Eastern Front 1942: Not won!

Talk about a winter of discontent. The only real battlefront has 17 of my units, including four Fliegerkorps which are borderline useless in the winter. The combined muster strength of the 13 ground units is 623, with 451 points of combat strength which will increase and decrease as supply lines randomly fail and recover.

Orel, Voronezh, and Kharkov are lost, and Rostov will be soon. Taking any territory by force is absolutely out of the question. I may yet be able to conquer a few cities by stealth, and I intend to try. The line from Kiev to Dnepropetrovsk is fairly stable for now, but who can say how long it will hold if/when the full might of the Red Army comes crashing down on it?

I basically see three strategies moving forward, none of them winning. I can hold the line for as long as possible, gradually moving it back west to minimize casualties and delaying the Soviet advance. Or I can try to encircle and destroy whatever Soviets on the front expose themselves, but even if this works this will cost me and probably become impossible to sustain for very long. Or I can just make a mad rush east and try to slip through the cracks in the red wall and score points by taking the fight close to Stalingrad, casualties be damned.

 

Leningrad:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	81
4 Finnish Infantry	76	108	8 Militia Army
		36	19 Infantry Army
		?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	13	110	4 Militia Army
		235	9 Militia Army
		?	11 Infantry Army

 

There isn't a thing I can do here except keep 5 Infantry entrenched until they die or the game ends.

North group:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
26 Infantry Corps	22
7 Infantry Corps	18

 

These two infantry are on the run from tanks but far away enough that the tanks may stop their pursuit. There's a straight shot across the river to two unguarded cities; Gorky and Kazan.

 

Voronezh:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
56 Panzer Corps	23

 

One Panzer unit waits all alone in the desolate plains of Western Russia, his only company the Soviet infantry in every direction. But lack of supplies doesn't affect his speed, and may be able to evade them while moving east for who knows what purpose.

 

Kiev to Dnepropetrovsk:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
34 Infantry Corps	55	122	6 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	19
3 Panzer Corps	59
5 Flieger Corps	28
2 Flieger Corps	58
11 Infantry Corps	43
13 Infantry Corps	63	129	16 Tank Army
41 Panzer Corps	14
4 Flieger Corps	60
30 Infantry Corps	29
54 Infantry Corps	20
40 Panzer Corps	28	77	1 Guards Infantry Army
5 Rumanian Infantry	12	164	9 Tank Army
2 Rumanian Infantry	50
4 Italian Infantry	13
3 Flieger Corps	63
35 Infantry Corps	46

On the last week of fall I allowed a few Soviet units to get close so that I might have the opportunity to ensnare them, but if I choose to follow through, it will take time to finish them off with these weak units, which is effectively all I've got at this point. And during this time, many, many more Soviets will undoubtedly get close as well.

 

November 1 - November 28

Leningrad:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	81	111
4 Finnish Infantry	76	51	108	108	8 Militia Army
			33	36	19 Infantry Army
			?	?	2 Militia Army
			?		18 Tank Army
5 Infantry Corps	13	13	110	110	4 Militia Army
			235	235	9 Militia Army
			?	?	11 Infantry Army

Yep, everyone here is still helpless. Doubt that's going to change.

 

North group:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
26 Infantry Corps	22	50
7 Infantry Corps	18	36	175	?	1 Guards Tank Army

7 Infantry managed to take a minor city - Kazan, but now we have a choice - hunker down and be overrun by tanks in a matter of weeks, or abandon it, lose it immediately, and be chased down by tanks.

27 Infantry has a clear shot to Voronezh which is once again undefended.

 

Kubishev: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
56 Panzer Corps	23	23	?		33 Tank Army

That we're even alive here feels like an exploit. Dare I push my luck further?

 

Ukraine border:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			?		48 Infantry Army
			82		6 Cavalry Army
34 Infantry Corps	55	23		122	6 Infantry Army
			126		15 Tank Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	19	19
3 Panzer Corps	59	63	96		13 Infantry Army
5 Flieger Corps	28	71
2 Flieger Corps	58	137
11 Infantry Corps	43	18	?		37 Infantry Army
13 Infantry Corps	63	24		129	16 Tank Army
41 Panzer Corps	14	14
4 Flieger Corps	60	123
30 Infantry Corps	29	38	141		14 Tank Army
54 Infantry Corps	20
40 Panzer Corps	28	62		77	1 Guards Infantry Army
5 Rumanian Infantry	12	10		164	9 Tank Army
2 Rumanian Infantry	50	53	171		79 Infantry Army
4 Italian Infantry	13	21	?		19 Tank Army
3 Flieger Corps	63	88
35 Infantry Corps	46	60

Even in winter, air support really makes a difference, and we killed all four of the units that we had ensnared in the mud, but I doubt there are many opportunities for this left. We lost one, and a second is stuck and lost for certain (unless the Soviets do something dumb).

