Defending Moscow 1941 - GaW Multiplayer AAR

[Ronald Wendt]

[center]The enemy is at the gates![/center]

[center]Comrades! Our darkest fears have come true - the Germans assault the capital![/center]

[center]I will stay and share your fate - but it will be glory, not defeat![/center]


Welcome to a multiplayer AAR of Germany at War. I am playing with Amadeus an active member of the Panzerliga.

I focus on the Soviet part. A German version with both sides can be found here:

German GaW AAR

We are playing a standard multiplayer map with version 1.03 and all rules set so resources will be needed for supplying units, weather will influnce movement & combat and scouting is essential due to fog of war.

The situation in the north after the first German attacks:

[Ronald Wendt]

The situation in the south:

[Ronald Wendt]

[center]Strategy[/center]

The Soviet side has several advantages in this scenario, that should be used. First the bunkers delay the German advance and deliver a certain shelter for a while. Second several objectives are urban areas which will be hard for Panzerdivisions to fight in and they are behind the Moskva - a natural shield.

[Ronald Wendt]

So rather than defending all cities and objectives at all costs, i will emphasis the advantes. That means on the one hand i will try to increase the delay by well placed counter attacks and air strikes on the other i will fortify the Volga line. Areas that are doomed are mostly cleared to avoid waste of troops. Klin cannot be held at the moment. Once more we have to sacrifce land for time.

[Ronald Wendt]

The tank formations will be ordered back into the capital - without artillery support they would be easy prey for the Panzers as their division are still strong.

[Ronald Wendt]

Only the 5. GuardsRifle will be ordered to stand and fight in Serpukov. The unit was reinforced and has to fight to the last man to slow down the Germans. We will place a statue in Serpukov to remember them after our victory.

[Ronald Wendt]

[center]Missions[/center]

[center]Airforce[/center]

The Luftwaffe has stronger equipment, but we have more aircraft in numbers. Two units for gound attacks are protected by five (!) fighter units. This will be a an advantage for itself in the end.
Raids of IL-2 will be focused on enemy artillery units as they will be essential for German breakthroughs while fighter will look for chances to destroy isolated air units.


[center]Mobile units[/center]

Several units have transports so we can move them into critical areas. If there are resources left i will try to create new units mainly artillery to block the German assaults. Usually i also wait for enough resoruces to make them mobile units.
The marker on the screendhots shows which unit has a transport. Guns without transport are immobile.
I place my AA units so they cover as much urban area as possible. If the Germans reach the center they will pay for every attack.

[Ronald Wendt]

Turn 2

Klin has fallen in the north, but a German unit was spotted in range of our artillery and pays for its incautious advance.

[Ronald Wendt]

All units in have withdrawn into the first defence layer around Solnechnogorsk.

[Ronald Wendt]

In the center the enemy has conquered Istra and pierced the outer defence.

[Ronald Wendt]

All in all our troops are still strong and could evade battle.

[Ronald Wendt]

The retreat towards the city still continues.

[Ronald Wendt]

In the game there is a combat protocol which contains a record of every single battle during a scenario.

Studying the battles i spotted devastating losses for the enemy due to an ambush by the glorious 5. Guards Rifle Div. in the South!

[Ronald Wendt]

The deadly counter strike hits the Germans without warning. No one would return that day to tell their side of the story.

[Ronald Wendt]

Turn 3

The situation in the north:

[Ronald Wendt]

In the center:

[Ronald Wendt]

In the south:

[Ronald Wendt]

We spotted an enemy unit near Dimitrov - a mighty one. This shows us, the adversary already made a mistake he will feel mid and longterm: he has spent a lot of resources an bringing one of his Panzer divisions to full strength. Attrition will propably wear down this one and we will use the steel of its panzers to build bombshells for Berlin.
Panzers are too expensive and are weak in urban areas. But its the city where the decision of this battle will be made.

[Ronald Wendt]

Next we send out our recon unit to scout for chances of counter attacks. The enemy seems focused on Dimitrov to evade the fortifications. The artillery unit look like an easy prey for my tank brigades.

[Ronald Wendt]

But first we use the long range of our artillery to inflict some casualties and to lower the units' readiness.