Nikivdd report DLC 41 beta1

[nikivdd]

- Installation of the beta and dlc went smooth. No probs whatsoever.

- I decided to start the DLC 41 by importing my core from DLC 40. No probs whatsoever. Playing on general level

Core composition after deployment in the first mission Belgrade:

Infantry:
1 *** wehr inf, 1*** gebirgsjäger, 2***pioniere,1***SE gebirgsjäger
Tanks:
2*** PzIIIH, 1***¨PzIVE, 1***Somua S35(f), 1* CharB1, 1***Mathilda II, 1*SE PzIIIH and 1 SE PzIVE
Scout:
1***SdKfz 222
Anti-tank:
1***pzjäger IB
Artillery:
1***15cm art (the upgraded polish captured artillery unit)
3***Sturmpz I
Airforce:
5*** Bf109e, 2***Ju87B, 1***Bf110C,1***Ju88A

Some tanks were upgraded and all units reinforced after the Maginot line mission. So i begin the scenario with 203PP.
I left the new available core slot vacant.

[nikivdd]

Belgrade.

Finally axis minor units, my prayers have been heard

Round one:
player: Advancing along the entire front, air attacks followed by artillery and ground attacks. Yug units cannot nibble at any of my unit's strength points. Toba (10,5) captured.
ai: 1 air attack on an infantry in a transport vehicle, further no ai activity detected.

Round two:
player: Artillery and ground attack on Kikinda and taken. Airfield next to Toba taken. Becej taken aswell (no Yug unit there). Air and ground attack in and around Zrenjanin. Air and ground attack in and around Vrsak.
ai: 3 groundattacks, 1 AA attack, no other activity detected.

Round three:
player: Ground and air attack around Zabalj. Zrenjanin taken. Air attack on Opovo. Air and ground attack in and around Vladimirovac. Vrsac taken.
ai: no activity detected.

Round four:
player: Zabalj and Zabalj airfield taken. Vrsac airfield taken. Further attacking Opovo and Vladimirovac.
ai: cavalry and tank movement towards Vladimirovac. 1 ground attack.

Round five:
player: Opovo taken: Air attack on Novi Sad. Vladimirovac taken. From round three i noticed a cluster of YUG units (3 inf+1 art) just above Pancevo standing and waiting.
ai: i was too fast, now the cluster came alive. 2 of those inf units attacked.

Round six:
player: Novi Sad taken. Broken throu the enemy line south of Opovo-Vladimirovac, 2 enemy units remain in sight.
ai: 1 ground attack

Round seven:
player: Ruma taken. Pancevo taken. Airfield east of Belgrade also taken. Frontline is now the Danube river.
ai: no activity detected.

Round eight:
player: Yug units are only in city hexes of Belgrade. My troops will be able to cross the river from (6,22) and (11,21) without any problem. Most units were resupplied and reinforced when below 10.
ai: no activity detected.

Roung nine:
player: Smederevo and Durakovo taken. Attack on Belgrade begun, Belgrade almost surrounded.
ai: 1 AA and Art attack.

Round ten:
player: Belgrade taken.
ai: cavalry movement around Obrenovac

Round eleven:
player: attack on Obrenovac.
ai: 1 cav attack

Round twelve:
player: Obrenovac taken.
ai: (no units left)

DV 12/18 turns with 1122 PP remaining.

It is a nice, large map that gives enough space to do some blitzkrieg. The Rumanian token force was used to support 1 tank and 1 inf unit to take all cities south of Deta.
The mission went much faster than i expected. I thought that the opposition would be harder. The aircraft were no match at all, and i saw the I-16 low on fuel before i shot it down.
There was a defensive line but overal those Yug units were not very eager to fight. Ofcourse the mission is not bad at all as a starter but i hope next mission will be harder .
Then all of a sudden lots of cavalry around Obrenovac, since i was actually begging for a counter-attack, but nothing happened. Just one unit crossed the river to attack my artillery. Perhaps that wanna-be attack came too late.

[nikivdd]

Metaxas line

1459PP after reinforcements (no upgrades)
Now 2 core slots available: bought 1 Bf109f and 1Bf110d. (have 6(!) fighters now).

I noticed there is a road from west to east on my side of the front. I'm glad for that because i want to use a part of my units to go and help the Bulgarians. Perhaps it will take a bit of pressure off the rest of the front.

Round one:
Player: taken Kerkini, Bogdanci and Paranesti. Attack on Kato Nevrokopi.
ai: movement! air and ground attacks (thank you!)