Remaining units: 22

Remaining muster: 1437

Combat efficiency: 77%

Starting in December, we completely abandon the fight and switch to the "mad rush east" strategy, using the now-unguarded Kerch Straits to cross back into the Caucasus region while the Soviets stack up along the sea, unable to find their way around it. Three units are lost very quickly, and others go north.

November 29 - December 26

After this, I just didn't feel like taking and stitching together 16 screenshots for all of the remaining 13 turns, so here's some highlights.

Moscow is isolated and I have air support. Dare I risk it?

 

It's tempting!

Crossing the strait - one straggling unit is left behind.

Moscow looks really vulnerable, but I keep moving.

Crossing the straits, continued

The north group reached the end zone but are about to get sacked hard.

3 Panzers sneaks west to grab some unguarded cities

11 Infantry single-handedly blocks all of those Soviets.

Stacked up on the east border and about to lose another one.

The end state:

The south group certainly fared better than the north, several of which got splatted against the east border in the end, but the north group did manage to conquer many unguarded cities during their east rush, and the Soviets were only interested in taking some of them back. I might have even been able to take Moscow in mid-January, which had been guarded only by a single militia unit that I could have easily encircled and possibly worn down with air support, but decided not to risk it in the end.

Final stats:

Remaining units: 15

Remaining muster: 1058

Combat efficiency: 50%

Score: -65 

This end state is clearly impossible to sustain. My armies are all surrounded or isolated, and the bulk of what's left are gathered in the southeast of the map where they are relatively safe but unable to really do anything, and I have to concur with one of the insights of Arcade Idea in that I cannot see any analogous real-world value to victory points in a losing state such as this. Hypothetically we are 66 points better than we were at the start of the scenario, but realistically we'd have been better off staying put all year.

Were I to replay this scenario, I'd try being more defensive up north, but be aggressive in the middle and south until a hole opens up in the Soviet lines, and then try to push through, and from then on only attack units which can be supply-deprived first, preferably with air support. It would take longer, but the muster strength would last longer, and with 1942's extended summer season this is a reasonable trade. I suspect that any winning strategy needs some luck in order to work, but I'm not testing this theory, and I'm not going to try William T. Farmer's expansion disk scenarios. I've had enough.

 

Crawford playtesting Eastern Front, c1981

Eastern Front 1942: Käse blau

Apologies for the horrible pun which I'm sure doesn't even make sense if your German is better than mine. I know maybe 15 words and most of them are food.

Two months of summer remain. I've lost Rzhev and Orel is slipping. I've gained Voronezh and Rostov. The Soviets have 43 units with a combined muster strength of 5,314 and more will come. I have 35 with a combined muster strength of 2,474 and more will not come.

The score is -110, up from -131, but a long, long way from anything resembling victory.

 

Leningrad to Rzhev:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	111
4 Finnish Infantry	103	108	8 Militia Army
		62	19 Infantry Army
		?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	16	110	4 Militia Army
		118	9 Militia Army
6 Infantry Corps	45	45	1 Cavalry Army
26 Infantry Corps	35	55	10 Tank Army
8 Infantry Corps	27
47 Panzer Corps	16
9 Infantry Corps	19
7 Infantry Corps	87	25	27 Infantry Army
38 Infantry Corps	45
29 Infantry Corps	34	152	11 Infantry Army
28 Infantry Corps	78	?	8 Tank Army

 

Things are improving for me here, but Leningrad remains a fortress. Taking it with my weak units seems impossible and unrewarding anyway - better to kill what I can here and move toward Rzhev. 5 Infantry may be doomed.

Orel to Voronezh:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
		124	12 Infantry Army
3 Panzer Corps	67	87	35 Infantry Army
41 Panzer Corps	48
56 Panzer Corps	50	?	13 Tank Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	25	158	24 Infantry Army
34 Infantry Corps	65
11 Infantry Corps	33	40	23 Infantry Army
13 Infantry Corps	26	38	45 Infantry Army
4 Rumanian Infantry	34
5 Flieger Corps	114
12 Infantry Corps	30	89	25 Infantry Army
1 Rumanian Infantry	32	120	15 Tank Army
2 Flieger Corps	137	112	48 Infantry Army
		?	14 Tank Army
		?	9 Tank Army

 

Killing Soviets is getting harder every week. Two of theirs are vulnerable here, and I have air support and some help coming in from other fronts, but a big red blob is moving in from Rzhev to the northwest. I do not expect to take Stalingrad any time soon.

