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Roughs and urban hexes are also your friends.

Here's the T6 Soviet moves. I pulled back almost everywhere. Also, I did a boat-load of bombing of Axis units.

Here's T6 Soviet production:

Here's the losses from the Axis half of T7:

Here's the Axis T7 moves:

I just this turn noticed this guy. Either he spawned there or he's a straggler that I never noticed before. Anybody want the saved game for this situation?

Mountain divisions do not spawn; that's a straggler you forgot about and will die soon.

This should be the Soviet T7 moves:

Southwest Front HQ looks overloaded.

You mentioned you moved some HI out- but as I understand it really counts for nothing so why rail it out?

I don't understand why you willingly walked out of the swamps south of lake Ilmen.  It's like you're willingly abandoning the forts god gave you!

The combat value of each defending unit is modified by multiplying the CV by one plus the total fortification defense modifier, which is the sum of the terrain modifier and the fort level. For example, a defending unit in a swamp (terrain modifier of two) with a fortification level of zero would have its CV multiplied by three (1+2+0) during combat. 
Force him to pay MP to fight, and pay to move into the swamp.  Just forcing him to commit more than one division to the attack a victory in the context of '41 for the Soviet.

The lower Dnepr is bare.  In my view you should be screening on the west side and digging in on the east.
Man the hills and forests around Cherkassy, and start preparing successive lines behind the rivers south of it to increase the MP cost to get to the D-Z line.
Also most of the cities don't have a garrison yet.  I think a against a human you'd be asking for a hole to be punched in that line and several cities to be taken at essentially no cost.  The AI seems to play a little more timid to avoid losing units to encirclement (I'm not sure how/if it is (or can be) coded to understand the severe constraints ZOC places on Soviets in '41), but I'd practice good habits against it regardless.
Also worthwhile in my view to build forts on the Neva river line so you can get that defensive value up east of Leningrad and prevent cutting of the supply lines.  I used some other tricks to keep my opponent from getting there in time, but I wish I'd built those forts a lot sooner to get the fortification level up.  With a good general, reserves, and the heavy penalty of crossing a major river, you might be able to get some critical delay to keep pressure off Moscow.

ORIGINAL: randallw
Southwest Front HQ looks overloaded.

It is.

Here's the losses from the Axis half of turn 8:

ORIGINAL: AFV
You mentioned you moved some HI out- but as I understand it really counts for nothing so why rail it out?

I had a brain fart.

This should be the Axis moves from T8: The Axis forces finally took Riga and lookie lookie the AI made a pocket. I guess I defended
too far foward this time.

Leaving bad tank divisions forward means they are liable to rout ( which can mean disbanding with an 11 week delay ) or shatter. This will slow down the process of collecting together good tank corps.

Here's a close-up of that "pocket". I thought it was a pocket but on closer inspection I find that it's an almost-pocket. It's a pocket that's
forming even as we speak. I bunched up all the guys that appear trapped and made them harder to just "run over" and hopefully they
will buy me some time to finish railing in the troops and start digging on the west side of Moscow.

ORIGINAL: randallw
Leaving bad tank divisions forward means they are liable to rout ( which can mean disbanding with an 11 week delay ) or shatter. This will slow down the process of collecting together good tank corps.

D'oh. Good catch my friend. All this good advice is making me a better player, hopefully. Keep it coming......please. I'll move the tanks to the rear so they will be in better shape when they finally get a chance to convert to corps.

[:-]
You failed to defend in depth [&:]
You failed to defend the forests and swamps [:@]
You failed to setup a line behind the Dnepr [X(]
You failed to cover HQs and airbases that were way to close the line for this time frame [8|]
You clustered your units for easy pocketing



"Thanks for all the fuel and supplies!"
Sincerely,
H. Guderian
Panzergruppe 2


Comrade Stalin has asked for you to report personally to the Kremlin and explain these failures.

The red circles are where you're asking your men to defend at 1/2 to 1/3rd the strength they could fight at from compared to the green circles.
There is NO reason to not have men in the cities after the 3rd or 4th week of the war.
By 'defense in depth' I don't mean two lines spaced by 10 miles.
I mean more like 60 miles of units spaced in the best terrain available to force the Germans to absorb EZOC costs when they move to burn up their MP.  Terrain has the added advantage of hiding your strength (and sometimes even units!) more effectively than sitting out in the grass.
The panzers are going to go where they want at this stage in the war.
Stop worrying about straight, pretty, contiguous lines that put your men out in the open and get your men under cover.
Their mothers will thank you.

This should be the Soviet moves from T8: I did a lot of pulling back and shifting of troops from one front to another. The Bryansk
front is now active and I've employed it. That and the Reserve front.

ORIGINAL: Seminole

Stop worrying about straight, pretty, contiguous lines that put your men out in the open and get your men under cover.
Their mothers will thank you.

The annotated picture you have provided has turned the lights on in my head. NOW I'm starting to get it. Thank you ever so much.
I'm going to try to do this from now on.