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Turn 2

I don't know the air war interface very well. I can create ADs without a problem, the knowledge from WitW carries over conceptually here very well. What I need to wrap my head around are the AOGs and managing them to move air units forward into air bases. I thought I had the 'science' down in WitW in bringing newly captured airbases up to speed, I need to learn the same in this WitE2.

So, taking a stab at the RtL scenario online.



I didn't try to move any air units on turn 1, and left the air assignment to auto for these air directives. I think they're misleading as the Ju-88 recon squadron can make these flights, but many (or the rest?) of them can't. I probably should have just bit the bullet and started moving some forward, but I was going to try and let the AI manage this for me.



You can see that some panzers were cut off after turn 1. With Riga and the lower Baltic ports secured AGN opts for a hard shift to the east, with Velikie Luki as the next objective. Strong concentrations spotted around Pskov will be skirted for now instead of confronted. We could blast these units, but it will cost us time, strength, and likely drive them back onto our real target.



Rail is repaired from Germany to Riga. We detach a RAD from the FBD and assign them to a corp to operate in the rear area. Two things that will make for a lot of replayability in my mind are the random and discrete weather effects and the rail conversion rules. I really liked this start, but I think I botched it through error and oversight. Halfway through the scenario, so we'll see!



Overall strategic picture.

Turn 3

Air units still not moved forward yet.
Set recon ADs to try and peek in the valley behind Pskov.



Infantry move forward, cleaning up most of the pocket behind 4th Panzer Group.
The Motorized Corps plot new pincers to create a pocket east of the Velikaya, but south of Sorot. After linking up, the mechanized forces will pivot north up the valley taking advantage of the clear terrain.
If practicable Velikie Luki will be seized by motorized forces.



The Germans blast through the hastily composed Soviet defenses, and a new pocket is formed. Elements of Totenkopf storm Velikie Luki, while 6th Panzer Division expands the bridgehead north of the Sorot river. The southern pocket is liquidated, and next week will begin work on the next.



Some indecision in rail repair this turn. Lots of effort being put into a well connected back plane, but I should probably have the FBD chasing my vanguard a little harder. Knowing I'm delaying pursuing Pskov at this time has affected planning here, as a diversion to run the rail through Velikie Luki and north will add time.

Turn 4

Panzer Group 4 turns over picketing duties to the onrushing infantry and again focus north.
Soviet defenses around Dno are routed and the road to Staraya Russa is clear. While Totenkopf SS finally draws back together for the first time since the start of the campaign. The push toward the northwest and sever the Pskov to Leningrad railway. 6th Pzr Div resumes their position in the vanguard, reaching the outskirts of Novgorod.



Von Leeb (AGN) is worried about the thin motorized screen shielding the panzer's thrust. On the eastern side Hoepner (4th Pzr Grp) is leaning on the swamps and dearth of enemy formations for the moment until the infantry can finish with the pocket and catch up.

Below are the areas (in green) that I expect manual rail repair to fix, and the yellow and orange what I expect auto repair to hopefully convert over the next two weeks.

Turn 5

Von Leeb's fears are realized as several Soviet tank divisions squeeze through the twenty mile gap between motorized regiments and cut lines of communication for the panzer spearhead.
Hoepner reports that fuel concerns at the present aren't actually that bad, and that he would rather see the infantry press hard north than waste fuel and time diverting his mechanized forces back south.
It would be demoralizing, and the 4th Panzer Group can smell victory. 6th Pzr Div is 100 miles from Leningrad, and that is nearly the same distance to the 16th/18th Army front lines.

The infantry attacks are a complete success, and the brittle Soviet tank divisions are routed from the field, some east into the swamps.
6th Pzr Div reacts to this news with a surprise coup-de-main on Novgorod, seizing the city outright from a cavalry division and two weak and freshly raised reserve rifle divisions. Hoepner again trusts the Russians have no forces at this time to threaten his eastern flank and orders the abandonment of Staraya Russa to continue the push north.



This turn my three RAD SUs got hijacked by AGN and dispatched to the Baltic/Riga coasts for repair (you can see the orange dots). I re-assign them and lock HQs. Below are my hopes for automated rail repair, with the stars denoting where I intend to position the corps HQ to try and force repair where I need it over the next few weeks. The green circles are where I intend for the FBD to repair next week, before we commit to Velikie Luki.

Turn 6
July 27, 1941

4th Panzer Group focuses on battering the exhausted opposition to their north, again routing the units that had been around Novgorod.
The 18th and 16th Army forces continue to squeeze the Pskov salient. AGN is taking comfort in any replacements being sent to the units in this area, as they mean less for the freshly raised formations that can still stand between the panzers and Leningrad.

In retrospect it probably would have made sense to motorize at least a regiment of the 18th Army infantry to blitz in Estonia and flip some hexes more quickly. Not being brave (foolhardy) does mean we don't surrender the initiative trying to save a unit that gets in over its head. My inability to effectively move my air force forward means my recon squadrons are not well supplied, and I have almost no visibility on enemy displacements. 4th Panzer Group is exploring forward on intuition about where the enemy most likely isn't, in order to seize as much difficult terrain as possible before weather and enemy unit density intervenes.

The end of turn operational map below shows the varying objectives for next week. Von Leeb wants to seize the green region, isolating Pskov and reducing his anxiety about 4th Panzer Group's extending flanks and logistics chain.
Hitler instead wants to see focus on the pink region, isolating Leningrad from the Soviet Union and effecting a link up with the Finns.
Hoepner sees a little farther, to the yellow area, seeking to isolate Leningrad from the logistics chain.



Overall railnet at the end of turn 6:



A map showing end of turn 6 (July 27th) front lines with historical capture dates. This is a really cool addition as a benchmark:

Turn 7
August 3, 1941

The supply chain is stretched to the limit for the 4th Pzr Grp. The northernmost regiment of Totenkopf, just 10 miles from Lake Ladoga, is beyond the reach of resupply this turn.



The golden opportunity last week to push across the Neva river against some naval cadets slipped our grasp. This week reinforcements have arrived, and Hoepner sees no point in bashing the panzers against that line. Instead he will seek to exploit to the west and the north. 18th Army in the south must continue to squeeze Pskov while the Polizei SS at Staraya Russa tangle with Soviet cavalry.



4th Panzer Group again finds great success, and Red Army finds itself split into several parts: The Tallinn-Pskov pocket, the Oranienbaum Pocket, the Leningrad Pocket, and the Eastern Front.
3rd Mot Div has reached the Baltic, while 8th Pzr Div and a 36th Mot Div are at the gates of Leningrad. To the east Totenkopf SS Mot Div has pushed to Lake Ladoga, and farther north to capture the port Novaya Ladoga, after severing the rail line at Volkhov.



16th Army will receive 3 infantry divisions from 4th Pzr Grp and 2 infantry divisions from 18th Army to hold the line with 5 divisions north of Lake Ilmen and 4 divisions south of lake Ilmen. With this shield in place 18th Army and 4th Pzr Grp will concentrate the next two weeks on reducing the Tallinn-Pskov pocket while building up supplies for the assault on Leningrad itself.

Turn 8

Supply lines still stretch too far, but the heavy lifting has been done:



The Totenkopf SS move into Syasstroy and thereby officially isolate the western Soviet defenders.
The panzers regroup for some success getting 10 miles closer to Schisselburg.
The 36th Motorized reforms and heads west, intending to link up with 18th Army forces and finish liberating Estonia.
3rd Motorized reforms and will assist 18th Army in the clean up to the south. After routing two Soviet units east of the swamps we put a pause on attacks so we can capture these forces over the next two weeks instead of rout shells out of the pocket.
Pskov falls and Model's corps is re-assigned from 16th Army to 4th Pzr Grp to oversee the assault on Leningrad. Plan is to regroup for two weeks and then launch the assault, but the isolation effects may make it worthwhile to attack sooner.

That is an impressive drive to Leningrad. I never considered neglecting the area west of the lakes. How's your TOE for your mobile units? Supply must be terrible, you dropping supply? Looks like there has been hardly anything to slow you down. Got your opponent off balance and kept him that way.

Reading the AAR's of better players i always learn a little something new, thanks for doing it. Seems breaking down divisions is used more then i consider doing in my games.

I've leaned more on my tanks engines than their guns. I'll check TOE when I get back turn 10. Here are stats from turn 9:











Losses after turn 9 pocket clean up (not reflected above):



Destroyed units (excluding the SUs and FZs on turn 1):





With regard to regimental breakdown. Occasionally warranted to make sure you keep solid ZOC locks, but I'm loathe to do it because I hate to lose the MP the next turn putting the formation back together, and I'm really loathe to attack with regiments.

In the little bit I've played the AI I notice it's tendency to make attacks with regimental units instead of divisions. Klotzen, nicht Kleckern

Turn 9

German reinforcements arrive, a panzer and motorized division that are immediately committed to 18th Army to clean up the Pskov pocket.
Rail is built into Pskov, and hopefully next week we'll have the rail north cleared.
Around Leningrad Model's infantry squeeze the the city tighter, while LVI Motorized Corps (Manstein) seizes Schisselburg and is now only 20 miles from Osinovets.



The Corps HQ managing the RAD crews is brought north, hopefully they can stich together a parallel line northward.
The railnet:

Nice advance and bypass of Pskov, cant believe you made it so far so quick by Turn 6. Your Turn 8 supply lines are crazy. Maybe the should make truck usage a VP score as well. [:)]

ORIGINAL: Hardradi

Nice advance and bypass of Pskov, cant believe you made it so far so quick by Turn 6. Your Turn 8 supply lines are crazy. Maybe the should make truck usage a VP score as well. [:)]

Now Seminole should do that in a regular campaign game

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain
Now Seminole should do that in a regular campaign game

It was actually a campaign game that turned me on to the idea.
Chaos45 mentioned my Soviet defense of the Baltic in this AAR

“all the units west of pskov in the north are basically not providing any value to the soviet defense”

and it got me to thinking, what if the Germans just avoided dispersing their strength into Estonia and kept it concentrated east of Pskov?
Any Soviet units left over there are then ‘wasted’.

In the AAR my ‘Estonian Front’ actually created some havoc.

I haven’t tried following truck pools closely, but was disappointed to see those stats weren’t initially included in the built in chart tools.
Hopefully more is added to that in future patches. I’d like even more to export the data as you can from WitE1 now from the CR.
I had a nice Google Sheet that could show me my SU composition by TOE type for each HQ.

ORIGINAL: Seminole

ORIGINAL: HardLuckYetAgain
Now Seminole should do that in a regular campaign game

It was actually a campaign game that turned me on to the idea.
Chaos45 mentioned my Soviet defense of the Baltic in this AAR

“all the units west of pskov in the north are basically not providing any value to the soviet defense”

and it got me to thinking, what if the Germans just avoided dispersing their strength into Estonia and kept it concentrated east of Pskov?
Any Soviet units left over there are then ‘wasted’.

In the AAR my ‘Estonian Front’ actually created some havoc.

I haven’t tried following truck pools closely, but was disappointed to see those stats weren’t initially included in the built in chart tools.
Hopefully more is added to that in future patches. I’d like even more to export the data as you can from WitE1 now from the CR.
I had a nice Google Sheet that could show me my SU composition by TOE type for each HQ.

Yes, I remember your stroll through that poor German player. I remember my email, might have been a Skype call, with Chaos45 mentioning your attack. But yeah too many Germans get distracted. Need to stay focused and protect flanks.

I have played 3 games as Germany in WITE2 and 2 of them I have been able to cut Leningrad off turn 4. The 3rd game I did not go for Leningrad. So you Sir doing great

Beginning of turn 10:



End of turn 10:



AFV losses:



Total AFVs:



Total Men:



Destroyed Units: