Fall Grau 2.13 Jeremy vs. Ben

[golden delicious]

Turn 37:
I might regret it- but played for and got. Jeremy lunged for my flank and failed to get all the way around the National Guard before running out of steam. I intend to cut my way out via Jeremy's flankers, doing as much damage as possible in the process. I don't have enough strength to do this and hold the entire extended line, so I'm allowing it to go mobile behind Wichita, which is abandoned, with a strong ring being built around Kansas City, whilst the National Guard and armour continue to duke it out with the SS in the Plains. Here I aim to destroy a Swedish armoured division and a brigade of Panzergrenadiers, which an RBC allows me to cut off on the first round.

On the southwestern flank, my cavalry raid of last turn has revealed the nature of Jeremy's positions here; I count ten Italian divisions along with some Hungarian cavalry. Whatever mechanised units he has here are racing toward Denver and Albuquerque at an alarming speed, and I'm tempted to respond to smash these (presumably) light forces, but they do still have at least two more turns before they can threaten the latter city, and I don't want valuable troops waiting around for this to happen.

In Canada, I leave it to the National Guard to engage Jeremy's main body. My two powerful armoured divisions instead go for the weak units on his flank, where I should be able to win some quick victories, destroying these troops before pulling back to reserve. I'm also able to pull back two divisions of Canadian regulars that are in a bad state after being in action too long. My attacks come off nicely and two Axis divisions are reduced to shattered hulks.

My targets in the West die, together with a bonus panzergrenadier regiment which retreated the wrong way. Even better, this leaves my forces here in a quite tough-looking U-shaped position, with the base at Dodge City. Jeremy will doubtless try to flank on one side or the other, but he'll find it impossible to get around, and I have quite a bit of strength here in the form of the National Guard, plus four fresh regular divisions I was able to cull from various places this turn. I was also able to pull four of the more battered-looking armoured divisions back behind the line, where I'm hoping a turn's supply turns them into a useful striking force, which can either lunge at Jeremy's latest advance or rail down to the southwest and block a move against Albuquerque (will really need to do this next turn).

This is all heart-racing stuff. I still feel pretty good about the overall situation; Jeremy will continue to force me back as he's stronger, but that's changing turn by turn as I pour more and more power into this front and he gets further and further from his supply lines (his railhead is currently at Muskogee). I need to do something to keep Jeremy from reaching my Kansas City position until turn 40 if possible; by then I should have a solid line of "F"s here. Perhaps some sacrificial National Guard brigades set up in forward positions? I have a number of odd bits floating about for such a purpose.

The cycle of counterattack and withdrawal accelerates as the battle moves into Kansas

[golden delicious]

Turn 38:
Jeremy's heavily engaged my position in West Kansas. I have the option of another heavy counterattack here, but doing so would invite disaster as he's got probing forces out on my far western flank. I'm far from being too entangled, so instead I will opt to bug out. It's not a complete withdrawal, however, instead I shift this force over to block the westernmost of Jeremy's thrusts here, whilst five good divisions rail down to Albuquerque for a vigorous counterattack here next turn against Jeremy's lead units. This will need to be a quick in-out operation as I can't afford for this force to be out of action for longer than a few turns. With this in mind, I ship in some reconstituted National Guard who can take the positions of these units when the main fighting is done, as well as hold flanks of encirclements etc.

Over on my positions near Kansas City, Jeremy's reached the line in a couple of places. Here I put National Guard units withdrawn from the centre of the now defunct line, which should prevent him coming to grips fully with this defence until it's fully prepared. He's also attempted to cross the Missouri with some Swedish troops just north of Paducah, but the positions here are already fortified; just in case, I pull some regulars together to backstop this line.

Jeremy's really piling the pressure on in Ontario. The forces I have here really aren't enough to continue to resist for much longer in these positions. What's more, he's cut off three divisions this turn. I rail up what Canadian troops I can from the northeast, and will pull the remaining Commonwealth armour out of the west next turn, but even this may not be enough. For now, I counterattack to break the encirclement.

I receive 6th National Guard Army this turn, but like 5th, it will wait and build supply before being committed. The National Guard are going to have to be my troops of choice from now on- I have officially emptied my enormous stockpile of Shermans with the last round of destroyed divisions.

My only attack this turn is in Canada. This goes very well, with one of Jeremy's overworked panzer divisions evaporating in the first round. Second and third rounds then allow me to cut off and then annihilate SS Florian Geyer. This does leave my positions a bit of a mess, and this is only a small part of Jeremy's substantial strength on this front, but it's highly satisfying, and should serve as a temporary check to this advance.

...thinking about it, it might be a bit late now, but there's a really very good position to be built along the chain of lakes that run from Lake Superior to Lake Winnipeg. Perhaps I'll belatedly start work on this line next turn. If I can prevent Jeremy from getting past Duluth for a couple of turns this could be a winner. Wish I'd thought of this a few turns back, but Jeremy's strength up here hadn't fully developed at that point. Well, if he refrains from cutting off a huge force again next turn I'll maybe go over to a fighting retreat to free the forces I need for this.

Also need to build a line north towards Omaha at some point. Preferably before Jeremy gets there. Well, with all the disbands I've been doing in my withdrawal from the west, I have a LOT of reconstitutes due in the next few turns. These can make a start on some of the above problems.

Canadian Armoured divisions attempt to contain the Axis in western Ontario- note the rail line has now been repaired as far as Fort William, but this will have to be cleared before it can move further and the nearest southerly route is thirtween hexes west at International Falls

[golden delicious]

Turn 39:
Thinking about this situation over the festive season [That would be Christmas 2015... wow], I think I can afford to lose Denver and Albuquerque ultimately, as long as I keep Jeremy from running completely wild in the west. What I need to do is go over to a strategy of local counterattacks against armoured spearheads, letting said armour get ahead of Jeremy's main body. I'm doing well on the second point in that he's surged ahead in the centre of the plains. I start by scouting his moves around Albuquerque. Here we're looking at a few weak Italian units, but I aim to destroy them in the first round and then move on to others.

In Southwestern Colorado, I dismantle my position blocking the approach to Denver, with some units heading south to smash two Italian units probing, the remainder east to engage with what look like a handful of German units probing into the wilderness. These on examination turn out to form a continuous front of mechanised brigades. I resolve to attack these weak units head on, offering my concentrated strength against Jeremy's dispersed line.

Jeremy is coming to grips with my Kansas City line, but due to a lack of engineers (too many sent to other fronts) this is not going to be fully ready to resist. It is however strong enough that he'll bleed a fair amount in reducing it. I rail large numbers of reconstituting National Guard bits and bobs to this sector to both shore up the existing line and extend it to Omaha. Next turn the new National Guard Army will rail down here to join the action.

In Canada, I find the Guard corps in reorganisation, which makes it difficult to make a wholesale withdrawal this turn. I do however begin the process, pulling my flanks back, withdrawing the armour behind the line and railing one brigade down to the most extended section of my new proposed line, north of Duluth.

All my attacks come off, and I'm able to somewhat disengage (the first-class troops at Albuquerque are all sat on the rail line if I want to pull them out next turn). I'm not in contact with Jeremy in the centre (northwestern Kansas) but still very much in reach, but I think not quite in a position to be totally encircled. Although I mauled three mechanised brigades here with this force, I think I would have been better served resting it a turn out of reach. There isn't really a complete answer to Jeremy's new approach of sweeping a line of armour across the map; if I engage one part of it, next turn the rest will have swept up both my flanks; if I ignore it he merrily advances at eight hexes a turn. That puts him at the door to Omaha next turn.

I think that, if possible, this force will move east again next turn to anchor against the Missouri and the position I have at Kansas City. I can easily overmatch Jeremy in one place (as I did this turn), and if I can do so without exposing both flanks it'll be a winner. I think I'll pull most of what I sent to Albuquerque up too as soon as I have rail lift again; I can afford to lose this city.

Allied forces in the western Plains make the most of their superior mobility to dance away from the Axis strength and then strike in force at key points

[golden delicious]

Turn 40:
Not too bad. The Kansas City position's not compromised and my force in the centre's not hopelessly trapped, though here the mechanised troops I was facing off against are replaced with infantry. I do however have two National Guard divisions in reorganisation here. As such, instead of abandoning the position altogether, I leave some National Guard units in place to string it together, and move the more valuable regulars off to the east. There'll be no grand counterattack here this turn as my armour is too worn, rather most of these units will rest in a position just south of Grand Island Nebraska.

All along the front here I see infantry. Curiously, Jeremy's stopped his surging mechanised advance- at least for this turn. If so, that's brilliant. I'm not thrilled with having to go toe-to-toe with his infantry, but at least he's not going to be roaring forward at eight hexes a turn. I also able to beef up this force by pulling back in two of the three armoured divisions that moved over to Kansas City last turn. The latter position is looking pretty strong, with a double line built around the most threatening intrusion by Jeremy, over the Missouri at Columbia.

Canada's something of a mess, but Jeremy failed to breach my positions north of Duluth, which gives me a chance to build up a strong line here- I put up some forward positions and make a limited counterattack to ensure this. The Canadian Guard's in reorganisation AGAIN but I'm content to let them die as they will come back. Everything else except a few regiments in the north is pulled out of the old positions. By turn's end I have a line building as far as Lake of the Woods. I'll need at least eight pieces to complete the line to Lake Winnipeg, however I am prepared to fight a mobile battle in front of Kenora if necessary- and I still hope to get a couple of regiments out of the north end of the old line.

As reinforcements roll in, I continue to beef up the mobile army. Two fresh armoured divisions from reserve plus the new National Guard Army roll into Nebraska. Next turn, I'll attempt again to take Jeremy on head-on here. For this turn, I counterattack his lead panzer division, routing it.

As my rail lift is completely used up bringing units from reserve, I continue operations in front of Albquerque with my five good divisions here. Once again this is a hit-and-run; one Italian division is destroyed and another routed, leaving my forces back at Albuquerque at the end of the turn.

A light turn. All my attacks were satisfactory but I feel that next one is going to be the biggy; with my replacements high at 75% and no cities looking vulnerable for the foreseeable future, I think now may be time to take the Axis apart- before the Japanese arrive in strength via Panama and ruin the party.

The US line shielding the approaches to Kansas City begins to solidify

[golden delicious]

Turn 41:
Jeremy moved up to my positions in Nebraska without doing anything dangerous. This is good. I'm going to engage him on a broad front this turn whilst refusing my western flank (the three National Guard divisions out here provided a distraction enough to stop Jeremy enveloping it sooner). The whole of the new National Guard army goes into the attack in front of Omaha, with six armoured divisions assaulting the line further west, near Grand Island.

I reinforce the vulnerable parts of the Kansas City position again, but they're not all that vulnerable; a couple of non-fortified hexes which this turn get backed by a second line. This is good: Jeremy is bleeding to get forward hex by hex.

Canada is good; Jeremy threw my counterattacking armour back in disarray rather than attack my rapidly fortifying line. It even looks like I'll get two divisions of the Canadian guard out after all, though the rest are gone. Plus a newly formed Canadian division fills the remaining shortage of troops for the westernmost part of the new line.

Jeremy has restrained himself in Albuquerque this turn, which suggests he's wary of my ability to counterattack here. Unfortunately, my probes show that the first of his Japanese troops have now hit the front in this area and so further counterattacks are going to be problematic. I pull out two of the armoured divisions from here, which will join my new offensive. The rest stay in place awaiting rail lift. I rail in a few bits and pieces to hold a temporary position around Albuquerque to prevent it falling too quickly.

Results

An EXTREMELY satisfying turn. I turned Jeremy's front between Grand Island and the Missouri into a fine paste over three delightful combat rounds. Three divisions are out of supply and the rest of his first line (except one exceptionally stubborn brigade of SS) are routed. One division evaporated. Even better, a robust looking 10-6 RBC'd unexpectedly. At this point the Wehrmacht is running on fumes. I have another five fresh divisions ready to add their weight to the offensive next turn...

More realistically, Jeremy has a lot of power behind the line which he's yet to bring up; this is his advance guard. But it's been totally mauled this turn, and I expect to get another turn of this in before he can restore the situation. For good measure, I also shoved his advance over the Missouri at Columbia back by a hex. The gap between my loss penalty and Jeremy's has shrunk to 94. It's been over 100 for as long as I can recall.

Checking the reinforcements schedule, I see I get the equivalent of seven reconstituted divisions next turn- this in addition to the two newly formed divisions I receive, for a total of nine. The wonders of a 75% replacement rate. I think I can expect to lose Albuquerque to the Italo-Japanese steamroller by turn 50, but that'll be all (Jeremy's made no progress towards Denver since I pulled my army out of Colorado). That'll put my replacement rate at 10.

Axis troops come into contact with the Canadian line north of Duluth [Tragically, turn 41 is the first of several saves where the file was corrupted so this screenshot is from the start of turn 42]

[golden delicious]

Turn 42:
An interesting turn from Jeremy. He's attacked heavily and made progress in a number of places, most notably breaching the screen I had over the Missouri south of Omaha, putting four divisions over the river into Iowa. He's also resumed his advance towards Denver (now he knows my reserve is committed).

