A Clash of Titans, Xhoel (Axis) vs Bitburger (Soviet)

[xhoel]

T64, 3rd of September- 10th of September 1942

Finnish front

The Soviets continue pulling back in the north and shortening their frontline, thus allowing them to release more reserves for the defense of Moscow.

Finnish forces have been ordered to push forward and make contact with the enemy. The difficult terrain has slowed the advance down considerably.

2 Finnish Infantry divisions (2nd and 18th) have been pulled back for R&R. Their morale is low and we can clearly see that our allies are very unmotivated to push further into the Soviet Union. A couple of weeks of rest back in Finland should bring the divisions morale up.

Finnish positions before and after:





The Finnish IDs that were pulled back:





Notice the very low morale.

AGN

The Soviets attacked the southern thrust as expected causing heavy losses to the 1st Panzer division, which lost around 750 men and 22 precious AFVs. A second attack aimed at pushing us back from the ground taken last week failed, as the 1st and 7th Panzer Divisions held their ground.

Meanwhile it has become clear that the enemy has pulled south of the Volga and is protecting the crossing points heavily.

The 3rd Panzer Army as well as the 9th Army have been ordered to enlarge the southern corridor and have succeeded in doing so. Heavy casualties were taken in all the battles, as the Soviets are fighting ferociously to defend every meter. In one battle alone we lost 724 KIAs (and this was a successful attack!). However multiple Soviet formations were routed and the Soviet air groups in the area also sustained losses during the air battles.

The commitment of armored reserves in the southern punch means that the sector north of the Volga has been stripped of units and our troops there will probably be targets of Soviet counterattacks. The single bridgehead west of Yaroslavl held by the 9th Guard Rifle Corps remains and could become problematic in the coming weeks.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after German moves:



Circled in yellow is the Soviet Bridgehead being held by the 9th Guard Rifle Corps.

Losses from the battle shown above:

[xhoel]

AGC

The enemy managed to push back our forward forces after a powerful counterattack. The arrival of the 8th SS Cavalry division from the reserve unfortunately failed to stop the heavy attack.

Considering the Soviet positions, AGC decided to try a daring encircling plan which involved every unit present in the sector. After heavy fighting our armored forces managed to encircle the whole 2nd Schock Army (5 Guard Cavalry Corps+ multiple Separate Tank Battalions), as well as elements of the 37th Army (2 Guard Rifle Corps, as well as 2 Rifle Divisions,1 of which is a guard one).

If the encirclement holds, the Soviet positions in the sector will be severely weakened. To make up for it we expect the enemy to pull Cavalry Corps deployed further north, thus weakening their defensive lines there.

Heavy air support has been allocated for next week in order to stem the Soviet counterattacks. The pocket needs to hold!!!

In front of Moscow our forces have pushed back some of the Soviet bridgheads and recovered some ground. No major combat is reported. The sectors of Penza and the 2nd Hungarian Army remain quiet and nothing of value is reported from there.

Kovrov sector start of the week:



Notice the close odds. The reserve activation of the 8th SS Cavalry division was not enough to prevent a retreat.

Kovrov sector after German moves:



Moscow sector before and after:





Penza sector before and after:





2nd Hungarian Army sector after Axis moves:

[xhoel]

AGS

The Soviets utilized their well known tactic of "hugging" our forces thus hindering supply and troop movement with some success. The deployment of the Soviet forces leaves no doubt that the enemy is simply trying to buy time and attempting to slow us down. This has been executed quite well as key positions are being held by very strong forces while unimportant sectors have been left to “shell” formations.

After receiving its orders, the 1st Panzer Army together with the help of other infantry elements moved north enciricling 5 Rifle divisions (of which 1 is guards and 2 are shells). 2 Soviet Rifle Brigades were shattered in the fighting. Elements of the 6th Army have secured a bridgehead over the Don at Kalach while the 1st Panzer Army has taken positions on the banks of the river Karpovka (the last natural obstacle south of Stalingrad)

Forward Axis forces have also reached the outskirts of southern Stalingrad. The forces in the city are very strong as south Stalingrad itself is being defended by the veteran 1st Guard Rifle Corps (fought at Sevastopol earlier during the summer). There is a heavy defensive belts in and around the city and it is clear that the Soviets will not give up the city without a fight.

Intelligence indicates that the Soviets have evacuated the industry from the city and trains carrying industrial equipment have been seen moving towards Chkalov and Izhevsk. The evacuation of the factories is welcomed news as it means that Soviet AFV output will drop for some time until the factories become operational again.

While a part of the 1st Panzer Army has pressed north towards Stalingrad the other part of it pushed north east making contact with Soviet forces on the Volga. Plans are to cross the river at Baskunchak thus enabling the encirclement of Stalingrad itself. The enemy has not moved heavy reinforcements in the sector yet but they will probably do so soon.

Stalingrad positions
Before:





After:



Evacuated factories:





Overview of Stalingrad before and after:





In the Voroshilovsk sector, the 17th Army made a daring move, capturing the city after a heavy battle and also breaking through Soviet defensive lines with the help of the Rumanian Cavalry Corps. The help of our Allies once again reveals how important they are to the war effort. 5 Rifle divisions and 3 Rifle Brigades have been trapped in the pocket. To prevent the Soviets from breaking it, V Fliegerkorps has been ordered to send air support to the sector. We hope we can keep the encirclement.

Before:



After:

[xhoel]

Casualties

Losses this week have been on the low side as there were no pockets to be liquidated. However heavy combat on all fronts means that KIA numbers are high on both sides, 13.763 for the Axis and 37.815 for the Soviets. Losses in AFVs remain high at 220.

In the air, the losses have been high as the LW was very active during the week. Of concern is the loss of 30 Transport planes. Replacements for the Ju 52/3m are scarce (we only receive 6 per week) and we only have around 70 planes in the pool.

[chaos45]

Looks like an excellent turn for the Germans well done.

[xhoel]

Hoping that the pocket holds. If it does, it will be a massive blow to the Soviet forces in the sector. Thanks!

[chaos45]

If that pocket at Moscow holds you will have dealt the Soviets a massive blow especially after destroying all those Guard Rifle Corps earlier.

It might hold but a lot will depend on the random roll from Leaders when the Soviets try to break in, as your men are probably a little tired from the push but the Soviets strength values dont look that high around you to attempt to break in.

So will require most likely some big soviet air strikes to weaken a hex and then to mass about 100 Soviet CV to beat one of those corner hexes. Based on the numbers you can see, it doesn't even look like the Soviets can mass 100 CV from outside the pocket period.

[king171717]

ORIGINAL: xhoel

Some clarifications:

Last turn was quite frustrating and I made several mistakes in the way I attacked and committed my armored reserves. Moreover I had a lot of bad rolls especially in those battles where I badly needed a win. The fact that my opponent has deployed masterfully in defense and is using cavalry and tanks in reserve mode didn't help either. Another thing that frustrated me had to do with the way the automatic SU movement works. Last turn I transferred 2 Pioneer Battalions to the 11th Army so that I could use them to attack the entrance of the Crimea. The AI however decided that another Corps needed them and transferred them there. The attack had to be continued without Pioneers and the result was a catastrophe.

So a word of advice to new players:
1) Don't play this game when angry or frustrated. If you see things are not going your way, stop, save the game and come back at it later when you are calm. Otherwise you are simply gonna hurt your progress.
2) Pay attention to ZOCs and the new +1 MP rule for failed attacks. Undertake hasty attacks only if you are sure that you can win the battle and it's not an important one.
3) Pay attention to have the right SUs ready for the job when needed.

Cheers,
Xhoel

Great advice bro!

Really enjoying your AAr and the maps are great!

[xhoel]

@chaos45: There is a good chance that the Soviets can break it but we will have to wait and see. Luck will play a big role.

@king171717: Oh you have a lot of reading to catch up to! Turn 9 was a long time ago Thanks for the kind words, glad to hear you are enjoying the AAR!

[king171717]

ORIGINAL: xhoel

@chaos45: There is a good chance that the Soviets can break it but we will have to wait and see. Luck will play a big role.

@king171717: Oh you have a lot of reading to catch up to! Turn 9 was a long time ago Thanks for the kind words, glad to hear you are enjoying the AAR!

I refer to AAR's for my multiplayer game to see what people do, i have read it all , Thanks for making the AAR!

[xhoel]

Glad to hear I could be of help. Stay tuned!

[Zemke]

I love this AAR, great job Xhoel doing the AAR, one of the best I have seen to date. I have been following this game from the start. Although I have to say, I am rooting for the Russians. Go Red Team!

