Sevastopol - After 7 turns of repeated attacks supported by the heaviest artillery the German Army could bring to bear, the center of the defensive perimeter finally collapsed. The northern flank followed suit, after only 1 week. At this point, only a battered fortification and tank regiment hold the actual port. Petrov's Primorskaya Army was battered back from the port - this is one army that will not be able to evacuate.
Given the inevitable collapse of Sevastapol, Manstein's 11th Armee receives orders that it will be redeployed to the north once the city is completely in his hands.
The hardest, sustained fighting of the First Phase of Case Blue, has been, is (and continues to be) around Yelets and Voronezh. The area has received a significant amount of reinforcements in the way of 3rd Guards Tank Army, a number of Operational Groups (Tank, Rifle, Cavalry and Mechanized Corps). 9th Guards Mechanized Corps holds Yeletz - it has the highest apparent combat value of any Soviet unit seen to date (17/20). Immediately to its north are the 2nd, 4th and 12th Guards Tank Corps - or what is left of them.
I've defined my goals here down to each individual hex - all in the name of controlling the rail line and having it meet up with the defenses of the Upper Don. Ideally, I would like the rail line plus one hex, to give any units arriving in this area by rail a bit of a buffer against being immediately attacked. The screen shot shows the dispositions of what I can identify of the Red Army. Behind the front lines, there is significantly more - much of it on tactical reserve.
The defense here has proven quite rugged, large, deep and including some of the very best Russian units available.
Progress toward the Caucasus has proceeded much faster than before as Rostov was not nearly as heavily defended. Fresh panzer divisions have been railed in from Army Group Center as tired units, still very much operational but needing a break for Supply/Readiness have taken their place.
The Red Air Force has been hammering my rail bridges left right and center, hard to tell how bad they are suffering at the hands of the Luftwaffe... but much of the Luftwaffe's southern air contingent shows signs of significant wear and tear. I'm rotating them in and out of range of the front line every few turns to keep them operational. The Luftwaffe, overall, has just about a 10% sometimes a 20% edge over the Allied Air Forces. This fluctuates, but by the end of 1942, I'm guessing the Axis will be lucky to retain air parity.
As can be seen - the defenses between the Lower Don and the advance on Maikop is... light. As yet, I've not encountered nor seen signs of significant enemy activity, except on the approach to Stalingrad. While I have forces designated for the assault on Maikop and the follow-on effort at Grozny, at least 2-3 more korps (and probably 4) will be needed to keep the eastern flank secure. In the meantime, this task will fall to Wiking, 19th Panzer and 36th Motorized Divisions.
At least two Romanian corps will be freed up and available to assist in this task - the struggle is finding a full German Korps to give the flank additional substance. Other reserves are available, but mostly in the form of security divisions --- meaning that once they can be deployed to take the place of regular infantry divisions in "secure areas" - that a korps might be pieced together. I do prefer to keep the units of each formation together, but German units have full cooperation with each other - so it's not a vital issue.
Overall infantry losses are running at a deficit of about 5% - losing about 2400 more basic Rifle Squads than have been received as replacements. Acceptable for the gains made thus far.
Kandalaksha to the south fell a few turns previously and the Russian 19th Army retreated toward Murmansk. While I do have 25th Panzer Division and its assortment of mixed French/German tanks as this area's strategic reserve - anything else will require pulling divisions out of Norway.
Narvik is important to the Axis and while Norway may have an excessive garrison (over 10 divisions) - not all of them are front line material.
It likely that Murmansk will be reinforced beyond the present Axis capacity. In some ways, this is advantageous if only that it ties up units that would be deployed elsewhere. On the other hand, if Leningrad falls -- Murmansk will eventually receive much more attention.
LendLease "disband cadres" are spread out across the ports of Archangelsk (late Spring to early Fall), Kandalaksha (early Spring & Late Fall), and Murmansk (Winter). If any of these ports are takne, the Lend Lease units are ** only delayed ** until the corresponding city is captured again. I think to do it otherwise would have taken up too many events.
The oilfields are the primary objective. The distances involved in trying to secure all three amount to adding on an 1100 kilometers to the Russian Front, plus an additional 500 km in southern frontage. But, the terrain makes it much easier - a division is not required for every hex across these 1600 km.
Though possible, invasion by the Black Sea is unlikely. To the east, there's the Volga and the Caspian Sea. Good defenses are needed for a few river crossings and some anchorage points. Then, to the south - the mountains - requiring forces for each major crossing.
