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Magpius wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2025 3:08 am As more and more people seem to post game turns on youtube...
Just a big shout of thanks for a comprehensive and detailed 'old-school' AAR.

Appreciate the comments, good that the AAR is being followed and enjoyed. I don’t play many games to conclusion, but when I do, writing an AAR seems like the proper way to share . . . two, maybe three AARs a year. Glad to hear that there are still a few people left to read them.


T08 and T09 Russia


Northern Sector
A motorized battalion from the 47th Rifle Regiment moves out of Orgeyev to block the 50th German Infantry Division. Their objective may be to protect the supply depot located in Orgeyev, but in actuality they are only a speed bump on the road to Kishinev.
The 90th still has about 9 combat companies in defensive positions confronting the 35th Division. The units are dug in but are in jeopardy of being enveloped. Russian reinforcements can be seen behind the lines and closer to the Dniester River, but they have not shown any intention of supporting the front lines.


Center Sector
The center is the hot zone. The 241st, 77th and 161st Regiments assault Romanian 15th and 11th Divisions. They are supported by the entire 134th Artillery Regiment which is located opposite the 11th. Casualties are heavy as the Soviets have an armored reconnaissance battalion to drive the attack.
Facing the 11th and Border Guard Divisions the Russian 160th, 2nd Cavalry and 32nd Tank Regiments are making the assault. As feared by the Romanians, fast mechanized units exploit a gap in the defense and move around the Border Guard’s right flank. The Romanian commander realizes his position is dire and searches for units to save his position.


Southern Sector
The quiet Southern front suddenly becomes the scene of a massive Soviet counterattack. Battalions attached to the previously observed HQ units emerge from hiding and assault the Guards and 21st Divisions. One assault strikes in the gap above the Guards’ left flank. The second and third columns attack and threaten to fully envelop the 21st Division.
The Romanian commander was well aware that Russian combat troops were associated with the regimental HQs, however, the rapid assault at multiple points was not anticipated. The Russian commanders have sprung a trap which puts the Southern advance very much in doubt. There is chaos and panic in Romania.

T09 Romania


Romanian command redirects units of the center and Southern sectors to fill gaps being exploited by the Russians. Too soon to tell if these efforts are successful especially since Russian reserves are seen moving toward the front. Lack of Romanian armored and anti-tank units becomes evident as Russian KV-1 tanks are encountered for the first time.

T10 Russia


The counterattack in the center appears to have slowed down with most assaults being artillery bombardments. There are, however, regimental sized stacks defending strong points which are very difficult to overcome.


Units which were making assaults into, and around, the Romanian divisions are mostly reverting to the defense. It is not certain but units from the 160th, 2nd Cav and 32nd Tank Regiments appear to have withdrawn some units to positions further East. If they are withdrawing, there is a line of hill country which will provide them with excellent defensive terrain.


A large part of the Russian armor is engaged on the Southern front. Besides the 11th Tank Regiment, another battalion of T-26s has been spotted moving toward the front. The 21st Tank Regiment, which fields KV-1 and T-34 armor, is also deployed just North of the 11th Tank Regiment. Russian armor is vastly superior in quality and quantity as compared to the Romanian armored units.

T10 Romania


The Russian 9th Cavalry Division HQ was caught by the Romanian Guards Division supporting the front-line units and was eliminated. Surviving units from the 9th have been reassigned to the Russian 95th Rifle and 11th Tank Divisions. To document the invasion and reduce clutter, Russian units are now identified at the divisional level.


After destruction of the Russian 9th Cavalry Division HQ the 95th Rifle Division inherited some of the orphaned units. These include armored companies on the 95th left (Southern) flank. The break in command, however, has left their deployment in disarray which allowed the Romanians to attack the defenders. The Russians are still tank heavy which makes the attack costly. The Romanian 2nd Tank Regiment, the only armored formation supporting the invasion, is assigned to the 11th Division. Their assignment helps the division counter Russian armor.


