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From my experience with the long campaign, the supply situation in Ukraine can quickly deteriorate : few depots, and the railroads tend to be cut often due to the massive number of "Yellows" and Greens in the area.

Similarly, you may not have to "attack" Antonov - Ovseenko, as he gets less surprise (I guess you mean supplies ;)) then he needs from what I can judge.

For once I have to disagree with you, Narwhal. :) I have never experienced more than local supply troubles in the Ukraine in either the Short or the Grand Campaign. Sure, in the Grand Campaign there are a few key cities (like Kharkov) that lack depots but if you pay attention, supply is easily managable in the Ukraine.

Kiev in particular won't run out of supplies. When I played the Reds in my first Short Campaign PBEM, I had at one point 4.000 pw worth of troops depending on the Kiev depot without getting into trouble.

Considering the fact that the Greco-French intervention force wasn't looking so hot to begin with, you sure pulled off a dashing raid across the Ukraine. Couple of big cities captured, Kiev threatened (at least somewhat - the Reds can't ignore you, much like that force in the swamps in the Baltic). Even if these are not the forces that will win the war for you, at the very least they tie down substantial number of Red units.

My hopes exactly. Besides, I haven't given up on taking the city quite yet. ;)

That's the problem the Whites face in the short scenario- Too many big Red armies. How has your recruiting been going? You're probably not at the doomstack level of the Siberian AAR due to less regions to control, but I image you've been aggressively conscripting amongst both the populace and the prisoners.

This is exactly the reason I prefer the Short over the Grand Campaign: it's so much closer to history. The Red Army is huge and can fight on every front. It starts as a heavy weight boxer but with aggressive recruitment it can grow into a monster so nasty, Mike Tyson would have peed his pants.

Southern White recruitment will be the topic of one of the next updates. I wasn't quite as aggressive as with the Siberians, though.
 
Chapter 4 - The hares cook tortoise soup: Don Basin, June - September 1919


By June 15th 1919, the Red Army had pulled almost two-thirds of its combat strength from the Ukraine in order to plug the hole at Orel. Grittis and Gekker were heading north; so were Makhno's Anarchists. Only two major Red forces remained in The Ukraine: Antonov-Ovseeko's 1st Soviet Ukraine Army was defending Kiev against Pokrovsky's Greco-French intervention force while Voroshilov's 2nd Soviet Ukraine Army still occupied the bottleneck that seperated the Krim from the rest of the Ukraine. Estimates were that Voroshilov had 25.000 men under his command. Opposite of him were 12.000 White and French manning trenches at Sevastopol. The next White forces were far away: Denikin guarded Rostov with 21.000 men and Kutepov had 27.000 men at Kharkov but his attention was already directed north.

turn4i.jpg


At this point Shilling made a daring decision: Rather then wait at Sevastopol for Voroshilov to attack, he would occupy Dzhankoi at the northern end of the Krim and errect a fortified position there.* If Shilling succeeded the Krim would no longer lie wide open to a Red invasion. To shield his forces from the inevitable counter-attack, 1.000 men of White cavalry had already been sent ahead in order to errect rudimentary trenches. Now Shilling boarded 9.000 men on trains. Sevastopol was left behind almost defenseless. On June 17th, Shilling arrived at Dzhankoi. His men hurriedly occupied the trenches any moment expecting a Red counter-attack. To their great surprise they soon realized that there was nobody left to attack them. Voroshilov had disappeard ...

turnmapc-1.jpg


The 2nd Soviet Ukraine Army was heading east by train. On June 27th it occupied Donetsk. Now it was standing dangerously close to Rostov and Novocherkassk. While nominally Ekaterinodar was the Southern White capital, Rostov and the neighbouring city of Novocherkassk were the true centers of the White war effort. Not only were these two cities at the heart of their railroad system but Rostov harboured huge stockpiles of supplies and vital artillery factories.** If either one of these cities was lost, Ulagai's corps at Surovikino and the troops in the north would be cut-off. Supply deliveries to these armies would stop, forcing them to retreat or, even worse, starve.
Thousands of aristocrats and bourgeois, priests and kulaks had found refuge in the city from Bolshevik opression. Now panic spread amongst them. A former princess begged for a place on one the few ships leaving the city. A fat banker was seen exchanging his last elegant suit for a peasant's rags in the hope this disguise might help him escape Bolshevik terror.