Round two:
player: attacking area around fortification (11,9) - actually unnecessary but i don't want to leave any stones unturned on my search for easter-eggs -. Taken Nikifiros and Kato Nevrokopi. Attack on Polykastro. Three allied air units shot down.
ai: few skirmishes

Round three:
player: Polykastro, fortification (11,9) taken. Terrain is reducing my advancement and the enemy is taking positions in hills and mountains. Attacking area around fortification (18,9). Without the allocation of ground troops to the Bulgarions i suppose their attacks would be as good as senseless but now they team up pretty well.
ai: no detected activity

Round four:
player: rain, damn. Resupplying airforce. Taken Gallikos. What a surprise to find Greek Valentine II tanks. Ready to attack Serrai. I'm not taking unneccesary risks during this turn.
ai: two tanks attacked, no problemo

Round five:
player: fortification (18,9) and Strymoniko taken. The strategic important airfield next to Sochos is taken, otherwise the closest friendly airfield is too far away to keep up a durable attack on the enemy in and around Thessalonika. Moving in on fortification (19,10).
ai: a yet undiscovered fortress attacked...ouch

Round six:
player: found and attacked british paratroopers next to Kavala, quite a surprise there. Fortification (19,10),Serrai and Sochos. Allied forces have now been cut in two.
ai: few attacks around area fortification (19,10), even against units backed up by artillery. An AA unit was moved out of fortification hex next to Kavala (unwise).

Round seven:
player: for second turn in a row my forces north of Thessalonika received reïnforcements and will go on the move again next turn. Mopping up units around Nea Zichni and Kavala.
ai: no activity detected

Round eight:
player: Nea Zichni taken, probes towards Agios Athanasios, Thessalonika and Apollonia
ai: greek inf unit moved out Kavala to attack an art unit (now it is going to be even easier for me)

Round nine:
player: fortification (22,12), Kavala and Keramoti taken. The Metaxas line is now completely history. Agios Athanasios taken. Last enemy AA unit and tank taken out. I wonder what those 2 greek cav units are doing at the southern edge of the map?
ai: few movements, no attacks

Round ten:
player: thank you Kerensky Appearingly by capturing Keramoti, i got a 2* Mathilda II tank. Full scale attack on Thessalonika. Apollonia taken.
ai: 1 inf attacking a tank of mine, no problemo

Round eleven:
player: all but the vh in Thessalonika taken, last greek standing
ai: no activity detected.

Round twelve:
player: last vh taken, no enemy units left

DV 12/14 turns and 593 PP. No core units lost, only 2 bulgarian units lost which would have been much worse without german support.
This is ofcourse not a blitzkrieg scenario, i think if you would want to breach the Mannerheim line, it would be pretty much the same.
So a steady advance is warranted with artillery support. I had no problems whatsoever, and never got a sweat. The only greek units that could make a fist were the mnt units.
The AI was a bit too tame. Also i expected more air activity from the british.

[nikivdd]

Crete airborne

Reinforced my core and upgraded one Sturmpz I to a Wurfrahmen. All but one were deployed (i left the pzjäger at home).

There are 3 land deployment zones (from west to east).
In every deployment zone i put a strong western allied tank, one piece of artillery, and rest with infantry and german tanks.

Round one:
Player:
Deployment zone 1: The AA at Khania is history. Started attacking Mousouroi and Galatos.
Deployment zone 2: Took care of the AA unit adjacent to Rhetimnon. Started attacking Rhetimnon.
Deployment zone 3: With enemy air assets nearby i decided to put my forces there on the defensive after attacking and taking Krousonas. I also provided them with air cover.
I hope to land most troops in next round.
Ai: Lots of land movement, no attacks. Naval units started to attack my destroyers. Airforce moved but didn't dare to attack anything.

Round two:
Player:
Deployment zone 1: Taken Mousouroi and Galatos. Few other units dealt with. Landed troops (one to go).
Deployment zone 2: Taken Rhetimnon. Few other units dealt with. Landed troops (one to go).
Deployment zone 3: Dig in
British Stirling and Mosquito neutralised. First attack of Ju88A on british fleet.
Ai: In deployment zone 1 only 1 tank and 1 inf attacked, in deployment zone 2: infantry is closing in and one attacked my Wurfrahmen, in deployment zone 3: units are closing in on my dug-in troops. Continued naval attacks on my navy and land units close to Krousonas.

Rount three:
Player:
Deployment zone 1: Akrotiri and Khania taken, moving forces towards Souda and Sfakia.
Deployment zone 2: Counter-attacking the infantry closing in (2/3 destroyed), taken Arkadi, Nikiforos Fokas and Geropotamos. Sending armor east towards deployment zone 3.
Deployment zone 3: Dig in
Ai: Naval units hitting my destroyers hard. Units attacking my dug-in comrads in deployment zone 3.