 

Rostov:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
5 Rumanian Infantry	14
40 Panzer Corps	85
30 Infantry Corps	74
4 Flieger Corps	99
14 Panzer Corps	27
2 Rumanian Infantry	48	35	46 Infantry Army
48 Panzer Corps	30	132	47 Infantry Army
54 Infantry Corps	74
3 Flieger Corps	142

For now I have the upper hand, but again, my units aren't strong enough to kill as quickly as I'd like them to, and Soviet reinforcements are coming from the east. Some of the units here have already been detached and sent to the Orel/Voronezh line where I am quickly losing ground, and I may need to send more, but it's a very tough balancing act, because I really don't want to cede ground here.

 

Crimea:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
35 Infantry Corps	76	?	11 Militia Army
4 Italian Infantry	55	192	5 Militia Army

35 Infantry is heading south to help the Italians engage the Crimean militia. Strength superiority is all theirs, but I have one advantage - militia do not attack, they only defend. If this works, it's worth a few destruction points and I may have a shot at taking Krasnodar for a few more. If not, then I'm down two units.

 

August 2 - August 29

Leningrad:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	111	111
4 Finnish Infantry	103	103	108	108	8 Militia Army
			46	62	19 Infantry Army
			?	?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	16	15	110	110	4 Militia Army
			117	118	9 Militia Army
6 Infantry Corps	45	37	40	45	1 Cavalry Army
26 Infantry Corps	35	18	40	55	10 Tank Army
8 Infantry Corps	27	19
47 Panzer Corps	16
9 Infantry Corps	19
7 Infantry Corps	87	15	93	25	27 Infantry Army
38 Infantry Corps	45
29 Infantry Corps	34		120	152	11 Infantry Army
28 Infantry Corps	78		?	?	8 Tank Army
			?		2 Tank Army

Well, that's torn it. In only a month, I lost more than half of my usable units and didn't manage to take out a single one of theirs, even though I had four-way pincers on two of them! I'm not even sure what happened to some of them. What's left can't easily get away, and the strength to eliminate the still-encircled 10 Tank Army just isn't there.

 

Orel to Voronezh:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			?		3 Cavalry Army
			?		16 Tank Army
			?		6 Cavalry Army
			?		15 Infantry Army
			?		6 Infantry Army
			77		5 Infantry Army
			?		43 Infantry Army
				124	12 Infantry Army
3 Panzer Corps	67	33		87	35 Infantry Army
41 Panzer Corps	48	17
56 Panzer Corps	50	24	?	?	13 Tank Army
			?		54 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	25	20	43	158	24 Infantry Army
34 Infantry Corps	65	58
11 Infantry Corps	33	43		40	23 Infantry Army
13 Infantry Corps	26	66	125	38	45 Infantry Army
4 Rumanian Infantry	34
5 Flieger Corps	114	68
12 Infantry Corps	30		?	89	25 Infantry Army
1 Rumanian Infantry	32		?	120	15 Tank Army
			?		1 Guards Infantry Army
2 Flieger Corps	137	137	?	112	48 Infantry Army
			?	?	14 Tank Army
			165	?	9 Tank Army
			?		37 Infantry Army

The red wave comes crashing down and I'm at the point where fighting will cost me more than I can eliminate. On the last week of August, I begin pulling my units south to try to avoid total encirclement.

 

Rostov: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
5 Rumanian Infantry	14	13
40 Panzer Corps	85	87
30 Infantry Corps	74	75
4 Flieger Corps	99	123
14 Panzer Corps	27
2 Rumanian Infantry	48	56		35	46 Infantry Army
48 Panzer Corps	30			132	47 Infantry Army
54 Infantry Corps	74	45	89		2 Guards Infantry Army
3 Flieger Corps	142	104

The one place where I still hold control is still no cakewalk to hold onto. Two of my Panzers vanished here while attacking.

 

Crimea: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
35 Infantry Corps	76	69	?	?	11 Militia Army
4 Italian Infantry	55	38		192	5 Militia Army
			?		49 Infantry Army

With a bit of help from Fliegerkorp 3, the Crimean strike force was successful and cleared the path to Krasnodar, which we will try to take next.

Remaining units: 25

Remaining muster: 1715

Combat efficiency: 81%

August 30 - October 3

Leningrad:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength x2	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	111	110
4 Finnish Infantry	103	102	108	108	8 Militia Army
			37	46	19 Infantry Army
			?	?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	15	26	110	110	4 Militia Army
			235	117	9 Militia Army
6 Infantry Corps	37			40	1 Cavalry Army
8 Infantry Corps	19			40	10 Tank Army
26 Infantry Corps	18	44
7 Infantry Corps	15	36	?	120	11 Infantry Army
			?	?	8 Tank Army
			?	93	27 Infantry Army
			?	?	2 Tank Army

 

Miraculously, we managed to finish off the encircled cavalry unit despite completely lacking supplies and then moved north to encircle and destroy another. Had this failed, we would have certainly been overrun and lost all four free units. But this stunt cost us two infantry, and the other two are fleeing the only direction we can - east!

