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

[xhoel]

AGS

AGS positions at the start of the week:





Circled in black are units that held at least once against German assaults. All of them were in clear terrain without fortifications. Also notice the surrounded SS Division and the use of hugging tactics by the Soviets.





The sector of Army Group South has seen the heaviest fighting of the week most of which has occurred in the Dnepropetrovsk area. With bridgeheads established over the Dnepr the 6th Army has started its advance in the northern Ukraine. The enemy still remains further east, 40 miles away from our forward units. The Dnepr is crossed this week by units of the 3rd Rumanian Army, the Mobile Hungarian Corps, the Slovakian Corps and the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps. The VIII Hungarian Corps, which AGS does not deem to be worth anything on the frontline, has been left to garrison Kiev. The Italians are also moving towards the front. The advance of the 6th Army in the sector has managed to cut off the last rail line out of Poltava which means that the citys industry (8 ARM) cannot be evacuated.





In the area around Dnepropetrovsk, the 1st Panzer Group was alarmed to learn that the Das Reich SS Mot. Division was cut off by the enemy and surrounded on all sides by Soviet units. In this area the Soviets followed the same tactic as in the north: hugging our units in order to disrupt supply and movement. This meant that the XXIV Panzer Corps found itself in a precarious position. Immediately orders were given out and the infantry of the 6th Army operating in the area sprung to the offensive. Together with units of the 11th and 17th Army they managed to clear Soviet forces in the vicinity and all German units had crossed the Dnepr at the end of the fighting.

Positions after German moves:



However the offensive in this sector was halted once again by ferocious Soviet resistance and poor judgement by our commanders who failed to coordinate assaults properly, which meant that no breakthrough was achieved. In another feat of overestimating our abilities von Kleist decided to use the III Panzer Corps which was being held in reserve, to punch a hole through Soviet lines. Their assault made little gains and extorted a heavy cost in men and machines for our units. By the end of the week, we had secured a corridor over the Dnepr but no breakthrough to Kharkov or Stalino had been achieved and our units find themselves far away from our supply lines.

Battles in the Dnepropetrovsk area:







Panzer Divisions serving under AGS are severly understrength and will need to be refitted immediately. Here is an overview of the panzer units and their TOEs:



Due to the commitment of infantry formations in the offensive, the western bank of the Dnepr was left open to a Soviet attack. To prevent that from happening, the Rumanian V Corps and the 8th Rum. Cavalry Brigade (garrisoning Krivoi Rog) were rushed to the area to form a defensive wall and protect German HQs on the western bank of the Dnepr.
South of Zaporozhye, the LIV Corps and the Cavalry Rumanian Corps engaged the weak enemy defensive line being held by Cavarly divisions. After good initial progress the fate turned against us once more and the offensive stopped after having advanced no more than 20 miles.



Without a doubt, the biggest defeat of the week was that of the Battle of Armyansk, at the entrance of the Crimea. Here, 3 German Infantry Divisions and a Rumanian one, being supported by Heavy Artillery and Tactical Bombers failed to break through the Soviet defenses ans suffered heavy losses. The reason for the failure is attributed to the lack of Pioneers which at the time, the 11th Army had allocated elsewhere. The Battle report is shown below:



The II Rumanian Corps is deployed at the two other entrances to the Crimea while the fresh III Rumanian Corps is arriving to reinforce the 11th Army.

Crimea after Axis moves:

[xhoel]

Casualties T9:

Ground:



Air:

[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

[Oloren_MatrixForum]

One of the best AARs I've seen yet.

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: Oloren

One of the best AARs I've seen yet.

Thanks Oloren, means a lot! Stay tuned for more.

[xhoel]

T10
News from the front:

Heavy fighting along the whole front with multiple attacks conducted in certain keypoints.

-AGN breaks through Soviet defenses in the North. Leningrad has not been cut off yet.
-In the sector of AGC, our offensive is stopped short of its goal, even though we have managed to outflank the enemy, the Soviets still retain a 30 mile corridor from which they will undoubtedly evacuate their forces from the half completed encirclement.
-AGS makes limited progress in the area between Kremechug and Dnepropetrovsk. 3 Soviet Divisions are surrounded. XXX Corps takes the entrance of the Crimea.

A full update is to be expected tomorrow.

[xhoel]

T10, 21st of August-28th of August 1941
Finnish front:


The Soviets are pulling back from Karelia. The Karelian Army and the IV Finnish Corps are in pursuit, their goal is to reach the Svir river line as soon as possible, to exert pressure on the Soviet forces there.
Meanwhile Finnish recon and patrols indicate that the Soviets have started building Fortified Regions north of Leningrad. Without a doubt this is being done, in order to free Soviet Rifle divisions positioned on the border. If only the Finns would join us in the attack...

