Road to Moscow - SMOLENSK

[MikeJ19]

Having successfully gotten to the Berezina river, it is time to push East towards SMOLENSK. Luckily, my units have been resupplied and are roaring to go.

It is very interesting to see how close I came in the previous battle to the historical finish. I had captured three of the four crossings and had troops on the outskirts of the fourth.

I'm looking forward to seeing my Panzers rushing East!

[MikeJ19]

Rob,

Great package on the player notes! It makes the scenario feel even more real! Thanks for putting these together.

All the best,

[John B.]

Is this a new scenario that follows directly on the last one?

[MikeJ19]

John,

Yes, the last one ended on July 3rd and this one begins the next day. The last one was a lot of fun to play!

All the best,

[MikeJ19]

For the most part the terrain is wide open with small towns/villages. There are some forest and light woods. There are few roads and rails – these are important for supply purposes. There are a good number of airports – which will help as I move East.

The main road heads to SMOLENSK and then on to MOSCOW. There is a rail line alongside it.

To the East, the ground starts getting more forested and congested.

Overall, it is a very large area. I may need to do a more detailed look in different areas as the battle unfolds.

[MikeJ19]

A look at the Soviets

[MikeJ19]

A look at my forces

[John B.]

Good luck!

[MikeJ19]

John,

Thanks! This looks like a very interesting battle.

[MikeJ19]

Thoughts

I have more time, therefore I do not have to push as hard, nor do I need to rush as much.

The map extends a good distance North and South of the key area – this gives me lots of options to try and swing around Soviet units. It also means that I need to think of flank security more than in the last battle.

There are approaches that do not rely on crossing rivers – this helps for speed and makes fighting easier.

I still want/need to surround and destroy the Soviet forces. I want their units out of the game.

Roads, railways and bridges are going to be important to seize intact – both for speed reasons and for supply. Need to keep engineers engaged on my main approaches supporting this.

Need to remember to move my air force units forward as the battle moves East.

Manoeuvre warfare tenets:

Disrupt – I want to take out the Soviet artillery, HQs and air force early. This will make it harder for them to build a coherent and powerful defence.

Preempt – Speed in this case may be used to exploit gaps and make any Soviet defence lines irrelevant before they are in place.

Dislocate – I want to flank, encircle and cut off Soviet defences rather than conduct frontal attacks. I need to balance this with time. Taking too long to encircle will cause problems with getting East quickly.


Here is a look at Option 1

[MikeJ19]

Option 2

[MikeJ19]

Option 3

[John B.]

I just read a book on this battle and it went into depth about how the Russians really fought hard under Timoshenko and not only stopped the Germans (at very heavy cost) but basically put a wrench into the entire German campaign. It does not appear as if any of your options stands out as the obvious choice. I'll be curious to see what you choose.

[MikeJ19]

Good day John,

Thanks for your comment. This scenario is so different than the speed fest the last one was. I think that it will be challenging in dealing with all the stuff that the Soviets through my way. Getting across the Dnepr early is going to be important.


Here is my comparison of the my options:

In comparing the options against the current known deployment, I think that all options work.

Option 1 is the most bold, and it follows the historical approach. I’m trying to push both Pz Groups into the Soviet rear areas and hope that the other two Armies can clean up the bypassed mess.

Option 2 is a more cautious approach – taking one step at a time idea. At the same time, it gets the two Pz Groups poised to push East.

Options 3 is a very focused approach – with most of the firepower concentrated in the centre. I like the idea of concentrating all that power in the same place.

If I want to preempt, option 1 is likely the best option, it gives the Soviets a lot of different things to try and block at the same time.

If I want to disrupt or dislocate, all the options are decent. I’m bypassing and destroying forces quickly and from many directions.

Looking at the Soviet options – Sacrifice front line units to buy time, quickly pull back to better defence line and counter attack often and everywhere – all three of my options work, but the second one has more depth and provides more flank security.

Options 1 is the riskiest. If the bypassed Soviet forces are not cleared up, they will cause havoc with my supply situation. Also, the flanks of the two Pz groups would be threatened by Soviet forces coming into the fray

Decision

I think of myself as aggressive, but usually my fighting style is more patient and builds off finding gaps and weaknesses in the enemy approach. This approach is best suited for Option 2, where I have a couple of days to set conditions that I can exploit. The clearing of the Soviet forces along the Berezina River will, I think, be more difficult than over the first 12 days of the Operation.

[MikeJ19]

Opening moves/plans in the North

[MikeJ19]

A look at the Southern portion of my battlefield

[MikeJ19]

Opening day

[John B.]

And so it continues.

[MikeJ19]

Yes, it looks like it will be fun

[MikeJ19]

Plans for the North