Hyazinth von Strachwitz
-
Posts
695 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Hyazinth von Strachwitz
-
-
31st of July 1941
The Wehrmacht is quite fast in the north, but a bit slower in the south.
The usual losses... not good, but also not too bad.
Heeresgruppe Nord is crunching through the Baltic. This is apparently wanted by the designers of this campaign... I cannot place reinforcements in cities in the Baltic, so this area is not as strong as the rest.
Heeresgruppe Mitte is closing in on Smolensk
No pictures from Kiev this turn... the German troops regrouped, and I prepared myself as well. I expect an attack next turn, but I have something in mind. Let us see if it works.
The Romanians learn it the hard way... no Recon against tanks.
-
25th of July 1941
The Wehrmacht continues its advance into Russia. This turn they reach the first strongholds.
Losses are just 4 units this turn, and until the end of October I will get around 40+ new units. Does not look too bad.
In the North, the German troops advance in the Baltic. My defense are set up.
In the Center, Minsk has fallen, and the next defense line stand firm.
In the south, German troops reach Kiev. A nosy German corps is driven back by our Light Tanks. Kiev will be defended as long as possible.... there are reserves in the rear.
-
19th of July 1941
This turn, I just loose 5 units. So this is the first turn where I can buy more units than I loose. Apparently a good sign. The Wehrmacht is still advancing, but the momentum gets less and less.
The Finnish Army gets a taste of Russian lethality... a Finnish corps flees on Strength 2. What a pity... otherwise it would have been destroyed.
In the north, we evacuate the troops around Riga and fall back to places we can defend easier.
In the south, the Romanian invaders still haven't taken Artsyz. The town is just a few miles behind the border, and this is definitely an area where the Axis forces are behind schedule.
-
13th of July 1941
The struggle continues. The Germans get slower, and they destroy less of our
troops than in the previous turns.
And we get some help:
We need to use these Engineers wisely, they will fortify crucial points of the frontline. I know a couple of these points already.
In the north, a second defense line is established. It will not hold long, but at least a certain time.
In the south, the German advance continues.
Unfortunately there is no possibility for a counterattack yet... the only thing I can do at the moment is to slow the German advance.
-
Thank you very much for this entertaining AAR!
-
7th of July 1941
The German advance slows down, but our losses are still very high.
At least our losses get less and less each turn.
Mr. Stalin is very precise in his Orders.
The Fortress Kaunas still holds, but it will be the last turn for sure.
In the south, the German advance slows down. Some units draw back for reinforcements and upgrade.. but they will come back and give it a second try.
-
I get a lot of reinforcements... these are barely needed at the frontline.
And of course there is a bit of fighting as well:
My provisional frontline at Kaunus stopped the Wehrmacht for a turn... maybe it holds another turn.
In Galicia, a Romanian Corps bites the dust. The first Axis casualty of the war, but for sure not the last.
In the south, there is not much progress. I think Jörg is upgrading his Romanian forces to Infantry Warfare Level 1 after he noticed that the Romanians are vulnerable.
-
1st of July 1941
The German Forces continue their march through the Russian motherland.
One positive aspect: this turn there are less losses than in the previous turn!!!
And we get another advice:
Apart from that, the "Great Patriotic War" event starts... this gives me an extra 300 MPPs per turn.... for 15 turns...
-
At the moment, there is not much choice. When I start to attack German units, my own units get damaged, but the Wehrmacht does not. No good choice. So I need to reinforce damaged units, try to let the terrain help me and evacute precious units... and maybe try to locate isolated Axis units.
Around Kaunas, a first defensive line is established. Pretty sure it will not hold for long.
In Galicia, our troops start a local offensive. Apparantly this is were the Brusilov Offensive occured exactly 25 years ago, and this will teach the Wehrmacht not to underestimate the lethality of the Red Army.
In the south, there are few of our troops. But fortunately our Secret Services inform us that a lot of the troops in the South are Romanians, and they do not have the same quality as the Wehrmacht.
You wonder what the Wehrmacht is doing? Feel free to watch the German side here:
http://www.si-games.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25683&page=6&p=871113#post871113
The text is unfortunately just in German, but the pictures will be understandable for everyone!
If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!
-
Welcome to the Great Patriotic War AAR!
As I received the first turn from my opponent, the honorable Jörg Frundsberg, I watched the replay, and it way not funny to see. The Wehrmacht marches on Russian soil, and a lot of comrades gave their lives.
The German Panzers seem invincible, and most of our units are destroyed without even fighting back. Our own Tank Corps are lame ducks, and they get blown into pieces by German infantry. Here comes an overview after just a few days:
Those forces who were close to the border are destroyed, and my concept is to establish defense lines at certain points where the terrain suits. I made a test run versus the AI, and there are a couple of important points were a good fight can be setup. Of course I will not yet mention were these points are... our enemies could read it.
