1942 Case Blue - AAR!

[Strategiclayabout]

- Thanks for the answers both of you ^^ .

So the panzers followed the Don, this time hehe.

*

- Something I spotted about the map:

Tsimlyanskoye lake shouldn't exist. The lake-reservoir was filled between 1952-1955 after the construction of the dam there.

- In 1942 the Don there was a "regular" river with two main crossing points: Kalach-na-Don and Nizhne-Chirskaya further south where the Chir joined the Don. Stalingrad was encircled when the two soviet pincers met at Kalach and it's where Soviets expected the german counter-attack (that actually came from Kotelnikovo ). So I think it's a pretty important location to have on the map .

[Ghost of war]

- Something I spotted about the map:

Tsimlyanskoye lake shouldn't exist. The lake-reservoir was filled between 1952-1955 after the construction of the dam there.

That's a great observation, you're of course right:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsimlyansk_Reservoir

Hubert should take a look on this.

[Ivanov]

That's a great observation, you're of course right:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsimlyansk_Reservoir

Hubert should take a look on this.

It has been fixed as I was told. Thanks!

[Ivanov]

In the South the rapid fall of Mikhaylovka came as an unpleasant surprise for the Soviet HQ. We were hoping that it could hold for a little longer and that the enemy panzer spearhead would be hampered by the poor supply. Anyway the Stalingrad Front is undergoing a rapid reorganization and massive reinforcements have been sent to the area. Herr Goebbels ( better known in Berlin as the Poison Dwarf ) is spreading the rumours that comrade Vatutin has been captured but as always it turned to be a lie! Our brave general is soon expected to take over the command of the Stalingrad defence. In the area of Morozovsk the Caucasus Front has been regrouping in order to withdraw but a series of counterattacks has been undertaken with one enemy corps destroyed and other severely mauled.

On the Leningrad front the supposedly killed gen Konev has re-emerged and took over the command of the defence of the great city. The vigorous counterattacks of our Volkhov Front forced one enemy corps to flee shamelessly right from the gates of Leningrad.

In the area of Kozelsk the forces of gen Zhukov evacuated the city in order to shorten our frontline. Other than that, there was no major action on that section of the front.

***

STALINGRAD. THE ENEMY ADVANCE WILL STOP HERE!

[Strategiclayabout]

Happy the map was corrected so fast, thanks .

- Nice propaganda drawing, Ivanov ! Situation seems critical in the south with panzers ready to fall on your rear but you have quite some tanks around too.

- Leningrad gained some time but with that artillery around you won't be able to sleep at all, too noisy .

[Ivanov]

- Nice propaganda drawing, Ivanov ! Situation seems critical in the south with panzers ready to fall on your rear but you have quite some tanks around too.

No doubt that Ghost is pressing me hard ( I've already mentioned the inherit aggressiveness of this player ) but the situation is far from being critical. The Germans will reach Stalingrad at the beginning of August - slightly earlier than in reality but it's due to the fact that our game commenced one month earlier than the original Case Blue ( we play the semi historical "Frontline" version of the campaign ). No doubt I suffer heavy loses but I manage to withdraw my forces orderly and hopefully the Red Army will manage to exhaust the German drive south

- Leningrad gained some time but with that artillery around you won't be able to sleep at all, too noisy .

It's hard for me to imagine that the Germans could capture the city with such a bad supply but my opponent is quite persistent, so I expect the attacks to continue for some time

[Ghost of war]

Alright Lads, this time we are going to show you how the general situation looks like at the end of July.

Army Group ‘North’ received some serious reinforcements and is preparing the final assault for the city where the worst plague of the 20th Century started in 1917. This time we won’t let them throw us away, once we set our foot in the city!

In the Centre, Gen. Model finished reorganizing his forces for the probably upcoming offensive of the Soviets. Also a small ‘Kampfgruppe’ was organized and it was ordered to capture the city of Tambov. They were successful as the city was defended by a Soviet division, which troops were paralyzed in fear as soon as they heard the humming of the approaching German Panzers! I mention about it because the city is an important junction and lies between our two group of armies, Heeresgruppe 'Mitte' and Heeresgruppe 'Sud'. Currently there were no major Soviet forces, but in future Ivanov could use it for attacking us.

In the South, OKH believes that we have finally found a way beyond Marx’s dialectic that won’t allow him to draw us back in. We are pushing the Soviet armies towards the Lake Tsyemlansk which actually doesn’t exist in 1942! What now Marx and Engels (and Lenin)? It’s a checkmate for your materialistic world view!

And seriously speaking, we hold an attack on Stalingrad and attacked Soviet forces gathered around Morovsk. The city was taken by Gen. Hoth’s 17th Army, we destroyed two Soviet armies and pushed away two more. The Anti-tank unit was destroyed as well. We also cut off the remaining forces from Stalingrad and we expect them to evacuate towards Caucasus. But we’ll see what Ivanov will do.

In the meantime he is sending undercover agents behind our lines. They are mainly harassing the juveniles and pensioners. Shame on you Ivanov!

[Strategiclayabout]

PSSST, HEY YOU KIDS

WANNA BUILD COMMUNISM ?

YOU'LL GET A FREE (US) COOKIE !

Communism truly is a scary thing .

*

- Was VonBombke fast enough to prevent german Pow transfer from Tambov ?

What a pleasant surprise for guys captured in 1941 who were fed communist lies about soviet tanks approaching Berlin after their winter offensive !

- Front almost looks like a straight line, Moscow southern flank seems very vulnerable, makes you wonder where are Stavka's reserves... I see a lot of iron crosses in the north, are they coming from the air ? Is it italian 8th army I see as a spearhead towards Stalingrad ? The Duce must be waving victory flags all over the place in Rome !

[Ghost of war]

PSSST, HEY YOU KIDS

WANNA BUILD COMMUNISM ?

YOU'LL GET A FREE (US) COOKIE !

Communism truly is a scary thing.

*

- Was VonBombke fast enough to prevent german Pow transfer from Tambov ?

What a pleasant surprise for guys captured in 1941 who were fed communist lies about soviet tanks approaching Berlin after their winter offensive !

- Front almost looks like a straight line, Moscow southern flank seems very vulnerable, makes you wonder where are Stavka's reserves... I see a lot of iron crosses in the north, are they coming from the air ? Is it italian 8th army I see as a spearhead towards Stalingrad ? The Duce must be waving victory flags all over the place in Rome !

Yeah, Communism is scary. And this bald guy is even scarier. Imagine that before 1989 in Poland we had to had similiar monuments of Lenin in all the larger towns. This one was in our (mine and Ivanov's) hometown:

And this is the glorious moment when it was dismantled and thrown away to the garbage dump . I've heard rumours that later the monument was bought by some crazy swedish collectioner but I have no idea if that's true.

You are well informed Strat. Indeed, in Tambow there was a soviet prisoner camp #188 for the German POWs. It served as a transition camp before they were sent further east. Von Bombke reports that most of them are safe now as Russian camp crew escaped as soon as our attack started.

When I look at the strategic map, Moscow actually is more vulnerable from the south after we captured Tambov. Hard to say how my opponent reacts to this, but I can surely use this situation in future.

[Ivanov]

PSSST, PSST! COMMUNISM IS NEAR!

To be continued...

[Big Al]

The Soviet Union wasn't even communist, it was a totalitarian regime. Closest country to ever get to true communism was Albania if my memory serves correctly. Just like the USA isn't a democracy, its a corporatocracy now.

[SeaMonkey]

Bureaucracy would probably be a closer definition!:confused:

[Strategiclayabout]

@ Big Al:

Well, we can't call the game:

"assault on (bureaucratic) totalitarian regime"

can we ?

For USA I thought it was an Obamacracy lately ?

@ Ghost:

Thanks for the statue pics (the one with children is great, past and future ) and the Tambow update.

Herr Goebbels is probably already all over the poor guys to shoot some propagan... truth documentary about communist evil doings.