I will use what forces I have available to block Jeremy's advances north (a double line of various regiments and brigades in Iowa), south and east of Kansas City, whilst continuing my offensive in a southeasterly direction, with a view to driving Jeremy from the west bank of this stretch of the Missouri, making any bridgehead over the Missouri quite untenable. I have an opportunity to cut off and destroy two of the three divisions that were out of supply this turn, and generally Jeremy is very weak here since he chose to attack over the river rather than reinforce- I get a couple of easy RBCs on the first round.

Jeremy's bringing his lead Japanese troops forward to Albuquerque. He's too strong to counterattack usefully, so instead I swing cavalry and National Guard around both flanks, putting his lead five divisions out of supply. However ultimately I'm not yet in a position to bar this advance fully, so the National Guard I have in the area form a ring around Albuquerque (which has a supply point) and most of the mobile forces here roar up the road to block Jeremy's move on Denver. With the addition of another division from Washington state this is now four divisions, one armoured. I also throw in some reconstituted fragments to help cover flanks.

Up in Canada, Jeremy's putting a lot of pressure on the line north of Duluth, and has taken the weakest hex of it. I intend to shove him out with my armour whilst reinforcing as much as I can; the final section of the line to Lake Winnipeg can wait a few more turns to complete. I bomb some of the bridges along his supply route this turn; he doesn't seem to have any fighters in this front at all, despite his capturing what I considered a crucial airfield at Fort William.

For the first time in many, many turns I find I have excess rail capacity this turn. This is just as well as it allows me to pull together some of the armoured divisions which have reconstituted in bits spread out across the country. One of these (albeit not necessarily 100% ready) joins the build up at Denver.

Another fine turn. I cut off a section of Jeremy's line in southeastern Nebraska (3 divisions), putting a number of my own divisions immediately west of his crossing over the Missouri. I've apparently broken through here- Jeremy MUST reinforce, and hopefully will have to choose between that and continuing his own attacks into Iowa. I was also able to destroy two of the divisions isolated last turn, as well as cutting off and destroying his lead infantry division in his ongoing attack out of Columbia, Missouri. I also evaporated a motorised division by RBC.

Looking ahead, I wasn't able to add any fresh forces to my offensive this turn so if Jeremy does seriously react to it will peter out over the next couple of turns. This is fine as I don't want to advance past Topeka anyway as my western flank will get too extended. I think what needs to happen in coming turns is to build up the force I've created at Denver this turn and use it to strike at whatever Jeremy has moving up this flank. These two wings can then support each other in a general engagement in the plains until such a time as Jeremy is able to deploy the Japanese in strength on this front. At that point I will close this down and move my mobile forces to the southwest where I expect Jeremy to be developing a threat towards California.

Tum ti tum. I just had a wild thought. If we get to around turn 70 and it doesn't look like I am advancing fast enough in the south, I would be inclined to start an offensive in upstate New York. If I can reach Quebec, EVERYTHING Jeremy has in Canada would be out of supply... [Fade to black, evil laughter]

Simultaneous major offensives by Axis and Allies in the Missouri basin

[golden delicious]

Turn 43:
A nice, active turn from Jeremy. He's continuing to attack which means his losses continue to pile up. The one place this is a bit awkward is Kansas City, where he's snaking his way behind my main line one hex at a time. This would be a good place to counterattack if I had reserves locally, but with what's going on elsewhere I don't. I think instead I'll pull my neck in a bit, abandoning two hexrows without much consequence. He may hope to pin me against the super river but I have enough engineers floating around that I should be able to withdraw from such a trap if necessary.

Similarly Jeremy is slowly pushing forward from his crossing at Columbia. I'm really pretty strong here so I continue to build a double line blocking this move. More of a concern is the ongoing advance into Iowa, but even this is quite anaemic and I intend to counterattack the more vulnerable points this turn, where I've been able to rebuild a few divisions from scraps for the purpose.

Jeremy's probes reached Denver this turn. He's engaged with a light force of German infantry but unfortunately has kept them strung out in a line, making an immediate encirclement impractical. Instead I engage directly with a view to reducing each of these units to scrap. I'm also able to add three more armoured divisions to this force this turn.

Jeremy pushed back against my main offensive this turn. He's also starting to move up my western flank and I can't overwhelm him at Denver immediately. As such I need to wind this down- which is convenient as 6th National Guard army is in reorganisation this turn. I will make attacks on the weakest parts of Jeremy's position, with a view to relieving the armoured brigade which I had driven into his rear last turn, and then bring this to a halt. The reduced scale of this allows me to move two fresh armoured divisions around to deal with the immediate problem on the western flank.

Up in Canada, Jeremy continues to put pressure on the weakest part of the main line north of Duluth. I will push him back with my armour whilst developing a second line here. I'm also looking strong in most of my other positions along this line; I still have some gaps to close near Winnipeg, but I was able to RBC Jeremy's lead units back two hexes from this position, which should give me the time I need to fill them. Unfortunately it looks like Jeremy finally got around to bringing fighters up to this front, so the RCAF's happy time is over.

Jeremy's lead unit looks exposed at Albuquerque, and I took a shot at cutting it off, but after one round this looked like it would leave me overexposed so I pulled out. The remaining armoured division here will go up to Denver next turn. Further south, one of the guerrilla events converted some reinforcement hexes to my control and I've received a number of units in Mexico. I will use these to convert further reinforcement hexes where possible and hopefully tie down a number of Axis divisions south of the border.

Outlook

A bit of a muted turn after the excitement of the last two; my attacks in Nebraska achieved their objectives, but this offensive will be over next turn unless Jeremy overexposes himself; I routed Finnish armour in Iowa and Swedish armour on the western flank in Central Nebraska, but my main attacks in Colorado were uninspiring. I can't help thinking that I would have been better served by feigning weakness and descending on him from both flanks next turn. Well, I mauled two good German infantry divisions here and it's likely that his other forces out on the plain will be drawn into this battle too.

I'm fretting about how to beat Jeremy. Ultimately the answer has to be destroying his army in the field. I think I need to allow him to continue his slow, costly offensives in the centre of the map as these are really hurting him- I see fresh units go into these offensives and exhausted, shattered hulks come out. The same may be true in Canada; I'm content to fall back a hexrow at a time as long as every hex is littered with Axis corpses. At the same time, I need to pull as much strength together as I can for the Plains to continue to fight mobile battles out here.

Overview of the Plains theatre, with uncaptured industrial cities marked with a star (clockwise from lower left: Albuquerque, Denver, Omaha and Kansas City [in the current version this is replaced by St. Louis]); this gives an idea of the sheer size of the battlefield. Note the Japanese units (yellow on white) approaching Albuquerque.