Not to forget, I get a few recommendations from a really wise person:
In my next post I will show some examples of what i have in mind.
-
No, he won't! :-)
Learning a level from history, the worst casualties occur when an Army is defeated. This happened to Lee at Appomattox, and the losses the Wehrmacht suffered in 1944 and 45 were horrible and unnecessary. I can stop Al for a couple of weeks, maybe until early November, but this campaign runs until the 31st of December... and I think Al will reach German soil way earlier.
I am still ahead in terms of destroyed units and NM, but to give you readers an insight: the campaign is clearly lost, so I see no further reason to sacrifice troops. Of course this is not really grateful to Al, because he would have deserved to march into Germany.
So I will accept Al's offer, and I hope the peace treaty will be very fair. A German delegation will head for Versailles, and let us see if we can find a solution... and avoid the next war. :-)
-
Great Move, Ivanov!
-
Not many good things to report, but a few :-)
A combined British-Italian Force attacks Doullens and does not succeed in taking the city. The attackers suffer heavy losses, and the German counterattack destroys two allied divisons. At least a small victory.
Sedan will fall sooner or later, but a good amount of fresh German division approach. First time in months I get a major reinforcements. Maybe I can hold the line there... in the next two turn I have 9 fresh divisions coming in.
But definitely: this is getting more and more difficult for the German troops!
-
No screenshots this turn, everything is visible from Al's posts :-)
-
The German Army does not have en easy life at the moment... casualties are high on both sides.
I continue to attack in the north, but less aggressive... this is more to keep Al busy. If I stop to attack here, Al can divert forces to the south and push harder there... no good idea, he is way ahead there anyway.
My forces take back Strassburg, but the NM effect does not come back.
In general I need to say that the game has now reached the state I expect for July... after I saw Bill's changes from 1.00 to 1.01, I did not feel the Axis has a chance to win. I was able to achieve a lot of great victories, but since 5 months I get outproduced every single turn. I am still way ahead in terms of NM and destroyed units, but the direction is very clear: retreat or destruction. Esp. the allied Arty superiority is not possible to cope with, and the American Superman divisions are too difficult to destroy... they have better combat values than the German divisions, and there is a lot of them.
-
Just as a small hint: the Kaiser´s Army is retreating, but they are not dead... and the German NM is still way ahead the Allied.
Apparently some of the British troops felt too safe.
But most other areas do not looks as good. I hope Philip reads this.. he would have made a similar experience if he would have played this far.
-
No Screenshots from my side this turn... I pressed the "End Turn"-Button before I made them... apologies.
No much to report... a few destroyed allied corps, but I will not be able to stop the allied offensive. What might save me a bit is Trench Warfare Level 5, and the counter is in the 80ies.
-
How does the NM look like?
-
Good Morning!
The match has entered the third and final phase: allied superiority. My troops have achieved a lot of victories, and my advance was quicker and further than I thought. But I never expected to defeat the Allies... honestly: after the second turn I expected Al to be in Sedan in July. I was wrong in that case.
In general the German Army is no longer capable of conducting major offensives, but at least a lot of successes have been reached. I have one more thing in mind, but this might be revealed later. It is now early August, and the match ends in November. It will be crucial for the endgame how my research goes on... Trench Warfare Level 5 is in the 80ies, and a breaktrough there will help a lot.
Al's Offensive out of the British salient will be more difficult now, the British tank unit was destroyed. Apparently Haig overestimated its strength.
The Central Front is bloody, and it will remain bloody.
-
The Austrian Forces have arrived.... a HQ and a couple of divisons, and their timing is brilliant.
The salient in the northwest gets smaller and smaller. Calais is German now, and the British NM takes another hit. With their next casualties, they might drop below 50%. France is at 55%, while Germany is at 82%. Another HQ has left the salient, and I expect it to move to Dieppe.
Crossing rivers under enemy fire is bloody.
-
Did anyone expect the British Salient to survive that long? So the German Forces fight their way through the British trenches...
Four British divisions are destroyed, and Al has started the evacuation. The red circle shows an empty tile, and one Heavy Artillery has left the salient. Promising sign for the German troops!!!
Apart from that, the city of Calais is surrounded. Once our Artillery if filled up with shells, the final attack will begin.
My troops around in the Central section have entrenched and await the Allied attack. The river will help for sure, and reinforcements are approaching.
The southeast is quiet, my troops are regfreshing and entrenching. One smaller operation might be executed next turn.
And there is more good news! Additional troops are most welcome!!!
-
I think we have reached the crucial state of the match. Whoever thought Germany is already a winner: no. I know the campaign exactly, and I know about the strength and income of the American forces. I never expected to get this far, and even now I feel insecure about the outcome. Al has an advantage around Reims, I press on in the Northwest. The Allied forces have more income, and my NM is better. So from now on it can go in any direction.
