Eastern Front '41-'45 Fabio (Axis) vs Jason (Soviet)

[governato]

I am taking Eastern Front 41-45 (EF for short) on a test game with Jason, my Soviet opponent. Here is a report of the campaign so far. We are currently at the beginning of 1942 Spring and lots of offensives, encirclements and bad mistakes have happened! We are having fun.

I will focus on a high level description of the campaign as it unfolds, my main strategic and operational goals as the Axis 'commander' and how the scenario plays out, with a few game tips thrown in. What we have learned so far is going into the updated version V6 that I am in the process of finishing.

EF is designed to be as historical as possible in terms of units composition, Order of battle, logistics and production but also to remain playable so that completing the campaign is actually possible in your lifetime. While not as complex to master as dedicated games as GWITE it requires good playing and a lot of planning at the operational level. The game contains a lot of detail and it is designed to reward players who are interested in the historical campaign past winter 41/42. If you 'd like to give it a go I recommend that the more experienced player takes the Axis, as the Soviet/Red Army player has more time and room for horrific mista... learning. Sounds about historical right?

OK here we go! The opening frame shows AGN headed for Leningrad and PzG3 taking Vilna at the end of turn 1 (on schedule as it fell to the Nazis on June 24th.)

[governato]

This is the opening map. The four Panzergruppen will start with their initial historical goals of

- encircle and destroy the soviet frontlines, head for Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev-Rostov with the goal of capturing the industrial areas in the Ukraine.

- The Luftwaffe will destroy as much enemy aircraft as possible and only then switch to ground support.

- Railheads will follow the main axes of advance as quickly as possible

We know how these goals had quite a bit of hubris...but I wanted to compare how the TOAW engine and the scenario fare vs history, namely the pace of advance in the first turns and the ability to form pockets (and escape them!)

Strained logistics and the ability of the Red Army to regenerate itself will make sure this plan does not survive contact with the enemy... I also plan to deviate from history comes Fall, but we will see once we get there.

[governato]

Here is another close up close to the end of Turn 1 for Pz4 and and 3. Note the split units to close pockets and the Rail Repair units trying to catch up. Several Red Army units have been destroyed or trapped.
TOAW says I destroyed about 2+k VVsplanes. I have lost about 50. Infantry losses are large on both sides.

Game tip: splitting units is quite common in this scenario. The Axis uses it to protect the flanks and close pockets, The Red Army to cover a large front and avoid having entire armies encircled...Split units take a proficiency hit so when the Red Army will be able to recombine corps into Armies in late 41 it will also get a reverse proficiency bonus to represent its improvement in Command & Control and logistics.

[governato]

Turn 2: June 29th. During this early turns the advance of the Axis forces is really fast. The Red Army cannot do much other than stand and fight and entrain troops from the East. Some Red Army formation will be or go into `reorg' to simulate chaos in C&C of the early days of the campaign.

The image (top) shows the historical advance on Minsk (from wikipedia), that was captured on June 28th/29th. In our game this is achieved (bottom) by a Korps detached from Panzergruppe 3, which is advancing further North. Panzergruppe 2 forms the southern pincern. Several Soviet units are in the process of being trapped. AGC is on schedule! VVS has lots several thousand frames to about 100 of mine. I have lost about 100 PzKwIII so far.

Game tip: The Red Army has a very poor control on its units, one should not assume that they will be able to move any unit the following turn, so be careful to avoid leaving units in precarious positions. Also VVS recon is non existent so only Axis units adjacent to Soviet units are visibile. Assume that the Panzers will try to move along roads and open ground...

[governato]

Army Group South is moving towards Kiev. Rovno is taken on schedule (6/28). Note how I split the advancing Korps to cover more ground in the hopes it does not get cutoff. The infantry and the rail heads are struggling to keep up the pace.

[governato]

Turn 2 with Army Group North. 56th Panzer Korps is leading the advance and Dvinsk falls (historically on 6/26).

Game tip: This seems easy going but one has to pay attention to where the Rail Repair units are and choose a path of advance that is the most efficient: along the cost through Riga or along the Dvinsk-Luga route? It's important to get across the Daugava river before the Red Army counterattacks. It has some strong tank corps in the area. The Red Army has space to trade for time and within the next few turns it could pick the right place to give the exposed panzer heads a bloody nose and make the Axis player more cautious.

