WAW Tournament (game 2) - The K Man vs Timskorn

[lparkh]

Am I right to infer from above that a viable russian strategy is not to garrison the front cities at all??? I've been thinking at least had to have corps in them as speed bumps...

[Timskorn]

You can, but in my opinion it isn't worth it unless you know your opponent is going into Barbarossa weak (Ie, he has troops gobbling up minors at the time). Otherwise your garrison troops only stall him by a turn or two and feeds his air and ground units with experience.

[The K Man]

Oct-Nov 1942. Weather forecast: Mostly rain for the allied units, and clear skys for the axis counterparts. (The weather gods are definitely on the axis side.)

Another suicide russian paratrooper is dealt with swiftly.

The Russian city of Voronezh is swarmed by German troops. A tank is taken out with a combination of fighter, Tac bomber, and two AT's. A german tank blitzs across the barren fields to destroy a squardian of Russian fighters still on the ground. Surrounded at Voronezh is a Russian Army on the city, a HQ (Zhukov,) AA, & AT. Both AA & AT have been heavily damaged.

Allies continue their attack on Sicily. A German AA gun in the mountains there is transported back to the mainland. Rail was out of the question since a Eygptian corp had landed inbetween two Italian units. He is heavily damaged down to 3.

Uboats continue the terror out in the Norwegian seas. It does not appear that Russia is receiving any convoys...

[Timskorn]

Snow finally arrives in Russia. The situation in Voronezh looks bleak, but up north the Russians are strong and man the entire riverline north of Moscow. Air battles have gone back and forth vying for control. Axis got the upper hand, but with Russian air tech and numbers they made sure they didn't have free admission to hit us.

Now with the UK landing in southern Italy, German air has been diverted to help Mussolini protect his homeland. Sicily itself is getting hammered by air, land and sea and should fall next turn.

Intelligence reported the damaged Italian sub NW of Sicily, and a US Corp. was dispatched in an operation to land and take it out in port.

The Allies have opened up the second front in the vulnerable underbelly of the Axis Empire.

[The K Man]

The snow has indeed arrived on the Russian Front. Planes were grounded for the most part. The AA & AT were destroyed near Voronezh. Just the HQ & Army remain. They are still completely surrounded.

Two german units pull back from the riverline north of Moscow. The germans also have strong force on a line with Moscow.

Mussolini continues to reinforce the courageous Italian corp that defends Sicily. We can only hope for bad weather to lighten the daily bombings by the allies.

------------------

"Go Patriots!"

[Timskorn]

Russians start peeking their noses out as the snow sets in, hitting along the NW flank of the Axis lines near Moscow.

In Italy, rains prevent the Allies from taking Sicily this turn, but the US has thrown their weight into the fight and have begun landing troops to help the UK.

[The K Man]

Once again Mussolini commends the Corp group in Sicily and urges them to stand their ground. Reinforcements are on the way. A US army that had landed on mainland Italy is heavily damaged to a 2.

HQ near Voronezh is also heavily damaged. Snowy conditions make for light attacks. (I believe a corp was given a bloody nose from peeking out from behind the Volga river.) Tank took atleast 2 hits from artillery fire.

A UK battleship was sunk by a couple of U-boats still roaming the Norwegian seas.

[Timskorn]

January 1943:

Russians probe out of the lines north of Moscow, but it doesn't look like the Axis were hindered by the winter this year and are dug in real tight. Just some bloodied Russian noses was all that occurred in this attack.

Mud hampers the Allies in Italy, but we finally take Sicily and more UK reinforcements head to the fight. US loses an Army but with air superiority, Allies will make good progress come the spring unless they keep truckin' reinforcements into Rome.

[The K Man]

Feb 1943.

Battle continues in the Norwegian sea. One destroyer and cruiser are now laying at the bottom of the sea. Another allied cruiser is heavily damaged (down to 1) and leaving quite a trail of oil...

In Russia, 2 Russian armys & 1 corp are destroyed northwest of Moscow. North of Moscow a tank is damaged to 5, with AT's & artillery. East of Moscow another Russian army is destroyed. Zhurkov is finally destroyed and the army in Voronezh is down to a strength of 2.

In Italy a carrier is attacked with Fighters and artillery. The fight goes on...

[Joshua22]

As much as I like to read an AAR, why don't you post a screenshot or two? Much easier to "see" what's going on.

[Timskorn]

We both have some but we need to let more time pass before we can post them, otherwise we'll be giving away a lot of information.

We're posting as it happens rather than giving an AAR all in one lump post. Has its drawbacks but hey, keeps readers coming back to the forum. Pics will arrive soon...

[Joshua22]

Aha, "Feind hört mit", I understand. Oh well, I'll see the pics when you post them then.

Thanks.

[Timskorn]

March 1943:

Russians take some losses and pull back to their defensive lines behind the river north of Moscow. Russian aircraft plants roll out new fighter models in anticipation of Axis air in the Spring trying to break open a wedge in the lines. They will have a fight on their hands against level 4 fighters. For the most part, the Russian front has been stagnant. Axis have made some gains and inflicted some losses, but we're still in a good defensive position. We'll see what 1943 holds.

With winter ebbing, Allied air will be able to crack open some Axis eggs in Italy. Allied forces are bottlenecked in the mountaines NE of Sicily where an Italian Army has been defending against a US tank group. British artillery, naval, air and US naval forces have concentrated on digging these guys out. Italy is a pain to fight in. Narrow fighting conditions and defensible mountains. The only good thing about it is that with naval superiority you have free reign to shell everything in sight. Rome is also very close to the fighting and vulnerable to capture once I can push up through the boot.

UK navy takes a beating north of Norway. 1 strength cruiser weasels his way out, hopefully he can survive the pursuit. South of that fighting, intelligence reported a German cruiser all alone off the coast of Norway and two UK battleships were dispatched and sunk it to the bottom.

[The K Man]

July 1943

Axis forces reinforce on the Moscow line. 2 more Russian armys were killed in May. Allied planes will also meet level 4 fighters, as axis forces upgrade. A Russian squardian founds out in July, during an attack, just what they will be facing. (It is completely destroyed during the dogfight with the axis counterparts.)

A russian corp (probing) north of Voronezh is also kia.

Meanwhile in the southeast (Russia) a tank guarding the new Capital, is taken out. More forces move south to the oil rich fields. (Maikop had already been taken in maybe 42.) Forces are on the doorstep of Grozny.

Allied forces in Italy still can't breakthru the Italian army in the mountains northeast of Sicily.

Still no convoys to Russia, as the subs roam free in the ocean...

[Timskorn]

So far pretty stagnant throughout most of the globe. I'm beginning to see what Terif was mentioning in the other thread. There has been only moderate fighting in Russia. For the most part, our two main armies remain in trenches and unable to deal a decisive blow. Meanwhile, extra Axis forces are able to attack in southern Russia where we are weak.

Italy was ill-planned and Allied forces begin their pullout. The lone Italian Army staved off the entire Allied military. Lots of medals and drinks and women for those chaps!

Russia will be chipped away section by section, without any ability for either side to deliver a knock out blow militarily. So, for the most part, Axis forces have not taken many losses for a good two years and are probably amassing large armies with the extra MPP's.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out!

[The K Man]

Yes, Russia has been slow going. But probably more historical in that way.

Medals & congratulations are the order of the day for the Italian army in the mountains.

We enter Aug of 43.

The empty city of Tblisi, the corp & city of Grozny, and oil wells southeast of Grozny are all taken.

The Russian economy must be hurting as the loss of cities and lack of convoys, starts to put a stranglehold on the Russians.

It has been an interesting game...

[SeaMonkey]

It seems that 42 was decisive for the Axis, hmmmm, where have I heard that before.

Wasn't 43 the real year of decision for the Allies gaining momentum?

I believe this is it Tiger, the Allies are in dire straits, nicely done K.

[Timskorn]

Yeah, Russia is just getting taken piece by piece. Unfortunately I was never able to find a good time to mount an offensive, and with high Axis readiness (112%) for a lot of their defensive units near Moscow (and my units' lack of experience and any superior tech), attacking is suicide.

They are entrenched with good leaders, experience and equal IT and AT tech as myself. I'd require at least a 3:1 ratio to actually succeed in a ground attack.

Defensively, Russia can probably survive for another two years, but they will never be able to hurt the Axis again because offensives will never occur.

[The K Man]

Thanks SeaMonkey, its been an uphill struggle. Had to have patience, especially when you feel your moving to slow. (But sometimes that is necessary.)

Yes, a good experienced leader can make a difference. My dilemma in many cases, is which unit to put under control of the top guy...But they have kept readiness higher this game. Have some good "elite" units for the fronts.

Can't blame Timskorn the for Italy campaign. I would have went the same way.

Mid August 43

Only the city of Baku remains in the south.

Two more Russian armies that have ventured out from behind the river north of Moscow, are destroyed.

[The K Man]

September 1943. As the summer comes to a close, the German army is on the move for one last push, before the bad weather sets in.

Eastern Front: (prior turn) A formation of T-34's North of the Volga, in the open plains is destroyed by two Stuka divisions. An AT is damaged.

(Current turn) Another Group of T-34's hidden in fortifications behind the river are attacked. An elite artillery group is called on to soften up the fortified position. Fighters are sent up to attack to make sure the skys are clear. A Russian AA gun fires and knocks out some planes. A stuka squadron follows, damaging the tank division. A german corp moves up to access the damage, and takes a passing shot at the T-34's (minimal damage.) A second squadron of Stuka's fly to finish off the Tanks.

West of that another set of T-34's are sitting in another fortification behind the river. 3 fighter divisions and one stuka are sent to soften them up. With the tanks in disarray and half damaged, a special forces unit is called on to destroy the remaining ones before they escape.

An elite group of Panzer IV's move in to destroy an AA battery.

A Russian army northwest of the river is attacked by 2 German armies, but survives (at a strength of 1.) A little further east (northeast of Moscow & the volga) another AA gun is taken out by a combination of Army, Panzer IV's and a corp.

All else remains quiet.

[The K Man]

9-26-43. Bad weather will be here.

Two stuka divisions fly on the other tank remaining near the Volga river. (Revenge for shattering our Special Forces unit.) The T-34's are destroyed...

Russia is starting to Crumble...Looking at the "loss" count. Germany has lost 4 units to Russia's 40. (4:1 ratio.) German high command didn't think that many Russians had been killed. (They just keep coming & coming.)

11-21. Two armys attack the Russian AT, and capture the city of Gorky. A tank moves in on the artillery (to 1,) and a corp finishes him off.

Troops move in on Kuybyshev & Kazan.

12-19. The corp that attacked the Panzer IV's near Kuybyshev is countered by the same division and destroyed. Another city occupied for the cause.

Multiple troops move in on Kazan. The corp holds on (1) for the moment...

The same cannot be said for a corp fortified near Gorky. It is destroyed by various forces...

[Timskorn]

Yes, Russians have sat and defended to hold out for as long as possible, but have never had the numbers to attack. One problem I had, is that Russia has been stuck with IT 1 and Production 1 until recently despite heavy investment. On the flip side, I also invested heavily into air units/tech early in an attempt to keep in check and/or dominate Axis air in the east which was a new strategy for me. At best, I believe it only stalled the inevitable as it drained my ability to create enough ground forces for an offensive. I still believe it could be a viable strategy under the right circumstances. If you can dominate the air war there, you can keep Axis offensives in check until you build up your ground forces. Western Allies are still completely intact however, so I will play this one out a little longer.

[Canuck_TAR]

Update??

[Timskorn]

Spring 1944:

Russians are in two defensive positions. One surrounding the city north of Moscow, and the other in the Urals. The defensive pocket north of Moscow is merely enough to force German units there to take it out. They are behind fortifications, but the end result there is inevitable collapse by the summer. The Urals are the last line of defense and plans to be a prickly thorn before the Germans see the surrender of Russia.

Western Allies are clearly waiting to launch their final, massive D-Day upon Europe. Kman knows this and has been busy fortifying every conceivable landing or invasion location. Yugoslavia is fortified in case we come in through Greece, and the lands E and N of Vichy France are fortified, including fortifications surrounding Paris. The Russians will certainly be able to hold on until D-Day arrives, but the western Allies, despite their numerous forces, have their work cut out for them. Experienced and numerous German troops will be sent from the Eastern front to deal some serious damage.

While the outcome seems certain, the Allies must make one last effort. They haven't assembled five million men for nothing...

[The K Man]

Yes, German high command is busy planning the defense of where the onslaught will come.

German troops move in on Vologda area. Two armies & a corp are destroyed and the city is in German hands (via Paratroopers.) Since the Russian units had been cutoff from the rest of Russia, the rest of them should be low on supply, since the remaining 2 HQ's will be at 5.

More forces arrive at various locations thru out...

The battle continues. Turns were a little less due to my other real battles with the new stereo components. Need "engineers" to get those HDMI cables to work correctly...