Axis PBEM AAR (MIRROR)

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: brian brian

Screen shots - what we love are screen shots. Of the land action; we've seen a few screen shots of minor naval battles over the years now.


Germany can take out The Netherlands in a Rain impulse, but they have to set up very carefully to do it. The deeper they consider the idea, the trickier it gets. A Rain impulse can give them an extra 10% chance of slipping a division past the Royal Navy though. And in the rain, they might even want to bring their TRS out into the North Sea with them, if playing with Limited Overseas Supply.

Normally I would expect 2 SCS loaded with Infantry to get hit by combat results after a 1/9 search split, via the "Select Target" option of spending surprise points.

It is also possible to take out the Netherlands in Snow if the bombers are available for ground strikes (against setting up the Dutch unit in front of Amsterdam). The trick is to do this towards the end of the turn when the probability of the turn ending is high. Then there is no need to send divisions into the North Sea.

[brian brian]

It seems so easy to just screen those pesky Poles and finish them off in 1940 at lazy von Leeb's leisure. Uncle Joe can take a very keen interest in this idea.

edit: well, you will have to rescue those plans from the crash-landed airplane all on your own

[jjdenver]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ORIGINAL: brian brian
Germany can take out The Netherlands in a Rain impulse, but they have to set up very carefully to do it. The deeper they consider the idea, the trickier it gets.

Normally I would expect 2 SCS loaded with Infantry to get hit by combat results after a 1/9 search split, via the "Select Target" option of spending surprise points.

It is also possible to take out the Netherlands in Snow if the bombers are available for ground strikes (against setting up the Dutch unit in front of Amsterdam). The trick is to do this towards the end of the turn when the probability of the turn ending is high. Then there is no need to send divisions into the North Sea.

Thanks for the comments and thoughts. [:)]

re: rain. Yes, moving along rails makes it easier and iirc I think in another game I recently did take out Holland in rain. I think rain is almost preferred for the N Sea search advantage.

re: targeting. GE had the 2 DIV on Gneisenau and Scharnhorst with defense 3. I guess CW looked at odds of getting rid of both DIVs and decided he should just blast the KM. CW had to spend 4 surp to get past the NAV so there were only 4 surp left. Realistically CW had little shot of finding again with enough surprise to get the 2nd DIV even if it did abort or damage the first DIV, and it only takes 1 DIV to make the invasion work.

re: snow. Pretty risky to hope for turn end and the invasion seemed surer but yes that's definitely an option to consider if N Sea isn't viable because allies have piled CV's there or GE NAV is not avail. The nice thing is that it'd release your 2 DIVs to take losses or help Italy and your NAV could potentially head to the Med sooner and port attk v Holland could be handled by an LND3 with an A2S factor. Maybe I'll try it next time I'm Axis. [:D]

Oh, re: screenshots....you mean you want pics of the combat resolution screens? I can only attach 1 pic per post so I thought I'd attach summary pics instead of post spam combat resolution screens. I can throw a few in. I can add a few messy arrows to show land moves as well on the EOT or mid turn full map pics. I didn't do anything like that in Holland because movement paths are pretty straightforward and obvious there.

[Jaimainsoyyo]

I wish you Johnny better luck this time with your ETO´s strategy than in our two games, anyway imho Poland shouldn´t survive the first turn because axis will need the forces involved there very soon in the west and France first strategy in order to work needs tons of weather´s lucky rolls.

[brian brian]

theater level screen shots are the most interesting for everyone, I think. spend your time playing the game, not entertaining us.

those were some good naval tactics for the invasion of Rotterdam, for this game (WiF, I mean). I will have to remember that technique. the SCS Transport rule is a little goofy when compared to the real war, but is a way to get around the meta-scale of the game a little bit.

I'm not used to playing with the Railway Movement Optional, never really think much about it.

[jjdenver]

ORIGINAL: Jaimainsoyyo
imho Poland shouldn´t survive the first turn because axis will need the forces involved there very soon in the west and France first strategy in order to work needs tons of weather´s lucky rolls.

I agree. But this game started some time ago, and I hadn't figured that out yet when this game started.

[jjdenver]

ND 39 Europe
ND 39 was all bad weather all the time but axis did get 3 impulses. The main objective was to take Lodz to set up the possible fall of Warsaw in JF 40. The Polish army was still strong and deployed in force to the south of Warsaw so in its' first 2 impulses the Wermacht moved to invest and attack Lodz and defeat the southern flank of the Polish army to open the south of Warsaw to attack. Here are the 2 attacks Germany was able to conduct in Poland. Wermacht had to manuever through snow and storms but the panzers rushed east from the French border arrived in time and Lodz fell.

[jjdenver]

And here is the attack south of Warsaw in blizzard.

[jjdenver]

Here is a snap of the German position at end of ND 39. As you can see all available air along with von Leeb and 2 Panzer corps were sent east to try to wrap up Poland before the spring. Italian air was also called in but didn't need to be used this turn.

