Tannenberg 14 Rasmus versus Furocity

rasmus

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During the tournament I took notes for an AAR.

Russians Rasmus
Germans Furocity.


Overall Strategy.
This game has the russians at serious supply disadvantage. My aim is therefore to entice the germans to fight in places where their supply is lower, and where my numerical advantage will be more telling. That means that a german thrust north of the Masurian lakes against Lyck and Suvalki and a southern strike against Warsaw is to be welcomed as these are the places where our supply difference will be the least.

A good way to lure him forward will be to place easily blitzable cavalry battalions in his path here and more solid forces elsewhere.

I plan on a draw by taking and holding Lyck along with the remaining Russian objectives. Anything above that will be a bonus. My main thrust will fall in the North where I can advance along a rail line, in reasonable supply. I plan on advancing as far as possible and then dig in for the counter offensive. My offensive potential is rotten, but if I can make him attack me at low odds with decent artillery dug in behind me, I might stand a chance.

The south will be an aggressive advance with cavalry and a fortified line of infantry behind, making him pay for the reconquest of Lautenburg and Willenburg.
 

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Turn 1
Northern Theater.
His CAV screen is surrounded but survives my feeble attacks.

Central Theater.
Lyck is taken and fortified. N of the Masurian lakes my bait CAV moves forward.

Southern Theater.

Russian cavalry advance and take Lautenburg and Willenburg.

German move.
Furocity grabs my bait with both hands and attacks strongly N of the Masurians. Suvalki is taken and my units are badly mauled. The surrounded CAV in the north breaks out and moves into Stalluponen.
 
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rasmus

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Turn 2
Northern Theater.
I manage to clear but not occupy Stalluponen.

Central Theater.
I continue to fortify Lyck and move my CAV around in the hope he will chase me.

Southern Theater.
I dig in behind a cavalry screen in order to get defensive bonuses, before he enters at full strength. Tannenberg is almost surrounded but the turn ends before I can make an attack.

German move.
In his counterattacks he slaps my Cavalry battalions around, evaporating several of them, but fails to dislodge any of my infantry BDEs. A strong force of irregulars are sent towards my left flank in the south.
 
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rasmus

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Turn 3
My turn three is spent digging in and rushing reserves forward.

Northern Theater.In a lucky blow I manage to dislodge a german INF BDE in Stalluponen all though the loss rate is very much in his favour.

Central Theater.
Suvalki is retaken, but not in strength.

Southern Theater.
Reserves are taken away from the front and moved to screen the left flank while reinforcements, from Warsaw trundles along in WWI pace with the solemn hope of reaching a front (any front) sometime next turn. There remains a gaping hole in my front betweem Willenburg and Lyck, bur he is not pushing in this area , Yet!

German move.
Furocitys third turn is spent pushing my line back in the south and center and consolidating in the north.
He gains another hex on Lyck and Lautenburg, and only pure luck prevents him from gaining another hex on Lautenburg. A southern thrust against Warsaw, through Plock runs into my reserves and suddenly they are at the front . His strike against Lyck diverts him from Suvalki, which remains in my hands.
 

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Turn 4

Northern Theater.
I manage to surround and evaporate a INF BDE S of Stalluponen

Central Theater. Suvalki is secured while much digging in takes place in the center and reinforcements are on the move N of the Masurian Lakes, and towards Gumbinnen.

Southern Theater.Dig, dig.

German move.
Furocitys fourth turn is spent bombarding my forces in the south and Center. Late in the turn he pushes me out of a few hexes in the south while the center holds. I am curious about the low key pressure that is put up by the german forces in the south. He should have been able to push me further back by now. If he does not advance more aggressively I might even start fantazising about holding one or both of Willenburg and Lautenburg.
 

