Hyazinth von Strachwitz

18th of April 1943 This turn a couple of interesting things are visible. At first: when Jörg has good weather in his turn and I have snow an muddy ground in my turn, it does not help me. Jörg's tanks have full strike power and mobility, while my I cannot move or attack. Can I please have this the other way round? But apart from that everything works out. Jörg does a counterattack and destroys 6 of my units, but this does not hurt me, I buy them back instantly... enough MPP. In the past turn I did let some of my units make a decoy attack from Opochka to the west. Jörg has attacks my troops, but he needed to shift troops to the west. This allowed my to encircle Velikye Luki. So this idea worked out. I need to point out that Neither Opochka nor Velikye Luki are important for The Plan... controlling these cities will help, but I do not need them to attack in western direction. My main thrust goes to the south. Here you can see where the bulk of my troops is. Roslavl is taken, and this is very important for my supply, this goes up to 8 and 7 for the surrounding troops. A very big improvement. Smolensk is under attack as well, and Brjansk will be conquered next turn.... numercial superiorty is massive in this sector. My troops reach Kanatop, and in Poltava the Reichenau HQ is encircled. Also I try to encircle Dnjepropetrovsk... not quite sure if this will work out. Depends a lot on what the tanks will do. My tanks almost destroy the Romanian HQ, and this will lower supply in this area. Also, my troops advance to the north. It will be vital for Jörg what he does with his tanks... move them to Dnjepropetrovsk or let them fight my troops? Or move them back in safe areas? Cutting off Dnjepropetrovsk will be a big step ahead...

Thanks Bill! The ball is rolling now... 6th of April 1943 We see the next episode of The Great Escape... the only question that matters is: can Jörg run quicker than I can advance? The German frontline is shattered. Jörg moves some troops back to fight my paras, and the remainder was not able to hold the line. Let us call it Safonovo Effect: better supply means more Action Points, and this means a quicker advance... way quicker. Any German units that do no move back get destroyed. This is the weakest part of my frontline, but my troops advance. What a pity I have bad weather again... This also looks promising. In general I need to mention I destroyed 5 German units this turn... and Jörg cannot afford to buy them back AND refresh damaged units.

I know my old Beta Version is outdated, but the AAR has ended. If you feel curious what came out, don't hesitate to look: http://www.si-games.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25847&page=16 Definitely worth having a look!

27th of March 1943 Finally, we get better weather. Bombers and Paras, Action! Velikye Luki is cut off. Jörg can decide not: flee or get destroyed. A lot has happened during this turn. Supply is way better than in the previous turn, and so my troops have more actions points. More paras land in the back of the German troops. A German Panzer Corps is destroyed, and my spearheads reach the outskirts of Brjansk. Pressure over the complete length of the frontline. Another Russian city is taken back from the invaders, and they retreat. A Romanian corps survives very lucky. Next turn.

Thanks, Strat. I agree to your analysis. 11th of March 1943 Still bad weather. Esp. my operation at Velikye Luki is delayed, but this is not yet a problem, because my advance on all other fronts goes way better than expected. The northwest is almost unchanged. My troops suffer from bad supply, bad weather and the lack of bombers and paras. Safonovo is taken, and this is way more important than most readers might think. Next turn I can move a HQ in the city, and then my supply will be almost at maximum. Most of my units in this area are on very low supply (sometimes zero), and this will help a lot. Slow advances in this sector. My bridgehead is growing.

23rd of February 1943 Still everything where it should be. No news in the northwest... the seventh consecutive turn with bad weather. I try to envelope the German formation. Sooner or later Jörg will move back. My advance goes quick.. despite the bad weather. There are massive gaps in the frontline. I expect a general drawback. My target is clearly visible: Kiev!!!

Fascinating... I did not know this one before... but I will buy it definitely! Thanks!

7th of February 1943 The Wehrmacht pulls back in the Northeast. In the northwest, Heeresgruppe Nord does a limited counterattack. Two of my units are forces to retreat. Still bad weather, so I won't make any progress. Vjazma is taken back, while the defenders of Orel survive on strength 1. In this area, the German Forces are heading backwards. Jörg allows me to start to encircle a big amount of his troops. He starts to fortify Dnjepropetrovsk with tanks. There is not much happening in the south. I bring in new units.

22nd of January We see the start of the Great Escape. Jörg did exactly behave in the way I expected.. he has pulled back from Vjazma and Orel. Not too much happening in the Northwest. Bad weather (5th consecutive turn with no Bombers or Paras) and bad supply prevent bigger advances. I knew that Velikye Luki will be the most difficult part of the attack.. if this city is taken and secured, it will almost mean Game Over for Jörg, because I will be able to advance in south with high supply.... maybe meet with Russian forces in Kiev... see last picture. Kozelsk is back under Russian controll. Safovono, Vjazma and Orel will follow.... esp. Orel won't make it for too long, it is completely surrounded. I'm trying to encircle a German formation.. let us see if Jörg will let me. My brigdehead gets bigger and bigger. If I can achieve a breakthrough here, Jörg is in deep trouble. Kiev is not too far away, and if I can advance up there, the 75% of the German Forces are encircled. Here in the south, most of my opponents are Romanian and Italian... not as skilled as the German troops.

6th of January 1943 My offensive goes on, and even despite the bad weather (still no bombers or paras yet), I get along very well. Opochka is captured, and the defenders of Velikye Luki flee in panic. I expect Jörg to take back his frontline sooner or later. My troops are encircling Safonovo, and I plan the same for all other cities in this are. This screenshots was taken before I did my movement phase around Orel.... ... and this was after the movement phase. I would say Orel is gone sooner or later. And Kozelsk does not look good as well. The Red Army takes back Nikolayev. Another great victory!!

21st of December 1942 Basically you readers might ask yourself why I started this offensive in winter times. The answer is: I want to have my troops in position to attack villages and cities in spring, and it takes a long time to bring them in position. In the west, I am already in a good position. What I need it good weather, and then the cities will be conquered. Closing in on Safonovo. I need to encircle the city and take it. The whole German frontline in the east of the city will be in danger of getting cut off. Safonovo does not have any railway connection, so NO REINFORCEMENTS. My target for the winter: surround some cities. If the weather gets better, I will use my Air Force to bombard the defenders, and then let my infantry attack. Nikolayev is now cut off. Just a matter of time... and weather.

9th of Dezember 1942 Jörg has started to operate troops to the north. This is what I had in mind... to the second phase is going to start: everyone out. Chase the enemy and free Russian soil from any Nazi invaders. Bad weather, what a pity. I still cannot use my bombers and paras. Opochka survives, but it is a matter of time. Velikye Luki is free of German troops. Any unit that moves in the city will get destroyed. Nelidovo is captured, and my troops advance into an empty gap. Jörg has sent troops to Vyazma, so I will surpass the city in the west. Good, my idea works... up to now. My infantry is approaching Orel. Not quite sure what I can achieve here. Pretty sure Jörg cannot defend on all fronts. Maybe I can cut off Orel... and if not, I will at least distract some troops. In the south, my troops advance as well. Nikolayev is almost surrounded, and 4 units in adjacent hexes let the siege rule work: supply drops by one point every turn. So this city will be mine sooner or later.

27th of November Jörg has made some Recon flights to find my attack forces, and he discovered it. I have also noticed he has started to shift some troops to the relevant area, so I decided to start the operation immediately. Around Narva, my advance goes on. This is NOT my main attack. Main Attack, Western Part: My first targets are Opochka und Velikye Luki. Bad weather prevents the use of Bombers and Paras. I have a combination of Tanks, Mech Infantry and normal Infantry to deal with ATGs. Did not see any yet. Main Attack, Eastern Part: First targets are Nelidovo and Vyazma. Not quite sure if I will go for Vyazma if Jörg reinforces it... it is not as important as the other cities. Jörg brought in an ATG, and I send it back home with Strength 3.

15th of November 1942 Not much to report. The Battle of Narva goes on. My Navy damages the German Tank Corps, and my Ground Troops damage the German Artillery. Seems alright. Some details about my planned offensive... up to now I have gathered the following force: - 13 Level 2 Tanks Corps - 5 Level 2 Mech Corps - all available Paras (3) - all available Artillery (4) - Some Tac Bomber with Fighter escorts - Loads of Infantry Some units are still in the queue. Anyone a guess where the offensive will occur? I would be happy about some participation.

3rd of November 1942 Just a few more turns, and the action will beginn. I will get my last Armored units in the end of November, and I will wait until then. To bring them in position will take time as well. A second German Corps is driven back, and my troops establish a beachhead. Jörgs Tanks come back, and my frontline troops withdraw. If he continues his attack, he will be in range of my ATGs... and if the weather clears up, he will see the full force of my bombers. Around Nikolayev, Russian troops advance. A beachhead is established as well. Pretty sure my tanks are a surprise to Jörg.

22nd of October Dear Readers, I can understand the current phase is a bit boring. I cannot understand that Jörg does not use his tanks, and so I can easily prepare a major offensive. It will start in 1943 as soon as the time seems right. No information where it will occur, but I can promise that it if is successful, the war will be over. In the west of Narva, Russian Infantry attacks. With an unexpected result: a German Corps is driven back by Soviet troops! This is no good for Jörg, it brings him in a miserable position. I bring in Light Tanks to keep the attack going. The Red Army takes back the positions that were lost a couple of turns ago. No sense at all. In the south, Jörg starts to hunt down my troops. But at least he is distracted, and some fresh troops arrive, including tanks. These might change the path of the battle down there.

10th of October 1942 Around Kursk, Jörg seems to cancel his attack. The tanks move back. No single unit destroyed, but a tactical victory for the Wehrmacht: I needed to take my frontline back. So anyone can imaginge what happens if he would use his tanks more frequently. One of my Armies is approaching Odessa. That would be really nice. But I see German tanks as well, so the party might be over soon.

28th of September 1942 Finally Jörg has decided to use his tanks. Three of them attack the bulge in the northwest of Kursk, supported by infantry. I take my troops back to the well prepared defense lines. It seems as if Jörg is underestimating the potential damage soviet units can cause when running free through German controlled territory.

19th of September 1942 I am gatherting my forces for the first big attack in 1943. In late November I will get a lot of new troops... armored and mech units.... and artillery to lower the entrenchment. I will no reveal where is the attack is going to happen and how massive it will be, but I can promise Jörg will notice it. Jörg has destroyed one of my armies, but he has left a hole. Let us see how he deals with this situation.

@ Big Al: good to hear. There was no pop up, but the country surrendered obviously. 13th of September 1942 Finnland has finally surrendered... fine. All quiet along the eastern front... but there are major battles in the air going on. A German Tac Bomber is destroyed, and this will not make Jörg happy... for sure.

10th of September 1942 The last finnish units is destroyed. But Finnland does not surrender... brave little country. Al, Bill? Anyone to clarify this? The southeast: my forces are still weak on an operational level. When German Infantry attack my troops, the make 3-4 damage and loose almost nothing. I cannot do much.

1st of September 1942 Unfortunately for you readers, there is not much to report. Jörg attacks me in the east of Dnejpropetrovsk and destroys a division and an army. All other tanks abstain from the war. Just one thing of interest: I will start to upgrade my Army next turn.

26th of August 1942 No pictures this turn... nothing happened. My Red Army is not yet capable of a major offensive... when I attack entrenched German units, the loss ratio is 4:0 or 4:1.. does not work yet. I would need my tanks, but this are still busy in Finnland. I think I will start a major offensive in spring. I do not understand why Jörg isn't doing anything.. his Level 2 tanks are lethal to my infantry, but he does not use them. Whatever.

20th of August 1942 Finally I found out why Finnland does not surrender: This delays the transfer of my armored units back to Russia. Army Group South draws back, and my troops advance to Dnjepropetrovsk. There are a lot of battles in the Air... my fighters attack the Luftwaffe. In the very south, the War of Attrition continues.

14th of August 1942 Not much happening at the moment. Jörg is attacking at Kharkov and he even destroys a few units, but there is no progress. Around Moscow, my recon shows me the presence of German Tanks. I don't know what they have in mind... probably sitting around and doing nothing. In the south, the Germans attack and destroy three of my units. No problem yet... I get enough new units every turn. In my next turn I can start to operate units back from Finnland.. and I can place them wherever I need them.