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Very nice! I think this is what you have to do.. keep destroying units and thinning him out on counters. Be interesting to see how many infantry corps he has. 

KALUGA OFFENSIVE

German OOB

Northern Pincer
4th Panzer Army (Herman Hoth)
-7 Panzer Divisions
-1 Mechanized Division
-5 Motorized Divisions

Southern Pincer
1st Panzer Army (Ewald von Kleist)
-10 Panzer divisions
-5 motorized divisions

Infantry Armies
3rd Panzer Army
4th Army
16th Army
2nd Panzer Army

Reserve
11th Army

Goal
In order to disrupt the Soviet winter offensive, it was suggested to OKH that Germany itself should launch a limited winter offensive. A plan was drafted and authorized begin october, and the rebuilding and massing of forces earmarked for the operation began in the greatest secrecy during the mud season.

The planned location of attack, the Kaluga salient, was chosen for various reasons:
1) Although an obvious location for a offensive even to the Soviets, it was hoped that the enemy wouldn't suspect an attack at this location at least until the summer. By eliminating this salient before our next summer campaign, we hope to remove this obvious axis of attack, forcing the Soviets to guess where we will strike in the future.

2)The Kaluga salient is roughly 70 miles from Moscow, hopefully forcing the Soviets to commit their reserves of their southern sector less they risk losing their capital.

3)The terrain is ideal to field test our new panzer armies. Should the concept of a fully motorized and mechanized army prove to be less ideal in practice then hoped, we can always reform our armies again in time for the summer.

In conjunction with this offensive, a smaller offensive will be launched a few weeks later in the Northern sector, where 18th Army will strike south from the Finnish border, hopefully forcing the Soviets to also reinforce that sector.

Plan
Northern pincer
Because of the greater level of defences employed by the Soviets on this side of the salient and the presence of several guard divisions near Moscow, the veteran 4th Panzer army has been tasked to function as the northern pincer. Theoretically having less panzer divisions then the southern pincer, they are tasked to advance just 30 miles towards Kaluga, and if possible cross the river Ugra towards the southern Pincer.

Southern pincer
Tasked with advancing at least 50 miles north in order to close off the salient, the newly formed 1st Panzer Army has been allocated 3 more panzer divisions then 4th Panzer Army. Although newly formed, they are under the command of veteran general Ewald von Kleist, and they should be able to handle the job. Their objective is to at least reach the small town of Peremyshl, if not further.

After the salient is closed
Depending of the overall tactical and strategic situation of the front, we will decide to advance either towards Moscow or Tula, or hold our lines and retreat our panzer armies. A close eye will also be kept on our panzers in order to prevent losing too much of our offensive strength.

Map

Chosen to spearhead the attack of 4th Panzer Army is XXXXVIII Pz Corps, containing the veteran divisions 24th Pz Div, 15th Mot Div and the Gross Deutschland Mot Div. The initial attacks goes well, and thanks the the tiger battalion attached to 24th Panzer division, 4th Panzer Army makes great progress. Although the outskirts of Kaluga are reached, it was decided to let the following infantry capture the town. Instead, following the original plan, Wiking SS Pz Gr div crosses the Ugra, awaiting the arrival of 1st Panzer Army.

Mechanical problems and trouble advancing through the snow slows the attack of 1st Panzer Army down. When the spearheads finally reach the first line of fortifications, poor coordination between the Panzers and their attached infantry leads to a failed assault. A second attempt is made, but once more the Soviets hold the line. This delays threatens the entire Kaluga offensive, and only the personal intervention of General von Kleist ensures a successful third assault. By now, the spearheads are worn down and the reserves must be committed to exploit the breakthrough. Although 1st Panzer army is able to reach the outskirts of Peremyshl, in the end they are unable to occupy the town. A gap of 20 miles now ensures that the Soviets will be able to retreat their entrapped forces if they chose to do so.

1st Panzer lacks the strength to close the final 20 miles

Excellent AAR

Great concept and the pictures and story really work

fiva you are realy a beast and i mean that in a positive way.

when rommel was the desert fox, you are the polar fox. makeing us to belive that you are done for this year and then starting such a huge attack.

nice one and you got not only us with our pants down but also your opponent.

Thanks guys for the compliments[:D]

I'm still a few turns behind on the game when it come to the AAR, so prepare for some updates.