 

Orel to Kharkov:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength x2	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			?	?	3 Cavalry Army
			?	?	16 Tank Army
			?	?	6 Cavalry Army
			?	?	15 Infantry Army
			?	?	6 Infantry Army
3 Panzer Corps	33	66	?	77	5 Infantry Army
56 Panzer Corps	24	48	?	?	43 Infantry Army
			?	?	54 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	20	18		43	24 Infantry Army
13 Infantry Corps	66	64	?	125	45 Infantry Army
11 Infantry Corps	43	42	?	?	48 Infantry Army
			?	?	13 Tank Army
			?	?	25 Infantry Army
34 Infantry Corps	58	54
41 Panzer Corps	17	14
			?	?	15 Tank Army
			?	?	1 Guards Infantry Army
2 Flieger Corps	137	90
5 Flieger Corps	68	84
30 Infantry Corps	75	36	?	165	9 Tank Army
			?	?	14 Tank Army
			?	?	37 Infantry Army

We managed to take out one of the infantry at the beginning of the month and free 3 Panzer Corps but apart from that we spent the month retreating, with the final week of summer in full march mode to put some distance.

56 Panzers had to march north to avoid encirclement and is now separated from the rest. A good opportunity to do some covert city conquering, perhaps?

 

Rostov: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength x2	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
4 Flieger Corps	123	90
40 Panzer Corps	87	72
2 Rumanian Infantry	56	52
5 Rumanian Infantry	13	12
54 Infantry Corps	45	40		89	2 Guards Infantry Army
				?	95 Infantry Army
3 Flieger Corps	104	140	96		19 Tank Army
			?		79 Infantry Army
			?		4 Guards Infantry Army
			?		28 Tank Army

The first half of September was spent neutralizing poorly placed Soviet divisions - first 2 Guards Infantry, then 49 Infantry who wandered up north from the Caucasus region. By September 13th we had trapped and cut off 19 Tank Army, but I made the painful decision to withdraw west rather than attempt to kill it and risk getting stuck in the mud and begin winter all the way on the east side of the map.

Nevertheless, on the final week, a third Soviet unit exposed itself following us too closely ahead of the pack, and I couldn't help myself and took it out in a four-way pincer.

 

Krasnodar:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength x2	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
35 Infantry Corps	69	60		?	11 Militia Army
4 Italian Infantry	38	26		?	49 Infantry Army

 

We completed the task here and moved north to support the fighting around Rostov.

Remaining units: 23

Remaining muster: 1523

Combat efficiency: 45%

I spend the mud season consolidating what's left of my forces onto the Ukraine border while the scattered few units slog east with Russians behind them in close pursuit.

 

Current score: -95. 

Histeria!: "Megalomaniacs," by Warner Bros. Animation

To be continued...

Eastern Front (1942)

In my "advanced" campaign, the original game's only scenario, Germany completely overran Western Russia by mid-January, sending what remained of the shattered Red Army east over the hills and taking every city on the map by the end of March.

My "expert" campaign aftermath was... strange. I still managed to take almost all of the cities, including Stalingrad, but only through some sneaky shenanigans where I sent some of my weakest, nearly combat-ineffective units around the back to mark them as "taken." Leningrad was ignored for expediency and lack of strategic value, and Dnepropetrovsk was briefly taken and then forfeit. But my own lines were unstable, with the bulk of my remaining muster holding a tenuous grip on Moscow and Smolensk. Russia would realistically have no trouble taking back Stalingrad, Kharkov, and the territory between within a month or two, and their forces already in Ukraine could continue pushing what little remains of my own back to Poland.

End state of the expert campaign

Historically, Operation Barbarossa was a strategic failure that strained Axis resources and morale past a horizon it would never recover from, despite initial summer victories. The northern group swiftly cut through the Baltic and besieged Leningrad, which would go on for years and end 1.5 million lives before it was over. The southern group, supported by Romanian and Italian armies, would advance through Ukraine, occupying Kiev, Kharkov, and the Crimean peninsula. The central group, tasked with the crucial target of Moscow and assigned more men and armor than any other, defeated heavy Soviet resistance in Belarus but failed to conquer Moscow, thwarted by the deadly chill of Russian weather, the determined city defenders under Zhukov's resourceful leadership, and a massive counter-offense by elite Siberian winter soldiers.

Russia suffered terribly, not just in terms of military, territory, and economic losses, but in human life. Millions starved to death under Nazi Germany's scorched earth policy, and widespread crimes against humanity committed against soldier and civilian alike. But Germany's own losses were irrecoverable, and after failures in Britain, Africa, the formal declaration of war against the United States, and the looming threat of a western front, could no longer afford to commit as much to subsequent eastern offenses in the years to come.

The World at War: "Stalingrad," by Thames Television Ltd.

 

By the summer of 1942, Germany's Sixth Army, the former spearhead of Barbarossa's southern group, and the Fourth Panzers of the northern group, were mobilized again. Their target - oil fields in the Caucasus region.

Beginning state of the 1942 scenario

 

To be honest I'm not sure how historically accurate Crawford's 1942 scenario is. Another would be designed by one William Ted Farmer and distributed through APX, but I have no plans to play through it. Here, the line is continuous from Leningrad to Rostov, the Soviets aren't especially weak anywhere, and your line isn't especially strong anywhere. Your primary objectives remain the same - Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad, but now you begin with a 131 point deficit and with the line being farther east than it was in 1941, secondary objectives including Smolensk and Kharkov are already taken and cannot contribute to your score further. The manual's scenario description mentions none of the historical context, only that the units are the same - 47 Axis units against 119 Soviets, and that most of your points will be awarded for destruction rather than mileage. Ominously, it warns:

You are surrounded and on the defensive. Only a fool would fight on....

All 47 Axis units are present from the start and will receive no reinforcements. At all. On average they have 80% of their 1941 strength values, though this fluctuates wildly - many are unchanged at all, and my Panzers and Fliegerkorps are particularly weakened. 1 Flieger Corps, for instance, has been reduced from 219 to 102. The Soviets begin with 67 units and are on average 30% stronger, though I have learned since my expert campaign to be mindful of fog of war which can give you completely wrong numbers. Overall, I bring approximately 5,400 muster strength, the Soviets bring nearly 8,000, and more is on its way.

On the plus side, we get four more weeks of summer than we do in the 1941 scenario.

Let's look at the order of battle. The divisions are largely arbitrary.

Leningrad to Rzhev:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	112
4 Finnish Infantry	104	?	8 Militia Army
		107	19 Infantry Army
		?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	90	255	9 Militia Army
		91	4 Militia Army
6 Infantry Corps	58	82	1 Cavalry Army
7 Infantry Corps	120	79	18 Infantry Army
		?	10 Tank Army
8 Infantry Corps	96	145	27 Infantry Army
9 Infantry Corps	82	117	21 Infantry Army
		?	22 Infantry Army
46 Panzer Corps	131	?	13 Infantry Army
		?	34 Infantry Army
		?	6 Tank Army
1 Infantry Corps	87	151	8 Infantry Army
2 Infantry Corps	91	?	11 Infantry Army
10 Infantry Corps	101	141	1 Tank Army
		?	7 Tank Army
26 Infantry Corps	104	157	3 Infantry Army
		?	4 Infantry Army
28 Infantry Corps	112	90	10 Infantry Army
		?	5 Tank Army

 

A maximally strong militia group defends Leningrad. Discounting the inert Finnish units I am outnumbered 2:1 and outpowered tit-for-tat on nearly every matchup, I have no air support here, and many of my units fight in the river at a further disadvantage. Still, Russian armies are pushed around more easily than German ones, but they must be damaged or encircled first. I cannot assume that my own pushes will always be successful any more.

Rzhev to Smolensk:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
		105	8 Tank Army
		?	3 Cavalry Army
49 Infantry Corps	140	144	6 Cavalry Army
38 Infantry Corps	120	105	5 Infantry Army
4 Infantry Corps	124	134	6 Infantry Army
47 Panzer Corps	108
1 Flieger Corps	102

 

This elbow of the line seems like it might snap with enough pressure, though the Soviets do have the benefit of defensive forest terrain.

 

Smolensk to Kharkov:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
		?	12 Infantry Army
17 Infantry Corps	119	138	26 Infantry Army
		113	14 Infantry Army
		?	15 Infantry Army
27 Infantry Corps	110	146	20 Infantry Army
29 Infantry Corps	111	?	24 Infantry Army
23 Infantry Corps	95	128	40 Infantry Army
		?	29 Infantry Army
57 Panzer Corps	146	86	30 Infantry Army
24 Panzer Corps	150	147	31 Infantry Army
2 Flieger Corps	138
41 Panzer Corps	142	112	32 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	98	125	2 Infantry Army
12 Infantry Corps	97	125	3 Tank Army
56 Panzer Corps	169	81	4 Tank Army

 

The Soviets are stronger closer to Smolensk, I am stronger closer to Kharkov, though once again, some of my own units are in the river.

