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Turn 22 - Late March 1920: Meddling Poles and starving Reds


The Communist situation in this game has shifted from gloomy to desperate. They suffered minor setbacks on all fronts. As a consequence Communist NM is down to 24 points. To make things worse, Poland has decided to attack the wounded bear as well. The battered Red Army has to find troops to throw westward or they will be overrun.

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Polish front: Strictly speaking there isn't just one Polish front but rather two. The Northern and Southern sectors are divided by the Prypiat Marshes - a huge swamp area without roads or railways. While raiders can pass through, a proper army would get stuck and eventually run out of supplies.


Belorussian front (= northern sector): The obvious first target is the city of Minsk. Once this railway hub is under Polish control a railway route leads via Smolensk straight to Moscow. Unfortunately, Polish troops are limited to Poland, the Ukraine and Belorussia as their theaters of operation. If they venture beyond this area, they incur massive cohesion losses which render them essentially useless. Therefore any offensive in the North cannot go beyond Orsha.

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Zygadlowicz and Szeptycki are ordered to assault Minsk this turn. The further Polish strategy will depend upon the Bolshevik reaction: If the Red Army should manage to scrape a strong force together, Minsk will be the keystone to an excellent defensive position behind the rivers Neris and Berezina. Otherwise Polish forces will venture east in order to take Gomel before attacking the Ukraine from the Northwest.


Ukrainian front (= southern sector): The big price in the South is Kiev. Not only is it rich in ressources, but its loss will deal a harsh blow to Communist NM. Moreover, taking Kiev will provide me with Ukrainian reinforcements come May.
Currently, my Southern White allies are besieging the city but Durk has agreed to lift the siege and leave the capture of Kiev to the Polish Army (from what Durk told me he hasn't enough men to risk an assault anyway).

Pilsudski's plan relies entirely upon speed: he will cross the Ukrainian border with the main force while almost the entire Polish cavalry is send ahead to secure the railway all the way to Kiev. If all goes according to plan Pilsudki's entire force will board trains next turn and move onto Kiev.

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The plans for the Polish front have been worked out for months: Operation Feint and Operation Hammer. I am not sure if Ian knows about the limitations of the Polish army in the North. He might, but then again a bug hid this special (dis)ability when he played the Siberians in our first game.
The idea for Operation Feint is to blow up a lot of dust in the North with early, seemingly aggressive moves. Meanwhile the initial Polsih moves in the South are designed to appear a lot more timid. Hopefully this will trick Ian into deploying his scarce reserves to the wrong sector. Come April, Operation Hammer will be launched with an assault against Kiev. Even if the feint should fail, I believe that Kiev will fall. I doubt the Red Army has enough troops left to relieve the city.
In order to make the hammer more powerful, Majewski and a division worth of troops are transfered from the Northern to the Southern sector.

While the Polish Army is quite impressive on paper, Polish intervention comes with some annoying issues:

  1. Although the Poles have two three star generals, it is impossible to give either of them army command (if I am not mistaken, there is a limit to the number of army hqs a subfaction can have. Apparently that limit is set to zero for the Polish). This particular problem can be solved, though: Tolstov is loaned to the Polish via instant redeployment.
  2. Polish NM starts at 25! While the Poles share ressources, EP, railway capacities, etc. with the Siberians, they have a seperate NM and VP count. The hefty NM penalty for Polish intervention is entirely subtracted from the Polish NM (I thought the Siberian NM would suffer). Considering that the Polish would surrender if their NM should drop to zero, there isn't much room for mistakes.
  3. There isn't a single depot in all of Poland. Polish intervention comes with its very own supply crisis.
More on Polish intervention in my RUS game mechanics chapter on the subject.


Northern front: Here we go again, yet another attack on Votinsk. :rolleyes:

Fifth Battle of Votinsk: The attack wasn't as foolish as the result suggests, though. Last turn, starvation had reduced the cohesion of Pepeliaev's corps considerably: his strength had dropped to ~650 pw. Ian may have sensed an opportunity. He may even have thought, I would order further retreats. Luckily, I had managed to bring new supplies in last turn. This turn Pepeliaev's troops were well supplied again and his cohesion recovered. When Shorin attacked he faced a well entrenched army with superior numbers and the better commanders. Pepeliaev, the seasoned veteran of many battles, let his corps to another glorious victory. Gaida's troops never even got to participate in the slaughter. 11.500 Communists have fallen; White casualties number "only" 3.000. Kolchak is pleased; +2 NM.

