DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu [COMPLETE]

Olorin4

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A 2nd AAR in the same scenario? At first I thought it would be too much to do the same thing twice, but Fungw convinced me to do it and I think things will turn out differently. However the first turns are bound to be the same as in my other AAR (vs TurkTownBlue). To make it slightly different, I will post more detailed screenshots. So, here it goes...

Turn 1:

2 & 3 Panzergruppen (Hoth and Guderian):
The opening turn is the most crucial, imho, so I was very carefull not to waste rounds and movement points. I used HQs to limit movement costs for my crucial panzer units. HQs can make a big differemce, saving movement points, readiness and supply. Also, overruning the intitial Soviet units, in front of the two central Panzergroups is essential. So, I secured a clear road, free of enemy ZOCs, for Guderian and Hoth to advance without hinderance. Guderia's recon battalions reached up to 4 hexes ahead of Baranovice. Hoth's recon units surrounded the two Soviet divisions in Lida and the town north of Lida. This gave the chance to destroy those units for good in later combat rounds, clearing the road, which will prove crucial in the next turn for Hoth.

The Bialystok Kessel is formed only by auxillary units (Brandeburgers, recon and engineer units). They cut off the supply of Soviet formation in the pocket. Since these formation will be reorganising for the two opening turns, commiting entire divisions to close the pocket would be un-economical.

4.Armee (von Kluge):
7, 23, 268, 131, 134, 17 and 78 "Sturm" Divisions were withdrawn from the front to follow Guderian's Panzers. Only 8 Divisions attacked the Soviet front and they destroyed most of it. The forces near Brest Litovsk including two Tank Divisions are attacked by XII.ArmeeKorps (Schroth) and some anti-tank, SPAT and AA units.Brest Litovsk itself fell during the first combat round.

9.Armee (Strausse):
It took two combat rounds to destroy all the Soviet formations facing 9.Armee. Already, all of its divisions are marching behind Hoth's Panzer. Only 102.Infantry Division stayed behind, mopping up a small kessel.

1. Panzergruppe (von Kleist):
South of Vladimir Volynsk, there is an lone Soviet division. if this division was destroyed, a three hex gap would allow Kleist to breakthrough. So this division's destruction was a priority. It was surrounded and destroyed, in the first combat round, which unfortunately took 30% of my turn. I had 70% of my movement points to exploit the gap and I did so. There is a Soviet Mech Corps guyarding Brody and 16. Panzer Division, established contact with it and still had one movement point to attack it in the last combat round (on ignore losses, as it was the last round).

17.Armee (von Stülpnagel):
This army is facing the strongest opposition. The Soviets are fortified and have artillery support and many units on tactical and local reserve, which could burn my turn. So, I was very carefull in the first combat round, as this is the round, in which a turn burn is more likely to occur). Only artillery bombardment on fortified units, normal attakcs on limit losses on entrenched units. I bypassed many fortified Soviets, encircling destroying them in later combat rounds. However, much of the Soviet front is remaining after Turn 1.

6.Armee (von Reichenau):
Same as 17.Armee, Reichenau faces fortified Soviet regiments. Only probing attacks and artillery bombardments were launhed in the first round. I assaulted these enemy units after combat round 2. What remains of the 5th Soviet Army are mere remnants.

4.Panzergruppe (Höppner):
This Panzergrup has only two Panzerkorps and I will face the same limitations as happened historically to von Leeb. There are two roads, leading to Daugavpils and Jekapbils. Manstein will take the first, Reinhardt the second, before the Soviets can destroy the ridges. To attack Riga with this Panzrgrup would be an inexpedient meassure, the real target is Leningrad here. Riga is left to 18.Armee.

18.Armee (von Küchler):
As stated above, its first target is Riga. There are several entrenched Soviet units blocking the way, many of which were destroyed during the first two combat rounds. All that is left, was to clear the Soviet remnants before Riga.

16.Armee (Busch):
ITs first target is Kaunas. 12. Infantry division avoided a frontal attack and crossed the Niemen river to close in Kaunas from the rear. However, it didn't have enough movement points to take the city. The rest of 16th Army's divisions attacked frontally, and as is the case with the other fronts, this attack was succesfull.