The same principles that apply offensively, apply defensively, too - so this is not to say that it is an easy affair. Historically, Maikop fell and the Axis were very close to Grozny. Eight Divisions were pulled from the Caucasus to reinforce the situation at Stalingrad -- but if a large part of the effort that went into taking Stalingrad, was instead applied to taking the oilfields first, Grozny would have been taken. Baku - is a different story.
And of course, all those oil wells would have been blown, but Germany had 15,000 oil industry technicians, specialists and engineers on hand to begin immediate repairs. Germany also commissioned several oil companies to further facilitate oil production from these fields. They had the technology, they had the maps to the fields, they even had some of the people who were working in the same fields during the First World War. Baku is the birthplace of the modern oil industry and it was an objective for Germany and the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, too.
Given sufficient time, could have drilled new wells, repaired some refining facilities while starting up smaller interim refineries. Well within their means as we are talking about 40 octane fuel vs 80-90 used by modern cars.
(Come to think of it, a routine should be added that in the event Germany does capture any of the oilfields, that they also become subject to "strategic bombing" - but that's a bit more complex than I know how to implement easily).
Anyways -- that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. The vast majority of my defensive line in Russia is holding to static positions - which would have been necessary in order to keep AGS supplied with sufficient oil.
Skirmishes continue around Voronezh-Yeletz which has the largest accumulation of Soviet hardware of any place on the map. The scope of reinforcements channeled into the area has convinced me that my intended stop lines are slightly out of my reach.
Screenshot shows the situation the second turn after the initial penetration of the Maikop defenses. I'm pretty religious about resting up units after one offensive before throwing them into a second. Following the cleanup - it'll take 3-4 turns for XLI and LXVI Korps to rest, gain supply and readiness. LSSAH, Das Reich and Totenkopf will be supporting them on the Grozny offensive.
Presently II & IV Romanian Corps have the task of screening the flank of the upcoming Grozny offensive. They have the initial support of 36 Motorized and 13th Panzer Divisions with SS Wiking as the area's strategic reserve.
It's difficult coming up with enough units to cover the large gap between Stalingrad and Astrakahn. An extra Romanian division or two and some security forces are being diverted into the area. The only major relief in sight is over a month away with the arrival of V Korps.
This effort is simply to contain the Russians geographically to the Stalingrad and Astrakahn defensive positions. Further reinforcement of the Caucasus will have to be done via a combination of rail and sea transport. Not a large help given Allied rail and sea transport capacity.
The fighting around Voronezh-Yeletz is drawing down, screenshot shows my desired line (+/-) compared to where things stand now (and more or less remain for several more turns). The stopline is only concerned with grabbing some rail line so the entire front would be on or adjacent to railhead level supply. Major Soviet reinforcements to this area gave me cause to pause to consider the costs and value.
The Eleventh Armee recently took Sevastopol, so it is being railed north to lend support to the upcoming assault on Leningrad. That's an extra eight divisions and all available rail artillery. This decision is based partly upon the Soviet withdrawal of the one army that had a chance of opening up a corridor to the city. I don't expect for Leningrad to fall easily or fast. If the Karelian operation is to have any real chance of success, it will need reinforcements.
Collapsing the Leningrad pocket will free up the Finnish Ishtmus Group, XXXIX Panzer Korps, L and XXVI Korps, plus 11th Armee.
The Allied Forces have, thus far, not engaged aggressively except against the Luftwaffe and bridges. Gradually, the Allied Air Forces are coming closer and closer to air parity. Turn by turn aircraft losses are fairly high for some units - leading them to get "lots of new aircraft" the next turn - taking them from veteran to green status. Where most units started around 75-80% proficiency, a number are now in the 50 - 65% range. Conversely, I do have one fighter unit at 100% proficiency and a number of bombers in the high 80's.
Tank losses have been relatively light:
1x Pz35, 29x Pz38, 109x PzIIIH, 166x Pz IIIJ, 10x PzIIIN,
50x PzIVE, 40x PzIVF2, 32 STGIII, 12x Marder I, 22 Marder II/III
10 M13/40, 10 M13/41, 7 TK
With Manstein's two additional korps and heavy artillery in place, the assault on Leningrad began (T17). As can be seen, XXX Korps went into reorganization from the losses received in the opening assault. Still, that leaves three more infantry korps plus XXXIX Panzer Korps to continue the assault - taking turns in repeated waves so as to not wear any one division down more than necessary. The typical pattern is to attack twice at minimize losses, then escalate to limit losses, and finally, if still able, ignore losses.
While the defenders of Leningrad do receive replacements, they are on 50% supply and likely will not receive reinforcements. Where the Axis heart is being thrown at the oil fields, its soul is thrown into taking Leningrad. This comes at the cost of two korps not being thrown into the Grozny offensive.
There are two aspects to the Grozny Operation. The northern screen is a hodge-podge of whatever could be hastily assembled to break the north-south rail line from Astrakahn to the Caucasus; while also trying to "contain" any Russian offensive that might be mounted from that area. Observing the build-up at Astrakahn is the most worrisome segment of the front.
Every able and available reserve is being diverted to support the defense of a probable 450 km front (30 hexes) held together by the stitches of 10-11 divisions. If reserves cannot be found - they'll be created!
No less than a 1200 tanks and assault guns have staged for the Grozny offensive. The defenses there are building up and they'll have to be hit hard and fast. Supporting this, is a single infantry division. My hope is that by the time the final push comes for Grozny that additional infantry will be available.
Despite promises from Keitel to Army Group South, reinforcements to bolster the flank of the Grozny offensive have been slow to arrive. A Romanian Mountain Division, a battalion of Brandenburgers, and a Flak regiment. The newly raised V Korps, however has reached Salsk and is preparing to disembark from its trains. A significant help, but not enough.
Army Group Center reluctantly gave permission for 14th Panzer to redeploy to the South. Second time it's been diverted to support Case Blue. Aside from perhaps another Romanian Division and perhaps two Security Divisions, the only other relief to be expected is an SS Cavalry division that might arrive in a month.
More could be raised by thinning the lines from Army Group North to the Northern Don - Kuchler and Kluge have blatantly refused on the basis that there is no immediate threat, the Soviets have been sticking to a purely defensive footing, "If there was that much concern over the flank, 11th Armee would not have been deployed to Leningrad."
Eyes turned further West -- Rundstedt offering to free up an extra korps, possibly along with 6th Panzer Division. Plus another korps would be forming in France within six weeks; it was agreed that it too would be allocated to the Stalingrad-Astrakhan area.
Reichsmarshall Goehring then chimed in something about creating some Luftwaffe Field Divisions...
As noted above, but shown here in the area noted "The Weak Link" - a major Soviet build-up around Astrakhan has been observed over the past few turns. Expendable Soviet units have been scouting my lines for a few weeks. I have no doubt that an attack will be coming here, sooner or later. I can count on the Romanians to hold the line one turn, maybe two.
The Grozny offensive hasn't been launched yet, units are staging and trying to max-out their supply levels. If the situation truly looked desperate, units could be diverted - but every ounce of discipline is being used to stick to the plan. I expect Grozny to be a much tougher fight than Maikop. The Soviets know my objective and they've had time to prepare, dig in and reinforce while I await the panzers to fill up their tanks.
The rail line is gauging forward steadily, but it won't be able to reach Grozny.
XLVIII Panzer Korps and XLIX Mountain Korps with the Italian Alpini Divisions continue to make headway along the Black Sea. Just when I think they've stalled, they manage to surge forward.
This can only be credited to the Grossdeutchland Division - the "go to division" when everything else fails.
No screenshot for this post. With Fall setting in, I gambled on a major offensive (105% shock @ 2 Turns) was planned for October 2nd, mainly for the Grozny Operation. October 9th, mud season hit and that carries over a few turns. A major offensive undermined by weather... that's how it goes sometimes. Very funny for obvious reasons.
The Luftwaffe - (to include Axis-friendly air forces) total losses are at 2,640 aircraft. Mike's been hammering Axis air bases at every opportunity, mostly in Russia and blowing bridges in Europe, so it has been a very active, but not all-out air war. Historically, from July to December, about 2,500 German aircraft were lost in combat. The numbers appear to be fairly realistic. At best, the Axis air forces can claim air parity, superiority has been lost.
France - The full original garrison forces remain in France minus 1 infantry korps and two panzer divisions. Over a dozen reserve divisions have taken their place, however - mostly coastal defense duty. Available AA units have taken up positions on the major bridges which have been hammered repeatedly. How effective they are is difficult to assess, they don't appear to be much of a deterrent, though the Luftwaffe is in good order throughout northern Germany and France, so I suspect Allied air forces are taking significant losses one way or the other.
