Nirosi vs Boldairade(Nirosi welcome)

[boldairade]

German losses are immediately replaced by fresh forces.

And now, the Wehrmacht has 6 or 7 months to prep for its next offensive in 1943.

[boldairade]

In Rhodes, English units heroically swarmed the beaches and defeated the island's defenders. But now, due to almost unfathomable incompetence by the Royal Navy, their future is in Italian prison camps.

[stjeand]

ORIGINAL: boldairade

stjeand

how have i cut off sweden?

can't he just use the convoy route from there-across the sea?

I was more trying to cut off iron ore from Narvik, and I don't think I have accomplished that yet, looking at the convoy routes.

what are 'MS in production pool"?

You have taken a Norway port...that will be 6 turns per year in the winter that 25PP can't flow.
ANY port stops the flow of resources in Norway. That is an issue in my eyes but how it works.
You just have to control a single hex that the convoy route passes through. And you have that.
You did not STOP all resources but 300 a year is a 39 mech and should not be forgotten.

I suggest...holding in Norway...wipe out those "stuck" German units and dig in with a few corps.
It is unlikely that you will defeat that Panzer...unless you dump in a few more air...then just bomb it into the stone age. It will have to leave.

MS is Merchant ships. Some call them MM...sorry.

Just wondering if you have a bunch in production since you said you are losing in the BOA.

Hopefully you finally caught the Bismark. In my game with Hadros I have been found every turn they looked and the German fleet is decimated. Ridiculous since I can't find his ships like he has found mine...but luck is just that.
Mine is often bad.
In my game with Harrybanana he searched for 4 months never catching my fleet with multiple fleets until one faithful day...

Another thing is...IF you oil is starting to suffer be careful with the UK infantry...they can eat is up moving.



As for the USSR...keep dug in. Winter is coming.


Defeating armor and mech on the front lines is sadly easy once you know what to do...but you really need more armor movement to do it.
Just keep attacking armor even taking losses...it will eat up oil and it will keep them worn all winter into spring. Do not worry about your own troops.
IF any "corps" are available use them. Then pull them back. They get fully repaired for free when convert to half armies.

Also...time to think about invading behind Tripoli...
That way you can make Italy surrender more easily. I am sure you remember that trick.

The only option you have it Rhodes would be...

Keep your unit supplied via the beach head...bomb the unit in the port...keep ships cutting off supplies...the unit will get weaker and weaker with the bombings and not be able to gain efficiency.
After about 10 bombings it should be pretty weak for another attack attempt. Make sure you have another unit ready to invade if you win. Or you could just leave them. For me just keeping a sub there to keep the unit supplied is cheap. Remember CVs Fan bomb twice too...You will need a bomber in Gamagusta

[boldairade]

To all those who have read this far, Uncle Joe wants to wish you a



(Happy New Year)

[stjeand]

NOW to be honest based on what I am seeing in your AAR...Nirosi is where most other players are at the end of 1941...so behind a full year. That is why his units are still in fine shape.
Instead of over extending as most players try to do early...he is moving slower...which means his units are in better shape.

Then again you have a LOT of armies for him to face against...and should be building 1 per turn...so that you can get a deeper front line and have reserves.

Also keep in mind...any armor staying on the front lines should be poked and prodded use up oil.
With the surface fleet out and all the attacks...it will be draining.
Keep it flowing...

I had one 1943 where I started with 30% oil...and that was painful to work around.

[boldairade]

October 9, 1942

BOA-The uboats are back, sinking 9 MM and an escort, suffering only 4 step hits. The German surface fleet is in the Baltic pursuing Soviet convoy raiders. Escorts are launched from Canadian ports.

Norway-An additional division is brought in to occupy Bergen, freeing I Corps(FFL) to move east and secure our front. German forces are cut off from supply. We do launch one attack vs the German division in the mountains, but vs an enemy in favorable terrain in the snow, little success is expected(or achieved). Instead, we wanted to draw the German tac bombers in to support which they do. Without fighter cover, our interceptors score 3 step hits(but take one of their own). Bad weather has arrived here. Offensive operations are likely over.

Swordfish is not a huge success-Oslo is still in German hands, and the PP from Norway is still flowing. But our late landing meant we were never going to achieve a full victory here. However, by occupying two ports, destroying multiple German formations, and drawing some German assets, one must accord this op as a moderate success. The goal was not to fail spectacularly. That was achieved.



Heavy weather in England forces the grounding of US heavy bomber formations. This gives the Germans a respite, but also allows our formations a turn to recover.

[boldairade]

October 9, 1942

Gibraltar-An incredibly tense situation has passed. The Axis fleet withdraws(but only to Algiers). Perhaps more telling, Axis air formations withdraw to the Tunis area, likely to defend vs any attempted amphib ops there. It would appear that Gibraltar is safe-for now.

Eastern Med-UK II Corps continues to languish on the beaches of Rhodes. Efforts to supply them both by air and sea continue, though it seems a lost cause.

A huge op had been planned vs the Axis defenders near Misurta. Code named AQUA-HAMMER, this op was to land a full US corps along with US marines on the coast, which would have flanked Axis armor. Combined with the fleet and WDF armor, they were to displace the German armor, at which point allied infantry were to exploit the breakthrough, supported by both US Armor corps. All of these formations had been brought up to strength with ruinously costly supply truck use.

Nirosi's instincts serve him well. Perhaps sensing the danger, he pulls back one hex, meaning the option to flank on the beaches is denied us. I am one turn later here. We snug up to his formations, but no favorable attack options can be found. Likely we will have to withdraw on this front.

It does leave us with a strike force boarded and ready, however. The US forces instead move to a target of opportunity, invading Crete. This op goes well, and the Italian defenders are easily displaced. Learning from our horrific failure in Rhodes, an English division is on standby, and is unloaded on the beach hex north of the port, and with no other hex to go to, occupies the port. I was unaware of this mechanic, and this is what we SHOULD have done in Rhodes.

[boldairade]

October 9, 1942 East Front-North(Kuznetsov/Vatutin) Very little action here. For the third straight turn, Axis forces south of Murmansk hammer away at Soviet infantry. The Russian formation is depleted, but luckily, both Russian infantry formations here are half armies. We combine the two, which strengthens the formation and allows us to retain our dug in status. To replace the gap in the line, a mech formation that had been moved to counter any breakthrough is moved forward. German cavalry is rotated out, Finish infantry moves up. Soviet tac bombers continue to hammer Axis formations.

South of Leningrad, any hope to counter attack is lost when fresh German infantry moves into position. Repairs on BB Marat continue, slowly.

[boldairade]

October 9, 1942 East Front Center/South-Heavy snow blankets the battlefields in the Center, and heavy rain in on the South front. The Germans appear to be finished for the year.

Stavka looks for any area where a possible counter attack could be attempted, but can find nowhere. The German formations, despite their massive campaign, are uniformly unblemished, and good planning on Nirosi's part has them all entrenched along river lines. The 'Zhukov Plan' was apparently a pipe dream.

[boldairade]

The winter is supposed to be the domain of the Russian. But German units welcome any counter attack. Well supplied, with good winter gear, strong fortifications, and appropriate winter camo, these German gunners hope the Russian is foolish enough to attempt a winter counter attack.

[boldairade]

While some of the troops cornered on Rhodes fight on, more and more are marched into Italian POW camps. For these men, the war is over.

[boldairade]

The joint invasion of Crete is one of few bright spots for the Allies.

[boldairade]

October 23, 1942

BOA-Perhaps the best Allied turn of the war, and certainly the best of the last few months. Two raids sink only 2 MM, with 5 step hits vs the subs. At some point, German sub tech will bump up and they will get the upper hand, however. We currently have a 20 MM cushion, and 70 in the pipeline being built-but most of them are quite a ways away. The lag time on MM construction makes planning difficult. One thing is for sure-my earlier declaration that we had 'overbuilt' MM was not accurate.

Norway/Swordfish-No action here. German tac bombers attempt interdiction but take step losses to the English fighters. This front has gone cold, literally and figuratively.

US Industrial bombing resumes. The fresh formations hit hard, re-bombing Dusseldorf and Essen, hammering the German synthetic oil refinery, and launching light strikes in France. We really do not have enough bombers right now. Serious consideration is being put into converting the Anti Sub squadron. Two more strategic bombers are under construction in The States, but are far from completion.


Gibraltar-No Axis action here. The UK Atlantic fleet takes safe refuge here to refuel and refit.

Eastern Med-We hang on in Rhodes, not sure why. Attempts to eliminate Italian marines in eastern Crete fail. Likely we should have waited for a lack of supply to take its toll, but the odds appeared favorable.

In the desert, near Misurta, one final attempt is being considered.

[boldairade]

October 23, 1942 East Front

Center/South Very little action here, rain blankets the fronts. In the center, our new Soviet HQ arrives, and we are surprised to find when we go to appoint a leader that Nikolai Vatutin is available! Apparently he survived being overrun. He is quickly appointed and re established as supreme commander of the Central Front forces.