turn5d-1.jpg


Amidst this choas, the White leadership remained cool-headed. The situation certainly was threatening but it also presented an opportunity for victory. Ulagai was ordered to mount large parts of his corps on trains and steam back to reinforce Rostov. This left Denikin's corps free, it could have been used to protect Novocherkassk but Denikin rather decided to rush it to Taganrog. The city of Taganrog was surrounded by swamps and seperated from Rostov by the river Mius. It was too strong a defensive position to leave it to the Red Army without a fight. Novocherkassk on the other hand was left almost undefended. It was a calculated gamble on Voroshilov's reputation as a careful, defensive minded commander: Denikin knew that Voroshilov lacked scouts near Novocherkassk and thus was completely unaware of the strength - or rather - weakness of its garrison.
And indeed Voroshilov proved to be cautious: He didn't attack directly but rather marched his troops to Rovenki just north of Rostov and Novocherkassk. Now he could attack either city without having to cross a river first. However his caution had also lost Voroshilov the element of surprise.

turn6a-1.jpg


When the 2nd Soviet Ukraine Army finally attacked Novocherkassk on July 20th, it found the trenches around the city occupied by Denikin's 20.000 White who had hurried back from Taganrog just in time. When Voroshilov realized his mistake it was already too late to stop the attack. 7.100 Communist soldiers, one-third of Voroshilov's army, paid with their life for his mistake that day. It had been Denikin's biggest gamble to date: He had sent Ulagai's entire force back to Surovikino to keep Egorov in check while Rostov was left entirely unprotected.***

turn7a-1.jpg


In the meantime, Kutepov had brought a large portion of the forces garrisoning Kharkov south. The sling around the 2nd Soviet Ukraine Army tightened. But Voroshilov wasn't yet ready to give up: Realizing that Rostov lay open, he ordered another attack. But yet again the Communists had been too slow; when their vanguard arrived at Rostov on August 8th, two White divisions had already reinforced the city. At least Voroshilov managed to disengage without a battle this time.

turn7b-1.jpg


Increasingly the situation of the 2nd Sovier Ukraine Army deteriorated. Its supplies were quickly running out. On the Donets a White river fleet patrolled preventing an escape towards Tzaritsyn. Even worse, Kutepov had occupied Makeievka on August 6th. The vital railroad into the Ukraine was no longer in Red hands. Only two holes seemed to remain for the trapped Bolsheviks to eascape: Lugansk in the North or Donetsk in the West.

turn8a-1.jpg


Unfortunately for the Communists, their opponents were faster once more. When the tired soldiers of the 2nd Soviet Ukraine Army arrived at Lugansk on August 22nd, they found it defended by 16.000 White cavalrymen under Promtov. Voroshilov pushed his men onwards in a desperate charge and for a moment it seemed as if the White front would crumble. But finally the Red assault was stopped by the three armoured trains that Promotov had brought with him. When the fighting ceased, 5.900 Bolsheviks and 3.000 Volunteers had fallen. But most importantly the 2nd Soviet Ukraine Army was still trapped.

turn9b-1.jpg


By September 1st, Voroshilov's force had lost over 50% of its men, its supplies were exhausted and every single escape route was blocked by White forces. Voroshilov knew that his campaign had turned into a disaster; but he wasn't prepared to die with his men. Now that his life and reputation were at stake he acted decisively for the first time in this botched campaign. Swiftly he set up a patsy to take over his command (and bear the blame for the loss of an entire army). Then he snuck through the White lines on his own. On September 5th, Voroshilov arrived at Tzaritsyn and spun the tale of his heroic fight against overhwelming odds while devouring an opulent meal and downing plenty of Vodka. He soon forgot about the 10.000 Red soldiers he had left starving in the Don Basin. Soon thereafter the 2nd Soviet Ukraine Army ceased to be a fighting force and by the end of the month it had disappeared from the map.

