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ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus

Tarhunnas, why are you leaving the swamp hexes south of Leningrad? [:)] That's an excellent place to hold. You are inviting the fascist hordes to advance past Leningrad if they want [X(] He should be fighting, and really hard, to have this important place.

It's not me! I am kommander of the Western Front! What the komrades up north are doing, you have to ask them!

ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus

The thing I fear the most is panzers. I always have the fuel soft factor on. Guess what, I learned that just a few weeks ago: I didn't know the soft factor things could be a precious intel (I thought they only showed info about MY units [:D]). Encircled told me so

Interesting! I'v never thought about that as a source of intel! Now I learned something new!

Hmmm, maybe this shouldn't be so? I mean, the RKKA intel dept could hardly ask the neighbouring German units for their fuel returns...

Yes, I think it's quite useful. If you see the fuel soft factor of panzers is in the red then this means they can't move that much. That may be important when you are holding a position and are not sure if that is the best option [:)] If it's in green, then that means they can -in theory- maneuver a LOT (even maybe a Buildup thing): the most dangerous thing when we talk about the nasty panzers

If you don't use this you are like a blind man walking (just like me until they told me this soft factor thing). Reread that part of the manual (page 49, section 5.1.3) as it is important. Sorry, I thought you were the Boss-in-Chief of the forces defending Leningrad [:)]

Its an immense intelligence tool for the Soviets in '41

You can have a fair idea where and how powerful the attack will be, unless of course he keeps his panzers off the front line.

Then you are stuck with Soviet air recon, which sucks!

I had it toggled to a different factor when I took the shot...but I am tracking fuel. Nearly all MOBILE units are in the RED. What's more, they don't seem to have figured out how to drop FUEL; all the airdrops are SUPPLIES. Which is why those are Green.

This is why the V-L move is a gift, and why they aren't moving that fast; they are having fuel problems.

Pz Gp 1 is entirely across the Dnepr, but they're fuel situation is deplorable; all units are in the Red. All. Even the Slovak/Hungarian Mobile Corps, which should not have been shoved 10 hexes forward of the entire rest of the Axis army.

This is also why Capt. Flam should be able to destroy the Slovaks without problem, because the Germans don't have the MPs to releive them.

I sure will have a try against some of them
SS in priority (these are so nasty) [:D]
waiting my time to move with agressivness
time to backdraft [:)]

I am that Robinsky northern commander[:(] Since turn ! have expected a blitzkrieg type thrust towards LG and fell back in expectation of same. Now we find that they are employing a 'unique' strategy and I could have been holding lots of areas. A long winded way of saying I messed up, but Comrade Tarhunnas has agreed to help me in a true revolutionary style rather than send me a bullet in the true Stalinist style [:)].

We are all in this together, as true socialists! Unfortunately, I have just detected something decidedly un-socialistic. One might almost term it a deviation to the right!
I have discovered a unit up at Leningrad that has apparently been stolen from Bryansk front! Most upsetting!

However, in true brotherly spirit I graciously reassigned it to one of your HQs nearby. But don't let this happen again, or I might drop some words to my commissar!

The enemy attempt at breakthrough in the Velike Luki area has been well and truly screwed in by cutting its supply. It will be a turn without much gas for the fascist panzers!

And last an overview of Western Front. I have actually stayed at the Dnepr for another turn. I have good fortifications and the enemy is only partially across the river. I don't think there is any risk, I can't see how I could be surrounded, and we can delay the despoilers of the motherland for another turn.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I had to revamp my command structure. Western Front was heavily overloaded, so I shifted a couple of armies to Bryansk Front. It cost some APs, but we had plenty.

I sent the turn, I moved a couple more units in the south to hopefully aid in keeping rescue troops away from the Slovaks. The Germans are 5 hexes away, and they will have to rely on Infantry, as all their mobile forces are low on gas and on the wrong side of the Dnepr.

It will be close; they can blow away our units and try to reach it with the closest infantry division; they would need to bring up divisions to pave the way, and carefully NOT allow the closest units to attack. That would require a degree of tactical skill I haven't seen yet, so we'll see.....our units there are all 1=CV, so hasty attacks should push them.

Turn 9 Stavka Orders:

COMRADES!

