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Yeah, it's going to be tight. And this doesn't even take into account the Southern Whites, who have thankfully only been probing around the Ukraine with cavalry forces. A big force just took undefended Astrakhan, for example - thank god it's not pressing me towards Moscow right now!
 
Two more things, I think screenshots should be enough.. you all can realize the significance...

73456840.jpg


16208584.jpg
 
Once the NorthWestern Reds are destroyed, you can defend en profondeur which means you can have large holes in your lines for a couple turns the time to concentrate your forces and get a couple decisive victories.

I never found the Northern Whites to be any useful when I played the Whites : there are not a lot of them, they are far from the front and the allies won't help them in attack. They look impressive on paper, but too costly in railpool to be used a lot. Plus, I had greens everywhere on the way to mainland Russia.
 
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Turns 28 + 29: Late July - Early August 1919

A few things. First, as predicted, I'm on the offensive in the north:

northernoffensives.jpg


Things are going swimmingly. Stalin is chasing Miller and his British cronies off towards Karelia, and Bonchy's 16,000 are going to face off with Rodzianko's 14,000. An infantry regiment will move near the city and take back some of the territory the NW Army stole shortly. On top of all that, I have two fresh divisions coming online in Petrograd next turn. :) The Cradle of the Revolution is safe.

kurskp.jpg


At Kursk in Southern Russia, we've won an excellent victory against Drozdovsky, who botches his recon and came at Frunze's many with his few. Droz is an excellent officer and leads an excellent division. That division was mauled this day, losing two elite infantry and one elite cavalry elements. Excellent! Trotsky's coming to take the command from Frunze shortly, and then we can consider an advance.

latvianescape.jpg


This is sad news. Kazan, which the Latvians have faithfully held for so long, has been outflanked and must be abandoned. Our Red boys will avoid combat by crossing the river west of the city.



Minor things: Kirov is changing his landing site from Turkestan to the East Caucasus, Tukhachevsky is being reinforced by Blucher's Butchers to face the Siberians, several battles occur between Comrade Ordzhonikidze's corps and the Arkhangelsk Whites, and Mai-Mai's corps has captured Saratov. Also, I REALLY need cash and men.. so many replacements are necessary..
 
One thing to say!
DEATH TO THE BLACK BARON
[video=youtube;zZqVOFSYRWI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZqVOFSYRWI&feature=player_embedded#[/video]
 
Yes indeed. He gained seniority.

Ouch.

Still, it's hard to argue with results, and things do seem to be looking up.

That battle of Kursk: you won with far heavier losses than your opponent. Is the fact that he lost several elite units worth the butcher's bill on your side?
 
Ouch.

Still, it's hard to argue with results, and things do seem to be looking up.

That battle of Kursk: you won with far heavier losses than your opponent. Is the fact that he lost several elite units worth the butcher's bill on your side?

I think it's worth it. I am running low on men, but blunting the sharpened tip of Denikin's spear is the very best possible result. The elite units of the Drozdovsky, Kornilov and Markov divisions are the very best the Whites have to offer and harming them is a top priority.
 
I think it's worth it. I am running low on men, but blunting the sharpened tip of Denikin's spear is the very best possible result. The elite units of the Drozdovsky, Kornilov and Markov divisions are the very best the Whites have to offer and harming them is a top priority.

I agree, destroying the White's elite elements is paramount. They can't rebuild them and the casualties suffered in the effort to destroy them can be recovered more quickly for the Reds than the Whites.
 
[video=youtube;myg8Q0r8JnQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myg8Q0r8JnQ[/video]

Glory to the Red Army!

But yeah, eliminating the whites elites seems like a good idea... Although probably easier said than done.
 
A bunch of losing battles this turn, but I'm still optimistic.