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For the moment, the Northern front will remain peaceful. The Red Army is likely to lick its wounds and I am still busy getting my supply issues under control.


Southern front: The Siberian Army won two smaller battles: A Red cavalry brigade that was constantly interrupting the Penza-Tambov railway was punished by Akutin (out of 38 hits only 6 remain).
Further north Operation Sickle is off to a promising start: Saransk was taken with ease.

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The most promising developpment is the siege of Syzran, though. Samoylo is down to 212 pw. There is only one possible explanation: after three months his army is finally starving. Keeping this siege in the middle of a nasty supply crisis was a constant nightmare but now my perseverance is starting to pay off. The Red Army command is clearly desperate: Samoylo tried again to sneak out of the city but aborted the attempt before a battle could ensue.
Obviously Kappel could assault the city now. But Trotzky has been reinforced by Parsky. This could be a sign that the Red Army is about to launch one more desperate attempt to lift the siege. I believe Trotzky would probably be too late, but with a march to the sound of guns, I can't be certain. Most importantly, Kappel would be vulnerable in assault posture, especially after a costly fight in the streets of Syzran.
I might have decided to assault anyway but with the Volga still frozen, my prey can't get away. I can afford to be patient.

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In the meantime, the second step of Operation Sickle is launched: When I initially planned the operation the target was Kazan, I wanted to link my Southern to my Northern front and isolate the Red forces north of Votinsk. The sickle would swing through the back of the Red Army and take its most valuable position on the Siberian front: Kazan. This prize gets even richer since the remnants of the Red Volga fleet are sheltered in its harbour. If it could be destroyed like the fleets at Sarapul and Saratov, Communist control of the Volga would come to an end.
The Siberian supply crisis had made me modest, though. For the last few turns the objective of Operation Sickle had changed to sacking Trotzky. In order to achieve this it would be sufficient to take Saransk and Simbirsk. Tarasevich's attack on Bugulma was intended to open a railway line to get reinforcements and supplies to Simbirsk. Now I am reconsidering: after Parsky's march south, only 250 pw worth of troops remain at Kazan. They are most likely well entrenched and should profit from the river (I don't know how high the bonus is for a frozen river).
As with the attack on Saransk, I have assembled an attack force behind the frontline: two infantry divisions with armoured support (which means they move faster than cavalry) have been assembled at Penza. Akutin is put in command. With almost 800 pw his corps outnumbers Ordzhonikidze's 3:1. Some of that strength will be lost during the march (only the first half will be by train). Still I hope Akutin's corps will prove powerful enough to take the city or at least force the defenders outside the city to retreat.
Tarasevich will again provide assistance. He is ordered to infiltrate Kazan on the last day of the turn. Hopefully his unit will only have to provide reinforcements against a possible counter-attack. If Akutin is stopped along the way or forced to retreat, Tarasevich has a decent chance to escape without combat: he is on passive posture and his division is small enough to have a good evasion value.
Glolitsyn and Grivin are ordered to secure a retreat-route in case Akutin fails. They will occupy Cherdakly on the east bank of the Volga, just opposite of Simbirsk. This should enable Akutin to reach safty fast if need be. Together Glolitsyn and Grivin will have close to 1.000 pw enough to push the offensive further.
Even with these safety precautions, the attack on Kazan remains risky: I reckon the chances of success are 60% at best. But I doubt Ian will see it coming - or even think it possible. Akutin's corps will have to cover an awful lot of ground. No small feat in winter.

After next turn, I expect to run into new supply troubles. Ian came up with a nasty little trick. He used a detachment of Samoylo's besieged force to blow up the railway line through Syzran. Through this railway any supply trains from the east have to pass in order to reach my troops at Penza, Tambov and now Saransk. New supply deliveries will be delaid by several days now. My offensive moves won't help matters either.
Even worse, the Polish now share the Siberian railway pool which has strained it to its limits. This turn, no railway capacities will remain to help out the supply network. I expect matters to get even worse: the Red Army has two cavalry divisions (brigade sized formations called division to satisfy Bolshevik dreams of grandeur) positioned to interrupt the railway between Syzran and Penza.


Recruitment: currently unit building has shifted entirely towards supply trains. I need to build a supply network in Poland fast. Most of these new supplies trains will be transformed into depots quickly.

