Adventures in Italy

[MikeJ19]

Do you need to take Rome - I know all roads lead to it, but you might find it better to bypass it and cut off supply to Ian's troops in the city.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: MikeJ19
Do you need to take Rome - I know all roads lead to it, but you might find it better to bypass it and cut off supply to Ian's troops in the city.

Just bypass the city and seal it off with the enemy troops inside the pocket. Yeah, that could be done I suppose but what's the plan after that? I was planning on zooming north along the length of Italy until I get to the front lines in France. I could be wrong but it seems to me that all the major rails heading north pass through Rome and I'm going to need those rails for supply. At last one unbroken rail leading north along the coast I guess. It'll take about two months without any resistance at all to make that trek and folding in the resistance I'm guessing it's going to take the rest of the game. Or at least four months or so.

[MikeJ19]

Larry,

You are correct, it seems like the roads/rails all go through Rome - so you will have to move fairly quickly to clear Rome out. But if you have some units with lots of supply, they could bypass and drive North, while other units level the colosseum and the German units vacationing in the city. It is going to be difficult, but if you wait to capture the city, Ian may have time to build some more defence lines to slow you down.

Is it time to stop blowing the bridges ahead of you. Taking them out may cause you more problems than for Ian.

[devoncop]

26th July 1944

Whilst French citizens are fed blatant propaganda about the alleged collapse of the Germans South of Rome the citizens of Grenoble in the North East know different as their so called liberators from the US fled as German mountain troops reclaimed the city....

Further south another Allies assault on the lines West of Sevona is beaten back and a reinforcement Division arrives in the area.

South East of Rome a counter attack by KG Baumer on combat engineers is again halted by Allied airpower but more bridges are blown in the newly announced scorched earth policy by the Kesselring.

On the East coast multiple bridges are dropped by retreating German forces and in the centre delaying positions are prepared in the mountain passes.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: MikeJ19
Larry,

You are correct, it seems like the roads/rails all go through Rome - so you will have to move fairly quickly to clear Rome out. But if you have some units with lots of supply, they could bypass and drive North, while other units level the colosseum and the German units vacationing in the city. It is going to be difficult, but if you wait to capture the city, Ian may have time to build some more defence lines to slow you down.

Is it time to stop blowing the bridges ahead of you. Taking them out may cause you more problems than for Ian.

I hear you and I think you're right. The situation has changed as my troops in the middle areas are in persuit mode, chasing the Germans as the retreat, and I'm going to need those bridges if I'm going to have any hope of catching up with them. As such, Ian has been blowing the bridge as he passes over it on his way north. I still think blowing bridges in the north of Italy has merit though, to stiffle the flow or reinforcements to France if nowhere else. Thanks for posting your thoughts. It makes me think about what I'm doing. Sometimes I have to go back to the basics and think it through.

[devoncop]

30th July 1944

Save for a skeleton garrison Rome is abandoned as all essential formations are retreated by road and rail North either along the coast or towards the mountainous area towards Perugia.

More bridges are blown both around Rome and on the East coast where the Allies have yet to advance.

Albano was defended successfully by the Turkish based troops of 162nd Division left as a rearguard against probes by Polish Uhlans and US 1st Armoured elements but it will fall as we enter August.

Further reinforcements arrive in Genova to support the North Western Front on the French border and meanwhile mountain troops supported by armour push South from Grenoble and have met the US recon unit NE of Cuneo in the mountains.

4th FJ Divion arrived this turn though they won't be using parachutes any time soon ......

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the west side just as i ended the turn. I'm pushing and shoving and the
attacks have been short and sharp. The German units are backing up everywhere
and Rome is getting closer and closer.

[devoncop]

2nd August 1944

The evacuation of Rome is complete with every bridge blown and I now am constructing a couple of defence lines further north with the intention of buying time for reinforcements to fill out the Gothic Line.

The 34th Division has now started to arrive to bolster the French front.

Every turn playback sounds like Bonfire Night (or 4th of July for any US readers!) as Larry's bombers make hay blowing up northern Italian infrastructure and interdict anything that moves (or is even briefly considering moving)[:)]

I notice more and more troops still being shipped to France and I think the developments on that front could well be decisive in the game.

Just as I was about to continue my push from Grenoble I stupidly fired some artillery further south and failed a proficiency test [:(]

Turn off to Larry where he can celebrate marching into Rome......

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the west side just before I ended the turn. There's an attack or two scheduled
so there's going to be another combat round but not much will change. So this is what
it looks like more or less.

[devoncop]

6th August 1944

Rome still holds and more units reach comparative safety around the Gothic Line.

Several Flak units obliterated together with some JU88's that somehow escaped the earlier carnage

Serious Allied build up on French border.

We await Larry in the North

[hingram]

The Allied advance will be held hostage to supply. It's the brilliance of this scenario. I did a lot of recon with supplied units and replaced them with supplied units when they ran low. It's almost impossible to keep up with the busted rails.

I sent a division (4th Indian with a rail repair unit) to Grenoble and headed east. There was only one or two busted rails so the rail fixer returned to action elsewhere quickly. That opened up what seemed like another front above Toulon. The Axis was unable to deal with it. I would send any new divisions that appeared as reinforcements to Toulon because the Italian mainland was just over-saturated with units. I spent way too much time advancing units up the west road. The Americans are handling the east and center and not very well since I took their rail unit to Grenoble. I'm sure I am bypassing German units but I can mop those up later.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: hingram
The Allied advance will be held hostage to supply. It's the brilliance of this scenario. I did a lot of recon with supplied units and replaced them with supplied units when they ran low. It's almost impossible to keep up with the busted rails.

