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OneArmedMexican
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Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:32 pm

Ouch! Sorry, it is going this badly for you.

Moving Blücher eastward from Tambov seems dangerous. You risk encirclement. Next turn you will probably see Denikin's force in Tambov, then it might be too late to extract railbound Trotzky. :p apy:

I am sure you probably have done this already, but now is the time to bleed your country dry. Conscript and requisition as much as possible. Greet every new Green uprising with joy!

If I may give you another advice while sitting comfortably in my armchair: The Southern White only attacked Tzaritsyn with 30.000 men. This means he has more somewhere. Sure he needs to keep order in the South but he might also have another one or two divisions to reinforce the White Wolves at Kharkov in order to stage a second attack towards Moscov or (if he is more small-minded) to clean you out of the Ukraine.

I hope you can turn this mess around!

Keep up your great work on this AAR! :)

Alikchi
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:11 pm

OneArmedMexican: You were right about Blucher. I kept him where he was after reading your post. Immediately after, he repulsed 10,000 Cossacks heading straight for Tambov. :bonk: Well done!

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm still fighting as hard as I can!

Alikchi
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Turns 24 + 25

Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:16 pm

The Soviet Republic continues to resist the last dreams of the old world.

Turns 24 + 25: Late May - Early June 1919

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The Whites are closer to Petrograd than they've ever been, and right now, only Stalin stands in their way. Shudder.

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Those five innocuous green pips represent a dagger pointed straight my heart. Once again, it's down to the wire. Can Stalin hold? His record seems to say no. If he can last one turn, Bonch-Baruevich and the remnants of Antonov-Ovseenko's force can join him. We'll just have to see.

I do have some good news this turn, however. Kharkov is ours once again!

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I've learned my lesson. Instead of dispersing and trying to hold a line all across the Dniepr, I'm sending the partisans out to raise havoc across the breadth of the Ukraine and holding Kamenev and the main force here in Kharkov to fortify this most important position. Ukraine will remain a battleground for a while yet - although the Whites are moving up my eastern flank, into Voronezh.

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This is a shot of the evacuation of Astrakhan. As you can see, Denikin's coming at us with a large force. The division under Kirov holding the city would be annihilated or forced to retreat into what is essentially a desert. I've therefore picked them up with the southern Volga flotilla and run them into the Caspian. I have plans for these guys..

Oh, one last thing. The most important thing!

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I've planned a three-sided counterstroke to the enemy at Penza. As you can see, Trotsky and his men never retreated. They've fought a bloody street battle for weeks now. I'm hoping that the Siberians in Penza are tired enough that the sight of 3 convering Red forces all arriving within a 2 day timeframe of each other causes them.. well, extreme discomfort.

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OneArmedMexican
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Thu Feb 03, 2011 10:16 pm

Nice your opponent is making a mistake. Instead of keeping the pressure up by pressing north with his full forces, he is diverting a considerable army to secure his flank against an inexistant threat from Astrakhan. This should give you a round ot two to stabilize your front against the Siberians.
I am still wondering though where the rest of the Southern White troups is.

Alikchi
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:34 pm

Turns 26 + 27: Late June - Early July 1919

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All Out for the Fight Against Denikin!


Comrades,

This is one of the most critical, probably even the most critical moment for the socialist revolution. Those who defend the exploiters, the landowners and capitalists, in Russia and abroad (primarily in Britain and France) are making a desperate effort to restore the power of those who seize the results of the people’s labour, the landowners and exploiters of Russia, in order to bolster up their power, which is waning all over the world.

The foreign capitalists are now making a desperate effort to restore the yoke of capital by means of an onslaught by Denikin, whom they have supplied with officers, shells, tanks, etc., etc.

All the forces of the workers and peasants, all the forces of the Soviet Republic, must be harnessed to repulse Denikin’s onslaught and to defeat him.

SOVNARKOM


This is another two-turn update. Let's have a look at the results of the Penza battle.

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The first battle, from 6-8 June, was a rather bloody defeat for our boys, but they held fast and failed to retreat, keeping the enemy pinned in at Penza. Trotsky rushed in from the north with further reinforcements in an attempt to hold the enemy at the town.

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Unfortunately, even with reinforcements and the inspiring leadership of Trotsky, the second battle - on the 18th - was a disaster. The Whites are taking half or less of the Red casualties - that ratio cannot stand.


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Cursing the blood-soaked town, sight of so many Red defeats, Trotsky orders a retrograde maneuever.

