Gaming Barbarossa: October 1941
The nature of The Dark Valley changes dramatically in October. This is when the rasputitsa sets in – the mud season. Muddy weather slows everything down. All Axis mechanized units lose 2 movement points to reflect the difficulty of making progress in the thick seas of Russian muck. They also lose the ability to project a zone of control. All other units (on both sides) lose 1 movement point. A few other restrictions and penalties apply.
Perhaps more importantly, the Germans lose half their panzer mobility. Instead of the 1st and 2nd Panzer Armies having two chits each and the others having one, now the German player must pick ONE chit each for any THREE Panzer Armies. The fourth army will only be able to move and conduct combat whenever a Move/Combat chit is drawn. The overall effect makes the Axis more herky-jerky (like the Soviets) than fast and fluid (blitzkrieg) as they were in the first four turns. On the Soviet side, the Counterattack! chit is set aside and replaced with a more general Combat chit. Stalin has come to his senses and the mandated counterattacks are now a thing of the past.
On top of all this, the Soviet player gets the initiative for this turn and so will benefit from choosing the first chit to put into play. In terms of reinforcements, the Soviets only get a handful of infantry armies while the Germans get one weak division. For the first time in the game, the Soviets begin receiving replacements. They receive 5 replacement factors (RFs) for each of 5 key industrial cities they control on the game map. These points can be spent to rebuild previously eliminated Soviet forces, of which there more than 150 individual divisions and corps, indicating the destructive power of the Axis during the first four turns. One of the key replacement cities (Kiev) was captured last turn. So, instead 25 RFs they will receive 20.
Which leads us to the Reinforcement/Replacement Phase. The weak German division covers an advanced supply depot in the south. Significantly, the Axis gets no replacements for the next 5 turns. Until then, every weakened panzer division will remain on the edge of elimination. There is a mechanic where adjacent German 2-4 infantry divisions can rebuild a step loss on an infantry corps, so those units can remain combat effective for a little longer. These replacements happen at the end of any Axis Action Round. This is possible in four locations on the map currently, so those corps will be flipped through the turn to their strong side and the various 2-4 divisions are placed in the Eliminated Units Box.
By special rule, three reinforcing Soviet infantry armies are added to the Eliminate Unit Box. They can be rebuilt using the Replacement Factors mentioned above. Two additional infantry army reinforcements and infantry corps are paired up and enter the game at Leningrad and Kharkov. The Soviets then use their 20 RFs to build. 5-4 infantry corps are built at Leningrad and Moscow. Ten 1-4 infantry divisions are rebuilt and placed at Moscow, Tula, and Rostov.
Next, the German air bases are moved forward. They must be stationed in a city or town hex. If they advance more than 12 hexes then the air units are “Done” for the turn. This is what happened in turn two which ultimately resulted in all of Army Group Center going out of supply. In this case the advances are modest and the Luftwaffe is ready.
The Soviets have the initiative and choose their “Move” chit. This allows for better defensive alignment around Leningrad and for some important deployments in the south. The Soviets extend their defensive line east of Smolensk and reposition some armies for better defense if the position, though several armies are unable to move at all due to interlocking German zones of control (ZOC). In The Dark Valley most units cannot move directly from one ZOC to another, even if friendly are already present in the respective hexes.
A note about STAVKA this turn. No units were placed in the STAVKA Reserve Box due to the limited number of Soviet reinforcements and to the necessity to cover various avenues of possible attack. So that chit will not be played this turn.
The 1st Panzer Army is now drawn from the chit pile. A move toward Kharkov or Stalino is possible, but it would likely put the Army out of supply later in the turn. The panzers with some infantry support decide on a modest advance to the extent of the supply lines, halting there.
The Soviet Combat chit is drawn next. Attack options are rather limited in the north and south so the Soviets do nothing there. There are a few hexes in the center worthy of an attack, however. If nothing else, it might spoil the interlocking zones of control that the Germans have on the area. The two attacks undertaken are at 3-1 and 2-1 odds with Tank Brigade Support in both cases. The results are both sides losing a step in the first combat and a defender retreat in the second.
The Logistics chit is pulled. No real risks were taken by either side this turn. Everyone who started the turn in supply remains that way. Both sides have units remove OOS markers on units around Leningrad.
Now the 2nd Panzer is drawn. With supply no longer being a concern for the time being, the entire “underbelly” of the grouping near Smolensk shifts east. All the panzers are able to gang-up on a Soviet infantry army near Yelnya. Air and assault gun support bring the attack up to 6-1. This results on a defender retreat with a step loss. Suddenly, there is German armor within 8 hexes of Moscow, though it is badly extended by the stubborn Russian defense of Vitebsk and Smolensk.