 

Kharkov to Rostov:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
1 Rumanian Infantry	97	82	11 Tank Army
5 Flieger Corps	115
40 Panzer Corps	201	?	12 Tank Army
5 Rumanian Infantry	52	?	4 Cavalry Army
		?	2 Cavalry Army
		?	7 Infantry Army
2 Rumanian Infantry	96	?	41 Infantry Army
11 Infantry Corps	125	114	42 Infantry Army
3 Panzer Corps	182
4 Rumanian Infantry	92
14 Panzer Corps	130	101	43 Infantry Army
30 Infantry Corps	131	108	16 Infantry Army
3 Flieger Corps	142
48 Panzer Corps	142	133	56 Infantry Army
54 Infantry Corps	106	147	33 Infantry Army
		?	10 Militia
		?	1 Guards Cavalry

 

A difficult situation to read! Near Kharkov, units stare at each other across the Donets river, and fog of war obscures the Soviets' true strength. Near Rostov, I seem to hold the power advantage. Both ends have air support.

 

Crimea:

Axis	Current strength	Current strength	USSR
35 Infantry Corps	96	?	5 Militia
4 Italian Infantry	55
4 Flieger Corps	124
13 Infantry Corps	106
34 Infantry Corps	101	42	7 Militia

7 Militia seems like a weak target of opportunity, or possibly just a distraction. 5 Militia blocks my way east to Krasnodar, and the manual warns me that engaging will cost me dearly.

 

May 24 - June 20

 

Leningrad to Rzhev:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	112	111
4 Finnish Infantry	104	86	110	?	8 Militia Army
			89	107	19 Infantry Army
			?	?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	90	24	235	255	9 Militia Army
			109	91	4 Militia Army
6 Infantry Corps	58	28	76	82	1 Cavalry Army
7 Infantry Corps	120	119	78	79	18 Infantry Army
			?	?	10 Tank Army
8 Infantry Corps	96	35	85	145	27 Infantry Army
9 Infantry Corps	82	22	31	117	21 Infantry Army
			?	?	22 Infantry Army
46 Panzer Corps	131	95	58	?	13 Infantry Army
			86	?	34 Infantry Army
			?	?	6 Tank Army
1 Infantry Corps	87	65		151	8 Infantry Army
2 Infantry Corps	91		?	?	11 Infantry Army
10 Infantry Corps	101			141	1 Tank Army
			?	?	7 Tank Army
26 Infantry Corps	104	29	59	157	3 Infantry Army
			47	?	4 Infantry Army
28 Infantry Corps	112	65		90	10 Infantry Army
				?	5 Tank Army

The militia around Leningrad do not budge, and two of my infantry remain trapped and seem impossible to rescue. In the parallel to Rzhev, the 10th infantry pushes itself right into a pincer it can't escape from and dies, and I have no idea what happened to 2 Infantry; on June 14th it is there on the southwest cluster, trying to push northward and by the end of the week it's gone.

There is much chaos and destruction to the Soviets, but whatever I can't destroy in the next few weeks will likely recover, and every assault comes at the risk of permanent muster loss. 8th and 9th Infantries, who are on the west edge of the middle cluster near Leningrad's swampland, illustrate this well; despite fighting from a terrain advantage, they've suffered major muster damage from engaging superior Soviets entrenched in the river, though they've dealt out much of their own.

 

Rzhev:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			107	105	8 Tank Army
			47	?	3 Cavalry Army
49 Infantry Corps	140	6	102		2 Tank Army
38 Infantry Corps	120	41	34	144	6 Cavalry Army
4 Infantry Corps	124	16	99	105	5 Infantry Army
47 Panzer Corps	108	15	104	134	6 Infantry Army
1 Flieger Corps	102	102

Seems like I'm the one who snapped trying to pressure this elbow. The Soviet line gave, but 49 Infantry, 4 Infantry, and 47 Panzers are all trapped, and everyone but the Fliegerkorps are cut off by the mayhem to the west.

 

Smolensk to Kharkov: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			137	?	12 Infantry Army
17 Infantry Corps	119	60		138	26 Infantry Army
				113	14 Infantry Army
			119	?	15 Infantry Army
27 Infantry Corps	110	16		146	20 Infantry Army
29 Infantry Corps	111	65	176	?	24 Infantry Army
23 Infantry Corps	95	37		128	40 Infantry Army
			124	?	29 Infantry Army
57 Panzer Corps	146		26	86	30 Infantry Army
			?		35 Infantry Army
			105		28 Infantry Army
			?		23 Infantry Army
24 Panzer Corps	150	22	94	147	31 Infantry Army
2 Flieger Corps	138	138	?		5 Cavalry Army
41 Panzer Corps	142	31		112	32 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	98	49	72	125	2 Infantry Army
12 Infantry Corps	97	84		125	3 Tank Army
56 Panzer Corps	169	122		81	4 Tank Army

It's a bloodbath as I break the Soviet line. But as you can see, nobody except the Fliegerkorps is unscathed, and two of my Panzers are trapped in the middle.

 

Kharkov to Rostov:

  

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
1 Rumanian Infantry	97	74		82	11 Tank Army
5 Flieger Corps	115	115
40 Panzer Corps	201	156		?	12 Tank Army
5 Rumanian Infantry	52	14		?	4 Cavalry Army
			3	?	2 Cavalry Army
				?	7 Infantry Army
2 Rumanian Infantry	96	91		?	41 Infantry Army
11 Infantry Corps	125	65		114	42 Infantry Army
3 Panzer Corps	182	94
4 Rumanian Infantry	92	56
14 Panzer Corps	130	68	72	101	43 Infantry Army
30 Infantry Corps	131	76	88	108	16 Infantry Army
3 Flieger Corps	142	142
48 Panzer Corps	142	56	99	133	56 Infantry Army
54 Infantry Corps	106	96		147	33 Infantry Army
			?	?	10 Militia Army
			?	?	1 Guards Cavalry

There's that good old summertime Kampffähigkeit that I remember. Even the Romanian armies are exceeding expectations!

Crimea: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
35 Infantry Corps	96	93	190	?	5 Militia
4 Italian Infantry	55	55
4 Flieger Corps	124	122
13 Infantry Corps	106	78
34 Infantry Corps	101	78		42	7 Militia

We've mostly abandoned the peninsula to join the fight up north. Only the Italians remain behind to keep the Sevastopol guard company.

Remaining units: 44

Remaining muster: 3926

Combat efficiency: 77%

June 21 - July 11

Leningrad to Rzhev:

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	111	111
4 Finnish Infantry	86	103	108	110	8 Militia Army
			72	89	19 Infantry Army
			?	?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	24	14	110	109	4 Militia Army
			236	235	9 Militia Army
6 Infantry Corps	28	52	65	76	1 Cavalry Army
7 Infantry Corps	119	34		78	18 Infantry Army
8 Infantry Corps	35	27	110	85	27 Infantry Army
			116	?	10 Tank Army
9 Infantry Corps	22	18	42	31	21 Infantry Army
			146	?	22 Infantry Army
46 Panzer Corps	95	74	128	86	34 Infantry Army
			?	?	6 Tank Army
1 Infantry Corps	65		37	58	13 Infantry Army

 

The militia around Leningrad budge a little bit, and it frees 6 Infantry, but it's not nearly enough for a shot at freeing 5 Infantry from the semicircle trap or releasing the Finns. I think Leningrad is a lost cause.

6 and 7 Infantries, joined by 26 Infantry who got separated from the Rzhev group, have gained a bit of ground, but are still cut off from supplies and can't really move away from the situation until either of the Soviet tank units does thanks to the way ZOC works.

8 and 9 Infantry just aren't able to do very much at all. I'm really not sure why they took so much damage so quickly.

1 Infantry took a chance trying to crush a target of opportunity against 8/9, but the Soviets crushed them against said target instead. Whoopsie.

 

Rzhev to Smolensk:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
26 Infantry Corps	29	31	114	107	8 Tank Army
			57	?	11 Infantry Army
				?	7 Tank Army
28 Infantry Corps	65	76		47	4 Infantry Army
49 Infantry Corps	6		?	102	2 Tank Army
47 Panzer Corps	15	52		59	3 Infantry Army
			88	34	6 Cavalry Army
			79	47	3 Cavalry Army
4 Infantry Corps	16	14	?	99	5 Infantry Army
38 Infantry Corps	41	24	229	229	1 Militia Army
1 Flieger Corps	102	102	?	104	6 Infantry Army
17 Infantry Corps	60		124	137	12 Infantry Army
			116	119	15 Infantry Army
23 Infantry Corps	37		148	176	24 Infantry Army
27 Infantry Corps	16	31
29 Infantry Corps	65	25

Well, this sucks. Three units down, two more in immediate danger. I may be able to rub out a few more vulnerable Soviets west of Rzhev, but this battle is lost. Rzhev itself is recaptured, but that doesn't worry me too much.

 

Orel to Kharkov: 

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			?	?	35 Infantry Army
				105	28 Infantry Army
			48	?	23 Infantry Army
24 Panzer Corps	22		130	124	29 Infantry Army
2 Flieger Corps	138	138	20	?	5 Cavalry Army
41 Panzer Corps	31	72		94	31 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	49	32		26	30 Infantry Army
12 Infantry Corps	84	8		72	2 Infantry Army
56 Panzer Corps	122	47
1 Rumanian Infantry	74	32
5 Flieger Corps	115	115

It's nice to be in control of the situation for once. I can finish off the Soviets here and let my supply-depleted units regain their strength. But after that, do I move north to provide relief to Rzhev and possibly go for Moscow, or do I first engage the incoming Soviet reinforcements to the east while the flat terrain and summer conditions still favor me?

