Matrix Games Forums

Week 48 - 17 May 1942

Clear weather with a combination of clear and light mud ground conditions.


Western and Bryansk Front attacks continued this week.




Kursk Operational Area

Three guards cavalry corps of Andrei Grechko's 3rd Shock Army had been temporarily cut off south of the River Seym but were subsequently rescued by forces under Rodion Malinovsky.






Farther to the east, German attacks of a modest scale took place along the Donets.




Ground Losses




Air Losses

Week 49 - 24 May 1942


Weather conditions are clear and dry.

Soviet offensive operations ceased this week, as Stavka waited to see what further Axis operations developed along the front. Sporadic German attacks took place in the same general area, Overall, an uneventful week for once.

Week 50 - 31 May 1842

The calm before the storm?


Weather conditions were again clear. For a second straight week, the Stavka played the waiting game. Timoshenko at the HQ of Southwestern Front located outside the village of Yastrebovko, southeast of Voronezh, had little intel to send to Moscow, other than Manstein and LVI Motorized Corps still remained in his operational area.

I am impressed by the amount of Soviets and the numbers they muster already in May '42, and the sheer amount of guard units already present too!

Week 51- 7 June 1942

Weather clear and dry.

Timoshenko was recalled to Moscow at the end of the week. For the next phase of operations, new blood would be required at the Southwestern Front headquarters.




2nd Reserve Army also saw a change of command as Vasily Chuikov replaced Vladimir Kolpakchi.




3rd Reserve Army was also released by the Stavka although General Vatutin voiced reservations to Stalin as to its leadership.






In the Kursk Operational Area, the SS Totenkopf Division advanced to Prokhorovka.




T-34s from Batov's 31st and Rybalko's 3rd Tank Armies were prepared for commitment to bsttle.

Ground and Air Losses

This certainly looks a lil lopsided

ORIGINAL: freeboy

This certainly looks a lil lopsided

Wait for it, it will seem even more so shortly

It looks like the red army is painfully strong .. time for a modded morale.. lol

Week 52 - 14 June 1942

Weather remained clear and dry.

Kursk Operational Area

German attacks turned east while Soviet attacks were focused to their south in an attempt to push German forces off the east bank of the Donets.




3rd Reserve Army, despite a significant manpower advantage, were frustrated during this one engagement. General Vatutin subsequently requested to Stalin that Antonyuk be replaced as he clearly lacked the initiative needed at the moment.




Rostov Operational Area

Here Rumanian and German forces were attacked wherever weak spots were identified.




Ground Losses




Air losses picked up this week

Week 53 - 21 June 1941

Blau II - Voroshilovgrad Operational Area

Over the Donets

Weather dry and clear

The Germans committed their remaining mobile divisions and surrounded nine rifle divisions of 9th and 44th Armies of Southern Front. Over 93,000 men were trapped. This had the effect of opening the way to Stalingrad.




Southern and North Caucasus Fronts initiated a complete pullback in the area in order to allow the Soviet response to begin unhindered.




With no significant German tank reserves remaining, Stavka ordered the beginning of the Sumy-Desna Offensive Operation. This counterstroke was conducted by cavalry-tank forces under Eremenko's Bryansk Front and reinforced by Grechko's 3rd Shock and Batov's 31st Armies. The city of Sumy was liberated.

In the meantime, Vatutin's 3rd Reserve Army now led by I. Chernyakhovsky succeeded in reaching the eastern bank of the Donets.




Weekly losses

Thanks for a great AAR, on towards Berlin!

When you create your Guards Corps, do you use three Guard Divisions, or two Guard and one regular? And why?

ORIGINAL: erikbengtsson

Thanks for a great AAR, on towards Berlin!

When you create your Guards Corps, do you use three Guard Divisions, or two Guard and one regular? And why?

Two guards divisions are all that is required for a guards corps so that is what I use. In June 1942 you can have a total of 42 rifle corps. The first two corps which can only be guards, are eligible in December 1941. That leaves 40 corps for which I plan on having in July. That meant going into blizzard my goal was to work towards 80 guards rifle divisions.

The game caps you at 11% guards infantry until July 1942 when that number expands. At that point I should have the units to make all 42 corps as guards rifle. At that time, Soviet NM also goes to 50, so with the +10 NM bonus, those corps with attachments can have quite an impact.

Here is where I tracked my progress on wins for the rifle divisions that required 8 wins to become guards or guards eligible. I reached my target of 80 guards or guards eligible in early March, before the first winter ended.

so if you have divisions eligible for guards but the cap is reached, they will switch to guards once the cap is relaxed ?

Up to the new cap limit, yes.

Why do you have Stavka away from Moscow and in a non-rail hex as well?

Probably to help with Leadership Tests since it is at a much shorter distance.
Or to enhance some depot massively in capacity for operations imminently (But then it needs to be on rail)
My assumption.

ORIGINAL: AlbertN

Probably to help with Leadership Tests since it is at a much shorter distance.
Or to enhance some depot massively in capacity for operations imminently (But then it needs to be on rail)
My assumption.

High command HQ's don't affect depots.

ORIGINAL: gingerbread

Why do you have Stavka away from Moscow and in a non-rail hex as well?

All I really use Stavka for is to take brigade sized units from the reserve and convert them into support units. Then the next turn they can be parceled out as needed.

I really don't use it for extra leadership rolls. A combination of good front and army commanders like Zhukov/Rokossovsky or Vatutin/Chernyakhovsky aren't going to fail a lot of leader rolls that Stavka might otherwise make.