For The Motherland! - A Soviet AoD AAR

[Hastatii]

Hastatii, I tried to make a screenie but I dont know how to uplink it

So I wrote the losses down.

Its now January 5 1944.

Manpower Losses:
Comintern: 890.797
Axis: 4.615.888

Casualties inflicted:
Comintern: 3.174.453
Axis: 3.034.679

I am now close to the Soviet borders pre Barbarossa. I expect to take Berlin summer 1944. It has been a truly epic East Front and the Soviets are now simply Unstoppable!

In this sense AoD is simply great, the realisme is very good. I wish Hoi3 can get close to this kind of realisme.

Edit: The Red Army consists of 206 inf, 3 cav, 15 mot, 2 mec, 16 arm, 1 par, 1 mar, 15 mountain, some gar and mil and 7 HQs. Air force is 4 fighters, 16 int, 8 CAS and 8 tac. Enough to kick German ass!!

only 800k losses? impressive, when I was done with germany I had 4 000 000 losses I think, but the german AI is stubborn and doesnt give up before it've lost 50k+ in a battle x)

 

[Neomann]

I will look forward for this interesting aar, I want to see how AOD is different from HOI2...

 

[Darknesskilla]

only 800k losses? impressive, when I was done with germany I had 4 000 000 losses I think, but the german AI is stubborn and doesnt give up before it've lost 50k+ in a battle x)

This is my AAR not his

Anyway next update will be up on monday at the latest

 

[Hastatii]

This is my AAR not his

Anyway next update will be up on monday at the latest

Im taking over the thread mohahaha.
looking forward to the update

 

[unmerged(34917)]

This is my AAR not his

Anyway next update will be up on monday at the latest

Sorry Darkness, I did not mean to hijack your nice AAR

 

[TheLoneGunman]

Nice!

I'm looking forward to Chapter 2.

I think I may try my hand at a Soviet AAR as well, but from 1936 and on VH.

 

[Darknesskilla]

Chapter 2 - The Winter Offensive

The Winter Offensive
(January 1942 – March 1942)
By January 1942, Russia’s fortunes had somewhat improved. Indeed, the Red Army had finally managed to grind the German advance to a halt. Furthermore, the Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbour forced the isolationist Americans into war with the Axis. Roosevelt quickly extended his Lend-Lease program to the Soviet Union, and shipments full of American war supplies and materials would arrive shortly. Those shipments would have trouble reaching Russian ports, however, as the loss of the port of Murmansk the year before meant that Allied convoys would have to reach Archangelsk in order to unload their supplies. Nevertheless, the Soviet Union’s position at the beginning of 1942 had undeniably improved. Consequently, Stalin was eager to go on the offensive. Under his orders, STAVKA put together a bold plan for a breakthrough in the north. Its ambitious objective was to first crush the German salient at Velikiye Luki and then break through to Pskov and onward. The final objective was to reach Riga and encircle German divisions in Estonia.

The early stages of the attack of Velikiye Luki

While at first the attack on Velikiye Luki progressed well, Soviet troops got bogged down in the marshes near the city, allowing fresh troops to reach their battered brothers in arms. This was caused by the sheer amount of men and equipment trying to cross the marsh. It therefore became a killing. The fighting was intense and lasted for weeks. Once Soviet forces were able to clear the marsh, the weakened Red Army troops were cut down by German defensive positions on the outskirts of the city. Ultimately, the attack on Velikiye Luki was a failure and although the German defenders didn’t attempt to counterattack, the failure of the attack might have very well doomed the entire winter offensive. Indeed, lacking the support of the troops being tied down at Velikiye Luki, Red Army attacks elsewhere along the front were easily repelled by the German Wehrmacht. The only bright spot in the rapidly faltering offensive was a decisive victory at Gdov. Indeed, Russian forces were able to quickly storm the defensive positions the Germans had prepared and carried on, taking the city in a matter of a few days. This victory, however, was not sufficient to save the faltering offensive. After heavy losses, the Soviet offensive was forced to halt and the Germans took their chances and counterattacked across the whole northern front. Fortunately, Russian forces were able to hold off the German advance and force the German High Command to discontinue the counter-offensive. However, Russian troops in Smolensk were unable to hold the frontline and were forced to retreat from the city. German attempts to capitalize on that victory were contained however.

The Red Army attack on advance elements of the 6th Army near Rossosh

In the south, the Red Army attacked the 6th Army’s advance elements at Rossosh. Since the town was weakly held, Russian armoured divisions easily dislodged the defenders and even chased them back towards Belgorod. While Russians troops were unable to seize Belgorod, they inflicted heavy losses on its defenders with minimal casualties. Busy containing the offensive in the north, the German Wehrmact did not even attempt a counterattack to recapture the city, and instead let the Red Army consolidate its position along the front.Even if the winter offensive of 1942 failed to achieve its objectives, the minor offensive at Rossosh showed a weakness in the German frontlines that Stalin would be sure to try and exploit: he ordered the Russian High command to start planning on Operation Red Thunder...

----------------------
There you go, Chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed
Also, the little teaser for next chapter has been added to the first post

 

[Hastatii]

good but small updates

 

[unmerged(166917)]

Operation Red Thunder: hmm where will you strike?

