The Road to Where : Allied perspective

[cpdeyoung]

19430401 : GB : We advance, and reenter the Kiel front.
USA : Push forward, and reactivate the Kiel front, where we have reinforcements coming in.
Norway : A division takes a place in the line!
Iceland : Our two subs are now in the Baltic.
Ireland : Garrisons.
USSR : Multiple attacks, including a pocket in the north. The Persian Peoples Army has a success.
Neutral : Greece : The war passes us by. This pretty much means we won!

[cpdeyoung]

Some notes from much later in the war : Gary has said he will be very pleased to hold out till 1944. I will be hard pressed to take him out by then. I face five nations, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, and Persia. To destroy the coalition I must capture every VP city the Axis posseses. This will be tough. I am nowhere near taking Spain, Hungary and Persia should fall pretty soon, actually forcing Germany to surrender will be as tough as Gary chooses to make it, and Italy can be tough. Still I have the forces I need and it will be an interesting challenge. The number of turns is not unlimited. I must hurt him a lot every turn I get a chance. Each unit destroyed will not be there the next turn.

Much depends on how successful Gary is on pulling back from Poland, and getting his Italians out of the Balkans. I want to capture as many Italians as possible! The West is a dilemma. I need to start flanking him out of those river lines, and hurting him everywhere. The Kiel front is becoming important especially as the western front gets closer.

[cpdeyoung]

19430416 : GB : Advance to the enemy line.
USA : We liberate Paris, and take Hanover.
Norway : Our divisions are playing a real part near Kiel.
Ireland and Iceland : Patrol and garrison.
USSR : Push hard in the north, push along the whole line.
Neutral : Greece : I will not be reporting on Greece again.

[cpdeyoung]

19430501 : GB : Advance with our brothers in arms. We continue sending convoys of PP to New York.
USA : Push forward on both fronts. We are stretched for units to fill in our rapid advance.
Norway : Our divisions at Kiel play an important role.
Iceland and Ireland : Patrol and garrison.
USSR : Keep up pressure across the whole, long front, and try to create a big pocket in the north.

[cpdeyoung]

19430509 : GB : Advancing at the speed of our infantry.
USA : Pushing aggressively. We are getting ready for a Spanish campaign.
Norway : Our divisions are active in the north.
Ireland : One division is now on the continent.
Iceland : We also send infantry to war.
USSR : We wish to capture enemy troops, rather than let them reach there homelands.

[cpdeyoung]

19430516 : GB : We now hold a position about in the center of this very long combined front.
USA : Combining the two fronts will pay off as we constrict the enemy, flattening the curve we are on the outside of.
Norway : Our new mororized unit follows our infantry into the line.
Ireland : We march up to the front.
Iceland : On land and sea we paricipate.
USSR : We make a pocket, unfortunately a supplied one. The Italians are holding us back in the Balkans.

[cpdeyoung]

19430524 : GB : Press forward.
USA : We begin our Spanish operation with an amphibious landing in Bilbao.
Norway, Ireland, and Iceland : Push with our allies.
USSR : Reduce the pocket, try to catch more. Italy is going to be difficult.

[cpdeyoung]

19430601 : GB, USA, Norway, Ireland, Iceland : Together we all press the Germans as they fall back on Berlin. We are very close to Berlin, but are going to be careful not to get in the way of the Soviets who are ready to press the final assault.
USSR : We press forward to Berlin from the South. We have built two Air Armies to aid us and the Allies can add their help. We also are trying to cut off the Italians from leaving the Balkans and entering Italy proper.

[cpdeyoung]

19430609 : The grand alliance : The western allies and the Soviets join in an assault on the German capital. American armor opened the path for Soviet armor and the battle for Berlin is joined. In Spain we rush reinforcements in and push outwards from our beachhead.

[cpdeyoung]

Some endnotes : This has been one of the great experiences of my life in wargaming. From the very first Gary made the joys of playing against a excellent human opponent clear. I remember actually worrying about if he were thinking of attacking the Soviet Union early. I remember the sick feeling in my stomach when I saw those yellow lines snaking across Scotland. I remember the disappointment at the fall of Gibraltar.

By the time Gary invaded the Soviet Union I was less worried. He did very well and pushed me back, and back, but I was not worried, because I knew that I had huge resources behind me, East and West. I felt I was winning the production battle with ease, and that is so much of the game. The first invasion at Kiel was never intended to be "the" invasion, but it worked even better than I had hoped. The big 8-4 American corps are formidable, if slow. The Brest invasion went so well I was able to hold a corps in amphibs, which I eventually used in Spain.

Gary and I have started the "turn around" game and my Axis seem so small compared to the task ahead of them. There was much discussion of the balance, and just now, contemplating Gary's lessons I feel humbled.

I am sorry it is over - great fun.

Chuck

[Joshuatree]

I think it's safe to say that it's over, and thank you for this great AAR.
 
The map at this stage reminds me of an old joke amongst German soldiers at the end of WWII, goes like this; "what are you gonna do when the war is over" says one German soldier to the other. He replies: "I think I'm gonna do a bicycle tour across the whole country". Says the first one again; "right, and what are you gonna do in the afternoon?"

[MilRevKo]

Quite simply the best AAR that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Your game and gamesmanship is much appreciated.

--
Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

[cpdeyoung]

Thank you very much.  I remember doing notebooks full of AARs, before I even heard the term.  I have pages of hand written descriptions of moves in SPI's "War in Europe", with both hex by hex moves, and higher level commentary.  The new techniques allow so much more, but it is still a lot of work, and knowing others can view them and enjoy the reading is very satisfying.  What I love about these simulation games is the way they work with the history I have read.  Reading a book such as "Hitler and the Middle Sea", by Walter Ansel, makes me grab my games to try his ideas out.
 
By the way, before my father's family came from the Netherlands, a few generations ago we spelled our name "de Jong", and I was born in Wisconsin, in an area where many people from the Netherlands have settled.
 
Chuck