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Ah, good! But I thought Leningrad were linked to Moscow or something like that (should check the csv file but I'm too lazy :D ). If you control the provinces which Leningrad is linked to then of course you'll be able to take the city with relative ease.
Leningrad is not linked to Moscow on the TRM I'm using. I remember a previous version where Malta had an impassable connection to Socotra, but thanks to my suggestion that was removed. The mod should be a real challenge, not impossible and completely implausible.

About the war ending in 1944 but not exactly with German fireworks ;) : I didn't want to sound too pessimistic but, you know, the TRM with "Bring 'em on!" is known for being a bit difficult...
I know, I did say I'll fight to the bitter end, fighting for survival would be a first for me and quite fun. But not as fun as getting bitter peace, invading India and joining up with Japanese forces but we'll wait and see what happens. :D
 
Leningrad is not linked to Moscow on the TRM I'm using. I remember a previous version where Malta had an impassable connection to Socotra, but thanks to my suggestion that was removed. The mod should be a real challenge, not impossible and completely implausible.
I agree. In my own version of TRM, I've deleted e.g. the impassable land link to Sevastopol, to offset the fact that I've made it urban.

I know, I did say I'll fight to the bitter end, fighting for survival would be a first for me and quite fun. But not as fun as getting bitter peace, invading India and joining up with Japanese forces but we'll wait and see what happens.
If you manage to do such a thing in the current game, then kudos to you ;) .
 
July 1942

Situation on the eastern front
At the start of July the Heer was still conducting its withdrawal from the territory west of Dnieper, but decided to remain in control of Priluki in order to protect Kiev, making it an area where units could rest without suffering attrition and also due to Priluki's high infrastructure.

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The marshlands were abandoned by German and Finnish forces, deemed worthless to hold while also potentially providing them to led the Red Army into a trap if it pursued its attack deeper into northern Finland. The Germans also employed elastic defence in the north, hoping to lead the Soviets into a trap through Novorzhev while holding the flanks that would later be used to launch the counter-offensive.

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Italy's situation
The UK had launched an amphibious invasion of Italian occupied-eastern Africa, and with the US already invading from the south, Mussolini's hold over Africa looked very precarious.

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Situation in the Atlantic
The Kriegsmarine suffered extremely high losses for little gain, with the initiative clearly in the balance. A change in tactics was needed, with ships being ordered to only attack convoys at night-time.

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Situation in the air war
The iniative still lied with the Luftwaffe. Although the High Command is getting worried by the sustainability of this due to Germany's chronic shortage of manpower when faced against the two most populous and industrialised nations in the world, the USA and the USSR.

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Little was achieved by any of the German forces in July to the disappoint of the High Command, with the proposed offensive in the south having to be shelved until later as units desperately needed reinforcements and rest. Another worry alongside the American and British persistent bombing campaign and the growing strength of the Red Army was the devastating loss of several U-boat units to no avail. With US naval doctrine clearly superior to the British, and with the US navy ever increasing in size, the German leadership demanded Dönitz reorganise the navy due the rapidly changing situation.
 
Ouch... If I were you, I would worry about survival, not conquests. With 21 MP, your offensives will fail due to attrition alone and increase your overall casualties. You should follow von Manstein's idea and use elastic defence. The mobility of your army will aid you.
 
Great to see another update!

So, the 1942 summer offensive seems to have eventually grinded to a halt... it's almost unbelievable to see the once unstoppable German armies forced to wait after just a year since the beginning of Barbarossa [I'd say that "Bring 'em on!" is a bit too tough, perhaps...] but let's see what happens next.

Couldn't you try to crush the salient facing Heeresgruppe Mitte? This could give you a good tactical advantage you could use for freeing some forces which you could devolve e.g. to Heeresgruppe Süd (yes, I'd like to see an offensive towards Stalingrad in 1942 :cool: ).
 
Ouch... If I were you, I would worry about survival, not conquests. With 21 MP, your offensives will fail due to attrition alone and increase your overall casualties. You should follow von Manstein's idea and use elastic defence. The mobility of your army will aid you.
Nah not just yet, still have some summer months left where I can inflict more casualties then I'll suffer. ;)
So, the 1942 summer offensive seems to have eventually grinded to a halt... it's almost unbelievable to see the once unstoppable German armies forced to wait after just a year since the beginning of Barbarossa [I'd say that "Bring 'em on!" is a bit too tough, perhaps...] but let's see what happens next.
It might be too tough but there are things I would've like to have to differently, I didn't go all out in my building scheme as I probably should have done (i.e. naval wise just building submarines alone among other things).
Couldn't you try to crush the salient facing Heeresgruppe Mitte? This could give you a good tactical advantage you could use for freeing some forces which you could devolve e.g. to Heeresgruppe Süd (yes, I'd like to see an offensive towards Stalingrad in 1942 :cool: ).
Update soon to come.
Great aar! Just curious, why the large stacks of reserves in Poland?
Thanks, I have large stacks in Lublin and Königsberg for units that desperately need reinforcing as I don't reinforce front-line units due to the (much) lower ESE in the eastern provinces. Due to the really low MP I might start basing them in Berlin, which has the highest ESE of all.
 
August 1942

Situation on the eastern front
After the mud had dried up on the west of the Dnieper the Heer decided to go on the offensive, aiming to make only small encirclements and potentially advance to the Volga river if not further. This started with a major battle in Sumy, with the Soviets taking far higher casualties, causing celebration in the German High Command. Poltava was successfully encircled within a week of the offensive with several Red Army divisions, including armoured units, being destroyed.