[Ivanov]

The Soviet Union wasn't even communist, it was a totalitarian regime. Closest country to ever get to true communism was Albania if my memory serves correctly. Just like the USA isn't a democracy, its a corporatocracy now.

I think that the only 100% communist state was Cambodia during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. The Soviet Union and it's satelites never managed to get there and it was often admitted as a failure. I agree that the Stalinist USSR was a totalitarian dictature, simmilar to the Third Reich.

[Ivanov]

Our persistent and stubborn enemy is clearly preparing for the final assault against Leningrad. This time gen Konev didn’t order any spoiling counterattacks. The forces under his command have been reorganized and reinforced. If the Fascist manage to capture the southern part of the city, we want to possess a fresh and rested reserve, that could once again push the enemy forces away. More bomber sorties hit Luga and Narva. Please note the heavy flak concentration around this second town. Also you can see that the Army Group North is trying to take the maximum advantage of the two HQs’ in order to improve the supply of the frontline units.

In the center gen Zhukov couldn’t sit idly for too long and the Western and Kalinin Fronts moved forwards destroying one German corps. Here for the first time during this campaign the Red Army has a clear advantage over the enemy in terms air support and tanks. However we are well aware the gen Model is a master of the defensive warfare and that this difficult terrain is full of pillboxes and hidden anti tank guns!

STAVKA doesn’t consider the capture of Tambov as an immediate and serious threat. What is more gen Zhukov explained to Stalin that the Fascists are overextending themselves and if they’ll decide to move any further, this move will cost them dearly.

In the South, the enemy correctly identified the threat posed by our forces in the area of Morozovsk, because attacking Stalingrad while having three Soviet tank groups on the flank and in the rear, would be a suicidal move. The retreat from Morozovsk has been finally authorized and our forces took up new defensive positions in the area of Vologodonsk. One Romanian corps has disintegrated when struck by our armor, what became a rather pleasant routine for our tankers.

***

THE SOVIET UNION IS WAGING A GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR!

[Ghost of war]

The Mother of All Battles begins!

Von Manstein’s and von Kleist's forces are approaching Stalingrad from the north and north-west and they managed to perform a deep reconnaissance of the enemy lines. An unpleasant surprise for OKH were the fact that Soviets created heavy fortifications north-west from the city. Nevertheless, Führer announced that he wouldn’t accept any failure, therefore the battle plan was prepared and we will start realizing it from the next turn. We also eliminated Soviet bridgeheads on our side of the Don river. Soviet armies were heavily battered in the battle of Morozovsk and they will need some time to rebuild readiness and morale.

In the Centre, Zhukov started the offensive, as we expected. Gen. Model commented that Zhukov “will have what he is asking for”. Though it is pretty daredevil to start an offensive against our forces in the centre, especially that Stalingrad Front has a wolf at the doorstep. On our right flank two Soviet armies were battered and had to retreat. At this time we cannot reveal our plans in this area, but you will surely see more action here in the next couple of turns.

In the North we plan to tire Leningrad defenders by constant bombing and heavy artillery fire. Currently we are in process of rebuilding the supply lines, because for some reason, the Luftwaffe was unable to defend it. Führer was furious and he called Göring… well, never mind how he called him (it wasn’t a decent word).

[Ghost of war]

I think that the only 100% communist state was Cambodia during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. The Soviet Union and it's satelites never managed to get there and it was often admitted as a failure. I agree that the Stalinist USSR was a totalitarian dictature, simmilar to the Third Reich.

Alright, it was Big Al who started this off-topic so blame him that I have to reply .

I have a private theory that after taking the full power, Stalin never intended to start a Proletarian Revolution in the rest of the world (as Trotsky or Lenin probably would want to do). Instead he focused his efforts to rebuild Russian empire as it used to be before the WWI or even expand it further. Therefore, in terms of international politics, there was no difference between Stalin and, let's say, tzar Alexander I, who used to say that either "Russia will be reaching Elbe or it will have to retreat over Dnepr". However there was a major difference in terms of domestic policy, as the Soviet Union started huge-scale repressions towards its own citizens (and all the subject nations). They did it in the name of Marx/Engels/Lenin sick ideas, therefore I claim that USSR was a communist country.

[Big Al]

Look up the definition of communism. Anyways lets get back to the AAR

"Assault on Bureaucratic Totalitarianism" has a nice ring to it.

[Ivanov]

The Mother of All Battles begins!

Herr Goebbels - have you got Saddam Hussein hired in your ministry of propaganda or what?!

***

It’s August now and the Fascist tanks have indeed begun their final push towards Stalingrad! Unfortunately for them our defences around the city are formidable and gen Vatutin returned just in time to take over once again the command of the front. Our well rested troops mauled and pushed away the enemy mechanized unit, which was subsequently attacked by our Red Falcons and destroyed by the counterattacking tank unit:

At the same time the offensive of our Western and Kalinin Fronts has met with a weaker enemy resistance than gen Zhukov had anticipated. It seems like we have hit the fascist beast in a weak spot and our leading units are already on the outskirts of Vyazma! The troops of gen Model probably need to receive some serious reinforcements from other sectors of the front in order to stop the red fury unleashed by Zhukov!

On the Leningrad front gen Konev ordered a series of spoiling attacks and an enemy corps was pushed away from the city. STAVKA is wondering for how much longer the uncle Adolf will insist on an immediate assault in order to capture of the city. It is clear that the scale of the battle has escalated beyond the initial plans of OKW and that some of the units at the disposal of Army Group North would be now much more needed in the centre. The Red Eagles from the strategic VVS managed to bomb Narva to zero supply and some important reinforcements have arrived to Volkhov.

Note the sorry state of the German corps facing our cavalry unit.

***

At the end of the turn a nice Decision Event. Obviously I said “yes” but the -75MPP during the next ten turns will be definitely severely missed. The casualties continue to be very high and even 600 MPP each turn is not enough to make good all of the loses…

[Ghost of war]

Malice and cunningness of our enemy have truly surprised the OKH. In 1941 at this stage of glorious German offensive, the Soviet armies would have retreat in panic and fear. This time they appear to keep a cool head.

Our progress in Leningrad area has been slowed down due to problems with supply. Nevertheless we managed to punish the cavalry corps that advance to quickly. Also, in the bold action our submarines sank the “Kirov” cruiser, which was hiding cowardly in Leningrad port. Soviet fleet can run but they cannot hide from the wrath of Kriegsmarine, which didn’t forget that it were Kronstadt Mariners who helped Lenin to gain the power.

Continuous attacks of the Red Fleet on our supply lines have bought some time to the Soviet defenders of Leningrad. We are currently in process of rebuilding our supply lines, so the attack on the city will be held. However our heavy artillery has already turned the whole city into a pile of debris.

Army Group ‘Centre’ responded to Zhukov’s offensive with a series of counterattacks. They severely weekend the Soviet mechanized spearhead and made three of attacking armies to withdraw far beyond the Soviet lines. It seems like the Red Army has a new modus operandi in treating their soldiers. Normally they shoot in the back of the soldiers who try to withdraw from the battlefield. I wonder where NKVD was this time?

Zhukov’s offensive activated the 6th Army. We noticed on Soviet’s flank the possible weakness, which may result in capturing Tula, which is about 150 km south from Moscow.

In Stalingrad we destroyed the northern fortification (including the Soviet army defending them). We attack the city from two sides: west and north-east. Soviet days in the city are numbered!

[Ivanov]

The violent fighting rages around Stalingrad and the Fascists suffered heavy loses on the 9th of August. Just like in case of Leningrad there will be no more retreat here and all the deserters and cowards will be treated as traitors and shot on the spot. The enemy clearly has chosen to wage a total and brutal war against us, so soon he will feel the taste of his own medicine. No doubt the neck of the Fascist Hydra will be broken at the gates of the city of Stalin!

Accordingly the armies defending Stalingrad have performed a series of human wave attacks against the German spearhead and the subsequent counterattack of our glorious armour managed to destroy one enemy panzer corps! Also one Romanian unit has been removed from the order of battle of the Heeresgruppe Sud. Note the heroic efforts of our in infantry division which is defending the hills west of the city against the vastly superior enemy force!

Near Tula our Bryansk Front hit back the overconfident Sixth Army. The enemy Panzer unit has suffered 80% loses and retreated while our brave cavalrymen managed to finish off one German infantry corps.

In the centre gen. Zhukov continues to press forward the 9th Army of Model. No great territorial gains have been achieved but enemy lost another infantry corps and few more units have been battered and fled disgracefully.

On the Leningrad Front the forces led by gen Konev launched the “Operation Spark” which is designed to break the Fascist siege of the great city. Note the newly arrived Guards Mechanized corps. It will provide additional firepower, where the tanks would bog down due to the difficult terrain. The fighting to come will be hard but STAVKA is confident that the poorly supplied enemy units will be no match for our well rested and lavishly reinforced armies.

***

Our brave defenders on the hills west of Stalingrad!

[Ghost of war]

Strategic war games have many advantages over the Real Wars [a superb thought!]. One of them is the fact, that facing enemy advantage, I can easily stop my offensive without major problems. I can even withdraw several hundred kilometers back to where I started (imagine Adolf’s face when his Chief of Staff informs him about it). Anyway, Ivanov as usual played very cleverly, his troops never went to disarray. Even the losses the Soviet armies suffered were not sufficient to break their lines. Looking at screenshot it is obvious that in the South the Soviets are in numerous advantage over the part of Army Group “South” attacking Stalingrad. I couldn’t use larger forces for this attack, because of the Soviet armies south of Don. I don’t know how strong they are, but I assume they are pretty numerous with at least one tank group. It was too dangerous to leave the southern flank to Romanians and Italians only.

Knowing Ivanov and his abilities I decided to stop the attack and withdraw to gain some time for rebuilding my forces. In the great panzer battle west of the city of Stalingrad, one of the Soviet Tank Groups were crushed. We also managed to destroy the fortifications north from the city (the ones that Soviet engineers have been building so hard for many months).

Soviet technological advance few turns back helped them a lot, my attacks against their infantry were less efficient and I suffered more casualties from their attacks (they deprived me of one tank group and one mech.-corps on the south ). Anyway, this campaign lasts until Jan 1945, so there will be plenty of time to punish Ivanov.

In the Centre, Zhukov’s offensive is as rapid as the snail. Gen. Model’s forces have no major problems with stopping their sluggish advance, performing local counterattacks which make them run like hell.

Leningrad is still being bombed but no assault on the city has been ordered so far.

At the end of the turn I received technology breakthrough in Aerial Warfare (now it’s level 3). It is good news, because I will be able to invest in Anti-aircraft defense. Until now I couldn’t have done it because I reached maximum in technological research. Hopefully in the next few months Soviet Strategic Bombers won’t be flying over German cities with such impunity.

In the meantime we sent additional anti-aircraft defense to the south of Leningrad:

[Ivanov]

One of the most important qualities of a good commander is an ability of appraising correctly the overall situation on the front. Being able to assess when the offensive potential is spent and the time has come to switch to the defence is crucial and I think that Ghost got it just right. If we look at number of the units in the field, it may look like the Axis still hold a considerable numerical advantage:

In fact over 30 of the German units are performing garrison duties, so in terms of the actual troop numbers involved in the fighting on the front we have achieved a rough parity. If it comes to the offensive potential, after the recent loses suffered by the Germans, the Red Army has probably 2:1 numerical superiority in tanks and mechanized units. Due to that, further continuation of the Fall Blau would be simply suicidal for the Wehrmacht.

***

On 15th of August the Battle Of Stalingrad has reached it’s climax and the Soviet front led by gen. Vatutin has launched a massive counter offensive. A Romanian corps and the German Panzergrenadier unit have been completely wiped out with two more infantry corps severely battered. Note the clear numerical superiority of the advancing Soviet armies!

Even Stalin has been praising gen Vatutin as a saviour of the Soviet Union. In fact the clear victory has been secured thanks to the efforts of STAVKA, which correctly allocated the strategic reserves during the dire days of July, when it seemed that nothing could stop the advancing German panzers. Gen Zhukov claims that we learnt a lot from the enemy. It is essential to identify the center of gravity ( the Schwerpunkt ) and then apply the available resources according to the force economy principle. Admittedly some of our tank armies have been operated at least three times over the last two months making an impression that the Soviet armour was omnipresent!

In the centre gen Zhukov continues to press hard the Heeresgruppe Mitte and inflicts heavy loses on the enemy. His cheeky opponent, the Fascist general Model tries to downplay his efforts in order sell his version of the events to the Fuhrer. Well, he can tell his idol whatever he wants but very soon he may end up with no units under his command. The goal of our offensive in the centre is to inflict a merciless attrition on the enemy, not to gain any particular territorial objectives.

On the Leningrad front the VVS has once again bombed the enemy supply depots in Luga and Narva and our attackcs managed to push away one enemy corps.

***

Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, was one of the ablest Soviet generals during the World War Two. With a peasant background, he was a typical member of the new Red Army cadre and started his career in 1920. He managed to survive the Great Purge and came to the prominence during the WWII. He is not so widely known and celebrated as Zhukov, Konev or Rokossovsky, yet his talents place him among the finest. He frequently fought against Erich von Manstein and managed to beat him on few occasions. He was killed by the Ukrainian insurgents in 1944.

[Ghost of war]

Meine Damen und Herren, the battle of Stalingrad is not over yet however we need to fall back and regroup our forces. Strategic situation looks like this:

The enemy have numerous advantage in the South and in the Centre, so we are withdrawing our troops closer to supply bases, making the Soviets to stretch their supply lines. So far Zhukov haven’t achieved anything significant in the centre. It is doubtful that he manages to do it this turn.

In the north, despite our supply problems, the German army still outdoes Red Army. This turn we managed to destroy one Soviet army and one division defending the northern part of Leningrad. Our Finnish allies are very eager to repay the Bolsheviks for the Winter War and they are aggressively pushing on the enemy.

We will reveal more screenshots next turn, so stay tuned!

[Ivanov]

The month of August is almost over and Red Army in the South continues to press the battered Heeresgruppe Sud. The main forces of the Caucasus Front are hitting hard the enemy and the Soviet tanks are again approaching Morozovsk. Let’s see how the Germans will cope with this new situation. Admittedly a flexible and mobile defence with only limited resources at hand is much more demeanding, than attacking in favourable circumstances.

In the centre an attritional battle continues. It’s worth noting a gallant stand of a German division near Vyazma. The unit was subjected to a series of multiple land and air attacks and managed to inflict heavy casualties on our troops. No doubt the German divisional commander took literally Fuhrer’s order which simply states: “stand fast”!

Near Tula our Bryansk Front hit hard the Fascist Sixth Army which due to the heavy loses becomes quickly a shadow of it’s former self:

The enemy troops become more and more disillusioned with the war and the German leadership. No doubt the resoluteness and resilience of the Red Army in 1942 came as a nasty surprise to them…

On the Leningrad Front the “Operation Spark” continues to take place and the enemy is being pushed away slowly but surely from the gates of the great city. The recent actions of the White Finnish aggressors and counter revolutionaries infuriated Stalin. He demanded from STAVKA to wipe out the “Finnish worm” from the surface of the earth, and take the action as soon as possible. For the moment any decisive offensive on that front is not likely, but our Red Falcons from the strategic VVS bombed Viipuri, as a preemptive step in order to halt any new Finnish advance towards Leningrad.

***

The fighting near Vyazma against the well entrenched Germans is tough and brutal. The defenders are lavishly equipped with the anti tank weapons: