Fall Gelb, multiplayer, majors on hard - Axis AAR

[gwgardner]

Minsk has fallen to our forces, but here the front is fully 300 miles short of pre-war planning. We had hoped to be in Smolensk already, but the diversion of armor into Turkey and Egypt made that impossible.

[gwgardner]

Kiev too has felt the tread of German boots. This was especially vital prior to the onset of the snows, because the nearest Soviet supply nexus to the east is 250 miles away. Their forces will be on extended supply lines in this region, while German troops will be snug against nearby road and RR supply sources extending from Kiev.

The Hungarian Army is going to be responsible for the approaches to Gomel and the defense of White Russia during the winter.

[gwgardner]

Around Odessa, the Romanian Army is going to hold the line.

OKW has ordered an all out effort to take Krivoy Rin before the mud and snow stalls the effort. That RR and resource hub is vitally important - most especially to deny it to the Soviets.

[gwgardner]

mid Nov '41

Minor advances in the Ukraine, to solidify a position there and take away as many production cities as possible from the Soviets, before the snows come.

Slow buildup near Batum, but it is doubtful much can come from it other than drawing Soviet forces to a static front.

General Guderian visited Berlin after the fall of Egypt and convinced the high command to allow him to remain with the desert forces invading Iraq. Mosul is the first Iraqi city to feel the Guderian punch.

It is the battle of the Atlantic where things are hotting up the most. Italian subs have now entered the Atlantic/Indian Ocean sea lanes, and started raiding Commonwealth shipping from India. Meantime, the British must have honed their ASW skills, because they have halved the German sub force in the space of 3 weeks. As a result, Berlin has ordered sub production to be increased yet again, from 2 to 3 sub groups per week.

We know that the investment in subs is paying off, because in one week in Nov, German and Italian kills were in the 40-50 STP range.

[gwgardner]

Mid December '41

On the Eastern Front, German forces are taking reinforcements and upgrades, in preparation for the '42 campaigning season. Local offensives of opportunity against weak Soviet defensive positions are authorized, but the only sustained offensive is in the Ukraine. Rail lines, mines, cities, production centers are all concentrated there, and we would like to deny them to the enemy.

On a somewhat ominous note, for the first time recon has discovered a concentration of Soviet armor southeast of Minsk. We have no idea whether this is just a marshalling area, or a jumping off point for a Soviet offensive.

On other fronts: the battle of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is going full force, with the British consistently destroying 3 German sub groups every week. We have now budgeted four new subgroups per week in an attempt to get ahead of the apparent UK technology advance that is allowing them so much success in ASW. That is at a cost of 30 PP a week for Germany. But we know that the UK is spending every week on STPs due to our success against their shipping.

General Guderian's advance from the north, and General Graziani's advance out of Kuwait, are closing in on Basra and Baghdad. High Command is not at all certain that the conquest of Iraq is worth the diversion of two armored corps, and several Luftwaffe squadrons, but at least one more outpost of British imperialism is done away with.

In the Trans-Caucasus, the front is deadlocked. With German, Italian and Romanian forces involved, but on slender supply lines, once again it is uncertain whether the cost of the operation is worth it. It is however holding down at least 15 Soviet infantry corps.

[Magpius]

Im wondering how many hexes you have FOW set. Were those tanks found through air recon?

[gwgardner]

we're playing at two or three hexes FOW. Yes, they were found through air recon. Every turn I have been doing recon looking for his armor. Finally found some.

[gwgardner]

Jan 16 '42

Baghdad has surrendered to a German/Italian besieging force. Basra has just fallen to an all-out assault by 9 Italian divisions, after heavy bombardment by both German and Italian squadrons.

The Foreign Office is applying every effort to entice the Iranians to join the Axis. It is well known that both the British and Soviets have been twisting arms in Tehran, we hope to no avail.

An Italian mechanized division is already embarked, in expectation that it will be allowed to land in Iran within the next two weeks.

[gwgardner]

On the Eastern Front, our northern objective: securing the Baltic states and taking up strong winter defensive positions north and south of Lake Ladoga, have be pretty much been achieved.

It would be a plus if we could take Pskov.

[gwgardner]

In the South, the Soviets have put up stiff resistance in the Ukraine, but against that steady grind we have pushed forward to within 100 miles of Rostov, and are on the outskirts of Voroshilovgrad.

We are of course creating a long,long exposed flank with this advance, but recon has failed to discern any kind of Soviet preparations for a counter-offensive against that flank.

The Soviets have pressured the Kiev fortifications, held by our Hungarian allies, but those stalwarts have held their ground.

[gwgardner]

Feb '42

Winter still has its grip on the Eastern Front. All the Wermacht can do in the north is consolidate its positions.

Pskov is a key to Leningrad, but it will be hard to grasp it. Note on the situation map that the marshlands north of Pskov have suddenly become prime territory. If German troops can cross into those currently unoccupied marshlands, Pskov will fall. If not, even 2 Panzer corps will find it almost impossible to cross into the city. But alas, what are the chances that the Soviets will not move into those marshes to forestall our advance?

