Thanks wheels! But any evidence of the effects of the reorganization will have to wait, as the mud arrived in all it's glory.

First post has been updated with the turn 1 air losses and the first pocket near Bialystok on the opening phase of the war.

Turns 15 through 21, August 25 to November 6

With the reorganization mostly complete, the goal now was to get in to the 'Mud Line', because our meteorologist has predicted that the rains would begin the third week in October. Russian roads are poor in the best conditions, but become virtually impassable during the Rasputitsa. When the mud arrives, most movement and all offensive combat will become virtually impossible. With Blitzkrieg over, the aim was to get the elements of the army, scattered across Russia, in to a solid defensive line. The Russian would have the same difficulties, but we needed to get in place not only in preparation for the mud, but for the blizzards that would soon follow. This report covers a longer period, as during the mud, virtually nothing of note would happen.

Army Group Center

In the previous reports it was shown that the partisans had cut the vital AGC rail line near Polotsk. Having repaired it, the front line units were back in supply. While the bulk of my forces found their way in to the line, AGC was given the objective of clearing the enemy that had gathered near Tula. During the supply shortage, they had actually made a short penetration south of Moscow through a gap in the lines. Not enough to concern me, and I saw it as them sticking their heads further in to the noose. Elements of 2nd and 4th Armies, plus 2nd and 3rd Panzer ran a ring around the enemy at Tula. Here I went for the 'small solution'. If more time had remained before the rains, we could have run a much larger ring, and trapped a bigger bag of Ivan. But I knew that we had to seal the pocket, eliminate the catch, and get in position before turn 18, so our ambition was checked and replaced with pragmatism.



Because of the smaller pocket and with the strength of the forces committed, we were able to form an actual ring. on every hex with no possible means of escape. The Tula pocket was complete, and all enemy forces within eliminated. Another 150,000 Soviets marched in to captivity. This move removed the small salient south of Moscow, straightening the line, and adding the city of Tula to the German register.

After the fall of Tula, the remaining time was spent moving units in to the line, and local attacks were made where the Russian had held any forward position. I was satisfied with the situation, aside from the area immediately around Moscow. We had only a two-hex buffer. No time remained to deal wih this now, but opening some space here would be a vital objective when the rain ended and the frost made the ground hard once more.


Army Group North

In the north, the 16th and 18th Armies continued to hammer away at the defenses before Leningrad. The objective was to push forces over the Neva river in preparation for the final assault. Time had run out to capture Leningrad before the mud arrived, but we successfully pushed three divisions over the river, where they would dig in and await colder temperatures.


Army Group A

After the capture of Rostov, the newly constituted Army Group A under Rundstedt had shot it's bolt. At the far end of the supply chain the advance could go no further, and the positions around Rostov and the bend of the Donets river were consolidated in preparation for mud and snow. Units were moved in to line. The rail line had finally reached Dnepro, but would need to reach at least Stalino if these forces were to be in good supply. The vast gains we had made in the south were now calling in their debt. The decision to seal off the Crimea was already beginning to concern me, as the Russian was massing forces at the exits. With only the Itailians and Romanians there, I was concerned that a concerted effort to break though would see these forces break. But I have nothing available to serve as a backstop should a penetration be affected. Ultimately 1st Panzer will be returned to their winter positions near Stalino, and can act as a mobile reserve. The Italians and Romanians were ordered to dig in. They must hold. An enemy force unleashed through here would be a crisis.


Army Group B

In Kesselring's sector centered on Voronezh, the objective was to solidify the lines, and to concentrate the scattered forces newly assigned to the command. Intel shows this area in the one where the enemy has the weakest commitment, and no immediate concerns were revealed. But units in Army Group B were spread from Moscow to Belgorod and would have to be retracted in to the position and form a solid line. The rail line was passing through Kharkov and should soon be in a position to support these troops in the winter months. But it was probably too far away to do any good when the mud hit. When mud hits, positions that were formerly well within supply range suddenly find themselves isolated as the trucks they are depending on cannot navigate the morass. This fact caused me concern all along my front, but especially so in the south, where the spearheads had covered such great distances. As a result, a solid line needed to be formed, or any local penetration by the enemy could develop quickly in to a crisis. I was counting on the fact that mud plays no favorites, and Ivan would suffer along with us.


The Air War

Throughout this AAR I have touched on the situation in the air, but with little detail. Despite our successes, it's proven virtually impossible to crush the Soviet air force. It seems that for every aircraft shot down or destroyed on the ground, another one rolls out of the factory. On the opening of hostilities we were able to catch the enemy unprepared and on the ground. 3700 Russian planes were destroyed, including 3500 on the ground. Since then, things have gone well for our fliers, but with such a huge disparity in numbers, no concrete advantage has been struck. We had hoped to smash the enemy's air force in to irrelevance, but they have proven far more resilient than we had hoped.

This is the tally from the first turn. these are crippling losses, and in the first few weeks seemed to pay dividends, but the enemy soon recovered.




And this is the tally as of week 18,October 16, essentially a ten to one ratio. Even still, the enemy air force outnumbers the Luftwaffe by better than two to one. This situation will prove a problem I think, as I expect them to churn out plane after plane during the winter, and come spring we will face overwhelming numbers of Russian aircraft.




Overall, things have gone well to this point. But our massive gains are over, and I am truly concerned about what lies ahead. We were able to install a solid line before the mud. During these mud turns, 18 to 21, virtually nothing happened. No attacks by either side, which is good because virtually my entire central sector was out of supply. The main issue as I saw it was this mud season gave the enemy a chance to recover. We had averaged more than 200,000 Russian casualties per week until now, which outstripped the enemy's ability to replace them. But during Rasputitsa they were able to reinforce, to the tune of 120,000 new soldiers per week. So during those four weeks, the enemy had increased his strength by 500,000 men. Not good. We had him on the ropes, down to an effective fighting force of 2.4 million men. But after the mud he was back to near parity in terms of numbers with the German army. Our combat units still hold ascendancy over the common Russian unit, but this respite by General Mud allowed him to recover.

Here is the 'Mud Line' as of turn 17, just before the rains began.





And finally, the ground tally as of turn 18, the first week of mud. 4.2 million Russian casualties to this point, plus over 16,000 tanks and nearly 60,000 guns. Despite this massive haul, after the mud, the Red Army is only slightly weaker than they had been at the start. I've mentioned several times about his ability to reform his shattered forces, and it's both amazing and frightening to see. Of note are our losses during the current turn, the first one in mud. We lost nearly a full division's worth, and 10,000 killed, despite no combat. What is killing my men in the mud?

Ambushes by the Mud People, most likely.

Ahhh, the Muddentruppen!

Diabolical!

An observation and two questions, DBond:

That's a nice straight front without any salients... well done on that and your timely re-org of the Wehrmacht!

At this point, what impact does taking Moscow appear to have had, has it resulted in a Russian production penalty, and did unit morale values drop significantly, etc...?

Can the Russian forces bottled up in the Crimean Peninsula get any [significant] reinforcement from the rest of the Motherland?
While I agree that the weakness of the Axis troops corking the peninsula is a concern, it seems as though any Russian offensive which might manage to break through would be doomed to petering out fairly quickly, given the insane supply route from the rest of the CCCP via Kuban or by sea to Sevastopol. I don't know how well the game mechanics represent this situation.

Yes,the line is good. I wanted to make it as straight as I could. Russia is huge and I have just enough units to put a division in every hex. If there were any significant salients, I would have to make choices on which hexes to leave unoccupied.

Unfortunately I do not know the answers to the Moscow questions. About production, I had asked the same thing in the AAR. But I don't know how to know if I captured his factories. Doing so was one of the main reasons behind my decision to make the lunge and capture it in July. But I just can't say if this was successful. I need an experienced player to tell me how to make sense of it.

I do not believe the game in any way models the political or morale effects of capturing Moscow. In essence I think it's treated just like any other city, aside from Leningrad. Leningrad is the only one to have tangible effects from capturing it. Oh, and Rostov with the AGS split.

The troops in Crimea can be reinforced over the Kerch crossing, so this can be built up to as strong as they like. Currently the Russian 5th and 23rd Armies are massed there The Itailians and Romanians will be given some of the artillery that is freed from the capture of Leningrad to stiffen their defense of the exits. And I suppose you are right about a successful breach running out of steam. But the majority of the rails in the Ukraine are still not converted, so perhaps they can make use of these if they were to be set free here. They would be able to range out at least 300 miles (30 hexes) and still be in supply, so I'd rather they stay where they are! Anyway, the campaign is better with a little drama

I asked one of the players over on the Matrix boards about the production, how could I see if I captured their factories? He said that to do so I need to set the map to production mode then mouse over the intended target city, and then again after it's capture to see what effect it's fall had. Of course I failed to do this at all yet, so whether or not I captured any factories is lost to time.

I'll look to do the next report tomorrow, because some stuff happened!

Turns 22 through 24, November 13 to November 27

After having suffered through the Rasputitsa, I looked forward to the brief window when the snows would begin to fall, temperatures would plummet and the ground, until now a sea of mud, would become firm once again and support combat operations. On turn 22, November 13, the first snow began to fall. Aside from the first turn of the campaign, I saw turn 22 as the most important of the war thus far. The blizzards would begin in three weeks. This left little time for final alterations to the line, and hopefully to eliminate more of the enemy. Any losses we could cause now, would hopefully pay off once the initiative flipped to the Russian.