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: Zemke

I love this AAR, great job Xhoel doing the AAR, one of the best I have seen to date. I have been following this game from the start. Although I have to say, I am rooting for the Russians. Go Red Team!

Thanks a lot for the kind words Zemke! Can't blame you for rooting for the Soviets. They are putting up a strong defense. Stay tuned for more!

[xhoel]

Enemy TOEs and evaluation of the formations facing the Axis forces at the start of September 1942.
Infantry:

Rifle Division:

The backbone of the Soviet Army remains the Rifle Division and its “elite” variation, the Guards Rifle division.
After the heavy losses taken during the late spring and during the early Summer, the Soviets changed the TOEs for the Rifle Divisions, reducing their size by about 1.600 men. To make up for the reduction in manpower, the STAVKA has decided to add more mortars and AT Guns, thus increasing divisional firepower.

The quality of these units varies from very poor (newly reformed units barely filled with manpower fighting a delaying battle in the fields south of Stalingrad), to high (for the strong and capable units defending the approaches to Moscow). NM for normal Rifle Divisions is now at 47 (September 42') and is raising steadily, a sign that the Soviets are slowly but surely improving the cohesion and training of their forces.

Detailed view of TOE changes:



Guard Rifle Division:

The Guards Rifle Division TOE has gone through the same changes and is the same as the standard rifle division (in TOE terms only) save for the fact that they have double the amount of SMG Squads. The combat performance of the Guard Rifle Divisions is really good as these are all formations that have proven their worth under fire. The unit cohesion, morale and training is high and this shows! The Soviets have made the smart decision to combine their precious Guard Rifle Divisions into the much more powerful Guard Rifle Corps (2 Guard Rifle Divisions and 1 Rifle Divison/Brigade can combine to form a Guards Rifle Corps) and to deploy them in the way of the main Axis advance routes. Because of that decision as well as the fact that a number of Guard Rifle Divisions were destroyed during the summer offensives, the Soviets barely have 10 Guard Rifle Divisions on the front. The NM of these units is at 57!

Detailed view of TOE changes:



Comparison of the 50mm AT Gun (German) vs the 45mm M37 (Soviet):




Rifle Brigade:

If the Rifle Divisions have shrunk in size, the more easy to manage Rifle Brigade have received a new TOE that gives them more staying power. The new TOE prescribes increased numbers of rifle squads, MG teams and AT rifle Squads and a big increase in firepower as mortars have been doubled. These units are good on the defense and can hold off even attacks from multiple divisions. Even when they retreat, they take few losses due to their small size, which makes it easier for them to pull back from a position. NM for Rifle Brigades is at 47 but the NM for the Naval Infantry Brigades (marines) is 50.



Guard Rifle Corps:

The biggest TOE change so far however has been that of the Guard Rifle Corps. These newly formed formations (first fielded in July) are the most formidable thing the Soviets can field and a quick look at their TOE change will clarify why that is the case.

Rifle Squad strength has been increased to a stunning 862, MG and AT Rifle teams have almost doubled while firepower has also been increased a lot with the addition of 30- 122mm Howitzers and an increase in number of Field and Infantry Guns. AT guns have been doubled. The Guard Rifle Corps fields a staggering 26.223 men at full strength. These units are very strong at counterattacking as well as at holding key positions. They are becoming a big problem for our advancing forces especially in the north. There are a total of around 10 Guard Rifle Corps in the field currently and their numbers are increasing at a rapid pace. NM is 57!





122mm Howitzers will add firepower to the Guard Rifle Corps.

[xhoel]

Mobile and Armored formations:
Guards Cavalry Corps.

The main counterattacking forces and the strongest mobile formations that the Soviets have so far, the Guards Cavalry Corps received a new TOE at the start of July that makes it even stronger, by increasing firepower and AA capabilities. The obsolete T-40 M1941 has been replaced by the modern T-70 M1942.

Each Guard Cavalry Corps is operating with the added support of 3 Separate Tank Battalions making them a more tank heavy formation having 138 Tanks at full strength. The stubbornness of these formations during the summer has kept our advances in check and they have earned the respect of the Landser and our commanders. Currently the Soviets are fielding 10 Guard Cavalry Corps, but 5 of them were encircled last week. If the encirclement holds, this will be a major blow for the Soviets, as the experience of these units is irreplaceable. NM for these formations is 57, but some of them have even higher morale due to the constant successful counterattacking that they have conducted during the summer.

