Dog Fight - Ostkreig Tournament Round 1

[von Nev]

German Turn 17.

Although nightfall is setting upon the battlefield the Germans are still pressing as there are precious few turns left and although progress was made last turn finally turning VP's positive for a change, I am still 100 points short of even a minor defeat.

Down south I moved a German panzer stack forward to follow the Russian battalions retreating out of the village. Both units were still disrupted. In moving a couple other stacks forward adjacent to the Russian held village just north of the above mentioned village I noticed that the flank of this village seems open. Hmmm. I quickly assaulted the units that retreated from the southern village to open up a path to potentially isolate the northern village. The southern assault succeeded and units where moved north to flank the Russian village. Unfortunately my opponent did keep a unit behind the northern village to prevent isolation but it is just a single unit. This is good news. I immediately pour arty fire on that unit and was able to disrupt them. I then assaulted that unit to isolate the 3 units in the northern village. This assault succeeded. I then proceeded to pummel the single undisrupted unit in the village to disrupt them. This succeeded because of massive German firepower. With all three units disrupted I assaulted the hex numerous times until it was eliminated. Over 1200 Russians were eliminated.

This series of attacks in order show how well planned assaults can yield good results. On the map the assaults are in order of 1, then 2, then 3.

Up north I am satisfied to advance a km a turn. I am now only 6 km's from the 300 VP hex. While doing so I am inflicting major casualties on any Russian unit that decides to stay in place to block my path. Also, assaults by massive German stacks have reduced my assault casaulties. I also turned the corner of the Dnepr bend and begin to clear the left flank of Russians. I will not advance north of the road so any Russian units that retreat further north out of my northeast attack axis will be a benefit to me.

Down south I decided to abandon my attempt to cross the river as for the second straight turn the bridging unit failed to build a bridge. Additionally the Russians have retreated their left flank to the point that waiting another turn (or more) will make the bridge at that crossing point irrelevant anyways. Das Reich's units that have been waiting quickly move north along the hard packed road to reinforce the battle.

[Dog Soldier]

Russian turn 17.
18:00 PM July 10, 1941
Dusk
Visibility 1km.

Victory points after the Russian turn seventeen.



Another Russian stack is surrounded and wiped out. 1,644 Russian infantry lost for this turn. The German infantry lost 343 plus three vehicles creating 123 more victory points for the Axis. That was ugly. Von Nev is hitting me right on the “hinge” in my lines. I have to try and consolidate the Russian left flank as fast as possible to the east to prevent a tear in the line. Terrain and slow Russian movement is working against me there. I left behind some sacrifice units (circled) to slow the Axis surge and allow my troops another turn to get into positions.

At least I can be happy the Axis have diverted some of their strength from the attack towards the 300 VP hex. Not so much for the sake of holding the VP hex, but for the fact I am in a better position to roll with the punch to the south than an attack going north.

I doubt von Nev will take a break during the night. Arrows indicate the best routes for the Germans to take now. The red line highlights the stream with a marsh along it’s banks. If the Germans move to the north end of this stream, the Russians will be slowed considerably crossing it. If I can get some units on the north end I can then channel his attack into my artillery for the next game day. The question is, can the Russians hang on for another eight turns? While I should have moved some more of my guns this turn, so many were available to shoot I had to use them. I was able to concentrate my artillery on three large German infantry units along his point of attack and disrupted two of them. I hope that helps and they do not rally.
It seems as if the 13th Army HQ has deserted the field for it is out of command again this turn compounding my difficulties. I desperately need to rally some units. That is hard with six of the ten HQ’s out of command this turn. Typical of 1941 Russian command structure in this game.

Dog Soldier

[von Nev]

German turn 18.

Although it is dark, there is no rest. Only eight turns left.

Progress was pretty good this turn. The Germans are now only 4 km's from the 300 VP hex. This is good news as last turn VP's spiked to over 1000 which now gives me a minor defeat and also nearly ensuring that the 300 VP hex will give me a Draw as the threshold is 1300 which is 270 points away. The question now is a minor victory possible? It is a stretch at 750 points away, but with 300 nearly coming from the VP hex it is not impossible.

Up north the left axis pushed two km's forward and importantly the Russian units are now nearly pushed entirely out of the forest around the Dnepr bend an into the open where they can be pounded. Also, I am finding fewer units dug in. This is a wonderful sight as now Russian units are easier to damage and thus disrupt which keeps the offense going.

The right axis, with panzers in the lead, pushed aside several weak Russian units to keep the advance going. I am also planning the next mini-encirclement. The stack circle in blue may be able to be surrounded the next turn(s) if conditions set up correctly. I need to capture the hex southeast of it and assault any unit that is directly north of it. Both of these are doable since I am already adjacent to the southeast hex and the northeast hex is open steppes and any unit there would not be dug in. If I can do this and my opponent does not have any unit northeast of it the hex will be surrounded. If this works, it will be a repeat of the successful series of assaults that occurred on turn 17 and which yield over a 1,000 Russian prisoners.