-------------------------------------------------
* Simultaniously to Shilling's advance, I had taken the "Dzhankoi is the last rempart" option. It triggers the construction of the "Turkish Wall" at the northern end of the Krim. This fort comes with a garrison of 4.000 men (one conscript infantry brigade and some fearsome fortress artillery with 155 mm guns). I counted on these troops to help Shilling repel the expected counter-attack by Voroshilov's army.
** The Southern White have only two cities where they can build artillery - Rostov and Sevastopol.
*** I exploited the fact that RUS is a turn based game. Highlandcharge couldn't count on me sending Ulagai's powerful corps back east. I could have kept Rostov guarded, but instead send my troops where I figured my opponent would expect an opening.
 
How badly has that hurt the Reds? From where I'm standing the loss of an entire army so early on looks punishing for them, but I suppose the chance of taking Rostov was worth the risk and the worst case outcome must have been weighed against that.

Would you have been more off guard if you hadn't moved up from Sevastopol?
 
Destroying an entire 'army' (even if it consisted of only 25,000 men) is a nice feat. I hope this secures some of your flanks, or at least lessens the threats, so that you can resume your push for Moscow.

I'm impressed with the flurry of deployments and redeployments of your forces as they danced around Voroshilov. But that must've eaten into your railroad pool badly. How much more can you rail your troops around currently, and how easy (or difficult) will it be to restore that pool for future use?
 
How badly has that hurt the Reds?

Would you have been more off guard if you hadn't moved up from Sevastopol?

Not too badly, 25.000 men isn't that much in the Short Campaign. I never counted but I would estimate the Red Army has close to 750.000 men at the start of this scenario. What does hurt though, is the loss of 5 NM and most of the Ukraine. I more than doubled Southern White territory early in the campaign allowing for more recruitment. The Red territory is vast, but losing this much land must have affected their recruitment as well.

No, the troops on the Krim never came to participate in the Campaign for Rostov. I used them to clear the path to Kharkov and then take over garrison duties once I moved Kutepov and Promotov south.

Destroying an entire 'army' (even if it consisted of only 25,000 men) is a nice feat. I hope this secures some of your flanks, or at least lessens the threats, so that you can resume your push for Moscow.

I'm impressed with the flurry of deployments and redeployments of your forces as they danced around Voroshilov. But that must've eaten into your railroad pool badly. How much more can you rail your troops around currently, and how easy (or difficult) will it be to restore that pool for future use?

Yeah, Red naming conventions in RUS are quite boastful.;) Armies are called "fronts", corps are "armies", divisions are designated as "corps" and a brigade sized formation is called "division". It's not entirely off, though: most of the divisions the Southern White start with have between 100 and 200 pw and are thus hardly stronger than the brigade-sized formation the Red Army calls "divisions".

My railway pool wasn't that gravely affected. In fact only Ulagai's intial moves were conducted by railway. My other forces were either cavalry or infantry divisions containing tanks (there is a bug that makes the entire division adopt the movement rules for the tanks. Such a division is even faster than cavalry). Therefore I was always able to steal a march on the Communists without putting major strains on my railway pool. :)

Also, you don't lose railway capacities permanently. The next turn, the entire capacity is available again.

this does seem marked by a lot of movement and very confused front lines. Worrying to see Voroshilov living down to his reputation so realistically though, but your gambles paid off

I had a lot of fun with that campaign. I love how supply and starvation are actual weapons in AGEOD games.
 
I've been enjoying and wanting to comment on this and your other AAR so I finally made an account. Then I had to wait 5 days to be able to post. So here I am!

Not too badly, 25.000 men isn't that much in the Short Campaign. I never counted but I would estimate the Red Army has close to 750.000 men at the start of this scenario. What does hurt though, is the loss of 5 NM and most of the Ukraine. I more than doubled Southern White territory early in the campaign allowing for more recruitment. The Red territory is vast, but losing this much land must have affected their recruitment as well.

I decided to add up the numbers just to see, and the Red numbers were rather much lower than I expected. Roughly 480k Reds and 530k Whites.

Here’s a breakdown of forces by theatre and faction as of turn 5 in the short campaign.

