Sturm und Drang : Allied Perspective

[gwgardner]

Alexandria has fallen. So much for stabilization of the Egyptian front. And now the Italians have landed in Palestine, and have taken Jerusalem. And thus we all see how limited is our (my?) intelligence!

[gwgardner]

With his commitment of the entire Luftwaffe to North Africa, the enemy has shown commendable patience in achieving his goals. The decisive battle in this fight may have just occured south of Cairo, in the very shadows of the Pyramids, when three German armored corps launched their long-awaited crossing of the Nile, after a horrendous air assault on the defenders.

It must be noted that the ill-fated Italian assault into Palestine drew away the entire British mobile reserve, thus allowing the Germans a clear path in encircling Cairo.

We have ordered a general fall back upon the single remaining supply and communications line into Cairo, which will be defended to the last man. If Cairo falls, so falls Egypt, and along with it Palestine. It will then be up to the Russians to stand strong against a renewed air and armored assault against their lines.

[gwgardner]

British: With the fall of Cairo, the situation in Egypt is untenable. A fighting withdrawal to ports on the Suez is underway. The object is to ship out as many personal and as much material as possible. the approximate cost of the defense of Egypt was 1500 to 2000 PPs.

Russia: With the collapse of the British position in Egypt, there is nothing to keep the Axis from throwing everything they have at us. With their superiority in technology and the power of their air force, our defensive line will crack. We are preparing positions in the interior and will be ready to fall back on them.

[gwgardner]

AP News Flash!

3rd Nov. '41
Dateline New York

Sketchy reports from England indicate that there was a major naval engagement in the Atlantic over the last two days, between the Royal Navy's main battle fleet and the combined High Seas Fleets of Germany and Italy. The Admiralty in London has not been very forthcoming with either a confirmation or any indication of the results of the battle, but unnamed sources say that it was a disaster for the Royal Navy.

[gwgardner]

Churchill [this of course had absolutely nothing to do with my judgement] insisted on redeeming the defeat in the deserts of North Africa by joining with the foe closer to home.

In accordance with his directives, 500 of our hard-earned PPs, that we had husbanded for months, were expended in building amphibious transports and preparing a sortie of the main battle fleet.

A division of armor and an entire corps of infantry were loaded upon transports and escorted towards the shores of France.

In a complete and utterly horrific surprise, the Royal Naval armada met up with the combined Axis High Seas Fleet off the coast of Cornwall. The Royal Air Force was unable to participate in the battle, as was the Luftwaffe, due to rain squalls over the area of conflict, so it was ship against ship. Rather, it was one Royal Navy ship each to three of the enemy, leading to the results that could be expected.

In a complete and utterly horrific surprise, the Royal Naval armada met up with the combined Axis High Seas Fleet off the coast of Cornwall. The Royal Air Force was unable to participate in the battle, as was the Luftwaffe, due to rain squalls over the area of conflict, so it was ship against ship. Rather, it was one Royal Navy ship each to three of the enemy, leading to the results that could be expected.

All that remains of the Royal Navy, elsewhere employed in anti-submarine operations, have been recalled to port, leaving the Axis with dominance of the sea.

Followup invasion forces have been ordered to disembark and return to encampment.

A call goes out to the US to intervene, before she too faces the enemy alone.

[gwgardner]

The Axis Fleet is so large, three times that of the Royal Navy, that the US would be hard-pressed to make any impact in the war if she enters, without a long-term naval building program.

This time around with the game has shown me that the naval aspects cannot be taken lightly.

I think the US strategy will have to be to attempt to wear down the superior Axis fleet, while using its (hopefully) bigger PP advantage to outrace the Axis in building more ships.

Can the Russkies hold out that long?

To make matters worse, I did not make any US investment in naval research!!. I'm still at level one!.

[gwgardner]

Russians: After a long winter in which the Germans seemed to be testing and probing our lines, they launched their major offensive with a massive air bombardment and even more massive armored assault. To make matters worse, all indications are that the Hugarians are preparing to join the Axis, thus opening a whole new segment of the long front.

British and US: We are going to bring our fleets together and try take back the seas. In the meantime, we are securing the defense of the UK, and testing the enemy's air defenses in France.

[gwgardner]

Russia: The German offensive in the north continues with an effort to widen the breakthrough, and a daring advance into Kaunus. Zhukov has ordered an all-out attempt to cut off and destroy that advance unit. At all costs, we cannot allow the body of the armored units to join back up.

[gwgardner]

In the South, a very similar situation has developed, with the opening of a second German offensive. Hungary has still not gone over to the Axis, but we are preparing a defense. The mobile reserve has been committed to halting the German offensive.

[gwgardner]

No change on the Southern Front, but April brings a small victory for Russia in the North. A very small, and no doubt fleeting victory. The entrapped German armored corps in Kaunus was able to break out, linking up with the main force, but that meant evacuating Kaunas. We entered to wildly cheering crowds, and started our own mass evacuations. it is doubtful we can hold the city for long.

Being unable to hold the flanks of the German pocket, we are now attempting to extricate out own pocket southwest of Kaunas.

[gwgardner]

The enemy has succeeded in cutting off two whole corps southwest of Kaunus. Upwards of 60,000 lost, along with their equipment and supplies.

[note: I think the salvage feature in the game is ridiculous for troops without lines of communications, so I must grit my teeth and take the loss.]

[gwgardner]

The Eastern Front is rather calm going into late Spring, '42. The enemy makes incremental gains both North and South, most notably taking Odessa. Actually, Odessa was evacuated by sea, after going under siege by powerful armored and mechanized forces.

If this kind of stability can be maintained, more and more resources are going to go into preparing an offensive. The cadre for that offensive force is now being built up in the environs of Lublin. The front in that area is less heavily fortified, and the Germans actually have long segments of that front held by single divisions of infantry.

At sea, the British and Americans are focusing on gaining superiority at sea. So far that has been tough going, with the Allies taking heavier losses than the Axis. Strategic bombing of industrial centers in France and the Low Countries continue.

[gwgardner]

ORIGINAL: gwgardner


If this kind of stability can be maintained, more and more resources are going to go into preparing an offensive. The cadre for that offensive force is now being built up in the environs of Lublin. The front in that area is less heavily fortified, and the Germans actually have long segments of that front held by single divisions of infantry.

Famous last words.

All heck broke loose on the Eastern Front, as a storm of German offensives were launched, with heavy air support.

General Zhukov is concerned that a rapid advance by the Germans will cut off whole segments of our lines, and has ordered withdrawals from the most advanced positions. It is important that we do not allow panic to set in, and commit to a general withdrawal, because there is little evidence right now that the Germans have extensive infantry support for these armored offensives. Time will tell on that.

In the North:

Our right flank has been compromised, and will have to fall back. Indeed, two corps on the extreme right were evacuated by sea.

[gwgardner]

the Center:

The fear is that the Offensive in the south will cut off the entire salient around Lvov, so we are withdrawing on to that city.

[gwgardner]

In the South, we are scrambling to hold against the armored advance.

[gwgardner]

August, '42

The Russian High Command is baffled. The Germans have massive armored superiority at two different points along the front, and yet in both areas they are are withdrawing. With an infusion of followup infantry, they would be able to sustain an offensive, but they are apparently withdrawing infantry from the front.

Indeed, as German forces pull out of front-line positions, weaker Italian forces move in.

With their steel boot planted firmly on the throat of Europe, where could those withdrawn forces be marshalled?

Is he planning to assault the UK? Norway? The US itself? Turkey? An amphibious assault along the coast of the Baltic, aimed at Leningrad?

The latter seems most likely, as he knows that all of our forces are tied up on the front.

In the north:

[gwgardner]

The South.

[gwgardner]

Not a shred of bafflement left. The Germans juggernaut is on the move in central Russia, striking straight towards Minsk with a seemingly unstoppable force. In a move that they must have been planning for months, they succeeded in pulling all their armor out of the south, and 10 armored corps strong, backed by their powerful airforce, they have smashed huge holes in the front.

Another 100,000 Russian troops are trapped. We just do not have the railroad capacity to get all those men out of an encirclement that was almost but not quite closed by the Germans.

We are pulling back all along the front, stripping less endangered areas to send troops north.

[gwgardner]

US: We are gradually building up a strategic bombing ability. Currently we estimate the Germans are losing 35 PPs a turn due to the bombing.

UK: With the US concentrating on the bombing campaign, we are attempting to rebuild the Royal Navy. It would seem suicidal to attempt an invasion anywhere along the coasts of Europe without control of the sea.

[gwgardner]

With his mass of armor, the enemy has been able to blow a 400 mile wide gap in my line north of the Pripets. He was able to destroy one armored division, and two mechanized corps in the last turn. I am falling back everywhere, giving up what is easiest for me to give up - real estate.

At this point I don't know if I can come up with enough PPs to fill in the gaps, because with that mass of armor, he can blow a hole in any gap.