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The tactic of elastic defence extended to Nevel as German forces retreated from that territory.

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The offensive continued on after the successful capture of territory west of the Dnieper with another small encirclement achieved around Kharkov.

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The Axis forces decided to attack Melitopol near the Crimea as a distraction to aid the German forces advancing on the Volga.

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After the encirclement of Kharkov the Germans managed another encirclement further east with several more Red army divisions destroyed.

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Italy's situation
The USA performed an amphibious operation on Italian Libya with an estimated 4-6 divisions that was ultimately defeated by German and Vichy forces, with significant help from the Luftwaffe as the US had no aircraft to defend its helpless troops.

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Thanks to the virtual annihilation of the British convoy system their troops in Gibraltar could not be supplied and starved to death, providing Germany an opportunity it could not afford to miss and captured it, securing the Mediterranean for the time being. Vichy forces were later sent to Gibraltar to aid in its defence, with the Vichy leaders needing little persuasion in protecting such a vital strategic territory. The battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz protected the amphibious invasion, and encountered 35 US, British and French ships that had retreated from Gibraltar, with the successful sinking of a British battleship and a French heavy cruiser for no losses to the Kriegsmarine.

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Situation in the naval war
Dönitz has improved the Kriegsmarine's standing compared to the disastrous previous month, with the sinking of several US ships, including a heavy cruiser for much smaller losses for the Germans. German capital raider ships also encountered a British force of light cruisers and destroyers, managing to sink many of them.

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However the Royal Navy was able to sink the battlecruiser Pommern and its screens. This loss is felt particularly hard as Germany ended its production of all capital ships and screens, focusing entirely on submarines in regards to its navy.

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Situation in the air war
The Luftwaffe still retained the initiative with the Allies not being able to win air superiority in any area, although the RAF was able to win one battle amid many of its defeats.

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Situation internationally
To the astonishment of international opinion, Venezuela, Columbia and Ecuador united with Brazil signing a military alliance with them. It is widely believed to be in response to the German capture of Gibraltar, with the South American countries possibly fearing their former colonial masters Portugal and Spain falling into Axis influence, although these fears remain unsubstantiated as Hitler and Franco have not come to any substantial agreement.

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In North Africa it is now just inevitable that the Axis will recapture the territory invaded by the US army. However the offensive on the Volga remains in play, with the Soviets forming several divisions just west of Stalingrad in response to the successful German push eastwards. The capture of Gibraltar has caused celebration for the German and Italian leadership, effectively securing Italy from invasion.
 
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Situation on the eastern front
After the mud had dried up on the west of the Dnieper the Heer decided to go on the offensive, aiming to make only small encirclements and potentially advance to the Volga river if not further. This started with a major battle in Sumy, with the Soviets taking far higher casualties, causing celebration in the German High Command. Poltava was successfully encircled within a week of the offensive with several Red Army divisions, including armoured units, being destroyed.

(...)
Good job! I knew the German army had still enough potential for launching a major offensive in the East. Now, towards the city that brings the name of the Soviet leader. Für Deutschland!!!
 
If he can reach and secure the Volga by the end of the year, he will not be beaten. His Luftwaffe is dominant and he still has forces to spare for NA and Gibraltar, a most impressive showing indeed!
 
Good job! I knew the German army had still enough potential for launching a major offensive in the East. Now, towards the city that brings the name of the Soviet leader. Für Deutschland!!!
I should be able to capture Leningrad soon, not sure about the other city though, but time will tell. :D
I'm still not optimistic. Your casualty ratio was not that great in many battles and the Soviets are now moving troops to Ukraine, which will make your job harder.
Indeed, the more I advance the more troops the Soviets seem to have (thanks to various TRM events).
If he can reach and secure the Volga by the end of the year, he will not be beaten. His Luftwaffe is dominant and he still has forces to spare for NA and Gibraltar, a most impressive showing indeed!
My Luftwaffe certainly is dominating the west at least. Now the Mediterranean is secure there are plenty of forces that can be freed up and used elsewhere.
I beg of you, use political map mode when taking screenshots. It's really hard to see the front line.
Yes of course, I apologise for not doing so more often. I promise no more unnecessary screenshots of the terrain. :)
 
Great job getting Gibraltar! Are you thinking of doing Sealion in the near future because of it if the Eastern front becomes static?
How do you plan on taking Leningrad? Paras?
Is your sole plan to cut off the Caucasus by the end of the year?
Why do you group your interceptors into squadrons of two instead of four? I find that I lose less if I group them in fours and combine them with another squadron of four to patrol the same area
 
Great job getting Gibraltar! Are you thinking of doing Sealion in the near future because of it if the Eastern front becomes static?
How do you plan on taking Leningrad? Paras?
Thanks, hypothetically I could use most/all my forces in France to do a Sealion but that's way too risky for me. Plus the US navy is still a force to big reckoned with. I hope to starve the defenders of Leningrad then take it without any opposition, there are 6 divisions in there and I don't have the forces to defeat them. Sadly I don't have any paratroopers.
Is your sole plan to cut off the Caucasus by the end of the year?
I wish I could achieve that, but even if I could it wouldn't be cut off as it could still be supplied through Persia (even if IRL that would be beyond a logistical nightmare). Even capturing Stalingrad maybe hoping for too much but we'll see.
Why do you group your interceptors into squadrons of two instead of four? I find that I lose less if I group them in fours and combine them with another squadron of four to patrol the same area
I have squadrons of four as well, just having squadrons of two provides more flexibility for me and they can be used especially in defending Germany as the Allies can't send fighters that far so my interceptors just face bombers.