Round four:
Player:
Deployment zone 1: Attacking Souda, took out another AA next to Fres. Airlifted the paratrooper to assist in caputre of Sfakia.
Deployment zone 2: No enemies left, moving towards Lampi and sent rest of the armor east.
Deployment zone 3: First tanks arrived and broke thru the encirclement.
Ju88A starts to attack cruisers. I disregard the destroyers from now on since all troops came ashore.
Ai:Further naval activity. My italian destroyers are dropping like flies.

Round five:
Player:
Deployment zone 1: Taken Souda and airfield next to Fres.
Deployment zone 2: Attack on Lampi.
Deployment zone 3: Encirclement completely broken, attack on Gazi. Awkward: no AA at Heraklion?
Both cruisers at Heraklion seriously crippled.
Ai: Attack on two remaining italian destroyers, 1 inf and cav attacking my paratrooper next to Skafia.

Round six:
Player:
Deployment zone 1: Taken Sfakia,Ormos Soudas, Georgioupoli and Fres. 2 enemy units left between deployment zone 1 and 2.
The area between deployment zone 2 and 3 is now free of enemy units. Taken Lampi.
2 cruisers sunk. Taken Gazi. 2 enemy units left in Heraklion.
Ai: Attacking destroyers still, now only 1 remains. Mathilda II tank in Heraklion attack SE PzIVE.

Round seven:
Player:
Last units destroyed in deployment zone 1. Now all that remains is Heraklion. The Mathilda tank is a tough fellow.
Ai: attack on my last destroyer, still alive.

Round eight:
Player:
Sunk last british destroyer, Ju88A pounds hard on remaining cruiser. Taken Heraklion port and airfield. One enemy ground unit remains.
Ai: no activity detected

Round nine:
Player:
Sunk last cruiser. Taken Heraklion.

DV in 9/15 turns and 390 PP remain.
Taking out those AA guns fast was extremely helpful to unleash my airforce and go about unpunished. The ai put up a good defense, and i lost a few auxiliaries. I expected more british aircraft thou. Crete is always a special scenario because of the AA, rugged terrain and stiff defence. I had the same feeling as in the original PG. No core units lost.

[nikivdd]

Minsk41

Before deployment i reinforced all units, upgraded all PzIVD/E to F and i purchased a Do217E. I have 668PP left.
There are a lot of airfields! It is not entirely clear what the purpose is of the D0217E without ammo - sure reckon-, i will re-arm them and use them to neutralise airfields.

Round one:
player: deja-vu! frontline units without ammo. Well, except for one - mistake? - a Ba-10 scout car (9,23). Knocked out as many as i could. I basically devided my forces in three groups.
Force north crossing the river at (13,3) and will remain north of the river Nyoman. Moving towards Hrodna and Lida.
Force centre towards Bialystok (taken in round one) and further towards Vaukavysk.
Force south towards Brest-Litovsk. Here i can put - althou i never expected - my Mathilda II's to good use.
ai: no activity detected except for ammo re-supply and reinforcing front-line survivors.

Round two:
Force north: the first T-26 in flames! Hrodna and Hrodna airfield taken.
Force centre: destroying remaining frontline troops and pushing on towards Vaukavysk.
Force south: taken out fortified units west of bug river...i am so glad i kept those Mathilda tanks
All "recon" bombers returned to a friendly airfield.
ai: two tank units attack an infantry unit west of bug river...my first T-34/40 and KV1-A tank.

Round three:
Force north: near Lida and Navahrudak (air attacks on both), air attack on Masty.
Force centre: attacked and took Vaukavysk. Now advancing towards Baranavicy - Ivacevicy.
Force south: 1 of those russian tanks just drowned in the bug river, air attacks on units in Brest-Litovsk
ai: the one remaining tank attacks again - a tough customer and AA attack in Brest area.

