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I'm still going through with learning, and will be continuing to go through it, so I'll have to AAR write as I study. And I would certainly like to get this done, it deserves to be finished since it was a really fun game. Anyway, update coming up! :p
 
23 kilometers west of Vinnitsa
May 9, 1942


Zhukov was mentally pacing back and forth, even as he apparently sat calmly in the open-topped car that ferried him about. He was impatient to get back to the forward command post. The past three days had been exceedingly eventful for him and he had to send off a report to Vasilevskij. Events were indeed moving so quickly all of a sudden to leave even him feeling shocked and light-headed at the pace. It was enough even to almost make him temporarily forget his minor but persistent resentment that Vasilevskij had been promoted above from to the Chief of STAVKA, though there had been a time once when Zhukov had been a field marshal and Vasilevskij a mere lieutenant general! Yet Zhukov saw opportunity, both strategically and personally. If he could distinguish himself more than Vasilevskij in this war, surely heady promotion would follow. It was his last chance at a dramatic rise; if the Soviet Union lost, however unthinkable such a result was, he would likely be dead or a prisoner. If the Soviet Union won and he was one of the main architects, surely he could eclipse even Vasilevskij. Zhukov frowned, his mind’s gears whirling onward.

They halted, however, when he remembered that he had a report to send to Vasilevskij. His ponderous, but powerful, mind turned toward that project. It had to come first as he was to transmit it as soon as he reached the command post. Much of it dealt with the fighting in and around Pinsk which, even though out of his jurisdiction, was quite relevant to his operations. The Germans were attempting to pry Soviet forces out of Pinsk even as the Soviets themselves poured more and more troops from Brest-Litovsk into the area. From three divisions under Bagramyan, the defense had risen to twelve divisions by sunrise on the 8th. Unfortunately, the Germans had occupied Rowne and placed the two southern Belarussian Fronts into the jaws of a deadly vice. Fortunately the Germans were lax in their oversight of the battle and still had only nine divisions assaulting the town.

102-01-EarlyFightingforPinsk.png

The fighting for Pinsk early on the 8th.

By sundown, however, they had thrown another nine divisions into the battle, these units coming from Rowne to give the defenders a hard time. Zhukov frowned at that, it was quite unsporting of the Germans. But, he had to admit with a sigh, it was somewhat sensible. He would have thrown in more troops, however. As it was, the Soviet defenders had risen to twenty-seven divisions, even if they were mostly battered to some degree or another. Only nine divisions were left in Brest-Litovsk. Fortunately, the swamps around Pinsk were benefiting the defenders; the German armor was having a hard time pushing forward. He had to admit that it was just as Vasilevskij had predicted; the Germans would push into the Pripet marshes like fools. Nevertheless, their weight of numbers made them hard to stop, much less turn back or destroy. He was glad that the Germans did not seem to see that the way was free along the Baranowicze-Luniniec route. Though Germans were pushing toward the former, the latter still stood inviolable for the time being even though it was completely undefended. Also, Tarnopol lay undefended.

102-02-LaterFightingforPinsk.png

The fighting for Pinsk at the end of the 8th, and the strategic situation in the area.

It was the next day, the 9th, at around midday that the bombshell dropped. The two mechanized rifle corps of the 1st Ukrainian Front rushed into Tarnopol and cut off the thirty division German armored spearhead at Rowne. All of a sudden the Germans were in a tight spot. Of the undefended provinces, the easy ways out of the pocket, only one—Kowel—lead westward toward German lines. The other three—Luniniec, Mozyr and Korosten—merely lead deeper into the Soviet Union, not to mention the morass of the Pripet marshes. Indications were showing that the Germans were caught sending two corps toward Kowel and another two toward Korosten. Obviously they wanted to regain their line of supply, but Zhukov wondered why they were driving toward Korosten. Admittedly, of the three ‘deeper’ options, it was the driest yet it also did not lead anywhere. Zhukov shook his head in puzzlement. Nonetheless, and even though the surrounding forces were either occupied or too weak, Zhukov had ordered an attack on Rowne.

102-03-BattleforRowne.png

The battle for Rowne and the general situation in the area.

The open-top car finally trundled up to the forward command post and Zhukov stepped out, pausing to stretch. He sighed, wondering if the end of the war was near. If it was, and he had coordinated the decisive battle, at Rowne, that ended it, glory and promotion would most certainly be his to take. He grinned in a grimly good-natured way before heading toward the command post to transmit his report and forecasts for future operations.
 
woo finally a proper breakthrough! halted and turned on its head by the soviets!
 
