STBP 1943-45 devoncop (Axis) vs warspite1 (CW) - no devoncop please

[warspite1]

Turn 157
13th December 1943

The Germans are really getting on my **** [:D] They continue to fight back - smacking partisans in the north, and the Americans in the centre. Although there were 10 bombardments and 1 attack, the losses are relatively light.

My turn was spent as before. This is a real waste of time - I have to get moving but I can't because a) my comms aren't secure, and b) supply remains a problem

[warspite1]

Turn 158
14th December 1943

Well that's not exactly friendly is it boys and girls? I had best to try and assess the damage.....but it looks like a couple of partisan units were destroyed in RBC too.

EDIT: Okay its not as bad as it first appears; there are a lot of 0% here and the two big 33% ones are against the partisans. Phew.....

[warspite1]

Turn 158
14th December 1943

The turn sees more of the same; I give below a 'big picture' look at Italy south of Rome. There are no longer any units on Sicily, or the extreme south (except the 'dead pool' of duplicate divisions you may recall from earlier in the game (just out of picture)). As airfields (with sufficient supply) become available, so I move my aircraft north. I can't yet use the massed airfields around Foggia but my engineers are (slowly) working on it.... There are therefore still about a dozen squadrons in the 'toe' of Italy and 9 in the heel.

[warspite1]

Turn 159
15th December 1943

Another relatively harmless turn - unless you're a partisan....and there aren't many of those left anymore.....

...not too much to report for the Allies either. The only thing of note is that the lead elements of the 78th Infantry Division took Terracina from a battalion of the 65th Division that decided to put itself into the lions mouth...

Turn 160
16th December 1943

Yet more of the same. The good news is that the German stragglers are being whittled down, the engineers are gradually getting there, and I am getting my CW forces in order for the next advance up the coast.

Turn 161
17th December 1943

All partisans in the south have been wiped out - otherwise ditto

[warspite1]

Turn 162
18th December 1943

The Luftwaffe try and destroy a bridge but lose 56 aircraft (19 destroyed) and the bridge remains intact. The Allied air forces lose 36 fighters (8 destroyed). The only other attack against the CW was to the west where the Germans sought to give the British recce forces a bloody nose. The troops were fine but the Luftwaffe came out marginally better in the air battle that preceded it. The partisans southeast of Bergamo have almost been wiped out.

For the Allies the good news is that the first three airbases at Foggia are now operational and supply is starting to fan out from there.

In the west the British XIII Corps are advancing up the coast, although the X (Dominion) Corps needs some engineer support if its to assist on the right flank of the British.

[warspite1]

Turn 163
19th December 1943

Just one bombardment aimed against the British and as is now to be expected from Axis artillery - it hurt. There was further thinning out of the partisans too.

The CW artillery was not as effective. Now the units are engaged I will need to keep a running score of this to see at what point I need to pull back.

I've put all bombers on interdiction in the hope that this may help.

[warspite1]

Turn 164
20th December 1943

There was the usual pasting dished out to the partisans and also two bombardments against the CW forces south of Anzio. Quelle surprise - the British Division that was to make an assault on the German front line this turn goes into reorganisation.....

Okay so let's start making a tally of losses so I can gauge better what is going on.


....And now for something completely different....reorganisation by a CW division.....

[warspite1]

Turn 164
20th December 1943

Battle of Anzio - opening phase

'Round 1' to the British Army [:)] The bulk of the AGRA guns are with XIII Corps - just a couple of units with X (Dominion) Corps - hence the damage inflicted.

But I hope I haven't gone too early here. Ideally I'd line X Corps to be alongside and giving the German left flank something to worry about. However they are bogged down by German rear-guards and - more importantly - broken bridges.....

[warspite1]

Turn 165
21st December 1943

As expected the CW advantage didn't last. The Axis artillery make mincemeat of the advancing (necessarily) heavily stacked infantry. Losses of over 200 infantry stacks in one go.

Another mini-disaster of a turn. I attacked in the centre of the line east of Anzio - the hex I had been pounding the previous turn. It was a good attack with every artillery piece from the infantry divisions and the AGRA, 101 bombers escorted by 652(!) fighters - but the results are predictable. Another 222 infantry squads consigned to the morgue.... and the enemy held the position..... and the turn ended so there was only one round. And these are second string troops I'm facing. There are no panzer divisions...

Thank goodness I make it a thing that I utilise my engineers and move most of my units first thing... but that is small consolation for the loss of almost 500 infantry squads in one full turn...

[warspite1]

Turn 166
22nd December 1943

All one can do in situations like this is remember its a game and just laugh it off. Huge % in bombardment losses once more - numbers that the Allied artillery just can't get close to. Evaporating the enemy? I don't think so - not even close - even when overstacked and are being bombarded by the entire AGRA. But entire British brigades? Yeah sure no problem....

British infantry squad losses at Anzio alone now 645 Ho hum....