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Turn 5.
Russians.
Northern Theater.
I move forward both N and S of the railline. He is defending with only CAV, an Irregular BDE and two reserve REGs and some cavalry. I am able to blitz some cavalry and move to flank Gumbinnen which falls late in the turn after heavy fighting.
In the extreme N my cavalry screen is across the river and only two hexes from Tilzit. He has three BTNs of regular infantry facing 4 fresh INF BDEs and 3 RES BDEs. That would be about even odds given the Russian quality of troops. I hope however to be able to keep my cavalry moving forward in order to make flanking attacks and force him to leave his defensive positions. I am in position to attempt a pincer movement on Insterburg in a turn or two. That is, unless he reinforces in which case I might find my self on the defensive very shortly.

Central Theater. Just N of the lakes I am able to blitz some cavalry and surround two INF BDEs in force and another INF BDE + a lot ART with low strength cavalry. He might break out the second force, or possibly the first, put not both (I hope). A counterattack SW of Lyck is called off as his fortifications are able to support the attacked units, causing huge Russian losses.

Southern Theater.I counterattack his forces at Plock with heavy Russian losses. Otherwise the turn is spent throwing back some cavalry and restoring my line.

Plans for the future. Ah I wish I had some paratroopers. Two small airdrops at the bridges of Angerburg and Wormditt would have cut off the entire North, allowing my northern offensive to come to a succesfull completion. Well you cannot blame a man for dreaming. Next turn I plan to exploit the surrounds I have made in the center, and perhaps develop some surrounds in the North. I still hope for a pincer on Insterburg, but will settle for a defensive line E of the river W of Insterburg. The S will be more digging in. Should Lautenburg fall I will fall back on Willenburg hoping to tie down as many forces as possible. In the end I do not expect to hold either of them, but he will have to pay dearly for their reconquest. I am not concerned about Warsaw as the fortifications there cannot be overwhelmed quickly, so I should be able to hold it with minimal forces.

German move.
Well Furocity makes me eat my words. He relieves both pockets near Lyck and gains another hex on Lyck. In the north Gumbinnen is retaken, in the South He gains 5 hexes on Lautenburg, and one on Willenburg.
 
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rasmus

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Turn 6.
Russians.
Northern Theater.
I continue my push for a pincer on Insterburg, and is now two hexes away both north and south of the railroad. My cavalry moves through Tilsit, and is now on the track for Koenigsberg. Late in the turn I retake Gumbinnen this time with a INFBDE.

Central Theater.
The relief of the two pockets was a set back, but the hex gained on Lyck was disaster. If Lyck falls I will have a hard time pocketing his forces, near the lakes, I may have to settle for keeping them tied down while I try to shore things up further north.

Southern Theater.
Lautenburg is doomed in spite of repeated counterattacks, I was unable to regain any hexes here. The city is doomed and I will have to execute plan retreat sometime soon. My goal will be to retreat in a way that entices him to keep his forces down south.

Plans for the future.
I want to close the pincer in the north and hold steady in the south and center.

Germans.
Once again Furocity brings my glorious plans to a screaming halt. In the north he surrounds evaporates a large part of my southern pincer. In the center he takes Lyck and in the south Lautenburg falls.
 

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Back after a short break.
Turn 7.
Russians.
Northern Theater.
Furocitys attack on my southern pincer had really left me in bad shape. I push my northern pincer and try to clear the rail line. An attack on Insterburg, fails to dislodge the HQ that is garrisoning it. The remaining BDE of the southern pincer is still trapped behind enemy lines.

Central Theater.
I am in no shape to retake Lyck, so I settle for limited attacks, trying to appear as a threat towards the railline from Lodsen.

Southern Theater.
His strike on Warsaw is left with two depleted BDEs after some heavy fighting. I am not in much better shape here but I feel confident that I can contain all his efforts here. Lautenburg is lost, but my line is still holding and is actually in pretty good shape. Not in offensive shape, but not about to cave in completely either. I spend this turn digging in and occupying an empty hex bordering Willenburg.


