What?! Seriously?! You are back for more??? Now allowed for Oloren!

[terje439]

Moving south

[terje439]

...

[terje439]

...

[terje439]

not much to say

[terje439]

.

[terje439]

....

[terje439]

Getting there

[terje439]

fini

[Karri]

His central front seems quite weak...but he should be able to strenghten it come mud. Dislodging the line before mud could be helpful for winter offensives...but you need tanks for that.

[KamilS]

I think You have wasted your chance attacking in the north.

Nothing to gain there but opportunity to loose manpower and time in futile attacks on forested and flooded hexes.


He is stronger than You anywhere but in the north, but prefers You to think otherwise and catch You flat-footed without forts and with low body count once he switches to attack.

You have one more chance for meaningful offensive, but only if You play with fire and make Yourself weak everywhere but in area of Your attack.


I am afraid, that if You persist in Your current strategy, game's result will be either major or minor Soviet victory, and I would put my money on major.

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Karri

His central front seems quite weak...but he should be able to strenghten it come mud. Dislodging the line before mud could be helpful for winter offensives...but you need tanks for that.

True, but the USSR rail capacity means that I need to dislodge it properly and fast, cannot do that atm with the state my panzers are in.


Terje

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Kamil

1. I think You have wasted your chance attacking in the north.
Nothing to gain there but opportunity to loose manpower and time in futile attacks on forested and flooded hexes.

2. He is stronger than You anywhere but in the north, but prefers You to think otherwise and catch You flat-footed without forts and with low body count once he switches to attack.

3. You have one more chance for meaningful offensive, but only if You play with fire and make Yourself weak everywhere but in area of Your attack.

4. I am afraid, that if You persist in Your current strategy, game's result will be either major or minor Soviet victory, and I would put my money on major.

1. As it turned out, yes I agree
2. I seriously do not think so. If you look at his AP loss, he has basically gained 0 AP for the entire game, yet have converted some units into Corps. His army is not much stronger than in -41, in terms of # of units, probably less than in -41. This turn I did not bother spotting much as I pretty much know how his defences is. About 1/4 of his forces are in the north.
3. Well, I am allready weak, guess you mean weaker [:D]
4. Yes, I agree, but that is not a big surprise to me as I have yet to win a single game of WiTE.


Terje

[ErsteKavallerieDivision]

I still see many options for greatly improving your position:
a) North of Lake Peipus, there are about 16 divisions, many of them Panzer and Mot. This deployment is strange; I would start fortifying a straight line there, with Infantry only, plus some engineers. Then put them in static mode. Maybe another division in reserve mode. Send all Panzer and Mot to the south.
b) Northwest of Pskov: Too many colours (five armies). Again, extract all Panzer and Mot divisions, build a straight line southeast. The southmost corps of 18th Army should retreat to the western banks, which are already at fort level 2.
c) Further downsouth, the line already exists to some extent. The Velikije Luki bulge could be removed to spare some units.
d) 9th and 2th Army would need some minor alignment. Static mode preferred.
e) Free the mobile units, put others in static mode to reduce attrition losses.
f) Then form a Schwerpunkt in the south to bag some enemy armies, just like you did in the past.

[janh]

Ying yang, I need to remember this expression. Very funny. I find your manpower is also quite low, have you already disbanded useless stuff like a few airbases and such?

The thought with leaving at least some Panzers in the line is probably right. What you need is again a surprise moment like that just after spring. Else you'll have to keep eating through thick carpets, and the enemy will likely dig faster than you can penetrate them. That's seems to be the catch a LG presently -- if there was not already at least one more lvl 3 fort belt visible, my take would be to keep grinding until the dam breaks. Just like the last huge pocket, once you are through the fortifications and have cleared just one good route, the Red Army will fold like a carthouse in the surroundings. If at all, the only way I may guess to be left for LG would be the indirect route via Novgorod. But it is swampy and bad, and would hand all advantages to the defender. Might be an option for infantry combined with general winter, though?

Else, I agree with Karri - the better terrain for mobile blitz combat and pocketing is in the center and south. He has a lot lot of units in the marshes between the Crimean isthmus, and Djenprpropetrovsk. Slow retreat terrain, coupled with a natural gauge in its rear: the coastline angling ENE to Stalino. I might look at the option of a thrust via the Kharkov-Belgorod Sector then towards Stalino and Rostov...? Even if he retreats his units into the Crimea, these will be a long way off to the reinforce other sectors... Plus that one would take of his (presumably) strongest units...

[Peltonx]

I would change over to defensive now. You should be close to 4 mil during 43.

Set-up armys for reserve mode. You should be able to hold ground during 43. Much better then late game

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: ErsteKavallerieDiv

I still see many options for greatly improving your position:
a) North of Lake Peipus, there are about 16 divisions, many of them Panzer and Mot. This deployment is strange; I would start fortifying a straight line there, with Infantry only, plus some engineers. Then put them in static mode. Maybe another division in reserve mode. Send all Panzer and Mot to the south.
b) Northwest of Pskov: Too many colours (five armies). Again, extract all Panzer and Mot divisions, build a straight line southeast. The southmost corps of 18th Army should retreat to the western banks, which are already at fort level 2.
c) Further downsouth, the line already exists to some extent. The Velikije Luki bulge could be removed to spare some units.
d) 9th and 2th Army would need some minor alignment. Static mode preferred.
e) Free the mobile units, put others in static mode to reduce attrition losses.
f) Then form a Schwerpunkt in the south to bag some enemy armies, just like you did in the past.

a) Yes, it is strange NOW [;)] They were there in the hope of not seing a lvl3 unbreakable USSR line. Situation retified.
b) They were present in a hope of a penetration that never occured, now down to 2 colours.
c) Centre is still pushing with their Infantry
d) colours please [:)]
e) Done
f) Will do so when the panzer/mechs are up to some strength atleast. Atm there are too many 3CV panzers in the mix.


Terje

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: janh

Ying yang, I need to remember this expression. Very funny. I find your manpower is also quite low, have you already disbanded useless stuff like a few airbases and such?

The thought with leaving at least some Panzers in the line is probably right. What you need is again a surprise moment like that just after spring. Else you'll have to keep eating through thick carpets, and the enemy will likely dig faster than you can penetrate them. That's seems to be the catch a LG presently -- if there was not already at least one more lvl 3 fort belt visible, my take would be to keep grinding until the dam breaks. Just like the last huge pocket, once you are through the fortifications and have cleared just one good route, the Red Army will fold like a carthouse in the surroundings. If at all, the only way I may guess to be left for LG would be the indirect route via Novgorod. But it is swampy and bad, and would hand all advantages to the defender. Might be an option for infantry combined with general winter, though?

Else, I agree with Karri - the better terrain for mobile blitz combat and pocketing is in the center and south. He has a lot lot of units in the marshes between the Crimean isthmus, and Djenprpropetrovsk. Slow retreat terrain, coupled with a natural gauge in its rear: the coastline angling ENE to Stalino. I might look at the option of a thrust via the Kharkov-Belgorod Sector then towards Stalino and Rostov...? Even if he retreats his units into the Crimea, these will be a long way off to the reinforce other sectors... Plus that one would take of his (presumably) strongest units...

Current plan is scrapped, new one will be discussed below.
And I am ALWAYS short on manpower [:D]


Terje

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Pelton

I would change over to defensive now. You should be close to 4 mil during 43.

Set-up armys for reserve mode. You should be able to hold ground during 43. Much better then late game

If by defensive you mean in the term that the best defense is a good offense I agree [:D]
Is this really you Pelton? Advicing a halt for the Wehrmacht [;)]
Nah, IF my judgement is correct (and I think it is actually), then there should be room for some more mischief [:)].


Terje

[terje439]

Turn 68

Overall
After some thinking the "liberate Finland"-plan is cancelled and the planning brain cells wiped out by a few glasses of Rum. A new plan has been made (plan name : Gung-ho) (soundtrack "no retreat, no surrender" by Springsteen);
a) move as much as plausible over to static (some 20 divisions made the switch this turn)
b) reorganize (check)
c) relocate panzer/mechs (check)
d) reorganize panzer/mechs (check)
e) give the panzer/mechs some R&R (in progress)
f) wait for a few turns while the panzers/mechs regain some badly needed CV
g) after f) locate the best possible point of attack
h) rip TWO holes in the USSR defence and get us some more Hiwis
i) Pray the static parts hold untill h) is complete.

This turn we only made 24 attacks, the results were better than in a long time though, with 1 held, 17 retreats, 5 routs and 1 surrender.

USSR units in pockets at start of turn
2.

USSR units in pockets at end of turn
1.

Losses
USSR : 100.000 troops, 1.280 guns, 10 AFVs, 218 AC.
Axis : 40.000 troops, 358 guns, 54 AFVs, 61 AC.

USSR units lost
2 rifle divisions (20 AP).

Partisans hunted down
2.

German pools
Manpower : 111
Vehicles : 233.498
Armaments : 17.813
Hiwi : 16
Panic mode = ON
Turns untill no armaments : 1
Come on Mr.Speer, I need guns not trucks here!!

[juret]

always refit on railroads terje

I would spread 1/3 of the mobile units to an reserve shield behind the weakest fronts in agc-agn and 2/3 to make smaller offensive in the south