The Slovak Division will live; a small corridor was JUST opened to the surrounded unit. Hanging around and attempting to cut it off again is likely not wise. Though we didn't destroy it, we sent an important message: Don't stick your neck out. We have to show we are willing to counterattack.

I moved the factories from around Bryansk, and finished moving Z-Town. At this point, we are a bit ahead on Factory moves, so I think we're in good shape. For now.

NORTH:
See below; Leningrad is not threatened, and you did a good job building forts. But you really need to re-org the troops up there. We have piles of APs, please use some, but more importantly, rationalize the units around Leningrad. Check out my screenshot; I didn't save these changes, just a suggestion.

CENTER: Big breakout over the Dnepr. Time to fall back! If things get out of hand, some reserves will be available soon, though time is on our side.

SOUTH:
You need to pull the guys back west of Kiev. They made no progress though other than toward the Slovaks, so that whole thing slowed them for a turn.

Your objective now is to slow them toward Kharkov, which is probably the next place we have to move Factories from

No problem, I can handle that breakout! That's actually the first determined forward move I've seen on the western front. That must be their new commander. Any intel on who he is?

Also they have reestablished some order in the north around V-L. All their panzers seem to be pretty low on fuel though, so I guess they will not be too mobile next turn. I am just surprised that they are remarkably inactive with their infantry on the landbridge.

Brave heroes of the motherland still hold Mogilev, Vitebsk and Velike Luki, with good fortifications, that will delay some of their infantry for at least a turn as they clean out the cities.

I will draw back now, don't worry [;)]. I expect the next position will be roughly on the outer defences of Smolensk and a line south from there to the tip of their breakthrough.

Edit: It could have been dangerous if their AGS thrust across the Dnepr had continued north and the Gomel thrust had cooperated and gone south, but now they went in diverging directions! I also note that they seem to have discovered arieal resupply, at least in AGS.

Overview of entire front, start of Soviet turn 9.

New defensive dispositions of Western Front after Soviet move. Some delaying units have been left in the old positions.

East of Velikie Luki, the Totenkopf division is driven back in a heroic counterattack! An important psychological victory for the Workers and Peasants Red Army! Death to the fascist invaders!

A planning conference at Western Front headquarters has analysed the possible lines of advance by the enemy mechanised forces and the most likely enemy plans. Intelligence suggests that the enemy forces east of Velikie Luki include both panzer groups 3 and 4. A consensus is reached that the most dangerous and most likely enemy plan would be to try to encircle Smolensk from north and south. That is why our defenses are concentrated to stop such a move.

However, at present, there does not seem to be enough enemy infantry in with the panzer spearheads to effect a breakthrough, which means that the enemy mechanised formations will have to make the breakthrough themselves, thus losing valuable time. It is also estimated that the enemy mobile formations are relatively low on fuel. The conclusion is that the enemy will probably not be able to accomplish this maneuver in the next week.

You should hang your Stavka commander [:)] No garrisons yet in Vyazma, Kaluga, Orel (and perhaps Rzhev and Bryansk, can't see if this is a various units stack)? [8D]

And no one digging in in front of Moscow... Ah, life on the edge!

ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus

You should hang your Stavka commander [:)] No garrisons yet in Vyazma, Kaluga, Orel (and perhaps Rzhev and Bryansk, can't see if this is a various units stack)? [8D]

Well, that is the thing when you have different commands. We at the front think it's STAVKAs responsibility, and perhaps STAVKA thinks we should be responsible for the cities behind our front. I guess we should iron that out, who is responsible for what, but this is in a way very realistic!

Like 3 years ago in the WitP forum a team game was planned (with the RHS mod)... Soooo... [:D] There were two guys on the Japanese side: one in charge of the army (IJA) and the other of the navy (IJN). The game never started but we had a really good laugh. Literally. The two guys on the Japanese side (El Cid Again and Nemo121) were constantly fighting on the thread in which they were supposed to air the strategy they would be adopting... The navy did not want to share many BBs to support the Philipines invasion (in charge of the army) and things like that...

The funny thing is that in fact they were 100% simulating what happened in the real thing: bloody, deadly fights between the two factions were not uncommon...