Lufwaffe:
In my air briefing, I can see that 4872 enemy aircraft has been destroyed, though the real number is possibly lower. On map, all Soviet air formations ear Riga and Leningrad are gone, as is the DBA units near Novgorod and Smolensk. The airforces of sevastopol is also gone. However, much of the destroyed aircraft is simply damped into the reinforcement pool. Bridges were destroyed in Korosten and Kiev in the south, Kirov, Ugra and Safonovo in the center.
 

Olorin4

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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 2:

Fungwu tried to pull back as many units he could salvage, but many Soviet formations are still inactive. Guderian surrounded Slutsk with XXIV.Panzerkorps and the fortress north of Slutsk with XXXXVII.Panzerkorps and waited for the right time to attack them. It happened in the 3rd combat round, iirc. After that he was free to advance a bit more, even reaching Bobruisk with a recon battalion. The battalion attack the city in the last round but failed to take it. Now the Soviets will probably reinforce Bobruisk and destroy its bridge. 29. Motorized Division was assigned the mission of capturing Minsk, which he executed successfully, two combat round before the end of my turn. XXXXVI Panzerkorps took screening positions near Baranovice, because of the presence of one Mechanized and one Rifle Corps there, which will become active in the next turn and will probably try to intercept the advance on the main Brest-Moscow highway.

Now, Hoth advanced up to 3-4 hexes from Lepel. LVII. Panzerkorps was obstructed by a routed Soviet division, but the ZOC penalty was not much, so he ignored it. There is enemy presence near Wilno, amd Lida, making necessary some flank protection. This was provided by the two Infantry Corps of Hoth's Panzergrup, V.Armeekorps protecting the left and VI.Armeekorps the right flank.

3 Security and 2 Infantry divisions became available to Kluge. I used them to replace the ring around the Bialystok pocket. Now only one of the main divisions of 4.Armee, 252.Infantry Division remains near Bialystok. The rest started force marching towards Minsk. 9.Armee spent this turn marching behind Hoth.

16.Armee took Kaunas and eliminated all enemy formation in the area. The Kaunas bridge is destroyed though. 18.Armee still has some mopping up to do before closing in around Riga.

In the South the Mech Corps defending Brody was surrounded and destroyed by 16 Panzer division. 1.Panzergruppe is split in two ad hoc formations:
a.Gruppe Wietersheim, including 13.Panzer Division, 16 & 25 Motorized Divisions and SS Wiking, is advancing along the road Brody-Shepetovka.
b. Gruppe Kempff, including XXXXVIII.Panzerkorps, III.Panzerkorps and Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler" is advancing along the road Rovno-Novograd Volyskiy.
XXIX.Armeekorps (Obstfeller) will try to maintain contact between the two groups.
Meanwhile, 6.Armee took Kovno and eliminated the remnants of 5th Soviet Army. 17.Armee continue battling its way against many Soviet division, many of them tank divisions. This army is already worn out, many of its divisions have red status.
 
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Olorin4

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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 3:

Fungwu seems to be withdrawing everything, to a line further east. However he is throwing at me motorcycle, AA and destruction units, placing them at critical points (cities, road junctions etc), trying to slow my advance. He is succeeding so far, but not totally. Perhaps if those units weren't there, I would have advanced a few hexes further. But the biggest setback is the draining of my panzer's supply. They have to battle their way through, thus they already are yellow or orange. This is because I put a lot of weight into these attacks. Motorcycles and AA can burn a large part of the turn, so I put almost everything against them, panzers, arty and air. This is costly supply wise, but it guarantees a lot of combat rounds.

