Doublecross: Allied Perspective

[Chocolino]

April 16th, 1941

We suffer heavily and have to think how to get out of a possible large scale Vinista pocket.

[Chocolino]

May 1st, 1941

Both the UK and USSR receive Lend Lease from the computer controlled USA by now. Especially for the USSR it is desperately needed. We decide to keep the UK portion to build up a strategic bomber force instead of passing it also on to the USSR. That was not an easy decision given the rapid collapse of the Soviet union defenses in the Baltic.

[Chocolino]

May 9th, 1941

The opportunistic Hungarians join the Axis. We have warned them but given our current situation, our word has little weight. We are crushed by the German war machinery.

[Chocolino]

May 16th, 1941

There is only one direction for the USSR right now, backwards.....

[Chocolino]

May 24th, 1941

The war in the East remains very fluid with large open spaces between separated regions of continuous fronts. We are still saving for the British strategic air fleet.

[Chocolino]

June 1st, 1941

We still have no recipe to halt the Axis advance and expect that this will continue this way for a while.

[Chocolino]

June 9th, 1941

What have we done with Russia? A few turns ago it looked already serious but the Red Army high command was still fairly sure to be able to manage the crisis. Now the Germans encircled the last defenders of Minsk and only some isolated units defend the approaches to Moscow. The Riga-Rezkhine line is still in working condition but only since it was not yet challenged. But there is a silver lining in that the UK has started their strategic bombing campaign. It will reduce the German PPs available for replacements and maybe also cause some Luftwaffe units back to Germany.

[Chocolino]

June 16th, 1941

The strategic bombing campaign shows first effects. Interestingly, it is easy to overestimate the losses it causes the Axis. The cities repair one PP per turn and this is done prior to paying out the next round of Production Points. So the effective damage done is one less than one thinks. As a result, it is also completely useless to attack 1 PP cities since they are completely repaired before the bombing can show any effect. This "repairing before paying" seems somewhat inconsistent.

All other news are not exactly encouraging for the Allies and Comintern. German units penetrate deeply into Russia and are approaching Smolensk already.

[Chocolino]

June 24th, 1941

The fast German advance in Russia continues. We start assembling units for a counter offensive into the southern flank of the units heading for Smolensk. But our units are too feeble to be able to do much harm.

[Chocolino]

July 1st, 1941

German tanks exploit the weaknesses of the Russian defensive lines. Our puny southern counterattack did only inch forward in order to not give itself away prematurely. From as close to the line as possible, we will dash forward. The strategic bombing campaign is making progress and we estimate that it can cost the Axis up to 50 base PP each round (not calculating in a war economy operating at more than 100% which scales this further)

[Chocolino]

July 9th, 1941

We can encircle five German units worth about 900 PP total in two pockets. But the German army will return the favor soon and is threatening to enclose our units between Riga and Rezkhine. The asymmetric rules however make an encircling of German units much more dangerous. We will still have the chance to utilize our expanded strategic movement capacity to save encircled troops, the Germans will be immediately out of supply and will have to rely on outside help.

[Chocolino]

July 16th, 1941

We hope that the Red Army counterattack and the resulting loss of the tank corps will lead to slower and more cautious German advance from now on. At one point the Russian high command was seriously concerned that the Wehrmacht can reach Moscow before the onset of winter.

[Chocolino]

July 24th, 1941

Our success of the two previous turns was short lived and we are back in the mode of German victory. Velikiye Luki and Riga are the next two targets.

[Chocolino]

August 1st, 1941

We are waiting eagerly for the winter to come in Russia but it is still quite a number of turns away. We hope we can hold on to all Production Centers until then.

[Chocolino]

August 16th, 1941

The situation in Russia is depressing. The British have completed their strategic bomber fleet and consider to support the USSR with convoys in the near future as well.

[Chocolino]

September 1st, 1941

Lacking the ability and strength to take the Germans head-on in Russia, we try our luck with a mobile defense into the underbelly of the German advance. The Germans attack vigorously and use frequently air support. About a third of their loss points represent expensive aircraft casualties.

[Chocolino]

September 16th, 1941

The German progress in the central and northern region of the East Front is now roughly historical. But the Axis momentum is large and we are not sure if and when we can stop it. We hope for the winter month. The USSR receives now also UK excess production in addition to American Lend Lease. But somehow this extra income is completely draining away in the vastness of Russia.

[Chocolino]

October 1st, 1941

Our mobile defense in Russia shows first signs of small success. It does not stop the German but may give him something to worry about. Cutting off individual German units will hurt in the long term. The Axis also engages now in an active Atlantic raiding campaign against British aid to the USSR. Unfortunately, only the Axis player gets the information on the outcome of naval battles and we just see our damaged fleet after the fact without knowing what our own losses gained us.

[Chocolino]

October 16th, 1941

There are not many Russian defenders left and we need the onset of winter urgently.

[Chocolino]

November 1st, 1941

All our Russian investments go into purchasing small mobile troops capable of cutting off individual German units. Together with switching the two tank corps to different locations we hope to be less predictable and slow down the German juggernaut. Even the powerful Axis cannot build full lines in the depth of Russia. As they move forward, the less protected flanks of the leading units become more vulnerable.

The map is not as empty and void of German units as it seems they are hiding behind the fog of war in many of the wide open areas.