I also decided to do maximum fire on two Russian units that are not in the direct path of the attack instead of assaulting them.

Way up north, on the far left flank I have three A morale AT units guarding the flanks for a possible Russian crossing. Down south I have three more A morale AT units doing to the same thing on the deep right flank. With it being so late in the game I imagine my opponent knows that I have committed with nearly all my forces along the current attack axis and he may try something. In playing PzC PBEM for several years now things like this are not out of the question when playing human opponents. Heck, I would consider it and uncertainty such as this makes PzC so much fun and so much better than playing the AI. It is like a big chess match. You have to anticipate your opponent's moves.

[Dog Soldier]

Russian turn 18.
20:00 PM July 10, 1941
Night
Visibility 1km.


Victory points after the Russian turn eighteen.



Six of ten Russian HQ’s remain out of command for the third turn in a row. If the Russian command does not rally soon I will have too many disrupted units with high fatigue. The Soviet 13th Army may just melt during the final turns. This is hard to take. A random event like command control is making a Russian chance to mount a counter attack in the final turns less likely. This is what a Russian player has to face in S41. I hope the commissars knock some sense into the generals.

All the same, the Axis attack lost momentum this turn. 356 Russian, 226 German infantry lost. Only eight victory points for the Axis. Four Russian and three German vehicles were lost. Attrition is in the Russians favor this turn. Although ground was lost the Axis attack is being channeled up the main road leading northwest. The map for this turn shows how dire it is that the Russians rally troops near this road. The Germans need only push up the road to the 300 VP hex to claim a draw.
The Soviet left flank makes progress in getting troops east. By morning I hope to have nearly a straight line to the southern board edge. This might allow for a spoiling attack on the Axis right with up to four regiments. If I can bag some panzer units, that might be a way to offset the loss of VP hex. I will have to see how things develop. I am relocating about half of my artillery. They will not move too far as I will need as many artillery units as possible in action when full light returns.

Dog Soldier

[von Nev]

German turn 19.

After this turn only 2 more km's to the 300 VP hex. The massive steel club that is the combined weight of nearly two full divisions and an SS regiment is plowing its way forward towards the VP hex. Russian forces were ejected from both sides of the main road and importantly out of the next to last remaining forested area before the VP hex. The disrupted and broken Russian forces ended the German part of the turn in the open for the most part which will make them extremely vulnerable if they stay there. The German stacks are inflicting 100 infantry casualties per turn per hex. If they retreat that works too. Importantly too there are no improved defenses that the Russians are in.

Down south I still am looking to isolate the Russian units that I talked about the previous turn but it will have to wait a turn. I focused my entire artillery fire on the main road. Conditions still are favorable for the potential isolation.

Down south I just moved massive stacks next to the Russian units. They blasted everything they came up against.

On my left flank I began moving the three AT units that are providing deep flank security closer in around Mogilev. I am a little concerned that only artillery is just east of the city and any potential Russian crossing could quickly take these and get into the city. That would be disaster.

Red circles are assaults and green circles are concentrated fire.

[Dog Soldier]

Russian turn 19.
00:00 AM July 11, 1941
Night
Visibility 1km.


Victory points after the Russian turn nineteen.



456 Russian, 201 German infantry, four flak guns to six panzers, lost, 15 victory points to the Axis this turn. I rallied one HQ this turn. There are still five Russian HQ’s of the ten in the game out of command, including the 13th Army. Rallying the 13th Army HQ and the others will allow me a chance to stop the Germans. Without the HQ’s the Russian defense will be brittle. So much depends on this issue. Not a bad turn for me.
The Germans attacked straight up the main road in their half of the turn. Red arrows designate Russian counter attacks. At worst the Germans will lose a turn trying to push the Russians back from pinching their spear head. At best, the German attack is running out of steam. I hope I can really hammer the spearhead the next two turns without letting the Germans get any further. It will be three turns to get my last four infantry rgts coming down from the north into position to deliver another attack to take back crucial ground.

The image above shows how big those German stacks are. I am managing to disrupt Axis units and they stay disrupted. That is a sign fatigue is finally wearing them down. Will it be enough?

Dog Soldier

[von Nev]

German turn 20.

Dawn arrives and the battle continues to rage without letup.

The two Russian counterattacks at the flanks of the attack are going to have to be dealt with. They have constricted my attack axis to just two hexes wide which means my units will have little freedom of movement. I immediately rain bombs from Stuka strikes on the critical attack north into the forest and to the southern flank of the tip of the spear. This, and artillery, disrupts the Russians and they are immediately counterattacked. With three consecutive assaults the attack axis is again at least three hexes wide with the hard packed road in the center. I also do something that I rarely do in PzC games. I reinforce the unit that is holding the southern boundry open with an A rated HQ unit to stiffen the defense. This hex has to hold. This allows me to quickly and strongly reinforce the single unit that was sitting just two hexes south of the VP hex. This hex is in a forest and in an improved position. This has an advantage to hold defensively and provides a key jump off point for the final assault.

