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WWI Breakthrough! - 1918 Russian Civil War AAR


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Strategic command ww1 is beautiful.(played a full ww1 game and the system works perfect for a ww1 game)

Good to know breakthrough expansion about RCW. I sneak peak in demo it looks good. It is better than RUS(ageod game) about events and desicions but in military terms I think Ageod RCW is better in combat interpretation. I really like what I have read but my final desicion will be about how perfect RCW will be simulated. So fascinated about this time period. Thanks for writing. :)

Hi Ataman

That's great to hear and we are currently working on some improvements to the RCW campaign to make it even better.

We welcome feedback from the playing community too, so please feel free to get engaged where applicable, as it is always our aim to make these games as good as possible. :)

Bill

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Ok, it is August 1920 and it’s time to start the Battle for Moscow!

First steps are to strengthen the garrison of Vyazma by replacing the Militia with an upgraded Corps.

Secondly, elements of Budyonny’s 1st Horse Army spring into action, spearing thousands of Kuban Cossacks just to the south of Vyazma.

Thirdly, we are withdrawing from the Baltic. That was just a feint to keep the enemy away from Petrograd while we prepared for the ultimate battle.

Fourthly, huge numbers of reinforcements are daily expected, we remain confident of victory and the enemy’s advance is just their last blast of the trumpet before they pass into the dustbin of history.

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It's late August of 1920 and the Bolhevik invasion of the Baltics ends up in an utter failure. The sieges of Dougavpils and Pskov have been called off and the decimated Red units are leaving the area. So much for the Bolshevik "feint" there. The crack troops of Nikolai Yudenich have managed to pursue and destroy one of the retreating Red corps and their commander is repidly becoming the most popular White general of the war!

The enemy forces on the Moscow front are still weak but the poor supply, difficult terrain and an awful weather have been sufficient to turn the White advance here into a painful crawl:

16AUG20.jpg

Any spectacular coup d'etat is out of question now and the Southern and Urals Whites will need to regroup, reorganize before engaging into the battle for Moscow, which most likely will convert into a meat grinder slugfest. Well - war is a horrible thing...

The first units of the Bolshevik Konarmiya have counter-attacked near Vyazma. Very well Mr Budyonny - nearly a year after your troops became available? In the mean time we've seen them as far as Latvia, wandering there without any real purpose... Those Reds are evidently not predestined for the service in such a noble formations as the cavalry!

The Makhno's bandits got subdued once again and more counterinsurgency operations will follow soon in the Northern Caucasus. The order will be restored there in a due course.

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The Battle for Moscow is really hotting up now. Budyonny’s Horse Army and other units are going into action, launching hit and run attacks and inflicting damage on a number of White formations.

More Red Army units are arriving all the time, and there are plenty more soon to complete their formation and deploy for battle.

Moscow1.gif

Our strategy has been to draw the Whites north towards Moscow, where they are far from home and low on supply, in order to fight a decisive battle there.

If defeated, and defeated they surely must be, the Whites will be broken and forced to concede that they have lost the war.

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There hasn't been a lot of fighting at the end of August, but it's definitely a calm before the storm! It probably came as a suprise to the Bolshevik HQ, but it seems like the Urals Whites ( not the Southern ones ), are those who will have the honour of capturing Moscow. The Denikin's troops are still on the outskirts of Vyazma, fending off the counter attacks of Konarmiya. Their initial task was to march as fast as possible towards Smolensk in order attack the rear of Bolshevik forces advancing in the Baltics. Right now, their objective has changed - they have to prevent the flow of the Red reinforcements, that otherwise could be sent to Moscow:

30AUG20.jpg

Because it is primordial press the Bolsheviks simultaneously in as many places as possible, the troops of gen. Yudenich marched once againg towards Luga, where they clashed with a weak, enemy rear guard unit. It seems that Petrograd may be under a serious threat again!

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The enemy have failed to secure their rear!

We have two groups of Bolshevik partisans roaming behind their lines, ensuring that their food and ammunition reserves will remain low for some time to come:

Partisans.gif

Our Horse Army launch further attacks, smashing both the Kuban Cossacks and their supporting artillery. More reserves are arriving and we send some Armored Trains into action near Moscow.

MoscowSep20.gif

In the next month we will have a mass of new units deploying, including more artillery, and we look forward to seeing how this ends up!

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A RUSSIAN TRICOLOUR FLAG FLOWNS ONCE AGAIN OVER THE KREMLIN!!!

25EDITORIAL-popup.jpg

Despite frantic efforts of the Bolsheviks, troops of adm. Kolchak have already captured half of the Red capital and the Kremlin is already in their hands! More reinforcements are arriving to the traingle Moscow, Vyazma, Smolesnk and the supply is finally improving. A division of Konarmiya has been severely mauled and soon the Red cavalrymen may be in trouble, because this time the numerical superiority won't be on their side:

13Sep20.jpg

In a dramatic turn of events in the Baltics, the troops of gen. Yudenich have recaptured Luga and they are once again heading towards Petrograd!

13Sep20Baltics.jpg

The Reds are being pushed simultaneously on every possible front and this will certainly make the management of their reserves very difficult. This time the Whites are not in a hurry and any attritional battle will certainly do more harm to the Bolsheviks than to themselves.

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Great read.

You both are very class acts.

Can anyone give me a hint on the production situation? Are the Reds still outproducing the Whites, or has that been equalized/flipped? Because if it has, though of course not really knowing the game, but it would then appear that the next turn would be crucial for the Reds--if they can't strike back to take Moscow, the Whites position becomes dominating.

But if the Reds strike at Moscow, they lose Petrograd? That can't be good.

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Can anyone give me a hint on the production situation? Are the Reds still outproducing the Whites, or has that been equalized/flipped?

According to the intelligence chart, the Reds are still makig about 300 MPP per turn ( down from the peak of 420 MPP in 1919 ). This is still not too bad, given the fact, that the Whites have already captured probably 30% of the Bolshevik industrial centers. In the opposite camp, the Southern Whites make 232 MPP, the Northern 74 MPP, the Ural Whites 51 MPP and the UK 125 MPP. The UK will withdraw from the war within next few turns and it's income is currently used to build the Latvian and Estonian armies. For example the British HQ of gen. Gough ( rating 7, experience 3 ) has been very effective and helped a lot in repulsing the Red attacks around Narva crossing. But it's the only HQ to which the Latvian and Estonian units can be attached. Due to that, it's primordial to build the national HQ's of the Baltic states, because gen Gough will sail back home, along with all the remaining UK units. Building HQ's requires time and a lot of MPP and the British income has been used for this purpose ( in total over 800 MPP ). If it comes to the White factions, they make roughly 350 MPP versus the Bolshevik 300 MPP. In reality this probably means a parity, because the Red units are cheaper and unlike the Whites, they have only one tech chart to invest in.

What has been decisive so far ( and will continue to be ), is the efficiency of the units on the battlefield. Up until now the Whites were able to inflict very high loses on the enemy units, so the Reds were unable to regain the numerical superiority. During the advance towards Moscow, the combat effectiveness of advancing armies has been lower, due to the supply Fortunately the main Red forces were engaged in the Baltics, while they could try to defeat the Denikin and Kolchak armies approaching the Bolshevik capital. Is this window of opportunity closed for the Reds alredy? The next few months of the campaign will definitely tell.

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White forces have marched into Moscow a turn too early!! :eek:

For we are only now starting to deploy large numbers of new Red Army units, with more to come shortly.

We have just developed improved Infantry Weapons, and the Whites have just been struck by another uprising in their rear to the south of Moscow.

Can we retake the capital? That is going to be difficult, but we will have a go and let the forces of history decide whether the world is yet ripe for a proletarian revolution.

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It has been quiet on the central front. The White armies spent last days of September regrouping and reiforcing before the final assault against the Bolshevik held part of Moscow. Nearly all the available forces are in place and if the weather allows the hell will be unleashed very soon...

Unfortunatelly for the Reds, Petrograd is under the siege again but this time the threat seems to be more serious. A new White army advancing from the Archangel area appeared near Tikhvin and the Latvian and Estonian armies are deploying new units, that will help to secure the distant approaches to Petrograd:

27Sep20.jpg

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The feel of this game is like a multi-front Barbarossa. The Whites need to make rapid gains, and cripple the Reds before the production power of the Reds saves them. It seems as thought the Reds can take huge initial losses [AH Stalingrad, and similar Board Games, one could lose almost..almost.. every Soviet unit initially, and still survive]. And one of the major issues for the Whites is having secure supply lines. If they advance too fast, without taking key towns (imagine if the Whites were outside of Moscow now, but had not taken it) they weaken, particularly with partisans getting behind their lines.

Doesn't that sound familiar to those interested in WW2?

Of course, germany in WW2 would have loved to have units stationed where the Whites start in this scenario.

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The feel of this game is like a multi-front Barbarossa. The Whites need to make rapid gains, and cripple the Reds before the production power of the Reds saves them. It seems as thought the Reds can take huge initial losses [AH Stalingrad, and similar Board Games, one could lose almost..almost.. every Soviet unit initially, and still survive]. And one of the major issues for the Whites is having secure supply lines. If they advance too fast, without taking key towns (imagine if the Whites were outside of Moscow now, but had not taken it) they weaken, particularly with partisans getting behind their lines.

Doesn't that sound familiar to those interested in WW2?

Of course, germany in WW2 would have loved to have units stationed where the Whites start in this scenario.

It's hard not to agree with this analogy. I've always felt that the speed of advance is an essential factor in the White strategy. From the other hand, the Reds should focus on building their potential, because the time is on their side. Pretty much the same strategies apply for the Axis and USSR in the WWII games.

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Four new Red Army units deployed this turn, and we have four more Army Corps and one Artillery unit due to arrive in the next few turns.

We are now upgrading our infantry and artillery, and when these enter battle we will either drive the White forces from Moscow, or die in the attempt.

There is much skirmishing going on at present as both sides jockey for position, and it will be interesting to see if the Whites can press their advantage, or if our new and improved units can take it away from them.