Round four:
Force north: taken Lida, airfield+city Navahrudak and Masty.
Force centre: taken Ivacevicy airport
Force south: second tank drowned. now preparing for the assault on Brest.
ai: artillery fire from Brest on my pioniere inf (the one that should knock out the fortress)

Round five:
Force north: advance to Minsk
Force centre: taken Baranavicy, attack on Ivacevicy
Force south: continuing attack on Brest
ai: attacking my pioniere next to fort Brest, few AA attacks

Round six:
Force north: captured airfield close to Maladziecna and enemy BT-5's discovered, taken Dziarzynsk in Minsk sector
Force centre: taken Ivacevicy and the airfield close to it; half the forces added to force north
Force south: entering Brest, heavy resistance, luckily no losses yet, captured the non-VH of Brest-Litovsk.
ai: attacking my pioniere next to fort Brest, retreated with 1 strength point left

Round seven:
Force north: taken Uzda and the airfield close to it, taken Maladziecna, destroyed the BT-5's but discovered worser opponents - a KV2 and a KV1-A -
Force centre: Biaroza taken, advancing on Pinsk and Salihorsk.
Force south: still busy in Brest, received a captured T-34/40 tank!, Karl-Gerat artillery arrived
2/3 of airforce are posted or moved to Minsk sector.
ai: AA attacks, a T-34 appeared and attacked my captured T-34, KV2 and KV1-A moved to the frontline but did not engage

Round eight:
Force north: taken airfield north of Minsk (enemy AA left hex to attack a fighter), first air attacks in and around Minsk.
Force centre: attack on Pruzany,taken Pinsk, transferred two units to force south only two units remain for taking Salihorsk (airfield there also taken this round).
Force south: captured Brest airfield, discovered possible counter-attacker units (tanks and infantry).
ai: AA attacks, tanks in Minsk pulled back to the rear

Round nine:
Force north: closing in on Minsk, air attacks continu
Force centre: taken Salihorsk; 1 objective remains.
Force south: all but the fort remains in Brest
2 airfields left in enemy hands
ai: 2 fighters appeared and both attacked tanks, KV2 in action "ouch"

Round ten:
Force north: assaulting units in and around Minsk, KV1-A tank history, KV2 tank drained of ammo
Force centre: airfield close to Pinsk and Pruzany taken, remaining units devided between the two other groups
Force south: that fort is a really tough nut to crack (3HP still)
both enemy fighters were shot down
ai: BT-5 counterattack near Minsk, no problemo

Round eleven:
Force north: KV-2 history, 2 enemy units remain in Minsk
Force south: that damn fort is still standing (2HP still)
ai: a scout ambushed by my Pzjäger

Round twelve:
Force north: Minsk taken
Force south: Brest taken
ai: no activity detected

DV 12/20, 1046 PP. No (core) units lost.
Very good map size, a blitzkrieg scenario. Speed is the key here not to allow the enemy to organise anything. It is a cannot-lose scenario with a warning: german tanks are no match for KV tanks. Air superiority helped tremendously, without it, victory would not be so certain. Brest is difficult to take but it is exactly how it should be. I only had two russian fighters but one took 3 fighter attacks and the other 2 to bring them down. My 6 fighters are truly an investment for future scenario's. And again thanks for the T-34 tank! I only expected much more resistance in the Minsk area.
My favorite scenario up till now.

[nikivdd]

Core composition after Minsk41

Infantry:
1***Wehr inf, 1***Gebirgsjäger,2***Pioniere,1***SE Gebirgsjäger =5
Tanks:
2***PzIIIH,1***PzIVF,1***Somua S35(f), 1**CharB1, 2***Mathilda II(e), 1*T-34/40(r), 1**SE PzIIIH, 2*SE PzIVF=11
Recon/Anti-tank:
1*** SdKfz222, 1***Pzjäger IB=2
Artillery:
2***Sturmpz I, 1*** Wurfrahmen 40, 1***17cm art=4
Airforce:
5***Bf109e, 1*Bf109f, 2***Ju87B, 1***Bf110c, 1**Bf110d, 1***Ju88A, 1**Do 217E=12

next purchases: more self-propelled artillery

[nikivdd]

Smolensk41

Reinforcements as usual, upgraded the Ju88 to Do 217, 565 PP left
I'm one deployment slot short, so i decided to leave one of the Mathilda's at home

Round 1
Player: the map is big and i can only start in the corner, it might prove difficult with spread out forces so much after a couple of turns, anyway here we go.
I gonna launch three spearheads: 1st to Khnyahinin (north), 2nd to Barysau (center), 3rd to Berezino (south).
Forces west of Berezina river taken care of, noticed enemy units on the other shore, Barysau taken.
AI: 1 AA attack

Round 2
Player:
North: Khnyahinin taken
Center: Advance to Kpynki - air attacks on enemy units, neutralised AA unit, made crossing over the river
South: Berezino taken, stopped advance in front of river when scout noticed enemy units there as well
AI: T-34 tank attack group south, T-26 tank attack group center, bomber attack

Round 3
Player:
North: Advance to Hlybokaje, enemy conscript detected in that city
Center: Heavy fighting for control over the bridge of Kpynki. Units crossed the river just north of Berezino, that will outflank the russians in the next round
South: Air attack on enemy units, ground assault and broke thru this line of defense.
AI: more BT-5's appearing in Kpynki region, no attacks

Round 4
Player:
North:Attack on Hlybokaje.
Center: Enemy units around Kpynki routed, outflanking maneuver paid off
South: Air and ground attack on units around Mogilev, Mogilev airport taken, discovered even more BT-5's
AI: T-34 attack on group south

Round 5
Player:
North: Hlybokaje city and airfield taken. Next objective: Lepel (lol, means spoon in dutch)
Center: Kpynki taken. Next objective: Orsha, discovered more tanks around Orsha airfield
South: Mogilev taken. Next objective: Mscislau
AI: T-34 attack on south

Round 6
Player:
North: Advance on Lepel and Polotsk
Center: Advance on Orsha, first air attack
South: Advance on Mscislau, first air attack
AI: attack on south (again!) by tanks, recon unit and cavalry

Round 7
Player:
North: Attack on Lepel
Center: Taken Orsha airfield, further air attacks at every unit in Orsha area
South: demoralising the attackers by air attacks and finishing them off with my tanks and inf
AI: bomber and fighters attack

Round 8
Player:
North: Lepel taken, Polotsk city and airfield taken (unguarded). Advance on Vitebsk
Center: Orsha taken
South: Attack on Mscislau
Ai: tanks attack group center

Round 9
Player:
North: advance on Vitebsk
Center: eliminated tanks, no advance
South: Mscislau city and airport taken, advance on Roslavl and Krasny
Ai: few unit movements, T-26 attacks group center

Round 10
Player:
North: closing in on Vitebsk from west and north
Center: landunits resupply, detected Katyusha's
South: attack on Roslavl, Pochinok taken, discovered str 20 inf in Krasny
Ai: inf and katyusha attack on group center, lost my first core unit

Round 11
Player:
North: assault on Vitebsk city and airport
Center: attacking infantry, cavalry and katyusha's
South: Roslavl taken
AI: inf and katyusha and tank attack on group center

Round 12
Player:
North: Vitebsk city and airport taken
Center: attacking infantry, tanks and katyusha's
South: resupplying units
AI: tank attack group north

Round 13
Player:
North: Rudnya taken, airattack on Demidov, started to transfer units to group center
Center: resupplying and reinforcing units, air attacks eliminated last of attackers
South: air attack on Krasny
AI: no activity detected

Round 14
Player:
North: Demidov taken
Center: advance to Smolensk, first air attacks, detected 2 AA units "ouch"
South: Krasny taken
AI: AA attacks, KV1-A attacks

Round 15
By taking Krasny i received a captured KV-1B(r) tank WOW no sound while moving thou ( i know the T-34 has already been posted)
Player:
North: i left two units at Vitebsk...just in case. Group north objectives=accomplished.
Center: first ground attacks on Smolensk, 1 AA knocked out
South: i left two units in this area...just in case. Group south objectives= accomplished.
AI: 2nd AA unit attacking, reinforcing and purchasing units

Round 16
Player:
North: -
Center: continued assault of Smolensk
South:-
AI: reinforcing and purchasing units

Round 17
Player:
Smolensk city taken
AI: no activity detected

WOW what a scenario! A brilliant design. I liked all AI counter-attacks very much and AI was pretty smart too. I lost count in number of russian tanks i destroyed here. And there always has to be a first time, i lost my first core unit (the gebirgsjager). Also thanks for the lovely russian tank . I took everything except Smolensk airfield.
18/21 DV and 701 PP.

[nikivdd]

Zhitomir

Reinforced everything, didn't buy a new infantry unit yet, upgraded the Somua tank to a PzIVF. 1053 PP left.

Round 1:
A strength 15 I-16 plane, you got to be kidding me. It took me 4 attacks to get rid of it.
Fullscale air and land attack on most if not all units along the frontline, knocked quite a few. First attack of my KV-1B (no sound).
Two cities taken: Korosten and Nedashky.

AI: bomber and fighter attack (another str 15 I-16), damaged tanks retreated

Round 2:
Ivankiv taken. Lots of 15 str enemy units across the river Teteriv.

AI: tanks attack to units near Malyn and Ivankiv.

Round 3:
Dytyatky, Malyn and airfield close to Ryzhany taken. Noticing lots of enemy inf units on higher grounds, luckily conscripts. More tanks detected around Krasnobirka.
My airforce is making overtime.