I sent a division (4th Indian with a rail repair unit) to Grenoble and headed east. There was only one or two busted rails so the rail fixer returned to action elsewhere quickly. That opened up what seemed like another front above Toulon. The Axis was unable to deal with it. I would send any new divisions that appeared as reinforcements to Toulon because the Italian mainland was just over-saturated with units. I spent way too much time advancing units up the west road. The Americans are handling the east and center and not very well since I took their rail unit to Grenoble. I'm sure I am bypassing German units but I can mop those up later.

Hingram dude....you outdid yourself again. Great reporting and sharp analysis. Thanks a lot for posting your verbage with so much detail. I'm finding things both similar and different at the same time. You sound like you're way ahead of where Ian and I are. Good for you. Don't you wish you were playing a person instead of the PO? I'm guessing of ccurse.

I find the Allies ARE held hostage to supply ( that was well put ) and yeah the front is moving faster than I can fix the rail for them. I shipped one of the dedicated RR engineers to Toulon to help repair the rail up there and he's working wonders so far.

I agree that the Italian mainland is clogged with units and that I need to ship a lot of them to France so as to enable an expedition to Grenoble and points east, like you did. And if you're bypassing a lot of German units to mop up later then it sounds like I need two Army Groups, one in France and one in Italy to take care of the mop up. I've got plans to send about 1/3 of the force to France and use the rest to mop up Italy, depending on conditions in the field of course. Some adjustment in that split may be needed. I have no problem moving all the short-ranged aircraft to France, a lot of them are there already.

I'm worried about the northern flank of Toulon. I keep seeing enemy units moving up there during the playback and I've got outposts that are coming under attack already and the two divisions that are in France are east of Toulon holding back the Germans on the one main road there is. So obviously I need more divisions in France to man the north regions. I'll send the American stuff and leave the British stuff in Italy.

[devoncop]

9th August 1944

Traitorous pro Allied Italian CIL Division units appear in the rear of the fixed 305th Infantry Division who continue to man the eastern extremity of the Gustav Line long after the rest of it has been abandoned much as Japanese troops were found still holding onto remote Pacific islands in the 1970's .

Next turn I get delivery of the true Italian 1st Bersaglieri Division by way of co-incidence just as the already cut off and doomed 3rd Panzer Grendadier Division elements in Rome are withdrawn.

In the far North east the advance eements of the Monte Rosa Division are surprised to find themselves locking horns in the mountain passes with the 1st Brazilian Expeditionary force....(Northern Italy is indeed some expedition[X(] !)

Larry meanwhile has a difficult political choice to make as he has to decide whether to give US 1st Armoured Division or 10th Indian Division the honour of evicting the last of the German rearguard still fighting in the very centre of Rome...Gen Mark Clarke has already been photographed polishing up his dress uniform.....but no pressure............[;)]

More bridges blown my me in the south and by Larry in the north....less interdiction problems this turn which was nice

[larryfulkerson]

Here's what it looked like when I received Ian's moves. I'm just about to invest Rome
and the Germans are attacking my outposts in France and it won't be long before the
Axis troops will defeat my outpost and start an advance on Toulon. I need to get more
people up there.

[devoncop]

13th August 1944

Lines remain remarkably static after the period of intense activity when the Gustav line was shattered.

The Waffen Grenadiers holding the very centre of Rome appropriately are fighting to to last soldier and it still hangs on in Axis hands.

In the north west the HQ artillery chips away at the Brazilians after their costly attack on Axis lines. There is some desultory artillery fire in Rome where US engineers are targeted given the bridge problem Larry will find...

The 1st Bersaglieri Division begin to arrive but are hampered by interdiction moving from the north east.

Needless to say more bridges go "boom" and I now have my roadhump lines established between the Gothic Line and the central mountains north of the old Gustav Line area.

[larryfulkerson]

I just now discovered that I've got lots of early model B-25's on hand but no unit
flies them. And I can't assign them to a squadron, or disband them, or otherwise use
them somehow. If I can't use them why can't I ship them out to the Pacific...they
could use them. I need a unit that flies these things.

EDIT: Same situation with early model P-38's.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the T116 front lines after I've been moving units for a while. Rome is defended
by one last German unit ( now is 3-5 strengths, name: 81. WaffGrn Rgt.) and I've got
an infantry unit: US 442 RGT of the 5th Army and the 11th Ind Bd from the 4th Indian
Army delivering the surrender or else deal to the Germans.

In France the Germans keep shelling my defenders so I thought an attack was in order
to see if I can't break his line in two and step into the hole. An attack is scheduled.
I wonder whether or not I'm through breaking bridges because there's a lot of them down
and there's not a lot of long-range railroad movement going on.

All the planes are in the green and I've got the INT turned up high and there's about 8
squadrons on CS and maybe 6 on AS and everybody else is INT ( about 16 or so ). I'll
do a picture to show you..

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the mission, location, health, and relative strength of the aircraft as they
are configured right now. I've been assigning CS planes to specific attacks so that
I can rely on there being some CS for the attack, sometimes when you don't assign
planes to an attack there's no CS flown and it's not easy to discern why not. I've
got a lot of the P-51's on INT because we have an overage of AS at the moment. I've
been doing airfield strikes whenever I can find a really good target. Some light
bombers parked on a field tha has no AA and no fighters just begs to be struck.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's that scheduled attack in France. Ian has broken down at least one of his units
and one of the pieces of a unit is in a hex by himself and I think I can push him back
with my highly trained battle-hardened veterans. Frirst we make a hole and then step
into it and then do a three-cornered attack to widen the hole and mame a path for the
follow-on forces to pass and we're on our way.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the results of the first attack. I'm going to do it again to see if it will
back up anytime soon.