Drakken vs. Tamas - DC3: Barbarossa PBEM (Axis thread)

[jimmy olsen]

Soviet casualties have really leveled off in the last few turns. Not a good sign for you.

[garbon]

I'm not used to negative cheerleader Tim.

[jimmy olsen]

I'm not used to negative cheerleader Tim.

Just telling it like it is.

[grumbler]

I'm not used to negative cheerleader Tim.

Just telling it like it is.

We're not used to that, either! 

[Drakken]

T11 - July 28th, 1941

Commissar Mudski is back this turn. Most of the ground has turned into mush back in my rearlines, so most of my troops are unaffected. Big parts of Tamas' own fronts are mired in mud, especially in the woods and plains West of Vitebsk, meaning that attacking there with 3rd Panzergruppe this turn would be stupid since I won't be able to exploit any breakthrough.

Means also, that any attack Tamas makes from muddy terrain will decrease his units' Readiness a LOT. Please do!

2nd Panzergruppe, however, is on good terrain.

Not a lot of PPs this turn... but also not a lot of meaningful decisions either. I push for the Kriegsmarine to use Windau's port installations to send in more fuel and supply from Königsberg, sparing precious trains for transport. All major Baltic ports except Tallinn are used to bring in our fuel.

Captured Soviet trucks in the South are also ordered to be handed over for fuel transportation.


Finnish Front / AGN

In Finland, 237th Rifle Division having miserably failed to exit his pocket and extricate itself from mud, dissovled itself into the Karelian woods, most probably to become Partisans. Meanwhile Comrade Tamas has pulled his whole line toward the fortified positions North of Leningrad.

I don't pursue. I let my Finns rest and recuperate until I capture Luga, which shall trigger Finland's real entry in the war. 

Down around Ostrov... I need fuel. Badly. FSB isn't set in Daugavpils and its bridges are still down and being repaired, while air support is still unavailable. Despite this shortage (I had 1186 bbls in bank for AGN at the beginning) I begin the envelopment process nonetheless. A bold attack from 16th Army, from marshes and across the River bridge leads to the capture of Ostrov proper, while 4th Panzergruppe uses it fuel reserves to swerve around 24th Army's rear, pushing a mere Cavalry unit along the way. I pass right under 32th, 33th, and 34th Armies' nose, but as they are sitting in the mud I take the chance - fortune favours the bold.

Further north into Latvia and Estonia, 18th Army mauls the reserve conscript divisions on the left flank of 48th Army in targeted assaults, cleaving my way to flank Pskov by its western marshes.




AGC

I have no choice - the mud tight behind Tamas's lines in the northern part of the front forces me to postpone Warplan Leuthen for four days. Doesn't mean I can't prepare the terrain, though. And bash him in non-muddy sectors.

Second Army, now in position coupled with Ninth Army commanded by GeneralOberst Strauss, immediately begins assaulting Tamas's right flank and center, breaching the wall wide open, his Divisions now pushed out of defensive terrain through mud. A tasty salient lies just ripe to be plucked when it stops raining, while I occupy his fortified position just beyond the woods.

The fact that Tamas' position is marred with mud means it will be quite hard to move in reinforcements. So I carefully make sure that no Slow division crosses into mud terrain.

Down south, where there is no mud, Guderian's Panzergruppe roams forward in strength to batter Tamas' lines holding the bridge, supported by von Kluge's Fourth Army. The line holds, but 21th Army stands in poor position, threatened to be isolated next turn when my Panzers and Infantry divisions cross the river and swerves into his back. If lucky I might even try to destroy 22th Army HQ exposed behind his first line.




AGS / Crimean Front

No fuel and ground turned into mush means 1st Panzergruppe is forced to take some time off.

Not that it is needed - yet.

Tamas' small counter offensive in front of Nikolajev has been swiftly pushed back by the right flank of Eleventh Army and Fourth Romanian, which takes position along the Bug River, ready to cross into Pervomaisk.