Haha, maybe. We'll see :p

Also, some sort of god must hate me at the moment. I have another hardware problem with my laptop. Get a memory parity error when I try to boot up. I blame Far Cry 2. I've made a bit of progress, I can boot from a kubuntu cd but at the moment I need to figure out how to mount the hard drive so I can access all the stuff. Also, my glasses just broke. Literally just a few minutes ago. The frame just snapped and one lense almost fell out. I'm nearly blind now, I can't even see what I'm typing from more than a foot away but luckily my hands know the keyboard fairly well so I know I'm not making any mistakes. I'll need to get new glasses some time, and hopefully using kubuntu will allow me to bypass the hardware error as it has so far but I may not necessarily be able to do flashy graphics like before if I can continue the AAR. Basically, everything's gone to shit again. Goddamnit. :mad:
 
Whut? I play Far Cry 2 too and I never have problems. :confused:
 
this will surely remind your opponent he does face free player here!
(he might, of course, say you wont be a slave, that your family will, and that "the thousand natios descend upon you" etc. ;] )
 
This evening I got back from 9 hours of lectures only to find that I did not have a wall of spam in front of me. Now I know why.
 
Sorry to hear about your computer troubles. Hopefully things sort themselves out with the minimum amount of hassle (i know, what are the chances of that happening? :rolleyes: )

If the pocket can be crushed and 30 Axis divisions destroyed than Zhukov might be well justified in expecting to be the received as the architect of victory. Would definitely shake up the force balance along the front.
 
trekaddict: Might be 'cause I play it on a laptop (with high graphics) and the laptop overheated :p

Deus Eversor: Yep, a free thinking player is always trouble :p

Discomb: I'll make up for it once I get my laptop running xp again :cool:

VILenin: Quite good chances actually. Apparently it was only the XP boot sector which was completely screwed, to the extent that apparently it didn't actually exist despite two attempts at repairing the install. Currently I'm running a mate's vista install so that I can back up all my stuff before reformatting everything and going back to my xp. Thank all the gods it wasn't an actual hardware problem :p As for the pocket, yeah. 30 divisions is a significant force, especially when it basically consists of half of Discomb's army in Ukraine and Romania :p

I don't know when I'll be able to get back to this. I'm hoping that the laptop will have returned to normalcy by mid next week, but we'll see. I still think some godling or another is trying to make life difficult for me. But another is giving me all the luck, so it's balancing out a bit.
 
That might be it, because my comp isn't exactly new, ( 6 months ) but can still take msot games at max settings without overheating. [/bragging] :D
 
You realize you'll need to do a boot sector format to install XP again? Vista flashes the MBR to hell and substitutes it with it's own, retarded system, breaking 20 years of standardized booting. You'll have to back up your files externally if you want to reinstall XP in a non-painful fashion.
 
trekaddict: Yeah, but mine is a laptop :p

Discomb: That's what I plan on doing. Backup all my stuff on a friendly external hard drive, then reformat absolutely everything and install xp from scratch. The good thing about vista is that it saves all old windows files into their own folder, thus allowing me access to them so I can back them up. Kubuntu couldn't even access my hard drive 'cause it's retarded. :p

At the moment, I'm at the library waiting for my shift to start so I have access to internet. I hate vista, especially x64. I don't have network adapter or vga drivers. I don't particularly care about the latter at the moment since I can still play HoI2, but the former means I have no internet access at home. Again. :mad:
 
That's why I spent 70 € on a new XP recently instead of buying Vista like all the 'cool and informed' people wanted me to. :D

What pisses me off ATM is that Red Alert 3 is a pain in the arse to set up for Multiplayer, and that no one seems to play it at this time. :mad:
 
Myth said:
trekaddict: Yeah, but mine is a laptop :p

Yeah... laptops. Mine crashes when I even think about playing a game on it that has any sort of video card requirement. :(
 
trekaddict: Well, XP's completely buggered for me. It won't install at all, I'm stuck with Vista. Oh well, only a year or so until Windows 7 is out... :(

VILenin: My laptop used to be good, but i do think there is still a hardware problem. I think it's the CPU, seems to get quite hot to the point of forcing the laptop to shut down. I'm thinking of underclocking it (since it was a gratuitous upgrade because the time I sent it in to get repaired the guy took so damn long that he threw it in for free) in the hope that it'll solve this heat problem. Huh, most people would be overclocking, but not me! :p

Hopefully I'll be back to updating by the end of the week; I've just reinstalled microsoft office so now I can actually open .doc files again :p
 
5 kilometers southwest of Grodno
May 11, 1942


Timoshenko shook his head to clear the fog from it. For some reason he felt as if he was a man returning to a project after some time away from it, unsure exactly of where he had left off and where he needed to go from there. Of course, he knew in general terms what was happening: the German fascists and their perfidious Albion allies were invading the Soviet Union. He also knew in general terms what he needed to do: help stop the invaders and then drive onward toward Berlin to end the war and allow Stalin to dictate terms to the German Reich. What he did not feel like he was adequately grasping, however, were the specifics of the situation so he resolved to overview them in an attempt to break the mental fog that was obscuring his perception of the conflict and allow him to make meaningful contributions to end the war successfully. He was, after all, the coordinator of the northern fronts.