 

[Amallric]

Very interesting, this game definitely has some WWII-feel.

 

[Darknesskilla]

good but small updates

Dissidence !! kill the traitor !

lol, but in all seriousness: yes the updates are somewhat small. I could have merged this update with the next one (they are about the same length). However, I felt they both deserved their own, if shorter, updates. I can tell that it gets better though

@ Almarric: I agree. Arsenal of Democracy truly adds to the feeling of actually fighting (a slightly altered) WWII that you control. The AI behaves also in a much more believable fashion too, although it is still faar from perfect (you soon realise this as the game progresses ).

Next update should be ready by Wednesday

 

[Hastatii]

lol, but in all seriousness: yes the updates are somewhat small. I could have merged this update with the next one (they are about the same length). However, I felt they both deserved their own, if shorter, updates. I can tell that it gets better though

Next update should be ready by Wednesday

awesome cant wait

 

[unmerged(34917)]

Even if Soviet offensives fail, thats not too bad. It all depends on whether you inflict heavy Axis casualties or not. You have manpower to spare, they dont.

 

[Mortu]

Johan and Co. could contract Balesir and Co. to do to HOI3 what they did to HOI2

Btw, Boemsi, my Red Army was much smaller by 6/22/1941... I wasted waaay to much effort on land forts and navy

 

[Darknesskilla]

Chapter 3 - Operation Red Thunder

Chapter 3: Operation Red Thunder
(March 1942-June 1942)

Operation Red Thunder was an ambitious offensive plan with the objective of reaching the Dniepr along a several thousand mile front. The three main thrusts of the offensive were to take place around the cities of Kursk, Belgorod and Kharkov. The attack on Kursk met a stunning success and the city was liberated some seven days following the attack. The attack on Belgorod went well as well, with the city quickly falling to the Red Army. However, Russian troops were pushed back on the outskirts of Kharkov and the attack took weeks to get anywhere. Finally, German resistance was broken and they were forced back into the city. The intense street to street, building to building fighting that took place in Kharkov was of a brutally yet unseen. After three weeks of intense fighting, German forces were finally pushed out of the city and were forced to retreat. The advance also encircled armoured elements of the German 6th Army that have broken through the front in an attempt to capture the city of Voronezh. Although Hitler ordered a relief effort for the troops to take place immediately, the Soviet advance was too strong to contain.

The encirclement of German armored elements during Operation Red Thunder

Russian troops were pushing hard towards the west. In a few weeks, advance elements of the 8th Mechanized Corps reached the outskirts of Sumy. Three days later, they captured the city. The advance however, soon bogged down. The swiftness of the advance stretched supply and communication lines. Units lost themselves and often found themselves many miles from where their headquarters were located. This total loss of organisation led to the advance being halted just short of its objective: recapturing Priluki and Zaporozhye and settling the frontline along the eastern bank of the Dniepr, therefore simultaneously securing a more easily defendable frontline but also closing off the Kerch Peninsula, hopefully trapping as many German divisions as possible without and leave them access to supplies via land. Therefore, as the Soviets reorganised, the German OKW decided to launch a counteroffensive of its own. Using fresh rear line troops, the Germans were able to achieve a certain degree of surprise. The advance was incredibly successful and German troops soon routed the Russian troops that had not so long ago pushed them back to their current positions.

The front after the Third Battle of Kursk, during Operation Red Thunder

Although the STAVKA tried to halt the German advance, the disorganisation of the Soviet defenders was such that no real strong defence was possible. As such, Soviet forces were driven back several hundred miles. Finally, with fresh reinforcements, Russian troops were able to slow down the German advance near Kharkov. The defenders were however eventually dislodged and forced to retreat. Ultimately, the powerful German offensive was blunted with the heroic defences of Rostov and Boguchar in late May. Smart planning from the Soviet STAVKA and judicious use of limited counterattacks across the front kept the Germans from being able of mounting a concerted attack on Soviet positions as they always had to cover their exposed flanks. As a result, by the time the Germans had successfully consolidated their position, so had the Russian, making them therefore incredibly hard to dislodge. After several attempts and many more losses, the German OKW was forced to accept that a breakthrough along that front was no longer possible for the time being. It is easy to criticize Soviet planners for the failure of Operation Red Thunder, yet, at the same time, it is clear from both German and Soviet records that the offensive failed not by a lack of diligence from the STAVKA, but because of unforeseeable events on the ground that doomed the offensive from the outset. However, the main difference between the Russians and the Germans is that the Russians learned from their mistakes during the offensive, while the Germans did not. Furthermore, the offensive season had just begun, and Stalin still had plans for a great breakthrough to the north...

 

[Amallric]

Hahaha now that really looks like 1942. Almost incredible.

 

[Darknesskilla]

Hahaha now that really looks like 1942. Almost incredible.

lol yeah and I'm not "trying" either

 

[Griffin.Gen]

Hmmph, that isn't so good. Hopefully Stalin's plan to the north will be more successful.

 

[unmerged(166917)]

Great update. Feels quite like real WWII in some way.

 

[Pal]

Chapter 3: Operation Red Thunder
(March 1942-June 1942)

[..]Russian troops were pushing hard towards the east.[..]

Hehe, gotcha again

Still, I like the quality of those updates. Keep them coming!