George vs. Seille - A Russia 1941 AAR over 60 turns

[seille]

The South.

In a last attempt we were lucky enough to take back Kharkov.
But our forces are after all the fights and continued air attacks
to weak for more fighting there. We expect to lose the city again
against strong german opposition in this area.

North of Baku we followed the retreating romanians.

After heavy artillery and air attacks we captured two hexes on the road
from Stalingrad to Rostov. Unfortunately these attack troops are now
very open for german counter attacks. With some luck the germans will misjudge
the situation and start to retreat, but i don´t think they´ll.

[george1972]

Germany, Turn 49, February 7, 1944

I get an R&D event!! That's great news, but where to spend it? After considering the conditions at the front and reviewing last round's Soviet attacks, I conclude I need something to make Russian air attacks less effective. As Fighter III is not obtainable I opt for Flak II and using the remaining PP's to create dedicated flak-units that I can position behind the front-line, so they don't get killed when my units are bombed.

[george1972]

My Northern position has suffered a set-back with the destruction of my armored battle-group before Dvinsk. The Red Air Force has several dive-bomber groups active with fighter cover and I only have a handful fighters and no dive-bombers.

I should have either sent those few fighters to the South where the real air war was about to start or else reinforce them so they could effectively counter the Red Air Force. As it was now, they were only good for strafing infantry and the costs disproportionate compared to the results.

Around Kharkov and in the Crimea I score some success but those are now secondary theaters where I'm spending way too much combat power, while losing control over other areas. I must say at this point I underestimated the Russian capability to maintain its strength in the field.

[george1972]

In the South I'm starting to lose control over the situation. In the face of superior air power, AG South has to abandon Rostov and the Luftwaffe and artillery assets disperse over various locations, making it harder for me to concentrate them for attacks.

As noted in the screen below, I should have followed Seille's example a long time ago and created a huge air group, capable of handling any opponent. I didn't because I thought split up they could hit more ground units per turn. But as soon as my control of the sky was being contested, I should have concentrated.

[seille]

turn 49 Russia.

Some attacks in the north again. In the south less activity,
but i prepare a very large attack operation against Baku.

The production looks good this turn (even i lost Kharkov again) since Germany
didn´t inflict that much damage.

[seille]

The north.

With the help of my planes and artillery i crushed two more german units.
Try to keep close contct to the germans.

[seille]

The south.

Sevastopol is under attack again, but i don´t really care about.
I´m now focussed on my Baku Front II and their plan to deliberate
Baku. Some turns ago this souded like a impossible dream, but now
i have a powerful little army available full of high motivated soldiers.
They got a nice mobility over the last rounds and i start to rebuild their
artillery. But the backbone for that fight is clearly the red air force.
I concentrated most of them very close behind the front. Starting next turn
i can hit the german frontline by more than 100 red planes. And the germans
next airfield is Baku.....
In my eyes one of the bigger mistakes George made during this game.

[TheArchduke]

Very interesting. Well suffice to say that I do not see how the germans can rebound now..

[george1972]

Germany, Turn 50, February 27, 1944

In the space of three months following a series of successful counter-attacks that stabilized the Eastern Front, the situation starts falling apart. In the past, I managed to counter a Russian success in one area by concentrating forces in another, forcing Seille to divert reinforcements away to plug the hole in the line, usually at great cost to his forces.

But now no such opportunity exists. Despite setbacks, none of his army groups was ever seriously threatened, and while he held in the North and on the Donetz, his second Baku Front managed to outgrow the Romanians.

Now all German Army Groups are faced by stronger opponents, who are well equipped and supported by artillery and air assets. With a solid lead in production the Russians can easily afford the somewhat higher losses they take each turn, but the Wehrmacht cannot.

[george1972]

In the North, I close in on Riga which is poorly defended, but the huge mass of Russian forces arrayed between Minsk and the Dvina river are a very real and serious threat.

[george1972]

In the South I'm in trouble. Despite getting the bulk of reinforcements, my forces are spread out, without air cover and especially AG South consists mostly of raw recruits. With the Russian offensive starting to roll towards Baku and Rostov, I'm completely out of position for an effective defense.

[Grymme]

Maybe this AAR deserves a sticky...

[seille]

Russian turn 50.

As usual the production overview first:

[seille]

The North.

With some fresh troops in the back i attacked a lot this turn and caused
high losses at the german side. We have to keep the pressure high
to force Germany either to send reenforcements to his northen forces
or take his armies back.

[seille]

The South.

We planned wonderful things this turn.
The commanders of the southern air force had the order to attack the
romanian frontline which was very close the last turn. I wanted to destroy
their attack weapons and their trucks.
BUT: The romanians moved back a lot and in the end out of the range of my planes.

Only one hex with three units inside was still in range. A invitation for my 100+planes......
Did i hit the HQ or artillery i hoped for ?

[Joshuatree]

100 planes "out of the blue" destroying his HQ... what a disaster.

[seille]

Yes, a disaster for George. I not only killed some material in this hex, i also killed high end staff support.
They had a experience of about 85. Beside this i liked to see the destroyed trucks since this will
reduce George´s ability for strategic transfer his artillery after firing.

For me this attack was like a jackpot. Had a similar one two years ago in Leningrad area hitting
AG North HQ. And it´s the same fighter unit again here.....

[TheArchduke]

Does the scenario have an end date? I think so, because George´s job should have been to drag out this war by now.

[george1972]

This attack was pretty devastating, I hadn't counted on those planes being moved to this front, instead I expected them to be thrown against AG South. A serious miscalculation on my part. The overall effect of this, is that Baku is doomed, and AG Romania with it.

[seille]

Yes, it has a end date/victory conditions.