RUSSIA
Sector: Leningrad
The Germans have thrown another wave at the outer defenses of Leningrad, but with no success in breaking the line. The Russian troops there are falling back and filling the gaps as the battles rage, but I fear it's only a matter of time before the lines contract inward toward the city limits.
Sectors: Yelets-Voronezh
Now that I've massed four Guards armies between Yelets and Voronezh, I'm hoping I can pressure the Axis lines enough to force them back a few miles. Giving these cities a little breathing room will go a long way to solving my problems in the central regions of the Russian Front. And once my large chunk of reinforcements arrive in three weeks, I can use them to relieve the Guards on the front line here. Freeing up the Guards is critical over the next month, as I expect to need them in the south near Stalingrad and the Caucasus.
Sector: Astrakhan
This wasn't part of my original plan for the defense of Russia, but I'm massing armies in the Astrakhan sector. So far, I have four fully-deployed armies (53, 56, 40, 39) and three more disembarking or staging (48, 62, 47) to be deployed. They are all supported by various Op Groups. Most of the armies in this area now are from the Yelets-Voronezh sectors, since the Guards armies have taken over operations up there. The objective here in the south is to build a large striker contingent based on the enemy's flanks as it splits its force to go north toward Stalingrad, or south toward Grozny. I'm guessing Mark won't leave just a few screening units between the two heads of his offensive, since it would be ripe for the picking with all these Russians just sitting and building up readiness for battle.
Sector: El Alamein
Rommel is inching closer to my defenses at El Alamein. However, it doesn't seem likely (or logical) that the DAK and Italians would launch an all-out attack on my British lines there. I'm going to give this situation a little more time to develop. If the opportunity presents itself, I'll use the "Right Wheel" tactic to engage the DAK's flank, while punching a few Italian units backward in the process. However, if I feel like this is going to bog down into a staring match, it will be in the Allies' best interest to simply leave a large enough contingent in Egypt to guard the roads to Suez, and ship the rest back to England for a planned invasion elsewhere.
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