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Turn 141
27th November 1943

The Germans limit their turn to bombardment - 6 in total - with reasonably heavy damage done to two CW stacks.

Turn 141
27th November 1943

I have quite a few units on patrol of the rear area. Any thought that this was overkill is quickly dispensed with as another German recce unit pops up to break road and rail comms on the east coast......

Turn 141
27th November 1943

....which suddenly turns into a whole lot more than that [X(] Once again, US forces (elements of 3rd and 36th Divisions) are diverted to clear up the problem. It has to be said, my east coast campaign has been an exercise in incompetence.....

Turn 141
27th November 1943

My attempts to get around the back of the Germans south of Rome has been severely hampered by devoncop's excellent delaying tactics. Too many US units are out of place and my CW reserve division has been annihilated. I need to get a grip on this.....

Turn 142
28th November 1943

The Germans decide to fight rather than just bombard. The panzergrenadiers from the 3rd, 15th and HG Divisions try and force a way west against weak British recce forces. However the British forces hold firm

Turn 142
28th November 1943

The British attempts at encircling Naples is dealt a bit of a blow with another failed force proficiency check. But there are clear targets here - an envelopment of Naples from the east and of Avalino from west and east...

Turn 143
29th November 1943

What can I say? A very frustrating turn. The German artillery on steroids attacks the British in the west, causing very heavy casualties. In return I spend more wasted time chasing German units over the mountains as the British and Dominion forces creep toward Avallino. I really need to spend some time reviewing the state of my CW forces - they can't be in a good way as they've been in continual action and suffered some big losses. I am very conscious of having no reserve. My attempts to get the Indians in that role has been stymied by straggler units and too many Canadians have been siphoned off for that purpose too.

Turn 144
30th November 1943

As we end November 1943, with a light couple of bombardments from the Germans, I think its time to take stock of what is going on!

Here is the situation briefing. I am currently staring a marginal defeat in the face - but there is plenty of time still to go.....

Turn 144
30th November 1943

Big Picture:

Turn 144
30th November 1943

8th Army

3rd Greek Bde. 104/108 Rifle Squads
24th Guards Bde. 82/108
201st Guards Bde. 105/108
4th Arm Bde. 68/71 Shermans
7th Arm Bde. 67/71 Shermans
9th Arm Bde. 56/71 Shermans
21st Tank Bde. 70/71 Shermans
8th Army Royal Engineer Bde.

7th Armoured Division
22nd Arm Bde. 106/108 Shermans
131st Arm Bde. 92/108
23rd Arm Bde. 104/108
7th Field Art Bde. 31/36 25-pdrs + 24/24 Bishop SP Guns
11th Hussars Recce Regt.

Army Group Royal Artillery
1st Field Art Bde. 145/172 guns and SP guns of various types
2nd Field Art Bde. 132/150
5th Field Art Bde. 112/126
6th Field Art Bde. 106/126
7th Field Art Bde. 78/81
10th Field Art Bde. 76/78

8th Indian Division
17th Ind Bde. 103/108 Rifle Squads
18th Ind Bde. 101/108
21st Ind Bde. 103/108
6th Bengal Lancers
8th Ind Field Art Bde. 69/72 25-pdrs

56th Infantry Division
167th Inf Bde. 108/108 Rifle Squads
169th Inf Bde. (1 Battalion) 35/36
44th Recce Bn.

XIII Corps
231st Bde Grp. 94/108 Rifle Squads
93rd AT Regt 25/48 guns and SP guns of various types
1st Kings Dragoon Gds
XIII Engineer Bde.

5th Infantry Division
13th Inf Bde. 105/108 Rifle Squads
15th Inf Bde. 94/108
17th Inf Bde. 82/108
5th Field Art Bde. 64/72 25-pdrs
5th Recce Bn.

46th Infantry Division
128th Inf Bde. 95/108 Rifle Squads
138th Inf Bde. 101/108
139th Inf Bde. 106/108
46th Recce Bn.
46th Field Art Bde. 65/72 25-pdrs

50th Infantry Division
50th Field Art Bde. 65/72 25-pdrs

78th Infantry Division
11th Inf Bde. 90/108 Rifle Squads
36th Inf Bde. 101/108
38th Inf Bde. 90/108
78th Field Art Bde. 58/72 25-pdrs
56th Recce Bn.

X (Dominion) Corps
105th AT Regt. 28/48 guns and SP guns of various types
X Engineer Bde.

2nd New Zealand Division
4th NZ Arm Bde. 70/108 Shermans
5th NZ Inf Bde. 110/11 Rifle Squads
6th NZ Inf Bde. 71/111
9th NZ Inf Bde. 60/75
2nd NZ Field Art Bde. 63/72 25-pdrs
2nd NZ Cavalry Bn.

1st Canadian Division
1st Cdn Inf Bde. 98/108 Rifle squads
2nd Cdn Inf Bde. 104/108
3rd Cdn Inf Bde. 99/108
1st Cdn Field Art Bde. 58/60 25-pdrs

5th Canadian Division
5th Cdn Arm Bde. 100/108 Shermans
11th Cdn Inf Bde. 96/108 Rifle Squads
12th Cdn Inf Bde. 92/108
3rd Cdn Field Art Bde. 58/60 25-pdrs
5th Cdn Recce Bn.

All units are still reasonably high on men and equipment but low on readiness and supply and in need of a good rest. I will seek to pull them out of the line from next turn.

Turn 144
30th November 1943

US 5th Army

82nd Airborne Division
325th Glider Regt. 75/75 Lt Rifle Squads
504th Parachute Regt. 84/84
505th Parachute Regt. 75/75

Tank Reserves
191st Tank Bn. 54/60 Shermans
753rd Tank Bn. 59/60
756th Lt Tank Bn. 104/110 tanks of various types
751st Tank Bn. 57/60
752nd Tank Bn. 59/60
758th Tank Bn. 58/60
760th Tank Bn. 56/60

II Corps
II HHB Field Art Regt. 72/72 guns
II Engineer Bn.

1st US Armoured Division
1st US Tank Regt. 81/84 Shermans
13th US Tank Regt. 82/84
6th Arm Inf Regt. 127/135 Rifle Squads
701st TD Bn. 36/36 Wolverines
27th US Field Art Bn. 18/18 Priest SP guns
68th US Field Art Bn. 18/18
16th Arm Eng Bn.
81st Recce Bn.

3rd Infantry Division
15th Inf Regt. 88/90 Rifle Squads
30th Inf Regt. 88/90
7th Inf Regt. 84/90
3rd HHB Field Art Regt. 45/48 guns
3rd Eng Bn.
3rd Recce Bn.

36th Infantry Division
141st Inf Regt. 89/90 Rifle Squads
142nd Inf Regt. 80/90
143rd Inf Regt. 88/90
636th US TD Bn. 29/36 Wolverines
36th HHB Field Art Regt. 48/48 guns
111th Eng Bn.
36th Recce Bn.

VI Corps
VI HHB Field Art Regt. 84/84 guns
VI Eng Bn.

45th Infantry Division
157th Inf Regt. 85/90 Rifle Squads
179th Inf Regt. 81/90
180th Inf Regt. 86/90
645th US TD Bn. 35/36 Wolverines
45th HHB Field Art Regt. 48/48 guns
120th Eng Bn.
45th Recce Bn.

92nd Infantry Division
365th Inf Regt. 86/90 Rifle Squads
366th Inf Regt. 86/90
370th Inf Regt. 86/90
371st Inf Regt. 85/90
92nd HHB Field Art Regt. 48/48 guns
317th Eng Bn.
92nd Recce Bn.

Free French Mountain Corps
US 13th Field Art Regt. 108/108 guns
1st FF Mtn Regt. 100/111 Rifle Squads
2nd FF Mtn Regt. 103/111 Rifle Squads
3rd FF Mtn Regt. 105/111 Rifle Squads
4th FF Mtn Regt. 107/114 Rifle Squads

2nd FF Moroccan Division
4th Moroccan Regt. 123/130 Rifle Squads
5th Moroccan Regt. 125/130
20th Moroccan Chasseurs
151st Moroccan Inf Bde. 107/130
8th Moroccan Inf Bde. 125/130
63rd Field Art Regt. 47/48 guns

Italian Liberation Corps
4th Bersaglieri Regt. 51/54 Rifle Squads
68th Fanteria Regt. 54/54
Assault Gun Bn. 32/33 Semoventes
11th Field Art Regt. 65/66 guns
LI MG Eng Bn.

US 34th Infantry Division
133rd Inf Regt. 86/90 Rifle Squads
135th Inf Regt. 83/90
168th Inf Regt. 85/90
34th HHB Field Art Regt. 48/48 guns
109th Eng Bn.
34th Recce Bn.

The US forces have plenty of troops and equipment. But despite this they are suffering from a dearth of engineers. Supply at Foggia is dire and there is no way for II Corps to break out until this is fixed.....

Turn 145
1st December 1943

More hideous losses from bombardments for the British. I decide to withdraw for R+R as these losses are unsustainable. I will probably lose the New Zealand cavalry battalion which is engaged (three CW units were engaged but this is the only one likely to be surrounded and killed).

The chasing straggler routine is getting really tedious. Essentially German units are all pretty much indestructible. That they were in many cases tenacious fighters is not in dispute but this is a little silly.


How is this unit in supply? Its been behind enemy lines for months! How is it feeding its 76 tanks and 18 other vehicles in this mountainous terrain intersected by rivers with all roads (tracks) cut off by the enemy???

To add to the frustration there's a bridge south of Foggia that won't repair - its been weeks, I even have two engineers on there now. Allied supply is down to 1%??