[golden delicious]

Turn 44:
An even more vigorous turn from Jeremy. Specifically, he attempted a landing by the Japanese at Astoria, Oregon. This is great as I should be able to kill some of these, and have plenty of forces available to respond. Moving a number of them up to the coast reveals that there are further embarked units either side of the main landing- these being the special mountain infantry the Axis player has for landing away from ports in this version of the scenario. These are the most dangerous units the Japanese have and might have to be my first target; sadly these units threaten so many hexes that I can't block every single one of them with troops, but I can screen seven of the twelve threatened hexes immediately. I'll need to bring in some troops to mop up here which is an annoying distraction from the main action in the East.

Jeremy's not let up there either. His offensive in eastern Missouri has really picked up pace; here I'm forced to pull my line back behind the Mississippi. I also pull back the western half of the advanced position in front of Kansas City. This releases enough pieces to strengthen the position immediately in front of the city, whilst maintaining my double line further east.

Over to the northwest, the Axis position in Iowa has also expanded. I intend to make a local counterattack here this turn, whilst bringing some of my forces over from the concluded offensive in Nebraska to make a more serious effort next turn- two National Guard and two armoured divisions (plus another of the former which reconstituted this turn). I hope to send more next turn as the new line in Nebraska solidifies.

At Denver, the rewards of last turn's action become clear. My troops have recovered but Jeremy's really haven't; a series of RBCs destroys three brigades and puts three more into pockets which I'll destroy this turn. At a stroke I've destroyed this whole wing of Jeremy's front.

Albuquerque is over as a mobile battle. While the remaining armoured division heads for Colorado, I pull my remaining forces here (three divisions' worth of National Guard and some cavalry) into a close position around the city and its supply point and settle in for a siege. I will at some point have to send something else to the southwest to slow Jeremy's approach toward California, but I can wait a few turns for this.

In Canada Jeremy continues to batter my line in front of Duluth, but I'm now strong enough here that I'm happy for it to continue (especially as Jeremy still hasn't fixed the rail line here). I prepare to bend the line back to Duluth itself whilst fortifying my armoured divisions in the second line. It remains to be seen whether Jeremy will attack the positions further west in strength; I doubt he has the power to do both. I intended to counterattack eastwards with my armour around Kenora but forgot about it in all the excitement.

I allocate three divisions (the ones in rail movement range this turn) of the newly arrived 7th National Guard Army to the Pacific. In addition to this I throw in an armoured division from reserve and two reconstituted scraps, plus the two reserve divisions I had locally, one from California (in very bad shape) and four divisions of Mexicans culled from other garrisons. I don't think Jeremy can actually get Astoria, and as such it'll be a simple matter of blocking his supply lines- should he land. I suspect he'll pull everything back next turn, in which case most of this stuff can just rail straight out again.

Results

Air attacks on the Japanese are good; I destroy four mountain divisions and three fleet units, as well as inflicting serious loss on a number of other divisions. This comes at a cost to my own air units- but not a disproportionate one. At Denver I was able to annihilate all German forces immediately to hand, a total of about four divisions. I also destroyed one German division and mauled another in a small pocket over in Iowa; this front now shows a double line along its length, with the exception of one hex held by a good brigade in fortified status.

A bloody turn for Jeremy. His loss penalty is now 189 whilst mine is only 250. At this rate his will surpass mine in the next ten turns. Colorado is particularly good. It's possible Jeremy has strong followup forces here, and I am quite exposed if he does- but it looks like he pulled in both flanks last turn to strengthen this position (I swept the northern one with cavalry and found empty hexes). My troops here are pretty fresh and should be ready to grapple with whatever ersatz force Jeremy can string together here for next turn or, failing that, sweep over to the rear of his positions in central Nebraska, already under attack from the two armoured divisions I sent to this flank last turn, with two divisions put out of supply by these troops plus my raiding cavalry.

Significant Japanese forces arrive at Albuquerque [yes, OK, sometimes this scenario gets weird] while a mixed force pushes along the Mexican border- Allied high command prefers to ignore these developments

[golden delicious]

Turn 45:
So, Jeremy landed his remaining airborne force to put Kansas City out of supply. I had seen this as a possibility- thing is, all these units are in good condition and as such being out of supply one turn doesn't actually make much of a difference to them. As such I'll be vigorously counterattacking whilst leaving the salient in place. That said Jeremy is adjacent to Kansas City and I feel the bottom end of this salient (the remains of the "temporary" line I built on the Osage river starting turn 36) has served its purpose and will be retracted this turn. This frees up the forces I need to form the bottom halves of the pockets in which two airborne brigades will be destroyed, the top half being formed from units culled from the northern wing of my line in Iowa. That position is now rather weak but I should be able to reinforce by rail this turn from elsewhere.

Jeremy's also attacked where I left off in Nebraska, making some progress against the National Guard here. I pull three fresh armoured divisions off the line where they've been resting further west in the state to counterattack his armour here.

Over on the Western flank, Jeremy has pulled his neck in. I see one brigade, which I destroy by RBC, and after that nothing. My cavalry and light infantry roar forward, eliminating the progress Jeremy has made in this state and effectively linking up with the two armoured divisions I have on the flank in Nebraska, which are in the process of destroying an infantry division which they were able to cut off. This leaves me with a fairly substantial force at Denver which is uncommitted. This assembles in the northeast corner of Colorado, where it can either be railed off next turn to deal with the situation in Iowa, or committed against the western end of the Nebraska line, with the exception of one division on fully supply which travels immediately by road to Omaha. The balance of this force is two infantry and four armoured divisions.

Jeremy continues to push in the north, including breaking one of my fortified regiments further west. I bring around the two remaining armoured divisions from up by Lake Winnipeg to shore up this position- unfortunately this takes the whole turn or they would counterattack and shove the battered German attackers back. I deliver two reconstituted Canadian Guard divisions to this front this turn, which should be good for replacing armour on the line that I can then pull into reserve.

As predicted, the Japanese have melted back into the Pacific. I'm immediately able to ship five divisions from here to Iowa. I also add a division from Colorado that was on the rail and two units extracted from the northeast.

I actually don't have many attacks planned this turn, so go straight in with the assaults on paratroops. I destroy the Italian brigade which was most exposed, and maul the trapped German brigade. Unfortunately, I only get one round, leaving me a bit more disjointed than I hoped, said German airborne brigade likely to be rescued, and my attack in southeastern Nebraska not started.

Overview

A bit of a non-event as a turn. Jeremy obviously meant this to be a stunning blow but it isn't. I'm more worried about what all these SS panzer divisions in Iowa are going to do next. Well, I have a substantial force coming into play here next turn from various sources and quite a lot of odds and ends scattered about the place from the fighting so far. It should be a seriously bloody bit of fighting which I'm relishing the prospect of; Jeremy's army is exhausted while I am flush with replacements.

I do think that Kansas City is now untenable; Jeremy should be able to force his way in over the next ten turns. Albuquerque is a strong position but that, too, will be stormed by the Japanese in due course. Still, I should get to turn 50 without losing either of these cities, giving me a temporary 112% replacement rate, which should last for several turns before falling to 91%. I actually have relatively few units missing from my OOB at the moment as my replacement rate is already reasonably high- perhaps ten divisions- but the higher rate will allow me to push Jeremy that much harder, and should boost my air force. I also note that, next turn, I receive the first two armoured divisions equipped with M4/76 Shermans.

Jeremy has apparently not taken any of the TOs for withdrawing Panzer divisions, which suggests he is gambling everything on decisively defeating me in the next ten turns. That won't happen. I should be able to break the offensive power of his army in the field, then begin a systematic offensive to reclaim the southwestern United States for Democracy. I don't have to get that far; the victory level is still 100 points in my favour and I fully expect the loss penalty to swing 100-200 points in my direction over the remainder of the scenario.

Allied forces are rapidly able to isolate and destroy the small airborne forces which sever supplies for one turn

[golden delicious]

Turn 46:
Two things this turn. Jeremy starts the AAR with the remark that he thinks he's lost the match. Rather incongruously, the second is that he tore things up from Lincoln, Nebraska to central Missouri. Personally, I think Jeremy could play for a solid draw if he concentrated on winning tactical victories, preserving his strength and overrunning as much of the West as possible before I can respond, but it would be a tall order as as it stands, if I hold this much of the map at turn 90, the shift in loss penalty would probably give me marginal victory.

The question facing me at the start of the turn is whether I can hold Kansas City. There are only four hexes separating Jeremy's two spearheads here. However the one in the East is extremely weak, whilst the western I am ready to counterattack in strength. It may be the right time to seek a decisive battle with Jeremy here. I opt to hold the line for at least the present turn, counterattacking both pincers. In the west, a trapped unit plus an RBC gives me a strong opportunity to destroy both the airborne brigade I missed last turn and an SS Panzergrenadier division.

At the north end of the Iowa salient, Jeremy has advanced into contact with the armour I was bringing across from Nebraska. I counterattack here, too, and also in Nebraska itself, the armour I had brought up for counterattack last turn goes into action. Jeremy's extending his front to the west again, but I intend this to be a mobile sector. Most of what I had in Colorado goes here, with two armoured divisions sent to Iowa. What remains hits an unready, patchy German line, which I intend to punch full of holes. Already after movement one division is cut off

Up in Canada, my line is nearly completely solidified; I may have to yield one or two more hexes but this front is no longer fluid. My armour which came onto the line from Kenora last turn goes onto the offensive to kill some vulnerable Axis units and shorten the line. In a few turns I will be withdrawing armour from here, perhaps to the southwest.

There I have a few scratch regiments to oppose the same from Jeremy. The sole point at the moment is to reduce the rate at which he converts road hexes, but if I can bring some real units to bear here I ought to be able to destroy what he has and give this advance a serious check. I send some slightly more formidable scraps this turn.

Extremely bloody fighting. I was able to destroy the Finnish armoured division, SS Reichsfuhrer, the final airborne brigade and three infantry divisions. A large number of other divisions are mauled, many of them mechanised. Jeremy's loss penalty is now over 200. The Kansas City salient is now wedge shaped rather than tunnel shaped; Jeremy still has a lot of armour in the western pincer, but I have a sea of units at least two hexes deep on both sides of the salient. And I didn't even commit the 1st AAC division which arrived at Des Moines last turn.

At this point my main worry is that I'm starting to get sloppy because I have so many troops and so many opportunities to attack with them. I need to make sure I don't just attack in a place because I can, but rather consider each turn whether my offensive units might be better used elsewhere. If Jeremy goes over to defensive postures, the suitable areas for my attacks will be 1) his flank around the junction of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska and 2) the Southwest, where I'm not currently opposing him in force. Also, I could do with resting a lot of the National Guard currently fighting in Iowa which are on orange and red health.

A furious back-and-forth battle rages as both sides pour more and more troops into the space north of Kansas City

[golden delicious]

Turn 47:
Well Jeremy's not done yet. He tore up my front both sides of the Kansas City salient, making this three hexes wide now rather than four. He has a simply enormous number of units in Iowa. However I resolve to hold for one more turn. After that, we'll see. The closest tendrils are fairly weak so I think I can shove these back, whilst solidifying my position against the main drive further north, and using my armour directly against Jeremy's. I put two of my new armoured divisions into action; the 1st AAC, arrived last turn, and 26th Armor, which (conveniently) appears at Kansas City this turn.

Out on the Plains, I resolve to destroy Jeremy's flank, attacking in strength along a broad front. I pull in two more armoured divisions for this offensive this turn, for a total of five. Despite my remarks in last turn's AAR, I also continue opportunistic attacks in southeastern Nebraska; Jeremy's units are in such bad condition here and what I really want is to wear them away to nothing. This doesn't actually work out however and after one round I pull my armour out and shift it east toward Iowa.

Down in New Mexico, my light forces achieve some good successes. One cavalry regiment is destroyed by RBC, and I'm able to cut off another and a division of same- this seems to be all that Jeremy had advancing in this area. With this in mind, I don't think I will use the Commonwealth armour here just yet; instead, three and a half divisions of it rail down to Colorado (I note that these were originally supposed to leave Ontario on turn 25) to become my new flank here; the situation is almost completely solid in Ontario and I don't need them there. My infantry is rapidly entrenching to release the remaining three divisions.

I'm still raising hell in Mexico, where irregulars take Oaxaca and Acapulco, destroying some security detachments in the process. I hope to raise more troops here and elsewhere if possible.

My offensive in the Plains is the most successful of my attacks this turn. The idea here is to reduce Jeremy's German infantry to the point where any reasonably potent attack will cause them to RBC, making them effectively useless as defenders. This was achieved here, with a corresponding advance of several hexes as they reel away from my armour. In Iowa I more or less restored the situation, but my forces here are starting to tire and I'm not sure how much longer I can maintain this pace of operations for. We'll see what this sector looks like after Jeremy's next turn; I may still need to abandon the salient. However I suspect if he does pinch it off, it will be at the tip, not the root.

Mexican guerrillas tying down substantial Axis forces- Allied high command estimates as many as twenty enemy divisions (mostly Italians and South Americans) are deployed south of the Rio Grande, but almost half are committed to the sieges of Chihuahua and Culiacan.

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

I bomb some of the bridges along his supply route this turn; he doesn't seem to have any fighters in this front at all, despite his capturing what I considered a crucial airfield at Fort William.

Of everything that happened in this game 5 years ago this was really on of the standouts. These bombings where brutally effective. I recall using much of a Panzer Corp - a good one - 5 or units excellent units plus engineers trying to keep these bridges up because when they went done 0 supply got to the front line near Winnipeg. I actually had what I considered a reasonable number of Engineers here - I mean considering that I am about to make a try to cross the Missouri River. The problem is the roads are not beside the rail lines up in Canada. An Engineer situated at one bridge is three turns from the next bridge. Hence I start desperately using PanzerTruppen Divisions because they have embedded Engineers.

I am not covering with air because I don't have any places with long enough range. I eventually hit on the idea of sending a slew of Japanese fighters to bases in the bloody Canadian Wilderness just because they at least have the range to cover the bridges - I actually don't remember how well that worked. Anyway this bridge bombing was a huge pain for me.

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

Two things this turn. Jeremy starts the AAR with the remark that he thinks he's lost the match. Rather incongruously, the second is that he tore things up from Lincoln, Nebraska to central Missouri. Personally, I think Jeremy could play for a solid draw if he concentrated on winning tactical victories, preserving his strength and overrunning as much of the West as possible before I can respond, but it would be a tall order as as it stands, if I hold this much of the map at turn 90, the shift in loss penalty would probably give me marginal victory.

It would never play out like that at all. As you note if I don't get forward a fair bit pretty soon you will pass 100% replacements. If I continue not to advance that eventually becomes 150% replacements and then 225% replacements. Anything past 150% replacements for the Allies, unless it is shut down in a hurry, is just an unstoppable behemoth of American forces that will grind the Axis out of existence in surprisingly short order.

A draw in this scenario (very rare) see's a shattered Axis army being slowly pushed back by an Allied Army that only just managed to hold on and is at something like a 90% replacement rate on turn 70 (which means the Allies have lost a lot more then this.

All that said yeah here is where my moral in this scenario has begun to really crack. I am desperately trying to close the gap and cut off Kansas on the other side of the Missouri but I can't make you budge any more and all the Panzers are glowing red - with the TO's I have taken they are not going to resupply for a long time and I can't stop here. If I took all of Kansas City, Denver, Oklahoma and Albuquerque then maybe I could afford to sit on my ass, more or less, long enough for the Panzers to be replaced. Also I suspect I am extremely frustrated - I can't find a way to land with the Japanese and your cutting the supply to the northern prong of my grand offensive in Canada. I am coming to the conclusion that a wide flanking move around Lake Superior can't work because the supply difficulties are just to insurmountable.

I think the only saving grace I have at this stage in the scenario is that I have seized the Panama Canal so I can just sail the Japanese through it and land them in the West - If I can't manage a naval invasion in the Pacific then we will attack Los Angeles from the Gulf of Mexico.

[cathar1244]

Yep, nice air base in Salina. Was Smokey Hill AFB during the Cold War.

Cheers

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: Jeremy Mac Donald

It would never play out like that at all.

Yeah, reading the AAR back I think this was me trying to justify having enough time to pound you into dust. It's not realistic.

I am coming to the conclusion that a wide flanking move around Lake Superior can't work because the supply difficulties are just to insurmountable.

I agree it's more or less impossible for the Axis to break past the line between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Superior without compromising on everything else. The thing of it is that it's not essential for the Axis to link up, so long as they cut the Allies in two. If the Axis can reach Lake Huron from Quebec (easy) and Lake Michigan from Galveston (difficult but not impossible) then the Allies have basically the same problem. If you really want the photo-op of the two armies joining hands you can shoot for Sault-Ste.Marie later on.

The Lake Michigan angle is not as bad as it sounds, the Allied player is going to be so focused on stopping Axis forces showing up in central Illinois (if that happens it's basically game over) that he's actually going to be relieved when they're deflected off to the north and hit the lake somewhere north of Chicago. There was actually a match where the Axis did reach lake Michigan and then went on to lose the game- but that was on the 50km map.

If anything though I think the issue in this match was you put so much effort into fighting me up the Piedmont, which ultimately didn't help you very much. I was never going to keep Charlotte and Norfolk because the terrain here is too open and the Axis logistical situation is pretty good. It would have served you better to get going in the Plains a bit earlier and with more of your strength.

I guess the other question is, would it actually be practical for the Axis to contain the US heartland by defending on its natural frontiers and at the same time overrun the whole western two thirds of the continent? If so, that would easily be enough for marginal victory, and you can keep feeding on industrial cities:
Albuquerque
Denver
Salt Lake City
San Diego
Los Angeles (2)
San Francisco
Seattle
Vancouver
Calgary
Winnipeg
Minneapolis-St. Paul
Sault-Ste.Marie

That's enough to keep Allied replacements down the rest of the match. I suppose the thing would be to race for the various supply points and isolate those, then it doesn't matter that the Axis supply situation will also be terrible. However that itself is a big job as there are at least four Allied supply points in the west, albeit only one (LA) is 100%.

Thinking about it, Allied rail repair is so bad in the scenario that the Axis would only need to hold the trap shut at Lake Michigan long enough to overrun the space immediately northwest of here. Then the Allies are going to have a lot of trouble transferring troops to the west even if they do break out later on.

[golden delicious]

Turn 48:
Back down to three hexes. The difference this turn is that it isn't a pinch at one point- it's pretty much the entire length of the salient that's down to three hexes wide. What this means is that if I want to be sure of keeping supply open to Kansas City, I'll need to send the flower of US armour right down to the bottom of the trap- while German armour is stacked to a yellow density light at the top. I baulk at this- I'm not abandoning the salient but I am going to leave the bottom pretty lightly guarded. At this point I can cope with losing half a dozen divisions if I have to (and if it keeps Jeremy's attention focused here while I smash him elsewhere), but throwing away multiple armoured divisions would be a good way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Instead I counterattack Jeremy's armour concentrations, whilst shifting out my regular infantry in favour of National Guard from the north flank here and from Nebraska- I add about four divisions this turn and a few more will become available next.

My real focus though is on building up my offensive in Kansas. Jeremy hasn't reinforced here, and this line is barely hanging together. He's aiming to save it by linking up with the army he has in New Mexico, but my Commonwealth armour encounters the lead Italian divisions here this turn and should destroy at least one of them. I add a fourth division of my own this turn. I also add four more US Armoured divisions from the Omaha area, from the battle I called off last turn, a 5th from Baltimore (newly formed) and a 6th from the Pacific.

Down on the Mexico border, my scratch force links up with irregulars fleeing the fall of Chihuahua to encircle the Argentine cavalry which is the mainstay of the Axis force here, and I hope to destroy this division this turn. Down at the bottom of the map, two Mexican divisions are formed at Oaxaca and hammer the outnumbered besieging Italians.

Early turn ending after a second round makes this a bit of a disappointing turn. I'm out of position in the Kansas City salient and Jeremy is likely to be able to take advantage of this next turn- though I'd be surprised if he cut the salient in one turn. I caused some disruption in west Kansas, but not as much as I would like. Hopefully next turn, with my armour doubled here, I can make more inroads.

It's obvious Jeremy is pushing his panzers as hard as they will go before withdrawing them- only one corps has withdrawn so far. This makes for an incredible bloodbath. I think he will eventually get Kansas City, then switch his emphasis back to the Plains. He's not yet started assaulting Albuquerque, which is the other city I expect him to take. He must realise by now that I have a supply point here, but I suppose advancing further north and west is a bigger priority. I'm content for him to slowly creep across Arizona while I smash him in the Plains; once he reaches California or Utah I shall respond.

The battle intensity in the Plains continues to grow

[golden delicious]

Turn 49:
There we go. Kansas City is out of supply this turn- though only by a hair's breadth, as one hex is empty and in an Axis ZOC. I'll counterattack to evacuate what I can (there are in particular two armoured divisions down here) but I don't think the situation can be restored and I will in due course lose Kansas City. This was expected and can be tolerated, and I will still hit my 112% replacements next turn, with this remaining over 100% unless and until Jeremy can reduce Albuquerque. This will be crucial for my air force, which has not worn well during the high intensity fighting over the past several turns, and is currently at about 1:4 against the Luftwaffe.

I use my large body of armour outside of the pocket (9 divisions) to put heavy pressure on Jeremy's lead troops on the western side of the salient, whilst the National Guard advance into the gap to try to keep the top half of it open whilst I rescue as many of the trapped units as possible.

Jeremy did reinforce northwest Kansas on his turn, counterattacking and destroying a battered armoured division which had breached his line. However he's still weak here, and with the addition of numerous fresh armoured divisions this offensive should continue to yield rich rewards on a broad front. Further west in southern Colorado, Jeremy has pulled together two Italian and two Japanese divisions to block the northern flank of his siege lines at Albuquerque. I'm able to cut off three of these four divisions with my Commonwealth armour and intend to destroy them all this turn.

In Canada, Jeremy has attempted to reduce the positions I have in front of International Falls. I'm able to heavily reinforce here from my troops further south, where the line is rock solid and in no danger. I'm also able to extract one more armoured division for Colorado, as well as this turn a number of tactical bomber units.

As I slice through the shattered units on Jeremy's front line in Kansas (one division starts the turn as a 7-3, then after combat is a 4-2), I do encounter some fresh infantry (and I note that more of it has come up by rail this turn). I'll try to go around where possible; but near here I am approaching the rear of Jeremy's line in Nebraska. Here I see the advantages of targeting Jeremy's infantry; he's resting a 5-3 brigade on the line here, and I'm able to russle up some National Guard to attack it. Unfortunately I'm not able to shift it, but I do knock it off fortified status, suggesting that this part of the line will need to be pulled back on Jeremy's turn; otherwise I'll cut off two divisions at the end of it.

My counterpush this turn should be enough to ensure I can extract more or less everything from the Kansas City salient (the two armoured divisions are already free). It's also entirely possible that I will keep the city itself in supply for one or two more turns, but I don't think I can hold on to it. I'm also successful in destroying the three divisions in southern Colorado (one of which was motorised), as well as routing the fourth. I never intended it as such- but it may be that this force in fact serves as a relief effort for Albuquerque. I only see eleven Axis divisions in this area now, and though there may be more there'll all in bad condition.

Once the battle of Kansas City has come to an end and I've extracted what I can from the salient, I'll shut this front down. Already most of the line here is fortified and I doubt Jeremy will plan on further offensive operations here. I will transfer the armour and National Guard over to the west as it becomes available, whilst any excess regular infantry will be used to swap out National Guard on the line in the East, or recombining up into divisions if possible. Now I'm on the offensive I have the choice of where my losses fall, and I still have a good 20,000 squads of replacements waiting around for the National Guard.

No doubt Jeremy will rest some troops whilst sending a large portion of his strength to meet me in Kansas; he may also make a play for Omaha, still only two hexes from the front. If I were him, I'd also see if a corps could be found to assault Washington D.C. It's right on the front and he can get a flanking bonus, and at this point those 25 VPs are well worth the cost. It would be trivial to send some Japanese here instead of marching them across the Plains.

Having a general offensive for the first time in this match opens my eyes to how low my rail repair is. I have a huge number of broken rail hexes which aren't getting fixed. Reoccupying the whole West- which is my current plan- might turn out to be problematic. If this is the case, I may switch strategy. I see two options;
1) the coup-de-grace at Quebec which I noted above
2) an offensive down the west coast of Mexico. I still hold the rail line to within a few hexes of Culiacan, which fell a couple of turns ago, and have a regiment of irregulars blocking the road onwards. If I were to suddenly start shifting my weight down here, it might take Jeremy a while to react- and this is the shortest road to Mexico City. Once I'm there, not only do I have an extra 50 VPs (and the corresponding units) but I also have a supply point locally which can support the mopping up of the rest of the country.

Still. It's a long way even from Culiacan to Mexico City, and I'd be prone to having my supply lines cut unless I provided a huge force to screen the flank. I think I'll continue in the west and see if the supply situation becomes a problem. If it does, I'll switch to Quebec.

Axis forces scramble to resist the Allies as they sweep across the plains- and away from their supply lines

[golden delicious]

Turn 50:
Jeremy closed the top of the salient again this turn. Among other things, 1st AAC division is down there. However it's not very tightly held and I should be able to pull these guys out. I make attacks at either end of the three hex bar blocking the salient, with a view to not only escaping with what troops I can, but also destroying the middle unit later in the turn. At the same time, armour and National Guard continue to disengage and be sent west.

Jeremy remarks that my offensive in the Plains is a little inelegant. He's right, but I AM trying simply to destroy his force in the field here. Nevertheless the front has got too broad and so, having forced Jeremy out of the extreme end of his line in southwestern Nebraska, I shift my weight down to central Western Kansas. I received the 2nd AAC corps this turn but three of these divisions are waiting for me in Kansas; if I can clear Jeremy from there I can add them to my OOB- though it's more likely that Jeremy's Japanese (coming up by rail this turn) and my supply situation will stop me first. I add five fresh armoured divisions here- but I also cycle two out.

My Commonwealth armour crosses over into northern New Mexico this turn. Jeremy's erected a screen of Japanese divisions which is blocking my direct approach to Albuquerque. I'm tempted to swing east around via Las Vegas but that would leave me prone to being cut off. Instead I head west, a slightly more obvious diversion but a safer one for this valuable force. I leave one division and various scraps in place to engage the five divisions Jeremy has north of Albuquerque, whilst the lion's share of the force swings around. I'm able to get adjacent to the besiegers this turn but my move is expended, and I can't attack yet. I add two Canadian Guard divisions to this force this turn.

