Back in the East STEF78 (Axis) Oshawott (USSR)

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 5:56 pm

ORIGINAL: caliJP

STEF, I have to echo previous comments, I think you did a great job north of the Pripiet marshes to slow down Oshawott. Of course the terrain is favorable, but still your couple of lines of trench diggers behind the front line are doing wonders. That's the way to do it. You can slowly roll back to Berlin 1 hex per turn that way, probably even a little less during blizzard which makes a dent in the soviet units' MPs.
In the south, it is harder. You may need to make use of some FZs to prepare some defense lines?

I'm not as positive as you concerning my summer.I think I could have done much better in the north. In summer 1943, german army is still strong.

Oshawott did a great job around Pskov [&o] and I reacted too late and too weakly. The cost was the early loss of the north Dvina and then a very dangerous advance at Daugavpils.

It's the same north-Kiev. I reacted too late.

My success were:
- in the South were I was able to fully stop him as long as I kept most of my mobile forces here.
- the transfer of 57th and 30th pzk at Daugavpils. It stopped russian advance.
- the ability to counterattack each turn. It gives headaches to the russian player.

I also made several small tactical mistakes.

Winter 43/44 will be a very hard task. I will lose 5 points of national morale in january.

I don't believe that I will be able to build forts behind my lines fast enough to delay soviet advance. Russian army is too strong.

I've built 2 lines of FZ in the rear. It will help when my front will collapse, probably in January or February 1944.

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 6:09 pm

ORIGINAL: smokindave34

I agree with others here Stef, in that you are doing an outstanding job holding back the Russian bear. I think you will find that the upcoming snow/blizzard weather turns will make your situation even more difficult - your ability to dig forts will be reduced dramatically making it easier for Oshawott to force you into open terrain. You may want to pick a line on the map where you expect to be come summer '44 and start building forts there as soon as the snow hits. Give ground slowly during the winter until you reach your summer fall back line. If you find yourself in the summer of '44 with no defensive lines already established it will be tough to prevent the encirclements Oshawott will certainly be going for. Thanks for the excellent AAR!

Every week, the Russians waves are more and more powerful and I am persuaded that the winter is going to be extremely difficult for the German player.

I feel as the dike of a port which protects boats under cover and I see the tide rising, rising...

I will try to give ground slowly but the russian bear agrees not at all! And as you noticed, digging will be more difficult.

You suggest to prepare FZ for summer 1944... very good idea, but where?

And thanks to all for your encouragements and your compliments about this AAR

caliJP · Post by **caliJP** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:46 pm

STEF, I meant that in the last few weeks you recovered pretty well, slowing Oshawott’s advance quite a bit.
Where to build a line in the South is a good question. Probably you’ll get many different answers. Here is what I think:

Build a nice line along the Sluch, Y Bug, and Ushitsa rivers and Proskurov, down to the mountains south of Proskurov
I recommend continuing down the Dniestr river which has some nice mountain hexes also so you have at least one line to protect Romania.
I would then build a second line behind which will assume that you lost Romania to the Soviets. That would be along the Goryn river and then going southwest through Tarnopol and Stanislav. You can beef up that line by sprinkling a few FZs in good terrain hexes right behind that line, such as Rovno, mountains and swamps north and south of it, and mountains just south of Stanislav. May be worth building a sub line along the Zbruch river also.
I think your goal for 1944 would be to end summer at that last line, basically Rovno to the mountains east of Lvov.

One more thing: when it looks like the soviets are pretty close to flipping Romania, you need to be ready to occupy the Carpatian mountains in northwestern Romania (close to Hungary, west of Sibiu) to block the soviets from using that southern route into Hungary. Those are tough mountains, so you probably don’t need many forces, but you want to have a few units ready to re-cross into Romania and take those mountains before the soviets. You probably know that tough.

caliJP · Post by **caliJP** » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:48 pm

Oh, and yeah one has to support the underdog. Oshawott has over 9M men so he doesn't need support

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 3:58 pm

ORIGINAL: caliJP

Build a nice line along the Sluch, Y Bug, and Ushitsa rivers and Proskurov, down to the mountains south of Proskurov
I recommend continuing down the Dniestr river which has some nice mountain hexes also so you have at least one line to protect Romania.
I would then build a second line behind which will assume that you lost Romania to the Soviets. That would be along the Goryn river and then going southwest through Tarnopol and Stanislav. You can beef up that line by sprinkling a few FZs in good terrain hexes right behind that line, such as Rovno, mountains and swamps north and south of it, and mountains just south of Stanislav. May be worth building a sub line along the Zbruch river also.
I think your goal for 1944 would be to end summer at that last line, basically Rovno to the mountains east of Lvov.

