AAR taffjones vs Mika

[LLv34Mika]

Let us begin with a short summary:

France was able to destroy a German tank. One German U-Boat was located and sunk in the first days of war. That possibly saved many ships that brought important war goods from the Commonwealth.

In the Mediterranean theatre the Reggia Marina lost two big ships and one light cruiser in the last days before France had to surrender. The German Luftwaffe then begun to bombard la Valetta while the Italians set up a blockade. Again the British rushed in for help and could sink some surface ships again. But this time the Germans and Italians were able to launch a counter attack that inflicted heavy losses too including one carrier. All in all the Allies are still in a good position when it comes to comparing the losses of ships.

In north Africa the Italians pushed east pretty soon. The British had to retreat but as soon as the reinforcements arrived and were upgraded with modern equipment the tide turned. In one bold move the British were able to destroy the Italian tanks and two armies. Now it were the Italians that had to retreat. But low on supply and always with British forces behind them they were too slow and suffered heavy losses one by one. Finally they got captured in Tobruk just when the "Afrika Korps" arrived.

Now the British can fortify at Tobruk and delay the German attack. Let us see how that works.
The British Island seems to be safe so far. Interceptors are ready to fight but intelligence shows that most of the Luftwaffe is still in southern Italy and trying to capture Malta. The brave men at the AA guns are trying there best to inflict heavy damage to German bombers. Now we have January 41 so it might be too late for the Germans. Launching "Operation Seeloewe" as soon as the rain and storms end probably takes too much time. According to our spy in Berlin German has plans to attack in the east. If the Germans manage to get a foot on British soil it will be a long fight and will not end soon enough to be ready for a war in the East. But who knows that the "Oberkommando der Wehrmacht" really is about to do.

Statistics show that axis forces suffered more losses than expected by the Allies. This war is not won and it will still last for some years but the British are confident to win.

[taffjones]

Sorry everyone but I'm not that computer literate to post screen shots and draw on maps etc, but I will comment to try and add a bit of interest to the ARR

From the Axis side
The invasion of Poland went well and on time, during the winter our troops transferred to the western front ready to deal with the French and British.
We declared War on Holland (but I forgot to have my Para's in prepare mode) so it took two turns to defeat Holland, Belgium Joined the Allies and French and British troops rushed forward to assist in the defence of Belgium.
All our Panzer and Mech troops with air support smashed through the defences and headed straight towards Paris. One of our Panzer corps overextended its self and was destroyed by French counter attacking forces.

At sea we sent additional U-boats to raid the convoy lines, hoping to reduce British MPP's. This turned out to be a disaster as the Royal Navy located and destroyed all but 1 of the raiders, the surviving U-boat headed off to raid off Africa, but last turn this was also discovered and will surely be destroyed on the Allies next turn.

In North Africa
The Italians advanced early hoping to catch the British forces off guard. Initially it went well, but the British sent what seems to have been 50% of the RAF to Egypt combined with better weapons and the reinforcements. They smashed the Italian forces, just as the DAK arrived.

Rommel has set up Defensive positions around Tripoli, until Malta can be dealt with.
In a bold move to restore Italian prestige Mussolini ordered the invasion of Tunisia, this has also given Rommel some space to withdraw into if needed when the British resume their advance. For two turns after their stunning victory over the Italians, they have been drinking Tea and topping up their sun tans. We don't think Churchill will allow this to continue much longer.

[Zecke]

[;)]

[LLv34Mika]

June 41

The British took Benghazi but lost Malta. Finally the combined attacks of the reggia marina and the German Luftwaffe were successful. At least that was later than expected.

Stalin is still convinced that his "friend" will not attack. The British are expecting an invasion in the next days or weeks. That will finally show the US that there will be no peace in Europe until Germany is defeated.

Even tough convoy routes seem to be safe for now since another U-Boat was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean near the Canary Islands the British people are not safe yet. News have spread that the Swedish government turns towards the Axis more and more. As it seems there is no way to pursuade the Swedes to maintain their neutrality.