[jjdenver]

ND 39 Mediterranean

The Italians continued their fruitless sub searches in CSV & CVB and shifted naval air to It Coast to try to support the reinforcement operations that had to be conducted for Sardinia with the single TRS left for Italy.

[jjdenver]

ND 39 China

The Umezu-Yamamoto pincer applied pressure from the north and south on Changsha. A disorganized Chinese army south of the city was scattered and then an assault on Changsha itself was conducted late in the turn. The combination of Chinese losses and the loss of a production centre should begin to handicap the Chinese effort in 1940. [&:]

Note the snow in N Temperate but clear in N Monsoon that allows the Japanese to make good progress.

[jjdenver]

Japanese high command feels very good about progress in China while the German and Italian high commands are not so optimistic. Germany didn't focus enough on Poland and is now scrambling to finish and get forces back west in time for the spring. Italy is being pounded by the CW & FR navies and can't seem to find at sea but at least it appears Sardinia is saved for the moment with the arrival of a strong German corp.

Here is EOT in China. Note the Chinese MOTDIV trying to slip east to take some cities for USE hits. Luckily JP will go first in JF 40 and have a chance to react to pinch off and eliminate the MOTDIV.

The Chinese mountain line is looking rather weak after the losses taken this turn by the Chinese army and the heavy commitment to bolster the Chicom in the north.

[brian brian]

I think you each made a simple error in the battle for Chang-Sha. If the Shanghai MIL was the remaining 3rd unit subject to the Shatter result, it would have never returned to the map. Well, until possibly in 1945 or so if the Chinese were able to take Shanghai, then it would appear there the next reinforcement phase like long lost magic. But then the Shatter result was converted to a Retreat, so that particular MIL does get to fight again after being pushed back one hex.

I usually hide the Shanghai and Peking MIL in Nanning, which is a very good city for the Japanese to have. When the Japanese finally get close to it, I turn the defense over to other units and just use those 2 units as blocking units on a flank that can't be attacked from more than one hex. And continuously retreat them.

It is one thought to pick the Blitz table for the Chinese to save on unit losses. It is even better to simply retreat before a 3-4 hex attack can even be launched, especially a 4 hex attack, and Chiang was perfectly positioned for that in one of the better areas to deploy him, right along the weather line, with a strong river and mountain line right adjacent for the retreating troops to occupy. But then also most Russian players will fight to the death for Moscow with plenty of lost units, even after the factories rail out.

[jjdenver]

ORIGINAL: brian brian

I think you each made a simple error in the battle for Chang-Sha. If the Shanghai MIL was the remaining 3rd unit subject to the Shatter result, it would have never returned to the map. Well, until possibly in 1945 or so if the Chinese were able to take Shanghai, then it would appear there the next reinforcement phase like long lost magic. But then the Shatter result was converted to a Retreat, so that particular MIL does get to fight again after being pushed back one hex.

I usually hide the Shanghai and Peking MIL in Nanning, which is a very good city for the Japanese to have. When the Japanese finally get close to it, I turn the defense over to other units and just use those 2 units as blocking units on a flank that can't be attacked from more than one hex. And continuously retreat them.

It is one thought to pick the Blitz table for the Chinese to save on unit losses. It is even better to simply retreat before a 3-4 hex attack can even be launched, especially a 4 hex attack, and Chiang was perfectly positioned for that in one of the better areas to deploy him, right along the weather line, with a strong river and mountain line right adjacent for the retreating troops to occupy. But then also most Russian players will fight to the death for Moscow with plenty of lost units, even after the factories rail out.

Yes, this occurred to me about the Shanghai MIL while posting the pic for the AAR. You're exactly right. And good advice about where to put them. Nanning is usually a bit of a backwater and that whole area is hard to attack with rivers and mountains.

re: Changsha. iirc the Chinese in the city were partially flipped so CH would have had to lose 1 unit anyway if retreating. I guess they lost 2 but had a chance to hold the city or cause losses, and weren't sure whether JP would get clear weather to make the attack. Still, it probably would have been a little better move to write off the flipped unit and evacuate an impulse sooner.

[jjdenver]

JF 40 turn.

JF began with the Wehrmacht hoping to finish off Warsaw then march west to attack Belgium in MA 40. Germany got init but snow weather. A decision was taken to assault Warsaw anyway. The assault was helped by the fact that the Polish HQI had never unflipped due to lack of oil in Poland, and by Von Bock's arrival after spending ND 39 marching across Germany to assist in the assault on Warsaw. Preceded by Italian and German air ground strikes, German troops were able to storm the city and Poland's fate is finally sealed. The Axis only got 2 impulses so the 2nd impulse was spent marching west. Unfortunately most of the Luftwaffe ground support aircraft were also facedown in Poland so getting the air west in time for MA 40 wasn't possible.

[jjdenver]

JF 40 Asia:

Japan was able to catch a Chinese GAR with a ground strike on its first impulse then make an attack on its 2nd impulse to take the city of Kweilin and prevent the GAR from withdrawing into the mountains with the other Chinese units. With a short 2 impulse turn and bad weather not much else happened in China.

