Case Yellow Olivier34 Allies vs Keunert

[Barthheart]

ORIGINAL: olivier34

Hi Barthheart,
Keunert told me he was playing a game with you as the Allies too.If you are the one who taught him how to play the german as he does, you must know something that we could do ![;)] or does it mean that there is clearly no chance to win this scenario ?

Nope I think we are truely sunk. I haven't played the Allies enough to find a winning strategy yet.

A question about your game. How is the air war doing ? Have you tried to save your fighters, keep them in reserve for the final round ?
Have you been abble to counter attack in some way ?

I saved my air for very few attacks. Some worked ... some Keunert clearly set his own traps.

Overall my big mistake in our games was not running away soon enough. I had him stopped for several days but then he broke through and I'm having a real hard time escaping his pockets.

Also Keunert has played very well and hasn't made any mistakes that I can tell.

[Keunert]

Olivier avoided any pockets so far and we are in the endgame. what he did and what i think is always a tough decision while defending is to leave some units in well defendable keypoints behind: cities with important rail cunjunctions. for the attacker it is to decide to assault them early to get supply paths and railtransport early but with high losses or leave them to artillery and hunger for a round or two and finish them off later with low costs. but that takes time and you have to keep infantry units behind for the assault.

Because of Oliviers tendency to concentrate armour in places where the german oob has none i commited one panzer division to the south. in hindsight this was a mistake. they did not do much good there and the Luftwaffe was more than able to keep the french DLRM in check. but my inability to form decisive pockets would not have changed: i never had too few tanks it was the fast pull back that was preventing me from doing so.

again compared to Barthheart it is interesting to watch how the allied losses now start to mount faster as we get into open terrain. my current guess is that pulling back early forces you to fight where the terrain is worst for the defender, while fighting early buys you time at the cost of huge pockets.maybe both strategies lead to the same result: a historical outcome.

[olivier34]

23 MAY
Yes Keunert; it is a costly decision to let good units behind just to hold key rail jonction areas when you know that they will be isolated in two turns and after that won't be abble to resist and mostly surrender...but I hope that it did at least slow part of your infantry and maybe affect the supply deliver to your panzers.
I would have wanted to fight forward...retreating at the good time was the key and the line of front is now shorten and my reinforcement arrives more quickly.

[olivier34]

23 MAY
Belgium should stay in the game a few more days.
I received a fresh new infantry [;)]

[olivier34]

24 MAY
Not a few days, only two more and Belgium will capitulate. First time that I did this strategy to evacuate Liege, the Albert Canal by rail or by foot and only fight for Antwer and Brussel. I thought that Belgium may lose morale faster than that. Without the help of the Allies, they will have resist until the 25 or 26th of May. Not bad.

[olivier34]

Luftwaffe in action : [:@] Very irritating...Hope that in case blue, the Luftwaffe won't act with impunity.

[olivier34]

25 MAY
One more infantry (another one the 23th...).
I have done a little reorganisationof my army. The III corps has taken the control of three reserve infantry div around Soissons.

[olivier34]

25 MAy.
I will fight for Cambrai. No more retreat now.[:-]

[olivier34]

26 MAY
I like to hold Cambrai two days at least

[olivier34]

26 MAY, Cambrai
The british arty now fire at any germans and does quiet well. I will move two arty corps rgt around Hem to close the road to Soissons (a city that I don't want to lose)

[olivier34]

27 MAY. Belgium capitulates to the ennemy
The panzers have crossed the Canal St Quentin a little south despite the arty fire and now attack toward Bapaune were I have put a rgt of the DLM1 with heavy tanks.

[olivier34]

28 MAY,
Near Bapaume the fight is intense. 5 air stikes have hammered this sector.

[olivier34]

28 MAY, near Hem (a rgt in the city and also very well fortified. The 2nd motorised don't give the assault, why that ? [:D]

[olivier34]

29 MAY
Germany has now 62 VPs.
Dunkerke 1, Calais 2, Boulogne 1 and Arras 1 = 5 vps that Keunert will take without a fight. So 67 vps...[8|]
Reims, Noyon, Amiens, Abdeville. I have to hold two of those citys until the end of June 8th. This is "mission impossible"...let's try to resist until the 5th of June.

[olivier34]

29 MAY

[olivier34]

29 MAYBa

[olivier34]

30 MAY

[olivier34]

31 MAY

[olivier34]

1er Juin. 8 more days. At least Keunert won't take Paris or Rouen (Hope so !)

[olivier34]

1er Juin