (who's that? New Zealand, South Africa, Malaya?). Expensive to invade with Allied units but I'm sure he's saving stronger British units for more important assaults, Japan? Korea? Europe? . About ten Japanese units have been drawn off the main Chinese front to protect the coast. Dmitry's tactic is successful by any measure.

Notice my terrible placement of air units. I got excited about the appearance of the UK fleet and moved a maritime bomber to the mainland. Maybe sink another carrier? Absolutely no good reason to move the bomber so close to the coast. It's got a range of about 16 hexes. The placement of other air units is not much better. UK's carriers have a range of 7 or 8 hexes. I got at least five air units well within their range. Dang, what was I thinking?

[DmitryN]

Excelent AAR Lonerunner. Thank you. enjoy it as playing again. Actually at this stage I realized that all my landings south China are stupid. low supply. And you left too many Japanese troops in China. I decided that moment go Japan directly.

[LoneRunner]

Excelent AAR Lonerunner. Thank you. enjoy it as playing again. Actually at this stage I realized that all my landings south China are stupid. low supply. And you left too many Japanese troops in China. I decided that moment go Japan directly.

Thanks Dmitry. Yes, the landings were expensive and easily contained because of supply, however I think your landing strategy was better than you realized. Each city you captured cost Japan 5 to 10K national morale and morale was already down around 45%. My land, sea, air units were less effective each month.

Also, I'm pretty sure I would have conquered China without the distraction. China was down to 12 land units at one point and minimal production. I think each Chinese city you captured added to China's production. Perhaps Hubert or Bill can confirm that.

[LoneRunner]

May 1942

Russia Center May 42 crop.png (1.35 MiB) Viewed 2035 times

Clear weather on the Moscow front! Axis units destroyed a defending corps in front of Moscow and with clear weather moved on the fortification. I may not be able to take Moscow next turn but by July for sure.

Surprisingly, a valuable Russian army occupied Vyshny Voloch. An unimportant village at this point. I easily surrounded the unit, to be destroyed later at low supply. Notice that Dmitry is defending Moscow with corps and tanks. The army would be better placed in the city.

I moved two para units into position for opportunities. Both are out of sight of Russian units on purpose.

Destroyed four corps on the Moscow front. I've got two tanks and assorted units moving east past Moscow toward Kuybyshev. I'm hoping to time Kuybyshev's fall within a couple months of Moscow's capture and maybe move on Perm before winter. It'll be a race.

Southern Front
Dmitry launched a sharp counterattack in the south destroying a tank and medium bomber and almost destroying a second tank. Did I mention he's dangerous on the counterattack?

Russia South May 42 crop.png (1.02 MiB) Viewed 2035 times

Despite the heavy Axis casualties, I'm not sure the counterattack was a good idea. Russia lost an army and 2 corps directly after the counterattack and notice I've surrounded a tank and a corps. They'll be destroyed next turn at zero supply. I don't think Russia can afford those losses at the beginning of summer. In addition my tank and bomber will be replaced at half price.

Notice my one point tank in Salsk, I destroyed a 9 point corps with it at strength two. Yeah, gutsy but necessary.

I've decided to launch the bulk of Army Group South at Kuybyshev rather than Baku. A tough decision but I got to knock Russia out of the war in 42.

Russia incurred heavy losses in May. Russian land unit count is down to 34 at the end of May.

Arkhangelsk is under siege and according to the convoy report Russia received zero supplies in May. Apparently Vladivostok and Persia don't count as convoy income. Seems like they should.

Russia production increased to 500 in May as a result of opening the USA/Persia supply line. 80 supplies through Vladivostok and 80 through Persia are a huge support for Russia at this point.

I hope this AAR demonstrates that Germany can recover from a bad winter and still defeat Russia. Too many WaW gamers quit after a few bad weather rolls.

[LoneRunner]

Jun 1942

Russia Center Jun 42 crop.png (1.95 MiB) Viewed 2006 times

German units destroyed an important fortification and advanced adjacent to Moscow. Panzers outflank the city from the south and paratroopers cut the city off from the north.

With a two hex frontage on Moscow, I should take the capital next turn. The two anti-air could disable air attacks but my tanks will make short work of them. Also the two artillery will provide 3 hits so I may not need air support on the city hex.

Notice the two units with yellow arrows. They are positioned to occupy Moscow if I'm able to destroy the defending unit. Terrain and supply around Moscow are so bad that you have to prepare an advance into the city with backup para or corps. For example both armies to the west of Moscow are at 5 supply with 2 action points. After attacking neither will be able to move into the Moscow hex.

I was surprised Dmitry left the tank in Kalinin. Air recon showed Yaroslavl open so I took advantage of the opportunity with a para to cut the tank's retreat. I was hoping to also land a para unit in Vladimir or Gorky, but those hexes were well covered. Due to bad terrain, the second tank south of Moscow may not escape either.

The best news of this turn is Penza. I ran a single tank forward, destroyed a defending unit, and took Penza at 3 supply. Woohoo! Notice Orel and Kyazhsk are also 3 supply. In two turns I'll have a rail line to the outskirts of Kuybyshev and be operating units right to the Volga.

Notice also the 11 strength army trapped in Vyshny Voloch. That unit is direly needed in Moscow, which is being defended with corps. Instead of assisting Moscow's defense, the unit is sitting in low supply waiting to be killed. I probably won't attack until the unit is at zero supply.

The Southern Front was mostly rebuilding and cleanup. I'm moving units north toward Kuybyshev as fast as possible.

Destroyed two corps, a tank, and an anti-air in June. Russian land unit count fell to 31 at the end of June. German land unit count is at 90. Making progress.

[LoneRunner]

July 1942

Japan Empire Jul 42 crop.png (1.09 MiB) Viewed 1978 times

Operation Olympic, the invasion of southern Japan, has begun. Allied units capture Nagasaki and threaten Hiroshima, trapping a carrier. A huge combined Allied fleet surrounds Southern Japan. The Allies no longer bother with concealment.

May and June were dismal for Japan. USA forces arrived and the weight of combined Allied air and sea proved too much for the remnants of the proud Imperial forces.

My invasion of Okinawa stalled when Japan was unable to take Naha despite throwing everything available at the defending corps. For a moment I lost my mind and attacked the remaining one point defending corps with two carriers with no results. A year earlier those same carriers would have easily destroyed that corps but now with miserable morale couldn't even remove a 1 point unit with four attacks. Ouch. A terrible move on my part. Japanese carriers are best held back as a threat especially with the Allied fleet just over the horizon.

In May/June the Allies destroyed two fighters, two bombers, a destroyer, a carrier, and the Yamato. That's pretty much the end of Japan's air and sea. I got two carriers left. One trapped and the other on the run. My only hope now is lots of rain.

I decided to end the Chinese offensive and concentrate all forces on defending Tokyo, Osaka, and Seoul. I probably should have made that decision a couple months ago. Objective is to drag out Japan's surrender as long as possible. I moved a 13 point elite army into Seoul with supporting artillery. Armies also occupy Tokyo and Yokohama. Now I wish I had invested in anti-air research.

I'll continue to fight for Chinese cities because many of them are worth 5 or 10K morale. Japan's national morale is already down to 41%. I don't want Japan surrendering because of lost Chinese cities. Besides, I don't want China getting too strong too fast.

[LoneRunner]

July 1942

Moscow Jul 42 crop.png (1.63 MiB) Viewed 1943 times

Mussolini proudly marched into Red Square at the head of an Italian corps gifted the honor of taking the city.

Actually the Italian corps was my only unit, besides the para, with the movement points available to move into the city hex. For a moment I was concerned that Russia would surrender to Italy but then I remembered that I got two capitals to go.

