Operation Sledgehammer ’43

[TankBushido]

Turn 74:
Summer is winding down (in the real world), so less distractions. I’m going to make a concerted push to defeat Germany, bring the war to a close, and finish this AAR.

In the game, we have bad weather on both fronts, so I’m resting on most of the forces this turn. I do close and start reducing the Koblenz pocket and push on the north and south flanks of the bulge in an attempt to better secure my rail supply lines.

[TankBushido]

Turn 75:
A little retrospective and strategy talk before the details of the turn. My double envelopment to advance to and across the Rhine over the last 7 weeks has been successful. I encircled and eliminated several groups of units, crossed the Rhine in force and am in a good position for the next phase of the operation. Initially, I had planned to throw everything I had to strike out east from my current position, but I’ve made a few modifications to that plan. In my recent attacks, I’ve sensed that the Germans are weaking and they are nearing collapse, so I’ve decided to expand and broaden the next phase of my operation. My hope is that if I put pressure on multiple sectors to create several crisis points that it will stretch the German forces and hasten the German collapse by reaching that tipping point as early as possible. It will also have the added benefit of taking more territory sooner. The risk is that it will also create more losses for the Allies and I spread myself too thin and not achieve decisive results in any sector, but I’m ready to roll the dice on it at this point and accept the risk.

For the operational plan, the main effort with the majority of my armored divisions will be focused on forcing the Fulda Gap and doing a three pronged fanning out from there: north and south to encircle the main German line and also east to secure crossings across the Elbe river, threatening Berlin. Then I will have five other secondary sectors of the operation. First, I will continue operations in Italy, pushing east towards Udine and trying to stretch the German line as much as possible. Second, I will be making a concerted attack by infantry divisions to encroach and threaten the Ruhr. The aim of this effort is to force the Germans to commit and tie down strong forces in its defense, preventing them for reinforcing my other sectors of attack. Thirdly, I’m launching an invasion of Holland paired with an overland push towards Antwerp. This is a risky operation given the weather and the poor terrain. One reason for this operation is that I have reinforcements arriving in England every turn and it’s taking them a long time to get to the front (three-four turns). I’m hoping I can just feed them into Holland as soon as they arrive to have a more immediate impact. The fourth and fifth sectors are aimed at accelerating the collapse of the southern portion of the German line, which I believe is the weakest part of the line. One sector spearheaded by the Free French armor divisions aims to push south of Mainz while a newly railed British Corps from Italy will attempt to breach the far southern part of the line in the Belfort Gap/Colmar area.

Here’s the current situation in Italy. The surrounded units surrendered and I took a couple of more hexes.

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A December invasion of Holland kicks off. Lots of major river lines to cross. I’ll be interested to see how this goes over the next several weeks. You can also see the pressure on the Ruhr in this screenshot.

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In the main effort in the central sector, a breakthrough has been made toward the Fulda gap while the Koblenz pocket is fully eliminated. French armor exploits through a line further south. The corps in the Belfort gap (not pictured) is still staging for an attack next turn.

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Turn 76:
I continue to inch forward in Italy; it’s slow and steady progress. I’ve now sent my amphibious HQs to the Atlantic as their work here is done.

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Some more progress is made toward the Ruhr and I punch two holes in the line; a large one near Fulda and a smaller deep strike south of Mannheim. I consolidate my beachhead in Holland (not pictured).

[TankBushido]

Turn 77:
As you can see with this turn, my continued pressure in the center and alternative areas of advance is paying dividends. Although I’m seeing limited gains in the secondary areas, it’s forcing the Germans to cover them and they’re stretched too thin. In the central area, the German front totally collapses and disintegrates, creating a massive hole for my forces to drive through to the east and the south. The whole German southern front is at risk and the triangle of objective cities in the south (Stuttgart, Nuremberg, and Munich) should soon be in my control. The units opposing me are mere remnants of units and easily brushed aside by a single infantry division. This is the beginning of the end.

[TankBushido]

Turn 78:
Here’s the situation in and around Alsace. I plan to push my armored units due south towards the Danube and the Swiss border to surround the entire German position there. The corps near Freiburg is there to pinch the southern corner to help in that effort. But all this will need to be done in poor weather without air support.

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In the central sector, I’m continuing to push northeast, but once the Germans deploy blocking forces to the east I will wheel north and try to encircle both the Ruhr and Holland. I’ve actually made good progress at chipping away at the defenses around the Ruhr, taking one or two hexes per turn and slowly building a better position around it.

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Here’s the buildup in Holland. I’m going to take the northern port and then try to push south towards Amsterdam. The triple river line south of Rotterdam has been a tough nut to crack.

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The grind in Italy continues with just a slow, steady stretching of the line eastward and pushing in the middle a bit.

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Turn 79:
Here’s the situation in Alsace. I want to advance south along the rail line from Pforzheim to Schaffhausen. That will allow me to be east of the Rhine river, having some separation from it for some freedom of movement westward if the opportunity presents itself. It also takes me close to Stuttgart, which I hope will be a magnet for the defense to attach to. Except for this turn, this is all going to happen in January during the worst weather when my air force will be grounded.

[TankBushido]

In the central sector, stronger forces block the east so I start to swing north. Continued good progress in the Ruhr as I take the town adjacent to Dusseldorf and make a push west of the Rhine near Essen. I’m going to stop updating on the Italian front unless something noteworthy happens; it’s still just a slow grind there.

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Turn 80:
Nice progress in the south as my armored divisions push 40 miles towards the Danube. My corps in the south pinching the corner is also now fully across the Rhine and making good progress.

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Dusseldorf is captured and the northern swing by my armored forces in progress but slowed by the snow.

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Turn 81:
Attacks are bogging down because of the weather and supply situations. My forces are also getting a bit stretched with these extended lines. This is quite a bulge in Alsace.

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In the north, Essen falls. But my attacks north of the central bulge are turned back. Holland has been a stalemate as well.

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Turn 82:
Getting so very close to sealing the bulge in the south. The gap between my two pincers is only 40 miles wide.

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Good progress in the north of the Fulda bulge, Holland, and northeast of the Ruhr. I’m trying to break out with a few armor units to the northeast of Essen to cut off the German forces in Holland.

[TankBushido]

In Italy, Udine falls and I’m railing my armor units to the Western front. I only expect local gains in Italy and my progress in Bavaria will likely unhinge forces here anyways.