Turn 30: Late August 1919

Historically, at this point, the Whites were at their most dangerous. Although KOMUCH had been destroyed and the Siberians were in retreat, Denikin's armies, led by Mai-Mai, were advancing straight up the railroad track from Kursk towards Moscow. Kiev had fallen to the Whites, and Voronezh looked like it would fall soon. Meanwhile, Yudenich's forces were marshalling for the strike on Petrograd.

Our situation is different. Rodzianko commands the NW Army, not Yudenich, for starters - and he's been in the field for months. The Whites do not hold Kiev, or Kursk, or Orel, though they do control Voronezh. Unfortunately, the Siberians and Komuch are still very much an extant threat.

Regardless, this is why I feel confident: the Whites are farther from Moscow than they were in reality. And time is on my side.

Here's one reason time is on my side. The British forces leave Russia this turn, so they won't be able to wallop Stalin like this again:

tikhvinbattle.jpg


Ouch! I hadn't expected them to put up much of a fight, I guess. Shows me for pissing off a bunch of frigid, battle-hardened Brits.

To the south, Bonchy isn't doing much better against Rodzianko's NW Army:

novgorodbattle.jpg


The BEF is no longer problem, but I need more numbers to defeat Rodz. (Great name.) To that end, we'll be resting and fitting out a new combined Northern Front at Tsarskoye Selo. Observe!

nwsitch.jpg


My three mobile forces, combined with two fresh divisions from Petrograd, should number in the area of 40,000 men - enough to crush Rodz' 12,000 in one swift blow, I hope.

I have to say, Pariah's done a splendid job leading the Northern White forces. He's pinned down far superior numbers for quite a long time by playing on my fears about Petrograd and striking and retreating from multiple directions.

Here's a shot of North Ukraine/South Russia.

trotskydrozattack.jpg


Trotsky's new army (formerly under the command of Frunze) is finally ready for battle and assembled at Kursk. I've decided to go over to the offensive. Attacking Voronezh will push the whites back south and protect Kursk, while Kamenev covers the direct northern approach from Kharkov. I still don't like having only two forces to maneuver with in such a large theatre, but as Narwhal said, I have to leave gaps if I want to score decisive victories. Battering the already-damaged Drozdovsky command will suit me nicely.

There's one more big front left, and it's the East. Let's see here..

kazanbattle.jpg


Ah yes, the Latvians were unable to escape Kazan without a fight. Just as well, I suppose - considering the disparity in numbers, my boys were able to inflict impressive casualties. The previously mentioned escape route is still open, so we're moving along the north bank of the upper Volga now.

Here's the really big deal:

ostfrunt.jpg


Something ominous is happening in Penza. As Tukhachevsky's Eastern Front stands off and watches, the Southern and Siberian Whites have joined arms. Mai-Mai commands a corps in the same region as Galkin, Komuch's premier corps commander. Combined, they're a huge and powerful force.

I don't know if this cooperation is a policy or just a coincidental convergence but I want to nip it in the bud. Tukhachevsky is going in. He commands the largest single force I have right now - 65,000 men with 2000 power points. He's a rising star - gone from divisional to army command in the course of the conflict - and decent on the attack. I'm throwing him and his stack in all-out-assault mode at the White concentration, hoping to inflict crippling losses. Timoshenko will protect the rear, at Tambov.

This could be the decisive battle of the war.
 
I'm afraid I have some bad news, gentlemen. =(

I received this email from Michael, the Siberian Whites player and our good host, today. We've been experiencing a glitch involving British supply wagons:

Sorry guys, I can't process the turn due to the British supply wagons. So our game is over unfortunately.
I have fixed this in a mod i am making, it was actually quite an easy fix. I am strengthening the Reds a bit, new leader option comes up one turn quicker for the Reds, slightly more money
and manpower from their options, slightly better leader stats.

If either of you have an interest in playing again with these mods i would be honored as you are both excellent opponents.

Michael

So I'm afraid our game comes to a premature end. I'll have a final round-up post here shortly, and I'm sure John (digital_pariah) and Michael (lycortas) will have something to say.