1201_01a Close Call at Kubinka HTH

[Plain Ian]

German Turn 18



The German 292nd continues its attacks on the 25th Tank Bde. The 25th Mot Rifle Bn is the main focus and takes very heavy losses but hangs in there and doesn't disrupt. The unit is still has 352 men (started with 450) but has fatigue 127. The 1/25th tank Bn is in relatively good condition with 17 runners and decent fatigue.

Artillery against the 2/25th (T-60's) fails to score.

The German 258th disrupts the 222nd Div HQ and reduces it to 44 men. Not surprisingly it disrupts. 
The 3/787th fends of most of the fire aginst it quite well thanks to artillery support and rallies at the end. 



At Naro the other two Bn's of the 787th Rgt come under pressure as he reinforces the attack with a new Motorised Bn. 

The 2/1 Gds are battered again and disrupt. The 500 man unit is down to 162 men with fatigue 248. Time to leave.
The 1/1 Gds receive a few casualties this turn but must be still settling in as they did not fire back. Russian artillery also AWOL.

And that was the turn. I'll do my moves shortly. Lets get the game finished.

[Plain Ian]

Russian Turn 18



Last lap coming up. I wasn't going to make too many moves this turn but ended up making quite a few.

2/17th (I forgot to label) pulled back and 1/17th fired at the disrupted 7th Division unit. Results were ok. An assault probably might have got higher losses.....but for both. I'll maybe run the asault after the games finished just to see. 

The disrupted 1/322nd pulled back but I left the 113th for target practice.

The 1/22nd were pulled back and I did think about leaving the 2/22nd in place but pulled it back a hex. I could have fired before moving but did not bother. 

I did leave the 22nd HQ stack in place for Eldar to chew. 

The 25th Tank Bde group I left in place and did not fire with.

The 33rd Motor Rifle Bn moved up to form a nice line and ran into a s*** storm from a hidden 292nd Div group. Now I did kind of think that there had to be something there but now I know. They did manage to score 5 in revenge.

The 222nd Div HQ was pulled back. Not really necessary on the second last move of the game. 

The 3/787th was also pulled back but this was to prevent him ZOC-ing it on the last turn and possibly assaulting it it IF he thought it had been disrupted. Again this is unlikely. 

Meanwhile at Naro .... 



The 35th Gd Howitzers did their usual work and the 1/1st Gds tried their best. The Germans gave as good as they got though. The 2/1st Gds retired for some well deserved rest. 

The 787th Rgt decided to hold fire. He has an extra Battalion in the hex now and it is an Industrial hex. (-50)

So I've clawed back 12 VP's.

[Plain Ian]

German Turn 19

Last German turn and it plays much the same way as Turn 18 although there is a surprise assault in there. The Russians lose 13 tanks, 3 to an assault, 2 to tank fire and 8 to artillery. 



The German 7th Division continues its firefights. It scores well agaiunst the 113th but loses badly to the fresh almost full strength 1/17th.

The T-60 tanks of 2/22nd lose to the Pz 38's again and artillery chops up the 1/33rd which is reduced to 18 runners and a fatigue 219. To think that this unit sat in reserve for most of the game and is now half strength and useless after just a few turns.

The BT-5's of 1/25th also receive the artillery treatment and its accompanying infantry (25th Motor Rifle Bn) are also treated to direct fire from 4-5 Bn's of the German 292nd. The 33rd Motor Rifle Bn which was brought down to fill a gap does manage to return fire despite being disrupted.

The 2/25th Tank Bn which has led a charmed life most of the game was finally assaulted. It held its ground losing 3 tanks but lost a further tank to artillery. I'm not sure whether Eldar used 1 or 2 Bn's for the assault but it did give a reasonable result. The 2/25th slips to yellow fatigue 111 but still has 24 runners. 

The 258th German Division selected the 1/774th for treatment and also pushed it into yellow fatigue. For some reason the 4th sappers were also attacked.



At Naro most of the fire fights went the the German way. The Guards were pretty feeble and did not even return fire.

