Directive 21

[Fungwu]

The plan is to strike east along 3 axes. The northern strike will contain Tank group 3 and 4. Their mission will be to penetrate opposition between the border and Saransk, 1410 km distant. The next leg of their journey takes them north west to Lake Lagoda, another ~600km.

The calculations behind this plan are to stick to open country where maneuvering is easiest. Especially to be avoided is urban fighting in Moscow which will be bypassed. By maintaining a great speed of advance it is estimated that enemy reinforcements and supplies can be cut off from the rear and the entire region Moscow-Gorky-Leningrad can be taken without a protracted fight.

The second and middle axis passes south of Minsk and ends at Saratov, ~1600km. This mission is assigned to Tank group 2. This mission is the most open ended. The intention is that Tank group 2 can swing either north or south to support either of the two flanks of the advance. This could be accomplished by moving the group entirely, or in part off of its marked axis. This group will potentially send its entire force at the end of its advance to support the northern advance to envelop Moscow and Leningrad. In addition to, or replacing entirely such a move, Tank group 2 could continue on to the Ural mountain range and completely sever North-South rail communication, preventing opposing forces from shifting from one side to the other. This second move would greatly support any operation to completely clear the southern portion of the map.

The Southern axis of advance will fall to Tank group 1. The mission will be to proceed south of Kiev to Stalingrad, ~1600km. Ultimately the goal is cut off the Caucasus region from the north, potentially with the assistance of tank group 2. This could happen in several ways, so nothing too specific is marked here. Sharing the exact principles with the northern group, the southern axis will concentrate on advancing only through open terrain and strictly avoiding fights in any cities.

The overall plan has two favorable outcomes. One is that a partial victory is achieved if the Caucasus region can be cut off. This is because such an advance will have overtaken most of the opposing capacity to produce war material. Any future advance will be made possible by this fact.

If the northern attack can succeed completely in conjunction with the southern attack then a complete victory can be achieved. In this case the large majority of opposing armies and factories will have been captured and continued resistance will be untenable.

If any situation of uncertainty develops, it is favorable to reinforce the Southern attack at the expense of the northern. The completion of the southern advance would make possible a second attempt at the illustrated northern campaign after the first winter is over. The northern advance is the more ambitious of the two, without a solidly corresponding benefit, so it is the most likely to be scaled down in case of difficulties.

[Santayana_slith]

If this is a 3.4 game it should be interesting to watch the PO response and the new rules effects.
Keep the updates coming.

[Fungwu]

This picture is after both sides' first moves.

I will make some remarks concerning tactics.

The strategic aim is to make advances. Advances must be made along existing rail lines for logistical reasons. Tactical moves can be made anywhere, but ultimately rail lines must be cleared for the advance to continue.
The ground forces first advance through holes in the lines to probe the enemy second echelon. Based on this attacks are made against the first echelon by infantry, and then the tanks follow through the holes, aimed at those spots where the second echelon is thinnest. Attacks can be developed along 2-4 different routes to split the defenses, but as soon as one route is clear to advance, the other routes are consolidated into one.

Generally combat is avoided as much as possible, and the combats that develop consequently have a greater share of artillery and air support available. Casualties for this first turn among the infantry were 1303 rifle squads. Opposing units not selected to be assaulted are generally pinned in place by division split into two to await reduction at a future date.

[Fungwu]

The end of my second turn.

Here you can see the basic outline of my plans. Infantry have corralled opposing mechanized corps into pockets north and south of my penetration. Tank units are scouting out several different rail lines while a large reserve of tank
divisions is behind the front lines waiting for a clear route to advance on the next line of defenses.

[Fungwu]

This is the south, end of turn 4.

The tanks are snaking through the lines, clearing a way ahead.

[Fungwu]

Turn 5: The view in the south as well as an inset of the rest of the action.

Losses in rifle squads are at 1773. 1303 were from the first turn, so an average of 100 per turn since then.

As I move, the forward units wind around any resistance. Secondary units secure the flanks from attack. When forts are encountered the first move is to cut the supplies. The second move is to bombard with heavy artillery. The final move is to assault.

In this picture I am trying to cut off the supplies while the artillery and reinforcements move up after success against a Soviet division defending Tarnopol. In the picture are several pockets, and several Soviet units on either flank being engaged frontally. I will wait for the troops in the pockets to surrender. I will continue to pin down the units and the flanks and surround them when I get a chance.

In the north I have 2 columns, according the the overall plan, that are marching forward. There isn't much resistance so far.

[Fungwu]

Tank group 2-4 are making their approach march on the Dnepr River. A significant force of red units await them there. The plan is pretty simple. Tank group 3&4 are on the northern end, and tank group 2 is on the southern end. Together they will converge on Tula, passing through the area in between the arrows.

The equations here depend on the concentration of forces, in this case 3 out of 4 tank groups fighting together. Equally important is the terrain, which is mostly open with only a few rivers or forests in my path. The biggest part of my strategy is to avoid fighting protracted and difficult battles, in favor of maintaining momentum. To that end I will try to 'spread' the Russian forces instead of crushing them. My attacks will only focus on clearing a road or two for each wing of the attack. Any survivors should be encircled in the middle, or pushed to the outside where they should stay out of trouble.

Another big point here is that my troops are not going to attack Moscow at all. As far as I am concerned it is just a name on a map, and I can even turn that name off if I want. An attack against a fortified city is the most difficult of all attacks, and even if it succeeds, too much time and energy is lost. After Tula is reached, I will decide what the next stage will be.

[Silvanski]

ORIGINAL: Fungwu

Another big point here is that my troops are not going to attack Moscow at all.

Moscow is indeed a difficult target which may need a lot of units to accomplish. Several Soviet formations have their tracks running through or near Moscow at some point, so you can expect trouble everywhere in that region
In my game I took Moscow -albeit at the price of being left with exhausted and depleted units. I pulled out after a few turns to form a stronger front and fend off the Soviet winter offensive

[Fungwu]

Here is turn 7 in the south. I've easily broken past the Stalin line and my tank divisions are on the march to the Dnepr River. My plan is to cross around Dnepropetrovsk. After the river there is a passage of open ground with only a few small streams as obstacles running from the area between Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov, south east to an area east of Rostov. The idea is to stick to the open ground and keep headed east till Army group South reaches Astrakhan. At that point all reinforcement to the Cacaucusus area will be cut off and my infantry can reduce that area more easily.

In the northern section of the map my two groups have made contact with the Soviet line running N-S along the Dnepr. Next turn my assault on that position begins and then my troops will continue moving towards Tula. Once tank groups 2,3 and 4 have reached Tula, tank group 2 will send some troops to make contact with AGS along a line running N-S from Voronzeh. The rest of tank group 2 will head E to cut off soviet reinforcements between the Caspian and the Urals.

After Tula tank group 3 and 4 will head North toward Gorky and continue on to envelop Moscow and eventually Leningrad.

[Fungwu]

The spearhead of tank groups 3 and 4 suffered a powerful counterattack by soviet tanks and was forced to retreat in disarray. To remedy the situation I launched a powerful counterattack south of the soviet tanks and am now pushing for some bridges over the Dnepr after routing some soviet infantry.

Tank group 2 met much lighter resistance form some infantry divisions and was able to destroy most of these. Now the plan is to carry on the attack into the Soviet rear before the enemy tanks can slow me down.

[Fungwu]

In my game I took Moscow -albeit at the price of being left with exhausted and depleted units.

Yeah, I was taking notes, Moscow, Stalingrad, the Caucasus mountains, you got stopped at a couple of tough places. I'm betting on just going round all of them, instead of straight through.

[Fungwu]

Turn 9, not much to say. Losses at the end of my turn are ~3000 rifle squads. Less than I have produced actually.

[Fungwu]

Turn 11:

I've driven around the first wave of Russian reinforcements in the north and 3 routes are being scouted out for an advance on to Tula. There are strong Russian forces opposite my own. My plan is to dig in and absorb their attacks until they tire out. I have already cut their supplies and created routes around them.

My tactics for this battle are to create several possible routes to advance down, and then probe the enemy until the weakest defended route is found. Then I attack down only that route and defend everywhere else. I shift my units around so reserve units take up positions facing the enemy units and the motorized units can be then released to advance further.

The Russians have made many counterattacks with their tanks. The typical situation is that the forefront of the advance is only 2 or 3 tired units. The Russians move into contact and often try to surround these exposed units. These attacks have been pretty effective in chopping up some of my units. I have avoided attacking the tanks as much as possible and just shift my forces around them. In more than one case the enemy tanks chew themselves up attacking my defensive lines of infantry backed by artillery and aircraft.

In the south the advance is still headed to Dnepropotvsk, there is very little resistance so far between my forces and the Dnepr River.

At this point I feel totally satisfied with the progress of the advance and the level of losses. infantry losses are around 3800 squads, which is 2500 squads between turns 2 and 11. That figure indicates the low rates of attacks that I make each turn and the ultimately weak nature of the Russian counterattacks.

[Fungwu]

This turn I advanced on 2 out of 3 routes of attack. There wasn't any assaults. Here is my plans for the attack in the southern area. The blue arrows is the main route, the green arrows are sub missions to be carried out if there are extra units.

The concept is to probe the defenses along the Dnepr river to see if they are solid or not. If they are not then the forward units will infiltrate any gaps. The attack of the rear elements will develop from this bridgehead into the rear and bypass as many of the forts as possible.

If the defense is solid, there will be a delay to allow the assault infantry, heavy artillery, and bombers to move up and support the breakthrough by an infantry assault, followed by tank units. There is a role for paratroops in this second operation, to jump behind enemy positions and cut supplies to the forts as the assault takes place.

In either case my breakthrough forces will navigate a key section of terrain that has very few rivers or rough terrain, and also contains a railroad line. An attack down this axis will steer south of Stalingrad and proceed down toward the SE.

This advance makes possible many secondary advances to cut off different groups of opposing forces. I will undertake this secondary operations as forces become available. There are many divisions coming along from the rear at different speeds. Many are occupied defending against surrounded Soviet forces. As these surrender over time new divisions progressively become available.

