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With 7 rounds to go, the Soviet resistance began to peter out. The rapid advance towards Izyum began in ernest. I reached it with just 1 round to spare, netting me 25 PPs. I realized that this was just 1 PP less than I'd get if I just let my cities produce PPs. So I shifted some of the production towards Supplies. At the beginning of the Scenario, I had produced solely Supplies. The reason being, that I was unsure if I would get cut off from the supply point. When that seemed secure I produced PPs. I now have 277 PPs, and some 60.000 supplies. But winning the scenario had its cost. As can be seen in the picture below. Oh, and the prize was in this case that the Soviets did not get 100 PPs to improve their situation.

ORIGINAL: ernieschwitz

I decided to go with the Cavalry. Two divisions, or 4 regiments, to a cost of 22 PPs in total. I still have 28 PPs left, but I will save them for a rainy day. I did decide to improve the cavalry formations a little. I added a mortar section to each. I hope that is going to make them a bit more offensive. At the moment they look very defensive in nature.

Here is a picture of a Cavalry regiment.

Hey, don't that cavalry regiment need any Horse subunits to carry machine guns & AT rifles and pull the bigger guns? Or have you modded cavalry to have cargo capacity?

Hey, don't that cavalry regiment need any Horse subunits to carry machine guns & AT rifles and pull the bigger guns? Or have you modded cavalry to have cargo capacity?

I modded the Cavalry, to be able to carry, yes.

They still can't carry the biggest of guns. Each one carries one weight unit. I figured it was ok, as Cavalry is really not that good, but sometimes, like I showed in the above can be needed.

I went into the Intermezzo scenario, meant for reinforcing and upgrading units, with 60.000 Supplies as reported in the above. I have upgraded everything now, save a few Infantry II that are protecting My HQs and Artillery, so they rarely come in combat. I know that the Stalingrad (2 part) scenario will be tough. Among the things that won't be available in abundance in the second one, will be supplies. So I don't mind terribly that I have them, but.. I could have used the PPs I guess. More PPs more troops!

I forgot to upgrade the Staff last time, I think it might be the single most important thing to upgrade. So here is a look at that happening

I notice that replacing lost engineers is not in the non-unit purchasable stuff in my version. Can you add it if you haven't already.

ORIGINAL: LarryBurstyn

I notice that replacing lost engineers is not in the non-unit purchasable stuff in my version. Can you add it if you haven't already.

I could add it, but you can easily get extra engineers by using the High level formation for them. You also get some trucks with them. I noticed you can never have too many trucks. It doesn't get much cheaper at 13 PPs either.

A lot of this intermezzo was concerned with rebuilding the forces I had.

After taking inventory (merging units until I had some that I thought could go for real units), I came up with the following. I was down to having the following per Panzer Corps: 2 Panzer Regiments, 1 Light Panzer Regiment and 3 Motorized Infantry.

I also took inventory of the Infantry. There I had 36 Regiments and 2 Hungarian Light Regiments. I reckoned I needed something like 1 or 2 Infantry Regiments more for each Corps. The total loss was 7 Infantry Regiments.

But before doing any of that, I needed to address my large losses of Figthers. I couldn't expect to be able to push forwards, without a Luftwaffe. So I bought quite a few Fighters (BF-109Gs) and noted that I could have gotten some fighter bombers if I had wanted to. I also bought some planes to replace my lost Dive bombers. I got Hs-129s. Excellent Tank busters. Not exactly Dive bombers though.

To rebuild each of my Panzer Corps, I bought a Panzer Grenadiers Division, and a Panzer Grenadiers SPG Regiment. I split those up in the following way. I put the Artillery I got into a pool, that I planned on using later to beef up my infantry's artillery. Each Panzer Corps then got the rest split up between them. So 1 Panzer Grenadiers Regiment and 1 Panzer Grenadiers SPG Regiment. Especially interested in how the latter perform.

WIth those primary needs covered, I then went to the trust infantry. I bought 1 Infantry Division, and 1 Infantry Regiment, put the artillery in the pool from before, and gave Infantry regiments to those that needed them most. Then I took a spare artillery regiment, that V corps had been given earlier in the campaign and took its men from it and the ones I pooled from before. These I made into a spare regiment, that I had just enough troops for, and used those as a security force for my 6th Army HQ.

The Artillery I divided up so that each Infantry Corps had a heavier regiment, and two less heavy ones, that they could now depend on. I did this for all the Infantry Corps, except for the V, because they already had the Hungarian Light Infantry's artillery.

Here is a look at I Panzer Corps structure now.

Well, time to start up the 8th Scenario: Case Blue!

My mission: To clear the Don Bend.

Intel: The enemy is in retreat and disorganized.

So, do I just push ahead at full speed, or try and organize my forces first and then push ahead. Maybe a combination?

Here are the orders that are presented to you as the scenario begins.

Always nice with a plan.

So I designed one. Here is the "legend" of the map below:

The grey box is where the units that have been deployed are. I've decided to try and make the fronts as the Green, Blue, White, Orange and Black lines show. Each of the colors corresponds to the HQ that is commanding them. This means that the Green one is the one containing my Cavalry. They will try and scout out the northern areas of the map, while the rest of the Infantry is moving forwards.

This may be a great time to talk about the I Pz Corps, and II Pz Corps. They are located somewhere behind the lines in the approximate positions shown on the map, by the circles of that color, where their name is in. The I Pz Corps will advance, I hope, along the Grey dotted line (Rowenku and then Chertkovo). The mission for the II Pz Corps is to move swiftly to Starobelsk, and then Belovodsk, and finally Millerowo, which I think I will try and by pass with both the I & II Pz Corps.

The lines will move forward slightly askew, as the Black HQ (V Corps) moves down the rail line leading to Voroshilovsk. This rail line is interesting. Every four turns a Division of Romanian Infantry will show up along it, near the frontline, to reinforce the troops advancing there.

The Grey Circles around Izyum and Valyuki represent that these cities provide PPs or Supplies, which ever I choose to produce. The Purple circles around Millerowo, Voroshilovgrad, Surovikino and Serfimowitsj, represent cities that produce as well, but which are Soviet held, and that I think I will take somewhere down the line. The Red circles around Kalach and Stalingrad, represent that I probably won't be able to take them, before the Scenario ends. The Red Box, indicates where all the victory points are located.

Easy, Right? I plan to update this map around the time I reach Millerowo. I hope.

Oh, and I forgot to mention: I have 20 turns to achieve Victory.

Turn 5, July 6th 1942.

Contact with the Soviets happened around turn 3. Skirmishes have been light, and have happened mainly on the Southern part of the map. Especially around Lisitchansk, where several smaller encirclements happened. There has been a battle at Starobelsk too. Here I Corps, failed to take the bridges and the city center.

At Rowenku in the north, I Panzer Corps surprised a few planes on the ground, that were destroyed. Resistance to the north has been mostly non-existant, so the I Panzer Corps is running ahead as fast as it can. I hope to surround Millerowo with this move.

So far my losses have been 1400 Infantry, 50 MGs and 50 AT Rifles. Soviet losses have been much higher...

Here is a look at the map, as I head into the turn.

July 12th (Turn 8)

Thought it might be time for a close-up of what happens in the South.

Here V Corps is fighting some skirmishes between forces trying to get into the rear, and other trying to hold back the advance. Two regiments were killed off in the rear, by among others Romanians that arrived by train. Romanian units are not exactly strong, but they are nice to have...

At Debalzewo, planes were caught on the ground, and destroyed, by the advancing infantry (2nd Infantry Regiment). North of Worolishovsk a battle was fought in the mountains resulting in the destruction of a Rifle Regiment and a Tank Brigade. Losses were higher than normal, since fighting in hills/low mountains is dangerous buisness. Still 1st and 4th Infantry Regiments were able to advance.

Turn 8 (still), overview, and plans:

The 3 Infantry Corps' in the center are advancing at a brisk pace. The Northern most Infantry Corps, the one with Cavalry (III Corps, Green HQ), had some trouble containing the nothern-most flank and I had to pull the Cavalry back, to contain what could have been a Soviet flanking movement. It is pretty much contained now. III Corps has a huge front. Some places there is a distance of 1 hex between each Regiment.

The I Panzer Corps has finally met some opposition, but, instead of engaging it, I am going to head south to Nishne-Astashoff. I will build a road as I do so, with the Engineers attached to the Corps. They might still need to fight some skirmishes to get there though.

In the center II Panzer Corps is heading towards Millerowo, and I will try and move south of the City with them, through the low mountains that are in this area. That should lead to an isolation of the troops there, and they will be destroyed when my Infantry catches up.

Turn 13, 22nd July 1942. 8 turns to go before the Scenario is over (I do get to play this turn, and turn 20, if it should take that long).

Situation report:

Millerowo has fallen. It took some casualties. A breakout from a surrounded Tank Brigade and Motorized Brigade, launched at two relatively inexperienced formations, freed the encircled Soviets, and smashed the two regiments. I had to drain that the 15th Regiment (one of the beaten ones) of most of its men and equipment. Left it with 1000 Infantry and 50 MGs. Not enough to really do anything to be a speed-bump, but it is to the rear, and hopefully nothing like that will happen. The other Regiment (17th) I got to about 2/3s strength. So enough to provide a stop-gap defensive unit. Both these units are under the command of I Corps (white HQ).

Another Regiment (this one under the command of IV corps, blue HQ) got hit with very heavy bombardment, and lost quite a few men too. The Soviets had decided to pick on it specifically and shot most of, if not all of their artillery in range at it. The results were quite impressive, and the unit had to be withdrawn from combat.

One of the Romanian regiments got hit pretty badly too, losing 1/3 of its men and equipment. I imagine I will distribute the surviving troops and equipment among other Romanian formations.

On a whim I decided to move the II Panzer Army around Millerowo, to the North, completely avoiding the bad terrain that the mountains would be. They are now fighting in the Northern part of the map, near the Victory locations. Two units, 1 Motorized Infantry and 1 Panzer Regiment, are just within contact of Perelasovskiy. Other units are near Serafimowitsj (which is not a victory location, but a Production center).

I Panzer Corps is moving southwards from Nishne-Astashoff. They encountered some resistance getting there, and some resistance once they passed it. Soon they will turn Eastwards, and try and get the within the Victory area that way. I expect to Bridge a river in the process.

I Corps (mentioned earlier) finds itself behind the lines at present, but will move in between the IV Corps (Blue HQ) and III Corps (Green HQ). Speaking of III Corps, they are now guarding the passages across the Donetsk in the North, preventing flanking movements, at the three of these that exist. The rest of III Corps is covering I Panzer Corps eastern flank.

Here is a picture of the situation:

July 30th, round 17.

Victory is at hand. The ending wasn't pretty, but it's the result that counts. Mobile forces don't like not being able to move around, and that is what happened. They were tied down, while waiting for the Infantry to come and secure the flanks. This resulted in some losses as the Soviet forces, of course, wouldn't just let them sit there, and entrench, while picking off opportune targets.

This, the last turn before Victory, I did a final lunge, where I just tried to catch all of the VPs if I could. Luckily I could. I am not sure I'd want to be in the positions (shown below on the map) that I was in for the next turn. I certainly would have taken a lot of losses.

Unlike some of the previous scenarios in the campaign, there were some interesting air battles in this one. Probably due to the fact that I did capture quite a few planes on the ground. The Hs 129s got up to 70 XP. I hope they really come in handy. I did lose 55 109s, which is not as fun.

On to the rest, reinforcement and replacement scenario, the Intermezzo.

I decided to make an image that better showed the end state. I cobbled it together from 5 different images, since my screen grabber that I make panoramic shots with doesn't like ATG when in completely zoomed in mode. I shrunk the size a little, and then saved it as a jpg, with a size less than 500kb, which is the limit.

This is the best I could do, in other words. Feel free to study it at your leisure.