...and it gets worse. So I decide to bombard with everything the for four rounds the hex I'm going to attack. Four rounds, what? 8, 9 artillery units - and then attack with combined arms all artillery and all air. The Germans hold and the British lost 325 infantry squads.

Well that ends the battle for Anzio..... I'll have to withdraw and hunker down for the winter and try and find some reinforcements from somewhere.

[warspite1]

Turn 167 + Turn 168
23rd + 24th December 1943

Well I didn't take my own advice and tried to continue. That was a mistake. Hundreds more troops lost (and entire brigades evaporated) and now I can't withdraw without more enormous losses because most of my forces are reorganising. I tried to change tack and take out the German artillery but my artillery was slaughtered in counter-battery fire.

On the right flank the 2nd New Zealand Division have gone into reorganisation too.

So I pull back en masse (with what I can) and simply wait for the casualty count to increase. I don't know if these British units reconstitute (the destroyed 56th Division didn't) but if not then that is the British effectively out of the game.....

[warspite1]

169 + 170
25th and 26th December 1943

The remains of the British Army continue to retreat - although unlike the Germans which rarely get engaged, the British units are engaged every turn thus simply increasing the losses.

For some reason, weather perhaps? the Allied engineers have simply downed tools. The number of rail hexes I'm able to repair is slightly less than bugger all per turn. This means supply remains hopeless and I'm resorting to moving as few units as possible (aside from the fleeing CW troops) to maximise what supply there is.

[warspite1]

Turn 171 + 172
27th + 28th December 1943

More of the same predictable stuff sadly - another couple of brigades simply disappear having got engaged....

Engineers simply won't fix any rails at the moment ergo I have no supply and therefore I can do absolutely nothing. Bizarre. 1 out of 12 that turn.....

Turn 128 sees more losses from bombardment. Engineers continue to struggle to understand how to fix rail lines. It will take a while to sort the surviving CW units into position after the last debacle and I continue to keep the US forces as immobile as possible for supply reasons.

All 'Dark Green' fighters are on air superiority

Sadly no British reinforcements - looks like those units won't be reconstituting....

[warspite1]

Turn 173-179
29th December 1943 - 4th January 1944

I've not reported on these turns individually as there has been nothing much to report. Basically the British and Commonwealth forces are locked in an artillery duel (and there are no prizes for guessing who is coming off worse there) while the US forces are waiting for the engineers to do their job and provide some supply.

However, I now realise I've been reading the map wrong and the rail line at Cassino doesn't connect to the line to the south. So I'm at a bit of a loss as to how the US forces are supplied fully. It looks like I can get some supply to them - but supply quickly dissipates from Cassino even with the rail intact.

I've made a total pig's ear of this.

[larryfulkerson]

I've made a total pig's ear of this.

You guys can always restart.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

I've made a total pig's ear of this.

You guys can always restart.

warspite1

Well yes but that's not really fair on devoncop. In playing the Axis (and assuming he was playing a competent player and not the total buffoon he's up against) then he would be in for a game of retreat, loss, retreat loss. That he's doing really well and actually now attacking the Allies is reward for great tactics and sticking in there. It seems a little unfair for me to pull the plug just as he's getting his reward.

No, I've cocked it up and so now I will try and rectify the situation. And if I can't then I'll just continue embarrassing myself with this resounding display of ineptitude.

Now, where are those damn engineers?? [:D]

[warspite1]

Turn 180 + 181
5th and 6th January 1944

Supply or no I decided I need to take the game to the Germans. The British were locked in an artillery duel with the Axis and we know how that ends. I therefore moved forward with XIII Corps and begun the process of moving X (Domminion) Corps up on their right. Meanwhile the US II Corps started their advance on Tivoli and the VI Corps began a tentative move north from Sulmona. The Free French Mountain Corps are starting their advance up the east coast (where communications appear somewhat basic).

In order to avoid as much as possible being splattered by the battlefield nuclear weapons the Germans are able to employ, I thinned out the British line - but this has simply invited attack by the enemy - and I now need to sort out that mess.

At the same time the German forces opposite II Corps have also decided to go on the offensive and have attacked the 92nd Division.

As Chic would say:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKl6EZShaaw

[warspite1]

Turn 181
6th January 1944

US II Corps

After two rounds of bombardment, elements of three units - 92nd Division, 1st Armoured Division and 5th Army reserve - seek to attack a couple of enemy units blocking the road to Tivoli. Artillery and air support are called upon too.

[warspite1]

Turn 181
6th January 1944

British XIII Corps

Again, following a couple of bombardments, an attack by elements of the Polish division and three British units aim to wrest control of Litroria from the 508th Heavy Panzer Battalion - while the artillery to the northwest are also targeted. Again artillery and aircraft are employed for the main attack.

[warspite1]

Turn 181
6th January 1944

As to be expected, the Allies suffer huge losses in driving the Germans back from both hexes. I finish the turn with another round of bombardment so let's see what the damage was for that turn:

Looks like the Germans have the Me-262 already......

The allies took large infantry losses but at least they took out some German artillery.