Detailed TOE changes:





German tank crewmen investigate a destroyed T-70 M1942.



TOE of the tank battalions attached to Guard Cavalry Corps formations.

Tank Corps

The new TOE of the Soviet Tank Corps sees small fractional changes. The Heavy Tanks (KV-1) have been removed from the TOE while the numbers of T-60 tanks have increased to 63 and those of the T-34 to 99. Tank strength is now at 162 and is also augmented by the increase in number of the Ba-64 Armored Cars, which has risen to 27. Noticeable is the reduction in AA capabilities which leaves the Tank Corps almost defenseless against air attacks as well as the lack of proper artillery support even though there has been a small increase in mortars, AT guns as well as the addition of BM-13 (Katysha) rocket launchers.

The Soviet Tank Corps have seen little action so far, although they have been present in various counterattacks during the summer. Their ability to properly exploit rear areas however is severely hampered by the small infantry component as well as a lack of organic artillery and AA support. The new TOE is a vast improvement over the old one however. The main problem that these units are facing is a lack of experience due to the nature of this newly formed formations. Soviet tank brigades still have a long way to go before they properly learn how to operate together as 1 unit, namely a unified Tank Corps.

The Soviets have yet to raise the 1st Guard Tank Corps. National morale of these units is at 53.

[topeverest]

Well - that answers why my Guard Cavalry is underperforming...!

Can you summarize your tank unit compositions? how many armies, etc.?


Each Guard Cavalry Corps is operating with the added support of 3 Separate Tank Battalions making them a more tank heavy formation having 138 Tanks at full strength. The stubbornness of these formations during the summer has kept our advances in check and they have earned the respect of the Landser and our commanders. Currently the Soviets are fielding 10 Guard Cavalry Corps, but 5 of them were encircled last week. If the encirclement holds, this will be a major blow for the Soviets, as the experience of these units is irreplaceable. NM for these formations is 57, but some of them have even higher morale due to the constant successful counterattacking that they have conducted during the summer.

[M60A3TTS]

If you are expecting early guards tank corps, you should be managing wins for selected tank brigades during blizzard period.

[xhoel]

@topeverest: I am playing the Axis so I only have a rough view of what my opponent is using. What I can tell you is that the Tank and Guard Cavalry Corps are being organized under Shock Armies (under very good leaders) which gives them big bonuses in both movement (+1 Admin rating) and combat.

I currently see 8 Tank Corps on the field. Don't know how many more are in reserve. You could shoot Bitburger a PM if you want to. I'm sure he will gladly tell you the way he is organizing his tank armies.

@M60A3TTS: In my opponents defense, Bitburger did use tank brigades in successful attacks during the blizzard offensive but then left them on the front which made them vulnerable to counterattacks. So their wins get balanced by the losses taken from the German counter moves. Last time we talked he mentioned that unfortunately there are no Guard Tank Brigades/Corps yet.

[Telemecus]

ORIGINAL: xhoel
@M60A3TTS: In my opponents defense, Bitburger did use tank brigades in successful attacks during the blizzard offensive but then left them on the front which made them vulnerable to counterattacks. So their wins get balanced by the losses taken from the German counter moves. Last time we talked he mentioned that unfortunately there are no Guard Tank Brigades/Corps yet.

I am very curious if there is any definitive duide to farming guards tanks. I suspect M60A3TTS might know it.

I assumed the optimum was to leave lots of brigades in defence on a 3rd/4th line on reserve. By the rules of reserve activation they are more likely to reserve activate into a winning than losing battle and by the law of large numbers quite a few should be created.

An earlier post in these forums suggested they should only be used in the offence. Presumably when you can manual select only winning battles for the brigades to be in.

[M60A3TTS]

ORIGINAL: xhoel
@M60A3TTS: In my opponents defense, Bitburger did use tank brigades in successful attacks during the blizzard offensive but then left them on the front which made them vulnerable to counterattacks. So their wins get balanced by the losses taken from the German counter moves. Last time we talked he mentioned that unfortunately there are no Guard Tank Brigades/Corps yet.

A tank brigade with 12 wins and 10 losses has just as good a chance of making guards as one with twelve wins and no losses.