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Sedgwick (Southerns) & Highlandcharge (Siberians) vs. Cleburne (Reds)

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On your strategic map, what is that lonely white square in the middle of Red Russia? And what is it doing there? If this were HOI or another Paradox title, I would assume it was doomed, but I guess that, with the lack of continuous front lines, that's not the case in RUS.
 
My guess : Cossacks cavalry scouting around for big, fat, red armies.
 
Narwhal is correct. Screening your main force with cavalry is very important so as to lessen the possibility of nasty surprises ;) I wanted to see how well Tambov and Lipetsk were garrisoned. You can see the unit in question at the top of the last "Orders..." screenshot. I'm also using cavalry to tear up the rails, but single units usually aren't enough to make a dent, which I suppose is realistic.
 
Sorry for the hasty update, I may add screenshots later.

Early September, 1918: bad weather and inactive commanders hamper operations and delay the return of cavalry patrols. Scouts report: Sorokin's army is inside Voronezh (~400 power); no large standing forces were spotted on the railway north of Tzaritsyn; Lipetsk, Kozlov and Tambov are weakly garrisoned. Shaplin's Column reports on enemy forces in Archangelsk: Moscow Reserve Force (~430 power), led by Bela Kun, including elite Latvian riflemen - British General Poole demands Shaplin evacuate immediately by sea. A marine regiment will be raised in Murmansk with an eye to possibly retaking Archangelsk next spring.

Late September, 1918: Shaplin's Column is safely evacuated to Murmansk. Good weather allows Drozdovsky's Corps to swing around Trotsky's flank and occupy the railway north of Balashov. Even with a river crossing further south to avoid potential penalties in battle, it takes only 9 days - 3 days per region - to manoeuvre an army of 500+ power, even with supply trains - talk about operational mobility!
 
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StratMapEarlyOct18.jpg
Strategic Map, Early October, 1918: Archangelsk is abandoned to the Bolsheviks; Stalin's 10th Red Army is completely encircled; Trotsky's Southern Front is cut off from its rear depots. The Communists held Kazan long enough to evacuate the gold train.


EarlyOct18Orders.jpg
Orders for Early October, 1918: having screened our advance with cavalry, it appears the only significant reserve within striking distance of Drozdovsky's Corps is Sorokin's army in Voronezh, which is temporarily unable to respond due to the ruined railway in Utkino. Denikin orders Drozdovsky to sieze the line as far as Tambov while we have the iniative.

Wrangel and Kutepov besiege Novorossiysk and Stavropol, respectively; the Communist Don Fleet just sailed into Novorossiysk, presumably to extract those forces by sea - if so, let them run, it saves me a siege assault. Lukomsky and Kutepov will assault Kalnin's forces in Stavropol next turn. With any luck, Wrangel and Kutepov will be poised to push through the Ukraine in November.


ProdEarlyOct18.jpg
Production: several Cossack Militias were raised to garrison the Kuban last month; Lukomsky just finished training a conscript brigade, which was sent to the Tzaritsyn front, while a second brigade of conscripts was just recruited in Azov; marine and infantry regiments recruiting in Murmansk; two gunboat squadrons on the Don, and lots of light infantry in the Kuban - next to Marines, Plastuns are my favourite infantry for their speed, protection, and high rate of fire.
 
Getting a little tense (well, either the game is, or I am...). The fall of Tzaritsyn (and preferably the death of Uncle Joe) would be such a prize...

I like seeing so many forces so far north (relative from the Caucasus). I hope you can push even further.
 
Thanks Stuyvesant, I feel pretty relaxed, but things are certainly getting interesting ;) Drozdovsky can really boogie, and I could push a lot further north if I didn't have Stalin to worry about - to be honest I'm not quite sure how to handle him, I'm hoping he'll try to fight his way out in November.


LateOct18Orders.jpg
Late October, 1918: Soviet Taman Front was evacuated from Novorossiysk, and Wrangel is ordered to assault the now lightly defended city; Kutepov and Lukomsky prepare to assault Kalnin's forces in Stavropol; Drozdovsky took Tambov, and orders a forced march to Liski in preparation for an advance on Voronezh should Sorokin leave the city; cavalry is sent to scout the vicinity of Kursk; Volunteer Army and Mamontov's Column will attempt to secure Balashov while Trotsky is distracted by Drozdovsky.

I've been waiting a while for a chance to use Mamontov. Eventually I'd love to promote Mamontov and have him lead corps-sized raids and feints like the one on Tambov. I call him my Gingerbread Man because with the deep raider trait he's nearly impossible to catch when he's on the move.
 
Something like that, yes. I want to sieze the initiative and maintain that momentum by setting the pace and forcing him to react to my moves. You know, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, only I haven't been stinging yet, just floating. That's why Drozdovsky's set to feint/probe and evade combat - right now he's the stick that Denikin throws when he wants Trotsky to play fetch ;)
 
Alice said:
...That's why Drozdovsky's set to feint/probe and evade combat - right now he's the stick that Denikin throws when he wants Trotsky to play fetch ;)
Click to expand...

Generally, I like everything about this AAR, but that line above is elevated above the rest. :) The image of Trotsky as some kind of floppy-eared, tumbling-over-himself puppy chasing enthusiastically after Drozdovsky will stick in my mind for a while. :)
 
Thanks Stuyvesant. Unfortunately, while Trotsky might've fallen for it, Pat didn't, and Mamontov's division was completely wiped out at Balashov :( So much for my gingerbread man. But more on that later.
 
SiegeStavropol1.jpg
Late October, 1918: Stavropol's garrison melts away under Lukomsky and Kutepov's withering assault. Kutepov is recommended for promotion.


BalashovBatEarlyOct18.jpg
Denikin's cavalry evades the enemy, but Mamontov's division is blown away at the battle of Balashov. Mamontov is currently recovering from a serious injury. We lost more men in one day than the past five months' casualties combined. It is a serious blow, but we must soldier on.


OrdersEarlyNov18.jpg
Orders for Early November, 1918: Poliakov pursues Communist partisans in the south; Kutepov promoted and redeployed to Azov to assume command of Wrangel's Division and drive north in the direction of Kharkov; Drozdovsky's Corps pauses to catch their breath in Liski; Sidorin's Corps is to be heavily reinforced in case Trotsky decides to try his luck at Kotovo; entrenchments at Kalach-on-Don are abandoned - if Stalin wants to bolt for the Ukraine in November, let him; winter is coming and I need to think about my supply situation, so I'm thinking about building a depot somewhere on the railway northeast from Salsk.


ProdEarlyNov18.jpg
Production: Two conscript brigades, two cavalry regiments, two supply trains, a field hospital, a transmission company, and some engineers.
 
That's the first serious reverse you've suffered (you didn't seem too concerned about the fall of Archangelsk, so I'm not counting that). I'm assuming Denikin won't be terribly active for a while.

It's a shame you have to leave Stalin with a way out - but then, I guess taking Tzaritsyn would be far more critical than making sure that Uncle Joe is caught. Let's see what happens there: will Stalin bolt and hand you the city, or will he stay put, forcing you to either assault or abandon the siege?
 
Building supply train is strange. Don't you have enough supply trains ? I actually thought of suggesting the dev of taking out some supplies :)
 
Thanks for your continuing interest! I'll talk about Stalin and the debacle at Balashov in my next update.

Narwhal - I like having surplus supplies, really I don't think you can ever have too many supply trains, because they allow you to go out on a limb during offensives, prevent garrisons from surrendering during sieges, and build depots to move supplies more efficiently and possibly station aircraft behind the frontlines.
 
BatBalashovENov18.jpg
More bloodshed at Balashov. Despite Denikin's withdrawer trait and his cavalry's naturally high evasion score, Trotsky swatted him like a fly on his way out

Nothing much happened in in Late November - Early December 1918: Trotsky left Balashov to secure Tambov; Drozdovsky is entrenched at Liski; Kutepov's Corps advanced on Kharkov; there were some sieges in the south. I have lost the iniative on the Tzaritsyn front until Volunteer Army can be safely reinforced, so Balashov remains empty for now.


LDec18Orders.jpg
Orders for Late December, 1918: reinforcements are sent by rail to Kutepov's Corps in Kharkov; a depot is to be built with British supplies at Salsk.


UkraineLDec18.jpg
French forces move north from Odessa.


NorthLDec18.jpg
Miller and his British allies establish defensive positions in the north, digging behind that river and building a depot.


ProdLDec18.jpg
Production, Late December, 1918. My morale skyrocketed from 99 to 125, so I'm relying on a mobilization decision to raise replacement chits.
 
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BatKharkovLDec18.jpg
Kutepov and Wrangel thrash Budyenny in a defensive battle at Kharkov.


StratMapEJan19.jpg
The strategic situation in Early January, 1919. We are well positioned for a summer offensive zig-zagging between those two railways (the grey line broadly indicates our axis of advance, from Rostov to Moscow). If I can gain control of the Dnieper as far as Kiev I might ship some cavalry upriver to reinforce the Northwest Whites soon to appear in Pskov.


1918Review.jpg
1918 in review:

Tactical objective 1: pocket and destroy Red forces in the Caucausus. Mission status: moderately successful - Sorokin slipped away, but Kalnin's Column was crushed in Stavropol.

Operational objective 2: induce operational paralysis in enemy forces: successful. Stalin hasn't budged yet in Tzaritsyn. Sorokin and Kalnin offered absolutely no resistance in the south.

Operational objective 3: don't lose any unit elements. Mission status: unsuccessful. See Balashov, (one-sided) Battle of.

Strategic objective 4: get inside my opponent's OODA loop, step inside his mind and leave a sign saying "Alice was here." Mission status: unsuccessful. I failed to predict Sorokin pulling a Dunkirk at Stefanidinodar. I got Trotsky to play fetch with Drozdovsky's Corps, but he came back and bit my arm off before retaking Tambov. Recommendation: I'm gonna have to learn some new tricks, make my moves as unpredictable as possible while making his moves predictable by threatening him in ways he must take seriously.

Strategic objective 5: get a vanguard force in Lipetsk before winter, well positioned for a summer offensive on Moscow. Mission status: moderately successful. I could've tried for Lipetsk but it was too risky, so I took Liski and now Kharkov, so I'm happy with the result.
 
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