Stalin's in the gulag, I'm in charge! II - vs 2ndACR (Axis)

[randallw]

Cav corps also have tanks in 'em.....it's like having slow tank corps, but months before tank corps.  Cav corps won't be easy to counter-attack during the blizzard unless something like a panzer corps jumps out of a city to hit them.

[Reconvet]

Another advantage:

Soviet Corps use up 4 command points instead of 6 cp of 3 separate divisions.

So by forming corps you can pack some more punch into shock armies and ease off some pressure on your command structure when fronts and STAVKA start to get overloaded.

[TulliusDetritus]

[center]Turn 20[/center]
[center]30 october 1941[/center]

Turn 18 – 2ndACR email:
“Mud, danged mud. I see you advancing , shame on you.”

My reply:
“Yes, some of my hordes are advancing. I hope you don't mind ”

Turn 19 – 2ndACR email:
“Yikes, amazing how a horde can appear from no where that fast. This is no small advance.”

My reply:
“Not so amazing That's a very important thing you have to keep in mind when you face the Soviets. You can easily send in one turn between 20 and 30 units to x place (by train).”

Turn 20 – 2ndACR email:
“Always knew about the serious rail, but damn, one day nothing the next a horde on the attack [:D] I still say rail needs some work, no way anyone can do that in real life. There needs to be a 1 turn delay from movement to getting off train to attacking. Oh well, I knew it was really risky having that extremely thin line there.”

Whatever [8D] The two German divisions are now in ONE hex... Either I attack them to soften them or I wait one more turn. By the way, next turn is mud or snow (7 november)? [&:]

[TulliusDetritus]

Definitely I will be creating Cavalry Corps. Thanks Randall and Reconvet [:)]

[TulliusDetritus]

Well, except Operation "Watch out! Monsters Under Your Bed!", nothing is really happening. In the north, my recon planes showed the enemy panzers might be going to their winter quarters, I suspect. Possibly around Pskov.

[TulliusDetritus]

I keep reorganizing the fronts. Oops, looks like I forgot to add one army (the 13) in the Western Front (there are three and I said I would be using four per front). Maybe I will change this in about 4 or 5 turns.

[TulliusDetritus]

The Bryansk Front. I will have to bring like 10 or 15 Stavka rifle divisions here [8D]

[TulliusDetritus]

I have attacked the surrounded German divisions but with few units: HELD [:(] I needed to bring fresh READY divisions (some of the surrounding units were unready) to finish them (I hope!! ) on next turn. I will possibly put Vatutin or some other very good commander in charge of the army that will be leading the attack (the 12).

And the German Motorized Division might escape... or maybe not... we will see.

Oh, I stop the infiltration. I don't want his forces to pocket the infiltrators during the snow. My objective has ALWAYS been these 2 Infantry divisions. I will be more than happy if I manage to kill them [:)]

[TulliusDetritus]

And now first rudimentary ideas about the blizzard offensive.

I will do just like in the summer. I will imitate the Soviet Strategy [8D] In the real war, the main blow was against the powerful forces that threatened Moscow.

The capital is not really threatened on my game but I will push them back (Kaluga, Orel areas). Just in case.

And there's of course Leningrad. Same thing. I don't want enemy forces near my second prioritary objective.

And finally the south. I might liberate some industrial and manpower centers (the Soviets did that on 1944). But of course this is tank country and the Germans might easily [?] recapture this place in the 1942 offensive (if there is one that is)...

So in theory that's where I should be concentrating my forces.

[Mynok]

You have certainly raised the carpet defense to new levels. I must try some things to see how they can best be broken. Every Soviet and his babushka are going to be using this in the future I suspect.

[TulliusDetritus]

Hmm, no, Mynok [:)] Sabre and PDH said the carpet defence can be broken in ONE turn. Just because 2ndACR -and possibly many players- doesn't know how to defeat it (yet) this does not mean it is a sophisticated defence [8D]

Sabre, MUCH more experienced than me (a mere noob) said you need various defensive lines to really slow a competent German player down.

And it makes sense. Think about the mega hordes I'm using in these carpets... IF this carpet can be defeated in ONE turn (and as I have said both Sabre and PDH said so) then this means one thing: you are lost. Because all the eggs are in one basket. There's basically nothing behind the carpet.

Which means I have to learn this defensive technique. And presto [8D]

Well, I still think a carpet defence can be very useful here and there. A last stand for example, like in Leningrad on my game.

[cpt flam]

you'd better know that liberating a city
it will have 100 damage & repair by 1 a turn (at 1st glance)[&:]
quite a long run before becoming operationnal

[karonagames]

Question answered in the Kryptonite thread.

[Encircled]

I really want to know how he's kept his army with such high numbers, and yet still managed to counter attack pretty much every chance he gets?

What is the secret, Tullius?

[TulliusDetritus]

ORIGINAL: Encircled

I really want to know how he's kept his army with such high numbers, and yet still managed to counter attack pretty much every chance he gets?

What is the secret, Tullius?

Hmm, not sure there's some secret [:)] It's very simple. I think that it's all about concentrating my forces. This is by the way one of the most basic principles of war. In a nuclear era war this is obviously a suicide [:D] but in WW2 it's still perhaps rule #1 [8D] In other words, I want to hit hard, with overwhelming forces. Same thing when I defend.

I have a big army simply because I haven't allowed my opponent to destroy it. That is my objective #3 (after Moscow and Leningrad, in that order).

EDIT: and don't forget that when you see I'm very strong in x place, I'm very weak in y and z places. The key? You have to know where you NEED to be stong and where you can afford to be weak [:)]

EDIT 2: and everything I did is on this AAR.

[TulliusDetritus]

Encircled, now the Red Army has 5,2 million soldiers [8D] But the fact that I concentrate my forces may create this illusion: that I have lots of hordes (when you see this concentration that is). That might explain why you seem to be "surprised".

Anyway, having 5 million men just before the blizzard has to be bad news for my opponent, if I remember correctly [:D]

[TulliusDetritus]

Ok, I massively attacked the two German divisions but they held LOL!

And Vatutin and Tolbukhin had been appointed as bosses of the two armies that were attacking [:)] And Zhukov had been appointed as Boss-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front!

Morale of the story?

I should start a UTTER MADNESS thread full of vitriol!

Nah... when they said the CV is divided by 8 during the mud... they were not kidding [:D]

The good thing is that next turn is snow. Yes, this means the bulldog (the Tom & Jerry analogy that is) will not be tied anymore... and he should be chasing Tom (that is me) [:D] But maybe I will have that extra turn that might definitely kill (or NOT) these brave German soldiers.

[cookie monster]

Stupid eh! I bet they were outnumbered 10-1 and all.

[TulliusDetritus]

The Motorized division has been totally surrounded. I only attacked with 2 units (no MPs left) to sort of soften them. They obviously held.

[Klydon]

Probably got some fellow by the name of Hermann Custer running things in that pocket or something.. [:D]

I wonder if he has enough forces nearby left to be able to beat the Russians back where he can get to those guys or has just written them off.