One of the two Axis Move/Combat chits is up next. The Axis moves to setup attacks at Leningrad and Stalino while also attempting get into position to possibly encircle the mass of Soviet still holding Vitebsk and Smolensk. This would eliminate about half the Soviet forces on the map and open the road to Moscow. This is followed by the second Move/Combat chit. At Leningrad there is a all-out assault on a Soviet infantry army and division. This results in a deadly “exchange.” The Soviets are eliminated but the Germans must lose 3-steps as well. Still, this places the Germans immediately next to Leningrad.
Attacks in the center are more successful for the Germans. Another Soviet infantry army is eliminated while an advance from Vilikie Luki pushes back a Russian division. Yelnya falls and 15 Soviet infantry armies along with supporting units around Vitebsk and Smolensk are threatened with encirclement. Another massive German infantry attack south of Kiev manages to eliminate another Soviet infantry army and a division. The result was a defender retreat but, as so often happens at this stage of war (game), the German has managed to cut-off the path of retreat so the defenders must die (mostly captured in non-game terms).
Since it is 1941, Stalino is considered a town instead of a city for defense purposes. The Germans manage to put together 4-1 odds with air and assault gun support. Stalino falls, bring the Axis VP total to 26. A combined German-Romanian attack in the south manages to eliminate another Soviet division. Meanwhile, an attack on Perekop, the gateway to the Crimea, leads to a step loss on both sides. This is costly for the Axis. A German motorized division is lost at the expense of only a 1-4 infantry division.
Lastly, the 3rd Panzer Army activates. It manages to drive back Soviet defenders, coming closer to encircling the great Vitbesk-Smolensk pocket. Meanwhile, a Soviet infantry division is eliminated in a separate attack. This opens the way for possible deep exploitation next turn, depending upon how the chits are drawn, of course.
Axis depots are advanced 3 hexes (shorter advance due to mud) where possible, sometimes less depending upon the situation. German air supply is not needed anywhere. It should be noted that the victory condition for the Barbarossa scenario require that the Germans capture Moscow along with either Kiev and/or Leningrad. Kiev has already fallen and the Germans are at the gates of Leningrad, albeit with weakened forces. The nearest panzer units are still seven hexes away from Moscow and time is running out. Alternately, the Axis wins by capturing any 30 VP hexes by the end of Turn 8. They are only 4 away from that number with three turns to go. Despite the tenacity of the Soviets and some misplay by my part on both sides this game is turning out to be a close one.
Perhaps more importantly, the Germans lose half their panzer mobility. Instead of the 1st and 2nd Panzer Armies having two chits each and the others having one, now the German player must pick ONE chit each for any THREE Panzer Armies. The fourth army will only be able to move and conduct combat whenever a Move/Combat chit is drawn. The overall effect makes the Axis more herky-jerky (like the Soviets) than fast and fluid (blitzkrieg) as they were in the first four turns. On the Soviet side, the Counterattack! chit is set aside and replaced with a more general Combat chit. Stalin has come to his senses and the mandated counterattacks are now a thing of the past.
On top of all this, the Soviet player gets the initiative for this turn and so will benefit from choosing the first chit to put into play. In terms of reinforcements, the Soviets only get a handful of infantry armies while the Germans get one weak division. For the first time in the game, the Soviets begin receiving replacements. They receive 5 replacement factors (RFs) for each of 5 key industrial cities they control on the game map. These points can be spent to rebuild previously eliminated Soviet forces, of which there more than 150 individual divisions and corps, indicating the destructive power of the Axis during the first four turns. One of the key replacement cities (Kiev) was captured last turn. So, instead 25 RFs they will receive 20.
Which leads us to the Reinforcement/Replacement Phase. The weak German division covers an advanced supply depot in the south. Significantly, the Axis gets no replacements for the next 5 turns. Until then, every weakened panzer division will remain on the edge of elimination. There is a mechanic where adjacent German 2-4 infantry divisions can rebuild a step loss on an infantry corps, so those units can remain combat effective for a little longer. These replacements happen at the end of any Axis Action Round. This is possible in four locations on the map currently, so those corps will be flipped through the turn to their strong side and the various 2-4 divisions are placed in the Eliminated Units Box.
By special rule, three reinforcing Soviet infantry armies are added to the Eliminate Unit Box. They can be rebuilt using the Replacement Factors mentioned above. Two additional infantry army reinforcements and infantry corps are paired up and enter the game at Leningrad and Kharkov. The Soviets then use their 20 RFs to build. 5-4 infantry corps are built at Leningrad and Moscow. Ten 1-4 infantry divisions are rebuilt and placed at Moscow, Tula, and Rostov.
Next, the German air bases are moved forward. They must be stationed in a city or town hex. If they advance more than 12 hexes then the air units are “Done” for the turn. This is what happened in turn two which ultimately resulted in all of Army Group Center going out of supply. In this case the advances are modest and the Luftwaffe is ready.
The Soviets have the initiative and choose their “Move” chit. This allows for better defensive alignment around Leningrad and for some important deployments in the south. The Soviets extend their defensive line east of Smolensk and reposition some armies for better defense if the position, though several armies are unable to move at all due to interlocking German zones of control (ZOC). In The Dark Valley most units cannot move directly from one ZOC to another, even if friendly are already present in the respective hexes.
A note about STAVKA this turn. No units were placed in the STAVKA Reserve Box due to the limited number of Soviet reinforcements and to the necessity to cover various avenues of possible attack. So that chit will not be played this turn.
The 1st Panzer Army is now drawn from the chit pile. A move toward Kharkov or Stalino is possible, but it would likely put the Army out of supply later in the turn. The panzers with some infantry support decide on a modest advance to the extent of the supply lines, halting there.
The Soviet Combat chit is drawn next. Attack options are rather limited in the north and south so the Soviets do nothing there. There are a few hexes in the center worthy of an attack, however. If nothing else, it might spoil the interlocking zones of control that the Germans have on the area. The two attacks undertaken are at 3-1 and 2-1 odds with Tank Brigade Support in both cases. The results are both sides losing a step in the first combat and a defender retreat in the second.
The Logistics chit is pulled. No real risks were taken by either side this turn. Everyone who started the turn in supply remains that way. Both sides have units remove OOS markers on units around Leningrad.
Now the 2nd Panzer is drawn. With supply no longer being a concern for the time being, the entire “underbelly” of the grouping near Smolensk shifts east. All the panzers are able to gang-up on a Soviet infantry army near Yelnya. Air and assault gun support bring the attack up to 6-1. This results on a defender retreat with a step loss. Suddenly, there is German armor within 8 hexes of Moscow, though it is badly extended by the stubborn Russian defense of Vitebsk and Smolensk.
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| The beginning of the October 1941 turn in the north. The Germans are closing in on Leningrad. |
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| By the end of October the Soviets are defending at the gates of Leningrad but the German forces have been worn down by their advance. |
Attacks in the center are more successful for the Germans. Another Soviet infantry army is eliminated while an advance from Vilikie Luki pushes back a Russian division. Yelnya falls and 15 Soviet infantry armies along with supporting units around Vitebsk and Smolensk are threatened with encirclement. Another massive German infantry attack south of Kiev manages to eliminate another Soviet infantry army and a division. The result was a defender retreat but, as so often happens at this stage of war (game), the German has managed to cut-off the path of retreat so the defenders must die (mostly captured in non-game terms).
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| The long battle for Vitebsk and Smolensk continues in the center. You can now see Moscow near the upper right edge of this screenshot. |
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| At the end of the turn the Germans are threatening to encircle the massive Soviet forces that have held it back for so long. How the chits are pulled in the next turn will be critical to what happens here. |
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| In the south the Germans seek to exploit their recent victories in this region. But the mud will slow them down. |
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| Stalino falls in the Ukraine as the Romanians advance east. At Kiev several German infantry corps have consolidated their position and crossed the Dnepr River. |
Lastly, the 3rd Panzer Army activates. It manages to drive back Soviet defenders, coming closer to encircling the great Vitbesk-Smolensk pocket. Meanwhile, a Soviet infantry division is eliminated in a separate attack. This opens the way for possible deep exploitation next turn, depending upon how the chits are drawn, of course.
Axis depots are advanced 3 hexes (shorter advance due to mud) where possible, sometimes less depending upon the situation. German air supply is not needed anywhere. It should be noted that the victory condition for the Barbarossa scenario require that the Germans capture Moscow along with either Kiev and/or Leningrad. Kiev has already fallen and the Germans are at the gates of Leningrad, albeit with weakened forces. The nearest panzer units are still seven hexes away from Moscow and time is running out. Alternately, the Axis wins by capturing any 30 VP hexes by the end of Turn 8. They are only 4 away from that number with three turns to go. Despite the tenacity of the Soviets and some misplay by my part on both sides this game is turning out to be a close one.
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