And that is the last german turn. Eldar has moved the VP total to 413 and a Draw. Which means I have to take back 14 points for a Minor Victory. All my artillery is available this turn and I have 3 groups of units which should give decent fire results.

1/17th -  460 men against weak Aufklarung and disrupted units
2/22nd Tank - 24 tanks versus about 15-16 Pz 38's in the open in two weak groups.
3/1 Gd-1/1Gd - 900 guards versus his motorised units in the open

[Plain Ian]

Russian Turn 19

Time to put everyone out of their misery. The results went as below -



At Naro the 35th Gds Howitzers performed as usual and scored hits of 20 and 22 on the 3rd Motorised Grenadiers standing out in the open in the snow. I think the points tally dropped to 408 at this stage.
The 1/1 and 3/1 Gds joined in and scored 18 men with one blast.....then the skies fell in. Artillery and sustained return fire disrupted first the 3rd then the 1st Gds in turn????? Mmmh. I was a bit shocked but decided to move on and get my VP's elsewhere. I did have one last chance to fire with the disrupted group but I decided not fire with them. I also ignored the 1/787th-3/787th group as I thought their fire results would be poor.



So we moved on to the main area. I then used all my artillery on an infantry group and the best they could manage was 25 men. Even the mighty 138th RVGK sHvy Howitzers (203mm) shot badly. Now yes I could have picked his Pz 38's and probably hit quite a few but lets not get too greedy. 

The 2/22nd with 24 T-60's should have been a match for his Pz 38's. But instead of 2-3 tanks the best they could manage was 1. 

I was left with the 1/17th and looking at the VP total I realised that I would need to kill something like 20+ men to get below 400......I decided to call a halt and press the end of turn button. 



So well done to Eldar. He has a draw and the game is finished. Hoooray. 

Last thing I need to do now is have a quick peek 'at the other side' to see how his units look.

[Plain Ian]

And here it is. I'm slightly surprised to see that his 'army' is in pretty good shape! Ok I haven't been the most aggressive player and avoided most gamey play but after 2 days of fighting and night moves i woulsdd expect most of his units would be yellow/red fatigue? Of course eldar has also played conservatively so possibly this explains why his units still look as fresh as the day they started 19 turns ago.

The units of the 7th Division did get some rough treatment and they do appear to be the worst effected. However all his regular infantry units start off the scenario at 400 men (80%) so each Bn appears to have lost about 100 men and the worst unit about 200.

The 19th Panzer and 292nd Infantry look like they could march all the way to Moscow. I deliberately tried not to target his tanks but his infantry is in good condition. Only the 292nd Pioneer's looks a little battered. 

The I/458th lost an assault last turn so must have taken a lot of fatigue hits I see. 

Overall, compared to the state of the Russian units which are mostly all red fatigued (some Max) and disrupted then the only thing I can see stopping the Germans is the weather.

let's have a quick look at 3rd Motorised and I'll call it a day.

[Plain Ian]

Well it looks like the 3rd Motorised had a nice easy time in this game much like my 1st Guards. Two of his infantry units are well rested and just about full strength. 

I think my 1st Guards lost just over 400 men and the 787th Rgt about 240 men so I would say the 3rd Motorised did well here. The regular 3rd Motorised Bn's start with 558 men, the Krad Schtuze starts at 270 and the Pioneers at 300. They did slightly inflict more losses than they received I guess. My best unit here was the 35th Gds Howitzers who were guaranteed 30 men just about a turn.....when they didn't move.

I think this wraps up the game. I like analysing more than playing. If I get time I'll try and do a few more turns of my solo play through.

Bye.

[Aces8]

Great AAR!

What software are you using for the text in your screenshots?

[Plain Ian]

Great AAR!

What software are you using for the text in your screenshots?

I use software called Screenpresso. I use the free version but it has a Pro version which costs about $29? I will probably upgrade to Pro at some point.

Simple and easy to use. It has a lot of pre set options and effects. You just make up the one that suits you best.




There are other similar products out there but this one was quick and easy to get up and running with. I saw it recommended on the ACWGC forum (Mason Dixon Tavern).

[lycortas]

A little late, but thanks for writing this all up, and with great detail. Fun AAR.

Mike