Army Group Center

Near Moscow the Russian was throwing heavy forces in to the line. Our small buffer of territory protecting the city allowed the enemy to get a large force poised within 20 to 30 miles of their former capital. They were especially strong directly to the north of the city. It was evident that this would be where the first blows of their counteroffensive would fall. We aimed to disrupt these preparations. The problem that presented itself was that the strength of the enemy, and the terrain, in addition to the placement of my Panzer Corps, meant that an encirclement of the forces directly to the north of Moscow would be virtually impossible. Three weeks was not enough time to force two pincers through, encircle them, and eliminate the forces trapped within.

Here my inexperience cost me. As turn 22 arrived the possibilities before me became evident. But I had failed to properly place my mobile forces to take advantage. What it showed me is that to make the most of the narrow snow window, that I must see my turn 22 operations on turn 17, the last turn before the mud. To attempt to reposition these Panzer Corps during the mud is not wise. The cost in lost vehicles, supply and casualties is too high. I needed to have put them in place by the end of turn 17. So this fact limited my options, as whatever we did would be determined by where these tank formations were, not where I wished they were. In any subsequent attempts at the grand campaign I will prepare better, but in this one I would have to improvise.

The Panzer Corps were better positioned to strike at the enemy to the southeast, near the city of Ryzan along the Oka river. Eliminating any enemy will prove a benefit, although I hated to leave the forces massing to the north of Moscow alone. But we had no choice, as I could not risk a failed encirclement and to have to extricate these tank units during the blizzard. My Panzer Corps are the most valuable formations in my army, and they have to be protected, and preserved for operations come better weather in spring. So in the event, 2nd and 3rd Panzer once again worked together to form pincers and trap a large enemy force. Ever since the first week of operations, these two Panzer Groups had traveled on parallel paths, and continually used their inner wings to turn in on each other, forming pocket after pocket as they traveled to the east. Here was one last opportunity to do so before the blizzards arrived and these tank units would be withdrawn to safe locations in which to spend the winter months.





With the closing of this kessel, another 172,000 Russian soldiers were trapped, along with another 750 tanks. The enemy is doing a great job of mobilizing troops to replace the losses, but far less so with replacing armor lost in these battles. Perhaps my success did indeed capture some of their tank factories. With each passing week their armor returns continue to fall. In addition to this pocket battle, line infantry was attempting to get in their winter line positions. 2nd and 4th Armies were shuffled sideways to the north so that all points of the line were covered, and allowing 9th Army to concentrate against enemy massing north of Moscow. All along the front local attacks were conducted to push the enemy back. 10 miles here, 20 miles there. The positions we sat on during the mud turns saw some fortification as these troops dug in while they sat in place. My idea was to push further forward from this line. When the blizzards began, any enemy success in pushing me back would have my dislodged troops falling back on the positions prepared during the mud. This plan was largely successful, although in the area north of Moscow, little progress could be made. If I were Ivan, this is where my blow would fall.

This shot show the positions on turn 24, the end oif the snows and the turn bfore the blizzards would begin.





Army Group North



Preparations for the final assault on Leningrad were complete. Three infantry divisions were over the Neva river. On turn 22 these forces began the assault. The effects of the isolation were plainly evident on the enemy defending Leningrad. During the month of mud, the defensive combat values for the troops there had been cut in half, I assume because supplies were running out, and morale was falling. Still formidable, but no longer daunting, the valiant defenders of the city could hold no longer. The 16th and 18th Armies had been here for nearly three months, and were not to be denied in the final attempt to take the Cradle of the Revolution. Using these divisions, and massive amounts of artillery, in some cases over 800 tubes, attacks were made and the German troops entered the city. As a gesture of respect, the Finns were given the honor of making the final attacks on the last remaining defenders, and the Finnish 10th and 15th Infantry Divisions captured the last defenders. Leningrad had fallen!





The troops at Leningrad were immediately sent toward the line. The terrain here is lousy, thick forests and swampland, and progress would be slow, and they would fail to get in position before the blizzard. Nearly there, but no quite. The Finns were finally released and sent to the northeast, to cover the left wing of our entire operation. Finnish troops are not badly affected by cold, and these divisions would prove invaluable during the blizzard turns. But they too would need time to get in position.

