Murmansk - Sevastopol in the north

[Kraut]

I'am involved in a very exciting EA with Dan playing the Axis. We've just reached turn 112 and some very interesting side battles happened that could very well be a scenario of it's own. Here is a short AAR of the still ongoing Battle of Murmansk that turned into a real slugfest similar to the historical Battle of Sevastopol :)

http://members.tripod.com/dr31tbk7hq/murmansk.html

[Dan Neely]

only 3 hexes left now. The big question is if the germans will grind donw the murmask pocket, roll south and splat the lenningrad pocket like a bug, or grind away the lenningrad pocket rail the swedes north and splatter the murmansk pocket. Either way I've got a slugfest followed by a route.

[Chuck?]

Interesting situation. If you can hold out for a several more turns than you can use winter to really put a hurting on the Axis units. Good luck.

[Kraut]

that would be nice but I doubt that I can hold out. Its turn 114 now and I'm compressed into 3 hexes. All my counterattacks failed and I'm digging in to await the onslaught.

[Dan Neely]

Turn 115. IT'S MINE!! IT'S MINE!! IT"S FINALLY MINE!!


Assuming his counterattack fails I'll bag 3 brit corps, and 1 each brit inf div, 1 brit tank div, US corp, russian mech corp, russian motorized corp, russian leg infantry corp, reynaud corp. Rolling south along the rail line will add 4 russian leg and 1 mech corps and a belgian div to the bag. A few of these might be able to extricate themselves by slogging through the trees to the archangel rail line. Either way they'll be out of my hair for some time to come. I also have 3 hexes adjacent to lenningrad now, and should take that fortress as well soon.

[Mantis]

Hello Sweden.

[Dan Neely]

Originally posted by Mantis
Hello Sweden.

Lenningrad is Heavily defended, probabally not for annother 2-4 turns.

[Mantis]

I'm lucky. In our game, I was making a major push for Leningrad. It was only a fluke that reminded me to check the briefing about it. I would've been plenty pissed to take Leningrad, give you the US on a platter, and not even GET Sweden. (Dan had already crushed the Finns).

But, I have to admit, that would've been damned funny...

:cheeky:

[Kraut]

Originally posted by Dan Neely
Turn 115. IT'S MINE!! IT'S MINE!! IT"S FINALLY MINE!!


Assuming his counterattack fails I'll bag 3 brit corps, and 1 each brit inf div, 1 brit tank div, US corp, russian mech corp, russian motorized corp, russian leg infantry corp, reynaud corp. Rolling south along the rail line will add 4 russian leg and 1 mech corps and a belgian div to the bag. A few of these might be able to extricate themselves by slogging through the trees to the archangel rail line. Either way they'll be out of my hair for some time to come. I also have 3 hexes adjacent to lenningrad now, and should take that fortress as well soon.

It was yours :)

I was able to recapture it in the last 20% of my turn, only 2 weak corps are defending Murmansk now, guess I have to recapture Murmansk again next turn :D

[Dan Neely]

I rolled the lenningrad defenders into a singlehex pocket north of the city getting major evaps in the process. I also retook murmansk and have a somewhat stronger defence in this time.

[Kraut]

yes, and Iwasn't able to retake either one :cry:

Oh well, I declare them both Hero Cities and continue trying to stall your advance elsewhere :)

[Mantis]

You guys sound like you're having a really good game. The tense ones where neither side thinks it's 'winning' are always the most enjoyable.

Luck to you both, and may the battle go to he who wants it more!

[Dan Neely]

Both pockets are crushed for a net shift of 8 loss penalty points. currently at 79-31 and I think I'll be able to bag 4 leg and 1 mech corps trying to fall back from the rail line and points west. There're several specific targets I hope to capture before winter sets in, but I don't think a knockout blow is in the cards. I've got an OV and having swept the med a major supply shift, on the flip side by avoiding LL he's managed to get the US to enter in mid 1940 and is alot farther along with the buildup there. I'll probabally need to think aboud shifting a few corps west to cover against a major landing before too much longer. I think it's going to come down to if Kraut can attack as well as he can defend.

[Kraut]

sadly the north looks pretty bad but winter isn't far and most Axis troops are deep red in supply right now. And after destroying the Murmansk and the Leningrad pocket Dan left me a nice present, the entire swedish army entrained on a single hex and his entire italian and german fleet on sea in a single hex for me to bombard :)

I wasn't able to sink all of his ships but most of his heavy warships were sunk or sent to the replacement pool :)

[Dan Neely]

Originally posted by Kraut
sadly the north looks pretty bad but winter isn't far and most Axis troops are deep red in supply right now.


with an effective supply level of almost 50 I'm recovering fairly fast adn should be able to give at least one more dose of grief before winter sets in.


And after destroying the Murmansk and the Leningrad pocket Dan left me a nice present, the entire swedish army entrained on a single hex and his entire italian and german fleet on sea in a single hex for me to bombard :)


"To ere is human. It takes a computer to really mess things up."

Unfortunately toaw is a PC game :-/



I wasn't able to sink all of his ships but most of his heavy warships were sunk or sent to the replacement pool :)

primarily the latter. BTW does anyone know why heavy ships are disproportionately likely to be sunk in combat? After taking lenningrad I bombed the baltic fleet and killed all the heavies in the 1st strike only to have the remaining destroyers laugh at my followups. In the most recent attack, my BC/BB's took roughly 2.5x the proportional losses as the DDs.

[Kraut]

have you ever tried sinking River Patrol Boats ??
I can tell you, that is almost impossible!

In DNO I used my StuKas (120 anti-ship) to sink most of the russian fleets heavy warships but even multiple attack on a single RPB-unit were completely unsuccessfull, not a single RPB went down :(

[Dan Neely]

Originally posted by Kraut
have you ever tried sinking River Patrol Boats ??
I can tell you, that is almost impossible!

In DNO I used my StuKas (120 anti-ship) to sink most of the russian fleets heavy warships but even multiple attack on a single RPB-unit were completely unsuccessfull, not a single RPB went down :(

I've noticed that too. They tend to fair poorly if attacked by ground units. block the river hexes adjacent to them so they can't retreat and send in the panzers.

[Kraut]

yes! my engineers quickly set up a ponton bridge so that my panzers can drive on the river to shot up the river patrol boats :D

I love the way TOAW recreates realistic combat situations :cheeky:

[Mantis]

Originally posted by Kraut
Dan left me a nice present, the entire swedish army entrained on a single hex and his entire italian and german fleet on sea in a single hex for me to bombard :)



Ooops.

Ya, Dan, I think he noticed....

[Dan Neely]

Originally posted by Kraut
yes! my engineers quickly set up a ponton bridge so that my panzers can drive on the river to shot up the river patrol boats :D

I love the way TOAW recreates realistic combat situations :cheeky:

You're not looking at it the right way.

Your engineers are building pontoon bridges up and downstream of the boats so that they can't flee up/downstream without being sunk by satchel charges when they try and pass the bridges while tanks on the shore are firing HE into the boats waterline.

[Mantis]

Originally posted by Dan Neely


I've noticed that too. They tend to fair poorly if attacked by ground units. block the river hexes adjacent to them so they can't retreat and send in the panzers.

Odd, that. Noticed it too. I haven't noticed that it has to be panzers to wipe them, tho... A 'surround', followed by a hit with a normal sized infantry is usually enough to wipe them in my experience.

You guys have found that panzers are the best? No luck with the leg boys?

[Dan Neely]

I just picked panzers at random for the desciption.