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The Siberian brown water navy (a.k.a. Rustbucket Armada) has been strengthened slightly: it now has 8 gunboats in good condition and four more are currently under construction. Not much, but the Reds have lost a huge portion of their fleet during the winter. The Siberians may just be strong enough to challenge Communists rule of the Volga again.
 
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Thank you for the point on the Poles. It is worth a beginner's corner.

I have no idea what the Red can do. It looks like they are completely strangled. But then, AGEOD has seen impressive recoveries !
 
Great update! I didn't know much about the Polish factor so that was very informative.

The situation looks quite grim for Lenin and his boys indeed. How are your Southern friends faring? The pressure on the south must have lessened considerably by now, especially if Kiev is under siege.
 
The war doesn't stop when the snow starts falling,especially in the snow-blasted wasteland of Siberia. Which one of you holds Astrakhan? Maybe Durk might be able to spare you some gunboat reinforcements from the Caspian.

I believe Astrakhan is still held by the Reds.

On to the game, it's really hard to see the Communists recover from this: such low NM, a whole new threat from the Poles... The Siberians continue with their supply issues, but that large Red stack in Syzran is about to disappear, the Poles (at a minimum) should be able to take Kiev, the pressure on the Southerns should lessen a bit...

All looks good for the forces of Reaction. ;)

Would Ian's best chance be to concentrate against the Poles and try to drive their NM into the ground (right before his own dies?)?
 
I've just read this from beginning to end and I'm hooked. Looks like you've got the Reds on the ropes, and I admire the Red player's tenacity in sticking out the game so far. I'd have been tempted to concede by now if I was in his position, but then again, a communist victory is surely the inevitable culmination of the historical process!
 
Narwhal: Luckily, I have already written such a "beginners corner" about Polish intervention. I love that concept by the way. You have a great way of easing people into the complexities of AGEOD's game mechanics. That is why I shamelessly copied the idea. ;)

loki100: Yes it looks indeed bad for the Reds ... and it's about to get worse. :) We are not far ahead but I am very confident that Red defeat will occur within the next couple of turns.

How are your Southern friends faring? The pressure on the south must have lessened considerably by now, especially if Kiev is under siege.

Durk had a good turn. His NM slightly recovered. But his troops must be depleted at this point. Neverthesless, I believe Ian's strategy to crush the Southern White has failed at this point. His Siberian front is disintegrating fast while Durk has fought him to a stalemate in the South.

Kiev had been under siege for a long time. Ian applied pressure around the Don, in the Western Ukraine on the other hand, Durk managed to keep the fighting close to Kiev for the most part.

I believe Astrakhan is still held by the Reds.

Would Ian's best chance be to concentrate against the Poles and try to drive their NM into the ground (right before his own dies?)?

You are correct, Astrakhan is firmly in Red hands. :) I had planned for a while to send a cavalry force south to conquer the city. But currently I need these units elsewhere ...

I believe Ian is no longer in a position to scrape together enough troops to mount counter-offensives. In the South his troops seem interlocked with the Southern White making it difficult to disengage. His best bet is probably to gamble on Durk or me making reckless mistakes while trading time for space.

I've just read this from beginning to end and I'm hooked. Looks like you've got the Reds on the ropes, and I admire the Red player's tenacity in sticking out the game so far. I'd have been tempted to concede by now if I was in his position, but then again, a communist victory is surely the inevitable culmination of the historical process!

Thank you! :) Ian has indeed my deepest respects. Many players quit if a campaign isn't going their way. Neither Ian nor Durk are that kind of player. They both never give up but rather fight until the bitter end. It really is a privilege to be able to play this gam with them. :)
 
Turn 23 - Early April 1920: Where is Kolchak's caviar?


The carnage continues. Frankly, I have never participated in a bloodier RUS campaign. Combat losses (the overview doesn't count losses due to starvation, attrition or desertion) are close to 900.000 for all sides combined. Red casualties alone have surpassed half a million men. It seems Southern White and Red are ceaselessly beating each other up like two bleeding boxers too stubborn to give in. How much longer can they keep this up? The Reds steadily bleed NM on the Siberian front but the Southern White can't possibly have replaced 270.000 men. Their army must be depleted at this point.

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Meanwhile my supply crisis has taken a troubling new turn. I may have succeeded in stabilizing the supply situation at the frontlines but it has taken a toll on the supply stocks in the Siberian rear. Before the winter, there used to be more than 800 units of supply stored at Omsk. Now this enormous stack has disappeared entirely. Even Kolchak's caviar has been sent to the front. For now the troops there have still enough stocks for another 4 turns but medium term the prospect is bleak. Even worse with Omsk's supply exhausted, I can't send more fully stocked supply trains to the frontlines. The stability there may thus be shortlived. Basically it seems the Siberian supply crisis is unsolvable: I have raised loyalties, build dozens of new depots, it didn't help. My global supply production is simply insufficient. I can struggle on by sending troops even further east but eventually the Siberian supply system is bound to crash. From now on the clock is ticking against the Siberian war effort ...

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Belorussian front: At its very start the Polish intervention comes within an inch of an utter debacle:

Battle of Minsk: Red Guards fought heroically during the defence of Minsk. The odds were overwhelming. Less than 5.000 Reds fought of a corps five times their size. The first assault cost 6.000 Polish but only 1.300 Red lives. Amongst the casualties is the Polish commander general Zygadlowicz.

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In the end general Szeptycki's fresh corps "saved" the day. After another bloody battle it overwhelmed the last Red defenders by sheer weight of numbers. A battery of fortress artillery and an airfield were captured but the price was hefty: another 6.400 Polish soldiers gave their lifes for the conquest of Minsk.

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Minsk has been taken, yet it doesn't justify the loss of one third of the siege forces. There are two reasons for this stubborn Red defence:
  1. level 4 entrenchment inside a city is devastatingly effective. The Red Army had only three regiments of conscript infantry inside Minsk (the rest were support units and artillery), yet these Reds took hardly any casualties while mowing down Polish infantry at will.
  2. the Red fixed artillery. This single artillery unit brought as many guns to this fight as the whole Polish force. And their guns were a lot bigger (155 mm against the standard 105 mm Polish field gun). Here is the culprit for most of the Polish casualties.
I am puzzled how I could break even NM wise afer these battles. Especially the NM gain from the second battle seems strange since Siberian casualties were much higher.:blink:

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Nevermind, Operation Feint has reached its primary objective. Szeptycki will rest his battered troops at Minsk while Rydz-Smigly will secure his flank. Eventually parts of this army might advance into the Ukraine via Gomel. For now cavalry scouts are taking control of the railways to Smolensk and Gomel.


Ukrainian front: The bloodbath at Minsk should have made me careful. Whether Kiev is equipped with the same murderous fortress artillery as Minsk, I do not know. But I am sure they are just as well entrenched and a lot more numerous. Unfortunately, I need to finish the Red Army off quickly. With supply issues pressing, there is no more time for hesitation. Operation Hammer can't be slowed down. Luckily Pilsudski is one of my best commanders, he will have to succeed or die trying!

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Majewski has orders to join Pilsudski during his march on Kiev. Together they have almost 60.000 men. Tolstov (transferred from Siberia to solve the bug that prevents me from promoting a Polish general to army command) guards the rear with a few Ukrainians.
In the meantime cavalry units are ordered to flank Kiev. They will help establish control over railway lines leading deeper into the Ukraine.

With the Polish supply network inexistant, I will have to establish a chain of depots as quickly as possible. The first one has already been built at Kowel. This turn three more will follow at Minsk, Warsaw and Brest Litovsk. Next turn the first batch of newly build supply trains should become available allowing for more construction work.

The Red Army still hasn't dispatched any reinforcements to bolster the frontlines against Poland. It must be stretched desperatly thin at this point.


Siberian front: Akutin's small force has proven unstoppable. Operation Sickle was a full success. During his march from Penza to Kazan Akutin's heros brushed aside a small Red force under Ordzhonikidze. 1.500 Red caualties, no Siberian losses.

Battle of Kazan: Next Akutin crossed the Volga and immediately ordered his men to assault Kazan. Uborevich obviously had felt safe in the city; he had neglected building anything more than rudimentary trenches. Now 26.000 Siberian veterans descended upon his men under the cover of British made tanks. The Reds were taken by surprise, soon 6.000 of them were dead and the survivors retreated deeper into the city. 2.300 Siberians had fallen.

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These losses stirred Akutin's men on: street by street the city was cleared of its defenders. Another 4.300 Communist and 1.400 White soldiers lost their lifes before the battle of Kazan was over. In total + 3 NM were gained.

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The city proved to be a much bigger prize than expected: For one the remnants of the Red Volga fleet were locked inside its harbour by the frozen Volga: 11 gunboats and 28 transport ships had nowhere to escape once the city was taken. The Red sailors blew their ships up rather than surrender them to the White.
Secondly, the depot at Kazan proved to be well stocked. 260 units of supply were captured. Trotzky and the Red forces south of Kazan were dependant upon this depot to secure their supply. Thus Trotzky is left in a desperate position: either he must try to retreat or somehow reconquer a depot. Neither will be an easy task. Besides, the Siberian depots are empty anyway! :)

Key to the current situation is Trotzky's next move: Gekker and Shorin are too far away to achieve much. But Trotzky has numerous options.
Obviously the supply situation forces Trotzky into action: The sensible move would be to retreat north. Head to Simbirsk and then try to link up with Ordzhonikidze. Unfortunately this move would mean for Trotzky's armoured trains to be left behind or attempt a painfully slow voyage overland since a dircet railway link to Sviask is missing.
A good short term move would be to retreat to Simbirsk which is threatened by Glolitsyn - this is exactly the reason why Glolitsyn won't attack. If a few Red transport should have escaped, they could evacuate the trains via the river next turn.

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Aside from these defensive moves there are four risky offensive options: Firstly, Trotzky could attempt to break through Voitsekhovski's force at Saransk. But his men are dug in behind a river. I trust they could withstand an attack.
Secondly, he could dispatch Parsky in an attempt to retake Kazan. Luckily I send Tarasevich's 7th Ural Fusilier Division to bolster Akutin. It didn't arrive in time to participate in the battle of Kazan. Therefore it is - unlike Akutin's other two divisions - well rested. Without it Kazan might very well fall.
Thirdly, Trotzky could divide his force, leave the armoured trains behind and use Parsky's division to attack Penza. Currently Dutov has only one weak division (170 pw). Parsky on the other hand has almost 600 pw under his command. Dutov therefore needs reinforcements. Vaniukov's small division is detached from Saratov. It should bring Dutov up to 350 pw. With level 4 entrenchment this should suffice to repel a Red attack.
Finally, Trotzky could attempt to relieve Samoylo's starving men. I doubt it since Trotzky is too weak to dislodge Kappel. Ian might speculate on me ordering an assault, though. In that case, Trotzky would be too late to save Samoylo but he might be able to exert revenge upon Kappel's troops when they are exhausted from an assault. The obvious choice would be to simply wait and see. With starvation taking its toll amongst his troops (he is already down to 112 pw), Samoylo could surrender any turn now. Nevertheless Kappel is ordered to storm the city. Call it bloodthirsty if you like but the deeper reason is this: if Syzran surrenders the Siberians gain 1 point of NM but if Kappel's slaughters all those depleted elements in Samoylo's corps he might gain me a lot more. Time is of the essence - Communist NM must be down to zero before the Siberian supply crisis gets out of control. Syzran presents an prime opportunity to bring the Bolsheviks closer to their demise.
In order to bolster Kappel against a possible counter-attack Neiland's cavalry division (450 pw) is dispatched from Samara. In the meantime Grivin takes part of Glolitsyn's force in an attempt to clear the territory between Kazan and Perm of Red militia.

Now the question is how much longer can the Bolsheviks survive?
 
In the worse case scenario what's the maximum supportable size of your army that you can sustain? The supply crunch has certainly added a vicious twist to what looked like a foregone conclusion.
 
If he bleeds his army down, he can get the supply situation under control. Of course, that could restore the NM situation, so the assaults need to be carefully chosen...

Time to pay the butcher, I think. This campaign season will be decisive!
 
although its clearly a race between your supply net collapsing completely and the Reds collapsing, I think you've done too much damage. Since all they can do is to take Minsk and Kiev, its not too important that the Poles are taking heavy losses, but looking at that last map, you've now completely disrupted the Red defense lines
 
It looks like Trotsky has the last significant Red force you are facing, and it is trapped due to the railbound trait. Afterwards, it will be a wild dash to the Red capital !
 
Great victory at Kazan - and now Trotsky is trapped. Mwuhahaha!

I realize your supply situation is basically collapsing, but even knowing that, it's hard to imagine the Communists lasting much longer. I mean, most of their armies seem to be depleted, you're capturing cities left and right... Even if you're forced to disband units, you'd still have a better fighting force left than the Reds, right?

