Ultradave(WA) vs scout1(Ger), '44 D-Day Start, Turn 33 -Jan 9th, 45

[Harrybanana]

Dave,

On the one hand you are doing a great job of pushing Scout back all along the Front. On the other hand he is doing a great job of not allowing very many units to be isolated and destroyed. In the long run if you can't destroy more units I think Scout will win; but we will have to wait and see.

[ultradave]

I have been trying to punch gaps but when I do I'm just short of what I need to exploit it really well, and it's giving him just enough space to put a finger in the dyke. His units on the north of the Loire are looking vulnerable. I thought I had created quite a pocket there, but they managed to retreat in good order (more or less).

[scout1]

Damn Allies .......

And for the record, it isn't my finger in the dyke ..... [:D]

[ultradave]

spell check can be so annoying

[Harrybanana]

You may already be doing this, but if not try putting all of your armor into just a few corps and set the supply priority of those corps to 4 while leaving all others (ie the ones with the infantry) at 2. I think you will find that the extra supply to the armor corps will give you some extra MPs. Of course you also want the leaders of the armored corps to all have high admin ratings.

[ultradave]

Thanks. The armored fist. I think I need something like that to make a real breakthrough.

[ultradave]

Turn 12. The British VIII Corps breaks through to the banks of the Seine south of Rouen. Not quite enough left to make a bridgehead unfortunately. Canadians break the line south of LeMans, and the 3rd Army splits the German defenders in the Brittany peninsula. All in all a good week. It would have been nice to get a couple of armored divisions across the Seine. Victory points right now a +124 for the allies. This could wind up being a close one.

[scout1]

bad guys keep coming ......

[ultradave]

They do. And that means you are really not going to like this turn. Turn 13, Aug 23, '44

Allies push one division across the Seine. I was hoping for more but not quite. At least the one that is there is a strong one. To the south, the US XIX Corps, which is mostly armored divisions, the Canadian I Corps, along with some help from the French and Polish armor rolls into Orleans after a major breakthrough routing numerous German units along the way (many of which are noticeable in the bulge SW of Paris). The 3rd Army scattered most of the remaining defense in the Brittany peninsula and now it appears that what is left is reducing the seaports of Brest and St. Nazaire. A few reorganizations done to get divisions more evenly assigned. Airborne units now organized into the 1st Allied Abn Army, consisting of the US 18th Abn Corps, the British 1 Abn Corps and the Polish Abn Brigade. A few units reassigned to different Corps in the 1st Army and 3rd Army to even out the Corps strengths.

With all the RR repair units chugging around we are still way out in front of the supplies. I'm sure Scott would like it if we paused to let everything catch up. But all those routed divisions are way to juicy a target to let go with out trying to achieve an even bigger breakthrough in the south.

[scout1]

bring it on airborne ...... the Wehrmacht ain't dead yet .......

[ultradave]

I have no illusions there. Actually they are retreating in pretty good order preventing large encirclements.

[scout1]

Adolf is getting better advice and listening to it this time ......

[scout1]

but please continue to extend yourself .... Guderian is dying to release his panzers

[ultradave]

Allies take L'Orient, and isolate Brest and St. Nazaire in Brittany. Meanwhile the US XIX Corps, V Corps, and the 1st Cdn Army make a large breakthrough between Paris and Orleans. British 1st Army expands it's bridgehead over the Loire north of Paris.

[loki100]

couple of questions - really just comparing this with the 'typical' 1943 start that finally gets around to an invasion of France.

You're doing dramatically better than seems to be achievable from 1943. Just wondering if this was primarily (a) the impact of a 1944 start (with presumably the Germans locked into their historical dysfunctional deployment); (b) a secret beta patch (always get confused when people put up AARs using a non-public beta and can't/don't explian the implications; or, (c) you're a genius.

Of course more than one may apply [;)]

[decourcy2]

I think that the '44 campaign is balanced towards the Allies but perhaps more importantly I THINK that there is a bug in the morale code.

We are discussing this on the beta forum, no units are gaining morale in refit mode. As the American army goes from 55 to 60 morale in Jan '44 if you start in '43 your units in England, reinforcements, what not are still going to have 55 morale in June '44.

I think this is the problem but it has not yet been confirmed by the big bosses, so still just my opinion until then.

[Seminole]

You're doing dramatically better than seems to be achievable from 1943. Just wondering if this was primarily (a) the impact of a 1944 start (with presumably the Germans locked into their historical dysfunctional deployment); (b) a secret beta patch (always get confused when people put up AARs using a non-public beta and can't/don't explian the implications; or, (c) you're a genius.

Curious what version they're using as well. I would assume the biggest difference is that the Germans start in a supply crunch with the '44 scenario that likely won't exist if you start a '43 scenario. The most recent changes to divide supply by 10 if random < railyard damage and the shorter range to pull rail capacity (30 hexes instead of 50) I think are going to make a big difference.

With the change in TF naval interdiction and these new supply rules the Allies have gotten a big bump that is going to obviate a lot of what we saw in the earliest AARs.

[scout1]

I'm thinking Dave is a genius ........

[scout1]

I'm running 37 .... assume Dave is too, but he'd need to asnwer that ....

[scout1]

The flip side though in fairness is that I don't know how to handle the German defence/retreat ...... Always gotta consider ALL possibilities ......