Axis Lambs to the Slaughter_Marquo vs TD Part 2 (TD allowed when flare sent)

[Northern Star]

Try to destroy with the Ju-88 and He-111 the furthest air bases, and with the short range bombers the closest ones. I also transferred some He-111 to the air base in Rumania to destroy more planes in the south.
However I'm ashamed to admit I couldn't destroy the air bases near Vitebsk and Smolensk [:@]

[Northern Star]

This is the situation during the German turn 3, I still have not moved the panzers yet. Infantry has already been moved.
He usually builds his defence lines with the best units, so in the 2nd turn I managed to surrender a lot of his tanks [:)]

North and center

[Northern Star]

South

Oops... I was wrong about the panzers. I moved only 1 panzer division so far, the one who took Mogilev. He left there and in Minsk a lot of plants, I couldn't resist to destroy them [:)]

[mmarquo]

In the north Pskov is outflanked and a pocket is threatened; this is not a main thrust but I will take what he gives me; in general I am not trying to simply push him back rather surround and destroy.

[mmarquo]

In the center the pocket was opened again but it matters little as there now more units in to be surrendered and not routed. The Dnepr is crossed in 2 places so this will give him food for thought - again I hope he feeds more units into the center - the plan is to pocket and destroy; he is already evacuating armament factories like crazy. However, I will get much HI which will hurt the supplies needed to make make armaments and he won't have many men to outfit for quite some time, at least that is the plan.

[mmarquo]

In the South the Lvov pocket is being reduced and the Vinnistia pocket was opened by a powerful armor division - no matter as this has only sucked more hapless Soviet units into the expanding malstrom as the panzers form an even bigger kessel. Also, massive reinforcements are sent here. I notice that many current AARs show 1/2 of AGC's armor sent south; instead I am sending tons of infantry so that he will still think that north and center have some importance for me. I am driving to capture as much manpower as possible; I will raid as far east and south as possible while preparing for the winter and 1942.

There are now over 40 units surrounded and to be destroyed soon.

[Northern Star]

Your pocket in the south looks nice but a bit leaky... TD has a tank and a motorized division near it.

Have you supplied your divisions by air at the beginning of the turn? Have they enough fuel to move in case TD manages to break the pocket again?

[mmarquo]

I have been air supplying at the end rather than the beginning of the turn - is this sequence mixed up? Also, my mtz unit at the tip of the pocket has 3 SUs directly attached and is pretty strong (IIRC defense CV of 9), and his nearby units are very weak. Frankly he can feed as much as he wants into the growing pocket; I am still moving South and East and at some point he will completely crack. As it is we have have about equal manpower.

In fact, I am pretty much attaching all my SUs to various units; this takes the vagary of the leader die roll out of the equation and as long as one of the attacking divisions corps has SUs, then I am sure to get them committed. This is new tactic I have decided to try out.

He seems to be getting alot of movement interdiction; how does he do it and how to stop it? For an experiment I turned my figher interception up to 180 and to fight fire with fire, my interception up to 200.

Thanks for your words of wisdom, Northern Star.

Marquo [:)]

[mmarquo]

Also, notice that next move I can clear all the way to Kiev if I choose; I will move in the path of least resistance as long as it is east or southeast - my objective: destroy his army in the field. Routing and punting his units backwards only to rally and form new lines is not the order of the day.

[olivier34]

your motor pool looks good. Do you plan some HQ buildup the next turn ?

[mmarquo]

No build up yet...I am being careful about HQ supply range and moving as much by rail as possible; the vehicles will be used...soon.

[mmarquo]

T5 AGN: Pskov surrounded and more divisions for the deadpile.

[mmarquo]

T5 AGC: the Misk pocket is liquidated, the Dnepr crossed in force and Vitebsk taken; the land bridge battle will begin: the objective is to pocket and destroy Soviet divisions. So far 63 divisions have been liquidated, and some 30 more are surrounded; Soviet losses are ~ 1,000,000 with many more to come given all the currently surrounded formations. Soon I will shift from pocketing to simply smashing him as he must be now be over extended and very weak. My goal is 3.5 - 4 milllion by the blizzard.

[mmarquo]

T5 AGS: the Ukraine is a vast Soviet POW camp; Kiev now pinned and Nikolayev captured --> the goal is Crimea, Kharkov and cities south; I will create a large buffer for the blizzard offensive. Also, I am already taking precautins to preserve men and armaments for the 1942 offensive.

[mmarquo]

Turn 6 was a muddy mess; Turn 7 was clear and now Turn 8 brings more mud in the south. In AGN: The Luga is crossed and more Soviet divisions are surrounded.

[mmarquo]

Turn 8 in the center finds Smolensk in danger and more Soviet units destined for the destroyed pile.

[mmarquo]

Turn 8 in the south finds the Dnepr crossed in several places and Kiev all but cut off; mud in the south makes for slow going.

[mmarquo]

Turn 8 destroyed units log:

27 armored divisions, 15 motorized divisions, 55 infantry divisions, 4 cavalry divisions, 6 mountain divisions, and 8 airborne brigades destroyed in 8 moves --> 115 units removed from the map; 1,558707 men out of action with 1,031,301 captured. Hopefully this number will more than double by blizzard time; this is my goal: decimate the Soviet army on the field.

[mmarquo]

Turn 17 North - Lenngrad had fallen and we are establishing winter lines and shifting troops towards the center.

[mmarquo]

T 17 Center Moscow threatened. TD had formed multiple lines of fortifications. Progress is slow but they melt away when attacked by at least 2 stacks with engineers and sufficient artillery; I advance one row hexes/turn. He is threatened from the northwest, southwest and dead center. Even if it does not fall in the winter I am sure it will fall in '42. I have a reserve of ~ 250,000 men and plently of armaments already....