The unit is probably over-extended so in theory it should whittle away. I've experimented with this in D21 by trapping Soviets and leaving them to see how long it takes for them to degrade completely. I've not seen one completely vanish yet so I'm guessing it's a long time!

If they can trace a supply line, regardless of how long or unrealistic, they will stick around pretty much forever, even though they are over-extended.

The 'quick' way to do it is to completely surround them, dig in and give them a couple of turns to become brittle. Then attack from all sides at once.

I suppose in theory even a panzer unit, providing it had a good stockpile of fuel and ammo, could stick around for months despite being isolated. Only moving and fighting actually burns supply. For rations I suppose they just take what they can from the land. Troops actually starving to death does not seem to be modelled by the game, although it did happen to the Axis in the Soviet Union.

ORIGINAL: 700851McCall

The unit is probably over-extended so in theory it should whittle away. I've experimented with this in D21 by trapping Soviets and leaving them to see how long it takes for them to degrade completely. I've not seen one completely vanish yet so I'm guessing it's a long time!

If they can trace a supply line, regardless of how long or unrealistic, they will stick around pretty much forever, even though they are over-extended.

The 'quick' way to do it is to completely surround them, dig in and give them a couple of turns to become brittle. Then attack from all sides at once.

I suppose in theory even a panzer unit, providing it had a good stockpile of fuel and ammo, could stick around for months despite being isolated. Only moving and fighting actually burns supply. For rations I suppose they just take what they can from the land. Troops actually starving to death does not seem to be modelled by the game, although it did happen to the Axis in the Soviet Union.

warspite1

I assume the quick is in inverted commas for the reason I set out previously, namely; with this terrain (with often just one hex move possible per turn) there is nothing quick - or necessarily certain - about being able to surround the enemy....

I will keep an eye on the extent to which units whittle away without being attacked.

Turn 146
2nd December 1943

Three German units were engaged trying to get away.

In the centre, near Ariano, German forces in some size, engage the 36th Division.

Following from what I said previously, we now have the situation where the cut-off German recce detachment that has been attacked repeatedly and keeps retreating, has re-taken Foggia!

The good news is that there were only four bombardments and not only was the damage relatively light, but there was also plenty of counter-battery fire.

With the CW troops resting on the left flank, and movement difficult to impossible, the turn was largely spent trying to bombard German rear-guard units as well as trying to prepare for trouble at Ariano. There are now three engineers trying to fix the bridge at Foggia......

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: 700851McCall

The unit is probably over-extended so in theory it should whittle away. I've experimented with this in D21 by trapping Soviets and leaving them to see how long it takes for them to degrade completely. I've not seen one completely vanish yet so I'm guessing it's a long time!

If they can trace a supply line, regardless of how long or unrealistic, they will stick around pretty much forever, even though they are over-extended.

The 'quick' way to do it is to completely surround them, dig in and give them a couple of turns to become brittle. Then attack from all sides at once.

I suppose in theory even a panzer unit, providing it had a good stockpile of fuel and ammo, could stick around for months despite being isolated. Only moving and fighting actually burns supply. For rations I suppose they just take what they can from the land. Troops actually starving to death does not seem to be modelled by the game, although it did happen to the Axis in the Soviet Union.

warspite1

I assume the quick is in inverted commas for the reason I set out previously, namely; with this terrain (with often just one hex move possible per turn) there is nothing quick - or necessarily certain - about being able to surround the enemy....

I will keep an eye on the extent to which units whittle away without being attacked.

warspite1

Here's one of the reasons these units just go on and on..... the bottom picture is from this turn and the top from the previous turn. The unit is out of supply and yet still able to receive replacements.....

Turn 147
3rd December 1943

Not too much to report from either side. I meant to show a screen shot of my partisans in the Milan area but forgot (will do this next turn). Essentially devoncop has wind of these units and sent what I assume is the nearest thing he had available to destroy one of them. The unit was an engineer and the partisans were able to retreat.

Picture to follow.

are you sure that's actually out of supply? It's showing some equipment as damaged, not destroyed. AFAIK if OOS all losses are destroyed.

ORIGINAL: DanNeely

are you sure that's actually out of supply? It's showing some equipment as damaged, not destroyed. AFAIK if OOS all losses are destroyed.

warspite1

No the question was - how is this unit in supply? It is totally surrounded by enemy units, there are no towns to draw any supply from, the unit is hemmed in by rivers with no bridges, there are no tracks - much less roads - that lead to anywhere that are not cut-off. Just seems very strange.

Turn 148
4th December 1943

Well that's annoying - the air assistant in both games seems to be 'on' so I've lose a load of aircraft in dumb airfield attacks.....

Anyway, back to the Axis turn and there were 12 bombardments - although mostly these were relatively light in terms of casualties - 6% being the highest loss. There was some decent counter-battery fire too in one instance.

Another German unit (or more) has annoyingly infiltrated behind the lines again. I thought I'd covered this off.