Karelian sector at the start of the week:



Karelian sector after Finnish moves:



North of Leningrad, Fortified Regions are highlighted in red:

[xhoel]

AGN

The 18th Army leads the breakthrough in the North this week. Having learned the lesson from the battles of the last two weeks, most of the attacks are conducted by 2 or more divisions attacking based on carefully conducted assault plans, supported by heavy artillery and air support. The tactic pays off. The 18th Army in conjunction with the 4th Panzer Group and the II Corps (from the 16th Army) manage to create a 50 mile breach in the Soviet defenses. 6 Soviet divisions are routed in the process and 3 Soviet Rifle Divisions are surrounded. The rail line leading to Leningrad has not been cut yet. Nevertheless the advance of this week gives us hope that we will be able to isolate Leningrad from the main body of the Soviet forces soon. Soviet defenses west of the Volkhov river are inadequate and the routing of this week, will have consequences in the operations to come.

Leningrad sector at the start of the week:



Leningrad sector after German moves:



Circled in black is the attack north of Novgorod.

A full strength attack (3 divisions) by the L Corps north of Novgorod however was halted by the Soviets, who where saved by the timely counterattack of the 41st Cavalry Division.



The XXIII Corps of General Albrecht Schubert finally manages to push back the Soviet defenders on the Polist river line and has gained a bridgehead over the Lovat river. The Pola river line remains as the last natural obstacle in the sector.

Pola sector at the start of the week:



Pola sector after the German attack:



Another 100 enemy planes have been destroyed and many more have been damaged as the LW continues its efforts to break the VVS in the sector. The air campaign will start targeting Osinovets soon.

[xhoel]

AGC

In the sector of Army Group Center the 9th Army manages to break through Soviet defenses south of Rzhev opening a 40 mile deep and 30 mile wide corridor to be used by our armored formations. The opening is exploited by the 3rd Panzer Group, which manages to cut through the Soviet rear, capturing several air bases in the process and advancing 80 miles. Unfortunately the 4th Army has less success in their attacks in the southern portion of the sector. Its units fail to create a corridor wide enough for our panzers to operate with ease and the 2nd Panzer Group falls short of its objective of linking up with the rest of the German forces. The Soviets will be able to evacuate their units using a 30 mile gap between our units. In order to hinder the evacuation fresh bomber groups have been moved to air bases close to the front. Their goal will be to interdict enemy movement in the area.

Vyazma-Bryansk sector at the start of the week:



Rzhev sector at the start of the week:



Rzhev corridor after the fighting:



The incomplete encirclement in the AGC sector:



AGC overview:



Even though the offensive was unsuccessful, it will force the Soviets to move out of their fortified positions around Vyazma and relocate to a new defensive line. On the other side, the fact that our troops are now 50 miles away from Moscow is a major boost in morale.

Further south, the 2nd Army advances east trying to make contact with the Soviet forces.

2nd Army sector before German moves:



2nd Army sector after German moves:

[xhoel]

AGS

The 6th Army continues to advance forward, unopposed by enemy troops. The Mobile Hungarian Corps, the Italian Expeditionary Corps and the Romanian 3rd Army follow behind them.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after Axis moves:



The rested and resupplied XXXXVIII Panzer Corps moves to Mirovgrad but developments further South convince GO von Kleist that the Panzer Corps would be much more valuable in assisting the LIV Corps (11th Army) in their push towards the Donbass. Therefore the Panzer Corp is ordered to relocate south and has taken positions near the swamps east of the Dnepr in order to avoid enemy recon.

XXXXVIII Panzer Corps movement:



In the area around Dnepropetrovsk the enemy continues using hugging tactics to make resupply operations difficult. Our infantry units however, manage to push the Soviets back and enlarge the area of operations. During these attacks, 3 Soviet Divisions are encircled. The XXIV Panzer Corps is pulled back in order to R&R. 2 of its Panzer divisions are on 50% TOE and need to be refitted immediately.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after Axis moves:



In the area around Zaporozhye the LIV Corps together with the Rumanian Cavary Corps push the weak Soviet defenders back, routing 2 divisions, while shattering a third. Our reports show that the enemy has run very little recon in the area and is not really concerned about it. Hopefully this will continue to be so. In that case, our recently arrived panzers will make good use of the open terrain in the area.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after Axis moves:



Without a doubt, the best offensive of this week was the one conducted by the XXX Corps at the entrance of the Crimea. The attack at Armyansk succeeds and our units follow through with a second attack south of the recently captured town, pushing the Soviets back. The battles are bloody and we suffer around 1.000 casualties. However the importance of the operation cannot be understated. The Soviets now don't have either the fortifications nor the frontage to adequatly defend the Crimea.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after the battles:



The Second Battle of Armyansk:

[xhoel]

Casualties
Ground:




Air:

[Icier]

After having played Bitburgerdraft, a warning... you need to kill a lot more Soviets before winter.

[xhoel]

T11, 28th of August-4th of September 1941
Finnish front:

No new news from the Karelian front. The Soviets keep on with their retreat while the Finnish remain hot on their heels. The advancement of this week puts our troops 30 miles away from the Svir river line. Air recon indicates few Soviet forces in the area, a news that is welcomed by the command of AGN.