Leningrad. An epic struggle. You might remember a screenshot showing Manstein's failed thrust to the sea to cut off the western side of the enemy's defense in front of the city. That was July 31st! Leningrad would not fall until November 13, a battle lasting nearly 15 weeks! It's capture is a huge relief, and finally the forces invested there could be shunted in to the line. In retrospect I had sent too small a force, causing it to take too long, and as a result, 4th Panzer was required to hold the northern end of the main line until the infantry from the attack on Leningrad could take their positions. When the blizzards began, these tank units attempted to withdraw to Leningrad to shelter for the winter, but while enroute would take heavy losses to the weather and terrain. If Leningrad had fallen just two weeks earlier these could have been avoided. Lesson learned. In my next grand campaign I won't make the same mistake again. At the same time I am happy with the decision to send the reinforcements at the end of August. Their timely arrival swung the tide of the battle and allowed Leningrad to be taken before the winter. I made a mistake, but then made the right decisions to fix it.


After the fall of the city, some of the massive artillery investment could now be sent to other fronts. The way I do it is to use OKH as sort of a clearing house. Support units are sent to OKH first, and from there are parceled out to the various commands where they are most needed. Here you see the first of these moves, with thirteen artillery and werfer battalions returned to OKH after Leningrad had fallen.



The enemy had gathered in strength along the line and we made one last effort to reduce this threat. I wanted to clear the enemy at the north end of the line, but the lack of roads and lousy terrain prevented this move in the same way as with the forces north of Moscow, so the southern part of this concentration was targeted for encirclement. This shot show elements of 4th and 3rd Panzer together with 16th Army trapping a portion of the Red Army in one last pocket. The remaining mass of enemy is seen to the north. At first glance it appears quite threatening. But closer inspection reveals this mass is mostly comprised of brigades, and even closer inspection shows these troops, while in good supply, are very low on experience and morale. This shot also shows the infantry released from Leningrad slowly making their way toward the front. Brigades have one 'X" on the counter, divisions have two.






Army Group B

Army Group B spent the snow period making final preparations to the lines, with the City of Voronezh acting as the anchor. The units of Guderian's 2nd Panzer were sent to their winter positions in Orel, Kursk and one Panzer Corps left on the front line at Voronezh. This city must hold or the entire central sector could become unhinged should the enemy make a concerted push here with armor during the counter offensive. The southern end of Army Group B's front was my biggest concern, as the Romanians were needed to take some of the positions. These points were vulnerable to a concentrated attack. As a result, the Panzer Corps were positioned to be able to counter any serious penetrations that might occur.


Army Group A

Same situation here. Troops were put in to the line and 1st Panzer retired to Stalino to spend the winter and act as a mobile reserve should the enemy force a breach at the Crimean exits. One Panzer Corps would be stationed in Rostov, as it was also a vital anchor for our line, representing the southern terminus. An enemy breakthrough here would outflank my entire operation, so had to be prevented. This was the reason behind the decision to isolate instead of attack the Crimea. The troops spared that assignment were now in the line of the Donets bend protecting our extreme right wing. At the exits to the Crimea, the enemy continued to mass his forces. All indications are they will attempt to force their way through here. This spot is the most concerning one in the entire operation.

In all I am satisfied with the progress made during the snow turns. Two more pocket battles completed, a firming up of the lines, and most of the armor in safe positions in which to spend the winter months. Having 4th Panzer still on the roads as the blizzards hit was a regret, but unavoidable since Leningrad took so long to capture. The front line south of Voronezh to north of Belgorod was of concern as well, being fairly thinly held and vulnerable to a mass effort. Now the blizzards are coming, and we have prepared as best as we can. I won't mind giving some ground, but any falling back must be done as a continuous line. No breakthrough can be allowed to happen.

And finally here is the Blizzard Line. Now the ball is firmly in Ivan's court.

Sounds like you may have your work cut out for you in the Crimea. Hopefully you have done extensive damage to their factories making any breakouts less powerful.
Imo, This will be your most honest campaign. Just like reality you are having to address setbacks on the fly without the benefit of hindsight. If you win this campaign any subsequent campaigns will become increasingly easier since you will have a clear picture of what to expect and a general idea of how to defeat those situations.


Wheels

Great comment Wheels, and I agree. In the historical strategy forum I made a comment along these lines when I decided to jump in to the grand campaign instead of playing the primer scenarios like Road to Smolensk, Road to Kiev and Road to Leningrad. I said that the Germans didn't have the chance to practice these operations over and over, so I wouldn't either. And it's made for a better campaign I think.

