The Fatal Bridgehead: Serafimovich

[StuccoFresco]

PLANNING
The bridgeheads are spread along a vast front, but the majority of my forces (under the 21st Army) are actually on the eastern bend of the river and don’t have any bridgehead at all. Additionally, they have only 2 bridging engineers available on that side. I decided to put the 304th Rifle Division on the same side of the rest of the 21st Army and try to put bridges south of Serafimovich to encircle the city.

The western flank is under the 63rd Army and has plenty of elite and armored units, but has terrible terrain. The bridgeheads are closely guarded by enemy units, so I’ll have to fight my way out right away. Not ideal. I’d wanted those tanks on the eastern side, with its clear terrain. The 14th Guards is probably gonna be the tip of the spear as well. Again, I concentrate my units on a few crossings, ordering my bridging engineers to open more paths across the river.


TURN1
Not much to do but to assign my air forces to Counter Air and order my Engineers to build new bridges. The few crossings already opened are used to push as many units as I can over the river and immediately expand the bridgeheads. No assault on the enemy positions: they are well fortified.


TURN 2
I want to expand the bridgeheads, but I move a couple Bridging Engineers and their pontoons disappear; I didn't think they'd just vanish like that, lesson learned. I assign artillery and order to double our efforts to break through the first Italian line of defenses. Some Italian units have been pushed out allowing me to deploy more of the 197th Rifle Division and the 14th Guards Division. In the east my engineers didn’t complete the pontoons, so everything is immobile.

I order the 14th Guards to expand and push back the Italians some more, and the 197th Rifle to ignore the Italian stronghold at Verkhny Kalininski and move southeast. The 203rd Rifle is still trying to dislodge the Italians from the trench networks in front of them, but as soon as I can I will cross the river with the 646th Tank Battalion and envelop the enemy positions.




TURN 3
The attacks have been costly, but the 14th Guards managed to break through and expand the bridgehead significantly. Most pontoon bridges across the entire front have now been completed, so I can cross with a lot of units at once, prioritizing armored units. The 21st Army can now try to cross south of Serafimovich and encircle its defenders.

In the west, the 197th Rifle will extend its line southwest and form the westernmost flank of my entire operation. Right beside it, the 646th Tank Battalion and the 203rd Rifle Division will develop the bridgehead.

The 63rd and 76th Rifle Divisions spearhead the 21st Army’s attack, supported by the 652nd Tank Battalion. In my plans, Serafimovich should be entirely cut off.

The 4th Guards Cavalry Division has arrived in the northwesternmost corner of the map, and I set it at Move+ to hurry it toward the river.




TURN 4
Man, the Soviet command penalty hits hard sometimes: a good half of my units refuse to move or make incomplete moves. This is especially hard around Serafimovich, because the botched movements fail to encircle the town and its defenders. I barely put any unit beyond the river. I am also trying to encircle part of the 2nd Division “Sforzesca” but again my units stop short of their objectives.

So yeah, I have to re-issue all orders. Serafimovich MUST be encircled, and I HAVE to encircle and destroy all enemy units I can. The 4th Guards Cavalry Division will be ordered to take the roads and push deep through the gap in the enemy lines southeast of Verkhny Kalininski.




TURN 5
Another attack at Nizhny Krivskoy fails embarrassingly, other 200 soldiers lost. Again the 124th and 63rd Rifle Divisions refuse to cross the river southeast of Serafimovich, so no progress there either, even if maybe I finally encircled the town thanks to other units. It’s really tiresome to command such an army. Fortunately, the 4th Guards Cavalry Division has executed its orders and stormed across the river like I told them to. TWO intel missions south of Serafimovich failed to tell me anything at all of a single enemy unit there. TWO.

I have to press on. Night turn, but this can’t stop me: I push forward to try and cut off several Italian units and crush a small pocket of them. The 4th Cavalry Guards move west to possibly encircle the enemy troops at Verkhny Kalininski: this could collapse this front and free a lot of my units.

Serafimovich is now cut off but I have to convince the bulk of my units to actually expand the bridgehead.




TURN 6
Once again some units around Serafimovich didn’t move, alright. At least I crushed a pocket of Italian troops and the Cavalry Guards have occupied a lot of ground on the western flank, I may be able to encircle a fair bit of the 9th Pasubio Division.

The enemy doesn’t seem to try to limit my breakthrough so I push my armor and cavalry forward trying to occupy ground and encircle as many units as I can. Serafimovich MUST fall, and if I manage to encircle half of the 9th Pasubio that could mean the collapse of the enemy’s left flank.

