GD1938 Game 22

[cpdeyoung]

15 September 1941

Hail the Chinese for the liberation of Peking!

Their Soviet allies pushed the Japanese hard and elements, including HQs, of the Japanese 2nd and 3rd armies are in strained supply. Red army troops are anxious to take Mukden, and to regain Vladivostok. As we take territory we are careful to minimize casualties in our allies' lands.

The First and Second Tank Armies on our western front against the Germans are large organizations, but there are Infantry armies there also. 01T and 02T are primarily mechanized commands, although 01T has a larger infantry component now. Stavka has both infantry and mech forces under its direct command.

What a pleasure it is to see our allies standing tall against the Axis. Their actions are all we could ask for, and we know they are suffering for the cause, as are the brave Soviet people.

[Bombur]

Amsterdam holds and was again reinforced. Air attacks on Le Havre forced the Luftwaffe to react, losing about 180 aircraft, against more or less the same number for the British. The RAF is finally a competitive force, the Spitifire IX being a match for the Fw190A. The Battle of Atlantic goes on, with the Germans losing two submarines and three destroyers.
The entire Spanish Front is collapsing, the Italians have formidable artillery forces. Valencia is a lost case, and it´s unlikely Gibraltar will hold. Anyway, more units are being sent to the area.
Far East, few activity last month. The Japanese Fleet retreated from Singapore. A big surprise is being prepared for the Japanese soon.....
Air attack over Bangkok. The Japanese N1K2 shot down 40 Hurricanes and 10 Spitifires IX with no losses for themselves.

[rhinobones]

Appreciate all the AARs the players are creating. I know from experience that it takes time to write an AAR but it does add to the game's "fun factor".

However, it is really difficult to follow the action with text only. Would it be possible to post some world (or local) maps to give us a better understanding of the conflict? Probably not a current turn map, but a map from a few turns ago. Enough to give us the experience without enlightening your opponents.

Regards, RhinoBones

[cpdeyoung]

Here is a map from the Soviet perspective. It is blurred, but should show the rough front lines. A Soviet turn has occurred since this map was current.

[ironduke1955]

This from a German Italian perspective and is about 4 months old and shows the Soviet Counter attacks against the German advances in the south with the Soviet forces around Christenau breaking out of their encirclement and turning the tables on the Germans who are surrounded in turn. The lines in Spain have changed somewhat and the British incursions into France and Holland are dated but highlight there nuisance value.

The reason I have stopped the pics is that I am playing some excellent Allied players and the less they know about current German dispositions the better.

[baloo7777]

I'm not so good with of the map thing yet (57 yrs old and still tech challenged). I included a closeup of the area I mention below (without any units).

Units of the Chinese 1st Tank Army have pushed south from Peking, while units from the United China Front, led by a spearhead the Nationalist Tank Army pushed northeast from the Chinese interior and have met on the shores of the sea, cutting off Tientsin, and encircling a large number of the Imperialist Forces remaining in Northern China.
However, further south,and likely due to FOW and faulty intelligence, an attack by the 5th Peoples Army was repulsed with heavy casualties taken. Several Generals have been recalled from the area and are being held for questioning on how this could have happened.

[ironduke1955]

Turn 50 October 1941 Germans

Army Group south forced their way into Kiev the Ukrainian Capital is now under Axis control. 1st SS Panzer army contributed one division then other 3 divisions are recovering from last months battles to take the city. The Soviet Forces to the east are still retaining shape and as many formations that have been degraded there are as many formations at full strength.

France and Holland. Amsterdam still in British hands one squad of surviving Churchill Heavy Tanks is the stumbling block the 75mm Long gun on the PZIVg unable to defeat the Churchill with its out dated 2 pounder AT gun.

[ironduke1955]

Turn 50 October 1941 Italians

Valencia was taken by the Italians a British Armored formation was encountered on the road south from Valencia to Gibraltar.

The first attack against the Greeks was launched with some success reinforcements are on their way to the Balkans

The Azores is now under Axis control after a amphibious landing making life safer in the Western Atlantic

[cpdeyoung]

13 October 1941

In the Far East China and the Soviet Union are working together to push the Japanese off the Asian mainland. Japan faces a one, two punch each month as the tag-team pummels them. Not to be forgotten are the French and British who are attacking with air and naval assets.