In the North, Stavka has selected this front for a counter attack. We need to establish some breathing room south of Leningrad. Perhaps more importantly, we need to try to force Germany to deploy some of her mobile groups during the winter, to keep their readiness down and burn fuel. We cannot find a front where the odds will be in our favor, but striking south of Leningrad may be our best opportunity. Russian forces would not have to cross a river, will be supported by the Red Navy, and as of now, there are not large amounts of German reserves(that will likely change). What we need now is terrible weather.

[boldairade]

November 6, 1942
Norway-The retreating 50th Volksgrenadier Corps manages to cut the rail lines to English formations to the east. This German formation however has been without proper supply for four weeks. US V Corps has been sitting in Stravanger eating hot meals and cleaning their weapons. They make short work of this second line German formation, overrunning it.



It is hard to know exactly how to proceed in Norway. We will of course destroy the last encircled German formation(that will make 3 independent divisions and a corps destroyed). After that, should we drive on Oslo? Allied command has not decided. But they need to very soon.

BOA-7 MM and an escort sunk. 3 Uboat hits. German surface fleet is back in the Arctic Convoy lanes. A small US fleet that includes an carrier pursues(no contact). For now, we suspend the Arctic Convoys. This cannot last long. We face an interesting dilemma in the BOA. Between MM, escorts, and landing craft being built, we currently have no existing ship yards. This is problematic. We currently have only an 18 MM surplus.

Germany-US bomb groups very active, hitting multiple oil/industrial targets. Two German air formations are now here, though neither is currently active. The US will have to upgrade its escort formations.

Gibraltar-No activity here. An attempt is made by the Gibraltar garrison to eliminate the German forces still on the beaches, but we fail. Little damage is done to our forces however.

Eastern Med-On Crete, we finally destroy the Italian marines. We are having no luck reducing the Italians at Rhodes, and the subs are failing to blockade for some reason. A US heavy bomber squadron arrived last turn and took up station in Benghazi. This turn, it destroys all industrial capacity in Taranto.

[boldairade]

November 6, 1942 Africa

With the canceling of AQUA-HAMMER, allied planners have come up with a new plan. It forgoes the landing and relies solely on brute strength. This op is code named DESERT HAMMER.

We wanted to launch this last turn, but would have had to do so with only half the E Med Fleet, as we had moved 4 ships to port already. This turn, the fleet parks off of Misurata, and supports hostilities. WDF launches a frontal assault vs the Italian XX Armor Corps, which receives air support from multiple Italian air formations(which already interdicted our fleet). WDF launches two very costly attacks, then withdraws. Next up is the US 1st Armor Corps, which slams into the already worn down Italian corps. The I Corps launches 3 powerful attacks, but cannot displace the Italian armor, which apparently has a stand and die order. Finally, Canadian II Corps moves in, with heavy artillery, and fresh, destroys the Italian XX Armor Corps. The fresh US II Armor Corps occupies Misurata, and US II Infantry Corps moves up to support them.

An examination of the capture will show you that this op leaves us in a number of precarious situations. The fleet will be exposed to all of those Italian Air units next turn, and possibly the Italian Fleet. The German IV Armor Corps was untouched in the fighting, and is the most powerful formation in the entire theater.

There is no doubt Nirosi will exact a heavy toll for our aggression. Just how heavy remains to be seen. Still, we are trying to keep up the pressure on the Axis here. If we trade losses, we must account that acceptable. The fleet at Gibraltar is redeployed to Benghazi. If the Regia Marina hits us, we will hit back.

[boldairade]

November 6, 1942 East Front Center/South

Again, little activity on either side. Replacement of Soviet Armor corps with infantry formations continues. Stavka is attempting to develop a long term deployment strategy that might make a spring offensive challenging for the Axis forces.

North Front(Konev/Garasimkenko)-The timing here is very poor. Russian armor corps have been railed in, and all of them have been given the Winter Specialist upgrade. I have never tried to use this, and thought this might be an interesting experiment. Unfortunately, in my haste to deploy vs the German formations while they were still worn down and not fully entrenched, I deploy them before poor weather truly takes hold. The snow storms have blown away. This has allowed Nirosi to react(see the anti armor upgrade to his forces?). He doesn't seem terribly worried, however, as few new forces arrive. He has excellent rail access, which will allow him to rapidly respond if any breakthrough were achieved.

[boldairade]

South of Leningrad, German soldiers site a captured Russian flak 39 8.5 cm cannon for anti tank duty.

[boldairade]

78th Sturm Division dug in on the Eastern Front. It looks to be a comfortable winter for the occupiers.

[boldairade]

Having lost the element of surprise, Russian generals are now relying on overwhelming numbers and General Winter to carry their offensive plans. Will that be enough? Or will the entrenched German defenders shred the coming offensive?