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 The first part of this battle saw the fall of Serpukhov and an early but half-hearted assault on Moscow. Our core has been having its way with the German units near Yakhroma, but has this left the other objectives too poorly defended? Russian Campaign : Moscow   Here's the strategic map, including the air map. The air map is rarely useful but this time we are actually in sight of a number of German air units. Allied Turn: November 23, 1941 Snowing(Dry) The snow has returned, and this time it is a blessing for the Russians. We are staying in our defensive positions while the Germans, for the most part, must come to us. They can burn their fuel trying to get to us but they will never make it into the city. Unfortunately they were able to strike us hard in the air and with the change in weather we cannot fight back. While it is slightly different for each side, both the Allies and the Axis can benefit from changes in the weather as applied to air power. Note that earlier we had been able to recon the Germans safely, and bomb them and withdraw when it cleared up.  Our KV-2 delivers death to another infantry unit. At Serpukhov, the best we can do is try and move units out of the way and hope that multiple German units will be needed to finish them off. The KV-1 at least ought to survive. Coming down the road to help as best it can is a T-28. That's a tank I'd never want in the core, but it's a reasonably cheap mobile defensive unit.  Here's the air situation over Moscow. Note that the formation of planes has trapped the Il-2. It also means none of the units in the city can get replacements.  The Cultists cut down the infantry near them and then start to head south, but another infantry unit was lying in wait and hit back hard. The 7th KV-1 is brought over to eliminate the infantry and protect them. The cavalry polish off the German unit. The BT-7 struggles with the artillery, but thanks to the snow is still able to do some damage. The T-34 goes on to finish off the other gun. Yakhroma still looks solid, despite the units not being at full strength. As long as the artillery has ammo it will be fine.  At Khimki the lines are entirely muddled. The German units are not too strong or numerous but the Soviet forces are very weak, and the artillery is exposed to the German tanks, even if they are the outdated Pz38.  We make the best of the situation, although I'm not too happy with risking another Soviet infantry unit by putting it on the river. It's possible that Khimki will be lost, but the trapped T-34 ought to survive another day. The BT-7 from Yakhroma is a welcome addition to the lines. At the moment, the T-34 and our infantry are limiting access to the city itself, so few direct attacks will be possible. I am not sure how close the German artillery is to the town, and that may make all the difference. (After this screenshot, I purchased another 12.2cm gun and and AT gun from Krasnaya Polyana in anticipation of losses). Moscow once again repels the units around it, except for a Panzer IIIe north of the river. It can't really do much against entrenched infantry, so it's not a major problem. Axis Turn: November 23, 1941  The defenders of Serpukhov are all hunted down, and as expected only the KV-1 survived.  An experienced Panzer IIIj gets a stunningly good result against the T-28 and nearly destroys the new unit.  Facing the imminent loss of their artillery up here, the Germans finally do something about the units behind them.  But there is a sense of desperation in their attack now. It even seems apparent that they are very low on prestige (the Panzer IIf did not receive replacements but was thrown in our path as a roadblock).  The German guns are in range, but against all odds, Khimki holds. Even the artillery made it through the fight. The T-34 looks more securely encircled, though. Allied Turn: November 25, 1941 Snowing(Frozen) The snow stays another day, and covers the ground.  The survivors of Serpukhov fail to realize that they are now behind the enemy lines, and pay dearly for it.  Two German infantry units showed up at the edge of Moscow, and two German infantry units were destroyed.  This time the 1st Soviet Regulars deal the final blow.  Again the BT-7 has a tough time tracking down the guns in the woods, and this time it fails to achieve any result.  The conscript soldiers are able to do the job much more effectively. Note how the BT-7 was able to maneuver entirely around to get away from the German tank.  In a surge of Communist zeal, some of the soldiers near Yakhroma bravely charge a German unit. It is a battle that could go either way, but it is the Germans that score a big victory.  Klin is secure and the forces up here are now contained. It is time to start pushing southward, so the 7th KV-1 heads down to join the battle there.  In another remarkable turn of events, the T-34 is rescued, just barely.  In the end they had to fight their way out by eliminating the tanks standing between them and friendly lines.  Khimki is by no means safe. Freeing the T-34 meant we are unable to provide any support for our front-line defenders. The German guns are now in range of the town, so we have to hope that the snow blunts their strike.  I remember that there was a Yak-1 repairing at Kashira, and it can now be used to recon the advancing Germans. The snow will definitely help us now. Axis Turn: November 25, 1941  Even though we have been unable to fight in the air for two turns, I have contrived to trap the FW190 over Moscow. It has been limited to one move per turn.  Here's a testament to the strength of the KV-1 : It took three 2-star PzIIIj's to destroy it when it was already below half-strength.   