What starts off as looking like a pretty sedate turn proves otherwise. Just one of of those turns when all the 50/50 results go in your favour.
Germans sacrifice the 1-step infantry in Grozny to train in a new Hungarian unit
I need to start moving my FTRs to other Sectors in case the Germans attempt an offensive elsewhere in Russia, so I expect I'll put less heat on the Germans in the Caucauses.
My turn starts pretty poorly, it's MUD again in Central Europe, I can't even take an unoccupied Paris due to the boggy roads. In Italy the Germans have retreated the GAR from Ancona to prevented it being bombarded to death. I have a choice do I use my refreshed UK TACs in FAIR weather Italy (in Montgomery's command range now) to bomb the GAR to eliminate it or to hit Genoa instead. I go for the former option and both attacks do nil damage, damn. I was hoping I could place a Free French transport next to Ancona without being seen.
Next I send a couple of American TACs against Genoa, and they do really well, removing 4 steps, so well in fact that the follow-up MECH and INF attacks actually take the city.
In France the RAF take more pot shots at GARs in the open and do some good damage (and gain experience) but I undermine this by sending a couple of FTRs against a GAR in a city and they loss a few steps instead. Best to stick to bombing GARs in the open. I ready some forces to attack Brest and Cherbourg when the FAIR weather returns.
In Russia I finally take Tallinin.
With all the forces concentrated around Astrakhan, then I really need to take that city ASAP so I can release the forces to other sectors. So I make Astrakhan my #1 priority. Two TACs, then an ARM attack and then 3 INF attacks take the city. Good start, but it gets better.
My FTRs are still getting good odds and good results against German MECHs, I'm able to destroy the one to teh East of Grozny and advance an INF unit to also take out the 4-step INF unit that had retreated. Then on to Grozny, two TAC attacks take 4 steps off the defender and the INF attacks are able to take the city. That was better than expected or even planned. With Grozny taken it will be hard for the Germans to hold here. I'm glad I didn't build a second Russian STR to bomb their own oilfields, as it looks like I will be able to retake them shortly. Looks like my strategy to build a massive (6) Russian FTR force over the 41/42 winter has finally paid off.
So what looked like being an average turn for me resulted in the destructon of 6 German units (4 INF and 2 MECH) and the net gain of 10.5PPs in cities.