Three Luftwaffe bomber squadrons are in position for the assault. Their effectiveness in this bad weather is perhaps 25% of that in good weather, but still they are essential.

[gwgardner]

News Flash from the Eastern Front

This week German troops entered the vital Ukranian hub of rail, sea and river transport - Rostov-On-the-Don! Victorious German armor is poised now to rush into the Caucasus.

Now if the Soviet infantry there would only move out of the way ....

OKH is wary of the long, long flank caused by the advance to Rostov. Continuous recon however, shows no sign of any Soviet preparations for an attack on that flank.

[gwgardner]

The adventurous and newly promoted Field Marshall Guderian, after leading the conquest of Iraq, has embarked upon an even more challenging quest. In cooperation with our new Persian allies and our bosom buddies the Italians, Guderian will spearhead a combined forces advance into the Trans-Caucasus.

Italian forces have taken up advanced positions for the push.

[gwgardner]

In more sobering news, the Battle of the Atlantic is proceeding full tilt. The British have set up a network of ASW patrols and in the last month alone have destroyed 8 of our Wolfpacks.

Most of the losses have taken place off the coast of Portugal, which is something of a mystery, as we have not spotted carriers in the region. Could it be that bombers out of Gibraltar are being used? Months ago OKW rejected plans to take Gibraltar, but now there are hints that a reconsideration is being made.

Wolfpacks have indeed been lost, but they continue to exact a high price in British shipping. Admiral Donitz has shifted his focus operations from the northern Atlantic to the sea lanes south, around Africa.

[gwgardner]

Even more sobering, budgetary constraints have almost completely curtailed efforts to develop more advanced weaponry. There's nothing to be done for it - so few PPs available.

[gwgardner]

Damn, this game is fun.

[gwgardner]

April 7 '42

Still in the midst of winter. German and Italian forces continue to chip away along the Caucasus fronts, north and south. Both countries have concentrated their air power in the region, to make it possible for steady, slow advances to be made even in bad weather.

Soviet armor was sighted again in the general Kursk-Gomel region, but it has not approached the front. The Soviets have an inexhaustible supply of infantry that they bring up to the front wherever a threat is shown. There appears to be no sign of any kind of collapse or strain in their ability to reinforce the front.

Beyond the Caucasus, the battle of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans continues, with steady losses on both sides. There has been a reduction in ASW for the last 6 weeks, and thus German production of subs has been scaled back.

Partisan activity in Yugoslavia, Russia, Poland, and France, has been a constant annoyance. Twice, armed bands succeeded in cutting vital rail lines in White Russia.

[JLPOWELL]

Really nice AAR. Thanks for taking the trouble. BattleVonWar and I are playing essentially the same game but our AAR is much less complete. Takes a lot of time to organize screen-shots and commentary so effectively. (It is also a bit harder to get screen shots as we can't look at a saved game playing PBEM)

I note we are playing both games on 'hard' due my perception is even at 'hard' there is quite a bit of money available for units on both sides. I am not sure of the German unit counts but the Axis minors are 'out of control with I estimate 30 air units (we did not set them to 'hard' like the majors). France did go negative due to high maintenance early in the game and never really recovered. Everyone else seems to have 'enough' by historical standards. The USSR has many many level 3 inf corps in our game. What is your impression of the $$$ available with majors set to 'hard'?

[gwgardner]

Thanks.

The Germans may still have too many PPs on hard. It's iffy. I am maxed out on corps and divisional infantry, because I don't want to go over the force limit, and encounter the penalty. I have 79 corps and 9 divisions. I have 8 armored corps. I spend my PPs on mech corps now. and have 10 of them.

I have 10 bomber squadrons and about the same fighters. No strat bombers.

So this is very roughly about what the Germans had on the Eastern front in '42 I think - about 3.5 million men? I'm saying that from recollection, no research.

Of course all the above restrictions and force compositions will change with 1.02 and its new method of determining force limits.

My minor Axis allies are stretched to the limit garrisoning conquered territories and fighting partisans. I have spent 150 PPs for each of the minors for 1 investment in infantry research, but all other minor PPs have gone into infantry. No air units at all, other than what they had at the beginning of the war. How your opponent could get 30 minor air units is something of a mystery to me.

We don't allow splitting in our game, so I have no knowledge about whether that can be done with air units.

[gwgardner]

May '42

The 'mop up' in the Caucasus continues. That may be an exaggeration because there are still substantial Soviet forces in the Caucausus - about 15 infantry corps, if my recon is correct.

The effort now, before the Summer campaigning season, is to cut the rail lines north and east of Stalingrad, and hold those rail lines.

The biggest concern for the Axis now is the US entry into the war. With the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in the last week of April, the US has unexplainably attacked Germany!

Here's the map around Stalingrad. With Volvodonsk secured, the engineering corps is hastily repairing and regauging rail lines to get maximum supply to the forces that will invest Stalingrad.