The T-28 fares a bit better today, but it does end up getting hit from both flanks and reduced to 3 strength.  While it's true the Panzer IV is 'in our lines', the mutual defensive structure of the artillery makes it impossible for the Panzers to hurt us. The Axis did manage to eliminate one of the infantry units that had helped to free the T-34, though.  With fresh troops the Germans are able to get Khimki to fall. They then foolishly press their luck by attacking in the teeth of defensive artillery.  Near Yakhroma, the infantry decide to go after the best target they have -- the Soviet conscripts in the woods. A desultory tank attack is made against the town, to little effect. Allied Turn: November 27, 1941 Overcast(Frozen)  The two AD guns, and all four Soviet fighters are unable to take down this FW190. All of our fighters take damage, even when the Germans are down to 1 strength. This was a fighter with no experience that was already at 7 strength at the start of the turn.  With the rivers still frozen and the assault on Podolsk not yet begun, I bring the T-34 from south of Moscow to the other side, where some tougher units have been showing up lately.  The 'lucky 13th' T-34 unit blasts a Panzer IV that the Cultists softened up for them.  We continue to bring our core units south and get behind the German lines here. The T-34 that had been trapped is able to fight again. It clears out Khimki and we can retake the town now.  It does need to withdraw now, as it is out of ammo. A tank like the T-34 rarely runs out of ammo, but it had to defend itself against many attacks and was unable to get replacements or resupply.  At Podolsk, we prepare for the coming assault by adding a second artillery.  Khimki was retaken by the Regular infantry from Krasnaya Polyana. They had built a fair bit of entrenchment there, but with no expected threats from the north, it seemed a good time to move them out. The new infantry are conscripts, but all that is expected of them is to sit in the town. Axis Turn: November 27, 1941  In a move that is of no surprise to me, the rest of the German fighters come to the aid of the beleaguered FW190. They destroy a Mig-3 and the FW190 gets away.  At Podolsk, artillery is no help to the AT gun as the advancing tanks manage to dislodge and then destroy it. The damaged T-28 gets better protection and survives the attack.  I failed to notice that the BT-7 that snuck behind the lines was out of ammo. The Germans hunt it down. After this screenshot, Khimki is shelled and again taken when its defensive artillery runs out of ammunition too. Allied Turn: November 29, 1941 Clear(Dry)  The skies are clear and the snow is gone. At Yakhroma, we begin by demolishing a few tanks.  It turns out that the FW190 did not return to base, but instead was used to cover the conquerors of Khimki. It would have warded off any bombers, but our AD gun is finally able to finish the job on it. (This isn't quite as stupid as it looks for the AI; with the number of turns remaining, this fighter would not be able to return to base, get replacements and join the battle in time). We also used a combination of artillery, the BT-7, and regular old foot soldiers to remove the last unit in the north. Everything left up there can push southward now.  Khimki is retaken once more. We make the same mistake the Germans did and try to overreach our gains by attacking with the AT gun. It has a poor day against a veteran recon unit and is knocked down to half strength.  The 7th KV-1 is in a bit of a fix. It turns out that it only has 1 fuel left. Until it can resupply, it should not make any moves, or it will lose combat effectiveness. Any unit that requires fuel to move also requires fuel to fight. If its fuel goes to 0, its attack strength is reduced (I think to one half, but it's something I rarely let happen). Combat does not consume any fuel, however, which means this KV-1 could sit here and fight as long as there are any units adjacent to it.  The movement overlay displays the reduced movement range.  At Podolsk, the Sturmoviks come in but we can't quite destroy the experienced PzIIIj. The fighters are there to protect it, and the Pe-2, finally repaired now, has arrived from the other airfield. On the ground, artillery knocks down the advancing infantry and we attempt to keep some of the town's defenses together.  One more T-28 is picked up in Moscow to assist with the defense of Podolsk. Technically I could win simply by holding on to Khimki, but the way the battle is going it's hard to know whether it will end up in German hands. It would be nice simply to make a stand at Podolsk too. Axis Turn: November 29, 1941  There is no way the AT gun at half strength could survive the artillery barrage, and Khimki is once again taken by German troops. They are looking a bit more determined at this point too. The Soviet fighters that were trying to repair in Moscow end up being taken out by the German Messerschmidts, while they let their own bombers run free.  A massive armored force arrives at Podolsk and strips the city of all but a few defenders. The defeat of the Germans in the north was sweet, but that was just one part of the battle. Moscow proper may be safe, but three outlying objectives must be held too. Podolsk looks likely to be overwhelmed as quickly as Serpukhov was, and with the see-sawing battle in Khimki the fate of Russia stands on a knife edge. And with November coming to a close, we will take a break from Moscow to view the action in another theater. This was the longest update yet, I believe, and the battle's still not over.
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| ← # ? Feb 13, 2013 06:20 |
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