I must say I'm a bit concerned about the Southern Whites. I know you said Durk agreed to evacuate his siege of Kiev, so that the Poles could try to storm it, but I was expecting to start to see some Southern White and Siberian units getting close to each other. Are you simply still that far separated from each other, or are the Southerns basically out of units to perform any kind of offensive maneuver?

Anyway, as Narwhal says, it looks like it's Trotsky - and then a dash for Moscow! Exciting times! :)
 
Clearly there is only one solution to this supply crisis: An offensive on Moscow.

Edit: Something I noticed when ordering replacements, There are actually three White factions in the game. The game orders the white factions as such:

WH1: Southern Whites
WH2: Komuch
WH3: Siberian Whites
 
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In the worse case scenario what's the maximum supportable size of your army that you can sustain? The supply crunch has certainly added a vicious twist to what looked like a foregone conclusion.

Sadly, I have no idea. :( I never added up every single point of supply I can produce, besides in some instances the supply system acted really weird in this match.

If he bleeds his army down, he can get the supply situation under control. Of course, that could restore the NM situation, so the assaults need to be carefully chosen...

Time to pay the butcher, I think. This campaign season will be decisive!

Tss Tss, I am no butcher. :huh: Just a very bloodthirsty admiral. ;)

Bleeding your army down isn't a good recipe. As you said yourself it costs NM. Even worse it would make my frontline troops vulnerable.

The last resort is far more cynical: If all other options were exhausted, I would have to march entire divisions deep into the steppe and let them starve there. :( Starving troops far away from depots don't draw supplies or reinforcements but most importantly, their demise doesn't cost NM.

I really don't want to have to do this. The historical parallels alone make me sick.

It looks like Trotsky has the last significant Red force you are facing, and it is trapped due to the railbound trait. Afterwards, it will be a wild dash to the Red capital !

Moscow is indeed within reach. The problem is: getting there from the East is another logistical nightmare. Between my jumping boards Penza and Kazan and Moscow their is only a single depot at Nizhniy Novgorod. Even in the Grand Campaign supplying your troops on thier advance to the city is tricky.

I realize your supply situation is basically collapsing, but even knowing that, it's hard to imagine the Communists lasting much longer. I mean, most of their armies seem to be depleted, you're capturing cities left and right... Even if you're forced to disband units, you'd still have a better fighting force left than the Reds, right?

I must say I'm a bit concerned about the Southern Whites. I know you said Durk agreed to evacuate his siege of Kiev, so that the Poles could try to storm it, but I was expecting to start to see some Southern White and Siberian units getting close to each other. Are you simply still that far separated from each other, or are the Southerns basically out of units to perform any kind of offensive maneuver?

Yes, the Red Army isn't a match for the Siberians at this point. If RUS had a diplomacy feature, I would turn my backs on the Southern White right about now and go for world domination. :laugh:

Polish and Southern White units will make contact within the next turn.

Clearly there is only one solution to this supply crisis: An offensive on Moscow.

Edit: Something I noticed when ordering replacements, There are actually three White factions in the game. The game orders the white factions as such:

WH1: Southern Whites
WH2: Komuch
WH3: Siberian Whites

Actually there are two more White subfactions:

WH4: North-Western White (Yudenich and the troops at Pskov)
WH5: Northern White (Arkhangelsk and Murmansk)

The tricky thing is that commanders can only have troops of their own subfactions in their divisions. For example, a Komuch general can't integrate Siberian troops into his division.
 
Turn 24 - Late April 1920: The last days of a revolution


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The Bolshevik regime is crumbling. A series of defeats on all fronts has brought it within inches of its demise. Kiev has fallen to Pilsudski's Poles, Kappel has slaughtered the remnants of Samoylo's Army in Syzran, the Southern White repulsed one more Red attempt to crush them in the South. Only at the gates of Petrograd were the Bolshevics successful. Now Lenin is already packing his bags and in search of some country that would accomodate him. It is looking grim for Communism.


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Belorussian front: Since the costly battle of Minsk the Red Army has chosen to ignore this sector. A few cavalry and cheka units provide a thin screen but no serious forces have been deployed. A Polish corps starts to advance towards Gomel.


Ukrainian front: Good progress has been made. A "Greater Poland" is within sight. Russian nationalists are furious, once the White have reestablished the old regime, they might turn on their current ally and seek revanche.

