LiquidSky
Posts: 2556
Joined: 6/24/2008 Status: offline
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Okay..I left this dormant for too long....the game has been continuing, although we did take a month off from playing. Currently I just finished turn 37: July 23, 1942. I have 62 Prestige, my army is still in fairly good shape, and I have played Avoid Krasnador. But how did I get here you ask? No? I'm going to tell you anyways! My opponent retreated cautiously towards Rostov in the south and held in the bad terrain in the middle. He also pulled back to the Don and Voronezh. I was certain to take Millerowo in time, but thought that I could only take either Voronezh or Rostov. My plan was to push the SS divisions either into Rostov before he could entrench too far, or pull around the city and immediately cross the river before he could fortify it. As it turned out, the city was too hard to take immediately, so I played a speed card and caught a Russian Rifle division before it could entrench on the Don. He immediately pushed my SS Div back over the river, but now I had the other one and a panzer division as well to cross with. This time he couldn't push me back. With the arrival of 11th army (and artillery), and my expanding bridgehead over the Don, he pulled out of the city and held a line south of the city. Unknown to me, I had panicked him, and he had started to rail every a good sized tank army to the Caucuas. So Rostov was the first of the three to fall. My push for Millerowo went as expected, with the city falling easily. However, the crafty Russians accumulated most of his tank brigades under one army leader, and hit my Italians/Rumanians. I was rather hard put until I railed up a couple divisions from new reinforcemnts. The spirit level for the Italians is about 15-20 points lower then for the other axis minors. With Rostov/Millerowo fallen, I sent all the artillery and most of the new reinforcing german divisions to the Voronezh front. I had no expectations of being able to take it, as he was fortifying the hexes around the city and had a couple tank corps as well in reserve. In fact, I did manage to cross the river, but he would boot me back over (with big losses to me, 2000 men in one retreat). So I changed tactics, and when I won a combat over the river, I would not take the hex. If he took the hex, he would not be entrenched, and I would just push him away again, with more losses to him. And I waited...and waited....until RAIN! Then I advanced into the hexes, and played entrenchment cards. It worked to get me over the river, as he couldn't/wouldn't attack me on his rain turn, and on my clear turn after, I was able to start expanding my bridgehead. My panzer divisions I left somewhat idle, with the leader at 20 command points...then I struck above the city, and pushed over the far river...threatening to isolate Voronezh. He then, miraculously, pulled out of the city, the turn BEFORE I had to take it! He said that he had just fulfilled a hold mission, and didn't want to get it again. But it meant I got the points for the city as well. So things were looking good....Rostov on Turn 14. Millerowo on turn 24. Voronezh turn 32. Nothing could stop me, right? Well...remember the large Tank army I mentioned in the Caucaus?
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“My logisticians are a humorless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.” – Alexander the Great
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