In the North, Sixth Army is pushing forward toward Zhytomir and inflicting systematic damages to the the battered remnants of 31th Army and Southwestern Front, forcing them to walk back into the mud. Seventeenth Army takes position to take the the offensive and finish off the resistance of Proskurov once and for all next turn - and pocket and destroy what's left of Ponedelin's 12th Army.

Quite a few Romanian Divisions of Third Romanian and Eleventh German Armies are totally exhausted by the mud and battle fatigue. I order 13th and 21st Romanian Division, plus another Romanian Division I forgot, to rest and refit.



Ende for now.

[Drakken]

Soviet casualties have really leveled off in the last few turns. Not a good sign for you.

The German shock and awe moment of making big envelopment pockets has passed. Not that there are no chances I do any in future turns, but as time passes Tamas will have higher chances of Armies activating. Despite this, I keep making at a minimum 50,000 Soviet casualties per 4 days. Those losses Tamas will never recover, as Soviets have no replacements, only new Armies deployed as reinforcements.

I, however, have replacements every ten turns, distributed every turn.  With these, my Panzergruppes are back into 80-90% range again.

In the next turns or so Tamas, if he is not careful, is in real danger of losing big chunks of his second echelon in the North and the Center, plus 12th Army in the South.

I made the count until Turn 10; Soviet casualties per turn are :

T2: 71300
T3: 100800
T4: 182600
T5: 182500
T6: 266600
T7: 118100
T8: 59400
T9: 55800

[jimmy olsen]

I'm not used to negative cheerleader Tim.

Just telling it like it is.

We're not used to that, either! 

I always tell it like I see it!

[garbon]

I'm not used to negative cheerleader Tim.

Just telling it like it is.

We're not used to that, either! 

I always tell it like I see it!

So surely you notice how those things are not always the same?

[Drakken]

T12 - August 1st, 1941

The Soviets are getting more and more uppity, especially on Theater South. Tamas is increasing the pressure in front of Nikolajev against the weaker Romanian 4th Army on my right flank, while the German Eleven Army is quite overextended along the Bug River. On my left flank he is gathering more and more reinforcements to defend Zhitomir.

1st Panzergruppe still suffer from truck columns supply and fuel trickles down the pipeline. Emergency measures are required, so I order emergency repairs on the fleet of trucks requiring maintenance, decreasing it from 68% to 52%, plus a small allotment of 10 trucks from AGS, bringing it down from 80 to 70 allocated for ammunition and supplies.

In the North, against my expectations, Tamas has attacked the flank of 4th Panzergruppe despite muddy terrain, inflicting non-insignificant damage to the Panzers, but laying exhausted right in front of my Panzers.



I was able to fuel a very small number of bbls, just enough for a devastating counterattack to teach him a lesson.


AGN

With only 300 bbls of fuel, I maneuver to attack. The blow is devastating. The front left by 32th Army is so exhausted, with Readiness so low, that I doubt Tamas will attempt another raid in my flank.



Due to penalties caused by fatigue and relations with von Leeb now in the negative, 16th Army has more or less been paralyzed this turn. I spend my turn consolidating my hold of Ostrov without gaining much ground. Further north 18th Army keeps 3 Divisions to flank Pskov while pushing BMD and 48th Army further north toward Tallinn. This front is nearby crumbling status.




AGC

3rd Panzergruppe strikes northward, and 16th Army is facing to be surrounded next turn. The whole line between Polosk and Orsha lays now cleaved in two, the main front only defended by a battered 19th Army facing the bulk of 9th Army with Infantry Divisions from 3rd Panzergruppe.

Meanwhile, Guderian's 2nd Panzergruppe has crossed the river into 20th's flank and into Mogilev defended by 22nd Army. Instructions were given to Panzer Divisions to retreat the soonest possible if any counterattack happens.




AGS

With fuel delivered by air transport to 1st Panzergruppe I increase the pressure in front of Zhitomir, threatening to pierce through their line. However, with the state of our truck columns I won't bring them too far, and the Luftwaffe didn't bring me enough fuel to fully use all my units anyway. 

Proskurov has easily fallen. 12th Army, 7 divisions total, lays completely surrounded in the mountain south of the city. I made sure there was no chance for them to breakout.  Meanwhile Seventeenth Army is ordered to increase pressure toward Vinnitsa.

As soon as this pocket is reduced and 12th Army is eliminated I intend to redirect Romanian 3rd Army south to support and relieve 4th Army which is throughly exhausted in front of Odessa. Recon tells us also that alot of Soviet conscript divisions are suffering from exhaustion as well. - except that bulge of 7 Divisions belonging to 47th Army just south of Southern Front HQ, which is dangerously fresh.



Ende for now.

[jimmy olsen]

Nice encirclement.

[Drakken]

Nice encirclement.

Thanks. It might be 7 divisions, but it's still an Army being destroyed and removed from the roster.

The worst for Tamas is, these divisions were... are pretty fresh. He will be missing them badly, later in the game.

[Drakken]

T13 - August 5th, 1941

Good news, our fuel pipeline has been patched enough to receive plenty of fuel for our Panzers on most fronts. With most Panzergruppes having good numbers of Panzers available (except in the North, where a rest and refit remain in the cards) we may start planning again.



As Proskurov has fallen I decide to immediately relocate AGS' FSB to that city. I have more than enough surplus of fuel in the South and I'll quickly liquidate the remnants of 12th Army nearby.

Time has now come to start switching my Armies piecemeal into Sustained Offensive postures, and the most exhausted Armies to start resting to gather some strength. This will be critical as more and more Reds are stacking in front of my troops. Pervitin can only do so much, my troops will need to find their breath. Thus I also order 16th Army to gather in and around Ostrov to start resting next turn.

I have... other plans for 4th Panzergruppe.


AGN

18th Army keeps pushing towards Tallinn despite increasing exhaustion, while its right flank cleave through weakened Soviet resistance in front of Pskov.

4th Panzergruppe strike southward to help 3rd Panzergruppe to pocket and quickly eradicate a handful of Divisions before Polotsk.

16th Army moves in Ostrov to its quarters to rest and refit their equipment.




AGC

No less than 12 Divisions are concentrated around Polotsk! If we could manage to pocket this and trap it inside the city with Hoth's 3rd Panzergruppe it would bore a hole around Vitebsk to take an exposed Smolensk by its right flank. All we need... is fuel. This is only one example of one Tamas' overall tactical strategy - concentrate a LOT of Divisions inside his cities as hedgehogs. This means, to cripple the Russian steamroller we must strike around his flanks of his defended cities, isolate these positions, and destroy them one by one.

In the southern part of the front Mogilev has fallen... but with no bridge left standing over the Dnepr. The only path forward lies through Orsha... when 9th Army arrives in front of Vitebsk. In the meantime I concentrate the whole of 2nd Panzergruppe straight on the road to Orsha... ready to strike when ready.




AGS

17th Army is so exhausted, that even with 3rd Romanian, 12th Army delivers a desperate resistance in the mountains, always a favourable ground for defence. 12th Army reeled and shook, but remains. At least they are pushed away from Proskurov. Meanwhile, the rest of 17th Army pushes toward Vinnitsa, where the bridge lies intact.

1st Panzergruppe moves in position on both flanks of Zhitomir, ready to pocket the 8+ divisions garrisoning the city, and if practicable the whole 31th Army.

4th Romanian Army and 11th Army are ordered to rest and refit... but beforehand we increase the bridgehead beterrn Pervomaisk and Vinnitsa.



Ende for now.

[grumbler]

Thanks for doing these, and especially the pictures.  You make the game easy to follow.