Europe 1939 turns 8-12

[tweber]

Turn 8. April 1940

This is a very important turn in the game. The German player gets a 'Western Blitz' action card (see below). This card:

- Inflicts a 50% readiness penalty on the West
- Gives Germany occupation of Norway
- Gives Germany control of Denmark
- German paratroops (under Student) land on the Belgian fortress of Eban Emaul

As a design note, I set this up since it is almost impossible for the Germans to invade Norway. Given the space and ranges and the strength of the British fleet, a smart Western player could easily defend Olso. Norway is important for 2 reasons:

- Control of Olso gives Germay 10 additional pp per round (due to control of Swedish iron ore)
- Control of Bergen will inflict additional damage on any Western lend lease to the Soviet Union once that war starts

Also in the picture below is the map of Denmark and Norway after the card is played.

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Getting back to the Western front, the picture below shows the starting position of the units. Note that the Benelux forces are now under the command on the West (in editor terms, the 'Allied Minor' regime joins the West). The objectives of the northern wing of my army is too capture both Amsterdam and Brussels. It is a bonus if I can wipe out the Dutch HQ at the Western player will not be able to salvage the political points from disbanding the HQ.

On the Southern flank, I plan to push for, and hopefully capture Lille (circled city). Once Lille is capture, Italy will join my side. With the readiness penalty, the Allied AF is ground so I will have free reign of the skies. I plan to support my attacks in the South with dive bombers and artillery. I will actually ignore the southern most tank unit. It should be hopelessly isolated by the end of the turn.

[tweber]

My offensive is a success. My air attacks have a devasting effect on the defenders and I am able to accomplish all my objectives. Here is the picture of the map at the end of the turn.

I also show the casualties. They look high by the level 1 rifle, staff, and smg at from the dutch army so the overall order of battle for the West is not diminished by too much (except for the loss in tanks.

Overall, it looks like the road to Paris is clear.

As a design note, the capture of Paris triggers US lend lease aid to the West (25 pp) and wakes up the Soviet Union (now the allied player will also play this side as well). The Germans can also force the rest of the French forces on the continent to surrender and declare a Vichy government in North Africa. However, it is not uncommon for most of the French forces in Europe to be destroyed by the time Paris is occupied and it is often advantageous for the German player to stall the occupation of Paris. To prevent this gamemanship, the Western player can declare Paris an open city once Lille is occupied. This transfers control of Paris to the Germans. Given the state of the French army, I would not be surprised if the West abandons Paris next turn.

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This was a big turn for the Germans, I gain 5 cities (Olso, Brussels, Amsterdam, Lille, and Copenhagen). I have to assign these cities to HQ and set up there production. First, I check the supply status board to look at my consumption. It is critical to make enough supply. I need about 3000 supply. After this, I set two coastal cities to build cargo ships (they are handy after the fall of France). The rest of my production is devoted to political points since I can use them for subs or for strategic warfare.

You will also note that 3 of my production centers are damaged from the recent fighting. If you remember from turn 2, Warsaw was damaged. It is now repaired. The other cities should be up to full production in a turn or two.

Also note that all production feeds into OKW except for Olso. I want the production form Olso to feed directly into the newly created Norway HQ. This provides for supply if the West tries to set up a blockade.

[freeboy]

damaged cities repair on there own, can an engenier help?
Is there a way to see the wildcards before they are up? IE before you start the game?

[tweber]

Cities auto repair 100 points per turn. This is adjustable in the editor.

Units with engineer points can repair and build. Engineers are the only units with engineering points (can also be adjusted in the editor).

There is not in-game way to see all the action cards. You could go into the editor and look on the action card tab to see what is defined for the scenario. But to really understand them, you must also look at the events that the cards are linked to.

Cards are 'dealt' through events. You would also want to understand how they are dealt.

However, hopefully the description on the card and the scenario description is intuitive enough. WWII Europe has alot of cards and will take some to learn even after you understand basic game mechanics.

[seille]

Ok, the last turn was a bloody desaster for the western player again.
I expected to do enough damage to the germans to slow down their final attack, but
i was too optimistic. Tom played the offensive card and destroyed my forces in Benelux and
France nearly completely.
I was very disappointed to see his planes massacring my units with all my flak III there.
He did not lose a single plane this turn.
 
Since defending France is now useless i decided to play the "declare Paris an open city"-card.
This way i abandon Paris and give up France. US help should come to help defending GB next turn.
I also evacuated 40 staff and 2 trucks from Paris and bought some more DD´s to fight german subs i expect to attack
soon.
 

[tweber]

Turn 9, May 1940. The West has declared Paris an open city and my troops can walk in. It has been a pretty bloody campaign for both sides. I am now able to establish a Vichy government with an action card I am given. Establishing a Vichy government does the following:

- Gives all land in occupied France to Germany. All Western units in occupied France are disbanded.
- Converts French North Africa, Syria, and Metropolitan France to a neutral regime. All sides lose all units in these territories. (Germany should make sure troops are clear of Southern France, the West should make sure the garrisons of Marseille and Algiers are also evacuated).
- Gives Germany the 'occupy Vichy card'

I immediately play the 'occupy Vichy card'. It gives Metropolitan France to Germany. It also raises the partisan level of France, but partisans are not active anywhere until 1942. I now have control of Marseilles.

The picture below shows this on the mini-map. The left most pane is below, the center is after Vichy is established. Note the Vichy regime is green. The right most pane shows after Metropolitan France is occupied.

Note that either Germany or the West can declare war on Vichy. If war is declare, Metropolitan France is automatically occupied. If the West declared war, the partisan level does not go up. There is a 75% chance that Vichy will not resist and immediately join the Western side. Otherwise, Vichy joins Germany. If Germany declares war, Vichy automatically resists and joins the West. The 'occupy France' card is also played.

Design note. I set this up so that Germany gets a penalty for violating the Vichy agreement. Also, the West will normally declare war on Vichy but with some risk. A bold player my declare war immediately. A more cautious one might wait until Russia and or the US is in the war.

[tweber]

Now I plan my attack on the UK. I ran a sub across the Southern coast and flew a recon mission over Britain to do some reconaisance. Capturing Britain will secure the NW part of the map and protects all the industry in NW Europe.

The ultimate objective is Manchester. Manchester is the 'arrival hex' for units purchased by action cards. The West has already entrenched around Manchester.

Occupying Britain will not be easy. It will require a several month campaign and that requires a port. the only ports within air range are London and Plymouth. London is nice because it is a major production center. I could also use this hex to make supply.

Unfortunately, loss of London makes the Soviets anxious and will trigger their early entry into the war. The Soviets will normally enter the war in 1942 if not attacked. However, they will also enter any time Germany has 5 victory cities. The victory cities are London, Gibraltar, Alexandria, Paris, Rome, Warsaw, Bucharest, Stalingrad, Leningrad, and Moscow. Germany now has 3 - Rome, Paris, and Warsaw. Bucharest will automatically join in 1941. So capturing London will allow a Soviet DOW in Jan 1941. I would prefer to keep them out of the fight for now so I have to avoid London (and Alexandria in the Mid-East).

I started the game with 2 cargo ships and am building 2 per turn. 1-2 cargoships are need to carry a corps (depending on weight). I probably want at least 8 cargo ships. I also have to make sure my AF is strong so I can keep the Royal Navy clear of the channel. The invasion is very hit or miss.

[Vic]

nice read
keep it up.

[tweber]

I also have Italy on my side. The Italians have a small, ill equiped army. An air wing, and a small navy. I will use Italy in the upcoming campaign in the Balkans. Will also use them to pressure the West in Egpyt. I immediately start transfering troops overseas to North Africa. Sea transfer is tricky. The West starts with much stronger fleet in Gibraltar and Alexandria. It is likely that one of these fleets is now defending the UK. I am not sure if the West left a fleet in Egypt. So I do the transfer in 2 stages. In the first stage, I send only 1 rifle. I want to test the sea path to make sure it is not intercepted. The troop gets through. I now send the rest of the troops (actually, if the anti supply unit is not close to the path, 1 troop might get through but a lot will not. You might also check with 10). I am not too worried about this path as I think all the Western fleets are in the North Sea.

Alexandria is the 'arrival hex' for the West in the mid east (an arrival hex is a hex that units purchased by action cards can arrive in). I do not want to occupy Alexandria until after I am ready to go to war with the Soviets. However, I can disable Alexandria's arrival capabitlity by occupying the Suez canal. That will be my first objective.

Design note. Arrival hexes have 'disable hexes.' I did not want a side to be able to supply or reinforce otherwise surrounded locations.

[seille]

Not much to report for this turn.
I continue to fortify Great Britain against upcoming invasion and bought some more DD´s
against subs.
 
My russians are now active. It´s a additional regime i have to play after the west.
Did not to much here. Splitted some of my units to fill the (thin) front line and divided the armored units
to make them less attractive for air attacks. Usually i do at least the upgrade to rifle II and up to fighter III here.
Fortunately the germans are strong, but not strong enough to fight Russia and England the same time with good effect.
In case germany concentrates on England and doesn´t attack Russia my troops there have to wait until 1942 for a own attack.
 
@tweber
This seems to be not only a AAR, but also a very good "how to play" for that scenario.
New players interesting in playing "1939" should look at.

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Turn 10, June 1940.

I continue preparations for the cross channel invasion. My planes strike at Birmingham and take out 75% of the production there. I lose a few fighters to flak.

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I am also gearing up for a campaign in the Balkans. You can see my army is moving into position to aid Italy in Yugoslavia.

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continues here

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continues here