Slitherine

rkr1958 wrote:

massina_nz wrote:Presumably Max will have re-inforcements coming from the US at some stage.

The US has surrendered and so has the UK. So there won't be any reinforcements from there. It's Russia and only Russian now.

I think that Massina was saying that the forces used to conquer the US will soon be appearing on the Russian front after shipping across the Atlantic.

Yes indeed, that was what I meant to add, but I pressed 'submit' too soon. I guess Max's only real weakness is in either oil or manpower, destroying land units may escalate any possible manpower issues. And now is probably PG's best chance to attack before any re-inforcements arrive, when Max is at his presumably weakest.

Is it me or can I see two German units at 6 strength with leader icons, on the fount line. Wouldn't destroying these be a key move?
Soften up with your bombers first?

AdmiralSarek wrote:Is it me or can I see two German units at 6 strength with leader icons, on the fount line. Wouldn't destroying these be a key move?
Soften up with your bombers first?

It's not just you, and he would be wise to destroy them if it doesn't overextend him. But I imagine that supermax will withdraw those to a safe place or at best reinforce them. They won't be so exposed next turn.

rkr1958 wrote:

massina_nz wrote:Presumably Max will have re-inforcements coming from the US at some stage.

The US has surrendered and so has the UK. So there won't be any reinforcements from there. It's Russia and only Russian now.

Just so we are on the same page, Max is the opponent and he is the one sending reinforcements from US to the east....not the other way around

Crazygunner1 wrote:

rkr1958 wrote:

massina_nz wrote:Presumably Max will have re-inforcements coming from the US at some stage.

The US has surrendered and so has the UK. So there won't be any reinforcements from there. It's Russia and only Russian now.

Just so we are on the same page, Max is the opponent and he is the one sending reinforcements from US to the east....not the other way around

That is correct.

12. June 1943, the Wehrmacht bulge is expanding, offensive in Finland continues
The weather.


The Russian tank is improved.


In the Middle East the Red Air Force continues to harass the axis ground units in attempt to lure the Luftwaffe to combat. Only a single fighter is revealed and it receives only 1 step damage. The Red Army advances slowly towards the axis front line.


The offensive in Finland continues. The German and Finnish units in the north are pushed back receiving substantial casualties. North of Leningrad my garrison tries to force its way through the Finnish defender but fails. My amphibious forces do a careful recon. They will return to port next turn. Further south all is quiet.


In the central sector Supermax expands his bulge and kills more brave Russian infantry armies and a tac bomber. Part of the Red Air Force is pulled back, as it is my most important asset in stopping Supermax. A panzer korps is bombed and attacked in the bulge and perish in heavy battles. New infantry armies are deployed in this sector to replace the ones that have been dstroyed.


In the south I pull back my armies from their exposed salient. The Middle East tac bombers arrive near Rostov and will start attacking next turn.


Russia buys 2 infantry armies, I want to buy more but I have to repair my armies and spend 123 PPs on repairs.


The Russian manpower dips below 75%.

Doing well, so many panzers lost! Would definitely hit that exposed Italian unit with the leader on the front line near Vitebsk. 1-2 air strikes and a three hex attack and that leader is history. On the subject of leaders, looks like the Russians could do with one of their own, seems a lot of your planes are out of leader range? Even with your air superiority over the sorry Lufwaffe a bit more effectiveness is always nice:)

And, as you are not railing but walking those tanks back from the Mid-East, might as well keep one there to assist with taking Suez etc, moving back to Europe will take so long they wont arrive even for the winter offensive.

Keep up the fight for the motherland!

trulster wrote:Doing well, so many panzers lost! Would definitely hit that exposed Italian unit with the leader on the front line near Vitebsk. 1-2 air strikes and a three hex attack and that leader is history. On the subject of leaders, looks like the Russians could do with one of their own, seems a lot of your planes are out of leader range? Even with your air superiority over the sorry Lufwaffe a bit more effectiveness is always nice:)

And, as you are not railing but walking those tanks back from the Mid-East, might as well keep one there to assist with taking Suez etc, moving back to Europe will take so long they wont arrive even for the winter offensive.

Keep up the fight for the motherland!

Yes my goal is to kill of his panzers and panzer grenadiers. That is the only way to stop the axis offensive capabilities.
I wondered about doing an offensive in the Middle East with my tank armies. But priority number 1 is to save Russia, and 3 tank armies against a weakened Wehrmacht should get me some results. Yes I know they won't get there until winter, but railing 1 tank army to northern Persia costs me 15 PPs and now I desperately need to spend them at the front.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Russia survives and maybe even makes a play for Berlin. I don't think supermax can sustain these manpower losses much longer before basically every unit he purchases is speed bump quality. Naturally, don't take that to the bank, because supermax has surprised everyone in this forum again and again.

I agree with pulling back your armor to Russia. Even if it doesn't arrive by winter, they could come in handy for counteroffensives in the spring.

Actually if you want to drain his manpower and maximise his oil losses arn't you best to punish all of his infantry as much as possible. When all he has left is oil buring units, then he will be in trouble. Infantry is much easier to kill as well.

Also, from that screenshot some turns ago it seems his infantry tech is pretty lousy for mid-43 Germans, well when you ship dozens of units to the Americas somethings got to give! So hitting his infantry as well will further compromise the situation. A low-cost rush for Helsinki will knock the brittle Finns out easily as well, just one inf corps landing at Turku could do the trick or maybe just keep it simple and attack directly from Leningrad.