Norway - Original garrison forces remain excepting the RR Engineer Brigade, the 25th Panzer Division and one Infantry Division, which have redeployed to assist in Finland.
Finland - From Lake Onega to the town of Kem, along the Isthmus and along the Svir, the situation remains silent and static. Kandalaksha is in Finnish hands; Murmansk is under siege by land but capable of being reinforced by Sea. The Kriegsmarine Admiral Scheer group will be available if/when reinforcements arrive to press the final assault on Murmansk. Both Kandalaksha and Murmansk are Lend Lease destinations, holding both will decrease LL by about 50-55%. (A simplified routine).
Army Group North - reinforced by Manstein's 11th Armee, the Assault on Leningrad is well underway. The outermost defensive ring broke placing Axis forces 30 km away from the city center. Tough fighting is still expected, casualties have been high. Otherwise, the whole length from Kirovsk to Vitebsk is quiet.
Army Group Center - The entirety of AGC is static and very quiet excepting periodic exchanges near the Voronezh - Yeletz line.
Army Group South - Upper Don to Stalingrad - Quiet.
Army Group South - Northern Caucasus - The advance on Grozny has gone much slower than expected. While an offensive was planned to start October 2nd, mud season resulted in it being called off. There will be not even the slightest element of surprise.
Besides the shoulder of the offensive, W and SW of Astrakahn is still woefully shy of units. Aside from expendable Russian units probing my defenses, however, there has been no offensive; just ongoing reports of a build-up in the Astrakahn vicinity.
Along the Black Sea, the mixed German-Italian force continues to make slow progress, having just taken Sochi.
The Balkans - The widest mix of nationalities - Italians, Germans, Croatians, Hungarians and Bulgarians have been successful in eliminating the majority of partisan groups in the area. Not all though. The remaining partisan units are very strong and likely beyond the offensive capabilities of the units in the area.
Italy/Sicily - Sicily's defenses have been bolstered by three German Reserve Divisions, a Reserve Panzer Division, and an SS Mountain Infantry Division.
Western Libya - I've been able to muster 7 divisions near Tripoli as a contingency force in the event of Vichy capitulation.
Eastern Libya - English brigades have been baiting Rommel to advance ever since taking Sidi Barrani. The situation here is precarious as the English build-up in Egypt is known to be very significant, potentially even... massive.
Honestly, I really don't see any favorable options. I fear taking a defensive footing and giving Mike the decision of when/where to strike that the Italian divisions will mostly melt under pressure. At the same time, charging headlong into fortified positions, outnumbered and somewhat beyond the reach of the bulk of Luftwaffe FW-190's, would be suicidal.
The best option is to try to get the English to advance beyond their fortification network and "inflict as much damage as possible". Even then, I don't think the Afrika Korps has much of a chance, but this offers at least some chance, small as it may be. Extra bombers have been flown into Crete from the Balkans.
Germany: The only available reserves consist of three reserve panzer divisions and a dozen or so replacement divisions, aside from flak units, reserve center and forts.
Other Notes: Overall infantry losses have been close to par with the replacement rate. This owes to a) very specific, if limited objectives and b) absence of major Allied ground offensives (as yet). Combat activity for many turns focus on fewer than 10 hexes - foregoing anything that doesn't provide the potential for some kind of advantage - whether VP, rail lines, better defensive terrain. Consequently, with most units at full strength; turn by turn replacements are feeding those units doing most of the fighting. Wherever possible, units are rotated in/out of the front as they recover.
Allied Forces hold 275 VP; Axis hold 985; Axis Victory Level is 713 out of 1260 with 3 coming from eliminating the N. Caucasus Front - making for a Significant Victory (same as at start). Reaching, much less holding, an Overwhelming Victory is not easy - would require taking all of the Caucasus and a few other cities.
At this point, I think Baku is more or less out of my reach. Will push as far as I can, but am only confident about taking Grozny - and not expecting it to be easy, definitely not like Maikop.
If Leningrad falls, then I will go after Murmansk. Otherwise, I expect the rest of the game to be mostly defending everything I can.
Game Issues - Fortunately, no further bugs have been encountered (presently @T45). One German Korps has an excessively low supply proficiency which needs to be fixed. Otherwise,
* Weather Severity (particularly snow) needs to be increased by two notches.
