Turn 9:
Well I get a good going over from Allied armour around Huntsville and as expected two of my divisions are out of supply but nothing's actually dead and now I'm very much over the river here. Actually this turn I'm outgunned by the Allies as there are three fresh armoured divisions here this turn in addition to the three battered ones, as well as plenty of infantry and artillery, but I have a huge chunk of infantry coming up at the limit of its move which will either dig in on the line or be ready to fight from the start of next turn. My panzers are also coming up, and I add another division this turn
My shoestring offensive into Virginia (I have about four divisions here, all infantry) is also going well. Jeremy only has a screen on the southern border of the state, and I'm able to brush enough of it aside to threaten cutting off one division- in fact this is achieved with another bridge strike in the unit's rear.
Over in the west, I find the Arkansas crossings lightly held by newly formed infantry: two will be assaulted this turn but the blown bridges don't carry supply so I'm wary of busting over these right now, with my engineers not quite able to get onto the river this turn. Both defenders fold instantly and I decide, to hell with it, I'm crossing over. There's a lot of hexes between the Arkansas and the Missouri and Jeremy has to, first, realise my supply is vulnerable and, second, block them properly if he wants to put these guys out of supply completely. I'll take that bet- and it puts 2. Panzer adjacent to Memphis. This ought to give Jeremy a fit as I'm absolutely not supposed to be in this part of the map at this point in the scenario, but it's not actually on my hit list: the real point is to get the bridge just east of Poplar Bluff. I'm sure Jeremy will spoil the party but I am within one turn's drive of this location. I don't see his western reserve: I wonder if it's still at Oklahoma City?
To my somewhat surprise, Jeremy abandoned Montreal. I think he's pretty proud of locking me out of the northeast and to be fair I now have a challenge as to how I keep this great big Allied army from melting away off to the real battlegrounds in the south: he'll have a division fortified in every hex in rough terrain behind rivers. There MIGHT be a weakspot east of Montreal, which I hit this turn with my infantry- getting through the first couple of hexes it does look like there's an opportunity here and I'll keep pressing, while in the meantime I start work clearing Montreal. By the end of the turn, I see fresh air in the Allied rear. Should I be looking at an airdrop here next turn...?
Jeremy's inspired me: I figured out a use for Japanese aircraft (which arrived a couple of turns ago) before I'm ready to land the Japanese armies (which won't be for a very long time): bombing rail bridges. Just one rail bridge approaches Vancouver from the east, and only three approach Seattle from the southeast. Knock out all four and 1) this sector drops to low supply and 2) the Allies can't rail troops directly to the beaches. Apart from anything else, this ought to put the wind up Jeremy and make him consider moving engineers or fighters over here. I managed to get all of them in a single turn. I have the vague idea that this isn't really how the scenario is supposed to go, though, so I suggest to Jeremy that I can quit it if he wants.
A nice bloody turn in Tennessee. Multiple rounds of combat in open terrain and most of Jeremy's units are trash (though he still has good armour over in Alabama). 12th Armored actually evaporates in the line of combat, and this unit was unsupplied so all those tanks are gone. He's going to have to fall back here or I'm really going to tear him up next turn, and in any case he'll need the remains of this force to hold the Ohio- certainly he can't withdraw troops from the northeast, not yet. Six industrial cities down puts Allied replacements at 53%; Allied replacements increase next turn but I'm likely to get Montreal which makes 72%. He ought to sit on that level for a while as it will take me a few turns to capitalise on Birmingham, Mobile, New Orleans and Norfolk: those four by turn 19 make 47% then 71% again on turn 20. This is just as well as the Allied loss penalty remains fairly low at 52.
Unopposed panzertruppen lunge for the Mississippi crossings
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