Not including:
All locked units
All non involved 3rd parties (balts,finns,transcaucasia,Japanese,etc)

Red Total Numbers: (men,cannons)
Southern: 191000,1214 (648 cannon from trains, anarchists are included = 25000,54)
Volga: 165000,750 (216 from trains)
Northern:80000,524 (144 from trains)
Small detachments east of the Volga:
Far East - 9500,16
Kazakstan - 5800,0
Turkestan - 13800,56
Siberia - 13500,24

Southern Total Numbers:
Southern:200000,830 (480 from trains)
Northern:65000,220 (64 from trains)
French/Greek:45000,32

Siberian Total Numbers:
Volga:178000,490 (150 from trains)
Turkestan:40000,94 (24 from trains)

Dividing Line
Astrakhan - Siberian
Tzaritsyn - Southern
Minsk – Southern

Nominal numbers may be a bit higher. There were some hits missing, particularly for the Reds. I'm also not that familiar with the short campaign, so there may be large forces that appear after turn 5 as well.

It does suprise me that the combined White armies have the slight edge in unlocked forces though. With foreign intervention, the Reds can be pressed indeed. This seems to underscore the need for agressive recruitment as the Reds no matter the cost.

Anyway, good AAR's. I look forward to the rest!
 
Chapter 5 - Restore, ransack or reform? June - July 1919


By the end of June 1919, the White leadership faced three increasingly urgent questions:*

1. How would it treat the population in its greatly increased territory?
2. How would it deal with the nations that had recently declared their secession from the Russian Empire?
3. Should the offensive north be continued?


All these questions were inseparably connected. Soon three different positions emerged, each led by influential military commanders.

Denikin had the majority of the old elite behind him when he proclaimed that three simple principles should guide the Volunteers: autocracy, orthodoxy and nationalism. In other words the goal was to restore the old order and privileges. He refused adamantly to consider reforms at this stage. First the war had to be won, politics should be left for later. Surely the population would willingly contribute to Russia's salvation from the Bolsheviks. If it refused, it should be forced for its own good.
Even the thought of recognizing newly created nations like Poland, Finland or the Baltic states revulsed these Russian nationalists. Separatist movements couldn't be tolerated, the rodina had to be preserved in all its greatness.
Concerning the third question however, Denikin had far fewer supporters for his position: while he wanted to push onwards and conquer Moscow before the winter. Many generals realized that this would overextend the Volunteer Army.

turn5mape.jpg

Shkuro**, the conqueror of Belograd and Kursk, became the voice of the Cossacks when he demanded special rights for Cossacks and a degree of autonomy that amounted to de facto independance. For the Russian population in the newly acquired territory he had little regard. He demanded his Cossack troopers should be allowed to plunder at will. This - so Shkuro - would sway more cossacks to volunteer for the fight against bolshevism.
The next military objective was of little importance to Shkuro as long as it brought the opportunity for plunder. Only standstill was inacceptable to the Cossack faction.

Wrangel led a small group of officers and politicans that proposed a radically different course of action:*** Bolshevism could only be defeated if the Russian people believed White rule would lead into a better future than the current Bolshevik terror. Their only chance to foster support was to promise a better life to all Russians, not just their own class. However the White leaders were all people of the past, peasants and workers would need proof before they started to believe in these promises. Therefore, Wrangel demanded immediate social and agrarian reforms. Plundering on the other hand should be strictly prohibited and mercilessly sanctioned. Instead the population in newly conquered territories would enjoy months of reforms. Only once their trust and loyalty were gained would the Volunteers ask for contributions to the war effort.
Such a program needed time however. Short term, the White forces would fall behind an aggressively recruiting Red Army. But in the long run the Volunteers would make up for it. As a consquence, the Southern Whites would have to abandon the offensive against Moscow and rather consolidate their territory.
Concerning the newly independant nations, Wrangel's stand-point was of exquisite cynism: "Let them fight against the Communists! Every Bolshevik killed by a Pole, Balt or Finn is a Bolshevik we don't have to kill ourselves." Once Communism was vanquished, restoration of the Russian Empire would be all the easier since the seperatist people would be weakened from their fight against the Reds.

turn5mapc.jpg

Only Mai-Maeivski didn't contribute to the discussion. While his peers decided upon the future of Russia, this talented general left for an urgent inspection tour of the bordellos in Kursk province.

