Europe Aflame 2012 AAR: Mark Stevens vs sealclubber

[sealclubber]

Western Front:

With the Luftwaffe fighter units mostly transferred to the West, RAF and French Air Force support is increasingly interdicted. Combats are increasingly unfavourable and costly - even more so than the previous week. The French have settled on two objectives: complete the drive for the Rhine in the north to strengthen the defences of the Low Countries and isolate the German units that invaded Luxembourg. Despite significant force strength advantages, the Luftwaffe running its own combat support makes short work of the offensive. Allied High Command must revert to the defensive as more and more German units rail back to the front from Poland:

[Edwire]

Sealclubber,

Nice to see another EA AAR going! Love to see the Western Front is very active in the beginning of the game [:D]
It will be interesting how german plan to conquer france with the french troops far ahead in the frontline.

[sealclubber]

August 26, 2013

Persian Front:

The Persians retreating through the mountain are unable to keep up and Red Army units finally get in front of them. At this point they will no longer be able to interdict the road. Red Army commanders expect to be able to trap the Persian Army and advance to Tehran unmolested:

[sealclubber]

Finnish Front:

In the far north, Red Army forces continue to advance unopposed as Finnish units have retreated through the area. The advance halts at the key town of Kemi where the bridge over a major river has been destroyed. In the south, three fresh mechanized corps blast their way through the unprepared Finnish defenders and threaten the bulk of the Finnish Army with encirclement:

[sealclubber]

Western Front:

The Germans counter-attack south-west of Koblenz and being reinforcing the theater with railed troops from Poland. These units are not fresh, however represent substantial new force strength in the theater. The commander of the French 2nd & 3rd Army Groups is killed in a Luftwaffe air raid and it takes a week before a new commander is assigned and at the front. Major French units are paralyzed at a very inopportune time. Allied high command is realizing that continuing the offensive last week was folly and defensive redeployment should have begun at that time. Better late than never though, so French units redeploy (as is possible) and dig in for an inevitable counter-strike.

[sealclubber]

ORIGINAL: Edwire

Sealclubber,

Nice to see another EA AAR going! Love to see the Western Front is very active in the beginning of the game [:D]
It will be interesting how german plan to conquer france with the french troops far ahead in the frontline.

Oh he definitely had a plan as you'll see!

[sealclubber]

September 2, 2013

Germany launches an invasion of the Low Countries (technically, Luxembourg was already invaded previously)! Allied and Red Army forces are stunned and paralysis grips armed forces around the world.

Persian Front:

As expected, the Persians are unable to interdict the road. The Red Army continues to pursue the Persian forces through the mountains and secures the road. Forward elements race towards Tehran...

[sealclubber]

Finnish Front:

The encircled Finnish Army takes advantage of Red Army shock and breaks out of the encirclement. The bad news never reaches Stalin. Red Army units request permission to utilize superior mobility to outrun the retreating Finns and block their escape however the paralysis at STAVKA (Stalin is on vacation) prevents any pursuit.

[sealclubber]

Western Front:

The German Army attacks along the wings, clearly intent on closing two pincers at Namur thereby entrapping perhaps 2/3rds of the French Army (including the best and most capable parts of it). French units immediately begin withdrawing from the forming pocket and launch all out counter-attacks against the German left wing into Luxembourg in an attempt to keep lines of communication open.

The Dutch withdraw to "Fortress Holland", blowing bridges and entrenching within the capital. The Belgians are unprepared for the attack and are completely paralyzed.





EDIT: Just realized I marked the wrong attack positions. Ah well, I guess thats what happens when you write these things 7 turns behind!

[sealclubber]

September 9, 2013

This would be a good time to point out that Mark has launched several amphibious invasions and attacks, all of which have failed. He is very liberal with these and is generally the crafty type that likes to sneak random HQs into your rear to cut road supply.

Persian Front:

The Persian army cannot keep up with road-mobile Red Army units. Forward elements reach Tehran and the Shah declares it an open city. Tehran is captured and the Shah sues for peace.

[sealclubber]

Finnish Front:

The Finns take advantage of Red Army paralysis to begin a withdrawal. The Red Army maintains contact and continues its ouflanking maneuvers:

[sealclubber]

Western Front:

The Dutch and Belgian parts of the front are quiet.

German units press very hard and pound away at French units in the forming pocket causing evaporations and retreats while continuing to advance the pincers. Almost every French unit within the potential pocket is battered, under-strength and exhausted. The Germans reach the north-east and south-west of Namur. French units are fortified within the city, however movement is nearly impossible.

Allied high command sees only one option: attack the wings or lose the vast majority of the French army, and indeed, the country. Belgian forces reinforce French positions, freeing up additional French units for the attack. At this point and given the density of troops east of Namur, it is the only hope for the French. However the German units have worn themselves out advancing along two narrow fronts and the French army units are packed so tight in the pocket that there is no shortage of men to throw at the German wings. Two counter-attacks force the wings back, if temporarily.

Unfortunately, the turn ended immediately after the first combat resolution and French forces remain threatened.

[sealclubber]

September 16, 2013

Finnish Front:

In the north, Red Army forces encounter a small Finnish reserve brigade defends the road south-west towards Helsinki. Several attacks with air support dig out the brigade and a heavy assault by mechanized and motorized units causes the Finnish brigade to melt away.

In the south, mechanized units attempt to maintain momentum and smash their way forward. The attack retreats most of the Finnish units, but VI Corps reserve holds its ground:

[sealclubber]

Western Front:

Belgian and Dutch fronts are mostly quiet with some inconsequential attacks by the Wehrmacht.

German units continue advancing the pincers, once again reaching the outskirts of Namur from both sides. Within the closing pocket, German forces batter French forces causing many, many retreats and evaporations. French units continue to stream out of the forming pocket wherever possible. One, single counter-attack against the German right-wing forces back lead elements of the pincer, buying the French more time to withdraw its forces...

[sealclubber]

September 23, 2013

Finnish Front North:

In the north, Red Army units advance deeper into Finland and encouter coastal batteries with a small garrison at Oulu. Finnish guerillas harry the columns from the forests, but are ignored:

[sealclubber]

Finnish Front South:

In the south, the Finns have reorganized and moved back into the choke point and start entrenching. The mechanized corps have taken substantial losses and are withdrawn and replaced by infantry corps to continue the attack the following week:

[sealclubber]

Western Front:

The Germans advance their right pincer again and overrun weakened French units remaining forward of Namur. Unlike previous weeks, the French no longer have the sheer mass of (albeit weakened) units with which to counter-attack. In any case, the withdrawal over the past two weeks has made a counter-attack mostly unnecessary. French forces that have withdrawn from the trap are mostly broken shells. Losses have been so heavy that these shells will not recover - there are simply no men left to fill the ranks:

[sealclubber]

September 30, 2013

Finnish Front:

Soviet forces in the north spend the entire week assaulting Oulu and seize it from the small garrison. The road south seems clear.

In the south, Red Army infantry attempts to break the forming Finnish defences. Several attacks all fail with high losses. The lack of rested mechanized troops (and the Red Air Force in reorg) have effectively ended the Red Army advance along this axis as the Finnish forces will fortify and then become impregnable. The exhausted infantry withdraws and fresh reserves begin digging defences:

[sealclubber]

Western Front:

The Germans launch attacks on several parts of the front, including Namur. The fortified defenders hold Namur and other positions, but the French army has no reserves of any value except fixed fortress troops entrenched around Paris. The line will crumble under sustained German pressure. The only question now is if the line can hold until winter when French units will have a chance to resupply and freshly trained Allied colonial infantry will be able to fill the ranks of the depleted French divisions.

Overall, the Rhineland campaign has been costly for the French. About 1/3rd of its overall corps and divisions were evaporated during the withdrawal as units split and disintegrated. French units attempting to withdrawal piled up in massive traffic jams and simply abandoned their equipment and melted off into the wilderness.

[sealclubber]

October 7, 2013

Finnish Front North:

In the north, Red Army units are effectively unopposed and race southwards as fast as possible: