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 This hypothetical battle occurs a year after Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Despite failing to capture Moscow in 1941, the 1942 campaign has proceeded rather well. A big push in the south is close to reaching the Don river, and aims to capture Stalingrad soon after. The German push into North Africa led to huge gains, and the units that began in Libya are about to enter the Soviet states from the south. It is, as I've mentioned, the continuance of the Middle East battle. The capture of Iran has already occurred (presumably earlier in 1942) and the units there have now pushed all the way through the rugged terrain to the point that they have reached the Black Sea. Now the highest peaks of the Caucasus stand before them. Caucasus June 30, 1942 30 Turns  Major: 20 turns.  A big map, and one of the longest time scales (5 days per turn) make this one of the largest-scale battles in the game. I'm pretty sure it covers the longest period of time. It also feels like one of the 'roomiest' maps, as we can spread out in several directions if desired. That said, the rivers in the north dictate the potential routes, with Stalingrad holding the key connection between the Volga and the Don. South of there, it's mostly clear with some slightly hilly spots. Obviously in the far south we have the Caucasus mountains themselves. They are a significant obstacle, and just beyond them is the Terek River. (The Kuban and the marshy land to the west is something of a block, but there aren't any objectives there, so they are less important except as a possible route out of the mountains). The Black Sea also plays a minor role, as the German navy has finally steamed through the Bosporus to support the advance and engage the Soviet fleet here. Of note for this map is that the Kerch Strait is considered blocked to naval units, which also means that no ports can be used to repair the ships. OOB pre:Unit Name Unit Type [Transport] Exp Land Units 1 Pioniere [Opel] ** 8 39 Wehr Inf [SPW 251] ** 4 40 Wehr HW [SPW 251] ** 2 40 Wehr HW [SPW 250] ** 2 Hungarian Inf ** 3 Rumanian Inf ** 1 Pz IIIj - 1 Pz IIIj * 8 Pz IIIj ** 5 Pz IVd ** 1 PSW 232/8r * 3 8.8 FK 18 ATG [SPW 251] ** 2 Marder II ** 1 Marder IIIh ** 5 sIG II ** 2 10.5 IefH [Opel] ** 1 15 sfH [Opel] ** 1 SdkfZ 7/1 ** 1 SdkfZ 10/4 ** Air Units 3 Bf109f ** 1 Bf109g ** 3 FW190a ** 3 Ju87D ** 1 Ju87R ** 1 Me210c ** 1 He177a ** Naval units 1 Z-Destroyer - 1 T-destroyer - 1 Battleship Bk - 1 Battleship DI - 1 Heavy Cruiser * 1 Light Cruiser * Starting Prestige: 800 The Ex-Afrika Corps is looking only moderately strong here. They do have a number of solid tanks, although at this point the Soviet models easily outclass the Panzer III. Some of the latest mobile AT guns are around to keep the defense strong. The really disappointing aspect is the artillery. While the aux forces have several good towed guns, the core has to make do with the SiG II's and their limited ammunition. While all of these mobile units may have done well racing across the desert, here as they cross the mountains we can foresee problems. The self-imposed challenge for this battle: No new units in the south region (the initial "core"). Also, within this group only one ground unit per turn may receive reinforcements.  The good news about the situation is this: With all our prior success, we can afford to take our time here. We have the entire rest of the year to handle this region. Not that it will be easy. We want to make as much progress before the weather turns bad. Certainly we have to make it out of the Caucasus mountains. We also need to keep the Soviets on the back foot; were they to get organized, they might well have the units to stop us. Their tanks are nothing to sneeze at. The core will simply be pushing its way out of the mountains, destroying Soviet positions as it moves. This might allow them to throw a lot of roadblocks our way, but we're going to just have to grind it out. The northern group is going to concentrate on making a push as fast and as hard as it can toward Stalingrad. From there, it ought to be able to turn right and join up with the southern group around Elista. A smaller contingent will be responsible for capturing the key port of Rostov on the Don. This will protect the flank of our northern advance and prevent any Soviet units from heading farther south to defend in the mountains. Axis Turn 1: June 30, 1942 Clear(dry)  On a scouting mission, this FW190a is jumped by Soviet fighters. It simply turns the tables and nearly shoots them all down instead. None of the Soviet fighters present any sort of a threat; the only difficulty may be that they have so many of them.  