* From Justus' game, Bulgaria needs to capitulate if Sofia is taken (currently keys off Romanian capitulation)
* Review Lend Lease whether some portion should be automatically received via replacements vs disband cadres per deliveries via the Pacific and Iran. Not bad "as is" if seen as an abstract for the "whole war".
* Set up a larger range of variables and options relative to Vichy France; probably with an extra honor rule or two.
* Increase the "difficulty" in the Balkans.
The situation as Grozny - not much explaining to do. Reinforcements to Grozny will have to travel by sea via the Caspian.
Where the Allies have abundant rail transport, they only have 15k or less sea transport for the most part. This will be divided amongst the Caucasus and Murmansk cut off from rail lines; American reinforcements needing to stage to England and any follow-on transport to North Africa.
The only reason Rommel lasted as long as he did in North Africa was because the British kept shifting their forces around to other threatened areas throughout 1941. In 1942, all other areas are more or less contained (Iraq/Syria) or not relevant (England/Greece/Crete), with the Pacific being a wild card. So, the English are free to focus everything they have in Egypt if they choose to - and there's really not too many reasons why they wouldn't.
Once the Allies approach within a 2-3 hex radius of Tunis, the southern exclusion zone is lifted, opening up the entirety of southern Europe to a possible Allied invasion. Most areas are fairly well garrisoned. Italian divisions in the Balkans have been recalled to Italy for beach defense duty. German units have been shifted from Belgrade to Greece to reinforce the remaining Italian contingent there.
Decisions... Decisions... English and American forces have landed in Morocco and Algiers. That puts a whole new spin on the situation in North Africa. Vichy French forces capitulate without a fight. A total of 5 Italian and 2 German Leichte Divisions staged as contingency forces in Tripoli begin deployments to Algeria and Tunisia. Additional forces will need to be scraped together for the defense of Tunisia to amount to much.
The opening of the second front in North Africa spells eventual doom for Rommel. Of more immediate concern is a contingent of at least two armoured and infantry divisions swinging around my right flank - Mike pulled one of Rommel's own tricks out of Montgomery's hat.
With the terrain as it is, the English advance presents an opportunity, a very risky one - try to cut the English off at the base of their advance. All that is needed is to advance toward the Qatarra Depression and hold against any counterattacks... if just for one turn.
Only Littorio and 10th Panzer Divisions were in a position to answer the call for this maneuver - to squeeze between the impassible sand dunes and the English defensive line. The German 90th Leichte and the Italian Regina Infantry Division are the only units able to offer immediate resistance to the English I & X Corps. Italian forces including the Centauro Armored, Brescia and Pistoia Motorized Divisions are on hand to (try) to contain any further English advance.
This is a long shot, but North Africa depends upon winning a couple long shots, so a decision might as well be made here. For better or worse.
To the south, the Battle for Grozny wages. It's not a fight that will be won fast. It needs reinforced with infantry - but it can maintain the status quo plus make progress with what it has on hand.
Much greater concern has grown over the gradual build-up of Soviet forces near Astrakahn which has finally been unleashed. The Romanian II & IV Infantry Corps bore the brunt of the initial attacks by 10th Guards & 4th Shock Armies, and 36th Motorized Division torn asunder by 1st & 3rd Guards Tank Armies.
Additional relief is close at hand with the arrival of the LXXXVIII Korps from France; 323rd Infantry Division released from VII Korps (near Voronezh), 257th Infantry Division from XLIV Korps (SE of Frolovo) and 294. Infantry Division once it is relieved from Maikop area defense duties by a security division from AGC.
The line needs to be held together for about a month to six weeks before enough reinforcements are available to cement it.
Where the heaviest concentration of Axis armor is sitting near Grozny, Leningrad boasts the highest concentration of heavy artillery. The assault on Leningrad involves 11th & 18th Armees - XXVI Korps, XXX Korps, L Korps and LIV Korps, SS Polizei Division and 18th Motorized Division from XXXIX Panzer Korps.
The sum total of Axis rail artillery is positioned here - 2x 800mm; 7x 400mm; 5x 305mm; 8x 280mm; 2x 240mm; 2x 194mm and 2x 170mm.
This is supported by the 1st Werfer Brigade amounting to 33x 280mm; 35x 210mm and 96x 150mm Nebelwerfers.