So, after having to give a fight for Bobruisk, Guderian's forces reached the outskirts of Moghilev. 10 Motorized Division is dispatched to Zlobin and Rogachev to guard Guderian's right flank from possible Soviet aggression there. Hoth fought two battles near Lepel and won, he entered the city after the second combat round, but didn't have enough MP left to advance further. LVII.Panzerkorps changed direction and took Polotsk.
Fungwu gave me one surprise, I thought I was guarding the rear of Guderian well, with XXXXVI. Panzerkorps, but I made the mistake of not making contact with the 17th Mech Corps, leaving it with enough MP's to flank 10th Panzer Division. 17th Mech. Corps established itself on the main highway, between Baranovice and Minsk. The move could bog down the advance of my infantry divisions, so I ordered 10.PzD to encircle and destroy it, which it did. Now 4.Armee has again a free road ahead of it. Several other battles were won near Bialystok, Lida, Wilno and Novogrudok. Few units remain in the Kessel.

In the North. Höppner had to face the same difficulties with his cronies in the center, namely, several motorcycle and AA units. His advance was slowed down more than the other Panzergroups. Despite his minor setbacks, he made contact with the Stalin Line fortresses in Ostrov and Opochka. They will be attacked in the next turn. 18.Armee has still some mopping up to do. I estimate that the attack on Riga will be launched in two turns.

In the South, another surprise awaited me. I was able to not lose time, fighting against minor units and I reached the Stalin Line in full force. However, the battle I was counting to give there won't happen, as Fungwu is withdrawing even further east! I don't know how much ground he is prepared to give up, but between the Stalin Line and Kiev there is no other suitable line to defend. Thus, by giving me the Stalin Line he is giving me me Kiev. I suppose he will defend the city itself fiercely, but up to that point I will only have to give minor battles.

Thank God the Russians cannot divide their units, otherwise I would have to face countless ants trying to slow me down. It is bad as it is already.
 
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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 4:

Things are difficult for me. Fungwu throws every expendable units he has (and he has many) against my Panzergroups. In this turn has succeeded in slowing me down considerably. Even more supply is spent in minor battles. The first combat round was fought mostly against motorcycles and destruction units again and unfortunately it took 50% of my turn, leaving my mobile formations unable to advance much further.

At least Hoth has reached the outskirts of Vitebsk with both of his Panzrkorps' and Guderian crossed the Dniepr River with XXIV.Panzerkorps. The Soviets around Misnk moved to blocking positions but were repelled by Grossdeutschland. Now Misnk is defended by an army corps of 4.Armee, XII.AK, which replaced 29.MtzD there. Soviet formations around Bialystok are completely destroyed. 3-4 Soviet units remain near Grondo and Wilno.

Von Küchler's 18.Armee managed to take two hexes of Riga already, with I.Armeekorps. Höppner's Panzergroup faced the same problems as Guderian and Hoth. Although he eliminated the fortresses of the Stalin Line, his advance beyond that was limited. Next targets: Pskov, Velikye Liuki and Dno.

In the South, the Stalin Line was too weakly defended, as the Soviets are withdrawing behind the Dniepr. 1.Panzergruppe is the only major Panzer formation advancing better than expected. 17.Armee finished mopping up operations around Lvov and Tarnopol and will resume its march soon. Hungarian and Rumanian armies are facing weakened resistance too and crossed the Prut river with ease.

I don't know where Funguw will stand and fight properly, but a front is already starting to take shape behind the Oka river. In my opinion, this is too close to Moscow and gives up a lot of important cities, which should have been taken with more difficulty. But we'll see how things unfold.
 
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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 5:

I regained the momentum lost in the previous turn. Although only 60% of my turn was left after the first combat round, the Soviets are running out of expendable, small units to delay my advance. A Soviet Line is beginning to take shape far to the east, behind the Oka river, to Orel and from there to Kharkov. Until I get there my game will continue to be tedious, fighting small units, trying not to burn turns. It takes a lot of effort to do it properly and I am running out of patience :nuts:

As I said, my Panzergroups made some progress. Guderian faced no ants this time and advanced at full speed. One small recon units went all the way from Moghilev to Smolensk and attacked the lone Soviet division protecting the city, unsuccessfully. XXIV.Panzerkorps protects the right flank. Hoth, on the other hand, had to contend with a militia brigade and some destruction regiments. he destroyed them, but wasn't able to reach Smolensk. Vitebsk was captured by LVII.Panzerkorps.

