No Pasaran! (AAR)

[jesperpehrson]

This is going to be an AAR of JM Serrano´s scenario Agonia y Victoria, covering the final years of the Spanish Civil War. I will be playing the republicans against the programmed opponent as the nationalists.

Here are my initial thoughts:
The republican plan is simple. Let the nationalist launch their initial attacks and have a mobile reserve ready to exploit any weakness that is exposed when the dust settles.

The defensive plan calls for holding the forces in southern Aragon to not be lured into the mountains, as that would prove to be costly I am sure. Around Madrid I will set up a tight defense with several brigades ready to help against any attack (i.e. local reserves). The northeastern front near Guadalajara is vital for the defense of Madrid, while the Sierra might be hard to hold against a tenacious attacker as it is well surrounded from all directions.

In the south my forces in southern Castilla-La Mancha will do an orderly retreat to the Siruela-Belalcazarline to have a shorter front behind the river. Meanwhile further south I will wait for the first round of nationalist attacks to settle before moving in to capture Granada, Malaga and eventually Cordoba. This will increase supply for all my forces and should allow for a defensible line between Malaga and Cordoba, whilst even threatening Sevilla and Cadiz. I will devote all the republican armored vehicles to this front.

In the north I will defend patiently with a large reserve of brigades to fill any gaps that might arise.

¡No pasaran!

[jesperpehrson]

5 turns done. The PO is giving me quite a beating around Madrid but other than that things are going more or less according to the plan.

The north is rather quiet, just the odd skirmish. Teruel was captured as the nationalists retreated from it. This was quite the bonus.

The sierra was as expected attacked with great persistence. El Escorial and Villalba are still in republican hands but just so. I expect el Escorial to fall any turn as it is surronded from all sides. The Guadalajarafront is holding up nicely as is the southern part of the Madridfront. Aranjuez just fell which was a setback but perhaps I can reclaim (sent some T-26s there). Worringly the Cuencafront is disolving too fast but I am reinforcing it with brigades from Teruel.

The fallback to the riverline in the southwest is going more or less according to the plan and hopefully I will be able to hold that position for some time. There have been casualities though.

The attack along the coast is just starting. I have assembled 43 T-26´s and 13 BA-3/6´s with more arriving on train as I write. So far Motril has been captured and the road to Malaga lies somewhat open. The Granada and Cordoba fronts are advancing but they are still somewhat fluid.

The Madridfront: (circles for hexes I captured and X for hexes I lost so far)

[jesperpehrson]

The advance on Malaga has begun! It is led by general Vincente Rojo.

[jesperpehrson]

On turn 8 Malaga has been invested by General Rojo and his Soviet tanks!

[jesperpehrson]

On turn 8 the republicans strike from Jaen towards Cordoba, spearheaded by Soviet tanks once more, encircling several nationalist brigades.

[jesperpehrson]

Turn 10 briefing.

The north is fairly quiet still but the nationalist is moving slowly forward. Teruel has been lost but still a solid line all the way from Teruel to Huesca. Some movement near Huesca indicate that Franco and his minions are preparing something unpleasant.

The Cuencafront has stabilized somewhat due to the nationalist transfering forces to Guadalajara.

Madrid has got both good and bad news. The good news is that we are gaining ground in the south and in the sierra. Aranjuez is recaptured. The bad news is that the Guadalajarafront has exploded and Madrid is under constant attack, nearly on the breakingpoint.

The retreat to the Siruelaline is completed and it looks stable. A rearguard on the other side of the river is keeping the nationalists from crossing still. There are posibilities for advance but I will decline as it would stretch my forces more than I could handle.

In the offensive south Cordoba, Cadiz and Malaga have been conquered. Granada is next on the menu. I will advance as far as Sevilla and establish my defensive perimeter.

All in all things are shaky in Madrid and looking good elsewhere. Some screenshots will follow to demonstrate the above mentioned.

[jesperpehrson]

The Teruel and Huescafronts. Around Huesca still no action while in Teruel there has been many fights over a few mountaintops.

[jesperpehrson]

On turn 14 Granada was finally captured. Now all that remains is to mop up the pockets of resistance that remains.

[jesperpehrson]

The situation around Madrid is looking better. A combined offensive from Aranjuez and Madrid has opened a corridor between the two. The HQ in Madrid has despatched a brigade from el Escorial to put pressure on Avila. The Guadalajarafront has been stabilized finally.

[jesperpehrson]

Disaster has struck for General Vincente Rojo and his T-26´s. As they approached Sevilla the 102nd Nationalist Division counterattacked and drove the republicans back. Fortunatly the momentum of the attack has slowed and republicans forces arrive from the northeast, threatening to cut off the nationalists from Sevilla.

[jesperpehrson]

An overview of the situation. The success on the southern front has made me expand my advance. As soon as Sevilla is captured the forces there will advance on Badajoz while the forces southwest of Almaden will advance on Penarroya. Pasaremos!

[jesperpehrson]

Sevilla has been conquered without resistance. This forced the nationalist division pursuing general Roja and his tanks to turn back north. In the east the republican forces are digging out nationalist stragglers from the mountains, a hard task indeed for the battleworn forces.