Al is shortening his lines in the Northwest... wise choice. He moves one step back, I move one step forward... so not many casualties this turn. While last turn my attack concentrated on the southern part, I focus on the north now. My stormtroopers conquered the tile in the southeast of Calais, and this is the most difficult tile to conquer on the whole map: one needs to attack out of swamp, and I am really satisfied it worked. My Artillery in the west of St. Omer is full of Ammo, and I can decide which units in its range (two tiles) will be destroyed next turn.
The English tank just survived because I did a wrong click with the division in the south.. but this happens occasionally. Most British divisions are damaged, and I will push forward. Al can attack me with his damaged units, and then I can push on... or he needs to refresh, and this gives me time as well.
Around Reims, my troops fall back on the previously mentioned defense line (see a couple of posts above). It is easy for me to sacrifice space for time there... and I feel happy I have a second line, because this is what the English did not have around Arras.
One small episode I need to mention: you can all see the heavily damaged German Artillery... it just made its way out because it is equipped with Mobility Level 1. Most of Al's units are not equipped with that... MPPs I invested earlier, and they pay back now. Maybe it gets destroyed sooner or later, but for the moment I was able to save it. One tile less would have meant the American troops can reach it.
"Bloody Hills" Sector: More allied units are destroyed or heavily damaged. This sector is a bit "wild", no clear frontlines or advantages for anyone.
-
Let me give you readers a bit of insight in my strategic thinking. A few turns ago as Al started his attack in the north or Reims, he said this is his last shot, and this shot has to hit the target. Al is an honorable man, and I think what he says is the truth. Nevertheless I had to wait a bit until I waste my last bullet. Without any changes, the destruction of the British salient will take too long, and Al will advance in the direction of Sedan. No good, so I decided to order my strategic reserves to the northwest. Five fresh divisions have been moved up there, giving me 20 divisons for the final attack.
Al has done a great job in defending the salient, but now his lines breach, and 6 units bite the dust. Next turn might be even bloodier when the new division enter the fight.
Around Calais, most units have been refreshed, and my Artillery is well equipped with ammo. Al thought my line is stretched (I can understand that view), but it is not. At the start of the attack, we had 16 : 24 divisions (2 : 3), now we have 11 : 20, so the balance of power has shifted a bit. British and French NM is in the high 50ies, no good for them... Germany is at 87%.
In the Center, 3 more allied units are destroyed. I establish a first defensive line that might hold for a few turns. No quick advance here for sure, and I have reinforcements approaching. If Al would create a bigger whole, I can still throw units in from the north.
In the southeast, my troops make a big step ahead. The area around St. Die looks critical for the French, and my Heavy Artillery at Colmar will have 8 shots next turn, so I can attack the units that guard the French Heavy Artillery. Al faces complete destruction down there if the does not reinforce.
During my turn 13 allied units were destroyed, way more than the 6 German units that died in the previous turn. I might be able to achieve the same figure next turn, in the north 4 of my units are in front of Al's Artillery. If he attacks me, he will be vulnerable for counterattacks next turn, and I would appreciate this. The salient has to disappear... sooner or later Al will evacuate the "soft" units like Artillery, and then victory is close.
-
Losses are horrible.... on both sides.
Montreuil is captured by German troops. I hate the dice this turn... killing the division in the red circel would have meant a hole Al would not be able to fill. However: Al cannot replace 3 units per turn. The salient started with 16 divisions, now I count 11... some severely damaged. He can refresh or buy new units... but not both.
Around Reims, I can destroy 3 more allied divisions and take the last fort. My defense line the is solid around Verdun, and I can move units to the west. Just in case I cannot hold the front there, I can draw back behind the rivers. The loss of a French village does not hurt me. Time is crucial here, and until now I did not loose too much ground. Fortunately, I can deploy units in Sedan.
In the southeast, German troops deal with the attackers. I plan to attack St. Die sooner or later, and this is the second time an important division is not destroyed... did I mention the dice already? Anyway: Al has 4 divisions and a brigade down there... I have 11 divisions.. that will work sooner or later.
1941 Barbarossa - AAR!
in Strategic Command - Assault on Communism
Posted
6th of August 1941
The German Panzerdivisions are deadly for my troops... and they take very few own losses. Fortunately there are enough replacements.
What a pity I cannot buy any tanks or Mech Corps at the moment... my first chance to buy a tank is on Jan 1st 1942, and Mech Corps are availabe from March 1st 1942 onwards.
In the north, the Wehrmacht proceeds as usual. Narva is a point I will not give away without a certain effort... even if I loose troops here, I will defend it as long as possible.
No pictures from the south... operational security. The siege of Kiev has started, and I do not want to see anyone what I have there... yet. Definitely the time has come where the Wehrmacht will no longer make an easy progress... from now on every meter will take its toll.