wevilc (allies) v Old_Shane (axis

[wevilc]

15 Sep 39

This is my first AAR. My opponent is Old_Shane (hereinafter ‘Shane’). We’ve played 7 or 8 times before, Shane has won them all, usually as the axis & by a street, so it will probably be best to read this as a guide to how not to play. Well, mustn’t be too pessimistic. 1st time for everything and all that.
My turn one:

Poland – has Shane erred? I’ve surrounded Warsaw with whatever survived his 1st assault & have hopes of making it through his next turn.

China – the overall plan here is for well-timed retreats to preserve units & to defend Kunming for as long as poss. But as there were favourable odds on offer I inflicted losses on the 17th army, 2nd Kwantung army & Kimura.

France – hang on grimly but don’t overdo it. French navy will raid Norwegian convoys while the Brits go sub-hunting.

Medium term strat.
UK & empire – Aussies to India under command of MacArthur (once available). Sudan forces to Egypt (Shane does not generally get active in E Africa). South Africans to Egypt also. The 1st objective will be to eliminate Italy. This entails an active campaign in N Africa & domination of the Med.

Needless to say, comment, criticism & suggestions all welcome!

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[img]

[wevilc]

13 Oct 39

Shane had not erred. Poland fell on his 2nd turn. Chipped away again at the 17th & 2nd Kwantung armies in China. Kimura no longer in range. After the 1st 2 turns, Japan is down 582 MPPs in lost units/MPPs. Some air strikes launched from France, which also bought an AA unit. The Tunis corps has relocated to France. A French destroyer found & engaged a U-Boat. Forgot to mention I have now invested 3 British chits in Finland which swung 6% my way this turn. Shane will probably have to counter, stretching Germany’s budget a bit (spoiler – he didn’t, see below).

[wevilc]

10 Nov 39

Nothing much going on. Shane is doubtless building up his Axis attack in the west. I built the French engineer &, as is my custom, it will sail to Egypt & start fortifying there. For some reason, it always seems to survive the French surrender. The overall situation is as shown.

[wevilc]

2 Feb 40

Still nothing, so I skipped forward a little. Shane occupied Luxembourg & just captured Strasbourg, so no attack through Belgium yet. I sacked Alexander & replaced with Monty. No effect on the morale of Brit units in Egypt. I’m not doing that again. In China, he’s not pushing Nanning (yet) so I have made my own move south there. And that’s about it.

[wevilc]

1 Mar 40

Another nothing turn. No attacks in France & little to report in China, aside from a retreat from Paotow where Shane has massed 2 armies & 3 corps. This should have operated as a warning – but didn’t (see below).

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Managed to sink a sub in the Atlantic. Fireworks next turn perhaps. In Egypt, forces from the Sudan & S Africa have arrived but need reinforcement. An Indian army was purchased.[/img]

[wevilc]

29 Mar 40

Shane conquered the Netherlands while Belgium activated by itself. I sent the French reserve corps to Antwerp to protect Brussels but sloppily neglected to put it under the command of Gamelin (or Weygand, whatever) first. In Egypt the French engineer has started to fortify in front of Alexandria. Purchased a special forces unit in India. Retreated in the north in China.

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[wevilc]

26 Apr 40

The Belgian gambit failed. The reserve corps was lost & Brussels fell. Readied Lord Gort & the BEF army for evac. In China I captured Wuhan, destroying an under-strength army. Changsha will, however, fall next turn. I may have unnecessarily exposed my artillery. Another SA corps set sail for Egypt & Mountbatten appeared in India.

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[wevilc]

24 May 40

Bad news from France. BEF army & a corps destroyed. Used up most of my MPPs re-buying & consequently don’t have enough to evac either Gort or the other corps, so they scarpered to more distant ports, hopefully to put to sea next turn. RAF switched to the UK. Paris may fall next turn but, if not, certainly the one after. French morale 44%. Italy joined the axis at the end of the turn. Changsha fell in China but I managed to chip away a bit at the Japs here & there.

In Russia, I’m marching my garrison units east to defend the Siberian towns the Japanese tend to invade if things go well for them & they declare war. The garrisons have little value in the west IMO.

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[wevilc]

21 Jun 40

Shane reinforced his armour before going for Paris. So, next turn it will surely fall. Cut off the 2nd panzers north of Lyon. Morale down to 35%. Gort & a BEF corps returned to GB. 3 carriers in position to help with air defence should Shane be planning Sealion (he’s done it before with great success – a painful memory). Japan has lost almost as many MPPs in China as it has received.

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[Old_Shane]

Nice recount Clive. Yes, you made the early China campaign expensive!
The Finland investment paid off for you. You had the extra units to smash my three corps strung up to Tallinn. I am sure you will cover the result of that in your next update.

[wevilc]

Nice recount Clive. Yes, you made the early China campaign expensive!
The Finland investment paid off for you. You had the extra units to smash my three corps strung up to Tallinn. I am sure you will cover the result of that in your next update.

Thx Shane. No spoilers for the paying public please!

[wevilc]

19 Jul 40

For some reason, Paris was spared for another turn. Shane obviously not in a hurry. Morale now 26%. Japan making rapid advances in the north in China. Screenshot shows the planetary situation. Siberians marching west, garrisons (now at Saratov) marching east. Britain awaits an aerial assault. Battle is joined near Tobruk.

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[wevilc]

16 Aug 40

France surrendered. Timing-wise, that’s not bad but Shane, for some nefarious reason, was not on a mission to knock her out ASAP, preferring to destroy units. I guess that improves unit experience & maybe affects the plunder calculus too, I dunno. Better check that next turn. Meanwhile, things have reached a critical point in China. I’ll have to retreat from Nanning soon, or get outflanked.

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[wevilc]

13 Sep 40

N Africa is a cauldron. Pretty quiet on other fronts, including China. Shane plundered about 850 MPPs on the surrender of France. Russia researched AA level 1 & should be able to afford a general soon. After that, AA2.

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[wevilc]

5 Dec 40

Things suddenly going badly in China. Yenan fell & the communists surrendered. A heavy blow! I’m getting caught in a giant north/south pincer. Have to dig in in the mountains & hope for US aid to arrive. Stand-off in Egypt where I’m upgrading to IW1 before resuming my all-arms offensive on Tobruk. Plenty of research upgrades coming through for the allies.

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[wevilc]

28 Feb 41

China has stabilised a bit. MPPs at 128 are good enough, even without US aid. Egypt remains a slog. A naval battle is raging in the N Atlantic, the Russians are fortifying to prevent a Caucasus incursion. Axis is attacking in Greece (no screenshot for that).

[wevilc]

28 Mar 41

Disaster in China! The army I was hoping would defend Kunming for a few turns was destroyed in just one. I now have virtually nothing in that sector. This has been a very strong effort from Shane. I can see China falling in 42 or early 43 which will free the Japs to go on the rampage elsewhere. Shane has sortied the entire kriegsmarine into the Atlantic & N Sea. I doubt this will end well for him. I have substantial assets in both sectors. Battle continues to rage around Tobruk & Shane has taken to bombing Malta, which will have to defend itself. Greece will fall next turn. I am not intervening there.

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[wevilc]

25 Apr 41

Inflicted some damage in China, costing Japan an army in front of Chungking, but the overall situation remains dire. Better news in Egypt where the Italian 5th army in Tobruk was halved in strength & the 1st army all but destroyed. The bombardment of Malta was not continued. Presumably the luftwaffe is needed further east. Greece surrendered. Yugoslavia joined the axis, which is unhelpful. Finland, as a result of diplomatic efforts, is only 1% pro-axis. The kriegsmarine broke off & disappeared.

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[wevilc]

23 May 41

Tobruk falls! Yugoslavia joins the allies (odd) but your humble servant forgets to cluster their forces around Belgrade. Duh! More diplo invested in Finland & Burma. I need to get Indian forces to Kunming ASAP. China continues to go badly. Managed to sink a U-boat in the north sea. Bombing of Malta resumes. I guess Shane was reinforcing last turn.

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[wevilc]

20 Jun 41

Finland swung 4% toward the allies & is now 3% overall my way. 2 more diplo chits invested in Burma. Wish I had thought of it sooner. I want the Indians to help defend Kunming. The 2 scripted Chinese armies were placed there (I had completely forgotten they were due to arrive lol). Tobruk & the WDF army were reinforced. The Italian 1st army south of Tobruk is the next target. Malta was reinforced. The entire RN returned to British ports for refueling & upgrades. Axis forces knocked out Yugoslavia in 1 turn & are now massing along the Soviet border. Allied MPPs are as shown.

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