Nirosi vs Boldairade(Nirosi welcome)

[boldairade]

November 20, 1942

Norway-Allied forces complete the destruction of German 20th Coastal division, also inflicting hits on the stukas that try to support it. Some Allied formations will be withdrawn here, but an offensive posture will be taken(where supply allows) to pressure Oslo and try to occupy German formations-we don't want that armor redeploying east.

BOA-4 separate attacks by Uboats sink 5 MM and 3 escorts. Still very heavy losses for us. We score 6 step hits on the raiders, however. We are still losing a lot more than the Axis, but at least we are making it cost something. Also, the losses to the uboats mean they have to return to port to repair, blunting their attacks for a few turns.

England/Germany-Bad weather grounds all US bombers-this may become a real problem.

Gibraltar-The Gibraltar garrison finally mops up the German assault forces, who offer virtually no resistance after being out of supply.

E Med-We finally move into a hex that blockades the Italians on Rhodes. It seems blockading a port is pretty tricky, and I cannot seem to master it. It is possible we will be able to salvage this after all, though the cost in terms of ships, planes and time is absurd.

Africa/Misurata-Allied planners were expecting the worst here, fearing heavy counter strokes both on land and vs our fleets. However, the Axis forces do not decide to launch a full on counter. On land, they pull their forces back towards Tripoli, as we had thought earlier they would. By sea, they launch air strikes and attack with subs, lightly damaging two carriers with their bombers(again, our land based aircraft fail to provide fighter cover) and lightly damaging two cruisers with their subs. Not inconsequential, but not as bad as we feared. Did the movement of the Atlantic Fleet into this front cause Nirosi to forego a major counter? Hard to determine.

[boldairade]

November 20, 1942

Ultimately, Allied planners decide to try to maintain momentum, attacking and destroying the Italian reserve corps here and pushing armor into the gap. Our forces are badly degraded, however, and facing fresh German forces, this may be a poor idea. Still, we continue to destroy Italian formations, leaving the three German formations here less and less supported.

All fleets go to port here, resupplying for either further amphibious operations or a clash with the Regia Mariana.

[boldairade]

November 20, 1942 East Front

North(Konev)-Stavka(me) took a huge, bad gamble here, and it did NOT pay off. Seeing bad weather, we tipped our hand and moved our winter armor into position, hoping for continued bad weather that would allow us to take advantage of our specialty and bull the Germans off their line. Instead, we've gotten three turns of either clear or rainy weather, which has allowed Nirosi to prep defenses perfect to repel us, switching his forces to garrison(extra AT guns) then giving them the anti tank specialty.

This offensive is likely over before it begins, though if it EVER snows, we will check the odds. But I doubt we will be able to budge these formations. To the south, some German troops have now been railed in.

The window of opportunity here has closed, in large part due to my clumsy handling of the situation.





Center/South-Very little happening here. German forces are gaining readiness. More Russian forces arrive every turn, but their ability to slow the panzers is extremely suspect.

[boldairade]

Check out Nirosi's Atlantic Wall.

While Allied planners speculate that most of these are low quality divisions, there is a significant amount of forces defending against any direct cross Channel assault.

[boldairade]

The Atlantic Wall

[boldairade]

Set German fortifications in the West.

[boldairade]

Was Rommel REALLY killed in Africa? Or did he survive to be re assigned?

[redrum68]

Might be worth trying to redeploy the Soviet winter formations to another area along the Eastern Front where he is less prepared.

[boldairade]

December 4, 1942

BOA-Only one uboat strike, but it is of note. 3 wolfpacks attack vs 9 escorts, sinking 5 MM and losing 0 steps. This is a bad result. But what worries Allied planners is how one sided it is. Does this attack mean Germany has achieved new tech? If so, the next few turns could be very bad.

Norway-Another German formation off loads east of Oslo. English formations are trying to move into better supply, as they are looking ragged. A clear plan of operation remains hazy here.

England/Germany-A break in the storm sends all 5 US bomber squadrons to the skies. Essen and Hamburg are pounded, along with the synthetic oil plant.

Africa/E Med-Germany gives no ground here, despite the loss of Italian formations. Allied intelligence expected Axis formations to fall back into the hills where the terrain is more favorable, but they do not do this. US heavy bombers are deployed to Misurata, and can now menace Naples as well as Taranto. There is some concern as to whether or not this city is safe from Axis attack. On Rhodes, an effort is made to attack from the beachhead, but no significant damage is done to the Italian formation. For the most part, Allied fleets are in port, attempting to regain cohesion.

East Front-North(Konev) Snow finally falls. We apparently managed to get two Russian cruisers stuck in ice in the Baltic Sea. This is concerning. Even with snow, the odds for any attack along this front appear suicidal. Russian armor is moved to rail heads to be moved elsewhere.