Initially it seemed as if Denikin would determine White strategy once more but on the 27th June of 1919 news arrived that Voroshilov had occupied Donetsk and was now advancing on Rostov. With a Red army on their doorstep, any further offensive against Moscow was out of the question. Even help from the newly independant nations suddenly didn't seem as reprehensible as before. Once Wrangel's opinions had gained momentum he managed to sway the discussion entirely in his favour. Within the next week a series of agrarian and labour reforms was implemented that were copied directly from the political program of the social-revolutionaries.

But Denikin wouldn't give up completely. While he swallowed the need for social reforms to better the life of the common Russian, diminishing Russia's territorial greatness was out of the question. Strengthened by his victory over Voroshilov, he slowly but surely managed to turn opinion against any cooperation with Russia's new neighbours. Future Southern White policies were thus a compromise between reformers and Russian nationalists.


------------------------------------------------------
* Obviously this is a fictional AAR. Compared to history, the positions represented here are over-simplified, sometimes even distorted. Still there are some grains of truth to be found.
** Historically Shkuro was only a corps commander, certainly not the voice of the Cossacks. But in this game, no other cossack general will be more frequently in the midst of important battles.
By the way, this man really should have the Cossack Commander special ability, not only was he a Cossack but he almost exclusively commanded Cossacks during his military career in the Tzarist as well as the Southern White army.
*** In reality, these reforms were only instigated when it was already far too late. But Wrangel seems to have opposed at least some of the fatal mistakes the Volunteers made.


------------------------------------------------------
Translation into game terms:

The Southern White command very little loyalty at the beginning of this scenario. They control only two provinces where requsition/conscription can be used safely: Terek and the Kuban. In other parts of the supposed White heartland loyalties are abysmally low. On the Krim only 24% of the population is pro-White, on the Kherson the value is as low as 3%.

turn1n.jpg

A similar situation presented itself in the territory the White conquered in the first two months of this game. Usually pro-White loyalists made up for less than 5% of the population. Without at least two rounds of reforms neither requisition nor conscription is possible under these circumstances.
RUS' economic part is thus quite realistic; it forces players to adopt the kind of policies that might have saved the Southern White.
My rule for this game was simple: I wouldn't risk any Green uprisings. Almost everywhere, I have managed to raise loyalties above 60% and keep them at that level. Only once this threshold was reached would I use requisitions/conscriptions in a province. It took some time, but eventually, the Southern White army became quite big in this game.

Initially, my strategy was to expand the Southern White territory in one swift land-grab (see Chapter 1). In a second stage I would then shift to defense. This left the Reds with two possible choices: wait or counter-attack. In the latter case, the Red Army would be bled in defensive battles. In the former, Polish intervention could be triggered. If only few battles occurred my NM would be slowly but steadily decrease due to the amount of reforms I was running (usually as much as six at a time). If Southern White NM falls under 90, the possibility of Polish intervention opens up in 1920. It would have been quite elegant. While gaining time to build up my army, I could have tricked the game into spawning the massive Polish Army and then gone onto the offensive with superior forces in 1920.

But Highlandcharge is a very patient player, not easily spurred into offensive actions. Thus a waiting game ensued. Eventually, Southern White NM sunk below the magic threshold of 90 points. But finally the waiting got too broing for me. Moreover a very sweet opportunity presented itself ...

Concerning the other possible foreign interventions, I proposed a house rule later in the game: I passed voluntarily on using the options that trigger interventions from Finland, the Baltic states and Caucasian nations.
 
One also must remember that Southern White troops are superior to Red troops, mostly because of the high number of elite units that the Whites get. Only on the Volga is the quality of troops matched. For example, the international volunteers unit are two regiments that both factions can choose to buy using EPs. For the Souther Whites, the International Volunteers are elite infantry. For the Siberians, they're just regular regiments with a neat name.
 