I'm not sure what to do in this theatre, now. The Siberians are firmly over the Volga (except in the far north, where the Latvians still hold Kazan).I have a large force, but it has just been soundly defeated. I can only hope that my enemy gives me a chance to pause for breath. Timoshenko is on his way with 20,000 fresh troops, but he needs time to repair railroads and clean Green peasant-militias out of his path. In the meantime, defend and delay.

So, that's the east. The Ukraine was quiet - Kirov, Budyenny and Kamenev seem to have it under control. What about the North?

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Stalin and Voroshilov have granted us a victory! Miller's merry men came down from Karelia and tried to push Stalin and his blocking force back into Petrograd. Stalin pushed back - hard. That's a lot of units eliminated.

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With one of the two White forces badly mauled, and the other force cut off from its base of supply (through careful maneuvering of Bonch-Bruevich's force), we are presented with a splendid opportunity to destroy the Northern and Northwestern White Armies in detail. Stalin will move out of his blocking position at Tsarskoye Selo and try to finish off Miller. This runs the risk of exposing Petrograd, but the garrison of the city can defend it against the NW Army operating independently. Bonch will keep the lines of retreat for said army firmly blocked while Stalin deals with Miller.

If I can clean up this front and eliminate the threat to Petrograd once and for all, I'll have lots of reinforcements for other fronts! And I NEED those reinforcements...

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ERISS
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Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:10 pm

Alikchi wrote:Image
Stalin and Voroshilov have granted us a victory! Miller's merry men came down from Karelia and tried to push Stalin and his blocking force back into Petrograd. Stalin pushed back - hard. That's a lot of units eliminated.

:w00t: Amazing! You should have post the details of that battle, I wonder how Stal' did..

Alikchi
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Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:43 am

Turns 28 + 29: Late July - Early August 1919

A few things. First, as predicted, I'm on the offensive in the north:

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Things are going swimmingly. Stalin is chasing Miller and his British cronies off towards Karelia, and Bonchy's 16,000 are going to face off with Rodzianko's 14,000. An infantry regiment will move near the city and take back some of the territory the NW Army stole shortly. On top of all that, I have two fresh divisions coming online in Petrograd next turn. :) The Cradle of the Revolution is safe.

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At Kursk in Southern Russia, we've won an excellent victory against Drozdovsky, who botches his recon and came at Frunze's many with his few. Droz is an excellent officer and leads an excellent division. That division was mauled this day, losing two elite infantry and one elite cavalry elements. Excellent! Trotsky's coming to take the command from Frunze shortly, and then we can consider an advance.

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This is sad news. Kazan, which the Latvians have faithfully held for so long, has been outflanked and must be abandoned. Our Red boys will avoid combat by crossing the river west of the city.



Minor things: Kirov is changing his landing site from Turkestan to the East Caucasus, Tukhachevsky is being reinforced by Blucher's Butchers to face the Siberians, several battles occur between Comrade Ordzhonikidze's corps and the Arkhangelsk Whites, and Mai-Mai's corps has captured Saratov. Also, I REALLY need cash and men.. so many replacements are necessary..

Alikchi
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Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:28 am

A bunch of losing battles this turn, but I'm still optimistic.

Turn 30: Late August 1919

Historically, at this point, the Whites were at their most dangerous. Although KOMUCH had been destroyed and the Siberians were in retreat, Denikin's armies, led by Mai-Mai, were advancing straight up the railroad track from Kursk towards Moscow. Kiev had fallen to the Whites, and Voronezh looked like it would fall soon. Meanwhile, Yudenich's forces were marshalling for the strike on Petrograd.

Our situation is different. Rodzianko commands the NW Army, not Yudenich, for starters - and he's been in the field for months. The Whites do not hold Kiev, or Kursk, or Orel, though they do control Voronezh. Unfortunately, the Siberians and Komuch are still very much an extant threat.

Regardless, this is why I feel confident: the Whites are farther from Moscow than they were in reality. And time is on my side.

Here's one reason time is on my side. The British forces leave Russia this turn, so they won't be able to wallop Stalin like this again:

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Ouch! I hadn't expected them to put up much of a fight, I guess. Shows me for pissing off a bunch of frigid, battle-hardened Brits.

To the south, Bonchy isn't doing much better against Rodzianko's NW Army:

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The BEF is no longer problem, but I need more numbers to defeat Rodz. (Great name.) To that end, we'll be resting and fitting out a new combined Northern Front at Tsarskoye Selo. Observe!

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My three mobile forces, combined with two fresh divisions from Petrograd, should number in the area of 40,000 men - enough to crush Rodz' 12,000 in one swift blow, I hope.

I have to say, Pariah's done a splendid job leading the Northern White forces. He's pinned down far superior numbers for quite a long time by playing on my fears about Petrograd and striking and retreating from multiple directions.

Here's a shot of North Ukraine/South Russia.

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Trotsky's new army (formerly under the command of Frunze) is finally ready for battle and assembled at Kursk. I've decided to go over to the offensive. Attacking Voronezh will push the whites back south and protect Kursk, while Kamenev covers the direct northern approach from Kharkov. I still don't like having only two forces to maneuver with in such a large theatre, but as Narwhal said, I have to leave gaps if I want to score decisive victories. Battering the already-damaged Drozdovsky command will suit me nicely.

There's one more big front left, and it's the East. Let's see here..

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Ah yes, the Latvians were unable to escape Kazan without a fight. Just as well, I suppose - considering the disparity in numbers, my boys were able to inflict impressive casualties. The previously mentioned escape route is still open, so we're moving along the north bank of the upper Volga now.

Here's the really big deal:

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Something ominous is happening in Penza. As Tukhachevsky's Eastern Front stands off and watches, the Southern and Siberian Whites have joined arms. Mai-Mai commands a corps in the same region as Galkin, Komuch's premier corps commander. Combined, they're a huge and powerful force.

I don't know if this cooperation is a policy or just a coincidental convergence but I want to nip it in the bud. Tukhachevsky is going in. He commands the largest single force I have right now - 65,000 men with 2000 power points. He's a rising star - gone from divisional to army command in the course of the conflict - and decent on the attack. I'm throwing him and his stack in all-out-assault mode at the White concentration, hoping to inflict crippling losses. Timoshenko will protect the rear, at Tambov.

This could be the decisive battle of the war.

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Hohenlohe
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Thu Feb 10, 2011 8:15 pm

I would not to be too self-confident because most of the White forces consists good experienced troops, often elite units which can withstand any strong attack. But you could be lucky if the white troops at Penza will be handled like seperate forces and so you can battle them one after the other.
But if they act as a whole force and the Army Commander - the Czech one- Sirovsky will come to their help you could get a decent defeat.
Although one of my PBEM-counterparts will read this I may advice you that you take one of your training_officers the Broench etc as chief training officer in Moscow to train militias or fusilier divisions to full regular troops to sent them later on to the diverse fronts. So they will have better abilities for the upcoming battles. Okay thats something for the long run but it will influence sometimes any battle against experienced white armies.

In most cases it will be better for the Reds to set their forces on defensive behaviour and to prepare for any white attack coming on instead of attacking good entrenched white forces as I have experienced sofar.
The Victim numbers will be too high in other cases and terms...

Sofar my personal thoughts related to your good AAR...

greetings

Hohenlohe
R.I.P. Henry D.

In Remembrance of my Granduncle Hans Weber, a Hungaro-German Soldier,served in Austro-Hungarian Forces during WWI,war prisoner, missed in Sibiria 1918...

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OneArmedMexican
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Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:37 pm

In my humble opinion, your attack with Tukhachevsky seems risky. I don't think the tide has turned in your game yet. Your advantage in recruitment is big but your casulties seems to have been about double the amount of the White factions.

I like you taking the offensive in the North but if it were my game, I would stay on defense in the South.

Also I am wondering why hasn't the Southern White triggered foreign interventions? He must enough NM to afford it.

Keep up this great AAR! It is most entertaining. The best I have seen for RUS so far. :thumbsup:

Alikchi
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Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:15 pm

Thanks for your comments, guys. You were probably right, but I'm afraid we'll never find out. :(

I received this email from Michael, the Siberian Whites player and our good host, today. We've been experiencing a glitch involving British supply wagons:

Sorry guys, I can't process the turn due to the British supply wagons. So our game is over unfortunately.
I have fixed this in a mod i am making, it was actually quite an easy fix. I am strengthening the Reds a bit, new leader option comes up one turn quicker for the Reds, slightly more money
and manpower from their options, slightly better leader stats.

If either of you have an interest in playing again with these mods i would be honored as you are both excellent opponents.

Michael


So I'm afraid our game comes to a premature end. I'll have a final round-up post here shortly, and I'm sure John (digital_pariah) and Michael (lycortas) will have something to say.

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