The Rumanian front is second only to the Arctic front in the probability of a stalemate early in the game. If the Russians set up strongly along the border, the rivers are tough and the Axis will have a hard time making any gains against a determined Soviet tank commander.

Other than Finland, this is the only place where Russian tanks can counterattack without fear of encirclement or swift counterblows. As well, quick reinforcements in the form of an extra tank division can be shipped in from the Transcaucasus MD by the Black Sea Fleet without using rail. So couple any determined aggressive Axis advance into Bessarabia with air-naval interdiction of Odessa and Nikolaev.

Too many Axis commanders get cold feet with the Rumanians because eliminated Rumanians go into reserve status upon replacement. Don't allow the Russian to set the pace on this front, or AGS will suffer in its advance on Kiev. If the Russian launches an attack to kill Rumanians, his tanks will still be there during your turn. A couple of Rumanian divisions are worth losing if several Russian tank divisions can be caught.

The first priority in Rumania is to reinforce the Rumanians with armor. Not a lot of armor is needed, but enough to keep the Rumanian 1st Armored Division out of the dead pile. Those c/m units arriving Jul I fill the bill perfectly. The 3-2-8 panzer regiment can stack with the 1st Rumanian Armored Division, along with a few other odd motorized units. The 60 Motorized Division (6-10), plus three assault gun battalions adds enough AEC to the 11th Army to keep pressure on the Russians. Two stacks of armor are necessary for line-busting, a one armed boxer isn't as effective as one with two arms, and the same goes for armies with only one stack of armor. Remember, in order to bust a line you have to hit the outer hexes at higher odds or with positive armor modifiers in order to leave the inner hexes without retreat routes.

In Bessarabia, the enemy must be attacked as savagely as possible while protecting the fragile Rumanian cadre-less divisions. Replaced Rumanians go into reserve until spartanly released, so their loss should not be taken lightly. Chisinau should be grabbed rapidly and the Dnestr River crossed on the shortest route to Odessa; a drive toward Vinnitsa should only be considered if the Russian is standing fast at the border in front of Army Group South.

Moving slowly or too cautiously on this front allows the Russian to move a considerable amount of support into the Odessa sector making progress very slow for 11th Army. The Russian has a lot of tricks down here because of the open flank of the coast and his ability to land troops almost anywhere along it.

So the German must ensure in the early stages of the game that set piece battles to cross the Dnestr or Dnepr rivers don't happen. The result could be amphibious landings behind your heavy stacks with massive tank and plenty of fleet support. However, if the German is aggressive enough he can keep things pretty fluid in his race for Zaporozhe and the Crimean Peninsula.

Begin naval interdiction of Odessa immediately, but forget bombing the port facilities or going after the fleet in port. The reasons are twofold: if you go directly at the city, first come the patrol attacks (which will engage the vulnerable Stukas first), next comes interception, and finally the massive ground AA coupled with the fleet's AA, after which any hit on a ship will at best net you only the ship itself.

However if you use the air-naval interaction mission, the Stukas can avoid patrol attacks entirely and accompanying escorts can protect them from interception from the few VVS fighters with the range to reach. This also avoids the fire of any land- based AA. The last reason for using naval interdiction is that any ship sunk at sea will take it's cargo down with it, and this includes the case of two ships carrying one division, where only one of the ships is sunk.

As alluded earlier, one must begin interdicting Odessa on the very first turn. The Russian garrison along the Turkish border has more troops than required and some of these can be dispatched immediately to the front. And since rail capacity is going to be stretched to the limit Jun II, the Black Sea Fleet becomes the ideal medium for transporting them.

Units transported from port to port can still move quite effectively, especially when using administrative movement. Failure to take action against this transfer can make the Dnestr River line one of the easiest sectors on the map for the Russian to quickly bring superior force to bear in both tanks and infantry. The combination of these forces and aggressive play by the Soviets could cause considerable damage to the Rumanian armies. The only way for the Axis to unhinge a strong defense of the Dnestr river is to swing 1st Panzer Group south instead of continuing its drive on Kiev. So the bottom line is that if the Rumanians move too slowly, the net result could be diminished chances for the early capture of Kiev.

If the Russian deploys away from the border, the chances are low that he will cross the Dnestr river back into Bessarabia, and if he does he should be strongly punished. Nonetheless, the Rumanians must be constantly on guard for traps. When moving Rumanians aggressively into Bessarabia against an unknown Russian tank commander, keep the 4-8 and 4-6 infantry and cavalry divisions safe from multi-hex or surrounded attacks.

Use the German infantry divisions in any hexes from which two or more hexsides are exposed to counterattacks. The Rumanian 5-6 infantry divisions can be moved forward as well, provided they have a secure retreat route. Note: if a Rumanian 5-6 infantry division or the 7-8 armored division is cadred, pull it from the line immediately for rebuilding.

The earlier Chisinau falls, the quicker rail conversion can begin toward Odessa. Plan on having railroad artillery and siege guns on hand to blow away Odessa. If the Russian sees siege guns and rail artillery moving toward the city he will know its defense will probably be futile and abandon any hopes of converting it into a "Hero City." Without the added artillery, too much of the Allied army will be required to screen the city, with too few units moving east towards the Crimea. And Odessa must fall early if any credible supply line is going to reach deep into Russia when the snow flies.

Only one railroad engineer regiment is needed on this front. Having none present is asking for trouble, as it will give the Russian a secure feeling knowing Axis supply will be a problem in late fall. Upgrading the road to Nikolaev is well worth the RPs. And consider: if the Rumanians are too cautious, the amount of time the Russians will have for rail destruction will be enormous.

Dropping the 22nd Air Landing Division in Bessarbia during the Jun II regular turn may serve to block the retreat route of a Russian stack. The regiments of the 22nd can be very instrumental in quickly clearing this territory of Russians without exposing themselves too much.

If air resources are available, use them to continue the air-naval interdiction of the coast line after Odessa falls. Be wary of amphibious landings near Odessa which could sever supply to your advanced units prior to a linking with AGS's regauged rail net.

Conclusion

Hopefully this series of articles on German tactical doctrine on the Eastern Front during the early stages of the game will advance the art of competent play in your local group. What I've seen in the past is that local groups get into a mind-set on how to play the game and innovation stops.

My participation in Europafest and several play-by-mail matches, where new ideas were always forthcoming, was a tremendous eye-opener for me. On line GEnie, coupled with TEM, serves to promulgated this useful exchange of ideas. In this spirit, I am interested in hearing any response you might have to the concepts discussed here.

Germany Play in 1941 Part Three The Final Chapter

Army Group Center
Army Group South
The Rumanian Army

German Play in 1941 Part One Hints on Playing Fire in the East

Introduction
Panzers and Breakthroughs
Complicating the Red Retreat
The Northern Campaign
The Finnish Theater

German Play in 1941 Part Two Army Group North and the Leningrad Campaign

Army Group North
Clearing the Way
Dash to the Luga
The Parnu Parameter