Axe27: What you describe is true for the Grand Campaign. In the Short Campaign all factions start with regular armies rather than the militia-conscript mixture the Reds get in 1918. Elite units are almost inexistant for the Siberians in the Short Campaign and even the Southern White have relatively few at their disposal. The Communist on the other hand are the only faction that can build elite units at will. Therefore The Red Army can match the Whites quality-wise.
-----------------------------------------


Chapter 6 - Makhno's lament: Orel, October - November 1919


As a consequence, of the decision to consolidate White rule in the South rather than continue the offensive towards Moscow, the front in the North had been quiet since June 1919. This had enabled the Volunteers to divert substantial forces to the Don Basin during Voroshilov's offensive against Rostov. By late September 1919, these units started to return to the Northern front accompanied by newly raised recruits.
In the meantime, the Red Army had kept a defensive stance as well. Khudiakov and Makhno had strengthened Orel's defenses while Frunze's 7th Red Army had advanced within a few miles of Voronesh. Wrangel's men waited for an attack but it never came.

By October 15th, 1919, Mai-Maevski had 45.000 men under his command at Kursk while Wrangel had 46.000 at Voronesh. For weeks White cavalry had thouroughly scouted Red positions. It had become clear that Orel was the weak spot in Communist defenses. Khudiakov's force was reported to number 53.000 men; however almost half of it consisted of Makhno's Anarchists. These men had gained an impressive reputation while fighting in their native Ukraine. But after their retreat north they were like fish out of the water. Far away from their homes, Makhno's force had started to disintegrate.*

turn11d.jpg


With the South secured and the idea of a cooperation with Poland squashed, all White leaders agreed that this was too good an opportunity to pass on. Mai-Maeivski kicked into gear. More scouts were send out to secure the railroad line to Orel and an attack force of 40.000 veteran soldiers was assembled. On October 15th, Mai-Maeivski's men boarded trains north. At the same time, Kutepov brought north 38.000 men from the South to secure Kursk against a counter-attack from the East by Frunze's 7th Red Army.

turn12g.jpg


The attack on Orel came as a complete surprise; months of inactivity in this sector had made the Red Army complacent.** On October 24th, the Battle of Orel began. While numerically superior the Red force were of inferior quality and their leadership couldn't compare to Mai-Maeivski's talent. Nevertheless it took the Volunteers two days to breach the outer defenses of Orel. 10.500 of them died before Khudiakov ordered the survivors of his corps to retreat. Cowardly he left the reminder of Makhno's Anarchists behind. Makhno however didn't give up, he wouldn't retreat again! The entire 26th of October, 7.500 Anarchists fought stubbornly in the streets of the city. By the end of the day one third of them was dead but Mai-Maeivski's Volunteers were utterly exhausted as well. After three days of fighting the fat general ordered a retreat. His men had achieved enough. 37.600 Communist and 11.300 White soldiers had fallen, amongst them general Gubin. But most importantly, Khudiakov's and Makhno's forces were shattered. Mai-Maeivski's Volunteers on the other hand would recover if granted some rest.

turn13f.jpg


On November 1st, Mai-Maeivski led his tired men back to Kursk. However the White leadership wasn't prepared to give up on conquering Orel. Shkuro had been significantly reinforced by the men Kutepov had brought north. He swiftly rushed north with 54.000 fresh soldiers.

turn13e.jpg


On November 4th, the battle for Orel was resumed. The surviving Anarchists fought bravely but they were no match for the new wave of Volunteers that now fell upon them.

turn14b-1.jpg


November 4th 1919 marked the end of Makhno's Anarchists as a party to the Russian Civil War. The Battle of Orel had cost the Red Army 43.000 men. These losses represented almost one-third of the entire casualties Communist Russia had sustained to this point in the war.*** It was a disaster of unmitigated magnitude. With Orel now firmly in their hands, the Volunteers had covered two-thirds of the way to Moscow.


Where will the Southern White strike next?


-----------------------------------------
* This was a major mistake on Highlandcharge's part: the Anarchists are worthless outside the Ukraine, they suffer severe cohesion penalties that drastically decrease their fighting power.
** Not a complete surprise to be honest; Highlandcharge had been taunting me for some time to attack. Yet I think he severly underestimated the amount of troops, I was able to throw at Orel.

turn14d-1.jpg


*** The Reds had been doing quite well this far: Even after the loss of 15 points of NM at Orel they were still at 81 NM. Their combat losses were relatively low and they had done quite well in the East where they had inflicted significantly more damage on the Siberians than they had suffered from them.
 
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You overall strategy is very similar to the one I employ when I play as the Southern Whites (however I always play the long campaign):
1) Conquer and thoroughly secure as many regions in the South as possible,
2) set up a cohesive front line and raid enemy supply lines to slow them down,
3) requisition/conscript relentlessly while maintaining loyalty at or above 60% in all secure regions, and
4) build up large and powerful divisions (~15000 men apiece with tachankas, tanks/armored cars, engineers, and anything else with an ability) in Rostov to build new armies as commanders are promoted and reinforce existing formations.
It's slow and probably overly cautious but hey, that's how I play all games.

I'm glad Wrangel won the debate. His plan is by far the most reasonable/pragmatic. Great update!
 
Should have followed Mai-Mai's plan. I think he'd be a good drinkin' buddy.
I guess it stands to reason that Moscow and Petrograd, being the largest and wealthiest cities of the Rodina, also have the most numerous and highest-quality brothels. Plant that seed in Mai-Mai's head and he'll be off charging north, no doubt. ;)

Wrangel's plan might not be very historically accurate, but since you're playing a game and are not intending to lose, it's the only sensible strategy. And the house rules make sense, to balance the game.

Nice strike on Orel. Moscow does seem tantalizingly close...
 
Orel was another bloodbath, it seems as if your strategy is akin to a tin-opener, looking for points to expand and then tearing a further gap? As long as the Reds don't find substantial numbers you've a real salient pointing to the fleshpots of Moscow, but then salients have a problem that they can become encirclements?
 
Must have been a nasty shock for the Reds to see Orel fall so cheaply. You did well to punish the mistake you spotted and further disrupted Red communications. Hopefully you'll be able to capitalise on this in future turns.
 
Orel was another bloodbath, it seems as if your strategy is akin to a tin-opener, looking for points to expand and then tearing a further gap? As long as the Reds don't find substantial numbers you've a real salient pointing to the fleshpots of Moscow, but then salients have a problem that they can become encirclements?

Great analysis, loki! Your prediction about the danger of encirclements is sadly accurate. More about that once this AAR gets to 1920 ...


I've been enjoying and wanting to comment on this and your other AAR so I finally made an account. Then I had to wait 5 days to be able to post. So here I am!

I decided to add up the numbers just to see, and the Red numbers were rather much lower than I expected. Roughly 480k Reds and 530k Whites.

Here’s a breakdown of forces by theatre and faction as of turn 5 in the short campaign.

Not including:
All locked units
All non involved 3rd parties (balts,finns,transcaucasia,Japanese,etc)

[....]

It does suprise me that the combined White armies have the slight edge in unlocked forces though. With foreign intervention, the Reds can be pressed indeed. This seems to underscore the need for agressive recruitment as the Reds no matter the cost.

Welcome Pat! I am honoured that my AAR prompted you to get an account here. :)

Very interesting numbers, I did a count when I started playing my first Short Campaign game to get a feeling for the strategic possibilities of this scenario. I think the numbers I got back then were a bit higher (Were they accurate? No idea it is pretty easy to overlook some forces). By the way, how did you manage to get numbers from turn 5? Weren't there battle losses?

But my analysis was pretty much identical to yours:

Northern theater (Pskov-Petrograd-Murmansk-Arkhangelsk): Communists have a significant advantage. They have a clear numeric superiority as well as interior lines. In autumn 1919 this superiority increases further when the allied intervention forces are removed by event. The Southern White player can drastically change the balance of power by playing the Yudenich event, though (But this is not without danger: should he fail to take Petrograd quickly, he incurs a painful NM penalty -1NM per turn).

Siberian front (the fight along the Volga and Kama): numbers are even, Bolsheviks are better concentrated, though. Most importantly, the Communists control the rivers and can easily block White movement.

Central Asia: The Red stack at Tashkent is doomed. Clear Siberian White numerical superiority.

Western Ukraine (Greco-French intervention forces vs. several Red stacks): in theory the Reds have the advantage here. Practically the Red player will be forces to divert troops from this theater to contain the Southern White forces. By late 1919/early 1920, there is a chance that the entire allied intervention force leaves Russia, if this happens this theater is lost to the White player.

Southern theater (Volunteer and Cossack armies; Don Basin - Voronesh - Tzaritsyn): Southern White have a numerical edge over the Reds. It's not huge but significant enough to make some bold offensive moves possible. Moreover, some key positions are virtually unprotected (Voronesh/Kharkov) a Red player has to shift troops there at the very start of the game.


Besides numbers, there are other factors, though:

1. Leadership (amount and quality of generals): Red leadership is horrible, Siberian decent, Southern White excellent.

2. Recruitment capability: Red is huge, Siberian considerable, Southern White very limited unless they expand fast.

3. Quality of troops: even, all sides start with professional armies.

4. Strategic setup: Red have the advantage of interior lines, they can quickly shift troops to the points of greatest need. Part of my warplan in this AAR was to take this advantage away from them. The thrust north greatly extended Red lines.


Overall, I believe this campaign is pretty well balanced. The Southern White are a bit easier to play than the other two factions, though. However, this balance can be gravely disturbed if foreign interventions come into play:
Polish intervention can be triggered far too easy! It suffices to get the Southern White down below 90 NM to get a chance at Polish intervention. This threshold should be significantly lower in my opinion. Also low Siberian White NM should be added as additional condition.
The recognize independance option is even worse. While it only becomes available in March 1920 (at least it did in this PBEM, in "Who put the stranded admiral in charge?" Durk never got the option, probably because his Nm was already too low?) If huge Finnish and Baltic armies descend upon Pertograd, the Red Army is most likely doomed. This is why we banned this option by house rule. Something I would recommend for any RUS PBEM.
 
The recognize independance option is even worse. While it only becomes available in March 1920 (at least it did in this PBEM, in "Who put the stranded admiral in charge?" Durk never got the option, probably because his Nm was already too low?) If huge Finnish and Baltic armies descend upon Pertograd, the Red Army is most likely doomed. This is why we banned this option by house rule. Something I would recommend for any RUS PBEM.

The Recognize Independence event came far earlier in my Southern White Grand Campaign. I believe I received the option in mid 1919. I never took mostly because I was afraid of it's huge -40 NM penalty, but you're right. The sudden access to the 1,500 some power worth of troops in Finland alone means that Petrograd is doomed ( as the very clear-minded Trotsky predicted during the Russian Civil War), and the sudden influx of Romanian, Georgian, and Armenian troops can definitely tip the balance of power back into the favor of the Whites.
 
The Recognize Independence event came far earlier in my Southern White Grand Campaign. I believe I received the option in mid 1919. I never took mostly because I was afraid of it's huge -40 NM penalty, but you're right. The sudden access to the 1,500 some power worth of troops in Finland alone means that Petrograd is doomed ( as the very clear-minded Trotsky predicted during the Russian Civil War), and the sudden influx of Romanian, Georgian, and Armenian troops can definitely tip the balance of power back into the favor of the Whites.

That is normal; in the Grand Campaign this option becomes available early in 1919. In the Short Campaign however, it won't be available before spring 1920. If I remember correctly, it is triggered by a turn count.

I believe in the Short Campaign with its bigger armies, Red chances to withstand the Finnish/Baltic onslaught are better. Still I share your accessment.

By the way, Romanian troops aren't available via this option. The only scenario where they will participate is the fictional Drang Campaign.
 
Very interesting numbers, I did a count when I started playing my first Short Campaign game to get a feeling for the strategic possibilities of this scenario. I think the numbers I got back then were a bit higher (Were they accurate? No idea it is pretty easy to overlook some forces). By the way, how did you manage to get numbers from turn 5? Weren't there battle losses?

I played all sides, turned the AI off, and railed all available forces to one territory and combined them. I went to turn 5 because that's how long it took and I wanted to see if any new forces showed up.

BTW, have you ever tried the Fatal Years mod? It's definitely a different take on the conflict. I've been playing it lately. I think I'm gonna burn through a vanilla short campaign though because it looks interesting.