Solo Historical Axis Warplans AAR

[Tomokatu]

Oooh Kaaayyy!
I may be thinking back to RtV or I may just be completely FITH. I may even be thinking of another game. (I HATE getting old and stupid.)

[gwgardner]

FYI there is an event option, which I got on March 16, to invade Denmark and Norway. If you choose yes, to invade, it triggers many other events. I'm not going to reveal those, for any players who haven't seen this yet.

However, I'm going to revert to a previous turn, so I can answer 'no' and carry out the invasion I had planned for April 8.

[micheljq]

I guess if you do not take the event, it could be complicated.  Historically the germans arrived on board so called civil transports into Oslo, and on the night invaded the country totally by surprise.

As for Narvik, I maybe be not 100% right.  I know the english and french sent troops to take it.  They occupied the city/port but later the whermacht and Luftwaffe arrived in strenght.  The allied were force to leave after a fierce fight, and also the airplanes from the Luftwaffe were too much of a threat for the allied ships, even with british aircraft carriers.  I think the germans arrived from land and by using the railway which was passing through Sweden.  I know that Sweden, while being officially neutral, allowed the germans to used their railways until the summer of 1943, they were under much pressure from Germany.

[gwgardner]

April 24

Poor planning caused a delay of a week in attempting the amphibious assault around Narvik. For some reason the navy wanted to stage the landings from the Norwegian Sea, and it must be done from the North Sea.

At any rate, the invasion of Denmark has proceeded apace. The Narvik invasion took place on April 16th, and was an utter failure. The Royal Navy met the fleet off the Norwegian coast and in a series of engagements destroyed all of the amphibious craft, 2 infantry divisions, and 1 armored division. Not to mention 3 ships of the line.

[note of confusion: I clicked on the amphibious assault button, for the hex I wanted to invade, and was given a list of units in position to do the landing, and when selected, the enemy fleet engaged. At the end of the engagement, the unit did NOT land, but remained at sea. I did this repeatedly, perhaps 8 times for the three units in the landing fleet. Never got a foot on the ground. Is this WAD? I seem to recall in RtV that once the landing unit got through the single engagement with the enemy fleet, it landed.]

[gwgardner]

Here is what is left of the High Seas Fleet after the Royal Navy mauled it. To attempt the assault on Oslo now seems suicide.

To make matters worse, the range of my tac bombers is 11 hexes out of northern Denmark. That won't reach Oslo. I thought it would, but I miscalculated.

[gwgardner]

Since I did not employ an amphibious assault or air landing in Denmark, the invasion there is taking much longer than historically. As of late April, one armored division is on the outskirts of Copenhagen. In order to get reinforcements there of sufficient strength to take the city, will take another week. So on the scheduled date of the attack against the Benelux and France, I'll have part of my armor still in Denmark. Time for some heads to roll.

[gwgardner]

June 24

The end of the Phony War occured on schedule with the attack on the Low Countries and France on May 8. The UK AI has failed to keep the BEF units together, intersperseing them across the front. The Netherlands fell quickly, but Brussels still holds out. Paris will probably fall next turn. So I am behind the historical success of the Wermacht by quite a few weeks. Altogether, with what it has to work with, the French AI has done pretty well.

[gwgardner]

July 1

Brussels still holds out, and the Belgian and French air forces have found new bases on British soil. I didn't know the AI would do that.

[gwgardner]

Sept 1, '40

France has still not fallen. I took Paris, then advanced into the interior. A lone French unit escaped my forces, and retook Paris! It is cut off from the rest of unconquered France, but all French forces are still getting full supply. That is a big change from 1.5! And another total surprise.

Is it only me, or is France a LOT harder to take in 1.6? All of the french units that are still south of my front line are quite strong - like 4-2 infantry.

[Anraz]

Is it only me, or is France a LOT harder to take in 1.6?

No coincidence here

[gwgardner]

France held out until Oct 1.

Personal opinion, but I think all you guys who play unrealistically, and have Germany swing around to attack in the West immediately after taking Poland, are missing out on an Allied AI that can put up a much better fight in '40.

[gwgardner]

While Germany concentrates on consilidating its conquests and refurbishing the armed forces, Italy strikes towards Egypt.

Sidi Barani was taken by siege, at a time when the British were still focused on fighting in France.

[gwgardner]

The 133 Division of the 6th Army advanced to the South of the British lines and got a bloody nose for its efforts, just after this situation map was marked up. Recon flights show that the British have moved 6 corps, including one mechanized, and 7 detached divisions to Egypt.

[gwgardner]

Oct 24, '40

Germany has been exerting diplomatic pressure throughout the Balkans, but so have the British, apparently.  Earlier in the month Romania decided that German pressure to cede territory to both the USSR and Hungary was tantamount to a declaration of war, so it joined the Allies and immediately began troop movements against Hungary and Bulgaria.  Those two countries just as quickly called upon the Axis powers to intervene, and agreed to not only become partners with Germany and Italy, but to invite their troops onto their soil in order to foil the Romanian offensives.

This situation disrupts the planned movement of German troops from the West to the East, for an attack on the USSR, slated to begin in May '41.  The Wermacht has started transporting mechanized units to a jumping off point at Pecs, in Hungary, in order to bring Romania back into its proper orbit.  It is hoped that the defection of Romania will not interfere too much with the buildup of an invasion force into the USSR.

The Luftwaffe also will be called upon to support the defense of Hungary and Bulgaria, taking at least four air groups away from the effort to destroy the Royal Air Force and Navy.

[so much for the 'historical' in this AAR, but I have to also go with the flow of the game. The AI/events have thrown me for a loop.]

[gwgardner]

Meanwhile, in Egypt the Italian offensive creeps forward, fighting it's own supply lines as much as the British forces. Malta is putting a serious damper on the advance.

[gwgardner]

The hexes with the white shading should be impassible, as part of the Qatar Depression. It feels like cheating to go across those hexes, but the AI is going to do it, so I have to.

[gwgardner]

Nov 1, '40

OKW has had to scramble to improvise a plan for the conquest of Romania. It is a non-trivial task to come to the aid of Bulgaria while at the same time positioning for the attack on the USSR.

Several armored corps and divisions have been transported to Pecs, Hungary, by rail. From there it is still well over a 100 miles by road to the first objective in Romania: Timosoara. From there the route into the heartland of Romania gets even harder and more time-consuming, as the Carpathians must be crossed. All of this in the winter. It is totally out of the question to delay the attack on Russia past mid June, so all of the armor committed to Romania must be free by mid-Spring.

[gwgardner]

late Nov, '40

One month into its partnership with the Axis, Bulgaria gets a taste of who's calling the shots. With German armor occupying the preponderance of the Romanian forces in the north, Bulgaria has been able to push forward against weak defenses all the way to the gates of Bucharest. However, Bulgaria has been 'advised' to halt its advance, and to wait for German units to lead the occupation of Ploesti and Bucharest.

[gwgardner]

Dec 9, '40

The British have strong forces around London, but not enough in Egypt to withstand the Italian assault. It is unlikely that a German presence in the desert will be needed.

[gwgardner]

Jan 9, 41

Cairo and Bucharest both fell this week. The British AI could have done better if it had extended its line. Instead it focused on a defense of Alexandria.