Alikchi
Corporal
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:05 pm

Last Dreams of the Old World

Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:33 pm

[CENTER]Image

[SIZE="5"][font="Arial Black"]LAST DREAMS OF THE OLD WORLD[/font][/size]

[/CENTER]

Hello again! After the premature end of my previous Revolution Under Siege AAR, Michael (lycortas), John (digital_pariah) and yours truly are giving it another shot. This time, I'll be playing as the Southern Whites, John as the Siberians, and Michael as the bloody red Bolsheviks.

I will do my best managing the forces of Denikin and his Cossack friends. I will also be in control of the Northern and Northwestern White forces, operating out of Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Pskov.

[CENTER]
Image[/CENTER]

Alikchi
Corporal
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:05 pm

Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:33 pm

Well, here we go.

Turn 1: Early June 1918

As mentioned, I am playing the Southern Whites. At this very early stage of the game, they are divided into two forces - the Don Cossacks, under Krasnov, and the Volunteer Army, under Denikin. The Volunteers, my true Russian force, are by far the better fighters and will be most important for the duration, but the Cossacks are also vitally useful, as the Volunteers aren't very numerous.

Here's a map of what I can see this very first turn.

Image

Not much, obviously, but you can see the Southern Whites clustered around what will be their main base for the whole game - the cities near the mouth of the Don River. The Don, Kuban and Caucasus areas will be my strongest holdings, but first I must take them. Standing in the way is I.L. Sorokin's Red Army of the Northern Caucasus.

Image

Here's the plan. Denikin - leading the Volunteer Army, with the elite Kornilov, Drozdovsky and Markov divisions - will smash into Sorokin head-first and push him back. Meanwhile, cavalry and Cossack forces will sweep aroudn the northeastern flank and start capturing towns in the direction of Tzaritsyn (which you might know as Volgograd, or Stalingrad).

Further south, Bisherakov will attempt to capture Grozny, and north of the Don bend, Fitzskhelaurov will send his Cossacks against a small Red force, but these are isolated fights. I can't wait to see how the big battle with Sorokin goes!

User avatar
OneArmedMexican
General
Posts: 582
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:14 pm

Tue Feb 15, 2011 12:55 am

Excellent! :thumbsup: I loved your last PBEM and I will follow this one, too. It is always nice to compare strategies.

Also, I have spotted one of Jack54's new leader graphics. It's nice to see our mod is appreciated. :)

User avatar
Hohenlohe
Posts: 588
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2006 4:24 pm
Location: Munich

Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:07 am

Allow me some little advice from my own experience with the Southern Whites...
If you send the small Kuban Brigade to the Novorossysk city you get it without a fight even if your enemy have a freshly recruited unit there just organizing its soldiers.
Second if you send your different Cavalry Divisions around the enemy's flanks either directly south to the region beyond Sorokins force or directly to Thikoretsk you can cut his retreat path thus you should send Mamontov to Salsk and Sorokin will be eventually hammered if he retreats there.
This happened to me in my actual PBEM but I have known this before I got the relevant Turn-file...*grin*

Later on you could assemble under the command of Denikin a good force to besiege Ekaterinador and even take this town. At this time you have a big cossack force - the Terek force nearby Grozny - which you could deploy with most of the troops to Salsk as soon as you have taken this town and there you should unite them with the Don Cossack force and send this Army in direction of Tsaritsyn. There you have the chance to stop shortly before Tsaritsyn to wait for the Volunteer Army or you could try to attack the red forces at Tsaritsyn with your more experienced elite troops and hope for defeating Commissar Stalin and his unexperienced armed forces. You can even enforce this Don Cossack Army with most of the Mikhailovsk forces which can move to your forces with an evade order.

Thats your earlier possibilities but do not forget to use two of your generals with the Trait "Training_Officer" in the Azov area to train some Militia and Conscript forces and even one or two engineers, eventually you could build one or two gunboats or one or two light armored trains for a later deployment.

Its only up to you how you plan wisely and if you consider your chances in a positive manner you will have some early successes in consequence.

Thats just my six pence for you...

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...

Alikchi
Corporal
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:05 pm

Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:52 am

Thanks for the advice Hohenlohe! Your ideas about flanking around Sorokin are very, very interesting indeed. I think I'll give it a shot. :)

As for Tzaritsyn etc, it is too early to say, but I hope to take the town before 1919.

Turn 2: Late June 1918

Well, Denikin met Sorokin, but not in the way I'd expected.

Image

Not in a BAD way, either; just.. underwhelming. Only 820 casualties? Not even a retreat? You can do better than this, Denny my man. We'll try another assault next turn. I really need Sorokin's army destroyed ASAP or I'll have no shot at Tzaritsyn before winter.

Anyways, the other movements went as planned and without combat:

Image

I feel confident enough to attempt some flanking manuevers with the Cossacks and Erdeli's cavalry force. While Sorokin is pinned down by Denikin, and Kalnin (the southern Red force) is pinned down by Poliakov, Mamontov will advance below and Erdeli above and behind the Red armies. Maybe we can force a retreat or capture important towns like Ekaterinodar or Novorossisyk before they are properly defended. Meanwhile, more White cavalry (Udovenko) will venture across the steppes and attempt to take Stavropol, while the staff and various troops of the Don Cossack Army take their place at Elista.

Farther south, in the Caucasus, we captured Grozny. Fitskhelaurov scared away the Red force sent after him and will attempt to cut the Moscow->Tzaritsyn railroad line. Oh, one last thing:

Image

Our first Northern force! This is a small, division-sized bunch that just captured Arkhangelsk, under a mediocre Colonel named Shaplin. Mediocre he may be, but there are no Red forces to oppose us, so over the next few months we'll take as much territory in the Arkhangelsk area as we can before winter.

Alikchi
Corporal
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 11:05 pm

Fri Feb 18, 2011 8:50 pm

Turn 3: Early July 1918

A short update, as I only have one real front!

Image

As you can see, Sorokin slipped away once again. I think he must be set to evade enemy. In fact, no combat at all occurred in the area of this screenshot since last turn, but the Reds and I moved a lot.

All Bolshevik forces are now concentrated in Ekaterinodar. That's Sorokin, Kalnin and another leaderless force. I can only assume that they're furiously digging in, trying to turn the place into a fortress. I have to hit it ASAP before they hit high fortification levels. Denikin's going straight in, but it'll take 16 days (just a little more than one more turn). Meanwhile, the flanking maneuver continues apace. Erdeli and Mamontov are now in position to sweep around and capture Novorossisyk. Poliakov will grab Armavir and Udovenko will continue his siege of Stavropol (coup de main didn't work).


Oh, just for kicks, here's a screenshot of Fitskhelaurov's antics north of Tzaritsyn:

Image

He's cut the Moscow-Tzaritsyn railroad at Balashov and now we're going to attempt Kamyshin. No real strategic value to the place, but if I keep taking towns, he'll have to send someone out of Tzaritsyn to engage me, and that will weaken the place for later, I hope.

Return to “RUS: Revolution Under Siege AARs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests