Part 16: Turn 13: September 11, 1941

Apparently I can process turns if I reboot my computer into safe mode.





Breakthroughs and near breakthroughs all across the line, Leningrad in particular is under a lot of pressure.



Here's the first partisan attack I've noticed, there have probably been more but honestly I don't pay much attention to them. Once partisans have enough equipment and morale they're able to launch partisan attacks on German controlled rail lines, destroying them and forcing the Germans to send a rail repair unit to fix the line. Normally the damage will be repaired by next turn but a well placed partisan attack can slow down the entire German offensive by blowing up an important stretch of rail lines and denying supply for a full turn.




The Germans are pushing in for the city and in doing so they've cut off 3 rifle divisions. These divisions are dead, there's no way I can dislodge that 9=9 german infantry division to save them.



The Northwest front pulls back completely, resigned to the fact it can no longer prevent the city from being cut off. The two armies of the Leningrad front condense into the hexes directly in and around the city, preparing for the siege.



Behind the lines we continue to entrench fallback positions.




The Germans are slowly pushing us back around Moscow itself and there's a huge breakthrough by a Panzer army north of the city.



We cut the spearhead off this thrust with the units we've got in the area, now we need to rail in reinforcements to prefent the rest of this army from blasting through unopposed.



The 50th rails up and deploys along the rivers here. This isn't terribly secure but it's the best I can do without stripping the lines around Moscow. If I can find a few spare units I'll send them up here but I don't think I will.

The saving grace is that the Panzers axis of advance has 0 rail lines in it so they can't advance very far before they run out of supplies.




Our line is weak here and there's a German panzer army bearing down on us. In the south it's a bunch of axis allies reinforced by a few stronger units, but our line is even weaker.



The magic of straightening out your line. By falling back a little and forming a straight line we suddenly have 30 miles of depth to our line without railing in a single reinforcement.



And opposite the panzer army we rail in a STAVKA army, the 40th, to add some extra depth. I'm feeling a lot better about this front now, the Germans can still breakthrough but they're going to have to pay for it.




I've flown a lot of recon flights here to see if there's something lurking behind the lines but I'm just not seeing it, they seem to be swinging further south after that failed encirclement.



We fall back a little bit which allows us to straighten the line and expand it a little. Covering more land with less up here lets us extend the southwestern front further south and increase the density of troops down by the southern front.




This is a mess.



Much better. We also spread out our fledgling army in the rear to start entrenching the river in preparation for falling back.



The southern front continues to fortify the eastern bank of the Dnepr. I hope we'll be able to hold this for another turn or two but I'm skeptical.





We continue the evacuation of Kharkov and we completely evacuate Dnepropetrovsk. Heavy industry factories are expensive but I suppose I do need to save some of them.




The 3 divisions cut off outside the city are forced to surrender as the Germans advance on Leningrad.



North of Moscow the armored breakthrough gains little ground but gains infantry support for the next push.



Outside the city itself the Germans actually pull back from the line a little. Where could these troops be going?



Here, this is where all the Germans are. They blow a 40 mile wide hole in my lines and advance on Tula. With the vast numbers of well rested infantry and good rail lines here the Germans are going to have no trouble continuing this offensive for another turn or two.



Nothing else is really interesting until this, there's a huge number of German and Romanian troops down here beating the crap out of the North Caucasus Military District. Luckily they haven't managed to cross the Dnepr anywhere down here so we can fall back and cross the river if we need to.



This turn felt more like a '41 Soviet turn than the last few. Falling back, adding depth to lines, not attacking anything but an Axis ally or two, boring.