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My old wargaming partner and Avalon Hill Third Reich nemesis have agreed on a game. I have decided to do an AAR because I know this will be a long and competitive struggle. We are both quite busy so there may be times when things get a little spotty but there will be other times like tonight when quite frankly I am bored out of my mind. I am trying to get my Witp AE spirit going but the pace of this game compared to that one is much more enjoyable. I still plan on playing my good friend Hartwig in our current AE game after I ramp up this game with Mark. But for now here we go.

This AAR will be a bit more lavish as I have quite enjoyed other peoples AARs and I wanted to make things a bit more interesting. I will also go into more detail on planning then I typically do. As usual any comments and advice is appreciated.


Planning maps:



AGN - I plan for an all out offensive on Leningrad. The majority of the reserve divisions that arrive will be feeding into this front. I will also add one corp from 9th army to 16th army right off the bat. I plan on being somewhat flexible in the attack towards the city. Depending on how he defends I may swing 4th PZ out east wide past the lake but my original intention is to cross the Volkhov at Novgorod and then push towards the ports and Tikvin to cut off the areas supply. If the patch comes out before I hit turn 8ish maybe things will go a bit easier. (BTW we have a house rule he cannot move any factories turn one because of the upcoming patch).

16th and 18th will smash the frontier and head as fast as possible to Narva and Pskov. I think if I have the Pskov area cleared by end of turn 4 I will be in good shape. 16th and 18th will get a large influx of support units to aid in the grind that is most likely going to happen. If the city isnt captured in time before the weather starts to turn I plan on stopping the attacks and digging in early.

AGC - The usual start. I expect a big pocket at Bialystoc and perhaps another smaller one near Minsk. 9th army will be the link between AGN and AGC and be stretched a little thin with its main goal of Velikye Luki and anchoring its flank at Vitebsk. 3rd PZ will initially be used to trap Soviets as well as push to the Smolensk area. Once the infantry comes up of 4th army it will be determined if it should head north to help the Leningrad offensive. 2nd Panzer will lose a corps to the south and mainly be used to create local pockets and help 4th army push ahead.



AGS - 2 main objectives - surround and kill as many Soviets and take Kharkov and the Stalino area. I will attempt to grab the crimea if it looks weak. 1st PZ will be moving fast and loose on the lookout to cause large pockets. if his front crumbles early I may sent the Panzers north to help creat some pockets.


So in summary the summer/fall goals are:

1) Capture Leningrad in the north

2) Advance to a line Velikye luki - Smolensk - Gomel in the center

3) Capture Kharkov and Stalino in the South possibly Crimea

I will also be following the history of the 3rd PZ division during the campaign.



It starts off near Brest Litovsk in June 1941:



I did not know this but its commanding general at this time was Model:



I chose it because it starts off with a CV of 22 and it is a powerful unit with a rich history on the eastern front:

The initial air attacks go very well:







I stopped the attacks as I closed in on 5400 aircraft killed. I concentrated on recon, modern fighter and bomber bases.

18th army turn one -

I always wondered what some peoples first turn moves are. In 18th army sector I like to use the 2 infantry divisions in 4th PZ to open up the front and then let 18th army divisions hit the Soviet reserves and rout them away to be pocketed later. This round of combat found one of the border divisions getting a hold and then a retreat which threw things off just a tad.

Next phase id 23rd XXX corp moving through 16th army and clearing out its front giving 16th army total free movement forward.

The final result with Kaunas captured, rail lines advanced and the Panzers of 4PG at full movement.

Final AGN with panzers moved and pocket formed. Im a tad nevervous about the NW corner that it might be compromised. I was not very carefull moving one motorised division. I do have a Division over the river however.

Lovely start to the AAR - it reads like a history book. I will be following this one with great interest.

In my few games as the Axis I have adopted the same approach - breach with the infantry and then move the panzers through the gap. You will need to decide whether your panzers are going to exploit or seal the eastern side of the pockets, especially in the AGC operation, IMO.

Also, can you post a list of the house rules you're using? That would be useful to have as a reference.

Thanks!

Lovely pics, but you missed a port on the west coast of Estonia so they can flee and are still in supply. The town under that fort is a port, so the routed units and everyone else can flee etc.

I always send the SS up there to grab that base.

ORIGINAL: Ketza
I am trying to get my Witp AE spirit going but the pace of this game compared to that one is much more enjoyable.

Oh my, those Axis players apparently always fall for the illusion of quick success - we'll see about sustainability, both in the epic clash of titans on the map and in the clash between WitE and WitP:AE [:D].

Good luck !

Hartwig

P.S: Keep an eye on turning into a WitE-holic. That boredom you mention appears more like a symptom of behavioral addiction to WitE to me if it cannot be cured by AE [;)].

ORIGINAL: hartwig.modrow

ORIGINAL: Ketza
I am trying to get my Witp AE spirit going but the pace of this game compared to that one is much more enjoyable.

Oh my, those Axis players apparently always fall for the illusion of quick success - we'll see about sustainability, both in the epic clash of titans on the map and in the clash between WitE and WitP:AE [:D].

Good luck !

Hartwig

P.S: Keep an eye on turning into a WitE-holic. That boredom you mention appears more like a symptom of behavioral addiction to WitE to me if it cannot be cured by AE [;)].

Hartwig!

ORIGINAL: 2ndACR

Lovely pics, but you missed a port on the west coast of Estonia so they can flee and are still in supply. The town under that fort is a port, so the routed units and everyone else can flee etc.

I always send the SS up there to grab that base.

Yes I thought about that and decided I needed the SS over by Daugavpils to deliver some extra punch in case he defends forward. In some cases letting a few Soviets get away is a tradeoff for space and denying the Soviet potental lines of future defence. The extra movement gained by having the SS division closer to this area could be the difference on turn 2 of denying the Soviet a few swamp hexes near Pskov.

Nice maps and commentary. Going to have to keep an eye on this one for sure. I remember playing Third Reich a lot back in the day. Thought it was the be all to end all until World in Flames came out.

2ndACR is spot on for his comments for the NW corner. Perhaps the Russian will miss he can sea lift a lot of those units out, but even if he can't/doesn't, they are still in supply for another turn regardless. I also use the SS unit to clean out that upper port and then do a sea lift of my own from one of the divisions in XL corps that is back from the front.

Our house rules are pretty simple and mirror some major changes that will be in the patch so we couldnt wait to start until it came out.

1) No RR movement of factories turn one

2) No RR or sea movement of routed units

9th army - 8th corp blasts the hole and frees up all of 3rd PZ including its 2 infantry corps. Local attacks are made and the northern side of the future pocket is set up.



From here I skip down to the 2nd PZ and 4th army sector. I transfer 47th PZ corps to 1st PZG. I also transfer Das reich to the 47th with a Flammpanzer attached. Last transfer is 29th motorized to 46th PZ corp.

The lone ID left in 47th then clears out the border north of Brest Litovsk so troops from deep behind the lines of 4th army can set up the attack on the fortress. One retreat hex is left and the swamp is blocked. Ground support is turned on and the deliberate attack gets ready. This is one of those few attacks that if it fails can really screw things up.

Success! Now all the infantry from 2PZ is free to move. I should also be able to pocket the units that routed if I am careful.

ORIGINAL: Ketza

Our house rules are pretty simple and mirror some major changes that will be in the patch so we couldnt wait to start until it came out.

1) No RR movement of factories turn one

2) No RR or sea movement of routed units

What are your views, as a long time east front gamer, on such issues as the 'unfreezing' of the supposedly shivering Romanians by putting a single Panzer div against their border?

3rd Panzer first action!

Racing through the gap created north of Brest Litovsk 24th PZ corp reaches the Pina river and led by 3rd anzer crashes into the Siviet 14th mech corp.

3rd panzer rolling forward towards the Soviet 14th mech and misidentified 30th tank division.





Both assaults do well and the Soviet mech division is shattered:



Over 200 Soviet tanks are destroyed while 3rd Panzer takes very little loss.

Victorious Panzer grenadiers advance past wrecked Soviet armor near Pruzhany.