caranorn wrote:This approach also largely worked...
My 1919 campaign was indeed successful destroying the major part of two bolshevik fronts (with my two armies composed of all together 8 infantry and 3-4 cavalry divisions) around Tsaritsin and also taking Saratov to the north before I decided it was too late in the season to continue my major offensive and instead took Astrakhan with one corps and sent another back to the Kuban to fight a green revolt...
Note, taking Astrakhan by campaign from Terek might be suicidal as it turned out. I tried this with one division accompagnied by 2 supply wagons. It took me two turns to get close to Astrakhan when the weather turned foul and attrition started to hit my force and particularly my supply. I then decided to reverse my steps but my entire force starved on the way home. Maybe without the wagons they'd have stood a better chance, but it seems like a gamble...
In my humble opinion Astrakhan simply isn't worth an attack in strength (especially not with a whole corps!). Never use infantry either - too slow.
Instead send a regiment of cavalry: either the red side has effecuated the city than you got the one conscript it produces for free or it still has a garnision than you retreat.
Leaving it unconquered doesn't really pose a threat: any counter-offensive with Astrakhan as a base faces the same swamps and harsh weather that killed your troops.
The only way to get to to Astrakhan safely is shipping the troops on the Volga. Unfortunately that is only an option for the Siberian - unless you get lucky and capture bits of the Red river fleet.