Plans for the future.
Ah yes. I will have to go on the defensive all over in the next one or two turns. Whether I can hold for the draw remains to be seen.

Germans.
The germans attack heavily in the north and eliminates the sorry remains of my southern pincer. The Center is quiet, but the south sees heavy attacks and a few breakthroughs.
 

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Turn 8.
Russians.
Northern Theater.
I manage to clear two hexes of surrounded german INF BTNs North of Insterburg. Al hope of ever taking that city evaporates along with my southern pincer. I try (and fail to clear the two hexes he has on gumbinnen. A RES Corps is railed into Stalluponnen.

Central Theater.
A limited attack on Lyck fails miserably as does the move on Lodsen. That does it. This front is hereby declared a hold and pray theatre.

Southern Theater.
His breakthroughs at Lautenburg and towards Warsaw makes me a bit anxious. My earlier boasts that Warsaw cannot fall seems a bit premature. Luckily I manage to isolate his breakthrough and have a few units scheduled to reconstitute in Warsaw next turn. That should do it (I hope).
At Lautenburg, I Start a fighting withdrawal towards Willenburg, which is still holding strong.

Plans for the future.
Dig in. Menace him towards Koenigsberg to draw off his forces from the counterattack towards Gumbinnen and Stalluponnen and pray.

Germans.
The germans begin to roll up my line in from Mlava towards Willenburg. It hurts, bur so far there are no signs that he is shipping troops North. If I can stall him for a few turns, chances are I might hold on to at least some VP cities up there. In the center he pushes out of Lyck and towards Suvalki, but my front holds pretty stable for now. In the north he chases a few cavalry troops around, and digs in.
 

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Turn 9
Russians.
Northern Theater.
Not much movement here. I blitz me to another hex on Insterburg. But the turn ends early , leaving the forward units undug.

Central Theater.
Much digging.

Southern Theater.
Much digging and some shuffling. He used his regiment near Warsaw to break back into his lines, allowing me to seal off the penetration, leaving only a single enemy cav unit in my rear..

Plans for the future.
Dig in. Menace him towards Koenigsberg to draw off his forces from the counterattack towards Gumbinnen and Stalluponnen and pray.

Germans.
Well this turn german units finally showed up on trains going north. As far as my (less than perfect ) Intelligence service has found out, at least a division worth of units went by train to just N of Angerburg. On reflection this is not too bad , as there is quite some distance from Angerburg to my nearest VPs. Otherwise his turn ended only with slow progress in the south and no significant gains in the center and north,
 

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Turn 10.
Russians.
Northern Theater.
I manage to blitz a few lousy cavalry BTNs to within 2/3 hexes of Koenigsberg. This is at most a nuisance to him, but if he does not respond, I stand a real chance of cutting the rail line, between Koenigsberg and Insterburg and seriously hamper his drive Stalluponnen and Gumbinnen. The really good news is that I mange to clear him from two hexes, near Gumbinnen, using some newly learned stuff about direct artillery fire (thanks go out to Siberian Heat).

Central Theater.
Much digging. A reconstituted BDE is sent to reinforce Suvalki.

Southern Theater.
The planned withdrawal towards Willenburg, continues, but my forces are crumbling here. They are facing formidable enemy forces in excellent supply. I dig in thinking virtuos thoughts about dying so that our comrades in the north may live.
Plans for the future.
Continue to dig in where needed. Continue to menace him towards Koenigsberg. I think I will up the ante in the North and try to clear him away from Gumbinnen. If succesfull I might advance some artillery and try for Insterburg.

Germans.
Once again Furocity gives me some cryptic remarks about committing his reserves. I the south he gains another hex on Willenburg , but at the price of leaving another open. He continues to push towards Warsaw. In the North he attacks and clears me out of a hex on Insterburg. But an attack on Gumbinnen fails. In the center he attacks out of Lyck and towards Suvalki, but without much success.
 

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Turn 11
Russians.

Northern Theater.
I manage to clear him out of the last hex he had on Gumbinnen, early in the turn, so that I can fortify this new possession and slide my ART towards Insterburg. He is showing himself rather unwilling to throw first line units into this theatre. The only INF BDE he has got here is Fortifying Insterburg. Otherwise he has only got RES REGs and some irregulars. This puzzles me. Even Koenigsberg is only protected by three CAV BTNs two of which is entrained! I make a probing attack this turn, but is turned back and settles for digging in in an agressive manner.

Central Theater.
I try to attacks a stack with two INF BDEs and a lot of ART. I manage to retreat all but one BDE , but is to Mauled to follow up. An attack on a neighbouring BDE fails miserably. Suvalki is garrisoned with an INF BDE and I feel confident that it will hold for the remainder of the game.

Southern Theater.
The wise is closing in on Willenburg. But I manage to clear him out of a bordering hex, and occupy the one he left open earlier on, leaving him with a single hex on Willenburg. I am however not able to dig all my units in, so I still expect it to fall. N of Warsaw a running battle between crappy forces is taking place. He has a single BDE and a REG moving towards Warsaw, but they should be manageable ( I hope).

Plans for the future.
I am still at a Marginal victory. But the loss of Willenburg will leave me at a draw. Even if i capture Insterburg I will still be eleven points short of a Victory. Should I manage to take Koenigsberg (highly unlikely) and Insterburg, I could regain the victory. Should he be able to take Willenburg (likely), Warsaw and Gumbinnen (unlikely) the game would be a marginal for him.

Germans.
He makes some progress in the south clearing another hex on Willenburg.
In the center he pushes towards Suvalki. I give ground, but the line still holds. In the north he pushes me away from Koenigsberg, and tries towards Gumbinnen. Huge amount of reinforcements roll in on rail, and continues south towards Angerburg.
 

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Turn 12
Russians.
Northern Theater.
I mainly dig in on the line, fortifying last turns gains. Several rounds of attacks on Insterburg, fails to undig any of the garrisoned units here.

Central Theater.
Much digging.

Southern Theater.
I manage to regain one hex on Willenburg, but can only fortify it with HQs and one ART BDE. All my remaining INF BDEs (three ) are in reorg and pretty worn out. Warsaw is reinforced with another reconstituted INF BTN.

Plans for the future.
Hang on for dear life. Try to dislodge the defenders in Insterburg. The draw is the most likely result, but even a draw with positive points, will be a victory.

Germans.

Heavy attacks in the north brings him to within one hex of Gumbinnen. In the center he pushes on Suvalki but ends up three hexes away. In the South Willenburg finally falls, to a german flanking attack.
 
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rasmus

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Turn 13
Russians.
Northern Theater.
Priorities this turn are to reestablish the line before Gumbinnen, try for Insterburg and spoil into Koenigsberg. The first is met, but reserves near Insterburg turns the attack back with heavy losses. Koenigsberg is never assaulted.

Central Theater.
I manage to push back his line and dig in so that the line is two hexes deep, although covered by rabble. Suvalki is fortified.

Southern Theater.
A lucky attack manages to retake Willenburg. Spoilers to the north of the city manages to burn the MPs of the two INF BDEs there. An attempt to clear the last hex he has to the SW is stopped cold by several units on tactical reserve and the sudden end of my turn. That sees Willenburg occupied by a rather worn garrison, Unfortified, but on ignore losses.

Germans.
The last round is spent attacking towards Gumbinnen and Willenburg. Gumbinnen holds steady and the brave defenders of Willenburg, only pulls out after four rounds of fighting. Those lads have put all thoughts of cowardly Russians to shame. Against overwhelming odds, they held out to the very last minute. Hats off to them.

Result.
The game ends at a draw with Russians at 24 points. Against such an opponent as Furocity, I will count this as a victory. I thank him for an intense and well played game.
 
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