East Poland and White Russia are almost completely devoid of Soviet military presence. All pockets have been wiped out. The first divisions of 2.Armee have taken their positions at the front, near Rogachev, replacing 10.Motorized division there. The three infantry armies of Heeresgruppe Mitte continue to march like crazy, trying to catch the panzers. 9.Armee was obstructed by another annoying ant.

In the north, Riga is completely in German hands now, thanks to Küchler's 18.Armee. From now on, XXVI.Armeekorps and XXXVIII.Armeekorps will advance through the Baltic states, mopping up the many ants that appear to be protecting critical bridges and junctions. I.Armeekorps will advance through Pskov the take its place to the left of 4.Panzergruppe. The Soviets chose to defend a line behind the Luga river to Novgorod. I would have done the same. This line already appears to be strong, especially the fortress of Luga.

Kleist took Zhitomir and Berdicev. He had to eliminate many ants. One particular engineer regiment lasted 4 whole rounds against 13.Panzer Division, which was reduced to red status and 1% supply! It seems that Stalin is breeding superhuman clones. Now, Kleist is facing pretty much empty space ahead of him and the question is which way to go. One option is to disperse 1.Panzergoup's efforts to many objectives another option is to go for Kiev and from there to Kharkov, retaining formation coherence. I will decide in the next turn.
 
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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 6:

Things are getting interesting again, as my mobile forces face less and less annoying ants. 17. Panzer Division beat a lone Soviet division to capture Smolensk. The city fell one turn after I was expecting. This delay is the effect of the various ants that Fungwu deployed. 4.Panzer Division took positions to attack Roslavl in the next turn. Hoth has two divisions to eliminate to gain freedom of movement again. The infantry armies are still well back, but some divisions managed to make it to the front.

Höppner continued to battle his way through destruction regiments, hence his advance was not so fast. The three objectives of Pskov, Velikiye Liuki and Dno are finished successfully. Now the question is: Schwerpunkt left (Narva-Luga) or Schwerpunkt right (Novgorod-Chudovo)? The Luga road is defended by 4 rifle and one tank division and there isn't any room to maneuver, the attack must be frontal and hexes must be won one by one. Novgorod is defended by a Mech Corps. Narva is defended by 4 rifle divisions, but it's too far away and the redirection of my panzers will cause a reaction from Fungwu. As things are at the moment, I prefer the Novgorod solution, but I will take my final decision next turn.

In the south, there is much space for my panzers. Kiev seems to be lightly defended and 6.Armee is near, so I will leave Kiev for the infantry, while Kleist will advance southeast. There are almost 20 Soviet divisions west of the Dniepr river, trying to escape. Kleist will pursuit them and catch whatever he can in his claws. This will have the added effect of positioning him for further operations in the lower Dniepr area. I am currently contemplating two plans, which you can see in the two last screenshots.

The first is Operation Liontamer :)D) and assumes a breakthrough in Zaporoshje by Kleist's two Panzerkorps and XXIX.Armeekorps, which will then take defending position along the flanks. The rest of Kleist's mobile forces will exploit the resulting gap and advance to Berdyansk, Meriupol and Stalino. This move will form a small kessel which will be destroyed by 11.Armee.

The second screenshot shows Operation Moonwalker :)D). It will require the splitting of 1.Panzergruppe into two smaller groups. Gruppe A will breakthrough in Trostyanesk and advance to Kharkov. Kharkov is also the objective of Gruupe B, which will breakthrough in Dnieprpetrovsk. Thus, Kharkov will be captured and a kessel will be formed between the two pincers, which 17.Armee will deal with.

I will decide which plan to implement in later turns, depending how things go in the south.

Similar plans are being prepared for Heeresgruppe Mitte, but it's not the time yet to reveal them.
 
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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 7 & 8:

Fungwu is starting to run out of ant units and is throwing hole cavalry and militia divisions to delay my advance, fortunately without much success, as I managed to have 6 combat rounds. I needed them for my attack on the Luga Line in the north and Kiev.

I had a plan for offensive on the Luga Line (I named it Operation Tornado):

The two Panzerkorps will have different jobs, at least at the beginning of the assault. The final objectives is of course Leningrad for both of them.