Battle of Kiev: Pilsudski's men dashed to Kiev. They didn't waste time with a siege but rather assaulted immediately. This time the Polish Army performed well. The Red forces in the city were annihilated. 12.300 Bolshevik and 4.700 Polish corpses lie in the street of the Ukrainian capital. + 2 NM! The link with Southern White forces has been established. General d'Anselme and Pilsudski have met for tea.

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It is rumoured that Ukrainian forces are recruited to join the victorious Polish Army (40% chance each turn from May 1920 on).
In the meantime Pilsudski pushes further east. Unfortunately, the roads are covered in mud. This march will be slow.
Iwaszkiewicz is left at Kiev with two battered divisions he will soon be reinforced by Tolstov.

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Sidenote: Kiev and Minsk under Polish control inflict a NM penalty on the Bolsheviks! Each turn they lose 1 point of NM for each of the cities. In other words Ian starts the next turn at -1 NM. If he wants to avoid sudden death he has to gain at least 2 points of NM on the battlefield. Which is fortunate for Durk and me since mud all over Russia severely affects our capability to land a killing blow.


Siberian front: Mud is slowing down the war effort on this front as well. But for the moment, the Siberian Whites are busy celebrating their latest triumph:

Second Battle of Syzran: Samoylo's men fought valiantly. Outnumbered by almost 3:1 and short on supplies, they still defended every street and every building. After 4 months of siege, their defences were well prepared. The fighting was grizzly: On the first day alone 7.000 White and 14.600 Red soldiers died. Although effectively broken as a fighting force, the survivors still held out for one more day. Another 1.400 Whites and the remaining 1.500 Reds lost their lifes before Syzran was firmly in Siberian hands. Kappel, an imperialist officer who hated the Bolsheviks enough to enter the services of anyone willing to field an army against them, has gotten one step closer to his dream of recreating the old Russia.

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Trotzky was drawn into this battle by the sounds of guns (it doesn't show in the battle reports though). Whatever movement he had planned was thus interrupted. In the meantime, the supply situation of the Red forces in the area is deteriorating quickly. They face a simple choice: retreat or starvation. A sane man would choose the former but it won't be easy to pull off with key railroad hubs in White hands. The muddy roads will further hamper Red movement.

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It appears that one Red combat fleet has escaped destruction during the winter. It must have been stationed in the South at Tzaritsyn or Astrakhan. With 4 fluvial destroyers, 4 torpedo boats and 4 gunboats it is quite the impressive force. It seems the Volga still belongs to the Bolsheviks. The Siberian fleet will have to retreat to Ufa.

The need to protect key positions along with the bad weather (mud is worse than snow when it comes to moving armies) convinced me to keep on the defence this turn. Some divisions are shifted around to defend against an unexpected threat from the South, though:

turn24d.jpg


Second Battle of Pokrovsk: Chapaev has snuck up from Tzaritsyn(?) and tried to reconquer Saratov. Fortunately, he stumbled into Zhukov's small cavalry corps while it was passing through Pokrovsk. Battle ensued and Chapaev was beaten back. Still I have to take messures to improve the defences of Saratov and Uralsk. Zhukov will turn back east while Vaniukov is ordered south from Penza to bolster the defences at Saratov.

turn24i.jpg



Sidenote: I am starting to think that there is something wrong with the supply system in this game. Remember how I wrote that 260 units of supply were captured at Kazan? This turn these stocks have disappeared. My troops in the city only use 85 per turn and seem to have lived off the supplies they brought along. I have no clue where all the supply has gone. Kazan is not yet linked to the rest of the Siberian supply network. This smells of a bug! Even worse this black hole swallowing my supplies isn't the only instance where the supply system seems to malfunction. For example, the city of Perm appeared to have ceased supply production entirely during the winter. Nevermind, I am slowly moving the superflous divisions further east. By now Omsk's garrison is down from four division to one. Large Siberian forces have reached Irkutsk and Chita where they are enjoying the beautiful Siberian nature. Kolchak is considering travel agent as his future destiny (in case his dream of becoming Tzar should fail).


Will the Bolsheviks be able to survive another turn?
 
Since I don't see where on your front the Red may win a battle, I suppose this is the one before-the-last update, execept if the southern white blunders.
 
It seems to be the end of the line for this Russian revolution - time for Lenin to pack his bags once more. But where oh where to find a friendly sealed train this time round? ;)

The end of the siege of Syzran was unexpectedly bloody. But considering the fact that making your victory there costly was about the greatest success the Reds managed to pull off, I think it's safe to say their time is up. :)