"Kick in the barn door" - Speedy vs Gunnulf (no Gun)

[Speedysteve]

Start of Turn 9.

Rain and mud in the most inappropriate areas means there's little combat and movement. Even the weather is against me in the this campaign now[;)]

No Soviet Counter Attacks.

OOB as of end of Turn 8:

[Speedysteve]

AGN Post Moves.

Pointless up here. Bridges still down so can't relocate the FSB to Dunaburg.

Rain and Mud hits so no point in moving 4th PzGp.

I've decided to shift tactics here for what it's worth. Moving the FSB to Kaunas (it will then be moved to Pskov in the future rather than Luga). That way it will be nearer the front and hopefully the Dunaburg bridges will be repaired in the coming days.

4th PzGp is going on R&R and will change to SO posture at the same time.

1 successful attack by 16th Army is the only action of note.

Siege guns have arrived at Riga.

[Speedysteve]

AGC Post Moves.

Both PzGp's are on R&R. FSB Ordered to Minsk.

4th and 9th Armies have now reached the frontlines.

2nd Army's first Divs arrive on Pripyat rail and are marching eastwards towards Gomel.

[Speedysteve]

AGS post moves.

Rain arrives perfectly to mean it's too risky moving the recently rested 1st PzGp Armour.

6th Army advances eastwards, taking out a Div and surrounding another. Zhitomir was also secured against a conscription garrison.

17th Army also moves eastwards smashing 3 Divs back and taking Proskurow.

[Speedysteve]

Rom front.

First attack on Odessa fails but causes equal casualties and knocks out some defences.

A few other local attacks.

[Orm]

Riveting read. [:)]

[Speedysteve]

Frustrating play [;)]

[Orm]

ORIGINAL: Speedy

Frustrating play [;)]

I am sure it is. I would most likely have resigned after the 'violating the Finnish/Soviet Border' incident, or bug. [:(]

But it makes for a nice read. And I learn lots. [:)]

[Speedysteve]

Start of Turn 10.

No Soviet Counter Attacks.

I'm now fairly certain this game is played on v1.01 rather than 1.02 now (Reinforcement Schedule is not amended, Rail conversion only happening at max 1 hex (perpetual mud condition), not receiving decisions summary report etc.) I'm awaiting confirmation but if so I will think on whether to continue with the game as it was meant to be a 1.02 game.

AGN post moves.

Riga is taken by 18th Army.

16th Army pushes forward to Fortress Ostrov.

4th PzGp still resting and FSB en route.

[Speedysteve]

AGC post moves.

Only action of note was to try and cross the Dnepr facing a wall of Reds.

4th Army launched a concerted effort with 4 Divisions south of Mogilev and succeeded. The were quickly followed across the shore by 4 Divisions of 2nd PzGp.

2nd Army is almost out of the Swamps west of Gomel.

3rd PzGp still on R&R.

[Speedysteve]

AGS post moves.

17th Army takes Vinnitsa.

6th Army nears Kiev and spots a wall of Reds on the Eastern Bank. Great.

1st PzGp moves eastwards to the frontline to strike out next turn all being well.

[Speedysteve]

Rom Front.

Another attack on Odessa fails. Good work guys.

[Speedysteve]

Start of Turn 11.

Vic has confirmed this game is v1.01 NOT v1.02. Frustrating but it is what it is. The chance of victory is slim with that being the case due to 'The Wall' of Reds that appear so early in reinforcements in AGC and the other glitches (rail conversion bug, lost PP's etc).

AGN:

Little to report as 4th PzGp is still on R&R for another turn.

18th Army moves a little in the west. 16th Army assaults Ostrov and fails miserably.

[Speedysteve]

AGC.

Gods have been against me in this game with over 1/4 of the turns having darn rain and mud just where I don't need it. It's perfectly placed this turn to prevent Armour movement from my bridgehead of 2nd PzGp and for 3rd PzGp to move forward. Perfect:

[Speedysteve]

AGS.

6th Army reaches Kiev.

1st Pz Gp mows through enemy defences to reach the Dnepr south of Kiev.

[Speedysteve]

Rom Front.

Another pointless attack on Odessa fails. Useless *****. i'll be swapping some of those out with 11th Army Germans next turn.

[Speedysteve]

Turn 12 done.

AGN:

The Reds have so much time and confidence they blow the bridge in front of Ostrov and retreat up north. This also means I won't be able to move the FSB to Pskov until the bridge is repaired = I may just transfer 4th Pz Gp to AGC as there's little point in trying to go for Leningrad.

18th Army advance into Estonia. 4th Pz GP rolls into Ostrov.

[Speedysteve]

AGC.

The Effects of The Wall are shown here in there full glory.

The Reds have so many units they can have 2+ full strength Divisions per hex in depth. An attack on Vitebsk by the WHOLE of 3rd Pz Gp and 1/3 of 9th Army is halted by 2 entrenched Rifle Divs. I guffawed at that one. I mean I know the limited frontage will have a big effect but come on halting 6 x Armoured units and 6 x Infantry Divisions. Right.....

2nd Pz Gp moves NE FWIW as without 3rd Pz Gp's breakthrough it's a moot point.

2nd Army secures Gomel in the South.

2nd Pz Gp may head south soon to support 1st Pz Gp as The Wall is no fun.

[Speedysteve]

AGS.

6th Army and 1st Pz Gp fan out and almost encircle Kiev.

No movement further south in Rom land as The Reds have many units and have 2 Regular Rifle Div's opposite the River on each hex.

[Speedysteve]

I have resigned in this game as the 1.01 Version with it's couple of glitches and (most importantly from an Axis perspective) the advanced reinforcement rate leading to The Wall mean it's (IMO) too unbalanced pro-Soviet. The final straw for me was on the next turn there's now comfortably 3 x Regular Divisions in AGC' most prize areas at full strength, behind river/forts in either Neutral or Defensive stance. 3rd Pz GP and 1/3 of 9th Army tried at Vitebsk against 3 x Regular Div's and they got repulsed. It means the whole of 3rd Pz GP lost 30-40% of their strength over 8 days. Right......

I must also add that Gunnulf has played very well and performed the best AGN north defence I've seen to date. He timed his withdrawals perfectly and it seem like all of the actions and movements needed (coupled with activations) were perfectly timed and executed.

For my part I'm quite disappointed in my performance and it certainly wasn't stellar. That coupled with a good performance by my opponent and on v1.01 means it's an overwhelming Soviet victory.

Thanks for those reading.