Russia! Why not? (Morvael welcome)

[loki100]

thats an impressive collection of victories, you are keeping up pressure across the front and a set of nice new shiny TOEs to add more to your already impressive cvs.

How far do you think you can go before the autumn muds?

[morvael]

The goal was to cross Vistula and capture Warsaw. In the south - destruction of enemy forces retreating from the mountains and Budapest.

[morvael]

Turn 165 (August 10th, 1944)

Finally, the strategically important Odessa-Bucharest railway is repaired. Soon, transports will go all the way to the Hungarian border. Rumanian cavalry secures deployment zone, by taking Arad, while units of 3rd Ukrainian Front entrain in Rumania proper:

[morvael]

Germans push the Rumanian mountain division back from Cluj, but the city is soon retaken by a mixed Soviet-Rumanian battleforce, led by 13th Guards Tank Corps:

[morvael]

The enemy gives up Lvov without risking encirclement. The bridgehead around Hrubieszow is expanded and it is now 40 miles wide and 20 miles deep:

[morvael]

Heavy battles on the Warsaw front, which yield Biala Podlaska, Sokolow, Ostrow Mazowiecka, Ostroleka, Lomza, and Kolno nontheless. Two elite enemy formations are discovered in the region - to the old "friend" Grossdeutschland, the enemy high command added "Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Goering". What a ridiculous name... To the north of main area of operations, hostile forces pull back behind Narew river:

[morvael]

In a surprising move, the Wehrmacht withdraws many miles, surrendering a lot of territory without a fight. No doubt it happens because Adolf is busy moving his office from Rastenburg to Berlin, and for a while his generals do as they please:

[morvael]

7th and 8th Tank Armies are declared operational. The first one gets 6th, 8th and 16th Guards Tank Corps and is sent to Rumania. The 8th gets 9th, 11th and 15th Guards Tank Corps and is sent to Poland. STAVKA contemplates attaching independent artillery divisions to armies, 1 or 2 per front, to improve coordination between them and the rest of forces.

Soon the Red Army will enter the heartlands of Germany and Hungary and the enemy industry will suffer. There are armament factories in Koenigsberg, Elbing and Danzig. SdKfz-234/3 armored cars are assembled in Elbing (3/week), while Fw 190A-8 fighter-bombers in Danzig (12/week). Loss of these factories will hurt the enemy.

Secret emissaries are sent to negotiate Slovakian withdrawal from the war.

4th Air Army commander, Fyodor Michudin, is promoted to the rank of General-Polkovnik. 49th Army commander Dmitry Gusev is dismissed and replaced by Yakov Kreizer.

Strength:
men: 10 908 133 vs 4 076 684
guns: 190 254 vs 40 810
AFVs: 14 559 vs 6 691
aircraft: 21 424 vs 1 613

Trucks:
in units: 286 983 / 286 983 (100.00%)
in the pool: 255 097 / 199 410 (127.93%)
in repair: 100 660

Losses:
killed: 23 436 vs 13 093
captured: 114 vs 217
disabled: -5 302 vs -1 173
guns: 339 vs 609
AFVs: 1 349 vs 143
aircraft: 112 vs 83

Including:
in combat: 29 vs 57
from AA: 23 vs 0
on the ground: 0 vs 12
operational: 60 vs 14

[wadortch]

Hello Morvael.

How do you manage your vehicle pool to keep your truck numbers so high?

In my last campaign game as the Soviets, I was slowed down continually due to low available vs needed numbers of trucks.

[morvael]

I too had big truck problems (and will have them again once summer will end). Partially they were due to game bugs (fixed in 1.7.12). But I have to restrain myself when it comes to the number of motorized units fielded and air force size (20% in reserve, no transports deployed, growth blocked).

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: morvael

Heavy battles on the Warsaw front, which yield Biala Podlaska, Sokolow, Ostrow Mazowiecka, Ostroleka, Lomza, and Kolno nontheless. Two elite enemy formations are discovered in the region - to the old "friend" Grossdeutschland, the enemy high command added "Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Goering". What a ridiculous name... To the north of main area of operations, hostile forces pull back behind Narew river:

so how strong is your old friend GD these days?

[morvael]

As can be seen from battle counter the fight for some hexes is not easy, but I am persistent. GD is CV 23, HG is CV 17.

[morvael]

Turn 166 (August 17th, 1944)

3rd Ukrainian Front redeployment is quick and efficient. Next week an offensive will begin, its target Oradea:

[morvael]

German forces evacuate towards the Hungarian plains successfully, at the cost of leaving one allied brigade as a forlorn hope. But soon the pressure from the south will start to build and perhaps they will have to withdraw quickly as far as the Tisa river line:

[morvael]

Red Army advances slowly through southern Poland. Partially because of heavy resistance offered by the enemy, partially to wait for the railways to catch up. In some cases they are about 200 miles to the rear and it affects supply levels and denies air cover:

[morvael]

Two German infantry divisions encircled in Siedlce. No doubt the ring will not hold, as Grossdeutschland is close and will come to the rescue. Advance guard of the Red Army is nearing Parczew, Minsk Mazowiecki and Wyszkow. Heavy combat ensues on the Narew river line:

[morvael]

Divisions of 4th Shock Army and 7th Independent Army enter Hitler's bunker complex near Rastenburg. Nearby Lotzen with its Boyen fortress is also captured:

[morvael]

Slovakia surrenders, Hungary is now the last ally of the Reich.

One of Adolf's Wunderwaffen makes its appearance on the Eastern Front: Me-262 jet fighter, codename "Swallow". But it's not invincible, as one is downed somewhere over Prussia and the remains recovered and sent to Moscow for research. In small numbers they will not turn the tide of the war. No doubt, it's a bitter pill for Goering to swallow...

7th Guards Army commander, Andrei Grechko, is promoted to the rank of General-Armii. 51st Army commander, Vsevolod Yakovlev, is promoted to the rank of General-Polkovnik. 17th Air Army commander, Sergei Khudyakov, is promoted to the rank of General-Polkovnik. 5th Guards Army commander, Pavel Artemev, improves his initiative (5). 49th Army commander, Yakov Kreizer, is dismissed and replaced by Mikhail Shumilov. 39th Army is renamed 7th Guards Army.

Strength:
men: 10 920 849 vs 4 060 488
guns: 191 545 vs 40 685
AFVs: 13 863 vs 6 616
aircraft: 21 456 vs 1 559

Trucks:
in units: 283 414 / 283 375 (100.01%)
in the pool: 262 489 / 199 713 (131.43%)
in repair: 101 928

Losses:
killed: 29 736 vs 17 219
captured: 536 vs 239
disabled: 1 867 vs 2 398
guns: 703 vs 762
AFVs: 986 vs 167
aircraft: 190 vs 131

Including:
in combat: 97 vs 66
from AA: 42 vs 25
on the ground: 0 vs 9
operational: 51 vs 31

[swkuh]

BTW, any help to explain what is a "Polkovnik?" Something bigger than a corps but smaller than an army, maybe. Or, is it a term like Mayor as in General-Major? Comparative German/USA/Brit ranks?

[morvael]

"Polk" means regiment. "Polkovnik" means colonel. General-Polkovnik = Colonel General.
Like German Generaloberst. Not every army has such rank equivalent, it's one of the top ones, below (field)marshalls.