Late on the 9th of May, the Germans assaulted the area around the Lithuanian town of Alytus in force, attacking the 2nd Baltic Front under the command of General Antonov from two directions: Konigsberg and Suwalki. Forces were matched evenly though the Germans were very armor-heavy, as opposed to the primarily infantry Soviet Fronts. Nevertheless, a combination of German exhaustion and the poor weather seemed to be giving the Soviet defenders an edge in the battle. German logistics seemed to be poor from what Timoshenko could infer; replacements for casualties were not coming up nearly quickly enough to the front for them, as opposed to the Soviets’ own efficient system. Some German units seemed even to be as low as half-strength, particularly in the predominantly-infantry motorized divisions. Timoshenko smiled grimly; it seemed like, if the war turned into one of sheer attrition as the Western Front during the Great War had been, the Soviets would win.

103-01-BattleforAlytus.png

The battle for Alytus, with the German attack apparently failing.

Second on his list of events to review was the battle of Pinsk, launched by the Germas mid-afternoon on the 10th. The German encirclement threat seemed momentarily broken, as the Soviet Fronts in southern Belarus had two corridors through which to receive supplies. Additionally, the Germans themselves were surrounded and isolated at Rowne, 30 German armored and motorized infantry divisions were stranded around that town and awaited destruction. They were, however, most certainly not passive. The Germans were attacking Pinsk, the cornerstone of one of the supply corridors. The capture of Pinsk would also allow them to link up with the Germans at Rowne; as such, the Germans were throwing 42 divisions from both sides of the corridor into the struggle. Against them were 33 Soviet divisions, all of which were very badly battered and nearly all of them lacked any sort of defensive capabilities, they were so disorganized from battle. The Germans were little better in that regard, but enough so that it seemed likely that they would win, despite the marshes.

Timoshenko had reacted to this pressure on Pinsk by launching an impromptu counter-offensive toward Slonim within hours of the opening of the Pinsk battle. He was throwing in his entire Front, 24 divisions, against the rear of Field Marshal Hausser’s 24 armored and motorized divisions. Though distracted by his drive toward the undefended town of Baranowicze and the battle around Pinsk, Hausser was able to devote enough attention to the new threat to make Timoshenko’s drive very difficult and likely a failure. Timoshenko grimaced at that.

103-03-AttackingSlonim.png

The failing attack on Slonim to take pressure off of Pinsk.

Timoshenko’s counterattack brought another counterattack as well, a German counterattack against him! Fortunately, the German counterthrust was minor and consisted only of 12 divisions on two axes. Of these divisions, the majority was much disorganized and many had taken quite heavy casualties in previous heavy fighting in the region. Much as Timoshenko’s own counterattack was failing, so was the German one. Both were sideshows at the moment, to the drama that was taking place to the south.

103-04-DefendingGrodno.png

Defending Grodno from a failing German counterattack.

The final event of the 10th capped a dramatic day, as Zhukov began his assault on Rowne. He attacked with 27 divisions, less than the 30 divisions defending the town, but hoped that his divisions were in better shape than the Germans’. Despite all the Germans’ troubles, however, reports circulated so far augured that the attack would fail as the Germans were too well entrenched despite their lack of supplies, and the Soviets were not attacking in great enough numbers. Additionally, the Germans were moving on Kowel, attempting to open another supply corridor to Rowne. Kowel was undefended by the Soviets. This, when combined with Pinsk, would have the result of encircling any Soviet forces left in southern Belarus, which could not be allowed.

103-05-AttackingRowne.png

Zhukov’s failing attack on Rowne.

Timoshenko grimaced and shook his head at the situation. It was very much in the balance. 30 German divisions trapped at Rowne, potentially up to 36 Soviet divisions trapped in southern Belarus if the two German thrusts toward Pinsk and Kowel succeeded. The situation was incredibly delicate, Timoshenko hoped that he, Vasilevskij and their commanders were up to the task that faced them. Timoshenko sighed in a determined sort of way, despite the difficult situation he was already looking toward the end he hoped for, a victory over Germany.
 
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now that is a hell of a lot of tanks.
 
