Operation Sealion - Rocketman vs. AI

[RocketMan]

And finally the encirclement is completed. The Germans really need to get some more troops landed. I will probably land one more infantry corps next turn if the weather holds. If not, I will land some Artillery.

Notice that I also got a second regiment of the British 2nd Armoured Division encircled (the other one is buried in the stack under the purple French Legion Regiment).

[RocketMan]

Turn 4 - Messages.

I got a message saying the corridor is still open although I thought I unchecked the successful corridor option. Also got another clear weather turn. Most of the German losses are from the Royal Air Force and Navy at this point. The British Army hasn't inflicted hardly any losses at all. Finally, 20 SP will let the Germans land another infantry corps.

[RocketMan]

Situation at the start of turn 4. You can see the supply losses in the sea hexes between France and the British coast creeping up to the low to mid 20s per hex. And for some reason the AI moved all the surrounded units except for one regiment of the British 2nd Armoured Division into the same hex, which is 12 total units or the equivalent of 3 full divisions. I will attack and hopefully destroy the isolated armoured unit and isolate and attack the stack of units with the Luftwaffe.

[RocketMan]

Landed the XII Infantry Corp consisting of the 15th and 78th Infantry Divisions at Hastings, which will the units already landed to advance further inland this turn.

[RocketMan]

Isolated the stack of Allied units and preparing to attack the isolated armoured unit.

[RocketMan]

Situation at the end of turn 4. Destroyed the isolated armoured unit and have the rest of the isolated Allied units surrounded. Also notice that the Germans are only 20 km (4 hexes) away from the outskirts of London and are only 40 km (8 hexes) away from London itself.

I will probably land one more infantry corps at Brighton next turn if the weather holds and then start landing artillery units to support the drive on London.

[RocketMan]

Turn 5 - Messages.

The corridor closed this turn, one turn later than I thought the rules stated it would. Another clear weather turn, giving the Germans another 20 SP and allowing them to land another infantry corps.

[RocketMan]

Situation at the start of turn 5.

I will attack and hopefully eliminate the surrounded Allied units inside the red square and try to pocket the British 43rd infantry division with my two Panzer divisions. I will also drive towards Chatham, which will cut off supply to the entire peninsula on my right flank and allow me to take Folkstone and Dover, which will cut my sea supply route losses in half. I will also be able to take Ramsgate instead of Worthing as the last VP I need outside of London. I will use the XXIV Coprs (the one with the green stripe) that I landed last turn to clear out the area, which should be pretty easy once the Allied units are out of supply.

Supply losses are now about 40/hex which, since the sea supply route is currently 14 hexes long, which adds up to about 560, or a little less than 10% of my total supplies. And those losses will only get worse as time goes by.

I will also land another infantry division at Brighton. After that, I will land Artillery units for a few turns to support the attack on London.

[RocketMan]

Wow! Landed the VII Infantry Corps at Brighton and it took 25% casualties from the Royal Navy and Air Force!

I'll perform all subsequent landing in ports a little closer to France.

[Keunert]

nice move with the paras! never used them this way.
encirclements are a weak spot of the ai. i seldom see the ai move back to reform a line to prevent pockets.

[RocketMan]

Thanks. It's risky move actually. One of the paras could land on an enemy unit and lose all it's actions points, but I thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up in this case.

The AI is the AI. The one in DC is better than most and it does a decent job in most cases but it is far from being as good as even an average player. I once bought a space game, can't remember the name of it but it was years ago, that didn't really even have an AI. So AIs have come a long way in my time, but they still have a long, long, long way to go before they can put up a decent fight in a game of this complexity.

[RocketMan]

Gudiarn got both an Achtung Panzer II card and a Haste II card this turn. Both of them will be used on the 2nd Panzer division in it's encirclement of the British 43rd Infantry Division.

[RocketMan]

Since I got the cards mentioned above, I have decided to move the point of my attack and try to encircle the British 1st Tank brigade as well. The British 31st Infantry Brigade is attacked by three separate Panzer Regiments, 75% of the total German inventory on the British Isles, and Retreats under the withering fire.

[RocketMan]

In the follow on attack, two regiments of the 2nd Panzer division continue pursue the 31st Infantry Brigade, killing most of the escaping troops and causing the survivors to flee in panic.

[RocketMan]

The surrounded elements of the Allied XI Corps are attacked and destroyed by elements of three separate infantry divisions. The Germans only take light losses.

[RocketMan]

Situation at the end of turn 5.

The British 43rd Infantry Division and 1st Tank Brigade are encircled and the peninsula on my right flank (couldn't find the name of it online) is almost cut off. Lead elements of the German advance are now only 10 km (2 hexes) from the outskirts of London and only 30 km (6 hexes) from London itself. I wonder if the British government is abandoning the city?

[Barthheart]

ORIGINAL: RocketMan

Situation at the end of turn 5.

...the peninsula on my right flank (couldn't find the name of it online) is almost cut off. ....

You'll need to capture all the ports on that "peninsula" to cut off the supplies to troops there. The British can use sea supply too!
Stationing your air groups near the coast will kill some supplies travelling by sea.

[RocketMan]

Thanks Bartheart I didn't know that. I am used to the other scenarios where all supply is by land!

[RocketMan]

Turn 5 - Messages.

The British intercept level continues to climb. Also got another clear weather turn, giving the Germans another 20 SP. British losses spiked up with the destruction of a large part of the surrounded XI Corps.

[Enigma6584]

Great AAR!  Love your use of the paratroops as well.  I am amazed you were able indeed to get Panzer forces landed with such light opposition.  Then again, home guard units against elite paratroops your first few turns doesn't give them much chance.  Can you post some screenshots of the TO&Es of any home guard units left or any of your opposition?  I'd like to see their make up and how they stand up to the TO&Es of the German forces.  What does a panzer division look like in Sealion?