I am also beginning to plan the final assault. I really would like to envelop the hex as I am guessing that my opponent will very strongly reinforce the hex as he probably has figured out that it holds the key to the game. But, to envelop it I will need to hold at least two hexes on either side. That won't be easy.

Down south on the other attack axis the massive attacks are paying off. The units that are staying next to German stacks are heavily attrited and easily assaulted. With two quick assault I am two km's behind the front line and have options to envelop both north and south.

Up north my flank security is in place. It will probably not halt a concerted effort but it will at least alert me to their presence and with the amount of motorized troops I can quickly reinforce.

[Dog Soldier]

Russian turn 20.
04:00 AM July 11, 1941
Dawn
Visibility 1km.



Victory points after the Russian turn twenty.



Hooray, 13th Army rallied the HQ’s. Can they stay that way? Will it help salvage a few units from disruption? 519 Russian and 425 German infantry were lost. Two flak guns were traded for two German vehicles. The German gained hexes toward the 300 VP village, but lost 13 victory points. Can I whittle the Axis down over the next five turns to stop their advance?
A draw seems certain if I do not allow any break through. My stack that assaulted last turn to gain the woods in the north was pummeled by artillery and air strikes until both units disrupted. The Axis must have used all the shots they had on this one hex. The German assault pushed them back and relieved the pressure. I was forced to withdraw on the southern side of the highway due to Axis pressure.

von Nev is now using large stacks of companies. He is relying on the high German morale and the sheer number of units in his hexes to prevent any further Russian counter attacks. Two German infantry battalions broken down to companies means six Axis units to disrupt. Since some are still probably A morale, that will preclude any further Russian assaults to regain key hexes. This is a perfect German tactic to hold ground late in this scenario. Even if there were no German units with A morale in a hex, unlikely as they only need one company in A morale to hold a hex, the Russians would take two turns to disrupt them all in most cases. The larger Russian units will not have as many direct fire opportunities. The German player would simply rotate his reserve companies in his turn to prevent having them all being disrupted.
It may be impossible to mount a Russian counter attack in the final turns for that could take back a key VP hex. Guess we will see.

Dog Solider

[von Nev]

German Turn 21 "It is Good to be Lucky Sometimes . . . "

Up north the Russians do indeed cross the Dnepr. As luck would have it I put my AT guns in place only one turn before the Russians crossed. This was fortunate as if he caught my AT guns it travel mode they would have been immediately destroyed by arty. "Lady Luck" smiled on me this turn. The bridgehead is quickly sealed off and artillery strikes disrupt the Russian engineer unit as well as one of the Russian infantry battalions.

Down south the northern attack has reached the 300 VP hex (finally). With 4 turns left to gain a single hex I am in good shape to get a "Draw." I will stay next to the hex until maybe turn 24 at the latest and not assault to capture it even if the possibility exists hoping the Russians continually reinforce the hex. As they stand defending the hex I will pour arty and infantry fire on top of them. Hopefully by doing this I can maximize the VP points as once I take the hex my opponent will probably quickly retreat away (playing "prevent defense") from my units since he knows at that point with the 300 VP hex lost a "Draw" is guaranteed if he prevents me from breaking through. If he holds the 300 VP hex through the rest of the game the math suggests that there is the chance that he can get a "Minor Victory." Giving him the impression that he can hold it will keep him close. With such a strategy hopefully I can inflict enough damage to get a "Minor Victory." I will admit that a "Minor Victory" is a long shot but this strategy is probably the only shot that I have to get one. My units overall are too worn out to really press especially with a "Draw" on such a razor's edge.

Down south my stacks pour fire on Russian units. Additionally, the Russian withdrew from some positions to either straighten his line or to prevent a mini-encirclement as the mini-breakthrough last turn made this portion of his defense somewhat irrelevant and at risk. I quickly occupy the positions that he leaves.

[Dog Soldier]

Russian turn 21.
06:00 AM July 11, 1941
Normal
Visibility 3km.


Victory points after the Russian turn twenty-one.



366 Russian, 227 Russian infantry lost. Seven Russian flak guns lost. 15 victory points for the Germans. Again a favorable turn in VP terms for the Russians. The Axis is poised to attack the 300 VP hex. I have crammed every unit I can get there in an attempt to hold it one more turn.
I am purely defensive now as I do not have enough good order units to mount a counter attack that would take back a hex. The Axis have tremendous flexibility to deploy as companies in key hexes during the Russian turn then revert to the more powerful battalion units, which will take less fatigue, in their own turn. I concentrated my artillery on the SS battalion next to the victory hex to wear it down. The 10th Mot infantry companies stacked with it should be more fatigued. Maybe I could have taken out a company at this point with artillery, but I wanted to gain VP for the higher losses on the larger SS unit.
A southern push by the Axis was made this turn in an attempt to set up a trap for my units in the trees south of the VP hex. I withdrew to positions from which I should be able to reinforce the VP hex next turn if it holds.
I had a crack at an Axis divisional HQ, but I did not have enough artillery to try it.

Dog Soldier