[governato]

This two frame shows the battle of Smolensk at the end of July (Turns 5 and 6). Panzergruppe 2 and 3
encircle the city, several Mech Corps and at least two armies. So far The Axis is on the historical timetable.

To facilitate this kind of operations the Axis player should take advantage of the reduce cost of moving across ZOCs and the relatively high movement rate of its panzer units. However, the lower frame also shows the very low supply rates for the Panzers, with the east most division in 'overextended' status. I am usually Ok if this last for a turn or two but after that losses become significant.

After this successful Kessel (cauldron) the Panzergruppe 2 & 3 will have to rest for several turns while infantry and the railheads catch up.

- The air superiority of the Luftwaffe is almost total and air units are mostly used for ground support.

AGN: advancing towards Leningrad but meeting stronger resistance.

AGS: at the gates of Kiev and PZG1 probing crossings across the Dnepr. Odessa has just fallen, but it was only lightly defended. (There is a Soviet supply point there so it'd have been able to resist a siege).

The Red Army has been vary cautious so far and I have not suffered any major counterattacks, although keeping the pockets closed has been hard and only partially successful as the German infantry is slow to catch up.

At this point I am fairly happy with the speed of the advance which has followed the historical timetable.
This gives me some confidence that supply rates and units Movement rates are well modeled in the EF scenario. Even at this relatively large scale the scenario is able to recreate encirclements and the fluid nature of the Barbarossa campaign.

In the next few turn the weather will degrade and the supply rates will be very low, still victory seems close...

[Raver508]

Very nice AAR here governato. I can confirm the full horror that it was being on the receiving end of this blitzkreig. And it gets a lot worse yet

[governato]

Turn 9 Late August, 1941 This large map shows the extent of the first phase of the Axis advance. All tank Korps are tired but significant progress has been made on all the three axis of advance.

Army Group South: PanzerGruppe1 as crossed the Dnepr and is linking with Army Group Center, trapping Kiev and several Soviet Armies. The Red Army formations have lower proficiency than their Axis counterparts and when suffering heavy casualties they are prone to
going into 'reorg' (the dreaded orange band) meaning that their units
cannot move for a turn. Several Soviet mech Corps that were left in
exposed positions are lost. I recommend pulling them back and usig
them as reserves or to strike the most advanced German units.

Army Group Center: after several successful pockets the Panzers need to rest and wait for the Infantry to catch up. The Red Army is forming a solid wall of infantry that will stop my advance for a while.

Army Group North: PanzerGruppe4 has made it to the gates of Leningrad but it's a spent force. I pull it back to rest. The terrain is not favorable to tanks anyway.


The South: Odessa has not been defended in force and it's taken by the Romanian allies. Romanian infantry has fair proficiency but poor logistics and C&C (based on postwar historians assessments, see scenario description for a few references). This is coupled with poor firepower both at the squad and support artillery level, and with less trucks and almost no tank support compared to their German counterparts. As a result their firepower at similar supply and
readiness level is about 50% less and their losses are also about 50% higher then the Germans'.

The VVS (the Soviet Air Force) is starting to come back, but the Luftwaffe still owns the skies.

Lessons learned for the Axis: rest your Panzer and make sure your Rail Repair units stay focused on the main railways. The challenge is to eliminate as many Red Army units as possible (especially the light red units which represent the 'first generation' of the Red Army that do not reconstitute and have weaker TOEs) and still make progress forward.

Lessons learned for the Red Army: do not leave any unit exposed especially the tank Corps. It's hard to retreat once pinned by the enemy. Give ground instead which is almost always possible and use the major rivers as stop lines. Do NOT let your HQs behind, if lost their formation will go into reorg and their supply will be reduced for many months.


What to do next? Here is where I will start to deviate from the historical plan .

[governato]

TURN 14

In late Summer decide to withdraw the PanzerGruppe assocated with Army Group North and focus on AGS and AGC. PzG1 will capture the industrial region in Ukraine with the ultimate goal of Stalingrad. PZG 2,3,4 and will cover its flank and then turn North with the goal of taking Moscow from the South.
This move should encircle and destroy significant troops in the Kiev area and decrease Soviet production, but will strain the logistics of the Axis.