MoscowOct20.gif

One danger is that Poland is steadily turning her gaze eastwards, with her greedy eyes focused on Minsk. Having to face Piłsudski and the Whites may well prove the ultimate challenge!

It hasn’t helped that Comrade Lenin has been suffering from a bad cold, yet his workload prevents him from retiring to his bed to rest. But he will continue the fight regardless!

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It's the end of October 1920 and the Whites on the central front have been finalizing the last preparations for the attack there. Gen Denikin literally held a mass and asked all his generals to pray for few more weeks of the good weather... Unfortunatelly the counterintelligence prohibited this time to publish any images, that would show the troops dispositions... From the other hand, adm Kolchak troops still didn't manage to capture the whole of Moscow but insted, they are slowly improving their tactical positions, before the final assault could begin. With a support of an armored train, the Bolshevik armored train detachment has been destroyed, on the south eastern outskirts of the city.

There has been a lot of manouvering around Petrograd and in the Baltics. The Latvian army has besieged Poltsk and the Finninsh "volunteers" have captured Novogrod. This bold move, has effectively cut off the last rail line leading to the old capital of our beloved Russia. Unfortunatelly the city has been currently turned into the cradle of the Bolshevik serpents. Due to that, it's capture is an ultimate objective of our armies:

25Oct20.jpg

The main army of gen. Yudenich is right on the outskirts of Petrograd. Will it manage to attack the city before the Winter sets in? This turns out to be the most crucial question of 1920 campaign...

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The Red Counter Attack begins!

A White Corps is destroyed near Vyazma and our Horse Army advances, driving the enemy away from the town and threatening their General’s position. All of a sudden he’s in the front line, I bet he didn’t expect that!

Vyazma.gif

We also hammered a White Corps near Moscow, just to show that we have the power to strike in more than one place, and now that our second artillery unit has arrived we should be able to increase the pressure here too.

We will say it for our White opponents: they are improving. Last turn the unit we attacked near Moscow turned tail and fled, so full credit to them for holding their position and taking the punishment this turn.

Meanwhile, our partisans stand poised to liberate Voronezh to the south of Moscow. :)

Petrograd is preparing itself for a long siege, its fate hinging on the outcome of the fighting between Moscow and Smolensk.

Good news is that the British are about to depart. They are the last of the Interventionists, so we will be very glad to see the back of them!

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There is no doubt, that the strenght of the recent Bolshevik counter-attacks on the Vyazma front came as a nasty suprise to the White commanders. It's the first time during this campaign, that the enemy managed to perform such a large scale and coherent offensive operations. It seems like the threat of a total defeat inspired the troops of Red Army, because right now they seem to be more confident and aggressive than ever! Also the recent figting has proven, that their best units and commanders ( Konarmiya and Tukhachevsky ) are more than a match for the Whites!

Unfortunatelly the local success on the battlefield, probably won't be enough to turn the tables of this war. A quick look at strategic map is sufficient to understand why:

MAPNOVEMBER.png

From the strategic point of view the Bolshevik position seems to be unattainable. Due to tha lack of Bolshevik success in the Ukraine, Poland has been mobilizaing very slowly but soon it's troops will be ready to march East. So it may be the Polish army that finally manages to break the neck of the Red Hydra...

***

On the Moscow front, one Bolshevik corps has been destroyed and the advancing armored train deatchment, has attacked directly the HQ of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, who is in charge of the Red units defending the city:

22NOV20Moscow.jpg

A BREAKING NEWS FROM PETROGRAD!!!

Gen. Yudenich, who has been already declared a national hero on more than one occasion, has ordered a direct assault against the city's outer ring of the fortifications! The Southern outskirts of Petrograd are already in the hands of the White troops!

22NOV20Petrograd.jpg

A direct assaut against the city centre is expected to follow soon! Will Petrograd fall before the end of 1920 - the next few days will be decisive!

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We cannot deny that the situation at Petrograd is displeasing, and Stalin even claims to have caught Trotsky looking up the times of planes flying out to Mexico.

But we won't give up just yet, especially not while our counterattack near Vyazma continues.

Voronezh was liberated this turn, and the Red Army at Smolensk and elsewhere is busy upgrading with newly produced weapons while preparing to continue attacking the Whites over the winter.

We've refilled the gap in our lines east of Moscow, and upgraded our artillery there too. Our hope is to continue exerting pressure near Vyazma and Smolensk, and that way to force a White withdrawal from Moscow.

VyazmaAttack.gif

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The total defeat of the Bolsheviks is approaching very fast now. On the central front, despite a pouring rain, the main forces of gen Denikin, have punished the audacious riders of Konarmiya. In what can be described as the biggest clash of cavalry during this war, one red division has been annihilated and second one took 70% loses. More importantly thanks to a massive artillery bombardment and a visible numerical superiority, the forces of adm Kolchak have finally captured the entire Moscow!

20Dec20Moscow.jpg

Equally momentus events have taken place in Petrograd because the North-Western Whites are already inside of the city. Only a small, isolated enclave remains still under the Bolshevik control! A quick capture of Kronstadt becomes a pressing task for the advancing troops. Gen. Yudenich is pretty convinced that Lenin and other members of his clique may try to escape the city in a specially modified mini submarine!

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