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

[warspite1]

Turn 193
18th January 1944

5 Axis bombardments - one against partisans and the rest levelled against the 8th Army. 20 Field Artillery pieces are destroyed, although 11 enemy pieces were destroyed by counter-battery fire.

[warspite1]

Turn 193
18th January 1944

In response there are attacks from most Corps (this is the position with one round left)

French Mountain Corps

The pesky assault gun detachment continues to hang around - as does the Italian Flak detachment to the north. I am starting to feel a little more comfortable on this front as the French mountain battalions (that had been on mop up duty) are now nearing the front along with three US infantry battalions.

[warspite1]

Turn 193
18th January 1944

US VI Corps

[warspite1]

Turn 193
18th January 1944

US II Corps

[warspite1]

Turn 193
18th January 1944

While X Corps sector has been quiet this turn (if you can call the amount of artillery shells quiet) the British/Polish units to the south have picked up the tab once more.

British XIII Corps

[warspite1]

Turn 193
18th January 1944

For the last round II Corps decide they want a piece of the action too!

British X Corps

This 'excellent' attack, supported by massed artillery and aircraft proved costly and failed to gain ground as a German flak unit stubbornly held on.

[warspite1]

Turn 194
19th January 1944

Interestingly perhaps there were no bombardments this turn....

Big Picture

[warspite1]

Turn 194
19th January 1944

Just four rounds for the Allies that turn then a proficiency failure means no screenshots. Two hexes taken - in VI and X Corps areas.

[warspite1]

Turn 195
20th January 1944

It will be interesting to see what devoncop has in the VI Corps area....

[warspite1]

Turn 195
20th January 1944

Tivoli falls!! II Corps has been edging toward the town and finally it falls.

[warspite1]

Turn 196
21st January 1944

devoncop has built an artillery park in front of the Kiwi/Canadian sector. I can't afford to get into an artillery duel so I will need to think about what to do here as that was painful.....

[warspite1]

Turn 196
21st January 1944

I decide the best I can do is to keep plugging away and hope that devoncop realises there are more important places for his artillery to be....

Two further hexes gain on VI and II Corps fronts, while in the north my forces start to move around the enemy.... let's hope there are no hidden reserves there....[X(]

[devoncop]

Hi all.

Sadly I am having to surrender this game at this point as under this (original) version of the STBP scenario my supply levels are such that all troops south of Verona are operating at a supply level of zero despite being parked close to Rome for the most part. This may be because of the activities of the partisans that do not appear in the latest version of the scenario that I am playing with Larry. It does seem odd that a couple of broken rails up near Brenner pass has been able to starve the army near Rome but it seems this is what has happened....very bizarre. Given that Italy was no Yugoslavia when it came to partisan activity I agree with the decision to remove them from this scenario.

Having said that I was well on the way to losing this anyway as besides the paper thin lines around Rome I had nothing more than a couple of cooks and mechanics "manning" the lines further north.

Warspite did a really great job in Sicily and the deep south so it was a very deserved win. I do think the newest version Larry uploaded which we have used in our games at 2 turns a week rather than a turn a day like here loses nothing in drama and as it now has a few ships for the allies and more accurate supply infrastructure for the Germans without partisans I personally would recommend it.

Thanks to Warspite for the great AAR which I am now off to read from the beginning...As we are only 19 turns from the end of the epic CFNA one I am looking forward to reading about his win there soon

All the best

Ian

[warspite1]

Hi devoncop

That's a real shame as this was a big investment in time and effort for us both - only to be beaten by something that surely should be known? Fully understand your decision though given the situation you describe - no fun. If its any consolation you'd almost destroyed the partisans in the north and replacements were being fed in in the south! I guess that is no consolation when they've already destroyed the rail lines.

I hope that the problems pointed out in AAR such as these will mean someone working on fixing the issues - at least the real biggies like the one you encountered and the duplicate divisions.

Regardless of the outcome I thoroughly enjoyed our game, I really appreciate the pace of turn turnaround and the spirit the game was played in.

I hope you enjoy reading the AAR! [:)]

[devoncop]

Hi Warspite.

Truly epic AAR and it really have me a different perspective on the struggle !

The issue wasn't so much the rail lines being ripped up....fair enough ...but the fact my engineers have no rail repair ability and the auto repair mechanic detailed in the scenario notes was not working as far as I could make out.
Sorry again you didn't get to see the Royal Tank Regiment driving through the Brenner Pass but believe me it would have happened well before May 45 !

Thanks for the opportunity and I will follow your War in the Pacific clash with Larry very closely....(hint.....you will find you got hit pretty hard 1st turn...[:)])