Infantry losses are heavy but tanks and trucks are in good shape. The image shows how significant progress has been made towards Bryansk. Not many forces left directly in front of Moscow. I hope my opponent will take some time to realize my shift from the historical goals.

[governato]

TURN 16 Mid October Eastern Front Fabio (Axis) vs Jason (Soviet)

AGN: Strong German forces are right in front of Leningrad, but lack of supply and heavy artillery mean that a direct assault on the city won't be possible. Focus will be bringing the railhead close to the city.

AGC: The Red Army deployed several armies in front of the capital. PZG2,3 & 4 are heading SE, but several units are being refitted.

AGS: PZG1 has achieved a clear breakthrough but most of its forces are refitting East of Kiev. Significant progress is being made by AGS and while my forces are stretched over southern Russia, Voronezh seems within our grasp!

No major counterattacks from the enemy. I keep my eyes open for any surviving Mech Corps.

Game Design Note: supply that far East is really low and I need to watch for my units to not get into 'overextended' status. Low supply levels are due to a combination of the railway heads being far behind (Bryansk & Kiev) and the Summer rains (modeled with 'refugees' events, that limit supply along roads.

[governato]

This is how close the Panzers get to Moscow before the onset of Winter. The Red Army has a significant build up of forces next to the capital, with the 1st Shock Army making its first appearance (if still well understrength). But I did not detect any significant reserves. However, a significant salient is forming at Vyazma, well West of Moscow, where the Red Army has a powerful, well entrenched force. I decided to let that salient alone and focus on the 'South hook', pushing along NE along the Tula railroad with 2 PZGs. It worked, but not as well as I wanted. The Axis forces along AGC and AGN are spent, and the VVS is starting to make itself felt. Winter penalties for the Axis (a negative shock penalty and a small shock bonus for the Red Army (overall EF does NOT use big shocks other than on the first turn)) will hit soon and I decided it wast time to dig in.

Two big ifs: what if I had not sent a reinforced Panzer Group to AGS (aiming at Stalingrad) and what if the Red Army had evacuated the Vyazma salient and reinforced its frontline South of Moscow?

Overall the Wehrmacht is in good shape, but no major objectives have been taken yet. The next post will be about the showdown along the Volga.

Note for V6: the version of EF published recently has a slightly better supply network N of Moscow as a before missing (oops) railway goes through the Valdai hills. That 'd allow the Axis to launch a more historical, double pincer Typhoon, but also a better anchor for the Red Army.

[governato]

Turn 24. November 30th 1941

Time for a strategic assessment of the campaign and of the scenario.

German Infantry + Pioneer Squads 43500 / Losses 22100
Axis Allies (excluding the Finns) Infantry Squads 7600 / Losses 4500
Panzer III&IV 1950 /Losses 800 (including attrition)


One can see how the Axis Allies (HU+IT+SL+RU) fielded significant forces and also how their infantry losses are proportionally higher than their German counterparts.

This is due to a number of factors:

- Poor logistics (lower Formation Proficiency and supply efficiency)
- Lower movement rates (less trucks/horses compared to German units)
- Smaller caliber artillery at the Corps/Division level
- Less firepower per squads and lack of assault troops with AT capabilities (Pioneers and Red Army Sappers)
- slightly Lower Unit Proficiency. In Eastern Front 'proficiency' is strictly modeled as a proxy of experience and as such it is only marginally lower than the proficiency of Wehrmacht troops: 50-60 vs 70-90).

As a results Axis satellite infantry corps have have strength values around 50-65% of their German counterparts with similar number of infantry squads). This disparity is exacerbated in fights lasting more than one-two weeks and if units are tired/moving.

Note that SS 'elite' forces will also have not so great Proficiency values at start, suffering high losses (as it happened in the battles around Kharkov in early 1943).


The higher losses and lower combat factors of Axis units show how this approach is effective and better follows the insight from
modern historians that emphasize different logistic capabilities and equipment over 'troop quality'.

"Trust the Quartermaster notes over Generals' memoirs"... could be the motto of this scenario designer .

[governato]

Turn 24 November 30th 1941 Stalingrad Area.

By end of November Panzer Group1 has reached its furthest goal. The Don and Volga have been crossed and Stalingrad has been taken under light resistance. Romanian and Hungarian forces are covering the Don flank.

The top image shows the position of PZG1 entrenched around Stalingrad. While I was aware of taking a big risk my position was supported on the flanks and a supply unit was boosting my supply levels. Rostov was under pressure from my infantry and no strong Russian forces were visible.

48th Pz Korps has 130 Pz III&IV and a full complement of trucks.


Taking Stalingrad will lower the Red Army replacement rates representing the destruction/evacuation of its heavy weapons.

But how will the Red Army respond?

[governato]

This is the situation seen from the Soviet side on Turn 23 (courtesy of my opponent Jason). Three armies and a front HQ are assembling around the entrenched Panzer Group and the Winter blizzard shock bonus/penalties will start next turn. `Blizzard' modification are relatively mild (at the +-10% level for ground forces) but still significant as the German forces are tired and depleted.

Also note the Red Army units trapped by the Sea of Azov, I plan to dispose of them over the course of Winter.

[larryfulkerson]

I absolutely LOVE the graphics you're using for your map. May I enquire about the files you're using. May
I borrow a copy of them somehow?

here's my email address if so.
larryfulkerson2(at)gmail(dot)com

[governato]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

I absolutely LOVE the graphics you're using for your map. May I enquire about the files you're using. May
I borrow a copy of them somehow?

Larry glad you like the graphics.
One can play the scenario with any TOAW graphic mod they like..but I decided to sit on the shoulders of giants and use the best of both worlds mod and the `lightcounters' mod.

[larryfulkerson]

Thank you very muchly.

[governato]

Winter Blizzard started on turn 25 December 7, 1941. Shock penalties are small in EF: 110% for the Red Army, 70% for the
Axis and last at these levels for just a few turns and eventually peter out in February. The effect is more to make sure the Red Army has good Command & Control while the Axis may not be able to move its units if overexposed..

Speaking of which..while everything looked OK in Stalingrad AS SEEN FROM MY SIDE! The Red Army trap closed around PzG1 on Turn 27, December 21st. The two images shows Kleist's Panzer Group 1 surrounded by a three armies pincer movement with help from a Mech Corps. The siege was finally broken on January 11th with the arrival of a fresh Korps from Panzer Gruppe 3.


Only a few small units managed to get back across the Don, the HQ and two full Panzer Korps (3rd and 48th!) were lost. The Axis will never retake Stalingrad. and Panzer Group 1 supply will be crippled for a few months. (the Parent HQ is reconstituted with almost on support squads, which get very very few replacements). That was a big mistake on my part, even if it achieved the goal of damaging the Red Army industrial production.

Note the side action N of the Sea of Azov, where a few trapped Red Army units are in the process of being destroyed.


Learned lessons: always protect your HQs and taking risks (while necessary for the Axis), does not always pay off. Axis morale is still high tho, and I plan to restart offensive operations soon, earlier than the historical timetable.

[governato]

Clearly the scenario models well German hubris.... Still, the rest of the Axis forces survived in good shape. Winter and the Red Army was not able to mount a general offensive along the front and Axis morale is high. In February the front is stable and I am ready to restart my offensive. The two obvious spots will be the Caucasus and the salient that has been building at Vyazma just west of Moscow.

The image shows the first units crossing the Don after capturing Rostov. Stalingrad is about to be retaken by the Red Army.
But the door to the Caucasus seems open! Time for another mad dash!

Note that Stalingrad has a supply point for the Axis, even if it gives only 20% supply. That allows the scenario to model long sieges. Moscow and then Sevastopol and Leningrad have supply points for the Red Army. The supply points in Leningrad and Sevastopol get removed if the ports that supplied them are taken (they are marked by yellow diamonds on the map)

German Infantry & Sapper squads: 40k (losses 28k). Allies not included.
Medium Tanks: about 1700 (losses about 1300)

Note that the scenario includes 'attrition losses' for both sides, to describe low intensity fight along quiet sector (pestilence events) , and tank breakdowns (an off map sink unit that collects and eventually withdraws equipment as it gets damaged).

I am playing with V5. V6 extends attrition to trucks as the Axis has at this point an unhistorical surplus (this excess seems common to other long East front scenarios as trucks rarely get destroyed for the winning side).