ANOTHER early turn ending. That's three recently. I don't know if I'm actually doing something wrong or if it's just bad luck. Well anyway I reopened the salient like I planned, and the better units will likely get out as they are near the top, but Jeremy will cut off a fair amount on his turn I suspect. Out on the plain, I hardly advanced, and this pause might give him the time he needs to get a good line into place.

Well, I am resting a total of eleven armoured divisions, of which five are armed with the new M4/76. I also received the 8th National Guard Army this turn. On turn 53, all these units should be ready to go, and it's my intent to rail them all to upstate New York, blow Jeremy's railway bridges across central Ontario, and on turn 54 unleash all of this on his line north of Watertown.

The US Plains offensive continues as the battle for Kansas City reaches its conclusion

[golden delicious]

Turn 51:
Hm. As the new turn dawns I have a rather large pocket left in Missouri- including two armoured divisions. The block is still weak so I should be able to get them out. Happier news is that Jeremy is still attacking into Iowa further north. He won't get far fast like this as I am still very strong here. I counterattack his protrusion here whilst continuing to rest most of my armour (now five divisions here- though one is railed out to the Pacific this turn to replace a rested division).

Out on the Plains, the Japanese have shown up, which rather ruins the party. After my early turn ending I'm no longer looking at a ragged chain of broken bits loosely strung together, but rather a fairly respectable (if not exactly impregnable) defence. I respond to this by concentrating my forces into two main drives; one, with the forces in place last turn (9 armoured divisions), aims south towards Garden City from my existing foothold in northwestern Kansas. The other, with the four new armoured divisions I railed up last turn, aims east to the same point from the Colorado border. Together I hope to join them up at Garden City and forming a pocket of some Japanese troops here.

At Albuquerque, I more or less effortlessly break into the pocket. As Jeremy wasn't threatening the city anyway, I'm not certain how much this achieves, but it's dramatic. I'll try to brush aside the weak forces he has on the remainder of the ring before more Japanese arrive. Canada is quiet so two more divisions (including the last of armour) come down here. I still have some regular infantry in reserve for this front should Jeremy resume his attacks.

I start railing odd reconstitutes to the northeast. Hopefully, to Jeremy this will look like I'm doing my old cycling out good units for bad units. In fact, the purpose of this will be to build up some additional infantry ahead of my turn 54 Quebec offensive.

The battle of the salient goes very well. About half the stuff is out, and I'm able to wedge enough National Guard into the gap that I expect to get a good deal more of the rest out next turn- though I have a vague sense that he might try to link up again further north. I'm also successful in breaking through on both flanks to seize Garden City, creating a pocket of two Japanese divisions and an SS Panzergrenadier brigade, following this up with attacks which make relief a fairly remote prospect. In New Mexico, I slip two regiments around via Las Vegas, putting them in the rear of Albuquerque, creating the prospect of besieging the besiegers next turn. The one thing that doesn't come off is pushing back the attackers in northern Iowa; one panzer division holds out against hordes of National Guard. However this isn't especially vulnerable given the number of armoured divisions sitting behind the line.

I'm pleased with the results of the fighting in Kansas this turn. I've developed from a broad front to a pincer movement. Jeremy has to assume that weak sectors of his line will be targeted and attacked. He's not able to bring the Japanese up to the front fast enough to respond to this. However I do continue to outrun my supplies here and I don't think I can carry this offensive all the way to Wichita as I would like. I think I'll settle for putting his positions on the Nebraska border into a deep salient, whilst forcing him to guard the northern edge of New Mexico.

The relief of Albuquerque and the forming of the pocket at Garden City

[golden delicious]

Turn 52:
Jeremy shot for the linkup I was worried about- but missed. He did round up and destroy quite a few of the ruined bits that were left behind at the bottom of the salient, but this part of the battle is now effectively over. I dig in with half of my force while the remainder counterattacks the base of Jeremy's attempt to make a more northerly linkup, with the aim of destroying a panzergrenadier division that advanced here.

Over in the Plains, Jeremy tried in vain to relieve his two trapped Japanese divisions, battering the two AAC divisions here in the process. Nevertheless, his line is significantly stiffened this turn with the addition of a fair number of Japanese units and some panzer troops. I will again shift my armoured weight south and west this turn, where I see another opportunity of cutting off a Japanese division, and also weakness out on the flank here. An unexpected RBC also gives me a shot at cutting off a stack of troops including SS Nordland. This should be a bloody turn for Jeremy but I am slowly losing momentum here.

In New Mexico, Jeremy shifted his positions to strengthen both flanks, thwarting my immediate pincer movement. Scouting these areas in more force this turn, it appears I won't get around them any time soon as he has plenty of Japanese infantry here. However I find that to build these positions he's denuded the northern approaches to Albuquerque. I get two RBCs against Italians here and am poised to potentially cut off three Japanese and four Italian divisions, linking up with my positions in Albuquerque, where one of the besieging brigades also RBC'd.

I decide to bring forward my Quebec offensive one turn; the units required are all but completely ready now, and will have one more turn's supply by the time they hit the front. I intend to use my full rail lift to reinforce this front for at least the next three turns. This turn I send 4th Army, with 3 AAC divisions and 6 National Guard; I have six armoured divisions which should become ready for offensive action in the next two turns, plus potentially some National Guard culled from the line and one from reserve. In addition I have several brigades from my second line in the northeast which will join the offensive, and anything I can bring up the road from New York. The one thing this army needs but won't have for another turn is engineers, as none are available on the rail. My heavy bombers target four rail bridges linking this with Jeremy's army in Ontario, but he may already have been bringing troops back to Quebec to ship south. Three of them are destroyed- at a considerable cost in bombers. This better be worth it. I have to assume this will be very obvious to Jeremy in the replay, but I don't mention it in my e-mail just in case. He can ship in Japanese to Quebec, but I believe it's two turns movement from either Texas or Panama, plus one and a half by road to the front, so that gives me a head start.

A good turn. I destroy the two and a half divisions from last turn's pocket, and create a series of pockets across the front containing a further eleven, including two good panzergrendadier divisions. I'm also seriously threatening the extreme flank of Jeremy's main line, in the southeastern corner of Colorado, where I destroyed a Spanish mechanised division and cut off a Swedish one. I don't THINK I can hold on to the largest of the pockets, in New Mexico, but it does give Jeremy something to think about- in addition to the massive force I've just shipped to Watertown, New York.

US forces begin to concentrate for the Quebec Offensive. Allied intelligence has positively identified at least 32 Axis divisions dependent on the port of Quebec for supply, and there may be many more on the LOC [Screenshot from start of turn 53 as save file was corrupt]