Initial attacks in the north hoped to break past the Soviet troop positions to start to converge toward the center, but they hold out rather well against our tanks.  Most of the minor powers' troops are of middling quality, but the Rumanian infantry isn't all that worse than the German units, and on an even footing with most Soviet units.  In the south, we see that the PanzerIII has no desire to tangle with a KV-2 tank, at this point the strongest Soviet tank around. This is a predicted combat result, not an actual one.  Some enemy units are pushed back, but many are dug in. It is indeed slow going. Allied Turn 1: June 30, 1942  Whatever the quality of the Russian planes, an unescorted Stuka is still easy pickings.  Surface contacts are made and one of our destroyers is lost.  The biggest threat to our infantry isn't the tanks, it's the Soviet artillery. Their 15.2cm guns are at least as powerful as the best cannons we have, and they have quite a lot of them defending the front line. Axis Turn 2: July 5, 1942 Clear(dry)  Thanks to the warning from our Destroyers, we get the first shot on the enemy battleship.  The other Soviet tanks here are KV-1's, which are also hard to take down with our tanks. Our goal is to surround them using our AT assets to defend, and then wear them down with air attacks.  The northern group is doing a good job pushing forward.  Advancement is made along the coast as well. The T-28 tanks are easy for our tanks to deal with. Allied Turn 2: July 5, 1942  There is a KV-1 in the north which we'll have to take care of.  The tanks in the south attack. We lose one artillery unit. Soviet infantry ventures out of Tiblisi to go after German infantry, but it leaves the city vulnerable. Axis Turn 3: July 10, 1942 Clear(dry)  Tiblisi is captured, and the KV-2 has run out of ammo, allowing us to start attacking it directly.  We really don't have to worry about the fighters at all; our attacks now focus on eliminating the bombers instead.  The force getting ready to move on Stalingrad is nearly consolidated. Allied Turn 3: July 10, 1942  The Soviets pull back from Tiblisi. At Poti they are having a bit more success. Their ships tried to break through to support but are not lasting. Axis Turn 4: June 30, 1942 Clear(dry)  With the enemy planes out of the way in the north, we can use the bombers to clear the path for our forces.  Initial attacks are made at Rostov, but we have to pull back some of the tanks to get reinforcements. Allied Turn 4: June 30, 1942  The KV-1 tanks move west, and seem to be adopting our tactics: they push past our AT guns and attack the weaker units.  The troops at Voronezh think they can take advantage of the weaker Hungarian troops, but the Sig II is able to stop the attack. Axis Turn 5: June 30, 1942 Clear(dry)  We use our units in the rear area of the Soviets to eliminate their artillery. Once the Anti-air guns are down, we can work on the tanks.  The forces roll forward. A small pocket is left at Voroshilovgrad that we'll have to take care of with infantry. Allied Turn 5: June 30, 1942  Now the Soviet tanks are running into problems as they try to push into the mountains.  The Soviet engineers in Georgia had retreated into the countryside before we could hunt them down. They return to Tiblisi. Axis Turn 6: July 25, 1942 Clear(dry)  The battle reaches Kletskavka.  Air attacks start to work on the tanks.  The Pioniere clear out Poti. Allied Turn 6: July 25, 1942  The enemy tanks move into even more inconvenient positions.  Soviet artillery at Rostov hits the advancing infantry.  The Soviets in Georgia ambush a unit of tanks in the mountains and destroy them. Axis Turn 7: July 30, 1942 Clear(dry)  Attacks into Poti still have little effect on the enemy tanks.  Rostov is being worn down as the main thrust begins to spread out. Allied Turn 7: June 30, 1942  Air attacks continue to trouble the German tanks at Rostov.  Attempts to dislodge our units at Kletskavka are unsuccessful.  And then, even though we've been weakening them with air attacks, the Soviet tanks manage to break behind our lines and destroy the critical supply depot at Batumi. Oops. Although I planned to allow the one-off battles to play out as they happen, I feel like this one deserves a bit more. I'll probably give it another shot. Result: Loss!? Ending Prestige: 1707
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| ← # ? Oct 1, 2015 01:07 |
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