Karelian sector at the start of the week:



and after Axis moves:



Reports from the II. Finnish Corps north of Leningrad indicate that the Soviets have pulled back 4 Rifle Divisions that were being held on the border here. This sector is now guarded only by Fortified Regions.

AGN


The 3 surrounded Soviet divisions are eliminated this week by the LI Corps. The remainder of the 18th Army together with the II Corps (16th Army) punch through the Soviet defenses west of the Volkhov, routing around 10 Soviet divisions and allowing the 4th Panzer Group to cross the river in force. As a result, 5 strong Soviet divisions have been trapped around Novogorod.

Positions at the start of the week:



The rest of the Soviet forces are located west of the Volkhov and only 2 Rifle Divisions are available for the defense of the area east of the river. The only reserves that the Soviets can count on here are the units defending the Pola river and units from the Independent Army operating in the Karelian peninsula but they will probably transfer additional units that are now located south of Leningrad.

The LW conducts its first port bombing raids, targeting the port of Sviritsa but they only manage to do little damage (4%) due to the fact that the formations are intercepted by Soviet fighters.

AGN sector after German moves:

[xhoel]

AGC

Even though the LW has been interdicting Soviet movement non stop, the raids have done little to hamper the evacuation of the incompleted Vyazma encirclement. 2 Panzer Divisions and 1 Motorized Division find themselves isolated as a result of the Soviet retreat.

Positions at the start of the week:







All 3 of them are relieved by our advancing infantry. Both the 4th and 9th Army advance east quickly and even manage to engage the forward positions of the Soviet troops. In the following advance 2 Soviet Rifle divisions and 1 AT Brigade are encircled. The industrial town of Ordzhonikidzegrad is captured without being evacuated. 2 Panzer Corps are pulled back to R&R while the rest of our motorized and armored formations are used to engage the Soviet units in the area.
Further to the South, the 2nd Army keeps advancing east following the Soviet troops retreating towards Kursk.





2nd Army positions after moves:





AGC objective is now to surround and destroy as many Soviet formations as possible before taking Moscow. The Western Front facing it is without a doubt the strongest of all Soviet fronts having suffered no major losses till now (except for the initial losses at Byalystok and Minsk).

[xhoel]

AGS

The 6th Army continues its advance struggling to keep the pace with the retreating Soviet units. The 3rd Rumanian Army finishes off the 3 surrounded Soviet divisions while the Italian Expeditionary Corps and the Hungarian Mobile Corps continue their advance east. The Italian Pasubio Infantry Division is the first unit to enter Poltava, where the Soviets, unable to evacuate their factories resorted to blowing them up during their retreat.

Positions at the start of the week:



Positions after Axis moves:





The 17th and 11th Army deliver a strong punch to the defending Soviet forces north of Dnepropetrovsk. The Soviet defenders are brushed aside in a series of attacks that are followed by a deep penetration behind their lines by the III Panzer Corps. Zaporozhye is taken by the 8th Rum. Cavalry Brigade while the LIV Corps together with the Rumanian Cavalry Corps breach through the Soviet defensive line west of Stalino opening a corridor to be exploited by the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps that was relocated east of the Dnepr last week. As predicted by von Kleist Soviet recon failed to detect our armored formations in the swamps and they are launched forward in a daring offensive operation. Not only do these units manage to take the Donbass (Stalino, Gorolovka, Makeevka) with the factories intact, but they also manage to seal the southern portion of the newly formed Dnepropetrovsk pocket, where around 18 Soviet divisions are located. The perimeter is held by fatigued motorized regiments however, and there is a hole in it in the southern part but even if the Soviets manage to break the encirclement, there is little doubt that we can seal it again next week.

Dnepropetrovsk sector at the start of the week:



Zaporozhye sector at the start of the week:



Dnepropetrovsk pocket:



Meanwhile the XXIV Panzer Corps has been pulled back and put on R&R which is much needed as both its panzer divisions are at 50-60% TOE.

Industry:

[xhoel]

The Crimea

Following our breakthrough at Armyansk, the Soviet Coastal Army pulles back towards Kerch and Sevastopol. The XXX Corps and the III Romanian Corps follow them but these units are insufficient to secure the peninsula on their own considering the sheer amount of formations that the Soviets have in the area. The 8th SS Cavalry Brigade joins the III Rumanian Corps acting as the only mobile formation in the Crimea on our side.

[xhoel]

Casualties and captured industry:

Total Industry captured this week:

ARM- 48
HI- 14
Vehicle- 5
Resources- 14

Ground:



Air:

[xhoel]

ORIGINAL: Icier

After having played Bitburgerdraft, a warning... you need to kill a lot more Soviets before winter.

I'm working on it

[chaos45]

your doing very well, as good if not better than historical, As well you landed a pocket in the north and south.

[MarauderPL]

Can't the Kerch industry be evacuated by ships anyway?