Klyuchi – Attrition (a tutorial)

[Strela]

The casualties can be frightening. I've wondered if the larger scenarios might not suffer from something that can also occur in Moscow '42 where the Soviets concentrating lots of artillery on one or two leading units can cause losses the Axis can't sustain, thus stopping an attack without much of a counter (after all, some of your units just have to get into clear terrain to attack). It gets worse the more Katyusha's there are.

The second large III Panzer Korps in particular looks like it might be a massacre for the Germans.

There is a limit to how much artillery can hit a hex in any particular turn (unlike PzC). This helps to moderate the losses. The other key thing that Dog Soldier has rightly called out is use your smoke. Intelligent use of smoke can do wonders to preserving men bounding forward.

Artillery can target unspotted units but it can't target unspotted hexes - there is a difference!

David

[ComradeP]

I know there's a limit, but the heavy artillery can still hit hard. At least the non-mortar artillery can only fire once per turn, that helps.

Smoke helps hide some units and it's certainly very useful (I like the feature a lot). However, it won't keep some units from getting hit.

In the end, in longer scenarios where the Soviets are strong the attrition over time looks like it could be difficult to contain if the defender plays well or if the Axis have limited forces.

[Strela]

I know there's a limit, but the heavy artillery can still hit hard. At least the non-mortar artillery can only fire once per turn, that helps.

Smoke helps hide some units and it's certainly very useful (I like the feature a lot). However, it won't keep some units from getting hit.

In the end, in longer scenarios where the Soviets are strong the attrition over time looks like it could be difficult to contain if the defender plays well or if the Axis have limited forces.

The feedback I can give you is that the big killers in the open are rockets - particularly Katyushas. What you'll find in the average scenario though, is that there is no more than one to four batteries of them and where there is more, range limitations reduces the overlap of fire. In all the testing we did on the scenarios no tester reported that they felt artillery was too effective. Most actually complained that they could hardly dent any of the Soviet fortifications with artillery, but that is a different issue.

What I am committed to is to adjust scenarios if its proven that there is an excessive amount of artillery which is skewing results. But only if it is a repeatable issue and only if there wasn't a historical reason to have the additional artillery in the first place.

David

[ComradeP]

I think that's a good strategy. The artillery usually having a no effect result on units in bunkers is fine with me. They're tiny artillery units, how much of an impression would a handful of guns leave on a well dug-in and protected bunker aside from a stray round hitting a weak spot or causing part of the bunker to collapse? Not much I would guess.

It's frustrating, but as soon as the Soviets are forced into the open or counterattack, German artillery is no joke in the scenarios I've seen thus far.

[Dog Soldier]

10:00 11 July 1943, Soft Conditions, Day, Visibility 1.5 Kilometers

Visibility improves again. One last turn of firefight, then my guys have to go out and take objective where they can. I am running out of smoke to cover the advance. So next turn, it will be a go.

I think I have cleared the Russians from the victory location at (17,8). There is high grass in (18,7), so there might be a hidden Russian unit there, just holding fire and waiting form to come forward. All I see are the ATG. Without a recon unit, I am blind. Nest turn is turn eight of ten, so I will just have to take my chances.
Now, you are saying, silly Dog, we can see in the btr that it is clear. At the time of the game I could not know that. Secondly, I did advance too soon in a previous play testing of this scenario. My Pzgr company took that same victory location around turn five. By turn seven here, there were on 15% of the company left. They were eventually broken and pushed out of the Russian trenches. Not a event I want to do again.

I think the Barracks are in the NW sufficiently suppressed. Unless there will be surprises there too….

The Russians reinforced the victory location to the SE of Hill 226.6 with yet again another fresh unit. That will make things tough there.

Losses continue to mount for both sides. This does look like what I have read about Kursk.

Dog Soldier

[Dog Soldier]

10:30 11 July 1943, Soft Conditions, Day, Visibility 2 Kilometers

Visibility improves more releasing a number of SS troops from fixed status. Struggling through the soft ground, I think they are not going to have much impact before this game is over. I advanced on the western (left) flank as I planned. No real resistance encountered. The Soviets are kaput on this side of the battlefield. The east (right) is another story. While the good news is the Soviet front line units are disrupting, the SS units are high fatigue and heavy losses. They may not have the power to assault the Soviets out of their positions.

Dog Soldier



The butcher demands his bill be paid.

[Dog Soldier]

11:00 11 July 1943, Soft Conditions, Day, Visibility 1.25 Kilometers

The western victory locations have been secured. I can no turn my attention to those victory locations in the east around hill 226.6. The three on the hill are still strongly held by the Russians. The three at the base of hill appear vulnerable. That is where I will strike.

Dog Soldier

[Dog Soldier]

11:30 11 July 1943, Soft Conditions, Day, Visibility Two Kilometers

I advance and take the three objectives at the base of hill 226.6. Russian fire cause more German casualties in their turn. I end up only seven victory points short of a minor victory. Instead I have to settle for a draw.

#0711_03 Klyuchi - Attrition is a good warm up to playing the following scenarios.

#0710_02 Hill 226_6 - Hard Psel - 20 turns
#0710_01 Prokhorovka Prelude - July 10 - 20 turns
#0712_03 Hill 235_3 - Northernmost Advance - 24 turns
#0712_01 Prokhorovka Finale - July 12 - 25 turns

The German player has his hands full in any of these climatic fights to the Citadel campaign at Kursk in July, 1943.

Dog Soldier

An overview at he end of the German half of the turn from the perspective of Stab SS-PzGr Totenkopf.


A more detailed close up of the units holding the newly aquired victory locations for the Axis.


Victory points at the end of the Axis half of the final turn.


What the Russian commander knows. The Germans have only scratched the surface.


Victory points at the end of the Axis half of the final turn. The final verdict.

[ComradeP]

Thanks for the AAR Dog Soldier.

[Ricky B]

It sure looks like caution was the better part of valor for the Germans here - a push northeast would have run into a large Soviet force hidden in and around the objectives that direction.

Good write up DS, thanks.

Rick