Stalingrad is Saved!

The Germans, after having sustained heavy casualties in each day of their attack, have suspended offensive operations and are pulling out. As of October 21, after having played three and a half CG dates (Oct 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st), Barry's Germans conceded the fight after having mounted a spirited and vigorous attack. We both had fun, even though it ended early.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

The casualties I inflicted on the attacking Germans, combined with my light losses, is what won the CG for the Russians. The Germans start the CG with fewer squads, and by the second and third CG dates, my Russians had an even stronger ratio. While I was losing a squad here and there, the Germans were losing men by the company...to the tune of over a company on the 17th and 18th, and over two on the 20th. Coupled with the fact that the Russians were not losing their heavy weapons either (MMG, HMG, and ATG), the Germans faced a solid front line across the entire map. There was simply no way, after the Oct 20th scenario, that the Germans were going to recover in any significant way.

My plan from the outset of the CG was to trade space for men. Although fighting tooth and nail for every bit of strategic terrain is typical for Red Barricades, I think it will get the Russians in trouble. Instead, I stayed in locations long enough to kill advancing Germans, then vacated before I took much fire (or before being surrouned). This way, I pulled out in Good Order, rather than routing away. This gave me more chances to kill Germans than the Germans had to kill Russians.

Thus, by the Oct 20th scenario, I had a favorable enough of a squad ratio to mount and up-front "in your face" defense of the Chemist's Shop and the central factories. This scenario is what did the Germans in, as losses were huge...over 2 companies of infantry and several tanks.

I think that the Germans should have gone Idle on Oct 21 (and maybe on the 22nd too) instead of attacking after being punished on the 20th. I chose an Idle chit since I figured if the Germans attacked on the 21st, I could use the scenario to mount an attack of my own.

As far as force selection goes, I stuck to my rule of "infantry wins CGs" and only bought a few toys...two groups of 45mm ATGs. I don't count OBA as a "toy" in Red Barricades, since it's essential to both sides (in other CGs, OBA is very much a needless toy). I avoided buying AFV (even dug-in ones) and I also did not buy the expensive infantry RGs (the Guards coys and the Engineers). Russian AFVs are worthless Stuka-bait, and digging them in is silly...why not just buy the 45mm ATG group, which is much more effective? Using this "infantry wins" rule, I concentrated on killing German squads while preseving my own.

Barry did buy some toys that in the end did not help his attack significantly. After going Idle on the 19th, the Germans brought a StuG IIIG platoon and a Pz IIIL platoon into the fight. 3 AFV were lost on that scenario, and the remaining three didn't influence the battle, for a total expenditure of 9 CPP. Also, I think the Germans relied too heavily on off-board observers and pre-registered hexes. In each scenario after the initial one, the Germans had at least one off-board observer and at least one pre-registered hex. This meant that from 2 to 4 CPP were being spent each scenario on these. While the off-board observer is nice (no contact rolls), the Germans get enough leaders to man radios or phones. The pre-registered hexes are another matter...I can see occasions where they're necessary to get an attack going right away on turn 1, but usually I think these are "gravey" and not really needed.

One parting shot: I now fully appreciate the value of the 45L/45LL ATG. Those babies were gold, and were my most valuable individual weapon. With high ROF and the opportunity to fire often at point blank range, these things were murder on the Germans. My defense bristled with them (10 total) and I think they are a must-buy for the Russians.

Now that you've read my some general thoughts on how the CG went, take a look at my daily AARs.

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