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Start T7(pre-move). Continued pressure around smolensk continues to threaten 2Panzer Army so they may have to give up Bryansk without a fight.

T7 Start. Oleg coninues to try to pocket large chunks of 6th Army, and only just fails this time, giving me a chance to redeploy in fairly good order.

T7: Dig Boys, Dig! Flavio managed to get over the Dnepr on turn 12 of our last test game, and I really want to prevent Oleg doing the same, but I think it will be touch and go.

T8: Time to evacuate Smolensk. No "hold at all cost" orders from me.

T8: Time for XXXXII corps to get out of Dodge, leaving their lvl4 entrenchments behind.

T8: Phew, this was close - the timely intervention of 16th Panzer grenadiers saved 2 divisions of 6th Army from encirclement.

I'm quite surprised he didn't attack the SS units when you moved them next to his units.

I'm quite surprised he didn't attack the SS units when you moved them next to his units.

Yes, Flavio used to avoid them, so I thought I'd see how Oleg would respond.

T9: Oleg really turned up the heat this turn, and gave me quite a few puzzles to solve. Here is what I faced Around Smolensk:

T9; Around Kharkov, Oleg had seen that I had thinned out the Pak Front and so was able to get through my reserve line.

T9. And in the far south he has come close to trapping 2 corps.

End of T9: My last reserves from 9th Army were sent to stabilise 4th Army's Front.

End T9. Reserves from 2nd Army and strong counter attacks from 4th Panzer manage to restore the front line and get the Pak Front around Kharkov back up.

T9 End. And in the far south I managed to open up an escape route for 6th Army's infantry, but again it was touch and go after Oleg got these lucky die rolls.

Nasty. Quite the juggling act going on. How are losses for both sides by chance? Easy to see how the Russians rolled after the Germans depleted themselves at Kursk and also had transfers to the West. 

how are losses for both sides by chance?

Very bloody. By turn 12 I am down 500k men 1800 AFV (some are withdrawals) and 1200 aircraft. Praying for rain so I can recover a bit, and hoping that Oleg is running out of steam, but there is very little sign of this.

T12 Gross losses (above figures are net of replacements):

in the '43-'45 campaign you start on turn 1 with a fair number of losses, so it is hard to keep track of how you are doing (or am I looking at it the wrong way?).

Also, in the turns I played against the AI I noticed on the production screen that the manpower pool (that is where I look right?) is very very small. Does this mean that replacements during a turn are either new recruits or wounded men sent back to the front in the same turn, or should I read that differently?

What I have noticed during my turns against the AI as germans is that it's probably worthwhile for the Soviet player to keep a close eye on his airforce. Battles where the Soviets commit 800+ bombers are a real nightmare for German divisions that are in anything but well entrenched hexes, and even then you see your modified CV plummet. I feel your pain mate

There is a starter pool of 1200k disabled, I can't remember the soviet 1500k? These trickle back at 1% per turn.

The production report just shows the "new" manpower. There is a significant amount of "churn" from damaged units where 20% gets moved into the disabled pool (increased to 40% in 1.04).

Oleg and I are playing House rules disallowing airfield and city bombing, but allowing unit bombing. Again 1.04 will see changes to reduce the 800+ attacks. The disruption from artillery and airpower undermines the largest CVs.

Oleg just broke the record, and hit me with 7200 artillery pieces!

T10: 2panzer and 9th Army continue their withdrawal, while 8th Army arrives to take over from 2Panzer when it leaves in a couple of turns.

T10: The pounding from Kharkov to the Sea of Azov is unrelenting, and he is getting ever closer to the Dnepr.