It seems like the Soviets have opted for quality over quantity when it comes to their reserves in the Moscow sector. Several guard divisions are now blocking 4th Panzer Army's path to Moscow, though they seem content to remain on the defensive. Perhaps the mere rumour that they are facing our veteran formation has caused them to remain passive?

Meanwhile, in the Kaluga salient, the Soviets try to retreat east as fast as possible. Desperate to hold open the corridor, some guard divisions have "volunteered" to stay behind to buy their comrades as much time as possible.

Several tank corps have also begun streaming in, trying to enlarge the gap. In the ensuing tank battles, we manage to destroy almost 800 tanks, but at the cost of 200 of our own panzers. This is a battle of attrition that we can't afford for very long, and at this rate we might be forced to call of the second phase of the operation.

Despite their heroic efforts to hold open the corridor, the guard units can only delay the inevitable. German panzers have closed the gap, and infantry has begun moving up, mopping up the entrapped Soviets on their way.

Judging from your screenshots you now have some soviets holding the line without (heavy) fortifications in place. Opportunity!

The Soviets, seemingly unconcerned about the presence of 2 panzer armies just 70 miles from Moscow, have started a general offensive along the entire front line. In the northern sector, every few hundred miles a small breakthrough is achieved by the enemy, but due to the lack of an effective Soviet reserve in the area, these are easily contained.

The south however, is an entirely different story. Seemingly without numbers, Soviet troops swarm our defences without regard for their lives. In the first week, the first line of fortifications of 6th and 17th Army are already breached, and several enemy divisions have positioned themselves in these breakthroughs.

Although we never expected a static defense line to hold off the enemy forever, shouldn't they at least have hold longer? Perhaps the long quiet in this sector has dulled the fighting skills of our troops. This however, is no excuse. The commanders of both 17th Army and 6th Army have been dismissed, replaced by respectively von Manstein and Walter Weiss. The original commanders have been recalled to Berlin to give a explanation for this disaster.

Our defensive lines, impressive looking from the air, proved to be incapable of stopping the Soviets

ORIGINAL: Aditia

Judging from your screenshots you now have some soviets holding the line without (heavy) fortifications in place. Opportunity!

I could probably advance towards Tula or Moscow, but holding it is out of the question. With my panzers getting more depleted every turn, I would just waste them to an inevitable counter attack. The way things are going, I will probably start attaching a infantry corps to my panzer armies, just to keep my panzers fresh.

Having long been forewarned by the Abwehr about Soviet amphibious capabilities, the Crimea was reinforced by an additional 2 German infantry divisions during the mud season. These proved to be invaluable when the Soviets decided to attack Kerch with 3 of their guard units as part of their winter offensive.

In de 2nd winter week, a Soviet fleet was detected by the Luftwaffe. Predicting that this was a invasion fleet heading for the Crimea, troops on the peninsula where put on high alert.

The destination of this fleet however, proved to be different.

The Soviet fleet detected by the Luftwaffe, destination unknown

The Soviets, deciding to outflank our defences, land behind our front lines. Though such an amphibious operation should be easily contained, almost all our reserves in this sector are already committed.

Excellent AAR.

Sir i am receiving concerning signs, please reflect on what the spirits advise you

The way of war is like the milky way in the sky; which is a number of smaller stars, not seen asunder, but giving battle together; so it is a number of little and scarce discerned decisions, or rather sacrifices and rewards, that make men stand fall and rise, in the face of the whole sky you must pick out the stars, upon looking for the comet you are hit by the sun.

It's impossible to cover every battle that happened during a turn in my post, but I will use turn 24 to give you a brief overview of the more interesting things that are happening, starting with the north.

In the central sector, the Kaluga pocket is slowly being eliminated. Intelligence suggest that we have trapped almost 2 entire armies in this the encirclement.

Advancing towards Moscow or Tula however, is becoming increasingly improbable. The Soviets have blocked our path with strong formations, and have even started attacking 4th Panzer Army, forcing some of our division back, but not before they inflict heavy losses on the enemy.

The plan has been altered for now. 4th Panzer will remain on the front, defending this part of the line until the following up infantry has finished mopping up the entrapped Soviets. The infantry will then take over the defensive positions of 4th Pz Army, allowing them to be relocated behind the front for some much needed refitting. 1st Panzer Army has already begun a slow withdrawal from the fronts, and will be relocated to the Southern sector for refitting and act as a reserve.

Down south, things aren't looking as good, but hopefully the situation has been stabilized.