Manstein's Panzerkorps initial objectives are Novgorod and Chudovo. They have to attack the 21st Mech Corps and whatever reserves Fungwu has behind the lines to get there. They are supported by 16.Armee's X.Armeekorps.

Reinhardt's Panzerkorps' main effort will be its 6.Panzer Division which must capture Luga and then advance along the Luga-Leningrad highway. 1.Panzer Division will cross the Luga river in hexes 88,47 and 87,47 at a point which appears to be weaker. It will then advance alongside 6.Panzer Division, protecting its left flank. The right flank will be protected by 269 and 93 infantry divisions.

General reserves: SS Totenkopf. This division will mop up the Panzergroup's rear areas and then reinforce the most successful Panzerkorps. 16.Armee's XXVIII.Armeekorps will defend against possible attacks south of Lake Il'men'.

The offensive started successfully with the taking of the Luga fortress, after the 3rd combat round. 3 and 36.Motorized Divisions gained a few hexes as well. The bad news is that I misplaced 8.Pazner Division. 21st Mech Corps is sitting on flooded marsh with a road and can be attacked only from one direction. I did not see it, and put my panzer division in the wrong hex, they can't attack from there. :(

In the center, not much is new, the two Panzergroups are still advancing. Roslavl was taken in turn 7, Spas-Demyensk in turn 8. I will reach the main Soviet line in the next turn and attack it in turn 10. The good news is that the two infantry armies are catching up.
In the south, the battle for Kiev has ended successfully for the Germans, with the taking of the main hex of Kiev. Kleist is still pursuing the Soviet divisions trying to escape. He caught and destroyed two, but the bulk of them looks as if it will escape.
 
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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 10:

Things are about to get interesting, as Herresgruppe Mitte makes contact with the main Soviet defensive line protecting Moscow. A few "powerful reconnaissance missions" were launched to test Soviet defenses, which were found to be formidable. The plan is obvious if you take a look at the attachment, revealing the two schwerpunktes by the two Panzergroups. Guderian will attack at three points (the three bridges on Oka and Ugra rivers) using his three Panzerkorps respectively, near Kaluga. When a breakthrough is made, he will advance to Tula, with XXIV.Panzerkorps and in the general direction of Mozaisk with XXXXVI and XXXXVII.Panzerkorps. Hoth's LVII.Panzerkorps will cross the Volga in Zubtsov and advance to Shakhovskaya. A little bit more to the south, XXXIX.Panzerkorps will advance towards Mozaisk to meet with Guderian and hopefully form a huge kessel in the process.

In the north, the offensive continued with good results. The 21st Mech Corps and one infantry division were isolated and destroyed. Now the way to Novgorod is almost open, unless Fungwu rushes his reserves here. Von Manstein was supposed to take Novgorod, but I decided to change missions for him, he will move behind Reinhardt's Panzerkorps, as a second echelon force, to form a more powerful schwerpunkt. Already, Reinhardt has taken Luga and crossed the river in 30Km depth. Most of the Soviet units here are militia and construction units, that's why I decided to put my main effort here. Meanwhile, Höppner's reserves, 269.Infanterie-Division and SS Totenkopf, will reinforce Reinhardt too, trying to protect his left flank.

Heeresgruppe Süd is far away from making contact with the main Soviet line in the south. 6 and 17.Armeen will need 4-5 turns to reach it. In the meantime, 1.Panzergruppe under von Kleist will split into two Armeegruppen, in compliance with operation Moonwalker, which was thought to be preferable over operation Liontamer, because of the more decisive results that it will yield.

The Romanians are having their butts handed on a plate by the stronger than anticipated Soviet forces, in Odessa. 3rd Romanian Army will reinforce Antonescu's Group and 4th Romanian Army. However, given the strong opposition. Odessa's fall seems unlikely in the near future, unless I find some German reserves to reinforce them.

The Finns, had taken Viipuri in turn 8 and are preparing for a new offensive, with the goal of reaching the historical limit line. The Karelian front is empty of enemy units and the Finns are marching to the Svir river, where the Soviets are preparing a line. The Stalin Canal has some 120 VPs and general Talvela's 6th Army corps will attempt to take them all.
 
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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 11:

The attack continues in the north and center. The south is still a few turns away from contact, with 17th and 2nd Armies having to cover the most distance until contact with the Soviets.

Heeresgruppe Mitte destroyed some 6+ divisions in two small pockets. The offensive is slowly gaining momentum and if all things go according to my plan, the breakthroughs will happen in 2 turns, 3 if Fungwu has reserves that I can't see. After that, the two Panzergroups will have earned back their mobility again and things will start rolling. I am taking heavy casualties, because Fungwu has some very strong divisions at his front, with fortified status, with lots of artillery support. But the casualties are to be expected and they are worth it. This is the main Soviet line of resistance and this is where the game will probably be won or lost, so effort and sacrifices from my part are necessary.

The attacks enjoy the complete support of 2.Luftlotte. My central air fleet is entirely dedicated to combat support (except the last round, when I switch it back to interdiction). The corps and army artillery from Kluge's and Strauss' Armies is also supporting the two Panzergroups. All means are gathered in this mighty schwerpunkt.

The attack on the Luga Line is entering a phase of big results. A few more pockets are ready to be formed. The planned move of Manstein's Panzerkorps, behind Reinhardt is complete. The maneuver will be modified and extended. Manstein will drive further northwest, behind my lines, to Narva and Kingisepp, because Fungwu has greatly weakened this area to reinforce his cracking line in front of my 1.Panzer-Division.

In the south, things are quiet. My units are still force marching. As I said the infantry armies are still far away from the Soviet line and Kleist's Panzergruppe is split into two Armeegruppen, which will execute Operation Moonwalker. Gruppe B is a few hexes away from Dneprpetrovsk and Zaporozhje.

The Romanians look like they will be able to hold the Soviet offensive in Odessa. I am not too worried, despite some casualties that I took here. The 4th Romanian Army reinforced the battered 3rd Romanian Army and Antonescu Group, however, it will take positions behind the lake, east of Odessa and attack this weakly defended spot.

Victory Status
Draw
Enemy held objectives:7070-Enemy losses:721
Friendly held objectives:5030-Friendly losses:249

Stats:
HRS lost-7639
tanks lost-896(actually 622 are missing from my panzer formations, ouch!)
airplanes lost-1734

EEV-36%
Soviet Replacement Reduction-35% (currently SU produces 1625 RS per turn)
 
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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 12:

Axis Supply Reorganization. 80% shock for Axis, many units reorganizing, offensive slowed down.


Turn 13:

The offensive escalates. I got 6 rounds which gave me the chance to launch too many attacks. This must not be good for Fungwu's morale! I took heavy casualties, but the results justified my approach. In the center, Hoth's Panzergruppe manages to break the Soviet line, but doesn't have enough movement points to exploit the gap. I guess Fungwu will use new units to close the gap, because if he doesn't, 3.Panzergruppe will be free to race to whichever direction I please: Mozaisk, Kalinin or even Moscow itself. Guderian is still attacking frontally and the breakthrough seems distant, since he has to face newly arrived Soviet reinforcements.

In the north, Manstein completed his maneuver behind my lines and crossed the Luga river east of Kingisepp with his two motorized divisions. Reinhardt's bridgehead continues to expand and 18.Armee joins the party to protect the flanks of the advance. 16.Armee's X.Armeekorps captured Novgorod. I seem to have an advantage in this area and success is possible within my timetable: capture of Leningrad by early September.

Von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd closes in the enemy defensive line more and more, but it's still 2 turns away from contacting the enemy en mass. Only Kleist's 1.Panzergruppe is active, attacking and capturing Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Nikopol. 11.Armee crossed the lower Dniepr and one army corps captured Perekop. But if I want to break through this chokepoint I will need reinforcements, as the Soviets have many divisions defending Crimea's gate with plenty of tanks.

The Romanians are still attacked by strong soviet forces in Odessa and my flank attack does not have enough power to succeed. I will assume defensive stance in this minor front, until, my my Romanians are rest and refit to resume the offensive.

The Finns have reached their limits in Karelia, capturing all of the VP's on the Stalin Canal. There are still 20 VPs left for them to take, but it will require effort and casualties to take them and I don't know yet if it's worth the effort.
 

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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 14:

Another Supply Disorganization turn? According to the text document:
"The Axis will experience four separate “supply disorganization shock” turns on turns 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, and 25-29, each one a variable event giving the Axis a one turn shock @ 80%. This is increased to 105% (Campaign Season Shock norm) on the following turn"
I got two SD turns already. If I get another one before turn 20 then something is wrong.


Turns 15 & 16:

I thought I had a real chance for a breakthrough after 3.Panzergruppe smashed the Soviet front, but Soviets reinforcements keep coming, patching the gaps in the front. Both Panzergruppen are in the same situation. Smashing the front, but not having enough movement points to exploit the gaps, the next turn the gaps aren't there and I have to smash the front once again, and on and on... Both the Soviet reinforcement rate and Funwu's good defensive tactics prevent me from making a breakthrough.

In turn 15, one panzer regiment of the 3.Panzer-Division was to eager to advance and found itself cut off. Fungwu quickly grabbed the chance and encircled the panzer regiment, but, fortunately for me, he failed to destroy it. In turn 16, I counterattacked to save the panzer regiment, with all I had. Not only the regiment was saved and back in German lines, but I managed to destroy one tank and one rifle soviet divisions and to advance one hex away from Tula. Tula's factory is still there.

Meanwhile, Hoth was busy destroying more Soviet divisions, opening another gap in the Soviet front, which I am sure will be patched before my panzers can exploit it.

The infantry Armies on my right and left flanks begun their own offensives. Orel fell to 113.Infanterie-Division of 2.Armee. Another 5% reduction in Soviet replacement rate. 9 and 16.Armee's mission is to destroy the Soviet front in the Valdai Heights.

Heeresgruppe Nord:

This was a good turn for Heeresgruppe Nord. 4.Panzergruppe encircled and destroyed a lot of Soviet divisions. The rate of Soviet reinforcements coming in this front is slower than in the center, so each destroyed Soviet division means an easier advance towards Leningrad.

Operation Moonwalker:

Operation Moonwalker has begun! After a short rest period, waiting for 17.Armee to reach the Soviet lines, Kleist's two Armeegruppen launched their offensives: Gruppe A near Trostyanets, Gruppe B near Dnepropetrovsk. There was a slight change in their OoB's. Now, the relative strengths are:

Gruppe A
1 panzer division
5 motorized divisions

Gruppe B
4 panzer divisions
6 infantry divisions

Both were successful. Gruppe A destroyed 1 tank and one motorized divisions. Gruppe B advanced 3 hexes in depth, destroying everything on its path. The resulting gaps cannot be patched, as Fungwu has weakened this front in favor of the central front. Now, Fungwu, has two choices. Either withdraw his units (5 tank divs, 21 rifle divs, 18 artillery regiments) before the pocket is closed, or stay and fight until the last bullet, delaying my advance and forming a new front east.


Victory Status:
Enemy held objectives:6270-Enemy loss penalty:1082
Friendly held objectives:5830-Friendly loss penalty:394
 
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Olorin4

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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 17:

A very successful turn. I destroyed nearly 30 divisions and 1200 tanks! These successes occurred in the north and south fronts, the Soviet center is still very strong, especially near Tula, which held against the attack of XXIV.Panzerkorps.

Hoth's Panzergruppe destroyed some divisions, but more hexes have to be freed to break out in the open. Guderian has no chance to do that and continues to attack frontally. XXXXVII.Panzerkorps was extricated from the front and will be deployed behind XXXXVI.Panzerkorps as second echelon, to try to encircle a bulge that formed northwest of Tula. Now the number of uncommitted divisions in the center is 8, mostly mobile divisions.

In the south, Fungwu counterattacked with 5-6 divisions, 3 of them very strong tank divisions and pushed me back. He isolated one motorized infantry regiment, reducing it to mere remnants. I decided to destroy these 3 tank divisions. Despite their strength the mission was successful and almost 1000 tanks are eliminated! The north pincer of Operation Moonwalker now has better chances to breakthrough. The other pincer, Gruppe B has enjoyed similar success, destroying almost 10 divisions. It now faces a weak and divided front.

The Leningrad front is beginning to crumble. Here too, many Soviet divisions were destroyed in 3 pockets.

You can see in the screenshots that the pockets were the Soviet divisions met their doom are marked with a red circle.

The other fronts were relatively quiet.

Victory Status
Draw
Enemy held objectives:6270-Enemy loss penalty:1207
Friendly held objectives:5830-Friendly loss penalty:391
 
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Olorin4

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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 19:

Another Supply Reorganization turn! I keep getting more of them than the manual says I should.


Turn 20:

Angered by the supply problems, commanders on the field gave their best to resume the offensive, and they have been rewarded. The south sees the most success, as finally, a breakthrough is made by Gruppe B's spearhead (11.Panzer Division). A kessel of 12-15 Soviet divisions is formed. 5 artillery regiments are trapped too. Gruppe B did not breakthrough, but it's close. It had the chance to do so: 16.Panzer Division could have advanced 1 hex away from Kharkov, but chose instead to attack the plenty artillery regiments nearby (almost 20 of them are routed). All in all, the Soviet front in this area will be wiped out in a few turns and Kharkov captured. This will allow for operational freedom. I already have chosen the next course of action for Kleist's 1.Panzergruppe. I will reveal it after the completion of its current mission.

In the center, the Soviet bulge was threatened by both Hoth and Guderian and Fungwu decided to withdraw further east, straightening his line. However, this move did not make any difference for me. The Soviet line is still flanked after the withdrawal and it gave the chance to my infantry to close in Moscow. Guderian shifted XXXXVII.Panzerkorps in turn 18, from its positions near Medyn to northeast of Kaluga, next to XXXXVI.Panerkorps. The reunited 2.Panzergruppe has a single task: capturing Moscow from southwest. Similarly, Hoth's 3.Panzergruppe will attempt to do the same from northwest. Hoth is only 3 hexes away.

Leningrad was reinforced heavily by Fungwu and it has huge artillery support. Under these circumstances, 4.Panzergruppe will abandon its current mission of capturing Leningrad itself. The city will be the objective of 18.Armee alone. 4.Panzergruppe will shift its axis of attack to the east. That part of the line is weaker. Once the Soviet line is broken, Manstein's panzerkorps will attempt to encircle the Soviet bulge facing I and X Armeekorps'. Reinhardt's Panerkorps will capture Shlisselburg and the supply hex north of it, isolating Leningrad.

The Finns started their own offensive north of Leningrad.

Two minor offensives are being prepared, one in Odessa and the other in Perekop.

The first will (obviously) attempt to capture Odessa. The attacking forces are: 14 Romanian infantry divisions, 3 Rom. mountain brigades, 3 Rom. cavalry brigades, 1 Rom tank brigade and one German Sicherungs Division. Intelligence reports estimate the Soviet forces as follows: 8 rifle divisions, 2 tank divisions, 1 cavalry division, 11 artillery regiments and several auxillery units.

The second offensive will aim at breaking through Perekop and Ishun and opening Crimea. I have 3 German infantry divisions and 3 Italian divisions to do that. Enemy forces, according to intelligence, are: 2 tank divisions, 2 cavalry divisions and 6 rifle divisions.
 
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Olorin4

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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 21:

Supply reorganization.....yet again! It's obvious that something is fundamentally wrong with the logistical planning of Operation Barbarossa. A thorough investigation has started in order to find a scape goat. Von Paulus seems like a good candidate.


P.S. Is anyone actually interested in this AAR? I will keep writing, if only for my own pleasure. But 0 replies is quite painful. :nuts:
 

L`zard

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Re: DNO-Olorin vs Fungwu

Turn 21:

Is anyone actually interested in this AAR? I will keep writing, if only for my own pleasure. But 0 replies is quite painful. :nuts:
Nick, there are many worse things than a lack of response, LOL!

You've a good AAR running, and more readers than posters, eh?

:clown::clown::clown:
 
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