[Fungwu]

Turn 17:

Losses ~4500 squads.

It seems the computer is about finished. After Surrounding and bypassing the first wave of Russians at Smolensk, tank groups 3 and 4 have found no major resistance and have surrounded Tula. Tank group 2 met some light resistance, but it was not necessary to attack, and after surrounding the Russians they should be able to continue their advance soon enough.

With no more Russian lines and completely open terrain I don't see any way the Soviets can stop any advance.

In the South tank group 1 found some holes in the Dnepr line. A group of Russian infantry divisions moved in to block the crossing, but with planes, tanks, and artillery support, and the failure of the Russians to take a defensive stance, a firm bridgehead has been made. One Russian fort remains to be reduced to secure a rail bridge over the Dnepr.

I have made a brief outline of my plans from here. Surround and then reduce several large areas of territory. The completion of this phase should end the campaign.

[TPOO]

Are you playing with 3.4 supply rules turned on? It is tough to imagine that those units near Tula would be in supply at only turn 17. It is tough to just get the rail repaired to Smolensk by that turn.

[Fungwu]

Your assessment of the supply is accurate. As of turn 20 I haven't advanced further, waiting on the rail heads to catch up.
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[TPOO]

That is good to here. I was hoping we did not have any supply glitches with 3.4 . I was only able to run a couple of tests in 3.4 to make sure the supply features of 3.4 were working and we have not had any AAR until yours. Thanks for the good postings. Be aware that the scenario is sort of set up to force the German player to follow the Fuerer's directive. Certain reinforcements will not be available until ceratin historical locations are captured. All in all looks like a good strategy. Hopefully Elmer will keep up.
We have a lot more things to change and add for the next version as soon as Steve can get a special build of 3.4 for his computer.

[Fungwu]

Turn 22: In the far north a little development. I basically wrote off Finland and did not move anything. The defenders at Murmansk came to launch an attack. I consolidated the German divisions in northern Finland and moved in behind them. Now I have eliminated all the Soviet divisions and am ready to attack Murmansk.

In the area South of Moscow I am receiving probes and attack all along the line. It is pretty exciting. Mostly I have just set up my infantry to watch and push back these moves. My rail crews are banging away but the rail line isn't to Tula yet.

Tank group 2 has been sitting around for awhile, but now the Soviets between them and Tula have been cleared out and they are fully supplied and ready to move. Due to supply constraints, I am going to limit the aims of my northern arm. For now, all I am going to do in the big picture is to push on to Saratov. This move is impossible for the Soviets to stop, and will ensure that everything South of that line falls into my hands. It also provides a good start line for a later attack north.

Between the area north of Kiev and just east of Bryansk my infantry units are slowly pushing Soviet units back away from my rail lines, and securing jumping off points for more moves against the Soviet center positions.

In the South the Romanian and Hungarian forces are getting ready to take over for the still strong Russian troops around Kiev. Its important that I force them back to keep them from raiding south and screwing up my train schedules. A similar story is taking place around Odessa and the lower Dnepr.

The main strength of my force is assembled at Dneprovotpsk and has begun to move out in the general direction of Stalingrad. My aim here is to advance to a spot where I am in position to launch a follow up operation into the Caucasus at a later date. I also want my northern and southern forces to link up at the limit of their advances at the Volga and cut all supplies to any Soviet forces in the central area.

[Fungwu]

Here are a couple of self imposed rules I am using and a suggestion for future development of this scenario:

1. I either move, or dig in. I don't move and then dig in. If I dig in, I just do it once, I don't go to fortified or entrenched.

2. I use my divisions as one piece. I don't subdivide and I try to keep the HQ in the same hex as the main part. For panzer divisions I might split it into two hexes because they are bigger.

3. I don't move aggressively, attack, or bombard with orange units.


The AI makes many attacks, and I thought by not digging in too much it gives these attacks more of a chance. The scenario works best I think with fewer axis units. I started out subdividing my infantry and spreading out my panzer divisions, but it was too easy to surround everything without fighting. I try not to abuse the fact that there is no 0 supply.

This is a fun scenario, and I could suggest 1000 different things, but here is the one I would choose first. I thought making the regiments into divisions for the axis infantry was the right move, and I think to take it a step further. Make the infantry and the headquarters/artillery one unit and then make the formation the army korps and not single divisions. This way I can actually keep track of all my army korps hqs and they are not just useless. The axis have a lot of artillery units that are between 2-6 strength. Combine these units into a bigger ones, and then I can subdivide if I want the smaller ones back. For panzer divisions combine the regiments and HQ/arty into one unit and make one separate unit with the recon and engineers. Then you can subdivide the panzer division if you still want regiments, or use it as a big unit. Then you can have the formation be the panzer korps, and just like the infantry korps, now I can keep track of which HQ belongs with which units.

There one other thing I will mention for your thoughts. In many cases the Germans can find different Soviet units that will retreat, and then surrender if challenged by an infantry division. This makes things too easy, because you can destroy many units without fighting. Motor cycles and tank brigades would be at the top of the list here, but cavalry and infantry divisions are easy prey to this method as well.