North Africa is under control. At least from Egypt to Benghazi. Advancing too fast may be dangerous because the Afrika Korps might still be out there just waiting for an opportunity to launch a fast and devastating attack. Risking to lose all ground that the British fought so hard for is not worth the useless terrain we could gain. If the Germans attack in North Africa the British will be prepared. If the Germans evacuate the Africa Korps to Europe again to use the troops on the eastern it is also ok. We will find out soon.

British fighters are still waiting for the Luftwaffe but as it seems the German bombers were busy with bombing Malta. May be now it is too late to start a Battle for Britain. All in all Mr. Churchill is optimistic. It will be a long war and it will depend on how the Soviets will delay any German advance.

[taffjones]

News flash 8th July
Berlin announces that the decisive battle in the east has began.
This morning German and her allied forces from Romania and Hungry launched a surprise attack on the USSR after intelligence was received that Stalin planned to attack the Reich.
German and allied forces have smashed the Russian frontier forces along the border areas, some pockets of resistance remain, but our forces are close to Kiev and advancing on Minsk.

In the Mediterranean area of operations
Malta has fallen to our forces, after a combined assault from German air and Italian navel forces.
In North Africa, the British awoke from their sleep and finally took a undefended Benghazi and sent a reconnaissance unit to probe Rommel's DAK positions. This unit was swiftly destroyed by the panzer corps Africa.
Rommel has pleaded with the OHK to leave most of the air assets in the Mediterranean to help him combat the heavy British air presence in the area, but with the decisive battle in the east having been launched his request has been refused and all available air units are being redeployed.

At Sea
The Royal Navy is ruling the waves, destroying the remaining U-boat raiding the convoy lines.
Also intercepting a Italian sub just off Algiers on a reconnaissance mission to discover what if any navel assets Britain had around Gibraltar, especially any amphibious troopships, trying to take advantage of the lowered Italian moral and force a landing on Sicily. This might be a blessing in disguise making the British think we were going to invade Algeria as well as Tunisia.

Diplomacy
Von Ribbontoff is the Toast of Berlin, persuading Sweden to join in the fight against the communist USSR.
He is also working his charm on Franco with Spain at 57% and climbing. (No need to invade Algeria and further distance Vichy France and Syria from joining in the fight against the communists)

[LLv34Mika]

Juli 41

Germany declared war on the USSR. Public opinion in the US is swinging more and more towards the Allies. People read news of a dictator declaring war on nations one by one. More and more people see the stringend necessity to stop the Axis agression.

In the mediterranean theatre there was a surprise. Even tough Italian propaganda is spreading news that an Italian submarine was scouting for British forces trying to capture Algeria the truth is somewhat different. Yes, there was an Italian submarine scouting near the coast. And yes, that submarine was sunk. But what the Italians forgot to mention was that there were no British forces. Instead the Royal Navy spotted an Italian army in amphibious transports ready to land in Algeria. Algeria is safe for at least some more weeks. We will see if the war hungry Axis will try to ambush another nation soon. Maybe UK can not help Algeria but it will be necessary to delay any Axis attempts to attack.

Meanwhile GB is enjoying safe convoy routes and is building more and more planes and is raising one corps/army every few weeks. The danger of an invasion is becoming lower every day. Especially because Germany seems to seek a deceisive victory on the eastern front.

Will this give the UK enough room to breathe? Will they pull the USA to their side fast enough to have a strong ally at their side? At least the USA already started to support the USSR via Vladivostok but on the other hand Axis raiders and U-Boats are active again and attacking merchant ships sailing to Murmansk. Hard to protect both - the mediterranean sea and the north atlantic.

