Moscow or bust! D21

[Silvanski]

And to finish his series of screenies at the beginning of turn 7 here's the situation in the north. The defenders of Riga, a substantial pocket, were eliminated during turn 6

[Silvanski]

July 20 1941 and I completed a remarkable coup... Kiev fell.
Units of the 60th Mot Div entered Kiev... but to the point of exhaustion
I will have to reinforce the city cuz the Soviets ain't beaten there yet

[Silvanski]

Here's the situation from Kiev south to Odessa
Time to roll down the Dniepr and form a line to Dniepropetrovsk and further south, where I plan to end offensive operations in 1941

[Silvanski]

AG Nord is pushing its way forward towards its own stop line

[Silvanski]

And to end this series of screenies, the situation in AG Mitte - approaching Smolensk - which will be reinforced for the final (?) push towards Moscow

[fulcrum90]

ORIGINAL: Silvanski

And to end this series of screenies, the situation in AG Mitte - approaching Smolensk - which will be reinforced for the final (?) push towards Moscow

Good advances.....What forces are you planning transfer to AG Mitte???

[Silvanski]

ORIGINAL: fulcrum90

ORIGINAL: Silvanski

And to end this series of screenies, the situation in AG Mitte - approaching Smolensk - which will be reinforced for the final (?) push towards Moscow

Good advances.....What forces are you planning transfer to AG Mitte???

Mainly panzers and artillery

[TPOO]

Excellent advance Silvain!

We put in some scenario variability in case an Axis player tries this approach. We will have to see if Elmer's response is adequate.
How many just German Heavy Rifle Squad losses are there to this point?

[Silvanski]

ORIGINAL: TPOO

Excellent advance Silvain!

We put in some scenario variability in case an Axis player tries this approach. We will have to see if Elmer's response is adequate.
How many just German Heavy Rifle Squad losses are there to this point?

Rather high compared to Larry's game at the same turn... over 13000

[larryfulkerson]

Here's my losses as of Axis turn 8:

[Silvanski]

At the beginning of turn 10 now. I tightened my hold on Kiev and have units moving south along the Dniepr, in order to capture the few bridges down to Dniepropetrovsk.
I'm starting to move panzers and arty away from Kiev to strengthen the central sector, of which I show a screenie
I entered Smolensk but a Soviet tank unit promptly pushed my guys out. No worries as I've already have units moving to the Moscow highway from the north behind the city
The Red airforce attempts sporadic attacks but pose no problem for the Luftwaffe. I activated some Romanian air units to provide assistance in the upcoming assault on Odessa

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: Silvanski
...I tightened my hold on Kiev and have units moving south along the Dniepr, in order to capture the few bridges down to Dniepropetrovsk.

Watch out those 'few bridges' have some immoble Soviet arty watching over them. I've had to assault from both sides to avoid high losses. Attacking with tanks / mech units is better than the foot dudes because of the lower losses I think.

[Silvanski]

My guys indeed encountered those fixed arty sites... an unpleasant surprise. They have to be eliminated

[Silvanski]

August 3, 1941
We're still making progress but are starting to encounter more structured Soviet opposition.

I'll post more details and data later on... For now here's the animation from turns 7 till 12

[Silvanski]

Before starting turn 13 I'll post some situation maps.

Let's start off with Armee Gruppe Nord.
The units assigned to clear the Baltic countries did so with only the bare minimum of resources. Riga and Pskov required some effort and Tallinn is put under siege.
But the commander in the northernmost sector reports that he had to deal with a Soviet counter attack. Although he can hold his current positions fairly well he asks for extra troops in order to push towards Narva.
His problem may be solved by the Waffen-SS units coming out off Pskov.
The other cities along the proposed winter stop line are in sight. Luga Novgorod and Staraya Russa will surely be contested but can be taken. Then the AG Nord guys will start to dig in.

[Silvanski]

Armee Gruppe Mitte will attempt to lure a great amount of Soviet troops in a pocket between
Vyazma and Mozhaysk. Let's wait and see how many units Elmer will move forward.
I think I have enough time before the final push towards Moscow. I know that the Soviets are becoming stronger, but destroying a huge Kessel can pay off.

[Silvanski]

Here I fear I may get in trouble. The south flank of AG Mitte's advance to Moscow is only thinly screened.
Panzer and Mot troops used to advance to Kiev are starting to make their way to AG Mitte

[Silvanski]

It's freewheeling in the Ukraine for now.
Odessa is under siege, mainly by Rumanian units. We're racing towards the Dniepr bend, where heavy resistance can be expected at Dniepropetrovsk.

[Silvanski]

10 August 1941, starting turn 15
Here's the overview map.. In the next posts we'll take a closer look at some crucial sectors

[Silvanski]

It's nice to see my troops and Moscow on the screen without zooming out too much.[:)]
I'm considering some routes of attack once my infantry has caught up... In the north I may have to cross the canal and attack from behind
Note that the idea of a central pocket is still present

Rzhev needs to be taken in order to protect the northern flank of the Moscow spearhead