Yes, I'll add to the cacophany. I think targetting the INF units is the way to go. 1) it will cost more for Max to reduce the effectiveness of his units quicker due to the drain on manpower, and 2) I think you real weakness is lack of numbers, so if you can limit his numbers (assuming INF units are easier to kill than others) then you can balance the equation.

Clark wrote:I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Russia survives and maybe even makes a play for Berlin. I don't think supermax can sustain these manpower losses much longer before basically every unit he purchases is speed bump quality. Naturally, don't take that to the bank, because supermax has surprised everyone in this forum again and again.

I agree with pulling back your armor to Russia. Even if it doesn't arrive by winter, they could come in handy for counteroffensives in the spring.

Thanks for your vote of confidence Clark. But to be honest as of right now I am having doubts whether my Russian army will survive this summer. I have decided to stand and fight for as long as possible. If I start to retreat it will be much easier for him to pick my army apart and destroy it. I also feel it would become much more difficult to destroy any of his forces. My strong air force sure is helping is softening up his forces before attacking it.

AdmiralSarek wrote:Actually if you want to drain his manpower and maximise his oil losses arn't you best to punish all of his infantry as much as possible. When all he has left is oil buring units, then he will be in trouble. Infantry is much easier to kill as well.

Interesting thought, but for now I want to target his panzers as it his offensive punch and they are killing my units faster than I can replace them

trulster wrote:Also, from that screenshot some turns ago it seems his infantry tech is pretty lousy for mid-43 Germans, well when you ship dozens of units to the Americas somethings got to give! So hitting his infantry as well will further compromise the situation. A low-cost rush for Helsinki will knock the brittle Finns out easily as well, just one inf corps landing at Turku could do the trick or maybe just keep it simple and attack directly from Leningrad.

Yep, I want to knock the Finns out of the war. I am contemplating to use my armies in Finland for an amphibious landing along the German coast and try to go for Berlin. That would sure surprise Supermax, time will tell if this is realistic or if I need to use my armies in Finland in central Russia.

It'll only be a surprise if he hasn't garrisoned his cities on the Baltic. Hw should be able to cover any invasion easily if so, and you just burn some PPs for the joy of it. So maybe you need to recon the Baltic coast cities first, keeping out of spotting range of any GARs so he doesn't get an inkling of what you are doing.

2. July 1943, The axis defence in Finland is crumbling, the Wehrmacht pauses in central Russia
The weather.


The Russian scientists produce some more results.


In the Middle East I attack the axis front line with poor results. I messed up my movements so only my motorized army attacked trading 4 step losses against the 6 steps lost by the German infantry korps. The Red Air Force attacks at will, meeting no opposition against the Luftwaffe.


The offensive in Finland gains momentum. The Red Army is soon at the gates of Helsinki. The northern axis force will soon be destroyed or surrounded and will not be able to help with the defence of the Finnish capital. South of Leningrad all is quiet.


In the central Russia the front line is holding for now. The Red Army attempts to destroy a Bulgarian unit but it manages to survive.


In the southern sector the Red Air Force attacks the panzer formations. An army near Kharkov was destroyed. The Red Army counterattacks and kills a German panzer grenadier and infantry korps. Near Dnepropetrovsk a Romanian infantry corps perishes in heavy battles. The two axis fighter units are badly mauled by Red fighters.


Siupermax has paused this turn as it seems he has brought up panzer reinforcements. I assume this is Armee America coming to the rescue. I buy three new armies and spend the rest of my precious PPs on unit repairs. Next turn will be very interesting, how much damage and mayhem will Supermax cause?

22. July 1943, The Wehrmacht offensive in Russia has been canceled
The weather.


The Russian scientists improve the industry.


The Russian production has improved a little bit.


The Red Army continues its slow advance in the Middle East. An Italian corps is devastated after air and ground attacks. No axis air force has interdicted my brave fighters.


In the north of Finland a Finnish garrison is destroyed, and another Finnish corps is destroyed near Helsinki. The Red Army advances to surround the Finnish capital. A Tac bomber has been posted to Leningrad in order to assist with the capture of this city. My BB has started to bombard the Finnish garrison in Helsinki. The end is near for the Finns.


Supermax has pulled back his axis forces from his bulge. It seems his forces will pull back behind the Dnieper and defend themselves. I am surprised that he has cancelled it as he managed to kill 3-4 units per turn, if he had continued I would reach a serious shortage of front line troops. But I must have managed to kill enough of his units to deplete his offensive powers. The Red army advances cautiously towards the Dnieper.


In the southern sector my tac bombers and motorized army attacks and destroys a Wehrmacht infantry korps near Dnepropetrovsk. My tank army has approached the front line and will assist in a limited offensive.


I buy my 14th lab (Armour). The rest of my PPs are used to repair a much damaged Red Air Force and some infantry units. The next couple of turns I will start to build some tank armies in order to get an offensive punch I can use against the axis.

The initiative in the East has been passed from the Supermax to me. I suspect he will dig in behind the Dnieper and wait for my attacks and exploit any errors I make and perhaps restart his offensive if I make enough mistakes. I have done well defending myself against his attacks, I am a bit unsure how I will fare when attacking Supermax who will be mostly on the defensive and pick my army apart if the opportunity shows itself.

PG,
My advice before you attack is to make sure that you have a good line of Inf to shield your assault forces. Also, my experience when attacking with the russians is that air is the key (as you seem to have realised) and you will need at least 1.5 FTRs per TAC so that you can keep your TACs escorted. Also, the russians have the air edge in winter so dont get too enthusiastic before the next winter otherwise you wont have as many planes to throw at him.