Rostov: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
3 Panzer Corps	94	79		3	2 Cavalry Army
40 Panzer Corps	156	163	60		44 Infantry Army
4 Rumanian Infantry	56	70	52		46 Infantry Army
5 Rumanian Infantry	14	27
11 Infantry Corps	65	68
14 Panzer Corps	68	30		72	43 Infantry Army
2 Rumanian Infantry	91	86
34 Infantry Corps	78	93
30 Infantry Corps	76	94		88	16 Infantry Army
35 Infantry Corps	93	93
13 Infantry Corps	78	48
3 Flieger Corps	142	142
54 Infantry Corps	96	41		99	56 Infantry Army
4 Flieger Corps	122	123	59		47 Infantry Army
48 Panzer Corps	56	48	176	?	10 Militia Army

 

Rostov is all but finished and the region nearly mine. I've already begun to send five of the units here up north where they will be put to better use. One of the Soviet units here slipped out from a four-way pincer trap, but it won't get far. Rostov itself may cost me muster strength, being defended by a pretty strong militia group.

 

Remaining units: 39

Remaining muster: 3132

Combat efficiency: 80%

 

July 12 - August 1

 

 

Leningrad to Rzhev:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
2 Finnish Infantry	111	111
4 Finnish Infantry	103	103	108	108	8 Militia Army
			62	72	19 Infantry Army
			?	?	2 Militia Army
5 Infantry Corps	14	16	110	110	4 Militia Army
			118	236	9 Militia Army
6 Infantry Corps	52	45	45	65	1 Cavalry Army
7 Infantry Corps	34	87	55	116	10 Tank Army
26 Infantry Corps	31	35
8 Infantry Corps	27	27
9 Infantry Corps	18	19	25	110	27 Infantry Army
			152	57	11 Infantry Army
38 Infantry Corps	24	45		42	21 Infantry Army
46 Panzer Corps	74			146	22 Infantry Army
				128	34 Infantry Army
47 Panzer Corps	52	16	?	37	13 Infantry Army
28 Infantry Corps	76	78
1 Flieger Corps	102

Up north, it's getting very difficult to do damage to the Soviets, partly because their cavalry and tanks keep rolling out of my attempts to pincer attack with the infantry I've got available.

Down south, west of Rzhev, a desperate mid-July gambit takes out three infantry with the aid of some air support and moves the fight further up north, but the Soviets take out the airbase, one Panzer Corps, and severely damage another. Still, I may be in a position to take back control here.

 

Rzhev to Smolensk:

 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
			?	?	2 Tank Army
			?	?	6 Tank Army
			?	114	8 Tank Army
4 Infantry Corps	14		?	88	6 Cavalry Army
			?	229	1 Militia Army
			?	79	3 Cavalry Army
			?	?	5 Infantry Army
			?	?	6 Infantry Army
29 Infantry Corps	25	34	?	116	15 Infantry Army
27 Infantry Corps	31		124	124	12 Infantry Army
			87	?	35 Infantry Army
			158	148	24 Infantry Army

This fight is abandoned. I pulled out one of the three infantry corps that remained, but lost the others.

 

Orel: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
56 Panzer Corps	47	50		130	29 Infantry Army
1 Hungarian Panzer	32	25	40	48	23 Infantry Army
2 Flieger Corps	138	137
12 Infantry Corps	8	30		20	5 Cavalry Army
1 Rumanian Infantry	32	32	89		25 Infantry Army
41 Panzer Corps	72	48	120		15 Tank Army
34 Infantry Corps	93	65
13 Infantry Corps	48	26	38		45 Infantry Army
4 Rumanian Infantry	70	34	?		13 Tank Army
11 Infantry Corps	68	33	112		48 Infantry Army
3 Panzer Corps	79	67	?		14 Tank Army
5 Flieger Corps	115	114	?		9 Tank Army

Well, I was in control of the situation here, but the Soviets just aren't dropping as easily as I'd like them to, and reinforcements from the east, and from the northwest at Rzhev, are coming in faster than I'd like them to. I estimate things are going to get a lot worse here, real soon.

 

Rostov: 

Axis	Old strength	Current strength	Current strength	Old strength	USSR
5 Rumanian Infantry	27	14
14 Panzer Corps	30	27		60	44 Infantry Army
40 Panzer Corps	163	85	35	52	46 Infantry Army
48 Panzer Corps	48	30	132	59	47 Infantry Army
2 Rumanian Infantry	86	48
3 Flieger Corps	142	142
54 Infantry Corps	41	74
4 Flieger Corps	123	99
35 Infantry Corps	93	76		176	10 Militia Army
30 Infantry Corps	94	74

It's a similar story here as destroying anything with my depleted units just seems to take forever, and can  come at major loss to my own muster strength for seemingly no reason.

Rostov itself is mine, though, and I am sending 35 Infantry southward to fight the mighty Sevastopol militia, who have been playing football with the Italians all summer.

Remaining units: 35

Remaining muster: 2474

Combat efficiency: 81% 

 

To be continued...