RE: Panzers vs The Bear: A WitE2 MP AAR (Soviet Perspective)
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 3:21 pm
Well, there were two major plays the Germans could have made. They could have barged full speed ahead, looking to make quick work of Orel and other nearby cities like Voronzeh and Tula on PG2's axis while PG3 drove a line to Moscow that would have made for a very scary September and possibly a desperate November, though at the cost of ever increasing resistance making it a razor edge bet. Or they could take the safer option to try to pocket the Bryansk area forces and accept that the campaign as a whole would slow down, but that November would be a more measured affair. I bet on them doing the former, and they did the latter.
Can't say I'm happy to have 18 divisions in pockets, but on the other hand they exist to buy time and many of them have been reduced to half strength (or worse) shells by continuous fighting. So if they've been made into a forced sacrifice, let's make that sacrifice worthwhile. A pocket of that size will take two weeks to clean up if all goes well, so the time has come to make it a three week pocket and drain the panzers as best we can in the process. Initial plans to cut off PG3 entirely have to be abandoned when the forces inside the pocket cannot force their way past regiments, but we are still capable of routing a panzer division left alone at the extreme edge of PG3's reach, opening the pocket and allowing the extraction of several HQs and loads of artillery. The rest will have to die well when the Germans close it again.

Down south the weather is fine and the Germans are running on fumes. You can feel it in your bones, and more importantly, read it in the combat reports when only a handful of tanks out of a notional 150 actually end up firing. Counterattack forces are released and push back several German fast divisions, trashing their potential for next week and hopefully extending the battle for Stalino into late September or even the mud season.

As you might have noticed, after week 10 or so the tempo of the war starts to change. The Germans can still make explosive lunges, particularly after preparation, but the ceaseless linked offensives of the early days give way to gradual pressure punctuated by big moves and reorganization - or if the German player prefers, continued pressure with much lower potential per week. Either way its a welcome relief. There is still a big threat. You can still lose badly. But maybe, just maybe, you can hold on...
Can't say I'm happy to have 18 divisions in pockets, but on the other hand they exist to buy time and many of them have been reduced to half strength (or worse) shells by continuous fighting. So if they've been made into a forced sacrifice, let's make that sacrifice worthwhile. A pocket of that size will take two weeks to clean up if all goes well, so the time has come to make it a three week pocket and drain the panzers as best we can in the process. Initial plans to cut off PG3 entirely have to be abandoned when the forces inside the pocket cannot force their way past regiments, but we are still capable of routing a panzer division left alone at the extreme edge of PG3's reach, opening the pocket and allowing the extraction of several HQs and loads of artillery. The rest will have to die well when the Germans close it again.

Down south the weather is fine and the Germans are running on fumes. You can feel it in your bones, and more importantly, read it in the combat reports when only a handful of tanks out of a notional 150 actually end up firing. Counterattack forces are released and push back several German fast divisions, trashing their potential for next week and hopefully extending the battle for Stalino into late September or even the mud season.

As you might have noticed, after week 10 or so the tempo of the war starts to change. The Germans can still make explosive lunges, particularly after preparation, but the ceaseless linked offensives of the early days give way to gradual pressure punctuated by big moves and reorganization - or if the German player prefers, continued pressure with much lower potential per week. Either way its a welcome relief. There is still a big threat. You can still lose badly. But maybe, just maybe, you can hold on...