Fall Grau 2.29 Jeremy (Axis) vs. Chris (Allies)

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

Turn 14
The East is a brutal back and forth with the Allies pushing hard toward Mobile and Axis forces counter attacking to retrieve things. It is all roughly the original start lines when the turn ends with a lot of dead for both of us. I am still out ahead in terms of the spread, but it is minimal and I think it’s mainly driven by Allied air losses.

Chris is a huge fan of Interdiction, and I don’t think it is great in this scenario. I am not a fan of it for the Germans, but it is technically usable if used with care. The problem with the Germans is it is easy to get nearly helpless German bombers out beyond Axis air cover so you have to do this thing where you roughly align how far German bomber ranges are with the mostly short range German fighter coverage.

I think the situation is even worse for the Allies. Their fighters have been brutally slaughtered, now interdiction is basically flying without Allied fighter support, and the bombers are presumably being massacred. The air superiority numbers always really favour the Axis but it feels like its extreme this game. So I think a part of the spread is just the Allies are really having their Airforce dismantled.

Out in the West the Allies keep pulling back though I primarily stuck around Oklahoma resupplying with the newly captured supply point. A lot of the Panzer Grenadiers reformed back into full divisions this turn and raced west toward California. I’ll have to pull up soon this way as well but I think I can seize El Paso and Albuquerque first and then wait for the supply line to catch up.

With the westward push now well under way I land the Venezuelans just to take over rail coverage duty.

A full Corp. of Italians arrived at Vera Cruz which has fallen. I can’t really go to many places with them because the supply lines down here only go so far and I am waiting for Mexico to be fully cut off in any case. It is likely just going to be chasing around Guerilla’s for the foreseeable future. I realize I have a lot more Germans here then is really at all useful. Maybe it is time to get them to a port with an HQ and wait for them to resupply and get up to 100% readiness before transferring them back to the main front? Somehow when I was planning this campaign I thought I would need this contingent in the battle for Mexico but it really feels like the Italians are more than adequate. This will back up an already very backed up landing schedule however.

Kind of the same story in Central America. I am about to take the last City before the Panama Canal and yet I am not at all sure I can take the Panama Canal with the supply situation so abysmal. We allowed non port naval landings in this scenario so if that is the case then I will land a bunch of German Divisions near the Panama Canal and storm it while this whole army will be transported out via the canal to the main front.

Oklahoma = 57%

Axis forces resupply on captured supplies from Oklahoma

Jeraxisturn14.jpg (2.1 MiB) Viewed 84 times

[golden delicious]

I realize I have a lot more Germans here then is really at all useful. Maybe it is time to get them to a port with an HQ and wait for them to resupply and get up to 100% readiness before transferring them back to the main front? Somehow when I was planning this campaign I thought I would need this contingent in the battle for Mexico but it really feels like the Italians are more than adequate. This will back up an already very backed up landing schedule however.

They can walk. They'll get to your western rail line eventually and long before you run out of things to move by sea. Then they can take the train to wherever the railhead is by then

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

I realize I have a lot more Germans here then is really at all useful. Maybe it is time to get them to a port with an HQ and wait for them to resupply and get up to 100% readiness before transferring them back to the main front? Somehow when I was planning this campaign I thought I would need this contingent in the battle for Mexico but it really feels like the Italians are more than adequate. This will back up an already very backed up landing schedule however.

They can walk. They'll get to your western rail line eventually and long before you run out of things to move by sea. Then they can take the train to wherever the railhead is by then

Rail is really where the cap is found. Especially in a match where I decide that I am going to be extra focused on getting to the Far West.

Sea Transport is pretty abundant. Even with transporting all of these guys back and some other stuff as well that is coming up later it is hard to imagine that I fall behind by much more then a turn just because 24,000 is such a large number when we are primarily talking about Infantry.

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

Turn 15
It is extreme out there. The Allies don’t attack even once this turn. The counterattack in the East is at least on pause. If I had to guess it is to preserve forces. Losses were jumping and the Allied replacement Rate has fallen pretty low. There could well be a plan to try and preserve the army. Losses have been heavy and it’s only turn 15.

As it stands my own offencive makes ground but at the cost of burning out Divisions rapidly. I am going to have to set up some kind of Division swapping scenario in the East where the burnt-out glowing red Divisions are pulled off the line and allowed to recuperate.

In the west my advance north remains on hold until Oklahoma’s supply has run out. A lot of the fast-moving units here are sent to the west since there is now new action there as I have found an Allied line of resistance from roughly Albuquerque south to around El Paso. I do not love this fight as it is at the very end of my supply line though at least here the supply line is growing closer.

Fighting south of the Mexican border is pretty much nonexistent at this point. A few minor clashes with the odd guerrilla unit or the mostly collapsing forces of some minor town. I am beginning to pull some of the German units back toward ports.

For the first time, since the beginning of the scenario, the spread does not move in my favour. It is zeroed out so while the losses went up for both of us the spread did not change. Not an issue if this is just an anomaly but I need to see numbers significantly in my favour for a good bit longer if I want to win this.

Strategic situation on turn 15

Jer Axis Turn STR 15.jpg (875.39 KiB) Viewed 41 times