The first line seems to me too close from the front.

Maybe the second is more cautious.

And I think that I will be closer from a line Warsaw/Lvov when summer begins. But I will do my best to slow the russian steamroll

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:15 pm

Turn 121, 7th october 1943

Oshawott has still one turn of clear weather. I need mud!

North

Heavy fights on the ground and in the air all along the front. Entrenchment level is low north of Minsk and South east of Riga.

Kiev

I cannot be strong everywhere. My priority in to slow russian advance in Ovruch sector. In front of the strong soviet units South of Kiev, I have only inf units. I bet that it will be enough.

caliJP · Post by **caliJP** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:30 pm

STEF when you get to that first line you can dismantle the forts and start a new 3rd line further west
Bon courage!

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:13 pm

ORIGINAL: caliJP

STEF when you get to that first line you can dismantle the forts and start a new 3rd line further west
Bon courage!

If Oshawott is nice enough to give me the time required to do so!

Some of his units look really nasty

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:29 pm

Turn 122, 14th october 1943

It's mud! But Oshawott did a nice encirclement north of Minsk.

I didn't thought he would have both the ability to push my 2 stacks and to move units here.

Now it's mud and a counterattack is impossible. These 3 infs are doomed.

My infs were badly beaten during this summer, my FB are very low. The only strong units are my mobile forces, my fighters and a dozen of inf divs

Armaments are of course at zero

Kiev slliant is in bad shape, I will evacuate it during the mud

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:19 am

Turn 123, 21th october 1943

Usually mud is a time of rest, without any action.

Not yet. Oshawott is strong enough to grind some hexes of non/low entrenched units.

Both in the north...

.. and around the Kiev's salliant

loki100 · Post by **loki100** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:28 am

ORIGINAL: STEF78

Usually mud is a time of rest, without any action.

Not yet. Oshawott is strong enough to grind some hexes of non/low entrenched units.

scary that he can keep up some momentum, guess you'd really like a near complete break in operations to recover

jwolf · Post by **jwolf** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:26 pm

ORIGINAL: loki100

scary that he can keep up some momentum, guess you'd really like a near complete break in operations to recover

Even if he had a complete break during the mud, the Fall mud season really doesn't last very long. But now he won't get even that much of a break. Kudos to Oshawott for maintaining at least some pressure no matter what the weather is.

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 3:00 pm

Turn 124, 28th october 1943

North

Still some grinding

Kiev

Situation becomes serious! Units on the Dniepr are in danger.

I decide to block his advance

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 6:07 pm

Turn 125, 4th november 1943

Last turn of mud.

North

The 3 divs are destroyed... see the numbers!

South

Evacuation of the units near Kiev

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 3:42 pm

Turn 126, 11th november

Mud is over. Look at this superb line of defence, without any hole. It won't last...

I tried to enlarge the way for the units in Kiev Defensive CV appeared as 13. In fact it was 37...

Note also the poor efficiency of air recon during mud...

Right now I enjoy The calm before the storm

jwolf · Post by **jwolf** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 5:23 pm

Yes I saw that combat report in Oshawott's AAR.   Very impressive, although half a million men and 12 thousand artillery was a bit of an overkill.  But I suppose from his point of view all those units had nothing else they could do.

It looks like he can still trap a few units near Kiev, even though you withdrew from the most exposed positions.

This is going to be a long, difficult winter for you.  Good luck!

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 7:08 pm

ORIGINAL: jwolf
It looks like he can still trap a few units near Kiev, even though you withdrew from the most exposed positions.

I will let Oshawott post his first snow moves first.

"Few" means how many? Remember his way for the handshake!!

jwolf · Post by **jwolf** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 10:17 pm

ORIGINAL: STEF78

"Few" means how many?

Well, I was thinking of the 3 hexes immediately west of Kiev. Or maybe 2 more west of those. In theory the worst case would be a Stalingrad type of fate for 6th army but near Kiev instead.

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 5:16 am

Turn 127, 18th november 1943

In the north, nothing new, usual push all along the front. I'm really weak South of Riga but I can handle it.

Armaments are still at zero, annoying...

STEF78 · Post by **STEF78** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 5:27 am

Turn 127, 18th november 1943

In the South, I'm facing a disastrous situation. Oshawott did a superb encirclement. He also mopped up a lot of airfields.

In fact, he could have pierced my front when and almost where he wants. But he added a good tactical skill and a surprise effect.

Game was already over since early 1942 so it's not a surprise except that I thought it would happen later in the winter.