To add to the victory I destroyed an armored rail unit in Vladimir and landed a para unit cutting supply to all remaining defending units. Both Russian tanks are at zero supply.

The bad news is that at least two anti-tank units appeared near Gorky. If Dmitry upgraded them, my two tanks are in danger (In fact Dmitry killed one of the tanks during his turn).

Notice I left a tank defending Penza. A tough decision because I wanted that tank south of Kuybyshev and moved up a garrison unit to occupy the town. However, Penza is critical to taking Kuybyshev quickly. Next turn Penza will be supply level 5 and I'll operate units to the Volga.

The Italian "tank" is making a long-shot grab for Kazan. I have to keep it out of reach of those anti-tank units.

Here's the situation on the Kuybyshev front.

Russia Center Jul 42 crop.png (1.34 MiB) Viewed 1943 times

I'm moving infantry north from the Southern Front as quickly as possible with Manstein following. Panzer units are catching up. The panzers are moving slower than I hoped. Mostly due to repairs. Dmitry's reinforcement of the Southern Front did slow them down a bit. Hopefully Dmity will leave that army in Uralsk. I'd rather fight the army in Uralsk than Kuybyshev or Perm.

Dmitry has already build two forts in front of Perm. The southern group will head towards Orenburg/Ufa. Hopefully getting into the Chelyabinsk hills before winter strikes.

I'm using the armored car to stretch the Russian defense. I'll test Orsk for a unit and if so, will send it south to take Aralsk. With a three hex sightline, armored cars are great for recon.

I only destroyed one corps, an anti-air, and armored train that turn. Ouch. But I got a lot of units surrounded and at low supply, so I should make it up next turn.

Russia had 31 land units at the end of the turn. German fielded 92 land units. I'm racing to adequately man both Russia and the Atlantic coast. With USA in the war the second front could open any turn.

[LoneRunner]

Second Half July 1942

Moscow Jul 2 42 crop.png (1.24 MiB) Viewed 1930 times

Cleared Moscow area of defending units, including those two heavy tanks, and moved all available forces toward Kuybyshev.

Right now I have zero interest in Gorky or any of the cities north of Moscow, hopefully Dmitry will keep his units in place. Especially the anti-tank units. Notice they are upgraded to level 2. Death to panzers in groups of two or more. Dmitry must have been scrimping MPPs to field those units.

Russia Center Jul 2 42 crop.png (1.67 MiB) Viewed 1930 times

Operated units into area around Penza. Captured Saratov and moved southern army within range of Kuybyshev defenses. Assault on Kuybyshev fortifications should begin next turn. The armored car discovered an air unit in Orsk and got a bad roll. Hopefully, the Russian army in Uralsk stays in place. I want him there, not the Perm hills.

I'm somewhat cautious with my tank units south of Kuybyshev because I'm expecting Russian armor, hence the leading anti-tank unit. Maybe he has none left.

The good news is both Murmansk and Arkhangelsk fell this turn. Also, 2 heavy tanks, 4 corps, and 2 anti-air were destroyed. Russia ended the turn with 23 land units. Ten units are within sight in the North and Central Fronts. Five in the Caucasus. That leaves a lot of units around Perm.

Russia ended last turn with 31 land units and ended this turn with 23, hmm...so no replacements. Russia must be hurting for MPPs. Probably from building those anti-tank units. Russia produced about 490 MMPs in July. That includes 160 MPPs from USA. They are not going to replace those two heavies that were destroyed in low supply.

You may have noticed that the two heavy tanks near Moscow were level 2. Russia hasn't spent anything on research since Dec 40 so I don't need to worry about level 3 Russian tanks.

Russian national morale is at 58%. They got a short boost from USA entering the War but that's gone now. My guess is that Dmitry has got to open a second front soon to provide Russia with another boost in national morale. Or maybe he's going to ignore poor Russia and destroy Japan.