Time of Writhe - Axis

[Chocolino]

February 1st, 1941

After a little bit less than one year of East Front, German troops have entered Moscow. House to house fighting continues but we have occupied the more industrialized portion of the city(25PP vs 5PP). The Russian counter attack toward Smolensk worries the German staff greatly as it threatens all of our achievements. We hope the Russians do suffer form the aforementioned "shock effect" soon.

In Turkey, the Axis has to admit failure and starts a slow retreat.

[Chocolino]

February 24th, 1941

The "shock effect" after taking Moscow was announced via event but did not happen in the game. Both the German and the Russian unit strength is unchanged. The same event announced a reward of 300PP for Germany which we did receive and it looks as if the Russian war economy has suffered a bit in addition to loosing Moscow (maybe this is what it means). We have created a lot of holes in the Russian front and we hope that the Russians will have trouble closing them all in. This is the only way for the Axis to advance as they don't have the capability to fight and advance in the same turn on snow covered ground.

[Chocolino]

March 9th, 1941

We attack in Russia at several points and gaps open up in the Russian front, especially south and east of Tula. Not shown is that we attack also at the Romanian border. We hope that Russian resources become sufficiently stretched to crack the front and allow a larger breakthrough somewhere. At least at one point near Kiev they moved the front back a bit to save units. Does this mean they are scraping the bottom? Tank research is at 85% for Lvl 3. With a bit of luck first new tank models can be introduced in May '41.

[Chocolino]

March 24th, 1941

Still trying to stretch the East Front further in length and strain Russian production. The announced German efficiency gain has still not materialized.(maybe fixed in later version).

[Fishbed]

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Looks like you may do a giant pocket if you punch a big hole south of Tula and Bryansk, right? The Army Group Center disaster the other way around...

[Chocolino]

Yes, would love to make a big pocket but I doubt that Gary will allow it. But the general idea is to go south from Tula, Bryansk. But it looks as if the Russians can maintain a more or less full line by strategic and slow retreat south of the full length of the front from Gomel to Tula. Our mobility is also pathetic in bad weather with ZOC present. There is either combat or movement in any given turn but not both and this limits the ability to create breakthroughs. In best case I can gain some ground.

[Chocolino]

April 16th, 1941

Many things happened since the last update - most of them events and all of them bad news:

- Per event choice: Russia signed a peace treaty with Japan - resulting probably in reinforcements from Far East. (Ironically, the way events work in PBEM, I had to make this choice acting in Russia's behalf. I was tempted to actually choose .....)

- Per event and result of above: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (in April '41 no less - we have hoped to be given a free hand to deal with Russia for a bit longer)

- Per event choice: US decides on European focus (my choice again acting in Gary's behalf, it was bitter to decide on my own demise).

- Per event and result of above: US declares war on Axis

- The UK attacked pro-axis Bulgaria. Curiously and in contrast to Turkey but with opposite colors, Bulgaria did NOT join the Axis. Germany had to use its last DP to bring her in so that we can intervene.

To balance all that we can only report that the other half of Moscow and Bryansk have fallen.

[Tomokatu]

- Per event choice: Russia signed a peace treaty with Japan - resulting probably in reinforcements from Far East. (Ironically, the way events work in PBEM, I had to make this choice acting in Russia's behalf. I was tempted to actually choose .....)
(snippage)
- Per event choice: US decides on European focus (my choice again acting in Gary's behalf, it was bitter to decide on my own demise).

 
Concerning the actual PBEM mechanism for this - do I gather correctly that, as each choice is reported to you (and I understand that it only happens at a certain game phase) you have to stop play, maybe save, send an email (or PM or voice call) to your opponent, report the options, get the decision, apply it then continue and wait for the next decision point?  Or are you, as an ethical player, automatically applying the less desirable option from your own PoV, as a doctrine, thus removing the need for the constant? back-and-forthing?
 
It may be obvious to you as an experienced PBEM gamer how to do these things, but I have yet to start my first and I want to be as less a NOOB as I can be, when the time comes.
 
 
Next question:
In another thread you mentioned the house rules you've agreed on. Would you please publish them as a starting point for those of us who have yet to work up a set of "standard" house rules for ambit claims when negotiating a new game? Or are they highly classified?

[Chocolino]

Depending on who was playing the last country of the turn before events (depends on which countries are under human control) this player gets to make all the event choices for all countries. During this PBEM game this happened to both Gary and me.

Where applicable, we both made the choices we thought best for the other side and then informed each other about it in the next email. It is usually obvious which choice to make but not always. It is fully ok for an opponent to request a different choice after the fact - which requires just to repeat the event phase if you save just before it. Interestingly, this never happened in this game. So you don't rely on ethics only - it just saves time to act in your opponents best interest.

You can always use the "save&exit" option and send the move to your opponent just to make the event choice but if there are many events per turn this can be tedious.

The only negative aspect I see is that you know about some of your opponents choices. It can give away elements of surprise.

House rules I am aware of (Gary may have some private ones I don't know about - but if he plays them they are usually restricting him and not the opposite)

- those listed in the very first post of this AAR and agreed upon before start

- new, agreed during the game:

1) Reduced damage by fleets to convoys via mod

2) naval bombardment can only be done by a max of 1/3 of your local available fleet since the effect is overdone. (with V1.6 this rule may be obsolete)

3) ships in port can repair only 1 HP per turn

4) If an overland route exists resources can be transferred in between countries via rail (read transfer PPs via F11/F12). Otherwise resource have to be shipped via convoys to allow convoy warfare.

5) Just learnt last move that Gary also plays: A major power can't give away more than 5% of production, with the exception of Lend Lease. He thinks that no sane government of a major power would have given away more. (One could argue that there were a few not-so-sane governments around as well ....) To be consistent I will follow this now as well but don't have much need for transfer from major powers anyways. So it does not really affect me.

You can play the game without those house rules almost as well. They apply to both sides equally after all. But they may add a bit of flavor and realism. Some may be a matter of taste.

[Flaviusx]

Russians are in a real pickle here. Western allies need to stretch the Germans, and not just in the Balkans...
 
German upkeep costs have to be climbing up there. Ultimately this is their weak spot.
 
 

[Chocolino]

Fully correct that the much higher German unit upkeep cost is their Achilles heel. This adds considerably to the starting imbalance of the economics. At the moment, a large portion of the German production is already going just to upkeep. Even at zero new spending, net PP savings are small.

True, on first glance it looks as if the Germans are dominating the Russians at the moment. But keep in mind it is still spring '41. Even in the unlikely event that the Western Allies and the US (curiously not part of the Western Allied faction yet) delay they attack Western Europe for a year or two, nothing serious is going to happen to Russia. They may loose some more hexes with a few 1PP cities. Even if I could drive completely unhindered east, it would take almost a year to reach the most remote VP points (exaggerating only slightly). But Russia can still build 10 Infantry corps every turn if they want to.

[Chocolino]

May 1st, 1941

Progress in Russia is much too slow to achieve anything close to Russian break down before a Western invasion can happen. We take great pains to build up PP reserves for this occasion but our efforts are not very successful. We are in the process of upgrading the air force to Lvl 3 and expect Lvl 3 tanks to start next turn. While that will help in the field it will drive upkeep costs further up. As we are pressed for speed, we have also engaged in more risky and costly attacks than previously.

[Chocolino]

May 16th,

Germany has to find soon new sources of production revenue. We are hardly able to pay for the units we already have plus a few repairs. But there are no real big prices to be had in the USSR (Kiev, 5PP is still a long way off).

[Chocolino]

June 1st, 1941

A few month back we enjoyed a brief period of local naval victories in the Med. By now, the RN is again in firm control of events and the Italians have gotten a bloody nose (6 CA and 1 SS loss).

(I am curious how the US will enter the war. It seems they will not or can not join the Allies at all. If that is true I informed Gary that he is welcome to transfer all US PPs to the Allies. The US can still do their own landing if they wish of course but it is more difficult (e.g. via Portugal or in France or Italy with upfront air assaults by the UK). But I am not sure if they can transfer aircraft from the US to Europe without the British Isles as a springboard. Maybe a route via Iceland and Norway is within range as well but I have never measured the distance.)

[Chocolino]

June 16th, 1941

The Axis advance in Russia is accelerating but the Russians still offer very organized and stiff resistance. We take advantage of every week delay of a major Allied landing elsewhere.

[Chocolino]

July 1st, 1941

Gomel has fallen. Axis troops enjoy a clear advantage in Russia at the moment. But the threat of an Allied invasion looms and Turkish progress on Constanta is starting to worry the Axis command.

[Chocolino]

July 16th, 1941

There is a feeling of general breakdown of the Russian southern front. Breakthroughs occur now in multiple areas. The international community has urged the US to implement lend lease. (Player note: The lend lease event should probably have fired already and Gary is bound by a 5% PP max transfer house rule which is insufficient to help Russia much at the moment. This rule should be dropped for US-Russian PP transfers as the event is not forthcoming).

Germany plundered 150PP in Kiev warehouses. Very pleasant.

[Fishbed]

Ok, where did my daily ration of blood and guts go?

[Chocolino]

August 1st, 1941

My apologies but I was out of the country for a few days.

The front in the Russian south is still fluid. Hence a larger portion is shown and may provide a good sense of the mobile operations that prevail here at the moment. Further north, all units are in their trenches.

The Brito-Turkish offensive in Bulgaria has forced us to move a tank unit there to keep them a bit in check.

[Fishbed]

You are forgiven, soldier

Nach Rostov!