Expanded Allied Air HQ

[kentkroeckel]

This will be an informal AAR on 1943-145 grand campaign with all parameters set as normal and 100%. No EFC and the scenario option is (Expanded Allied Air HQ).

Axis is being played by Mr. Metalist and Allies by Mr. Kent.

This scenario does have some oddities. There are no British static divisions in England but this has little impact on game play. One significant difference is that any Allied air HQ can fly any mission; unlike in a traditional grand campaign. In that, only select air HQ's are able to conduct strategic air missions.

Mr. Metalist has a very effective way to neutralize Allied reconnaissance when it comes to positioning of the Luftwaffe. He moves aircraft from base to base and then conducts missions. Allies can only guess as to where aircraft are since there is no way to have accurate information. Mr. Metalist also uses all air bases on map, including Greece and Yugoslavia. This compounds the challenge for Allied bombing of Axis planes on the ground.

Below is results of turn one naval interdiction. all hexes the Allies traveled through were controlled. This includes amphibious and supply:

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Next is same of England. Notice control of sea from UK to transfer box:

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Allies had too many operational air losses so I will need to scale the air phase back in a few turns, at which point air units should be positioned. setup just takes longer when utilizing the full potential of WitW air phase along with expanded Allied air HQ. I cannot imagine doing a challenge with AI conducting the air phase.

Next picture is a screenshot of the air contact over some of Europe. many spots are double digits:

Final picture is of the recorded losses for Axis and Allies:

All for now and if you have question on how I set up the aircraft leave a response. I will answer it as best I can.
Happy gaming.

[kentkroeckel]

Wanted to expound on a few mistakes that I did with the Allies. I forgot to assign tactical bombers to ground targets on Sicily.

I assigned three support units to an invading division instead of two. I was tired and typing too fast. therefore, the British are invading on the beach next to Siracusa instead of the port / town. My bad! the Americans are still invading on Gela. My intention had been to invade the two ports so that the Task Forces could leave the next turn. Luftwaffe naval bombing is brutal. Yet my mistake forces me to use the beach now. One positive is that Allies will have unrestricted unit landing for follow up support. But to be clear, this was not my original intent. Yet all is not lost.

Note: when preparing initial invasion just assign two support units to divisions. But there is a way to circumvent the system and place three for delayed invasion units. I have used this often for second week units. after support unis have been assigned, then change location. After reset, the following turn a Task Force will be at 50+ invasion points and units will be at 40+ invasion points. That is enough for units.

[kentkroeckel]

I forgot to include screenshot of Sicily in previous post. Below shows how Allies failed to assign a target type for tactical bombers. No bombing. This picture also shows my mistake of assigning three support units to the British division that would have invaded the port of Siracusa.

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The reason of concern is this. Mr. Metalist and I played a grand campaign game in the fall of 2024. He used the Luftwaffe well, so any Task Force left on a a beach got pounded. Two turns is all I want to risk this early in challenge. A shortage of amphibious ship capacity haunted me during D-day last we met. If I remember correct, the last time I invaded Sicily was with two initial Task Forces, one for each port. The next turn I landed two more Task Forces on two more Sicilian ports. The final two Task Forces I used on Sardinia.

The end of Challenge left Germany with a minor victory, around -550 victory points. Axis were down to just a few cities so maybe they could have held out for another two weeks. Main thing is that we had so much fun playing and corresponding to each other.

I would love to write about how I changed the invasion but Germany has not finished turn 2 so need to be prudent.

[kentkroeckel]

This After Action Report will be structured a bit different than normal. Mr Metalist will be providing the Axis perspective while Kent will be providing the Allies. This way a complete game can be analyzed in one thread. Additionally, the Allied expanded air HQ can be commented by both of us at the same time. We will try to keep postings current but due to a competitive game, some information may be held back for a week or two, until it is no longer relevant.

the main goal of Mr. Metalist and myself (Kent) is that our AAR thread be informative and inviting to all who would like to ask a question about our challenge or the functions of WitW. Neither of us would claim to know all but there are some in the community who probibly have the answer.

[kentkroeckel]

There had been questions on previous threads about specialized support units. those are, airborne, mountain, and ranger type.

I have found it advantageous to use smaller air units for supporting airborne divisions. Allies are still able to break an airborne division into 3 heavy battalions but, a heavy airborne division is often effective.

The British have an air assault division. It is really good to use if you need to drop a division on a hex, with an airbase, that you just captured and need extra strength.

Mountain divisions. Their bonus is maximized with 3 mountain support units. Of course this only applies to mountain engagements.

The last specialized support unit is ranger / commando. Initially, some are attached to Task Forces in the initial Sicily invasion. Occasionally I will reassign some to help out in a followup invasion. However, sometimes I do not because the invasion will not probibly benefit from the effort.

One last thought on use of unique units. Armor divisions cannot be assigned to amphibious invasions but brigades and battalions can. I believe there are a few combat penalties but if the beach is open, why not.

[kentkroeckel]

Germany attacked and took the American invasion site of Gela on Sicily. This only leaves the British beachhead next to the port city of Siracusa. Mr Metalist is being aggressive with the Axis. Love it! At this point Allies do not know were the German units are on Sicily either. Reconnaissance will help.

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Next picture shows German sea control of the previous American invasion site. Some hexes are Axis-5. This needs to be reduced so that the retreat will not be too costly.

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The final picture shows what is left of the Allied sea protection bubble. It is still somewhat large around Sardinia, which will be helpful. Notice how well Axis have protected both coasts of mainland Italy. This prevents a supplied invasion for the Allies.

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Air losses for German air phase of turn 2 are: Axis 295 Allies 131.

Naval losses for the invasion are, 7 amphibious ships and 26 cargo ships. Allies need to keep watch on the pool of amphibious ships becasue it starts around 253 and only 4 amphibious ships are added each turn.

Now for turn 2, Allies.

[kentkroeckel]

There is much in setting up air parameters with Expanded air HQ. I have left experience on auto, which is 50. I have also set all HQ's for auto naval missions, utilizing any aircraft unsigned. Mission altitude has been set for max. this includes British missions at night. For the US there is a minor trade off. Air missions above 25,000 feet will be reduced a little in range but it does not seem to impact much. Escorts also have altitude limitations so need to be a good match. Three quarters of air missions have been created and the following pictures show setup.

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Next is of Mediterranean. Notice how Romania is also being attack.

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Strategic bombing days are set to cover every day of the week so that Axis get no rest. The pattern is 1,3,5,7 followed by 2,4,6.Every other strategic air mission is set this way. I also set percent of flying aircraft to 1% instead of 20% so that even an air wing that has just a couple planes will fly.

It goes without saying that air missions need to managed manually instead of auto. Load out alone requires this. Manual replacement is also required despite taking a hit of 3 morale points instead of 1 for auto replacement.

[kentkroeckel]

Losses for both air phases of turn 2 are: Axis 584, Allies 821. Doing this each turn creates huge air losses for both sides.

Below is picture of naval control for Sicily and Sardinia after Allied air phase. Most hexes that Allies will be traveling through will be under control.

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Sardinia is the second invasion, with the remaining 4 Task Forces. Allied concern will be for the German mechanized division that starts the game on Sardinia, as it can cause a problem when taking initial ports.

[kentkroeckel]

During combat Allies were able to take the port of Siracusa, thus relieving the pressure on beachhead. Can it be held is another thing though, now that the Axis know where the remaining landings were. Sardinia. Sicily may very well turn into a contested island. Allies are planning on Sardinia to fall after three weeks of isolating Italian, and possibly Germany units. Below are pictures of known Axis air and the invasion sites.

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Next turn will reveal if Axis are going to try to push Allies off Sicily, or do a slow defensive withdraw.

[Metalist]

Hi all.

I, as the Axis player, will occasionally share my thoughts on the game, but they won't be as detailed and helpful as Kent's posts. He is a rather aggressive player, especially in the air. I attach the amount of losses of our previous game to show this.

In our current game, first thing to do is to follow the meta and pull back air force from France to Germany. The next is just to react Allied ground moves. In Sicily, I saw an opportunity. In playing late war scenarios as Germany, weather in WIT E or W, one can immediately enter into a logic of constant withdrawal. But this is a mistake. It is important to hit where it is possible to slow down the enemy, and to complicate his plans. Seeing a rather weak lone infantry division motivated me to concentrate my mechanized forces for a push. I paid attention to make sure that they will have sufficient movement points to take defensive positions after the attack.

I did not expect Allies to hit Sardinia with such a massive force. It appears unlikely that I will be able to save the defenders of the island, only the 90th PzG division is gonna leave a scar, though.

I'd like to thank Kent for his massive aid in learning the air aspect of the game and hope that our current game will be as much fun (and tense!) as our previous one.

[kentkroeckel]

The Allied naval bubbles of control held well despite heavy Axis attack. Many sea hexes around Sardinia and Sicily are in the 3-5 range. Yet most kept Allies at a +2 level. One drawback is that even traveling in a controlled sea hex, damage can still occur if Axis also have numbers in it. Below are the sea control pictures.

Sardinia:

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Sicily:

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Finally of the whole Allied naval bubble:

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Victory points for turn 3 became more sustainable, at -4 Axis. 3 more amphibious ships were sunk but getting four per turn negates this loss. However, for game, Allies have loss 15, which is more than 4 per turn because only on turn 2 and 3 did I receive naval reinforcements. Means the Allied amphibious pool has shrunk by 7; now less than 250. Air losses for Axis phase are: Axis = 214, Allies = 82.

I will break up this turn 3 preliminary Allied report with the next section talking about what the ground situation is.

[kentkroeckel]

Sardinia is still isolated. Three ports were targeted directly. The port of Oristaro is located on west side of Sardinia and usually is not under much Axis naval patrol. Yet the 90 German mechanized division could have positioned there or one of its battalions could have. But this is not the case and the port landing was uncontested. The northern Sardinia port of Olbia was also not contested on the ground. yet this one can get attention from Axis player with sea interdiction. Yet enough Allied sea cover kept it isolated. The southern port of Cagliari can be challenging because it has a fortification at start of game. Not the case this time becasue the 90 German division or pieces did not situate there. No Axis naval effort either, which is often the case.

the port of Tortoli, which is located on east side of Sardinia, was the port with all the attention. Axis air naval was heavy and this is also where the complete 90 mechanized division ended up. The beach landing is next to this so even if Allied naval failed to keep 2+, Sardinia should still be isolated due to Task Force. One challenge is that the Task Force took serious damage. The same holds true for the Sicilian Task Forces. This intel is for Gestapo, (Mr. Metalist) because we are making this modified AAR in real time. The following picture is a closeup of the port and it is the top priority for Allies. All possible assets will be used to secure it. Land, sea, and air.

All of Sardinia:

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This is of the port Tortoli. The 90 German mechanized panzer and 184 Nembo Italian parachute division is located on it. Below and to the west is the 203 Italian Coastal division.

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The final part of the Allied preliminary report for turn 3 is Sicily. One picture for it. Germany units along with Italian are going to make a fight of it, getting next to and also penetrating into Allied contact line. Allies need to survive, push back so that there is maneuverability on beach. Tempting to go for side hexes on German panzer division but it has to be priority to expand beachhead.

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Now on to Allied air phase.

[kentkroeckel]

For both phases the air losses are: Axis 400, Allies 597. There were around 27,000 air sorties flown. I was not satisfied with initial setup so cleared it and set anew. It represents a long endeavor with Allied Expanded air HQ. Days are now a 5 pattern for strategic bombing. Below is the new attack of Europe

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Mediterranean

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with naval I have opted to keep much on auto intercept while also assigning a heaver Allied presence in key areas. there are five naval mission. I made them intercept several Axis ports to disrupt logistics.

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Next is picture of ground attacks:

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Allied air naval bubble after air phase is still adequate for what the Allies need to do.

[kentkroeckel]

Since Sardinia is isolated, Italian units usually surrender. that being said, the battle for Sardinia has not gone as well as Allies hoped for. 2 American infantry divisions attacked the final Axis port of Tortoli. the German 90 mechanized armor and Italian airborne division were greatly reduced so I felt it was worth following up with a British airborne division assault.

It did not end well. Though I figured even with unfavorable results, the British airborne division would retreat in the adjoining Allied hex. Nope! (Fatal airdrop Hex). Sucks. British units will never trust American High Command again. Ha.

Below is picture of Sardinia after combat.

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Next is Sicily. This little island is turning into a challenge for the Allies. However, the Herman Goering Panzer division was forced to retreat; thus opening up the beach for movement. Yet the German contact line remains firm. There is the other German panzer division along with the Shumalz armored brigade, which is near a division in strength; holding strong. Time is on the Allies side and also on the German side. Each week the Task Force is being hammered but each week brings Italian surrender closer. Truly a tossup in value of Sicily for both sides.

Below is combat results:

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[kentkroeckel]

I wanted to explain the reasoning of the British airborne drop. the Axis have one port left on Sardinia, which is Tortoli. If Allies took the port on turn 3, then beach Task Force could have been moved to safety. Allies had brought in a second division for this purpose and there was naval ship support. Still, not enough to overcome the 90 German mechanized division. The Italian airborne division could have made the difference when the followup airborne drop was made. Much for the British to overcome. Allies should have sufficient resources for taking Tortoli on turn 4.

[kentkroeckel]

A heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Metalist, (Germany). The Axis have placed the Allies in a difficult situation on Sicily. I do not believe this happens often due to a heaver Allied presence and most of all, fewer Axis resources committed to Sicilian defense. The German contact line now has five units, which are:

4 airborne [Fallschirmjeager] division
Hermann Goering Panzer division
15 German mechanized division
Feldherrnhalle mechanized division
Schmalz mechanized brigade

Several Italian divisions are also assisting to secure the contact line. The point is that there are essentially 5 German armored divisions on the line, which is massive. Of course there will be fewer Axis combat points available to stop Italian surrender in September. Notice also how much Axis air naval is being sent to isolate the Allied invasion site.
Below is snapshot

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Next picture is of Sardinia. Around the final Axis port of Tortoli; there too, substantial naval interdiction. Some sea hexes are even controlled by Germany.

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I have included the Allied losses of cargo and amphibious ships so far. 22 amphibious ships have been lost but only 12 have been gained. (Turn two = 4, turn three = 4, turn four = 4). This results in a pool loss of ten amphibious ships already. Cargo ships losses are 181 but that is okay because many keep coming in so should never be a problem.

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Final picture is of unit losses, which are all on Sardinia. Many Italian units but also the British airborne unit. these are completely destroyed / surrendered units.

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[kentkroeckel]

It was another intense week in the skies. For both phases, Axis lost around 500 aircraft and Allies lost near 700. picture is of resulting Sicilian naval control after air phase.

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the next picture is of air engagement over Sicily. Many hexes are contested 20-36 times.

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This picture is of Europe air engagement. Very intense and it will grow.

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Victory points for turn four were -18, in favor of Axis. Total is around -50.

[kentkroeckel]

The final Axis port on Sardinia is still not under Allied control despite being out of supply for two turns. Mr Metalist must have given an inspiring speech to the 90 German mechanized division on never surrendering the port city of Tortoli. Italian units located on Sardinia do keep surrendering. Below is picture of situation.

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Sicily is continuing to be an intense battleground. Allies reinforced with units, consisting of British X and XIII corp. Attacks did push Axis back a few hexes but movement into those victories was not possible. Yet at least they will not be fortified if Germany moves to take them. Following is picture of situation.

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Due to limited change on Sardinia and limited progress in Sicily, both Task Forces need to remain. The naval cost to them and in amphibious ships is steep.

[kentkroeckel]

Questions by Mr. Metalist in our private correspondence and my response, (Kent Kroeckel). But before addressing questions, I need to clarify my new addressing of Metalist. I will no longer be adding Mr. as it is not wanted. No disrespect is implied.

Metalist
"Axis air phase is complete. I thought I managed to break the isolation of Sardinia by making the relevant sea hexes neutral, but I think it still does not work. Maybe because you have an adjacent task force?"

Kent answer: The rules state that Task Forces do have influence over their own hex and adjacent hexes. This includes impeding logistics. Yet any Axis unit at sea is also destroyed instantly. this is how the Task Force on the beach next to the Sardinia port city of Tortoli is able to keep Axis units on Sardinia isolated.

Kent question for WitW community:
I do not know if a Task Force influence extends to a unit still in port but on a transport ship? I request help from the great guru's of the WitW community. In advance, thank you.

Kent, second part to this question: I do not think a Task Force influence affects ferry hexes. Reason being, a task Force next to each hex around the Sicilian port of Messina and the hex below it does not isolate Axis units on Sicily. to be clear, I am talking about next to and not on the ferry hexes.

Metalist
"In Sicily my depots do not receive freight at all, do you know why? Their priority is all 4. The entire island is supplied from Messina, which should increase truck use".

Kent answer:
All of the Sicilian ports are isolated due to capture or naval control. That is, except Messina, which has direct ferry to mainland Italy. This absolutely prevents isolation and can be confirmed by no Allied sea control number in ferry hexes.

Kent continuing answer along with WitW community question:
That being said, what about logistics. When there is no Allied naval blockade on Sicilian ports; they seem to receive logistics just fine. But now they are blocked by sea, leaving only Messina for the single supply source. this puts constraint on the port, especially if damage has occurred. Secondly, the cargo ship pool for Italy is rather small and shrinks quickly. Might want to check what is left. Finally, I am not sure if logistics travel through a ferry crossing or if so, at what quantity. Last part is my speculation and a question for WitW community.

[kentkroeckel]

Much happened on the 5 Axis turn. Germany was able to establish contested naval hexes on the city port of tortoli. Amazing really. However, Task force on beachhead keeps area isolated. Luftwaffe sent many sorties of transport logistics to help the 90 mechanized division hold out. Big surprise though, there was an undetected Axis unit up north and it has taken the port of Olbia. A piece of Sardinia is back in supply, which should have been impossible. The Allied Command (Kent) is utterly embarrassed, for all the world to know now. Ha. A super FANTASTIC must also be relayed to all about this magnificent achievement by Germany (Metalist).

Below is the photographic proof of this unbelievable event:

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the next picture shows Sicily. Germany decided to occupy the hexes that it had been driven out of on Allies combat phase. Axis still have 5 mechanized and airborne divisions there.

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Both Task Forces still on amphibious missions must now be removed on turn 5 due to damage or risk destruction. Around 85 damage on both and when at a 100 they are depleted and then cycle back in 13 weeks refitted.

4 victory points were awarded so game total is around -50, Axis favor. Amphibious pool losses are at 28 and 16 have been added so net loss is at 12. Not too bad considering.