11th Armee adds 2x 420mm, 12x 305mm; 6x 170mm; 45x 150mm and 7x 105mm artillery pieces, plus another 27x 150mm rocket launchers. Finally, 18th Armee adds another 1x 420mm, 6x 305mm, 8x 240mm, 6x 210mm, 11x 170mm and 24x 150-155mm artillery pieces.
Altogether, this includes over 300 pieces of heavy artillery not counting that which is assigned at the Korps and Division level.
Taking Leningrad is an expensive effort. Attacks on Leningrad's defensive perimeter started almost three months ago. The Infantry Division showing "5-2", the 212th ID, is down to a total of 13 Heavy Rifle Squads and 2 Engineer Squads, but most of its heavy equipment remains intact.
Four out of the 16 divisions assigned to Leningrad are dedicated to fighting each week. They cycle out where possible and new units cycle in. With only the Grozny and Black Sea being hotly contested areas; units are quick to regain strength. Replacements are received slightly below the overall casualty rates.
Despite taking the central hex, fighting has been getting tougher, not easier - and a large part of that seems to be the remaining guns of the Russian Baltic Fleet concentrating on defense.
The English pounced on the Littorio Division forcing it to retreat. Then gave 10th Panzer Division a good working over, sending it into reorganization. Further calamity not shown in the screenshot, 90th Leichte Division, already in reorg, evaporated upon being pressed by the 1st and 10th English Armored Divisions.
This being the situation at the end of the turn, I am not expecting the 10th Division to survive another week. It looks and feels like a chaotic whirlwind of activity. Mike has the upper hand here. It hurts to lose a panzer division anywhere, but especially in North Africa as without control of Malta, the German Army should only have 6 divisions in North Africa (and up to 6 supporting brigades). This is a full 20% of the Afrika Korps being chopped off.
The XLVIII Panzer and XLIX Mountain Korps, with support from the Italian Alpini Corps continue pressing as hard as their strength permits along the Black Sea. At this juncture, it feels like they've gone as far as they can go without additional reinforcements. Further, it looks like the Soviets are poised to be reinforced.
The situation at the Astrakahn Bulge -- IV Romanian Corps in dire straights. Romanian losses have been fairly light. I'll likely lose the 1st Romanian Cavalry Division for good - none of the cavalry divisions reconstitute. However, there are 295 Romanian Rifle Squads in the replacement pool - 391 squads have been lost thus far. So Romanian 13th Infantry Division should reform along with the IV Corps HQ -- but it will likely be shy on support squads reducing its supply effectiveness.
Mike's hammered the 36th Motorized Division and 11th Panzer Division, too - but reinforcements are gradually reaching the area.
As 10th Panzer Division marched off into captivity, Littorio Armored Division also got separated from the pack. With the situation escalating, Folgore Airborne Division was dropped right into the thick of it in an attempt to block off any route of retreat for the English 1st and 10th Armored Divisions. Impenetrable dunes blocked off their other route of escape. A tag team effort between 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions forced both English armored divisions to evaporate, however - they were not cut off from supply and most of their equipment likely made it back to the replacement pool. Still, that's two armored divisions to contend with in the immediate.
The English 8th Armored Division find itself in a similar situation, but it is likely to be relieved by supporting infantry.
The known balance of power:
6 German & Italian HQ's (artillery assets)
8 Italian Infantry Divisions plus 1 Infantry Brigade
3 Italian Armored Divisions
2 German Armored Divisions
4 English HQ's (artillery assets)
7 English Infantry Divisions plus 6 Infantry Brigades
3 English Armoured Divisions plus 1 Tank Brigade
I'm certain there's more out there that cannot be seen. The English and American air forces have the advantage this close to Egypt. Plus, there is the English Mediterranean Fleet to contend with, but the Italian Navy has yet to enter the fray on any significant level.
Any numerical advantage held by the Axis that might appear to exist is offset by the quality of the English infantry. Italian unit proficiency ranges from 35 - 60% where the English are consistently 70% +. The English also have better squads and somewhat more heavy equipment, if slightly hampered by their continued reliance upon 2 pounder ATG's. By now, they should have a fair number of 6 pounders.
One other thing is that once the Italian infantry units are destroyed, they are gone for good. The Italian armor will reconstitute subject to what is available in the replacement pool. Conversely, the German 10th and 15th Panzer divisions will not reconstitute. The 21st will, however.
Trying to keep pace with Mike's posts... but will have to skimp here and there with more situation summaries.