It doesn't appear the AI is scripted, and from one campaign to the next they might make a stand in a spot, or retreat and do it elsewhere. It's not a matter of simply unlocking the pattern, where it becomes like paint by numbers. It will still require improvisation and flexibility. But the experience I've gotten in this run will certainly make a second go at it far easier, as you said. When I started I was rather unprepared, but through it's course I've gotten a good handle how to play. It's been quite the experience, and honestly this report is just snapshots, so much of what goes on is left out. I've really enjoyed it. One of the most interesting games I've ever played.

Congratulations on cracking Leningrad.

It will be interesting to see how taking the city and getting the Finnish army fully engaged in the war will affect progress in the upcoming winter months.
Total noob question: do you have operational control over the Finnish units or are they handled by AI, or is it a mix of the two (setting strategic goals with AI achieving them)?

From a grand strategy perspective, you've decided to bottle up the Crimea but taken Leningrad whereas Parabellum cleaned up the Crimea and didn't take Leningrad.
I think you're in the better position, given the relative greater industrial importance of Leningrad.

I look forward to seeing how the winter turns go. You are as prepared as can be, but I remember that the winter was pretty brutal on Para's units.

Thanks man, what a tough one to crack!

I have full control over the Finns, with two exceptions. Until Leningrad is taken, they can only attack up to the 'no attack line' which is barely visible as a dashed line in some of the AGN shots, although they can move beyond that line, and defend themselves, but cannot initiate attacks.. After the fall of that city they can then move to the 'no move line' which is maybe 20 hexes further on. They can not move beyond that line at any point, so could not be sent to the Crimea for example.

I seem to remember that PB did take Leningrad, as I seem to recall his Finns holding the winter line above Moscow, but maybe that wasn't in '41?

The winter is harsh, but I have several things in my favor I believe. I have chosen a line that runs through as many small towns as possible, which help to protect the troops there. I have killed and captured a large number of enemy troops, and especially armor, which should lessen the shock of the counteroffensive, and I have not suffered many casualties in my units. They are largely full strength as the blizzards approach. Hopefully, those three factors help me survive the winter in good shape.

Additionally, the line is partially fortified, but not everywhere, but every little bit helps!

...and your memory matches mine. He didn't take Moscow though, or Rostov, and it may be that Sevastopol held out until mid '42.
Overall I think you're in a better position than he was - your front line is much straighter, I don't think that he thoroughly reorganized the Wehrmacht command structure as you did.

Yes, I think that's right Ssnake. If that old thread would load faster I would check it out
'
PB's offensive ran out of steam at the gates of Rostov, and as Rostov and the surrounding towns are the trigger for the AGS split, and with it the ability to reorganize the Wehrmacht. he didn't have the opportunity in '41 to get any reorganization done. And good point Ssnake, I should have listed this in my reasons why I think the winter will be survivable. Every unit should perform better as a result of these moves.

Turns 25 through 30, December 4 to January 8


On December 4 the Russian winter struck with full fury. The blizzard season had arrived and with it our offensive had come to an end, we went over to the defensive, and the initiative flipped to the Russian. The goal now was simply to survive the winter, the counteroffensive and maintain the integrity of our line. Aside from Moscow, Voronezh and Rostov I was prepared to give ground, but those three cities must hold. No breakthroughs could be permitted.

At dawn on December 4 the Soviet counteroffensive was unleashed. Until this point I had suffered no more than a handful of Russian attacks on any turn, as the disorganized and battered Russian forces continued to fall back. But now the tide had swung and the Russian went over to the attack. From the the position of the Finns at the north end of the line all the way to Rostov on the Sea of Azov the enemy crashed in to the line. Using the weight of forces in three adjacent hexes, up to nine divisions plus support, he would attempt to force my defending divisions back. I had chosen the positions based on terrain and towns primarily and we were able to resist these early attacks and the line held. In a few places my forces were pushed out, but with only a single hex opened the enemy found it difficult to exploit these successes due to the ZoC of the neighboring defenders. On the following turn each of these breaches was resealed, and the process would begin anew. Losses though were significant, partly due to enemy action, but mostly due to the conditions for which our troops were wholly unprepared.

In the first week of blizzards we lost nearly five division's worth of troops to the cold. and 50,000 to 60,000 troops were lost per turn through to January. The only silver lining in this is that these troops were not dead, and may return to front line duty after a period of convalescence in the rear. But the cumulative effect turn by turn was beginning to tell. The enemy was attacking all up and down the line, but was concentrating on four points. The north, where the Finns and Germans butted against one another; near Kalinin; along the Moscow-Leningrad road northwest of Moscow; near our Romanian troops south of Voronezh; and just northeast of Rostov on the Donets bend.