AI: tanks and infantry counter attacking (Malyn-Ivankiv-Ryzhany)

Round 4:
Attacking Katyuzhanka. Taken Ryzhany. Slowly advancing while attacking all those russian units.

AI: fighter attack

Round 5:
Taken Strybizh, Chernyakhiv, Potiivka, Katyuzhanka, Krasnobirka (good spot for crossing the river). Soon i will have to give my units a break for a round, strength points are dropping...

AI: no activity detected

Round 6:
Unit reinforcement/resupply day. Only air units attacked

AI: no activity detected

Round 7:
Trying to drive a wedge in Makariv area. Air attacks continue relentlessly.

AI: Inf attack spearhead from Katyuzhanka towards Kiev

Round 8:
Attacking Zithomir.
Russia army cut in two at Makariv
About 65% of forces will try to mop up Kiev pocket, the rest will take Zhitomir, Korostyshiv and Kocheriv.





AI: attacks on units in Makariv area, including a str 12 KV-1B tank

Round 10:
Taken Borodyanka and Makariv.

AI: that KV tanks is really devastating

Round 11:
Creeping forward

AI: more KV tanks showed up and attack

Round 12:
At this time cannot advance further because of heavily entrenched units and more KV's attacking. Continuing air attack thou.

AI: KV tanks attacks

Round 13:
Creeping forward again, eliminated 1 KV tank

AI: KV tanks and inf attack

Round 14:
Took out another KV tank and a T-34, more inf eliminated.
Taken Korostyshiv.

AI: AA and art attacks, another T-34 showed up and attacked

Round 15:
Arrived at the outskirts of Kiev
Taken Kocheriv

AI: inf attacks, lost PzJäger

Round 16:
Taken first Kiev city hex

AI: artillery attacks

Round 17:
Taken Boyarka

AI: artillery attacks

Round 18:
Taken Zhitomir, taken another Kiev hex

AI: no activity detected.

Conclusion:
Another very-well designed scenario, the AI was active, lots of counter-attacks and althou there were only a few russian fighters, it always took me 2-3 fighters to shoot them down.
If you keep yourself strict to the scenario objectives, it shouldn't pose a problem to meet them.
But like me, very curious what to find in Kiev, made an attempt to take the entire city. I even lost another core unit in the process. I took 2/5 flags there. But above all, it was fun and i learned from it.
I had a jolly good time with this one .
DV 18/18 669 PP left.

[Kerensky]

Your prestige levels are quite interesting to me, especially since you brought your 1940 core with you instead of using the pre-set. Even though you started Belgrade with only 203 prestige, you seem to be handling yourself quite well.

My conclusion is that your core from 1940 is better than the 1941 starter core, but the 1941 starter core is much 'richer' with 3000 spare prestige. So in the end, both are well suited to the campaign ahead of them.

[nikivdd]

Zhurivka

After my attempt to take Kiev in the previous scenario, the amount of prestige has tumbled down to 391 after reinforcements. I bought a StuG IIIB.
A first glance at this map is intriguing. It is actually the other side of Kiev, kind of mirror image. There are only 5 objectives to be taken but i notice there are quite some cities on the east side of the map - if you would just move towards the objectives - which can be totally ignored. But the briefing is already warning about possible counter-attacks from that direction, i will have to be weary about the flanks. The first round has clear weather, so i should try to kick every tank butt i see. In plain view a I-16 (12 str) is just begging to be shot down.
Where previous scenario's were swarming with russian conscript infantry, i only see regulars here. The older model tanks (T-26) are easily taken care of and the first objective has fallen under my banner (Smolyanka), the AA unit in the second objective had a blow from the captured KV-1B tank (what a monster), and this city is now ripe for picking (Nizhyn).
I found my conscrips alright, to the east around Shapovalivka. I wonder if they will go on the offensive... Hell yeah, they come and they brought friends (KV and T-34 tanks).
A good equilibrium is necessary to continu advancing south and to keep those attackers from the east at bay. The russian airforce is becoming more active too, those pinpricks they give starts to be annoying.

Round 4 situation. A sneaky T-60, and i just can't get enough of captured equipment



More captured equipment in service, that CharB1 does really good work up till now. Russian airforce getting stronger and appearing more frequently.



After a recon probe towards Kiev, i have decided not to attempt an attack on Kiev, those tank monsters there would cause way to much damage to my units for what it's worth.
In the Dmytrivka area more red army soldiers are waiting to launch a counter-attack, i just dealt with the first wave.

Thou shall not pass!