Russian divisions have managed to block the Guards and 21st Divisions from moving Eastward. Romanian command had thought that the defense was too thin to effectively block the advance but have now found themselves faced by a determined defense.

T11 Russia


The 15th Mechanized Division has only deployed a screen on the North side of Kishinev, which is not enough to stop or slow down the two enemy divisions on the Northern flank. Romanian G2 suspects that there must be a substantial Russian reserve that has not been spotted. Are the Soviets setting a trap?


11th Tank Division is fielding at least six companies of KV-1 and T-34 tanks. The Romanian Guards Division facing them are able to mass artillery but have few anti-tank units available. The Romanians facing the 11th Tank will need reinforcements before a breakthrough is achieved.

T11 Russian Rifle TO&E Support


The 1941 Russian rifle division TO&E contained a number of units dedicated to supporting the three rifle regiments. This includeds artillery regiments, armored reconnaissance, anti-aircraft, engineer and anti-tank battalions. On paper this is measurably stronger than the Romanian divisions which contained supporting companies instead of battalions.
All TO&E graphics have been reproduced with the permission of Leo Niehorster of the Niehorster.org World War II Armed Forces Orders of Battle and Organizations.


The armored reconnaissance battalion was composed of three mechanized companies. The tank company had a total of 15 light amphibious tanks which, although lightly armored, were difficult for the under armed Romanian infantry to defeat. In the scenario the battalion is broken down to three companies: armored car, reconnaissance tank and motorized infantry.


The anti-tank battalion was equipped with 18 45mm towed anti-tank guns organized into three companies. These guns are in addition to the 36 anti-tank guns allocated to the three rifle regiments. The anti-tank TO&E enabled the Soviets to mass guns in both defense and offense. The scenario has the battalion broken down to three anti-tank companies, 6 guns each.


The two artillery regiments are broken down to their individual battalions. For this scenario, and in the interest of making the PO competitive, battalions with a mix of artillery tube sizes have been purposely re-organized. Battalions are now composed of same sized tubes, i.e. all 76, 122 and 152mm artillery are segregated into same size weapon battalions as opposed to a mix of different sizes. Soviet rifle division artillery regiments contain the same number of tubes but are now organized as:

2 battalions - 76mm guns
3 battalions – 122mm howitzers
1 battalion – 152mm howitzers

Whereas combat units are typically deployed as companies, artillery units are deployed as battalions. This deployment forces the PO to conduct fire missions somewhat as massed artillery. Testing showed that artillery deployed as companies usually bombard as individual companies with little destructive effect. Deploying as companies also tripled the number of attack results to thumb through and cluttered the battlefield.

T11 Romania

T12 Russia

T12 Romania

T13 Russia & Romania

T14 Russia & Romania

T15 Russia & Romania

T16 Romania & Russia

T17 Romania & Russia

T18 Romania & Russia

T19 Romania & Russia

T20 Romania & Russia

T21 Romania & Russia

Nine days left - almost 1/3 of the game. I think it's looking good for Romania - particularly with the 21st's right hook to Olanesthy.

Cpl GAC wrote: Mon Mar 17, 2025 1:14 pm Nine days left - almost 1/3 of the game. I think it's looking good for Romania - particularly with the 21st's right hook to Olanesthy.

I would like to push the 21st thru to the objective, but the PO keeps coming up with just enough to stall out the advance. It doesn’t help that I’m not usually an aggressive player. Keep an eye on the 50th Division. They may have the key to the back door.

30 turns should be enough for the Romanians to win no matter which objective is assigned and which of the 5 objective tracks the Russian PO plays. In this game it looks like the PO was ordered to counterattack in the center with a reinforced 11th Tank Division. They’ve really made a game of it. It’s probably not a question of whether the Romanians will win, but rather how quickly they can quickly they can achieve the objective. If my objective had been the bridge at Dubossary, this AAR would probably be over. With the right starting conditions, a victory in 20 turns should be possible.


T22 Romania & Russia