Center(Vatutin)-No activity

South(Zhukov/Rokossovsky)-Without any other options, we attack exactly where the Axis wants us to-into the Pripyet Marsh, held by Italian forces. Five straight attacks with 2 formations do virtually no damage to the Italian I Corps, despite decent odds. One has to wonder, if we cannot prevail here, where could we possibly have any success? The final attacks are launched by Russian armor corps with winter specialty, meaning they are hitting with in excess of 20 attack strength vs a 2 strength Italian unit. Still, they are repelled. More units are railed in, but the Axis will now react, and we have gained no ground at all. Is it possible that no counter attack by Russia in the winter of '42 is possible?

[boldairade]

Destroyed KV-1s and T-26s, somehow knocked out by light Italian AT guns in the frozen Pripyet Marsh.

[boldairade]

Russian generals were very confident that Italian AT weapons would be inadequate vs their super heavy tanks.

They could not have been more wrong. The Italians and their equipment are more than up to the task of whipping the Red Army in the winter of 1942.

[boldairade]

US Bombers are bringing the pain on German industrial cities. But not without cost.

Here we see the last moments of a B-17 Flying Fortress, brought down by flack over Hamburg.

[boldairade]

Anzac tankers, part of the WDF, refit and rearm.

What is the next step in the desert?

[boldairade]

Dec 18, 1942

BOA-Two attacks by sub packs and one by the German surface fleet result in 9 MM sunk and 1 escort. More MM are added this turn, but our production is not keeping pace with losses. 5 Sub hits are recorded. Attempts to intercept the German surface ships again fail.

Germany-US bombers again are very active, reducing Hamburg, Hanover, Essen, and the synthetic oil plant. Wear and tear is taking its toll however, even with constant supply truck use.

Africa-Germany finally hits back-but not with one armor corps-Germany now has 2 in this theater. They easily drive back the US 1st Armor corps in one attack. I have elected to use breakthrough armor with the US as a roleplaying idea, since US tanks are more mobile and lighter. It is very telling here. Hard to know just how far the Germans will want to hit back.



Efforts on Rhodes continue to consume huge amounts of air and naval assets, with no discernable progress.

[boldairade]

December 18, 1942

East Front North-No activity here, except heavy armor corps are being railed out of this sector. Holding this theater in spring is likely an impossibility without the gains of the expected winter offensive.

Center-Stavka sees some possibilities to blood German forces here, but does not have the assets to attempt anything.

South(Zhukov/Rokossovsky)-Throwing good money after bad, the Russian big offensive, code named 'Broler'(Brawler) continues to slam ahead. Italian I Corps which bloodied the Russians so badly last turn while holding the town of Gomel, repels our first two attacks by 2nd Tank Corps and 3rd Guards Tank Corps, but is finally overrun on the third attack. Likely they ran out of ammunition. 2nd Tank Corps, 15th Tank, and 1st Guards Tank then strike south and push back the Italian XV Corps, blowing a sizeable hole in the Axis line. It is, of course, over very bad terrain, however, so exploitation is slow. A massive wedge of Russian armor is pointed at the breach. No fewer than 7 tank corps are in position, and backed by mech units, infantry and two more armor corps can be railed in next turn.

There is a real question, however, as to what the overall goal of this offensive is, and how far it should go. In good weather, the Germans would easily dispatch even this volume of Russian forces. Stalin is a professed atheist. But one would not be surprised if he is praying for General Winter to keep him company.

[boldairade]

Once the Russian take ground, it will be difficult to displace their armor in the winter months. Here, a powerful KV2 has been recaptured in the Pripyet.

[boldairade]

T34s roll over light Axis tanks. But what will happen when heavy German tank formations arrive?

[boldairade]

News is leaked to the world that 4 weeks ago, a momentous conference took place in Yalta.

Stalin could only stay 36 hours, as he intimated that he was badly needed for planning a major operation. But prior to his departure, he made it very clear to Churchill and Roosevelt: without a significant 2nd front on or before the spring of 1943, Russia will not survive.

'Sideshows' like Norway and the Eastern Med, Stalin insists, will not suffice.

[boldairade]

January 1, 1943-A new year

BOA-Convoy attacks in the N Atlantic claim 2 MM. The German raiders traveled too far this turn to do much damage, but will be a problem next go round.

Norway-Another German formation arrives. Despite all units being directly on rail heads in 9 supply, our formations are looking VERY ragged, and it is still fairly early in the winter.








Germany-US bomber formations make raids, predominantly on Axis oil refineries which have lighter AA defenses. Formations are extremely worn down.

Rhodes/Africa-No new developments here. A third US armor corps lands near Misurata. Allied armor now outnumbers Axis 2-1, but Axis armor is roughly twice as powerful.

[boldairade]

East Front North/Center-All is quiet on these fronts. Where possible, better infantry armies are placed on river lines.

South(Zhukov)-Broler grinds forward at a snail's pace. No enemy units are displaced this turn, although an attack is made to the south vs weak Hungarian units. Right now, even the most modest goal of this offensive, which was to force deployment of German mechanized assets, seems in jeopardy. The offensive will continue, but after 4 weeks, confidence is very, very low.