Slitherine

Appreciate tips on capturing Leningrad - my approach to have two German korps on the Finnish side and another two S of the city supported by 1-2 TAC often only serves to help the defenders achieve Guards status. Will using a strategic bomber help to reduce the defenders supply and refit? Thanks

colberki wrote:Appreciate tips on capturing Leningrad - my approach to have two German korps on the Finnish side and another two S of the city supported by 1-2 TAC often only serves to help the defenders achieve Guards status. Will using a strategic bomber help to reduce the defenders supply and refit? Thanks

It took me a whole fighting season of 1942 (i.e., all the good weather turns) and concentrated attacks to finally capture Leningrad. Here are the steps I follow (but not necessarily in the order given):

1. Surround Leningrad, which means it will have a maximum supply level 3. This means no new units can be built there and a maximum of 3-steps per turn can be repaired.

2. Bomb, bomb and then bomb some more. Initially I hit it with a strategic bomber (which reduces the city) and a tactical bomber (which reduces the defenders and lowers their entrenchment).

3. Attack with fresh infantry as often as you can; especially from the Leningrad side. From the south you're not only attacking a highly entrenched unit in a fort but also across a river.

4. Keep bombing and attacking.

5. Eventually the city will be reduced to a point where the Russians can only repair a 1-step (or better no steps) per turn.

6. Use a German units with a +1 attack bonus to attack the city; preferable from the north.

Eventually, Leningrad will fall.

Its not really this hard to take fortress accessible from 4 sides.
Better ask how to take Gibraltar (2 sides) or even Malta (0 sides )

For Gibralter and Malta it is good to get an FJR in on the airfield to make it 3 sides and 1 side. Both will still fall pretty quickly with repeated bombing - though a Mech and defensive leader will slow things down.

Driving air unit from this airfield, if it is on centry and constantly repaired, is another impossible mission on its own.

Your primary goal should be to lower enemy effectivness, preferably into the red. And make sure you keep it there once it is low. Even a guard unit can't do much with only 10% of its troops in fighting shape. Strong Tacs with a leader supporting them are the best units to do this. The best units for the ground assault are mechs; they have much stronger attack than inf and don't suffer from the fort's anti-tank penalty.

I usually initiate the attack by using strategic bombardment on the resources inside. If you get the resource down to red then the supply level in Leningrad will drop from 3 to just 1. That means the Russians can only repair 1 step per turn.

You attack with units from 4 sides and ensure you have 2 airstrikes to keep the entrenchment level down. The Leningrad unit will almost certainly become a guard unit, but will eventually drop to low efficiency (red). Then you can just hit the unit every turn with air and land units until it falls. Each attack will drop the strength of the resouce too and thus the supply level.

So Leningrad WILL fall if you can begin the process as early as August 1941. When winter comes it's usually too late to finish off the city. The Axis losses will become very high, especially on the first land attacks, but you have to take these losses to capture the city.

The real Germans didn't want to lose so many soldiers so they instead screened the city and bombarded it with artillery and airstrikes hoping to starve the Russians to submission. That failed and Leningrad actually survived about 1000 days of siege. No wonder why Leningrad became a hero city similar to Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa.

If the units to the north of Leningrad are MECH it helps. If one of them is your one SS unit it helps more. (As well as having a +1 general as noted above.)

Done this way and with 2 TACs I took Leningrad in 2 turns in Aug-Sept '41. (Using a total of 4 ground units.) I was perhaps a little lucky with the rolls, but I don't see how it would have lasted past 3 turns. (No STR needed.)

colberki wrote:Appreciate tips on capturing Leningrad - my approach to have two German korps on the Finnish side and another two S of the city supported by 1-2 TAC often only serves to help the defenders achieve Guards status. Will using a strategic bomber help to reduce the defenders supply and refit? Thanks

You can also use the GS 2.1 Manual for good references on Strategy & Tactics. There is a specific section on Taking Leningrad in the "Tactics" section under "Combat Operations".

alec

GogTheMild wrote:Done this way and with 2 TACs I took Leningrad in 2 turns in Aug-Sept '41. (Using a total of 4 ground units.) I was perhaps a little lucky with the rolls, but I don't see how it would have lasted past 3 turns. (No STR needed.)

Getting it in 1941 is the trick. Russian effectiveness is still low, so the German Tacs can put the defender in the orange or red on turn 1, and Axis ground units don't lose more than 1 step even attacking across the water.

joerock22 wrote:

GogTheMild wrote:Done this way and with 2 TACs I took Leningrad in 2 turns in Aug-Sept '41. (Using a total of 4 ground units.) I was perhaps a little lucky with the rolls, but I don't see how it would have lasted past 3 turns. (No STR needed.)

Getting it in 1941 is the trick. Russian effectiveness is still low, so the German Tacs can put the defender in the orange or red on turn 1, and Axis ground units don't lose more than 1 step even attacking across the water.

quite right ! Joe proved his theory in our AAR , it worked well even if USSR deploy a defence leader on it .