An interesting turnout against allied AIs

[MilesNoctis]

I didn't intend to AAR this scenario originally, it being more of a testbed for me to get to know ATG a bit better, but some recent events in it have proven to be quite interesting.

Without much further ado, here's the scenario itself. Still have the .at2 file, btw.:

[MilesNoctis]

And the initial minimap. The Soviet and British regimes are allied normal AIs.

[MilesNoctis]

On to the situation. I found this to be a rather peculiar map, since I had less territory than either of the other two regimes, but had the advantage of a short and defendable border, save for the few desert hexes. As such, I immediately advanced with my starting forces and began a buildup and strategic transfers to fill up the red line before the AIs have time to mobilize. I also built a rail link to the isolated oil well and raw resource in the south.

Although I could successfully use the jungle terrain to defend against the combined AI armies (only lost 1 hex - the jungle salient), I was forced on the defensive from the outset. I mounted a shortlived offensive in the desert but the AI quickly moved in reinforcements, checked the attack, built a railroad to supply itself and then forced me to abandon the offensive Spätlese-style, separating the tanks from their panzergrenadiers to stem the flood. I eventually contained them with fortifications in the desert, but stalemate set on on that front too, with neither my growing heavy artillery nor my divebomber force being sufficient.

[MilesNoctis]

It was then that something transformational occurred. Upon loading my turn, I noticed the AI left the blue hex with only a single unit of x14 armored cars, while I had 3 LT IIs in the hex directly south of it, for defensive purposes. I immediately counterattacked the ACs, and seeing that no major enemy force was in the vicinity, opted to leave them in the hex.

The next turn, I was surprised to see an undefended British heavy arty stack west of that hex. My panzers forced it to retreat to Kungur, and followed them to the suburbs, and I sent in some reinforcements in too to develop the breakthrough. Miraculously, the AI did not reinforce Kungur and the tanks proceeded to take the town on the next turn.

Then I realized that with Kungur taken, the only way the mass of Soviet units in the region could be supplied was the Nottingham-Minneapolis railroad. Not having much to lose, I embarked some of my starting units in my northern port cities with an HQ and engineers, and landed them to sever it. Although AI airpower sank one of my fleets, which killed the HQ and the engineers as well, leaving my units out of supply, I landed them nevertheless. Now the enemy is in total disarray and my tanks are close to relieving the remnants of the landed forces still holding out in the rough.

Fun turn of events indeed.