The path this battle has taken raises the question of why Japan started this war? Was pressure from the European Axis involved? Did Japan underestimate her enemies or overestimate her own military.

In the West the Soviets are saddened by the loss of Kiev, but are hoping the tide changes and this great city will become Soviet again.

Meanwhile our factories continue to produce war materials.

[Bombur]

France/GB Turn


-The Axis navies seem to have commited a small navigation error, since they Island they took was the Madeira Island, not the Azores. The British naval base in Azores remain fully operational and additional measures were taken to protect it.
-Western Europe: German Forces attacked by British aircraft, suffering moderate losses, the German fighters didn´t take off to intercept the raids. Le Havre again in British hands, while Amsterdam got significant reinforcements.
-Spain: British armoured units attack the Italian heavy tanks. About 20 tanks were destroyed, for the same number of Matildas and a few extra infantry.
-Far East: British submarines ordered to start unrestricted naval warfare against Japan. The new shipyard in South Africa is producing submarines and other warships.
-Another battle between Spitifires and N1K2 over Bangkok. This time the British fighters got the upper hand.

[ironduke1955]

German turn 51 November 1941

The Donets River Line East has been cleared at no little cost to the Germans, casualties among the Wehrmacht continue to mount for little gain.


France more incursions by the British thinking of calling their ops 101 Diepe's. As I have said before at least I know where they are.

[ironduke1955]

Turn 51 Italians November 1951

The French and British now compressed into a thin strip running from Madrid south towards Cadiz now in Italian hands.

The British tanks to the East of Gibraltar hold up the Italian Advance their readiness zero but still they hold ?

Island of Madeira now Axis controlled weather nice lovely views the British left their meals on the table next stop the Azores.

More attacks in Greece signs that the British are reinforcing they certainly are the good ally.

Italians and Germans are amused by the constant drip about why are the Japanese not more like us, why are they starting nasty Wars and trying to conquer other nations, well the answer is simple it would be a pretty dull game if they didn't [:)]

[cpdeyoung]

Well, as much as amusing the Germans is one of our goals, we were making a point. We tried our best to look strong, and be strong, in the Far East. We wanted to avoid war there, knowing we still had to allocate resources to the theater. We did not succeed. The Japanese attacked us anyway.

We wondered if the European Axis was encouraging them to come forth? We wondered if we looked like we were bluffing?

We sought to draw some comments out of the inscrutable Japanese, but this, too, was unsuccessful.

[ironduke1955]

It was never a secret and fairly obvious that the attack was a plan but not a coordinated plan, when the Japanese were ready was the remit and that's when they attacked. With only three major powers under our control some joint planning was needed but no pressure was applied they kicked off when they were ready. Might have been better to wait until the Germans were ready to start some kind of offensive operations after June 22nd 1941 but that was left entirely up to the Japanese.

[LJBurstyn]

I had no direct communications with the Germans. I attacked Russia because it looked like they were preparing to attack me and they are communist. In other games when the Russians attacked Japan, Japan cannot stop them. I was hoping to pre-emept their attack and gain enough ground to hold on until aid came my way. With the loss of the only two resource points on the continent for my troops I have to hold onto Borneo. I saw this coming and with GB saying they will aid Russia and Russia saying they want us off the continent I decided to continue attacking GB in the far east Pacific.

[cpdeyoung]

Interesting comments, thanks.

Here is the latest map out of Asia.

[cpdeyoung]

Here is Europe.

[cpdeyoung]

And the Balkans.

[ironduke1955]

December 1941 Germans

The battle for Kharkov raged for the entire month the city is in German hands, despite brilliant and desperate defense by the Soviets,
the Germans counted some six hundred of the heavy KV1's and a at least a thousand of the newer 1941 model T34, the coal region to the east is yet to be secured,
OKW has doubts about the strength of Army Group South to complete the task.

In the France the British are on the advance and will shortly have to be stopped.

[ironduke1955]

December 1941 Italians

The British tanks were finally forced back on Gibraltar only one squad surviving, the Italians began a naval bombardment of Gibraltar to compliment the ground barrage from Italian artillery, the scale of British incursions is shown with the Greeks throwing in with the Western Allies/Soviets stretching the Axis in Europe to another front.