[LLv34Mika]

late summer 1941

The German advance is slowing down. ...for now. Russia will raise men as fast as possible, build tanks in huge numbers, will build planes faster then ever before and will increase research at all costs. In 1942 the Axis forces will expect much more resistance. But it is clear that the next push eastwards will come with no less power than the first. The Germans will pull together their forces and the headquarters will raise the morale and readiness of the troops.

In France a small British expedition captured a small town. British forces will disrupt supply and go for easy targets. New U-Boats were spotted at St. Nazaire. The ships will be hunted as soon as they leave the port. Let's see if they dare to leave the coast. Attacking there is an option too but depends on German air cover.

The biggest problem is that German ships are raiding the convoy routes to Murmanst. It is very risky to chase the Germans in the icy waters around Norway and Finland. They have ports in Narvik and maybe in Finland soon if they join the Axis. The British have nothing up there. Is the Kriegsmarine luring the British into a trap?

North Africa is still contested. The DAK is staying in the western part of the Italian colonies. The Axis already conquered Tunisia but Italian forces were sunk in their amphibious landing ships on their way to Algeria. Despite their war propaganda it was sure that an attack on Algeria was imminent. Since this plan was thwarted the Axis decided to make the slow approach and declared war on Algeria. Axis forces crossed the border in Tunisia going east. The British are still discussing the best reaction. Is Algeria worth sending troops to defend the country? Is there any chance to be successful? Would it be better to use forces to distract the Axis elsewhere? Or should the British continue their march west from their position near Benghazi?

The next weeks can decide the war. Will the winter in Russia slow down the Germans? Will it be enough to have time to build an army large enough to deal with the Axis forces? Will the US join the war soon enough? And will the DAK start an offensive and push back the British or is the DAK after the defeat of the Italian forces too weak to

[Zecke]

boring

[LLv34Mika]

Thank you for the feedback [;)]

Any suggestions? Want more graphs? Less or more text? Or do you want to start a game and post AARs too so I can see what you mean?

Anyway - here the latest news

Two more subs sunk a bit north of Portugal und two German heavy cruisers sunk near Murmansk. One raider is still sinking merchants but I think taffjones knows that his Kriegsmarine is gone. Italy and Germany lost 21 ships so far. Only 5 losses for the Royal Navy. The battle for the Atlantic is over. Axis powers will never gain the upper hand again without spending so much MPPs for subs and ships that the war in the east will be lost.

That takes much pressure from the western allies!
In north Africa Algeria is still contested. German forces push towards Algier and destroyed one Corps. It is nothing but the desperate attempt to delay the enemy. On the other hand Rommel lost another army while Montgomery only lost a Corps.

It is winter 1941, the troops from Sibiria just arrived, Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad are still well protected, Egypt and Iraq are still sending their convoys and the USA will join the war in the next few months. All in all it is still looking good.

Somehow I have the strong feeling that taffjones bought some U-Boats. I have sunk 5 so far and one more is diving from depth charge bombardement right now. The last U-boats were new Type VIIc boats (tech level 2). Not sure how much more will come. But with all those subs sunk so far it was a very poor investment.

[LLv34Mika]

September 1942

The Allies made a few attempts to get rid of the last few Germans in North Africa but Rommel is heavily protected by his tank force and the Luftwaffe crushing everything that comes close enough. Reducing the pace seems logic since the Allies are collecting around 1800MPPs every turn.

The war in the east is going slower and slower every turn and after the winter months several new units will be available and ready to hold the position instead of just moving back as slow as possible.

Meanwhile British and US forces are crawling east from Casablanca to liberate Algier. The Italians are still holding their position but US ships already started the blockade and battleships opened fire to reduce the supply.

The Kriegsmarine is only a shadow of the past. They lost so many subs and surface ships that they will play no significant role in the next 24 months. Every investment would be useless and the Axis would miss those ressources on their other fronts.

With London and Cairo well protected, US raising forces every month and the USSR growing stronger and stronger and catching up with development the Allies feel very comfortable to see the tide turning in 1943. ...but let's see what taffjones is planning.