Posts made by Crazy Ivan

I saw Dogfights on the H last nite. It was great! Those German pilots were something else. Turning into 5 enemy fighters, and the suicide ramming runs into bombers. I doubt I could have been talked into doing that stuff.
The russian fighter pilots were trained to use their propellers to cut into german planes when they ran out of ammo, but I don’t think very many german fighters or bombers were brought down that way.
Crazy Ivan

Humbly, I would like to point out, that the diversion of Army Groupen Center to envelop Kiev was not a blunder by the Germans but a necessity. It would have been unthinkable to leave such a huge force on their sourthern flank while they pushed hundreds of miles further with little support to guard that flank. It was protected mostly by the area known as the Pripet marshes, which General Heniz Guderian had just pushed some armor through in the capture of Smolinsk.
Besides, the Army Group South was severely stalled, and needed Centers help. The coal mining fields, wheat fields, and the ports in the Crimea all needed to be captured without delay, and they were all just east of the Ukraine.
Second topic is that of the Siberian Troops. They did not arrive in force until after the snow had already stalled the final drive on Moscow. The Siberians merely gave the Germans a push to give Moscow a little more breathing room. Had the Germans made Moscow the priority in 42 instead of the Caucuses, things could have turned out differently, but this thread is about Moscow in 41, and no I still don’t think they could have done it. the Severe weather and Harsh conditions along with the stiffening resistence of the Soviet workers and soldiers was too much for the over-extended and worn out German war machine.
  The Germans had enough men, tanks, planes and heavy guns to win every battle in operation Barbarossa. They simply could not achieve their goal, (Moscow) before the weather shut them down. Even had they forseen a winter campaign, it was not something the Germans had the means to deal with in 1941. Sub-artic temperatures congeal oil and grease to the point where guns won’t fire and engines will not start. Troops froze to death standing up! The germans lost more men to frostbite in that winter than to enemy bullets, bayonets, and entrenching tools combined.
  Even if they had broken into the outskirts of Moscow, it would have just become an early Stalingrad for them. They were lucky that they didn’t get caught in there, like Napoleon had.
  I’m sorry folks, but I’ve studied the “Eastern Front” or as the Soviets called it,“The Great Patriotic War” for many years and it just was not feasable in 41.
  1942 on the other hand, it was a reasonable goal.
      Crazy Ivan
  and no, I’m not of Russian ancestry, German and English actually.

:-o
  Does anyone else know how to play the old Avalon Hill game,“Russian Campaign”?
    :roll:

Ok, I was fortunate enough to be able to buy a lot of second hand figs and bits and also win a lot of store credit at tourneyments. Paid for most of the new figs and paints, a Warhammer fortress and other cool stuff.
I’m ready to get to painting again just as soon as it cools off again here in San Diego.

Ya me too. I played settlers about a year ago. They are good games, but expensive to keep up with all the add on games.

I guess we don’t need a war college then. Just throw everything we have at the enemy and hope for the best?

:-o
  I’ve been playing a 3 attack recently, and although costly, I’m begining to like it better all the time.
  Eastern Europe;
        Risky, but if you can kill that Fighter and occupy, it realy can slow the G1 turn. 1 or 2 fighter/s, 1 Tank, and 3 Infantry.
  Western Russia;
        Attack with Infantry and Artillary from Moscow.
  Ukraine;
        Try to kill off that second German fighter. 3 tanks, 1 ftr. (if only one used in EE), 1 art. and 3 Infantry.
    True, it is a more aggressive opening than most players will do, but it can really delay the German opening turn on some fronts.
  Crazy Ivan :roll:

:-o
  Check in ’ unique rules’ in ‘AA Variants’ for my simple " Armor Blitz" rule. It was used back in the days when I played 2nd edition.
  C.I.  :roll:

:-o
  Yes Admiral,
I suppose that would be better.
I also think that these ‘House Rules’ of mine would liven up even an AA Revised game as well.
    Crazy Ivan  :roll:

:-o
  I realize that this thread went to bed a couple of months ago, but I’ve been itching to get out my Warhammer stuff and play again. Started playing it 10 or so years ago when my sons got into it. We have nearly every Army, at least 2000 pts each some over 3K!
  Kids are grown and gone but I’ve got all this stuff! I suppose I’ll have to fork up the $ for the new rules book first.
  it is a great game, sure wish it could be done in" LL" though, the dice really are not my friend in that game! But I love pushing around the units of FIGURES and trying new tactics.
    :roll:

:-o
  Ah Yes!
It was the little corperal!
Who became an Emperor.
  :roll:

:-o
  I vote No.
My reasons are posted in the Barbarossa thread, but I will reiterate here. Germanys’ industry just was not geard up for a war of this magnitude in “41”. And since Poland was already a done deal, and the French and British were already at war with Germany, they had to hold men and equipment on the "Western Front’ even if it was “All Quiet”.
The biggest problem for the Germans in the far expanses of the Soviet hinterlands was supply. The more men out there the more supplies are required for them and this requires more resources to get it there, a compounding effect. The drain is enormous! Another point about supply is that even in the modern era, armies still required the land that they were in to help supplyment their food supply. The Russians practiced a "scorched earth’ policy. They burnt everything that they couldn’t take with them; Homes, barns, fields, and even outhouses! They slaughtered livestock, and put the carcuses in the wells. They created a ‘no mans’ land as they retreated, starving even their own people. This all put an even greater strain on an already streached supply network. An Army moves on its’ stomach is a famous quote, I don’t remember who said it, be he knew what he was talking about.

So, it does not matter how many guns you have at your disposal, if you can’t feed your troops in the feild to shoot them.
    And it is a given, if Hitler had not interfered with his Generals, the war would have draggedon another 3 to 5 years perhaps.
    And a lot more human suffering.
      Crazy Ivan  :roll:

:-o
  Barbarossa was started too late to get the job done by the onset of winter, but they had to wait for the rains to let up and the dirt roads to dry out anyway. that pretty well covers the "too damned BIG " part of the problem.
  :roll:

:-o
  Man, I used to play classic so much that I didn’t even need the set up cards anymore.
Now I’ve been playing Revised on line only so it is done for me.  :-D
  Crazy Ivan  :roll:

:-o
  My point exactly, that is why I kept it rather vague, and flexable.
    :roll:

:-o
  The Soviets shed more blood due to the fact they had the most men and women in combat! Everyone shed blood, as much as it took to get the job done. We are still shedding it in the Middle East to keep insane men away from our homes. That is why we fight wars. What mesmerises us in this brutality is how we go about butchering one another in the name of National pride, or the Flag or the Diety or whatever floats their boats, ( Helen of Troy, actually of Sparta).
  We admire the tactics, stratagies and the latest technology. Like in a chess match, or football game we appauld the Masters/Winners for their cunning, prowress, and skill. it does not matter if we like them, or despise them, we appreciate a fine effort.
Now, for the Battle of the Bulge.
  Germany, was desperate for a strategic advantage, and like in football, if a play works, keep using it untill your opponent figures out how to stop it.
  In 44, the Americans were positioning for a southern push into Germany, while the Commonwealth forces were concentrating in the north. Fighting had all but ceased over the entire front as both sides tried to catch their breath. The Allies under-estimated the Germans ability,( again!) to reposition their armies so quickly, as they shifted whole armies from the Eastern Front to the West. Had the Germans been successful, they may have been able to force another Dunkirk, and the war could have lasted a year or more longer, as the German forces wheeled back on the Russians in full strength and sent them reeling back into their hinterlands. But, this was merely the death-throws of a dying beast. Well played, but time was no longer on their side. The turning point was Stalingrad, and the landings at Normandy was the beginning of the end.
  These are my thoughts,
    Crazy Ivan  :roll:

:-o
  The Doolittle raid did two very important things; first and foremost it proved to the American people ,(and the world ) that we were not completely destroyed in the Pacific, as rumors wanted people to believe. This aleviated the defeatest attitude that was stifulling production at the time.
Secondly, it did cause the Japanese to change direction in there conquest plans and pulled their resources towards American forces and away from India and Australia, buying them precious time to build up, and deny them those important territories.
As far as the attrocities committed by the troops in China and other conqured territories is concerned, had little to do with our or anybody elses military operations. No,They did it to cower the populations to obay the Japanese edicts and as reprisals for Partisan attacks on their troops. Much the same way as the Nazis’ did in France, the Balkans, the Low Countries and in Russia.
  Crazy Ivan  :roll:

:-o
  Back in my Classic AA days, for the first three or four turns I thought of the figures as Army Groups or even Corps/ Air Wings/ Naval Squadrons or Flotillas’, but once the chips stacks began to throw long shadows across the board I made a mental switch and looked at them as the divisions and the special support units of that Corps/Air wing/ Flotilla.
  As far as a time frame is concerned, I thought a full turn consisted of a campaign season, about 6 months of actual conflict time, not months per say.
  AA is a combination of; Risk, Monopoly and Chess, not a true WWII game recreation. If that is what you seek, there are other games that do that very well. We play it because we like its’ playability, not for accuacy.
  Thats’ my thoughts.
    Crazy Ivan  :roll:

:-o
  On the Subject of,“The Eastern Front” as it is commonly known, Since we are talking about the entire, (German) War with Russia and not just the opening campaign now. I would like to quote a german veteran of that front.
While riding a bus in Frankfort, Germany and upon seeing a young american carrying a book titled “The loss of the Eastern Front” He voluteered his assesment of that long and bloody Crusade.
  When rose from his seat, cain in hand, He asked the young man; Do you want to know why we lost in Russia? Sure! replied the American,“Then I’ll tell you why ve lost in Russia. It vas too damnt Big, It vas too damnt colt, and zer vere too damnt many of zem!”
Well, that pretty well puts it in a nutshell by a man who was there. and although The German High-Command and Hitler could have done many things different, It was the artic winters, the great distances to attack, defend, and get limited supplies across, and of course the hundreds of millions of men that they could throw at the Germans, ( hell, the Russians had more men than rifles!).
  A good movie to see, if you haven’t already, is “Enemy at the Gates”. Mostly about Stalingrad, but you’ll get the feel for most of what it was like on that front. another good one is " Cross of Iron" with Clint Eastwood.
  Also, as noted, Germany wasn,t geared up for a war of this magnitude in 1941. It’s Industry just could not build enough equipment to support the amount of men it would have required to do the job.
  Hitler was hoping to force Stalin to terms with the Blitzkrieg, as he had done in Poland, France, and the Balkans. But as all invaders of Russia learned the hard way, It is too damned big, too damned cold and there are just too damned many of them.
  Crazy Ivan  :roll:
  Oh, and as for the Code name; I think it was the Birthdate of the German Emperor, ( Holy Roman) Fredrick Barberossa, who led an invasion into Russia in the 15th century, give or take a century.

:-o
  For me, I buy 2 trans and 3 armor, (because I always give Japan at least one bid $).
My reason for the armor is to support my push on India and the Soviet Far East early with some punch and some good advanced defence. I then buy a transport a turn until I have at least 7 of them. Then I’ll buy an IC for FIC. I end up building 3 I.C.s before the game is over. Unless the USA builds one in Singkiang for me. 
Japan needs to be aggressive as quickly as possible, and that requires more armor at the front than seems logical. Russia can’t ignore this, so they must siphion off troops to deal with this threat, therefore, less for the German player to have to deal with. The front will stall for a couple of turns, while the slow Japanese infantry start to catch up, but by turn 7 or 8 you should be ready to put the hammer to Moscow, followed by Germanys onslaught in the next turn.
  15 IPC on the first turn must go to combat units to replace your front line losses on turn one, otherwise, Soviet counterattacks could cost you all your gains and more.
  crazy Ivan  :roll: