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 Russian Campaign: Finland  The Russian invasion of Finland has begun well. Taipale has already fallen. The road to Summa and onward is now open, with the rest of the Mannerheim line in that area quickly crumbling. Allied Turn: January 4, 1940 Weather: Overcast (Frozen)  The snow clears, and we get a better view of the enemy. Past Taipale, the last gun is hiding off the road. Closer to Viipuri, the 105mm gun has been restrengthened after nearly being knocked out.  We get to work clearing the strongpoints. The guns and two engineer units make short work of the southern one, while the weaker infantry aren't able to make much progress on the other one. Still, the path is that much more open. I should note here that if the ground was not frozen, the second engineer unit would never have been able to make the attack that it did (from marshland). You can also see a mistake I made with my gun that came over from Taipale (it's been left next to the strongpoint.)  What helped us on one side hinders us on the other. The snow slows movement to the point that only the cavalry can attack the gun. It also means that if I wanted to clear this strongpoint, I wouldn't be able to do it yet. The conscript infantry isn't there to attack but to soak up the hit as the regular infantry tries to move around.  The loss of the T-28 left an open slot, and while our reserves of prestige are lower (532), there's enough to spare another BT-7. If the weather clears, it'll be good for maneuvering around Viipuri and Tali. You may have noticed another paratroop plane flying up there. These guys were upgraded from conscripts back in Leningrad, and they do not yet have a definite goal. Axis Turn: January 4, 1940  Unfortunately the cluster of troops on the road left no room for the conscripts to retreat, and they surrender instead.  The misplaced artillery does take damage, but it's still around to blunt this attack from the strongpoint on our infantry. Allied Turn: January 11, 1940 Weather: Overcast (Frozen)  The road to Sortavala is cleared, and the BT-7's get there. They take out an artillery sitting in front of rather than behind the defenders. The amount of advancement shown here is a bit deceptive, since the snow means the KV-1/39 is out of fuel now. It might have been best to stop and reinforce these units while waiting for the ground to clear, given that we have another month to work on it.  Near Summa, there's a bit of a problem with all that artillery. Our heavy tanks are able to get through and damage them, but the last 105mm slips further behind an AT gun. The heavy forts can hurt even my bigger tanks, so I have to watch out for them. There's one more fort hiding at the tip of land behind Summa, which is why I can't bring the ships too close either. Luckily the AT gun works quite well against the forts, although it takes some damage too. To safely hold Summa, the one it's up against will need to fall. Then the artillery can get to work on the forces in the city. The last of the Mannerheim line strongpoints (that we care about on this end) falls, and we can prepare for the final assault on Viipuri/Tali. Axis Turn: January 11, 1940  There is little response from the Finns, and what attacks they do make have almost no effect. The infantry on the Sortavala road end up retreating, but that is actually good news for us as we can reinforce them. Axis Turn: January 18, 1940 Weather: Clear (Frozen)  As the cold winter weather finally starts to clear up, we can see even more of the defenses around Tali and Viipuri. Strong infantry defend the city, but we've chased off any artillery they had. Near Summa, there are guns but our own guns should negate them soon enough. The two little boats in the channel are S-boats. They carry a few torpedoes only. They shouldn't be able to sink our cruisers but might do enough damage to keep them out of the battle.  The Finnish infantry looks imposing but are no match for the Russian artillery. Our guns all have a range of 3 and can get into position to shell the defenders without taking any hits in return.  The AT gun finishes off the heavy fort. It's not a surprising result. These forts can't retreat, so once they're down to half strength they fall pretty quickly. The results of my artillery strike can be seen near Tali. One overstrength unit completely wiped out. However, the strength 2 infantry will surely be destroyed by shelling in exchange.  The other KV-1/39 and the navy reduce the Summa guns to busted metal bits. We should have no problem taking Summa now, although we do have to watch that the AT gun doesn't get at any of our guns.  Near Sortavala, I try to rush things, which will prove to be a big mistake. In a desperate attempt to keep any new units from popping up here, I push a BT-7 into about the worst position for it - in a forest and in range of heavy guns. The other units there are too weak to be effective either. (The one in the north flanking the guns is not in a bad position, although it did fail to harm them in its attack.)  At Tali, I make another foolish and desperate move. In the hope I might block any new units from showing up, I move this conscript into the gap. But now it is exposed to attack on three sides.  On the road, the prolonged snow has proven to be a huge headache. The artillery trucks can't roll through the forest around this checkpoint in the way the tanks did. We're stuck weakening it with troops that ought to be moving north to attack and hoping the artillery doesn't take any more damage. I probably was too worried about the weather going bad again while also hoping I could get a major victory after the early success in Taipale. Axis Turn: January 18, 1940  Our early advance on Sortavala ends in disaster. One BT-7 is destroyed while the other is severly crippled. The paratroops take damage as well, and there are now more units defending and fewer on our side. Instead of one gun out of place in front, there will be two artillery units behind the city.  At Tali, it goes just as badly. Three units destroyed in one turn - a big boost for the Axis. Allied Turn: January 25, 1940 Weather: Clear (Dry)  Our better tanks arrive at Sortavala to see if we can still take it. The other units pull out beyond the range of the guns. The doubled artillery that back up the city now will be much tougher to dislodge. Again, if I had just allowed a new unit to show up in those woods instead of rushing into them, I likely wouldn't be facing two guns up there now.  The clear weather does mean our BT-7 can push up to Tali. It attacks the Finnish infantry, but poor luck hurts us here.  With the clear weather, our artillery are now working unimpeded. The defenders of Summa are crippled, with only one AT gun left at full strength. The unit in Tali is nearly dead as well, though the troops outside the city stubbornly hold their ground. With artillery to back them my engineers here should fare better against any attacks. The AT gun (in the truck) has arrived to make an attack on the fort next turn.  Finally, I decide to bring the cruisers up to assist in shelling the forts. I use one to weaken one of the S-boats first (and my fighter actually scored a hit on the boat as well). I also land the other airborne unit near Viipuri (after this was taken). Axis Turn: January 25, 1940  There are a few effective attacks. The AT gun near Summa manages to force a retreat on this infantry, which has no artillery backup. The heavy cruiser takes a hit from the fort. After this shot, the BT-7 is almost destroyed by the AT gun and infantry near Tali. January comes to a close and the timetable for the invasion is nearing an end. Summa, Tali, and Viipuri are not conclusively ours, but we still have a shot to take all three. The setback at Sortavala may well prevent us from moving in there, but with the clear weather there is a slight chance it could happen. Kangra fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Dec 4, 2012 |
| ← # ? Dec 4, 2012 03:58 |
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