At round 8 i am very near the last objectives. Near Kiev i am on the defensive. a pre-emptive airstrike on the second attackwave should slow them down.
If no more surprise tanks show up, i might wrap it up in another round.
Whatever was left of the second attack wave was advancing towards my positions, but dared not to attack. 3 more russian tank attacks on my defensive line near Kiev did luckily not break, but left lots of damage to my tanks. I had luck with the weather, my airforce did a wonderful job and perhaps that is also the reason why i finished the scenario in
9/18 turns with 1828 PP.
I am not complaining about the AI being inert. The units went head-on to attack, even tried to outflank me and the russian airforce started to sting. Well done!

[nikivdd]

Zolotonosha

Reinforcements as usual and 1931 PP left.

First attacks went smooth, and as always scouting is important. There is a considerable russian presence at the eastborder of the map, i'm sure they have something planned.
Ofcourse they attacked but with a few surprising results, my 13str T-34 (no losses) won from a 10str KV-1A (-3) and a T-60 fell into the lap of the - nice surprise - 5cm PaK aux AT gun.
Their infantry moves adjacent to my units but are shitting their pants appearingly, they don't attack. At round two those attackers are nearly all destroyed and i also managed to cut off Kiev from the rest of the map.
How long now before Kiev falls?



There is also another attack wave but nothing serious to make me sweat. I'm using the supporting artillery to the best of my abilities.
Whatever what is thrown against my units, it seems i just am not allowed to lose. It seems to be the easiest mission in Russia. Obolon (south-west corner) is being used to bring new units in the field and i am going to put an end to that. I made a little diversion (with romanian units) just south of Zolotosha. Well, those russian tanks definitely took the bait and my forces came in from the north virtually unopposed. On round 8, Kiev was taken.

Thank you for yet another captured T-34!



DV 10/17 turns and 1905PP
First time i managed to clean the board in Russia. This was the easiest mission, but probably on purpose to conclude(?) the battle of Kiev.

[Longasc]

The Matildas somehow crack me up.

I didn't capture one yet, are the Matilda I/II really useful?! High GD, but anything else?!

[nikivdd]

The Matildas somehow crack me up.

I didn't capture one yet, are the Matilda I/II really useful?! High GD, but anything else?!

Well, at first i had no intention to keep them when starting Operation Barbarossa because of their speed. Now i must confess that i am so glad i kept them!
They are effective against light entrenched infantry. And they can absorb a pounding from any of the russian tanks. And they are devastating against the lighter russian tanks and scouts.
To give you an example with the scenario i am now playing:



KV2 tank (10) attacks Mathilda II (13), result KV -7 and Mathilda II -2 (not the -3 i put in the pic). The factor in the advantage of the Mathilda II is rain/mud.

Considering that it is still 1941, if i need to lose a unit, i prefer a captured T-34 over the Mathilda II.

[nikivdd]

Vyazma

I just have a feeling to write...in my first attempt to play Vyazma...
Well, reinforcements, ofcourse and i upgraded the towed artillery to the newest bargain 21cm Mrs 18.
There is the new PzIII J but i haven't upgraded any of my tanks yet and will wait another scenario to upgrade the Bf110e's.

One airfield to start with, i don't like it, especially when the weathergod is not in a good mood.
I'm in turn 3 and the weather is since turn 1 rain. I don't mind a little rain but i have so many planes and nowhere to put them (and not to lose fuel) until the weather clears.
I hope to capture the airfield next to Ugra, but the groundcondition is also against me (mud since turn 2). I hope i will not lose planes...
Luckily on turn 4 i just managed to capture that airfield...and rain continues into round 5 (i'm drenched lol).
There weren't many days i could use my airforce, not even half of 20 turns. The battle around Vyazma was quite intense, for several units it was a close call but somehow i managed to add some strength points or retreat them. I cannot count the number of tanks i (partially) knocked out to remain on the move. Luckily the last two objectives were not so hard to get without air support.
It was a wise thing to leave some units behind in Vyazma (inf and Mathilda II tanks) and Ugra+Ugra airfield (inf and Pz IIIH) and Zhirkovskiy (inf and CharB1) because those were still under attack when i was pressing towards Moskou.
Lots of casualties, fortunately no units lost (althou several under 5 str), and just in time 19/20 with 1900PP left. Don't think much of that PP will remain...
Well the autum rains are historical accurate, and it slowed down the spearheads a lot, but still "playable" enough to reach the objectives. I can sense there is snow in the air...

In the next briefing there is a choice to attack Moskou or not... not accepting the assignment is just defaitism

[nikivdd]

Streets of Moskou

I had some PP left to upgrade my two Stuka B to D's. And Bf110e/d to f.

The scenario name should have been Streets of Death. I realised i am barely ready for General difficulty but i just managed in 24/24 turns.
I lost a couple of infantry units and that precious KV-1 was blown to bits by 2 russian guards. I need to do major reinforcements for the next scenario.
But enough whining... this scenario was just stunning. It did feel like street fighting and the counter-attacks were just devastating. At least the weather was overal better than in Vyazma, so that helped tremendously. Units without direct artillery support were brought close to annihilation, so i had to retreat and reinforce them. The ai is better than it ever was. The mathilda II's are almost at the end of their usefullness, they were not so effective anymore as in the first scenario's of DLC 41. I will have to upgrade them in DLC42 at the latest.
At the end i managed to pick a few additional empty city hexes to add to the prestige pool.

One city hex i didn't take and the outcome would have been completely different if the ai would let them advance. They could have taken almost everything back.
It was the southern district hex. While now reviewing the battlefield i noticed there are still 12 russian units there.

[nikivdd]

Demyansk pocket

Overal not such a difficult mission. After a few turns i was kinda missing some action and went eastwards. At least got me another T-34 .
The enemy comes in waves and i had no difficulties to stop them. Especially if they are so tightly packed that i can make some of them surrender.
I lost two tanks, disregarding the briefing does have a price. But it was not a bad mission. Just the russian AA were passive when the transportplanes were in range which was kinda unexpected.

My core is saved for DLC 42.

[Kerensky]

Streets of Moskou

I had some PP left to upgrade my two Stuka B to D's. And Bf110e/d to f.

The scenario name should have been Streets of Death. I realised i am barely ready for General difficulty but i just managed in 24/24 turns.
I lost a couple of infantry units and that precious KV-1 was blown to bits by 2 russian guards. I need to do major reinforcements for the next scenario.
But enough whining... this scenario was just stunning. It did feel like street fighting and the counter-attacks were just devastating. At least the weather was overal better than in Vyazma, so that helped tremendously. Units without direct artillery support were brought close to annihilation, so i had to retreat and reinforce them. The ai is better than it ever was. The mathilda II's are almost at the end of their usefullness, they were not so effective anymore as in the first scenario's of DLC 41. I will have to upgrade them in DLC42 at the latest.
At the end i managed to pick a few additional empty city hexes to add to the prestige pool.

One city hex i didn't take and the outcome would have been completely different if the ai would let them advance. They could have taken almost everything back.
It was the southern district hex. While now reviewing the battlefield i noticed there are still 12 russian units there.

Heheh, well "optional" doesn't mean "bonus easy mode free win".
First we had Warsaw, and now Moscow... it's all building up towards Stalingrad (and possibly Warsaw, Koenigsburg, and Berlin in DLC 1944 and DLC 1945)

As for that counterattack in the south... they may be brand new purchases, which is why they didn't advance right away. When did you first notice them?

[nikivdd]

Streets of Moskou

I had some PP left to upgrade my two Stuka B to D's. And Bf110e/d to f.

The scenario name should have been Streets of Death. I realised i am barely ready for General difficulty but i just managed in 24/24 turns.
I lost a couple of infantry units and that precious KV-1 was blown to bits by 2 russian guards. I need to do major reinforcements for the next scenario.
But enough whining... this scenario was just stunning. It did feel like street fighting and the counter-attacks were just devastating. At least the weather was overal better than in Vyazma, so that helped tremendously. Units without direct artillery support were brought close to annihilation, so i had to retreat and reinforce them. The ai is better than it ever was. The mathilda II's are almost at the end of their usefullness, they were not so effective anymore as in the first scenario's of DLC 41. I will have to upgrade them in DLC42 at the latest.
At the end i managed to pick a few additional empty city hexes to add to the prestige pool.

One city hex i didn't take and the outcome would have been completely different if the ai would let them advance. They could have taken almost everything back.
It was the southern district hex. While now reviewing the battlefield i noticed there are still 12 russian units there.

Heheh, well "optional" doesn't mean "bonus easy mode free win".
First we had Warsaw, and now Moscow... it's all building up towards Stalingrad (and possibly Warsaw, Koenigsburg, and Berlin in DLC 1944 and DLC 1945)

As for that counterattack in the south... they may be brand new purchases, which is why they didn't advance right away. When did you first notice them?

I omitted that hex entirely since it wasn't a VH, and would just slow me down. I noticed the 12 units only when reviewing the battlefield (after the DV). I assume a few units were there since the start of the scenario and the rest were purchases.