Big Al Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I'm happy its nice and balanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Alright, plan for the next couple of turns: RUN AWAY!!! And seriously, I need to get Army Group ‘South’ from the Eastern Ukraine as soon as possible. I will try to base my defense on the Dnepr line (like the Germans actually did in 1943). Though it won’t be easy, cause the left flank really is in danger (as I predicted few posts back, unfortunately I didn’t have any resources to take any actions against it…). Fortunately I noticed that many Ivanov’s units have low readiness too, so he cannot pursue as fast as he would probably want. Gen. Model took the command of the Army Group ‘North’. But there isn’t much to report, as we continue withdrawal towards Latvia. Soviet mechanized units were silent this turn, so they will probably activate themselves in the next turn. Meanwhile in Sicily… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Summer 1943 ? Feels like it's already 1944 ' . Sheer numbers are favoring Soviets so much I have to congratulate Ghost for not being demoralized . Thanks Strat, I am far from being demoralized . Let's see how long I can stand, though I guess the game will end long before Jan 1945. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 The truth is that Fuhrer threatened Ghost with a court-martial and urged him to fight to the last man. So there are only two options left for my opponent - continuation of the fanatical resistance or secret and disgraceful emigration to Argentina :eek: Argentina seems to be nice option... :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Given our overall numerical superiority, we have to admit that the fascists are conducting a very skillful defensive warfare ( especially on the tactical level ). Let’s take a look at the map: In theory, given the share weight of numbers, German Army Group South should be already utterly defeated or encircled. Yet the German rearguard effectively manages to delay our spearheads. Also, most of the Soviet units are already very tired and understrength. On 12th of July the Southern Front of Gen Timoshenko managed to recapture Stalino ( the nearby mines are still in German hands ). It required an effort oF all our mechanized and air assets in the area. It is clear that the enemy will be trying to form a new defensive line along the river Dnepr. We have to prevent it at all costs! In the north, the Baltic Fronts advance south from Estonia. Mechanized units of Gen Konev were trying to eliminate the German stronghold in Ovinsk. Incredibly the town is still held by a battered enemy corps. Our infantry and tanks suffered tremendous loses during the battle: A SOVIET T-34 BURNS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF OVINSK: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Given the numbers and Soviet superiority I must be really lucky to be still alive . Anyway, numbers are not everything in our little war, Com. Ivanov, though I must admit, I feel I am doomed to be defeated, unless Fuhrer comes up with some Wunderwaffe… The situation hasn’t changed much since the last turn. Army Group ‘South’, led by the Magnificent Two: Gen. Guderian and Gen. von Manstein, withdraws slowly, causing casualties to the Soviet spearheads. Meanwhile, recently resurrected Gen. Kleist organizes the defenses along the Dnepr. At the back of the front we reinforce our Luftwaffe forces, as much as we can. Remember that Fuhrer decided that we should strengthen Sicily? Well, it still costs us 30 MPPs every turn. In the North we try to prevent Soviet forces from capturing Latvia. The heroic defense of Dvinsk (or Daugavpils as the Latvians call it) brings effects: Soviet mechanized units suffered heavy casualties and the Tank Group withdrew after the counterattack of Gen. Model’s forces. In the region of Riga, gen. List does all what he can to build an efficient defense line. Given the fact, that his resources are really limited, OKH is really afraid what will happen in the next few days. We will try to send him some reinforcements in the next turn. That’s all for today! Stay tuned to witness the Axis’ struggle for survival! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Our fronts and armies in the south continue to push towards the Dnepr. Red Army recaptured important mines near Stalino and one of our penal divisions actually managed to cross the river near Dnepropeterovsk. Of course it can't be considered a solid bridgehead and the enemy will probably eliminate it with ease. Note the enemy panzer corps reduced to 30% of it’s strength after vicious fighting against our tanks! In the meantime, most of the units of our Baltic fronts reached river Dvina and the enemy has been finally pushed away from Ovinsk. The Fascist Army Group North seems to be severely weakened and STAVKA is expecting that the crossing of Dvina will follow very soon… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Losing Dvinsk (not Ovinsk! it is a mistake) was rather disappointing. OKH believed we could hold on to that city for another couple of turns. After the city fell, we decided to abandon our positions near Polotsk as it would be impossible to hold the line of Dvina. We are still defending the Riga. In the south there was a violent battle around Dnipropetrovsk. In result the Soviets lost couple of units. We also managed to cause severe damage to one of their advancing Tank Groups. Further South, we are continuing the withdrawal, therefore we abandoned (on purpose ) the city of Melitopol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 On 24th of July Dvina has been crossed all along it’s length from the Baltic coast to Polotsk. We were expecting to encounter a firmer enemy defences but it looks like the Army Group North is indeed a pariah of the Ostheer. In the south we continue to crawl forward and our troops have liberated Meltipol recently evacuated by the fascists. No attempt has been made yet to seriously cross the river Dnepr. In order to better redistribute our forces, STAVKA decided to form two new fronts, that will allow us to exert the pressure on much wider front. We also decided to reinforce and upgrade about 20% of all our infantry armies. We have reached the infantry tech 4 some time ago, but because most of our units have been constantly on the move, there has been no opportunity to upgrade them yet. OUR INFANTRY IN THE BALTICS IS SUPPORTED BY A VAST ARRAY OF ASSAULT, SELF PROPELLED GUNS: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategiclayabout Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 - AGN truly is miserable, I hope Hilter won't ask those poor guys to defend Kurland to death... - At least there is some hope in the south where holding the defensive line behind the Dnepr may allow to put some units in reserve and redirect spare troops to the north... Who will save the Reich ? Manstein ? Model ? Guderian ? Maybe Stalin himself ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I am afraid it’s too late to save the Reich now . Not much changes on the Eastern Front and I feel it is going to look like this till the very end. Army Group South has built a sensible defense line based on Dnepr river. Will it be enough to stop the Soviets? I really hope so, but Ivanov has already shown he can perfectly control this human swarm. Till now his Red Army was focused on attacking our southernmost forces which was good, because we could entrench our troops on the western banks of Dnepr. However we have lost many units and it will be really hard to re-create them as the MPPs production is lower every turn. In the North, gen. Model hasn’t received many troops to stop Red Army, but we will send him most of our troops which are currently being produced. Therefore good ol’ Walther doesn’t have much choice, he needs to withdraw quicker than he initially planned as the gaps between our forces are too big. I am afraid that the fate of Riga has been sealed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 - AGN truly is miserable, I hope Hilter won't ask those poor guys to defend Kurland to death... - At least there is some hope in the south where holding the defensive line behind the Dnepr may allow to put some units in reserve and redirect spare troops to the north... Who will save the Reich ? Manstein ? Model ? Guderian ? Maybe Stalin himself ? Yeah, the thing is that in North Ivanov wasn't pushing very hard, so far (in comparison with the South). That's why I felt I needed more troops in the South where I was trying to build a defense line on Dnepr. But maybe I was wrong and will pay for this dearly :confused: Anyway Dnepr seems to be a good solution for the rest of 1943 and in the next couple of turns we will see what to do with the North. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 The combat strength of the fascist Army Group South has clearly deteriorated because only a weak detachment has been left to defend Riga. The city has been liberated on 30th of July making it another important achievement of our brilliant General Konev. At the same time, a new 3rd Belorussian Front has been activated and it’s troops managed to clear Mogilev from the enemy. Still not much action in the south but our armies are almost ready to attack. STAVKA has pulled out there a significant number of units in order to create combat ready reserves, rather than attacking on a broad front with too many, low readiness units. This is the lesson we have learnt from the recent fighting. Stay tuned because very soon all the hell will break loose in the Ukraine… *** RED ARMY LIBERATES RIGA FOR THE SECOND TIME DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Very nice propaganda. We all know how people love the Soviet “liberators”. Though on the other hand, those citizens of Riga who don’t love them, may have been already sent to Siberia… On the South it was all quiet. However we observed that many Soviet armies have been sent away from the Southern Front. Ivanov is probably concentrating his forces in order to create new front, maybe in the centre? We also managed to withdraw most of our units from the steppes on the eastern bank of Dnepr. Gen. von Manstein certainly did a great job. Führer was pleased and Erich doesn’t need to buy a plane ticket to Argentina… for now. In the North we struggle to create a stable frontline. OKH sent some infantry units to the northern front this turn, we’ll see if they manage to hold the advancing Reds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategiclayabout Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 - I see Germans don't defend on the Dnepr itself, I suppose it's to have a narrow front for crossing soviet units where you can hit each one of them with 3-4 more axis units ? - Maybe that's why the Reds moved some units out: no space to deploy all those troops... - About the new front(s), I'd bet Ivanov is eying some move from the Riga-Kaunas area to crush AGC Bagration style . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 - About the new front(s), I'd bet Ivanov is eying some move from the Riga-Kaunas area to crush AGC Bagration style . I have formed the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian fronts. I noticed huge gaps in the German frontline, so I decided to take an advantage of it, because Ghost is clearly focusing on the Dnepr and the Baltics. So the 2nd Belarussian Front will be pushing towards Minsk and the 3rd will be outflanking Kiev from the north. Due to the difficult terrain of the Pripet Marshes, I will be sending a lot of cavalry there Currently I'm on holidays and will play my turn at the end of the week, but stay tuned because the Soviets are ready for some powerful moves in the Ukriane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 What's the turn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 What's the turn? We are in August 1943, turn 96 of the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 On the 5th of August of 1943, finally some major action took place in the Ukraine. Our armored units attacked the city with a heavy air support and then the red paratroopers helped to secure the Ukrainian capital: Note the newly formed 2nd Belarusian operation north of Kiev, approaching Gomel and the area of the Pripyat Marshes. We have been also pressing the enemy in the area of Nikolaev, where our 3rd Ukrainian Front has commenced a major offensive forcing two fascist corps to retreat. Also our fighter bombers scored a major success and managed to destroy a Luftwaffe airbase that was a home to the attack Stuka units. All in all it was a very eventful day and it will be interesting to see, what will be the fascist reaction to our moves. Are they able to react at all at this stage of the campaign? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 Sorry for the slight delay, but holidays with the family are not the best time for strategic games . So, the recent moves of the Soviets were very concerning, they seized Kiev easily. Our reaction at this stage of the game can be only one: withdrawal. Looks like the Dnepr line will be lost within the next few turns. Honestly speaking, it will be a miracle if the Germans survive 1943. The MPPs production is getting lower every turn . Additionally we had to face yet another decision event- forming special interceptors squadron which will defend the industry in western Germany from the air raids. It will cost us 30 MPPs per turn, though I can imagine that the losses from the air raids may be even bigger. So it looks like the distribution of MPPs will be even bigger challenge for OKH than facing the Soviet Hordes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategiclayabout Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 Welcome back Ghost, don't falter, the entire culture and civilization of the western world depends on your fighting spirit to save themselves from the barbarous red hordes ! I'll soon start my own Case Blue campaign, thanks for the preview . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of war Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Sorry to disappoint you Strat, but hereby I surrender and announce the end of this AAR. I talked to Ivanov and he agreed that it’s better to stop it now. Soviet advantage is too big so that I can stop them. I neglected producing new units when I had plenty of MPPs and now it’s getting worse with every turn, because my losses are too big to be replenished with new units. Moreover I don’t have much to write about after my turn, I just withdraw and try to avoid losses. I guess that it has already become tiresome to read. Here are some screenshots that prove my point. Unfortunately the war is over for Germany. MPPs production for Soviets and Axis. Research values. Probably Ivanov will soon have all the technologies at maximum . So thanks to Ivanov for the amusing game and thanks to all the forum members for reading this AAR. I hope it wasn't very boring . In the next few days, as soon as I find some time, I will sum up the German strategy and will write few words about the things that need to be avoided by the Axis Player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategiclayabout Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Ouch, same losses but +10,000 income for Soviets... No disappointment here, Ghost . Thanks again to both of you ! Already got valuable data for my ongoing Case Blue campaign as Axis hehe. MPP management is the key, I know I know . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanov Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Ok thanks Ghost for the game and everyone else who followed this AAR. I think that the campaign of 1942 was decisive. If the Germans managed to capture Stalingrad and Maikop, then it would be much more difficult for my Soviets to regain the initiative. Ghost was conducting a very skilfull defensive warfare in 1943 but my superiority was just too big. Make no mistake - we could carry on for much longer but the subsequent match would be very one-sided. Also it's worth noting, that we were using a pre release beta version of the Case Blue and some imortant changes have been introduced for the later patches. All in all, I have enjoyed the match immensely and I can honestly recommend this campaign to everyone interested in the WW2 Eastern Front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Yes, thanks for the great AAR both of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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