Allied Steamroller

[alexvand]

I've always known that the Allies can really do some damage in a turn, but I haven't really seen it in the games I've played. Usually the late war is more attritional with a bloodbath on both sides, but not this game. The attached picture is from M/J 1944. The allies have hurt Germany terribly. They've managed to stop the allies just inside Poland, Romania, and on the border of Belgium, but has cost them, and while they have some reinforcements on the way, they lost an awful lot in one turn. (Keep in mind that the allies spent 5 O-chits this turn. 2 on super-combineds and 3 on land offensives.)

[davidachamberlain]

A view of the map might be nice, as well, to get a better appreciation.

I have never seen that much damage in one turn that is so lopsided. Usually, there are heavily fortified fronts on the rivers and mountains making for low odds, so that much good luck is extreme.

Dave

[alexvand]

O-Chits and Engineers helped breach the river lines, and a lot of luck in the air over the previous 3 turns. The Allies have air superiority on every front by a substantial margin because the air battles have been really lopsided. Plus the Russian's have built all their ART units. All those ground strikes getting through create a lot of bonuses to the attacks.

[AlbertN]

Usually at that stage Germany is toast. And if in summer '44 the Soviets are in Poland already, the winter won't stop them due to their winterized units.
At least in Europe it looks like a neat Allied victory.

[alexvand]

Pacific isn't much better for the Axis. Japan is holding the China Sea still, but is under threat everywhere else. Allied units advancing in Manchuria, on Singapore, Saigon, Batavia, Manila, and the Chinese launching attacks in China. The USA has taken the Iwo Jima and the other islands that border on the China Sea. I suspect that by S/O 44 the US will have air superiority on all the sea zones around Japan. N/D for sure.

First game I've played with oil as the Axis and boy does it make the axis weaker!

[ezzler]

iI remember a board game play one time.
Germans were at Stalingrad and right through the south heading for Persia. In North Russia they were way past Leningrad and Moscow.
Then a Russian winter offensive knocked the whole line out. Germans had so many casualties the front wasn't stabilised for 6 months. And when it was it was it was hundreds of miles back. Almost to Poland and Romania.

I remember the Luftwaffe never built another 3 bomber or transport after those losses as fighter losses had been so huge they could never afford them.
This was 1943.