How the Axis could have won II. Allied AAR

[warspite1]

2nd March 1940

Allied Turn

The Allied destroyers, Canadian, French and British are churning up the North Atlantic but cannot find the German wolf pack.....

Meanwhile Admiral Forbes sends the Home Fleet out to (hopefully) catch the Kriegsmarine.


Meanwhile here is the latest from the Western Front

[OxfordGuy3]

Isn't it a bit risky to have the British HQ that close to the front line? I know the nearer to the BEF units it is the more supply they will have, but for the sake on one supply point, would it not be safer in Rouen (in a town, behind a river etc.)?

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: oxford_guy

Isn't it a bit risky to have the British HQ that close to the front line? I know the nearer to the BEF units it is the more supply they will have, but for the sake on one supply point, would it not be safer in Rouen (in a town, behind a river etc.)?

warspite1

Yes, yes he would and here's why.....[X(]


[:D]

[warspite1]

......IT'S WAR!!!!!

[warspite1]

19th March 1940

The Germans declare war on Holland and Luxembourg and then seemed to walk into Belgium (but I may have missed the announcement) but there was no attack and at the end of the turn it was announced the Belgians had joined the Allies.

I expected the Dutch to cave in without a fight, after all, to paraphrase Austin Powers; if there is one thing I hate in this world, it's the Dutch* [:D] but more concerning is the fact that Luxembourg has surrendered. I mean how could they? The quitters.....

Anyways, enough of that nonsense, there is tons to get through so here is a high level look at what the hell just happened [X(]




* For the avoidance doubt that joke only works because the Dutch are a great and friendly people.

[warspite1]

19th March 1940

Holland
The German Army Group B, commanded by General Fedor von Bock, with two Armies - the 18th and 6th - crossed the border in the early hours of the morning and swiftly pushed aside the brave defenders commanded by General Henri Winkelman.

With the support of paratroopers and an airlanding division the Germans found themselves quickly on the outskirts of The Hague. However, the masterly defence had frustrated the German timetable and by the 3rd April, the lead elements of the 6th Army were still short of actually entering the capital. Moreover the eastern approaches to the capital via Lake Ijssel had not been crossed and the Dutch air force remained in fighting formation along - more importantly - with II Corps.

There was better news further south - at least initially - where General Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group A were tasked with moving as swiftly as possible through Luxembourg and the Ardennes region, and then swiftly fanning out once key crossings over the River Meuse were seized. Luxembourg fell quickly and XII Corps were soon besieging Verdun.

At this point however, the attack for Army Group A also ran into trouble. The resistance by the 3rd (Verdun) Garrison was determined and utterly unbreakable. Despite horrendous losses the defenders, evoking the memories of the battle for the city in World War I, refused to withdraw. The German Army found moving forward impossible and von Rundstedt's drive into France stalled.


The Dutch order of battle 19th March 1940. Winkelman's forces defending the west bank of the Maas were wiped out, but the delays imposed on the attackers paid dividends later

[warspite1]

19th March 1940

France, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg

The Germans won't be held at Verdun for long. The gamble with the engineers was clearly woefully optimistic - I should have built forts closer to Paris.

North Atlantic

All has gone quiet again on the U-Boat front, but the British submarines continue to hurt the Germans in Norway. Interestingly there have been no warnings from the Norwegian Government....


The position 3rd April 1940. The Dutch have lost most of their army but the capital remains in Dutch hands and Queen Wilhelmina has escaped to the UK. The Dutch have made clear that they will fight to the last. The garrison troops in Verdun are desperate for reinforcement but regardless of what happens, their defence has been vital

[warspite1]

3rd April 1940

Reinforcements

France
Huntziger (he of 2nd Army fame) arrives

MPP Expenditure

UK - The British, mindful of the Western Desert, build an army and strengthen the HQ in Egypt.
France - Every last MPP (well, except one, is spent on strengthening troops levels).
USA - Nothing
USSR - Nothing

[warspite1]

3rd April 1940

Soviet Union

Almost lost in all this drama is the news that the Soviet advance in Finland has hit two unexpected obstacles. Not only are the Finns putting up an incredibly determined defence in the Karelian Isthmus, but British and French troops have arrived to bolster the position in Karelia itself - allowing additional Finnish divisions to head south to support their colleagues in the main area of attack - the approaches to Viborg.


The Soviets were so dismissive of the Finns, they did not even bother to camouflage their military vehicles or uniforms.....

[warspite1]

3rd April 1940

United Kingdom

Decision time for the British. At a cost of 35 MPP do I wish to turn the LDV into a better trained and equipped 'Home Guard'. I know that General Alan Brooke is not keen, but I say yes anyway. Perhaps not ideal to over rule my own newly appointed CIGS but there you go.....

[warspite1]

3rd April 1940

Allies

The U-Boats appear to have vanished off the face of the earth. What are the Kriegsmarine up to? Continued searching by all three navies yields absolutely nothing.

United Kingdom

I have no ships to spare in the southern UK. I spend 27 MPP and get my engineer to sea bound for Egypt ASAP unescorted.

Meanwhile, just as the Kriegsmarine have remained quiet in the North Atlantic, the same is true off Norway. The Dutch navy offers to send its small fleet northwest to try and entice the Kriegsmarine out of port....

Holland

The Dutch II Corps takes up position in the capital. It has vowed to fight on in the name of the Queen.

Belgium

All Belgian troops have been ordered back to defend the approaches to Brussels.


The position as dawn approaches on the 4th April 1940....

[OxfordGuy3]

I see you moved the British HQ to Rouen then

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: oxford_guy

I see you moved the British HQ to Rouen then

warspite1

Well of course, why would I ignore advice from someone who has the white ensign as his avatar? [:)]

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: loki100

ORIGINAL: warspite1

20th January 1940

France and the United Kingdom

I have said yes to this mission but, on reflection, am not sure it was the right thing to do. Too late its done now, but I wonder if these MPP could have been better spent.....

edit - like your strategy of using the subs as a partial bait to draw out the German fleet

warspite1

Yes but sadly the Germans don't. The Kriegsmarine is not playing at all..... what thoroughly bad form....

[Malor]

The Finland mission is not a bad thing, but it is too cheap. It should be 100 MPP per nation. Makes you really think about needing MPP now or doing the mission and gaining some value later.

Right now for 100 MPP split two ways, each nation gets a unit, helps (possibly) Finland and as a bonus, those units get to be used to invade Narvik where in my experience, they always win and the axis AI does nothing about it. In my book, this decision will always be a big 'YES'. The two units are worth more than 50 MPP total and will be useful later in the war.

Malor

[warspite1]

14th April 1940

Wow. So much happened last turn I don't know where to start. Let's start off with the summary - which as you can see is quite large. Indeed there was another page with one item. Quisling is made leader of Norway.....

At the start of the turn it was also reported that the US has begun cash and carry and rough seas hit Allied destroyers.

[warspite1]

14th April 1940

Holland and Denmark

As expected the Germans quickly crush the remaining Dutch resistance and the navy goes with it (I really think in cases like this the navy should go Allied as per historical).

Further north the Germans launch Operation Weserubung Sud, the invasion of Denmark. For understandable reasons this is something of a non-event as King Christian X orders no resistance in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The occupation is completed in a matter of hours.


[German Soldier] "Who iz you staring at girlfriend?"

[warspite1]

14th April 1940

Norway

Having taken control of Danish airfields and waters, the Germans are able to continue with the second part of the operation, Weserubung Nord, and the conquest of Norway. 6 Marine Gruppen are used to carry troops to key parts of the country and occupy the main population and communication centres.

Caught totally unawares (and in fact on an aborted Norwegian mission of their own) the Royal Navy are unable to stop the Kriegsmarine from delivering their cargo. The Germans suffered a major reverse before Oslo that resulted in the King being successfully evacuated. Someone thought it would be a sensible manoeuvre to send the new heavy cruiser Blucher and the pocket battleship Lutzow up the narrow confines of the Oslofjord.... right.

However, the loss of the Blucher did not affect the outcome, and the Norwegian resistance was extinguished pretty quickly.


Death of the Blucher (right). The new heavy cruiser was only commissioned in September 1939 and had only been worked up to operational efficiency in the last 10 days. She was the flagship of Admiral Oskar Kummetz for the Norwegian operation but was sunk by torpedoes from Norwegian shore based batteries.

[warspite1]

14th April 1940

Belgium and France

The Germans were a little more prepared for the Belgian attack, although the country remains unconquered for the present. The 1st and 2nd Corps protecting the capital were both destroyed, the HQ overrun and the Belgian air force annihilated.

The German infantry of XVIII and XIII Corps spearheaded the pincer from north and south respectively that, as at the 3rd April has almost surrounded the remaining Belgian forces within the capital and the fortress of Eben Emael.

The Garrison in Verdun was finally wiped out, but once again the defence was sufficiently strong that the Germans have not been able to exploit there success. In the north the industrial town of Lille was attacked, but like at Verdun, the initial assaults have been repulsed - albeit with heavy losses.

[warspite1]

14th April 1940

Belgium and France

I do not know what the German forces really contain at this stage of the war but it looks from this picture, like a lot of the armour is now gathered in the north. I don't want to make the mistake of last time whereby my units in the Maginot Line withdrew too slowly.


Nooooooo! The 3rd (Verdun) Garrison is destroyed.