Some assault on weakened enemy units is in order, with full artillery support and the highest intensity I can muster. Nizhny Krivskoy is still heavily held by the enemy so I’ll try to encircle those positions as well.

There is an Italian Light Tank Company at Bobrovskyi, southeast of Serafimovich, I’ll try to encircle and eliminate it. Around Serafimovich itself there seems to be only a couple Artillery units and the HQ of the Italian 3rd Cavalry Division; I’ll try to crush them.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 7
Nizhny Krivskoy should be encircled by now, and the Cavalry Guards have cut off the 9th Pasubio Division from supplies by reaching the map’s western border behind it. Serafimovich is encircled and a probing attack proved costly but not that bad (200 losses vs 68 inflicted casualties). In the center, the 14th Guards Division and the 6th Tank Brigade have advanced freely.

I want to solidify my encirclements and eliminate some pockets I created last turn. The breakout in the center allows the 14th Guards Division to send a Regiment toward the main objective at Bolshoy, supported by the 6th Tank Brigade and some recon units. The encirclement of Nizhny Krivskoy must be completed and a decisive assault set up.




TURN 8
Enemy resistance is crumbling at Serafimovich: my units have pushed some weak enemy units away from the river and an assault on the town has been met with success, although the Italians are still fighting. Verkhne Krivskoy has been occupied and the enemy lines are seemingly completely broken in the area, with the 9th Pasubio encircled.

I push most of the 14th Guards Brigade south, supported by the 134th Tank Brigade and mixed recce units. I can see a strong German presence in Bolshoy now so I withdraw the vanguards to avoid a disastrous counterattack. I have to quickly eliminate the remaining pockets and push toward the town if I want to win this battle.

This means assaulting Nizhny Krivskoy and its encircled defenders: it will be a bloody affair but I can’t afford a siege. Similarly, the 4th Guards Cavalry has to start mopping up the encircled 9th Pasubio Division.

In the east, I have to take Serafimovich, and I’m moving my infantry westward more aggressively. Again, remnants of the German units are holding me back. I have to be more assertive.




TURN 9
My attacks have been successful almost all over the front, unsurprisingly: most were against encircled units and with overwhelming numbers. Serafimovich still holds, but barely, and Nizhny Krivskoy has been conquered. My units have advanced in the middle, but now there is a MASSIVE enemy presence around Bolshoy.

It’s time to leave the small fry to the second wave: I activate Move+ to the 32nd Cavalry Division and the 63rd, 76th and 124th Rifle Divisions, ordering them to converge on Bolshoy. The 14th Guards is similarly pushed forward.

The assaults against the 9th Pasubio are doubled over, as are new attacks against Serafimovich. It must fall!




TURN 10
Serafimovich finally falls, and the 9th Pasubio is crumbling, albeit slowly. The Italian collapse in the center and right allows my unit to quickly move forward, thanks to the road movement. Intel reports make me aware that the main objective is defended by the 22nd Panzer Division…

This time it seems most of my Divisions correctly followed my orders. The 63rd Rifle took Fomikhin, east of Bolshoy, with the 124th Rifle on its right flank extending its lines toward Kalmykovskyi. The 76th Division lagged behind due to rearguard actions from the Italian 3rd Cavalry Division’s HQ. That was brave and fucked over an entire Division’s movement; chapeau to them.

There are enemy troops in Yagodny, and an artillery unit east of Dubovoy; I can cut them off and crush them, it shouldn’t be too hard. Same for an Engineering unit at Devyatkin, northeast of Bolshoy, and a concentration of anti-tank units east of Singin. I extend my formations trying to envelop all of those small targets, hoping to cut their supply routes and soften them up for a follow-up crushing attack.

The 197th Rifle Division, supported by elements of the 5th and 6th Guards Cavalry, will again try to crush the 9th Pasubio in the northwest.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the map, I decided to send the 96th and 278th Rifle Division straight south, toward Golovski and eventually the second primary objective. My reasoning is that the 22nd Panzer Division will be exceptionally hard to defeat at Bolshoy so it would be better trying to sneak past it and conquer another objective.

I still develop my offensive in the middle of the map, but I can’t get too close to Bolshoy: an enemy counteroffensive could crush my vanguards before my tanks could enter the battle.

The 63rd Rifle, however, could crush the enemy Panzer Division’s HQ, since it’s stuck near Karagichev way too far from the rest of the Division... This could give us a pretty good advantage.




TURN 11
The 3rd Divisione Fanteria Ravenna appears southeast of Singin, threatening the right flank of my offensive. It’s not a Panzer Division, but I can’t pretend all is fine. For now I’ll try to defeat the anti-tank units that form the vanguard of the enemy Division. Then I’ll probably try to stall for time until the 197th Rifle and the Cavalry Guards liquidate the 9th Pasubio.

The 22nd Panzer Division’s HQ escaped the 63rd Rifle’s grasp, and the 278th Rifle didn’t move as much as I hoped toward Golovski. However, the 96th advanced more and now the two Divisions are tied. I push the 304th Rifle down the same axis as the offensive carries on.

I failed to envelop all the units I wanted to encircle in the center. Oh well. I move around my units and prepare a solid front toward Bolshoy, and I try to complete the aforementioned encirclements.




TURN 12
Enemy artillery hits across the entire front, inflicting some unexpected casualties. The enemy’s 3rd Division Ravenna pushes northeast, so I have to form a defensive perimeter and hold until the 9th Pasubio is dealt with. I’ll concentrate my forces around Verknhe-Krivskoy and the nearby hills.

Speaking of the Pasubio, I finally push them away from the victory hex near the river crossings, and it seems the encircled units are ready to surrender en masse.

Unfortunately I’m still unable to crush the various Axis units in the middle of the map, making my advance toward Bolshoy spotty.

In the east, elements of the 96th Rifle Division have been stopped near Raspopinskaya by elements of the 113rd Infanterie Division. A threat to the entire flank? I must stop and form a perimeter, I can’t have them cut off my offensive toward the victory hex in the south. Speaking of which, intelligence reports say there’s just a single unit guarding it. I’m approaching the location with 5 Infantry Regiments, and artillery units are coming as well.

The 76rd, 124th and 63rd Rifle Divisions approach Bolshoy from the east.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 13
The Pasubio is rapidly collapsing, but the 3rd Ravenna is attacking with determination, already engaging my Guards Cavalry units south of Verknhe-Krivskoy. I have to expedite the establishment of a solid defensive position. The Pasubio must be crushed this turn: I concentrate the efforts of the entire 197th Rifle Division and assign two Artillery units to support it.

The 14th Guards Division pushes in the center, supported by all the units I can muster. I must approach Bolshoy and at least try to hit the 22nd Panzer Division hard enough to prevent a counteroffensive.

West of Serafimovich, I spotted elements of the 79th Infanterie Division seemingly trying to advance east, so I gather several recce, antitank and engineering units and throw them at the apparent threat. Its HQ is the one that two of my Infantry Regiments have been steadily pushing southeast in the last few turns, and will probably be overran this turn.

Intel reports and my advancing units spot a single Security company defending the southernmost objective! It’s time to storm it! Unfortunately I can’t concentrate neither the 278th nor the 96th Divisions, so I’ll attack with a Regiment each.

The 304th Rifle Division will head for the last German-held objective further southeast. I ask my Intelligence attache to gather information about it, and also order a recon flight over it.




TURN 14
It has been a great turn: the Pasubio surrenders; only a single Regiment still holds a tiny speck of territory in a corner and will be assaulted in the next few turns. An annoying German Artillery unit northwest of Bolshoy has been crushed, and my infantry also captured the remnants of the 79th Infanterie Division and the 3rd Celere Division’s HQs. More importantly, the southern objective has been conquered by the 278th and 96th Rifle Divisions, which pushed away the German garrison.

The 304th Rifle moves toward the last objective.

The ring of steel around Bolshoy tightens as I try to eliminate the last few enemy units that aren’t part of the town’s defensive perimeter. The 14th Guards Division will launch the first assault toward the outskirts, and several artillery units will start to pound the positions of the 22nd Panzerdivision. I also decide to send the 278th Rifle Division in a road movement toward Bolshoy, coming from the southeast. Maybe I can fully encircle the Panzerdivision…

With the 3rd Ravenna continuing its push toward Verknhe-Krivskoy, I decide to pull all the elements of the 5th and 6th Guards Cavalry from the front of the disintegrating 9th Pasubio and toward the new threat. The 197th Rifle Division will complete the task of finishing off the lone surviving Regiment of the Italian formation alone.




TURN 15
Everything went according to plan, except for a failed armored assault against an Engineer unit outside Bolshoy that shrugged off an armored attack from the 134th and 36th Tank Brigades. The 3rd Division Ravenna crushed one of my light antitank units, but my Cavalry managed to extricate itself from the battle and now I have a continuous front in front of Verknhe-Krivskoy.

Several Regiments of the 5th and 6th Guards Cavalry will be sent southeast trying to scout the positions of the 3rd Ravenna and maybe cut off their supplies if they keep advancing northeast unsupported.

I’m preparing a massive envelopment of Bolshoy, and also launching probing attacks against the weakest points of the enemy defensive perimeter.




TURN 16
Mixed bag: the 14th Guards Division smashes through the weakly held northwestern outskirts of Bolshoy, but the 124th and 76th attack on the eastern one fails spectacularly. The HQ of the 22nd Panzerdivision intercepts the encircling maneuver of the 278th Rifle Division from the south and stops it.

The 278th Rifle will try to resume its march toward Bolshoy pushing the enemy HQ along the road. Meanwhile I’ll shell the enemy Panzerdivision with all the guns available, and renew my pressure against its eastern flank.

The last unit of the Pasubio must be crushed this turn: this has gone on for far too long. Same goes for the small engineering unit of the 79th Infanterie Division that last night mauled my 33rd Motorized Brigade. It was embarrassing.

[StuccoFresco]

TURN 17
The 63rd Rifle Division failed again on the eastern flank of Bolshoy. I decide to call it quits and attack elsewhere. The 9th Pasubio is finally no more, and the road to the complete encirclement of Bolshoy seems open now.

I quickly press forward with the 278th Rifle from the south and the 646th Tank Battalion along with the 36th Tank Brigade from the west. The 63rd Rifle aborts the frontal attacks against the eastern flank and extends southwest to contribute to the encirclement. I also order a massive concentrated artillery barrage against one of the enemy’s concentrations of units in the town.

The 5th and 6th Guards Cavalry’s attempt to flank the 3rd Ravenna fails as the enemy guards its left flank well, so I withdraw.

I send the 32nd Cavalry Division north against the 2nd Divisione Fanteria, which has been ignored since the first river crossings.




TURN 18
The bombardment of Bolshoy bore its fruits, but once again the 278th Rifle Division fails to complete the encirclement from the south. It’s just a minor delay as I order it to march on.

I also decide to launch an armored attack against the units I bombarded last turn; it’s time to put some real pressure on the 22nd Panzerdivision, before the scenario ends. Its HQ escapes the trap, though, and drives off southeast.


TURN 19
The attacks go quite well, and I press on. I double down on the encirclement attacks and the main thrust against Bolshoy, and while I’m unable to destroy a significant part of the 22nd Panzerdivision I still inflict a lot of losses in men and materiel.

The battle ends in victory, and a deafening one: 38 to 248 victory points, 8319 to 4740 personnel losses, 54 to 15 tanks lost, 260 to 7 guns lost, and the only “victory” the Axis can claim is a favorable 10 to 1 amount of downed enemy planes.




END
The battle has been quite easy: most of the difficulty was due to congestion on the bridges and coordinating the early breakthrough. After I conquered enough space to develop my formations, it became all too easy.

Unfortunately, the scenario AI must be refined A LOT for the Axis side: the 79th Infanterie Division should be sent either west or east if the Soviets take Serafimovich or Devyatkin. As it stands, if the Soviet player disregards that part of the river crossing as I did (and as it should since it’s terrible terrain and it’s FAR better to concentrate the crossings elsewhere), it stays in place for 19 turns doing nothing. It’s a good Division, it should do something.

Same for the 113th Infanterie Division: it stood between Raspopinskaya and Kletskaya doing nothing, defending against a non-existing Soviet crossing in that area. Here too there’s little reason for the Soviet player to attempt a crossing: the area is heavily forested and there is easily defensible terrain on the German side. The Division should be tasked with moving northwest if Serafimovich falls.

The Italian 3rd Infantry Division Ravenna and the 62nd Infanterie Division that attacked from the southwest should start moving earlier and press their attack more vigorously. I got a bit worried for a bit when the 3rd Ravenna popped up, but it moved very slowly and never even made contact with my defensive line at Verknhe-Krivskoy.

Ultimately, the 22nd Panzerdivision moved toward the central objective and then… nothing. It stood there and watched me encircling it and shelling it to shit for turn after turn until I had it surrounded and started pounding it. It really really should counterattack north. It’s a solid offensive unit that should use its mobility advantage. Again, “Soviets enter Devyatkin” could be a good trigger.

Overall I honestly think the AI scripting is not up to the task, and I’m afraid there’s little to no evidence of independent behavior from AI units. That’s quite worrisome.