Revanchism in Europe (PBEM gwgardner vs Chocolino)

[Chocolino]

ORIGINAL: gwgardner

I'm trying a couple of things differently this time with the Soviets. I waited till I got armies to start buying infantry, and I made sure every unit I had was upgraded fully before you invaded. And of course, I'm trying the retreat tactic.

Right now it's looking like I should have bought more infantry earlier! But I don't care if you get to the Urals, this time it's fight to the bitter end.

The Wehrmacht isn't as strong this time around. So the bitter end will likely be in Berlin.

I believe the complete withdrawal strategy is very strong. It essentially denies Germany several weeks of summer fighting (incl the assumed Soviet losses) and trades it for almost useless space. Germany may gain some production in exchange - but that is all.

[Chocolino]

6-20-41

The Finns approach Leningrad with 3 strong corps. We occupy Minsk without fight. Even Mogilev is open, but we cannot reach it.

There is a brief battle for Tallin and German troops approach the new Sorot line and Vitebsk. Losses on both sides are minimal so far.

[Chocolino]

6-20-41

In the south the Soviets have established themselves behind the Dnieper and we can take Odessa and Kiev for free.

There are of course Soviets lurking in the Pripyet marshes and German troops try to clear them out. We should have probably split a German corps into divisions to completely seal the marshes off. At least the Soviets won't get to attack any unprotected air bases if they raid our supply lines.

[Chocolino]

6-20-41

The British are very serious about taking Syria - and they are right in my opinion.

The RM tries to open the supply lanes to Beirut but the sea battle of the Eastern Mediterranean is a non-entity. There are some smaller damages and that is all.

[Chocolino]

6-20-41

The British are still busy cutting the Algerian southern railroad with ZOC. It takes an over-proportional amount of Italians to protect it. But actual fighting/attacking away from the coast in these mountains is futile and only benefits the defender. So it is all posturing for now on both sides.

[Chocolino]

7-4-41

The Soviets have no space to fall back against the Finns near Leningrad. Finnish troops conquer the hex next to Leningrad which may come in handy if Germany manages a siege of the city.

German troops also need to fight to cross the Sorot south of Pskov.

[Chocolino]

7-4-41

In the center we occupy Mogilev and Vitebsk. It will be difficult to advance much further next turn since we wait for railroads to repair and supply to come forward.

[Chocolino]

7-4-41

The first prominent casualty of the war is Albert Kesselring who was killed while leading troops fighting the Soviets in the Pripjet marches. This was the first action he saw in this war - and it is a major blow to our campaign in the east since he is one of our two top commanders.

Otherwise Axis troops just march east as fast as they can and the tanks have to wait for the infantry to catch up.

[Chocolino]

7-4-41

Just for completeness - as expected the UK took Syria from the hapless two Italian corps.

All fleets returned to port as there was no point to hang around any longer.

[Chocolino]

7-18-41

There is only one Russian straggler still in the Pripjet marches and the first German Panzerkorps crossed the Dnieper near Kiev.

[Chocolino]

7-18-41

We occupied a second hex next to Pskov which is a defensive barrier on the road to Leningrad and has to be taken next. Germans are also just outside Smolensk and Velikie Luki.

The main group of German armor near Vitebsk is on hold order. Oil is not the issue (100% full). But supply is still in a repair mode and we don't have enough infantry units in the area to protect a further breakthrough anyways.

German troops are stretched thin already. Luckily several new units are in the pipeline ready to join in just a few weeks. The strategic bombing campaign of the Allies as been crippling and the effects of delayed production can be seen here.(Good that this is toned down in newer versions of the game). At least AA fire has been more effective lately. Axis air defense chiefs were already under severe public scrutiny.

[Chocolino]

8-1-41

After having dispatched the Italians in Syria, the whole wave of British troops is swapping back west towards Tobruk - not entirely unexpected. Looks very ominous. At this point Germany has decided that it will not commit troops in North Africa. It would compromise the East Front even further. So the Italians are on their own.

[Chocolino]

8-1-41

Germans are still working their way around Pskov in the north and have occupied Smolensk in the center. But the Russian front is firming up now. There are only local voluntary retreats.

[Chocolino]

8-1-41

Further south local German commanders report that the marshes are now clear of Russian units. A second crossing of the Dnieper has been achieved. The Russians also withdrew from Krivoi Rog which the Germans gladly occupied with its 10 production points. But at the extreme south we lack the strength to make any significant moves. German factories still spit out new land units - we are not even near to the logistics limit.

[gwgardner]

It should be noted that at this time, your AA is devastating against my strat bombers. Repeated strikes against Berlin, 2 AA, have never achieved more than one damage, vs many bomber losses. Same with strikes elsewhere. What those strikes do to German morale is a different story altogether ... we hope.

[Michael T]

Strategic Bombing was nerfed so much that I would not even consider beginning any such campaign until at least 1942.

It needed to be nerfed in 39/40. But the massive amount of free AA that was given to Germany was overkill. And the UK strat bomber should have been placed in the cue to arrive sometime in 41. Not substituted for a Medium.

[Chocolino]

ORIGINAL: gwgardner

It should be noted that at this time, your AA is devastating against my strat bombers. Repeated strikes against Berlin, 2 AA, have never achieved more than one damage, vs many bomber losses. Same with strikes elsewhere. What those strikes do to German morale is a different story altogether ... we hope.

I have noticed the uptick in British strategic bomber casualties and I actually reported on it for the week of 7-18-41:

At least AA fire has been more effective lately. Axis air defense chiefs were already under severe public scrutiny.

I think the majority comes from fighter response/interception and not AA fire. But AA fire has also been better than before - which was not a high bar to jump since it was close to zero during the early weeks.

[Chocolino]

ORIGINAL: Michael T

Strategic Bombing was nerfed so much that I would not even consider beginning any such campaign until at least 1942.

It needed to be nerfed in 39/40. But the massive amount of free AA that was given to Germany was overkill. And the UK strat bomber should have been placed in the cue to arrive sometime in 41. Not substituted for a Medium.

Unfortunately I did not receive the free AA since this game was started in V1.03. Strategic bombing was quite devastating for the Germans early on and is one of the reasons that my force is too small now - buying much AA was the other reason. At least now those guys actually hit something.

I understand the reason for toning it down from V1.03 - but agree - in the latest version the pendulum may have swung too much to the opposite side.

[Chocolino]

8-15-41

In the north we take the town of Pskov and a few other hexes. But it is getting already late in the summer and the Russians are too well entrenched in this difficult terrain to make a serious play for Leningrad.

The Finns are a bit adventurous on the far side of Lake Lagoda and hopefully bind a few Russian defenders away from the German front.

[Chocolino]

8-15-41

The Germans undertake a few attacks on the eastern side of the Dnieper near Gomel and Kiev. But it is not supported by many mobile units and it likely won't get far.

After Kesselring a Russian General (Rokossovsky) joined the ranks for the deceased top commanders. He actually lost his live near Novgorod but I forgot to mention it in the previous report.

I don't recall his stats and hence cannot say if he is a severe loss for the Russians - he is certainly better than the generic "subordinate" that they have.