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...