One unit in particular, the understrength 6th Romanian Infantry Division, was singled out and forced to retreat virtually every turn. The shoulder of the breach would hold, and these unfortunate troops then returned to their positions, to be roughly handled once again. Despite their plight, the line continued to hold in the face of the Russian counteroffensive. In one month of blizzards our losses had exceeded those for the entire campaign to this point. The failure to end the war in 1941 was now costing us dearly. One positive is that the static positions we now held allowed the strategic rail lines to be filled in. All along the front, the FBD units were completing the sections of the rails directly behind and parallel to the front. Within a month, the entire front line would be supported by a rail line within 8 hexes of the line positions. This fact meant that despite the appalling conditions, no troops were cut off from supply.

By the first week of January, the effects of the blizzards abated somewhat. Losses had been heavy, and the Russian had won some local successes through their violent attacks, but the integrity of the line held. All of my Panzer Corps were in garrison positions, and the line troops supplied as well as possible. One troubling development was that the blizzards were taking a terrible toll on our motorpool, the massive fleet of trucks that every landser in a hole depended on for food, fuel and ammunition. Within a few weeks we were running a deficit, that is we had fewer trucks left than what was the minimal requirement to fully resupply each division. On any screenshot you can see in the upper right the motorpool numbers. The number on the left is the size of the motorpool and the number in parentheses is the requirement for that turn.

One of my major concerns as the blizzards began was the perilous position at the exits to the Crimea. So much so that I sent an infantry corps from 11th Army there to shore up the defenses. There are three exits, one held by Romanians, one by Italians and one defended by 11th Army. This shot shows the situation in the first week of January. When the Russians went to the attack, all of these positions were assaulted, but held. After a few turns the Russian seemed to give up! They withdrew an entire army from the region as well as the huge air corps that was stationed in the Crimea. For now at least, the crisis had passed. The red number indicates the fortification level of the hex. More than anywhere else, these positions had devolved to trench warfare not unlike Verdun in the last war. But these troops held on, and prevented the crisis I had been so worried about.





In all, the initial shock of the Russian counteroffensive was met. The troops held, though suffered terribly from the cold and the enemy. These heavy losses could not be sustained forever, but with each passing month the effects of the blizzard lessened. If we could just hold out until March, the worst would be over. But that was two months away.

With little planning to do each turn I spent a lot of time looking through various ledgers and screens. I checked the ToE's for all of my units. This is a really cool part of this game. ToEs are updated on a schedule. Ineffective equipment is phased out and replaced with newer, more powerful (in most cases) weapons and vehicles. This screenshot shows the ToE for the 17th Panzer Division. On the left is the current ToE, and on the right the ToE it will upgrade to in April, now just 12 weeks away. This timing will perfectly coincide with the summer offensive. Of note are the changes. Ineffective weapons like the 50mm mortar and the 37mm PaK 36 "Doorknocker" are phased out. Added to the division are more half-tracks, far more 50mm PaKs, an 88mm battery, and the introduction of the Panzer Mark IV G with the long barrelled 75mm. The reliance on the obsolete Mark IIs is reduced, though some remain. The upshot is that mobility, and especially firepower are greatly increased. As a result I will wait until the majority of my panzer divisions have affected their ToE upgrades before conducting our summer offensive. If we make it that far that is!





A few other notes about this period. I was surprised to see that during this month that several of my leaders were dismissed. I would have thought I would have full control over these moves, but evidently the Gröfaz exists off-map . The highest post to be relieved was that Leeb was dismissed as the commander of Army Group North, but others including Panzer Corps leaders were also cashiered. In addition to these dismissals, many generals received promotions. I had seen just a handful until now, but suddenly six generals per turn were being promoted in rank. This period also saw an influx of reinforcement divisions arriving from Germany, where they were put on trains and sent to the front. Many infantry divisions along with a few panzer divisions helped to bolster our ranks. With these additions, and despite the losses from the cold, our effective fighting strength had actually increased over the starting forces from June.

One more mechanical note. From advice I received from a member of the Matrix forums (SparkleyTits, who has been a big help to me), I reduced the max ToE of all of my armor divisions while they sat in garrison over the winter months to 20%. The blizzards can cause losses to any unit based on how well they resist the dice roll. By reducing the max ToE, these losses are not immediately replaced. If they were, they would be vulnerable to just being lost again with the next roll on the next turn, and over the course of the three months would cause the armor pool to be unnecessarily squandered. By making this move I would preserve this pool as far as it was possible, and come spring (and the new panzer ToE!) there would be enough vehicles to bring these divisions back to their maximum ToE.

Was the pull back in the Crimea the first time there was a major concession by the AI?
In a way it actually concerns me more that they were pulled from that area than had they stayed and continued to smash through my defenses. Depending on where are sent they could become a major problem for you again in a much less stable area.
Good luck.


Wheels

The AI has withdrawn on a number of occasions, but almost always when threatened with encirclement. This is the first time I've noticed what appeared to be a redeployment based on finding the way barred or too tough to crack, but that may be reading to much in too it and misinterpreting the observation. Despite my concern of a breakout, they may have been deployed there to bar my way to Sevastopol. Of course it's AI, not a human, so who knows. But as mentioned way back when I realized I sent too few troops to Leningrad, I am trying to avoid divining intentions and covering all moves the enemy is capable of.



This analysis will prove prophetic

You are cut out for command Wheels.

Turns 31 through 43, January 15 to April 16


This report is going to cover a longer period, three months. Partly it's due to not having all that much I feel is worth showing, with a lack of movement or drama, and partly it's due to having played so far ahead that I want the reports to catch up. During some of the early campaign turns while the Blitzkrieg was just starting, I could spend three hours on a given turn, analyzing everything, and sometimes twice. There are so many possible choices and decisions to be made, and then multiply that by hundreds of units, and it can take a lot of time. I really enjoyed it however, I never feel like "great, another 3-hour turn" as it's just so interesting. To me anyway.

But in the blizzards there just isn't much to do. I decided to play strictly defensively. I didn't use the air force for any attacks or missions, although they were still involved in ground support of the various battles, but otherwise not used as I didn't want to squander them. I knew the Red Air Force was only going to grow over the winter and spring, and I felt we needed to preserve our airforce as much as possible for when we resume the offensive. I hope the spring will see the arrival of some new gruppen, especially fighters, but that is to be seen. And on the ground I didn't initiate attacks. I wasn't going to take any ground during these conditions, so the line troops were only committed defensively. As a result the turns could now tick by in 10 or 15 minutes, and that led to me getting so far ahead of the AAR.

And I suppose somewhat unfortunately, the enemy had very little success. Our line held, and the infantry retained good strength. We had suffered terrible losses to the cold, but these are spread out through the entire army, so that even though we lost nearly 700,000 troops over the winter, it didn't have that much effect on the fighting strength of each individual division. I say "somewhat unfortunately" because even though I want to do well, and win, I was secretly hoping for some crisis to develop. But it did not. Through the winter the enemy did not get many reinforcements, and because of the high number of casualties and prisoners we had caused during the offensive, the common Russian unit was little more than half strength. And even though they attacked relentlessly for three months, they never had more than a local success here and there. So, little to write about in the AAR, other than the 'enemy attacked, we held, and the line didn't move.'

Throughout this period more generals patted themselves on the backs and handed out promotions. The four Panzer Groups were re-designated as Panzer Armies, which sounds more powerful. Most infantry were ToE-upgraded to their 42 version, but that's not much different than the 41 pattern. In addition, more infantry divisions were arriving in Magdeburg, awaiting their journey to the front. Most would go in to Army Group B and assigned to independent corps, but they were spread around a bit on all fronts. Aside from the massive casualties due to the conditions, the worst part of the winter was a explosion of partisan activity. I've attempted to garrison as many cities in the rear areas as possible. Garrisons help to keep a lid on partisans popping up. But most troops were needed up front, and we didn't have nearly enough security units to police the vast territory we had conquered. When a partisan unit pops up it damages some rail hexes nearby. In most cases it's simply a nuisance, as your rails are more likely to be looped and redundant the further to the west you go. But in some cases they would strike those few hexes that remained vulnerable to cutting off a long down-track section of the rail line. To eliminate the partisan unit you simply have to get one of your combat units in to an adjacent hex, and they are gone. But with the appalling conditions and reduced movement, and the fact that I couldn't garrison everywhere, it was a long winter of whack-a-mole all over the map. Partisans were a pain in the ass for the Germans to deal with, and I'd have to say the devs made it a pain in the ass for the player as well.

As a result, some of the infantry divisions arriving in Germany, were sent to the conquered territory, where they were broken down in to regiments and given garrison duty. Even by April we would not have all cities covered, and with the summer offensive planned, the problem would continue to plague us if we were successful in capturing more territory. The best units to assign this duty are cavalry and motorized brigades and regiments. Their mobility makes them good partisan hunters. But with not enough of those I was forced to start breaking down the infantry divisions to carry out this duty.

The following screenshots are of the fronts covered by each Army Group in the last week of blizzard, February 26. The enemy looks weak in many spots, no defense in depth.



Army Group B near Voronezh




Army Group Center near Moscow




Army Group North near Leningrad.




Army Group A near Rostov






In the first week of March the blizzards came to an end, and replaced with merely snow. But snow isn't blizzard, and it isn't mud. The garrisoned Panzer Groups Armies were moved from their havens and sent to places where I could see the possibility of launching a pincer. The problem was as a noob I didn't know how long the snow would last and when the thaw would begin. The last thing I wanted to do was get my Panzer units stuck halfway through a maneuver in the mud. We had done a good job preserving them over the winter and didn't want to throw them away now. Each turn you receive a weather forecast for the next turn, but the next turn only. So I couldn't send them on an attack with any confidence. As a result, they spent the snow turns, a month as it turned out -- enough time to try an encirclement-- doing little at all. We did take one city, Ryazan southeast of Moscow on the Oka river. I regretted not taking this city on the last pocket battle there before the blizzard, and had been eyeing it all winter long. Infantry of 2nd and 4th Armies cleared the way and Schmidt's XXXIX Panzer Corp of 3rd Panzer moved in to take the city.

Elsewhere along the line the infantry went over to the attack. The idea was to take advantage of the understrength Russian units and push them back. In particular, with an eye on an offensive soon, I wanted to take advantage of the frozen rivers I was behind, and get across before the ice melted. This would make jumping off on any advance easier in a few weeks. Frozen rivers, even major ones, are treated as clear hex for combat calculation purposes. So getting across now would save a lot of casualties and movement points when the real offensive began after the thaw.

This was largely successful and along most of the front we pushed the line forward 10 to 40 miles. Only on the southern end of the line, along the Donets, did we hold in place and remain in our fortifications behind the river, due to gathering enemy strength opposite our positions. In April the mud returned and everything came to a halt. The Panzer Divisions have begun upgrading to their 1942 patterns, the rails are coming along nicely, and the garrison effort is slowly coming along. However, the enemy, who had failed to receive many replacement to his armor and infantry during the winter, went on mobilization mode. His strength returns are growing fast, and he is getting these units in to the line. A front that looked exploitable all along the entire length just a few weeks ago, was now looking a far more difficult proposition.

Having played to this point, part of me regrets having selected the 260-point campaign instead of the 290 point one. But really, I had no idea if I'd do well, or how much progress we would make, so I suppose it was the natural choice for a first go at the grand campaign. The problem, as we prepare for our summer offensive, is that I already have 251. So nine more points will see an automatic decisive victory and the campaign and this AAR will end. With a sense of dramatic flair I reckoned I would try and make the capture of Stalingrad the final one that would trigger the win. But just like at Leningrad, the enemy appears to be reading my mind. Compare this screenshot to the one above showing the Army Group A February 26 positions near Rostov. Like Wheelsup theorized a few posts back, the Russian 5th Army that was withdrawn from the Crimea had another purpose in mind, and that was to join in this wicked strong defense (or offensive?) of the Donets bend.




In the forces shown in this shot we have identified the following Soviet formations. Grab a drink....

3rd, 5th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 19th, 29th, 30th, 39th, 50th, 54th, 56th and 3rd Shock Armies. Not divisions, not corps. Armies. But wait, that's not all.

The 1st, 8th, 19th and 26th Tanks Corps

And just in case.... the 1st and 6th Cavalry Corps.

Where the hell did this come from?

You also see in that shot my drama-driven objective of Stalingrad. And that Soviet FRONT (I believe this is the Southern Front in it's entirety), is directly in the way. I think it may make good operational sense to seek victory elsewhere.

And finally, the Spring Mid-Mud Line

Great AAR Dbond,,Many years ago before I had a computer we used to play the old SPI War in The East boardgame,,,Of course with teams..i have this title because a friend got it and it was too complicated for him,,Getting ready to replace a faulty hard drive and I think I'll put it on the new one,,,your reports are just great to get me going with the game and read the manual as needed Just the kind of game I need to pass the winter,,,Here and in Russia !!

This one?

Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. When I first got in to Grigsby's War in the East I was peddling the line that "anyone can play it, regardless of how involved they wish to be" . At the time I was just thinking strategically (or more accurately, operationally) and pushing counters around and having a bit of success. That led me to think it was more simple than what I had thought it would be. And on a base level, it is. You can play by doing just that.

But now I see it's poor advice. With the longer scenarios, and especially the grand campaign, you need a deeper level of involvement than that, if you want to have success and play well. This game is truly epic. My view was just like yours Russ, that this game would be a great one to while away the winter months. To enjoy it, I reckon you need interest in the subject, a lot of free time, and the desire to get deep in to it. Like all really good strategy games, one needs to push through the 'what the hell am I supposed to do' stage. Once through, the game opens up and you see how epic it really is.

I hope you give it a go. The Matrix sale is in full swing, and there's no better time to pick it up. This game is normally $70, but on sale now for $24. For that price it is an absolute steal.