[jjdenver]

MA 40 Europe:
March and April weather was nasty again and the Axis only got 2 impulses, both with bad weather. The decision was taken to launch an invasion of Belgium on the 2nd impulse despite snow. Much of the German army and air force was still in transit across Germany after the fall of Poland. However, with strong infantry forces in Rotterdam and the Fleigerkorp available on map the invasion made sense to set up an invasion of France proper in MJ 40.

The assault was launched and succeeded in taking the Dyle line and knocking Belgium out of the war. GE LND3's flew ground support at extended range just to get into the French theatre since there weren't enough German air missions to successfully rebase the whole Luftwaffe across Germany in the short JF/MA turns.

The Allies had the last impulse so were able to move into West Belgium to form a strong line opposing the Germans.

In the Med Italy once again searched in vain for the CW and FR convoy lines in W Med. The Italian subs also continued to search in CSV and CVB sz's finding nothing. Sardinia was strengthened as the French DIV fell back to Corsica and the UK DIV was sent to Tunisia. Strong CW air and naval assets continued to base at Malta, with some naval skirmishing in It Coast.

Small Italian forces moved into Tunisia over the winter and approached Tunis which was defended by a lone CW DIV but lack of supply prohibited any attack. RN CV's were patrolling W Med in a high box and the single IT TRS couldn't be risked. The repaired IT TRS arrived back on map in MA 40 and Italy prepared for activity in MJ 40 while building NAV3's and PIL.

[jjdenver]

MA 40 Asia:

Short turn so not much happened in China. Yamamoto led an attack on a 3-3 MIL in the mountains northwest of Kweilin and killed the MIL but the JP flipped so that was the end of that for the turn. China continued to backpedal while in the North Chengchow was besieged but no attack launched yet.

Japanese builds have been focused on ground forces. Notable builds so far include:
Synth, advance build HQI, LND3 (to strat bomb China), ART and lots of MIL/INF.

[jjdenver]

summer 40 prelude:

At this point I thought I'd stop and reflect briefly on the game so far and set the stage for the important summer 40 campaigns for France, French N. Africa, and China.

The Japanese high command is feeling good about progress so far. The production centre of Changsha has been seized and the res there is now shipping to Tokyo. Heavy losses have been inflicted on Natchi.

Italian high command is relieved that Sardinia was saved and is cautiously advancing due to low supply on Tunis. The primary Italian job in 1939 of landing in Algeria and cutting convoys through the med were complete failures due to the early CW DOW, poor weather, short turns, and bad search rolls.

In all Italian subs searched SO, ND, JF, MA and didn't find a single convoy. The same for Italian air in W Med, not a single find all game. Futility. Italy could only watch helplessly as resources from a 4 point thick convoy lined steamed into French harbors all winter long and the French army grew at an alarming rate while CW troops continued to pour into North France and Belgium. Despite German urging to cut the convoy line there Italians could not do the job. Credit to the allies for boldness in the med. The early DOW and landing in Sardinia and damaging the TRS put the Italians in backpedal mode leading up to summer 40.

German high command is also unhappy. While Belgium has been taken on the last impulse of MA 40, important parts of the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe are still crossing Germany to get in place for the attack on France. The double BEF and un-hindered French military buildup makes the outlook for the battle of France very gloomy. The allied plan of going after Italy, shipping heavy convoys through the Med and landing a double BEF (Wavell + Gort) has worked perfectly. German commanders face an uphill battle.

The Euroaxis had planned to make a stab at Morocco but that seems completely unthinkable now. There were also plans to attack Greece but that plan has been scrapped and the Euroaxis will probably just try to attack Yugoslavia in winter 40 instead. Overall not a very satisfactory beginning to the war. The only bright spot is that Italian and German losses have been low. A couple KM ships and an IT TRS damaged. There has been steady attrition of French navy in the It Coast as they have battled all winter at unfavorable odds vs the Regia Marina and Axis air in Italian Coast sz.

Germans have built a synth an ART a few scattered MIL/INF, and have ramped up air production in 1940 with LND2+FTR2 arriving MJ 40 and LND2+2xFTR2 arriving JA 40 including the 4 range GE FTR2 that will be critical to the effort in the Med in fall of 40. Italy has focused on repairing the TRS and building PIL + NAV3. No subs have been built yet in the game.

All Axis powers have taken lower builds in order to stockpile some oil with the oil count at start of MJ 40 being:
GE 12 oil
IT 4 oil
JP 13 oil

Here are losses so far leading into summer 40.

[brian brian]

Oil investing is playing consevatively.

Where were the Belgian INF, out of curiosity? Some Allied players, if pre-positioned correctly and late in a turn particularly ( also more likely without Rotterdam in Axis hands), would take delight in the Fallschirmjäegers dropping on an undefended Brussels as that gives them the opportunity to decline the notional and leave the PARA alone in the hex, as without an actual combat taking place, the adjacent German units can not advance in. And then the cream of the French Army descends on the lonely Paratroopers.

Search early, and search often. The most likely result of all attempts at naval combat is - No Combat.