Disaster in the making. Oloren (axis) vs Terje (USSR)

[Baelfiin]

big increase in lend lease trucks in 1943 also

[terje439]

Turn 127

Overall
The German Panzer Divisions show up and make a small pocket around two of my rifle corps. This time however we are pleased to see that we are able to a) kill alot of tanks (AFV losses this turn is 254:246 (G:U)), and b) reopen a pocket. Further north HQ Zhukov is displeased to see the direction of two German retreats, as they denies us the ability to pocket a German division (in hindsight, I should have made the first attack, moved in my mech units, THEN launched the second attack).
The Axis score 1 held, 10 retreat and 2 rout for a total of 13 attacks this turn, while we manage 16 attacks for 2 held and 14 retreats.
As earlier mentioned, the tank losses were (for this game atleast) high this turn, however there is something to add to those numbers, about 50 of the German losses were obsolete Check models, however 20 panthers, 50 PzIIIm and 50 PzIVg's were also killed. Half of our losses were T34-1942 model.
Total losses in terms of killed troops were 54.000 for the Axis, and 98.000 for us.
With a total of 171.000 men and women reporting to the manpower pool, it ends at 2.930 this turn.

Units
One rifle corps is formed this turn, and we order the construction of 4 rifle divisions and 2 rifle brigades.
Our units grew by a total of 93.000 soldiers.

Partisans
A poor turn for our partisans. After the Axis chase away 14 units, we are left with 28 active units on the map. These guys only manage 8 sabotague missions this turn, and are only given 17 supply drops as a reward.

Thoughts
If I can contain the Panzer divisions for a few more turns, I think I can defeat the German north flank.

[terje439]

And a question;
Alot of my corps get have one division with guard status. Do people break these down and reform as many guards rifle corps as possible, or should I keep the existing corps as it is and allow it to slowly gain guard status?


Terje

[M60A3TTS]

ORIGINAL: terje439

And a question;
Alot of my corps get have one division with guard status. Do people break these down and reform as many guards rifle corps as possible, or should I keep the existing corps as it is and allow it to slowly gain guard status?


Terje

From the manual:
There is no admin point cost for any subsequent break down and build up of a corps using the same divisions it was initially built from.

Once you reformed the corps you broke down that had originally different units, you will pay the APs to rebuild it, on top of the next set of APs to build the new guards corps. Doesn't seem worth the cost.

[Q-Ball]

It's November 1943, and the German player here continues to hold the initiative.

For the gallery, is this because of a) Soviet play, or b) problem with too-strong-Germans, or c) bit of both?

The late war Soviet morale is maybe too high, not too low; Terje, you should be seeing some morale boosts by now, because your NM should be over 50 at this point; am I correct?

[Flaviusx]

Mostly Soviet errors. Poor force management, and bad economy of force. Rifle corps are being wasted on static fronts that could be held by divisions or corps breakdowns, and corps aren't being properly concentrated to create offensive masses. CC is utterly broken down, probably for good, because the AP budget won't be enough to straighten it out any time soon if ever.

For all of that, I think the German tide is ebbing. They can't take 50k losses/turn for very long. It's a very long ways to Berlin from here, though.

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

It's November 1943, and the German player here continues to hold the initiative.

For the gallery, is this because of a) Soviet play, or b) problem with too-strong-Germans, or c) bit of both?

The late war Soviet morale is maybe too high, not too low; Terje, you should be seeing some morale boosts by now, because your NM should be over 50 at this point; am I correct?

Hmm, c due to b due to a? [:)]
The problem I face is that I have played poorly for sure, but then again there is not much I can do against those panzer stacks unless I want to make attacks that are bound to fail.
So, there is a bit of both, I am forced to watch the German panzer division, BUT
they are only so strong because I have played poorly.

Indeed, I spotted a 19CV Guard Rifle Corps this turn, and movement seems to be better. However on the fronts I am being attacked, the units lose morale very quickly as they are usually retreating (1 loss), then attacked again and forced to retreat. Again this most likely has to do with my gameplay more than anything else.

Terje

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Flaviusx

1. Mostly Soviet errors. Poor force management, and bad economy of force.
2. Rifle corps are being wasted on static fronts that could be held by divisions or corps breakdowns, and corps aren't being properly concentrated to create offensive masses.
3. CC is utterly broken down, probably for good, because the AP budget won't be enough to straighten it out any time soon if ever.

4. For all of that, I think the German tide is ebbing. They can't take 50k losses/turn for very long.
5. It's a very long ways to Berlin from here, though.

1. True
2. But my headache is that the second I try to hold anything larger than a cup of water with a division, the Axis attack, rout the division and then make alot of pockets. You can say what you want, but I will not defend with divisions anymore.
3. So I hear you say, in my oppinion it is not as bad as you make it seem, but that is just me.
4. True. I hope.
5. Absolutely true.


Terje

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: M60A3TTS

ORIGINAL: terje439

And a question;
Alot of my corps get have one division with guard status. Do people break these down and reform as many guards rifle corps as possible, or should I keep the existing corps as it is and allow it to slowly gain guard status?


Terje

From the manual:
There is no admin point cost for any subsequent break down and build up of a corps using the same divisions it was initially built from.

Once you reformed the corps you broke down that had originally different units, you will pay the APs to rebuild it, on top of the next set of APs to build the new guards corps. Doesn't seem worth the cost.

Pretty much my take on it, will keep at it as I have then
Thank you.

Terje

[Baelfiin]

Is it even possible to re-attach divisions from an existing corp to the form a new corp?

On a side note: Hang in there Terje 8)

[terje439]

Turn 128

Breaking news
Vologda liberated [&o]

Overall
As allready seen, after hard hard not to mention severe...marching, we manage to liberate Vologda. In other words, we drove into the abandoned city [:)]
This turn the Axis have learned their lesson, and seal off a rifle corps, this time with two layers of panzer stacks, those men are doomed, but I do not really feel it as a loss. It would have been far worse if those panzers had tried to cut off larger parts of my front, so I am actually quite happy.
Another bad turn if you drive an AFV, as the Axis lose 297 and we lose 327. If it is true that quantity holds a quality of its own, then I am very happy with those numbers. Trading T34s for Panthers is something I like, after all we are trading massproduced ugly tanks for beautiful sexy-lined steel beast.
But losses were quite high in all sectors, and the casualty lists claim 60.000 dead Axis soldiers, and 106.000 of ours this turn. This was the result of 7 Axis attacks (1 held, 5 retreat and 1 rout) and 20 attacks from us (5 held and 15 retreats).
With 168.000 workers reporting to the manpower pool this turn, it ends at 6.025

Units
I order the creation of 4 rifle divisions and 2 rifle brigades in the south this turn, and spend the rest of the points to allocate some SUs to alot of my guard units in the south.
Our forces grew by 77.000 soldiers this turn.

Partisans
Another abysmal turn for our partisans. After the Axis force 12 units to retreat, we are left with a total of 25 units that only manage 7 sabotague missions this turn. In return they get 20 supply drops.

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Baelfiin

On a side note: Hang in there Terje 8)

No worries, as previously stated, this game goes to the bitter end [:)]


Terje

[Flaviusx]

The trend is good, keep it up. He can't afford to trade blows like this for very long. It's late in the day, but I do believe you've turned it around. Just keep grinding away.

PS Stop worrying so much about your partisans. Once the German has set up his security net correctly, they cease to have much influence on the game. They will annoy him a bit, nothing more. The main thing isn't the attacks they conduct, rather, it's the forces they make the Axis commit to keep them down to a dull roar. After that the whole partisan war is more or less on autopilot for both sides.

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: Flaviusx

The trend is good, keep it up. He can't afford to trade blows like this for very long. It's late in the day, but I do believe you've turned it around. Just keep grinding away.

PS Stop worrying so much about your partisans. Once the German has set up his security net correctly, they cease to have much influence on the game. They will annoy him a bit, nothing more. The main thing isn't the attacks they conduct, rather, it's the forces they make the Axis commit to keep them down to a dull roar. After that the whole partisan war is more or less on autopilot for both sides.

Ah but you forget one important aspect of the partisan "minigame", and that is MY morale boost [:D]

Terje

[DTurtle]

Just in case you didn't know: You can fly supply missions to the partisans manually. To do so, you have to select air supply missions, choose night flying, and then select an air field with transports/bombers with night missions turned on. You can only fly those supply missions with planes that haven't flown yet this turn. No idea if it is worth it, but hey, can't hurt trying...

[terje439]

Turn 129

Overall
We push and we probe, and when this turn started, the enemy had fallen back two hexes a few places in the south, so we moved in but could not launch attacks in all locations. The Axis keep pushing with his panzers, but the salient he is trying to seal off is going to be hard to take as it should be too well defended now. In the northern most parts of the front, we keep on pushing, and see a sign that there is a lack of units for the Axis by now, as several hexes are held by lone Finnish Infantry divisions. These are easy pickings out in the open. Good, a threat in the north should cause some concern for the Axis I think. Add the fact that several places in the south the Axis front is leaking. Not to the extent that I can move units through just yet, but more like a dam about to burst. You can see the cracks forming, and I think that when it finally ruptures, the effect might be drastic for the Axis since that part is largely held by his minors.
We only managed 16 attacks this turn, scoring 2 held and 14 retreats while the Axis score 3 held, 7 retreat and 2 surrender for a total of 12 attacks.
Losses are high once more (I did a few mistakes last turn that cost me dearly I am afraid), with 300 to 800 AFVs lost, and 61.000 to 163.000 soldiers.

Stupid is as stupid does
I just wanted to give the Axis panzers a scare, and attacked three panzer divisions stacked together with just about anything I could get into the fight. I did inflict some serious casualties on those divisions (aprox 2.000 men and 100 AFVs), but I cannot say it was worth it since my losses were just above 10.000 men and 300 AFVs in that battle. Oh well, the defensive value of that enemy stack went down. Alot. Maybe it will bring some caution to them. Too bad we only destroyed 3 tigers and 20 panthers, the rest being PzIII and IVs.

Units
We lose 1 rifle corps, 1 cavalry corps and 1 AT artillery brigade this turn after the Axis cut them off last turn. The Axis also managed to pocket a rifle corps this turn, and once more I cannot save it.
2 rifle corps are formed, and we order the construction of 2 rifle divisions, 1 rifle brigade and 2 mortar brigades.
With heavy losses, the overall net increase of our army is a lousy 26.000 this turn.


Partisans
6 anti-partisan attacks by the Axis is interesting. He should see alot more of them, so does this mean he is moving any available unit to the front??
After the Axis have made their attacks, we are left with 29 active units who make 16 sabotague actions this turn, but only recieve 12 supply drops.

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: DTurtle

Just in case you didn't know: You can fly supply missions to the partisans manually. To do so, you have to select air supply missions, choose night flying, and then select an air field with transports/bombers with night missions turned on. You can only fly those supply missions with planes that haven't flown yet this turn. No idea if it is worth it, but hey, can't hurt trying...

Oh did not know that, nice to know. Thank you [:)]

Terje

[juret]

how does your production looks? how many t-34 u make per turn? all factories intact since 41?

[terje439]

Turn 130

Overall
The Axis keep on bashing against our rifle corps in the Moscow area, good. If they want to exhaust their panzer divisions this way, I am happy. My opponent also revealed that one of his units have went from 33 to 21 CV in the few turns of winter we have had so far. That being said, I have quite a few rifle corps that are pretty beaten up, however I have a small surplus in this area, so I am able to rotate them somewhat, although I cannot get them up to their max CV (aprox 10), but have to send them back when they are at 6-8, but still it helps.
We on the other hand keep pushing and prodding all along the front, and I really think the Axis has problems in the south right now. All in all we launch 20 attacks and score 4 held and 16 retreats this turn, while the Axis launch a total of 10 attacks for 1 held, 7 retreats, 1 rout and 1 surrender. The German losses seems low as the report claims 27.000 of their soldiers died, and that they lost 90 AFVs (math shows 134...) this turn. According to the same report we lose 94.000 soldiers and 289 AFVs.
180.000 workers report to the manpower pool this turn, ending it at 5.668.

Units
We lose a rifle corps as expected, and order the formation of two rifle corps this turn. We also order the construction of a rifle brigade and two rifle divisions in the south as that is where I want more forces there.
The army grew by a total of 98.000 soldiers this turn.
This turn I find room to do something I should have done earlier, but I needed those guys to bash the German panzers, as I send a total of 17 aerial units to the reserves for some R&R. Once more it is the TACs that make up most of the low morale units, with 15, the other two being a TRS and a LB.

Loss inconsistency once more
Axis combat losses were reported at 27.000, yet simple math shows them at 44.000 if I look at the battle reports...

Request of this turn
Juret wondered about my T-34 production, so I will post all AFV production;
T-70 : 180
T-34 : 310
Sherman : 34
Valentine IX : 26
IS : 6
OT-34 : 12
SU-85 : 39
ISU-152 : 22
SU-57 : 8
SU-76M : 126
BA-64 : 60
Have I lost any factories? No idea, I know I lost some factories in the first ten turns, but I do not recall just what.

Partisans
10 units were forced to retreat this turn leaving 24 on the map. As a result we only manage 7 sabotague actions and sadly also a mere 9 supply drops.

[Flaviusx]

The turn report refreshes itself and can lead to inconsistent results; the battle reports are more accurate if this happens.