Yep, the Germans do have a lot of tanks. Also, I was notified that two of the screenshots are the same, but when I tried to fix it apparently there's actually nothing I can do about it so we'll all have to live with it. :eek:o

Also, as far as scheduling is concerned, I'll try to keep to updating POF two or three times a week.
 
7 kilometers southwest of Tarnopol
May 12, 1942


Zhukov frowned at the map displayed in front of him as he towered over it, his piercing eyes fixated on the lines and symbols that denoted all that was occurring not far from him. The Germans were attacking toward Tarnopol and he had to deal with that crisis. At the same time, he had to look further ahead and attempt to figure out a solution to the other problems he was facing. Nothing was going according to plan any more, which had been shredded beyond redemption by recent events. Zhukov cleared his throat roughly and grimaced, motioning for a drink as he did so. An aide quickly brought him a glass of water, which Zhukov gulped down even as his eyes kept staring at the map thoughtfully.

Pinsk was rapidly hurtling toward disaster. The defending units were nearly broken and their direction of retreat was unknown. It might even be that they could flee back into Brest-Litovsk, a certainly self-destructive move which Zhukov did not put past the desperate, frightened soldiers who would take the familiar road over the unfamiliar even if the latter led toward safety. Nevertheless, Pinsk was not entirely unfortunate. The Germans had been badly bloodied there, with many enemy divisions having taken 10 percent or more casualties and a good deal also being quite disorganized in the swamp fight. It would have augured well for Zhukov’s planned renewed attempt to attack Rowne if Kowel had not fallen.

104-01-PinskAgain.png

The battle of Pinsk on May 11th.

He knew that things had been going better to the north, however. Colonel General Antonov’s 2nd Baltic Front was making major inroads toward that damned town of Suwalki. The nine German divisions in the area had already been greatly battered by previous fights as well as the German counterattack toward Grodno launched the previous day. They were barely standing up to the massive weight of Antonov’s entire Front. Reports were arriving that said that German divisions were even beginning to approach half-strength and that one at least was already beyond it. Germany’s army, Zhukov realized, might only be destroyed through sheer bloody attrition in relentless battles of position.

104-02-VictoryinSuwalki.png

Victory in Suwalki, a very tasty phrase.

At the same time as these other two battles were taking place on the 11th, Colonel General Malinovskij’s 3rd Baltic Front was attacking toward Konigsberg, also with success. Though the German units in that area were stronger and better organized, if not more numerous, it was certainly also only a matter of time before they too broke. Zhukov briefly entertained fantasies of the Baltic Fronts breaking through in the north and performing a massive expansionist maneuver to race simultaneously toward Berlin and southward to roll up the entire front line. With a deep breath and a semi-longing sigh, Zhukov dispelled such fantastic images and his mind returned to the dilemmas he was facing at that moment himself.

104-03-AttackingKonigsbergAgain.png

Another attack on Konigsberg, succeeding despite heavy German resistance.

The situation was indeed quite grim. His forces were under assault around Tarnopol from the direction of Lvov. His attack toward Rowne was stalling badly. Kowel had fallen to the Germans, allowing the 30 German divisions around Rowne to receive supplies. This in turn allowed their commander, von Kluge, to push northward toward Luniniec against Soviet resistance and the marshes in an attempt to outflank Pinsk. It was fortunate that the Germans were not simultaneously pushing toward Baranowicze otherwise Zhukov anticipated that even a successful defense of Pinsk, however impossible, would result in encirclement. Fortunately, the entirety of the German armored force around Slonim had become sucked into the bloody and explosive maelstrom around Pinsk. German forces were pushing toward Brest-Litovsk, which had the potential of making any withdrawal in that direction a grave disaster. The Germans at Rowne were also pushing eastward toward Korosten, which was undefended. If the German designs succeeded, the Soviet army would lose at least 36 full divisions and would be in a position from which to threaten Kiev from the north and Minsk from the south without significant Soviet divisions to counter their moves. Essentially, the Germans would split the Soviet front and force them to withdraw to behind the river lines to attempt to reconstitute it. Zhukov grimaced.

104-04-SituationattheFront.png

The situation at the front in southern Belarus and northern Ukraine.

Zhukov took a deep breath inward. He had a feeling that the most important variables in this tactical puzzle were beyond his, or indeed any Soviet, control. It all revolved around how well the Germans did: at marching toward Brest-Litovsk, at taking Luniniec, at occupying Korosten, at wresting Tarnopol from Zhukov’s own shattered troops. Zhukov closed his eyes and, though his aides were not aware of it, he may have been praying to the god of war. The dice of Mars were about to roll.