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After having joined the beta team and being able to play with what was developing to be the upcoming patch, I got the itch to challenge who I felt to be another highly competent player, Flaviusx. As the board's foremost proponent on aggressive Soviet tactics, and all-around expert on Soviet play, I felt that in addition to my game against ComradeP, if I could defeat Flaviusx, then I would truly prove to those who doubt that the Axis have a chance, that they do, indeed.

That, or I'm just craving a good a$$-whooping...[:D]

Anyhow, it would be an important stress-test of the new patch's changes to see how the morale effects will play out. I still think that the Soviets have the most to gain from the changes, as the engine still allows resting and refitting units to increase their unit morale, up past their National Morale, potentially to 75 morale. Since the early war Soviets have such atrocious National Morale, they can benefit much more than the bulk of the Axis units - the Germans, whose National Morale is much closer to this cap.

Like my game with ComradeP, this game is with random weather, full FoW, and starting HQs locked.

The AAR for the opening turn in this game will follow closely with that other, Tres Amigos Uno!, since my first turn strategic direction, and execution of combats are essentially the same. How much the game diverges, depends on what happens after turn one, but for now, you can probably note a great deal of similarities between the screenshots in this thread and found here (follow link).

Sorry, Pieter...no peeking there...[;)] I'll let you know when it is safe to view the first page of the thread.

Thus, I'll dispense with much of the commentary in this thread's first few posts, and do more as the games diverge from their roughly equivalent starts.

This screenshot shows the air losses.

As mentioned in the other thread, the goal here is to carve out corridors for the infantry to advance, cross the Dvina, and pocket Soviets.

The Center. Pocketing of Soviets near Bialystok/Grodno, converging on Minsk, and a motorized division to clear the routed Soviets out of the Pripyet Marshes before they recover.

AGS...as before, going it alone, other than GD Regiment to augment 1st Pz Gp. Likewise, the cutting of the railway to the SE of Stanislaw, to prevent the Soviet units near the Carpathians from easily escaping, and to allow the Rumanians to activate on Turn 2. I'll be interested to see how much Flaviusx attacks here.

The big picture, with the Germanic Gargoyle facing to the East, ready to devour the Russian Bear...[:D]

Finally, ground losses for the end of the turn.

And another subscription here...

I never thought of sending a Mot Div into the Marshes. Interesting. The fact that you can't rail-out Routed units anymore should help in rounding up Reds.

Why not form pockets in AGS? You can bag 6 divisions or so around Kovel without using any Mobile units, and you can bag the whole Lvov pocket. This does require borrowing a Pz Corps from Pz Gp 2.

+1

Looking forward how the turns differ. The first turns are roughly 100% indentical. Flav and Pieter ought to have a few surprises in store for you.

Mat

Ah, I'm quite happy to see JAM writing an AAR. I've played other games with him in the past and really he's a topnotch player so of all the AAR's on display - this and his other AAR are by far the ones I'm most keen to see play out. Thanks JAM for posting it.

Interesting opening move.

I wonder if, with Riga captured, you could transport one or more divisions there by sea, similarly to how some people drop infantry off at Ventspils. That would be quite nice.

I'm not sure what Flavio's intentions will be, he has quite a different playstyle. Mine might actually be more aggressive than his early on.

With the fairly large number of changes, I won't actually be able to prove many of the things I intended to prove, as many of the things they covered have been changed, but I think both Flavio and me can still show what the Soviets are capable off, even though it's more difficult than before to do so.

Good luck in this game and in the game against me.

Once again, you do not have to cut the rail near Stanislaw to stop Soviet rail escape. They cannot use the rail that runs along the Rumanian border for rail movement.

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

Interesting opening move.

I wonder if, with Riga captured, you could transport one or more divisions there by sea, similarly to how some people drop infantry off at Ventspils. That would be quite nice.

I tried this, doesn't work. In fact, it doesn't work turn 2 or 3 either, maybe because the Reds will still occupy Moon Island.[&:]

Even if it was Turn 2, you could use it to move some troops closer to the front, and save a bunch of time.

Would be nice, but no dice.......

ORIGINAL: Mynok


Once again, you do not have to cut the rail near Stanislaw to stop Soviet rail escape. They cannot use the rail that runs along the Rumanian border for rail movement.

Good point, however, the conversion of those hexes displaces more routed units, and prevents the units near Stanislaw from getting any further east than Chernovetsy, which allows them to be pocketed on turn two when the Rumanians/11th Army link up with 17th Army/1st Pz Gp.

ORIGINAL: ComradeP

Interesting opening move.

I wonder if, with Riga captured, you could transport one or more divisions there by sea, similarly to how some people drop infantry off at Ventspils. That would be quite nice.

I'm not sure what Flavio's intentions will be, he has quite a different playstyle. Mine might actually be more aggressive than his early on.

With the fairly large number of changes, I won't actually be able to prove many of the things I intended to prove, as many of the things they covered have been changed, but I think both Flavio and me can still show what the Soviets are capable off, even though it's more difficult than before to do so.

Good luck in this game and in the game against me.

Hi Pieter. Thanks!

Yeah, after all the changes, I'm not sure what I'm trying to "prove" anymore, either. Other than the Axis aren't as hosed as so many think they are. I fully expect you and Flavio to do your best to make the proof as difficult as possible...[;)]

ORIGINAL: JAMiAM

ORIGINAL: Mynok


Once again, you do not have to cut the rail near Stanislaw to stop Soviet rail escape. They cannot use the rail that runs along the Rumanian border for rail movement.

Good point, however, the conversion of those hexes displaces more routed units, and prevents the units near Stanislaw from getting any further east than Chernovetsy, which allows them to be pocketed on turn two when the Rumanians/11th Army link up with 17th Army/1st Pz Gp.

As long as you have a reason for it. When I use that approach in the south, I tend to use mostly infantry to pocket Lvov while the armor goes north to pocket Rovno and units west of it. That's why I like having the cavalry unit in the swamps to be the 'pocket closer for the armor.

Hey Flavio, please don't open this thread. Thanks.

ORIGINAL: JAMiAM

Hey Flavio, please don't open this thread. Thanks.

Caught red-handed LOL.

I see him in here too![X(][:D]

ORIGINAL: cookie monster

ORIGINAL: JAMiAM

Hey Flavio, please don't open this thread. Thanks.

Caught red-handed LOL.

I see him in here too![X(][:D]

Yeah...funny that. It's the cookies that give him away...[:D]

He came, he saw, he left.