Turns 53-54: 1 July – 13 July 1944
T53 started with much the same pattern of AI moves and deployment as T52. It is heavily dug in around my landings in the Netherlands and still contesting Normandy. My air response is much the same, 9 Air does interdiction strikes in the Netherlands, 2 Tactical Air in Normandy. Most of 8 Air and Bomber Command are also on various forms of interdiction behind the immediate front line. Bomber Command carries on with night raids at Magdeburg. 15 Air is still bombing Ploesti into the ground and goes for the PzIV factories at Steyr [1]
This time my air losses are a fair bit higher, both destroyed and damaged.
As in the last turns, my strategic raids led to heavier losses among the German interceptors than among my own escorts. Equally there is intense air action over the Netherlands but I have the skies over Normandy to myself.
Steyr is reduced to rubble and Magdeburg takes more damage.
In the Netherlands, I land my last HQ formations and a single tank division (till I get a port I don't want to create heavy supply demands). Reinforce my units facing Dordrecht and send a single Infantry Division over to liberate Walcheren.
Normandy sees a massive breakout, again seemingly powerful defensive stacks just fall apart in combat.
The three armoured divisions of British XII Corps create a narrow corridor towards Mortain all but cutting off the German units still on the peninsular.
Finally, nothing happens in Italy. I've slowly followed a limited German withdrawal but no attacks since the Rome battles in late winter.
Here, I think is a rare instance of the AI making a mistake. It clearly has far too many units screening my front, not enough to launch an offensive but far too many just to defend. It may be that my relentless rail bombing has reduced its capacity to move but I think those units would be more use in France?
Turn 54, and the VP situation is still negative, reflecting ground losses and much less attention being paid to the strategic air war.
In Normandy, I create one corps with the bulk of the Allied heavy artillery (and lots of engineers in the assigned rifle divisions). I'll use this to take out the coastal ports, not least I really need Cherbourg.
But the big news on T54 is that the Germans are on the run from Normandy. A sensible choice given the ease of my victories and that they were threatened with a massive encirclement.
In response, I rest most of 2 Tactical Air, try to set up some interdiction efforts around some escape routes and allow 8 Air to return to strategic bombing in the Ruhr. 15 Air has run out of targets in Romania so shifts to S Germany.
Losses are down reflecting the lower intensity of air operations. I lose 387 (1118 damaged) and shoot down 255 (241 damaged). Again contesting the strategic air raids costs the Luftwaffe a lot of planes.
In France, 2 British Army takes control of the bulk of the armoured divisions and, supported by Paratroop drops, crosses the Seine and liberates Paris. 1 US Army is protecting the rear areas and will send some formations to besiege the Atlantic ports.
Looking at the strategic resources, German oil stores are starting to dip
They have lost about 1,000 AFV (net) in the last 4 weeks
In Italy, I'm afraid that Anna decided she was bored waiting for the Allies to do something, so undertook her own offensive with disastrous results
[1] – having done so much damage to the Pzr divisions, I'd like to stop them rebuilding if I can
