Seminole v S2Tanker - Vol I

[Seminole]

Turn 43

Stalemate continues on Corsica and The Toe.





Time to see if I can deliver some blows to the Italian invasion force. If I can weaken it I can feel better about pulling resources to fend off an invasion in northern Europe.
The axis of advance from The Toe to Taranto offers a nice opportunity to herd and bag an enemy salient. No need for lots of trucks and deep armored plunges, the sea will serve as anvil.

[Seminole]

Turn 45

Supply situation on Corsica is still excellent, but the western beachhead has been expanded another hex.



Assaults on Ajaccio come to naught.




Attempts to expand the eastern beachheads fail as well.




In The Toe we have feigned a more general withdrawal of strength, opening the way to attack NE toward Taranto. The Allies try to exploit the perceived gap with several armored formations.



The narrow salient is weakly protected in the neck by a hodge podge of international forces.



The Luftwaffe focus their interdiction efforts on this stretch.




General von Scweppenburg's LVIII Panzer Corps is given the honor of carrying the decisive blow.



The diaspora of the Low Countries flee the German onslaught northward, toward the Allied armored spearhead and into the jaws of the trap.



Unfortunately the follow up blow is too heavy, and instead of retreating further north the Allies rout and return to friendly lines. Just didn't trust trying to 'calibrate' my attack and hope for a retreat instead of a rout. Too important to obtain a 20 mile gap in the pocket and obtain the river line. I did remove any German units from the pocket lining to avoid inflicting additional casualties, but the overstack and river crossing penalties on top of unit factors fell in the Allies favor in terms of generating a rout that allowed escape.



Since the Low Country Allies already routed I conduct a final attack across the river to force the pocket tighter and prevent a concerted attack from within the pocket to the south.



CV of final alignment after springing trap.

[Seminole]

Turn 46

On Corsica the Allies have some success at sea, but none on land.



The action this week remains in The Toe.
Polish paras, in the freshly reconstituted 1st Polish Parachute Bde Grp descend into 12th SS PzG Div's bivouac and are promptly captured. Thus begins an inauspicious week of combat for the Allies.



British X Corps spearheads a relief effort that, as expected, clears the first hex of German opposition.



Lacking the resources and time to break through the Allies attempt to widen the shoulders of their salient.



After rounding up the Poles Von Schweppenburg attacks NE in a bid to crush the pocket before another relief effort can be mounted.



Among the doomed tankers are some additional paras that were flown into the pocket.



Officers of the Guards British Armored Division issue their unit's surrender.



Allied losses continue to mount in this Mediterranean maelstrom.



Allied POWs almost outnumber Axis combined losses (and that includes Italians!).



LVIII Panzer Corps isn't finished and turns its attention back south, routing the spearhead of the relieving force.



On the western side of The Toe I SS Panzer Corps knocks back the British Air Landing division for good measure.



As it's getting into May here's a look at the defenses in N Europe:

[whoofe]

so a question - if his initial invasion doesn't go south as badly as it did, would this all these other bottlenecks still been possible? it seems to me his divisions are so crippled because of the losses and fatigue and supply while yours are much fresher & stronger because of the initial failed invasion

basiaclly - would this at least have been a decent competitive game had the initial landings not failed so badly?

[jacktimes2]

I think a deeper problem is the general ineffectiveness in the air war. Without a strong air game, the Allies are always going to fail an invasion. I speak from my own experience of being pushed back into the sea. The air war is complex but fun.

[Seminole]

so a question - if his initial invasion doesn't go south as badly as it did, would this all these other bottlenecks still been possible? it seems to me his divisions are so crippled because of the losses and fatigue and supply while yours are much fresher & stronger because of the initial failed invasion

S2Tanker is still grappling with the air war. But I've also had opponents more familiar with the air war find themselves surprised at the efficacy of the Luftwaffe relative to the Allied Air Forces in '43.

In other cases (specifically the most recent pocket by The Toe) I'm taking advantage of the terrain and my opponent's inherent aggressiveness. So much of what will work depends on your opponent. I have another game ongoing where the Allies landed in The Heel (I think this is the best spot to get on the mainland, but I've only played the Battleground Italy scenario as the Allies), but he's been slower than McClellan at getting his army anywhere. I think I put an early scare in him by cutting off (but not encircling) his first foray from Taranto's hills, and he's been happy to 'sit in his works' ever since.

basiaclly - would this at least have been a decent competitive game had the initial landings not failed so badly?

I'm not sure. I haven't had a game where I've even lost Naples. I think my Mediterranean defense throws so many wrenches into the Allied timetable people become frustrated and quit.
This game takes some more unexpected turns, to be sure.

[Kronolog]

Interesting AAR. I think your opponent should be commended for soldiering on despite his hopeless situation.

[whoofe]

i'll admit - your defense does look very formidable - that's why I asked the question. is EF box on? it sure looks like you have a ton of units in Italy, when you can cover all that area plus defend Sardinia and Corsica like you did, plus your NW france looks comfortably defended.

surely you have to be weak in some area? (not asking you to give away your strategy if its a secret tho)

[Seminole]

I think your opponent should be commended for soldiering on despite his hopeless situation.

Definitely. But I also think the best way to learn the game is to play it out, and S2Tanker plays to find the limits.

is EF box on?

Not in this game. In our rematch it is on, but I still think it favors the Germans. I intend to take advantage of it in that game, but do not intend to lose any points because of it, so hopefully I balance it well while showing it unbalances the game relative to having it turned off.

it sure looks like you have a ton of units in Italy, when you can cover all that area plus defend Sardinia and Corsica like you did, plus your NW france looks comfortably defended.
surely you have to be weak in some area? (not asking you to give away your strategy if its a secret tho)

In Sardinia and Corsica you can leverage the terrain by splitting your units. In Corsica there were the 1st and 4th FJ Div, supported by security units and some oddball regiments like the Nederland SS. When the attack came I sent in the 3rd FJ (they had been refitting from the Sardinia campaign around Milan), and immediately followed it up with the Air Landing division.
So that is 3 FJ Divisions and the Air Landing Division with some supporting security units tying up what - a dozen Allied divisions? More importantly, it let me know where to find and attack his TFs, and if I can count them out there I can make better assumptions about where else is under the threat.

If you decide to go on this path you should fortify as early as possible because:

when calculating the modified CV ratio
to determine whether a defender will be required
to retreat, isolated defending units may have their
CV divided by two if they fail certain checks based on
their morale, and the distance to the nearest supplied
friendly units. However, when defending units are
in a hex with a defensive fortification modifier of five
or greater (terrain plus fort level), then the above CV
penalty does not apply. Instead, they undergo a check
based on the defensive fortification modifier and their
morale that may result in their CV being halved (CV
halved if (random(25))/fort level is greater than random
(unit morale)).
Units in port fortresses, defined as ports with fort
level 3 or 4, do not suffer a combat penalty for being
isolated. They still suffer normal penalties for any
shortages of supply, fuel, or ammo.

My first campaign is when this idea occurred to me, but it wasn't until about 6 turns into the game that I started moving forces to make the commitment. That game got abandoned around turn 14 when my opponent was struggling in Sicily. It was seeing these Allied struggles, and some other AARs that got me preaching the gospel of TFs as combat units on map.
The next few games I spent some AP on forts early on, but lately I tend to make those commitments, if I make them, only after the invasion has been conducted.

With regard to my deployments in N Europe, you're seeing an Atlantic Wall of units broken down into regiments. Refit them early on, and if necessary rotate them away from the narrows of the Channel, to get their moral up while German national morale is at its highest ('43).
I focus early on getting my good corps commanders down into Italy and ready to defend the islands. I noticed in more than one of my games that my initial wave of security units that where sent early to Sardinia were under OKW command, and their losses led to Jodl being sacked for Guderian. Unexpected bonus.
Along the Atlantic Wall I assign units directly to the occupational HQs of Denmark, Holland and Belgium. I then try to start using corps HQs between units and the French occupational HQ and 7th Army. I strive to keep units within 5 hexes of their HQ for the bonuses.
I favor this Atlantic Wall approach because it deters the snap 'regimental' assaults that can be planned in less than a month. Should also impact para ops and allows for more digging. As reinforcements roll in you can start building depth by March-April.

[freeboy]

well your strategy on paper.. web based as we see here is fine sound and impressive

[Seminole]

Turn 47

The Allied slog up The Toe continues.



On Corsica the northeastern beachhead has been abandoned.



The Germans counterattack on the western flank of The Toe, but pull back to shorten the line and reduce exposure.

[Seminole]

Turn 48

Allies cautiously inching forward from The Toe. The Germans playfully slap them back on the western flank again.



Defensive arrangements in Southern Italy:



Corsican stare down continues unabated.

[Seminole]

Turn 49
June 3, 1944

The Allies step up their naval patrol efforts, and manage to close access to 3 of the 4 ports on Corsica. The Luftwaffe keeps Porto Vecchio open, however.
The other eastern beachhead has also been abandoned by the Allied navy. Not sure if this is due to prep for N. Europe, surprise loss due to continued attrition, or just retreat for repairs from same. It's been a while that the Allies have tried to maintain these temp ports on Corsica as the invasion stalled long ago.




The first assault fails, but the follow up manages to obtain the surrender of the 3 Allied infantry divisions.




In The Toe the Germans continue harassing counterattacks to generate losses, affect morale, and eliminate fortifications.





Losses to date:




Supply situation on Corsica is still fine. It'll take more than one week to drain supplies from this island once stocked.




Southern Italy:




Waiting for the shoe to drop in N Europe:

[Seminole]

Turn 50

Continue wearing on the WA shipping.




Persistence pays off as the Allies finally force their way into Ajaccio.




Germans continue counterattacking the WA on the plains of the western coast.




Still expecting another southern landing.




VPs over the campaign thus far. The blip is a turn where I blew garrison requirement somewhere.











OoB




Fate of fighting generals:




Current generals in action:

[Seminole]

Turn 51

June 17th, still no Allied landing in N. Europe. I'm starting to think the beachhead bonus is actually a possibility.

Allied naval interdiction gets the job done this turn, isolating the ports on Corsica.



Still bitter fighting on the island by the German defenders.





The WA give special attention to Brittany.



With The Toe recently defanged it is time to ship the armored reserve in Italy to N Europe.




The status of the Atlantic Wall in mid June '44.

[Mamluke]

hey there, I really enjoying the ARR! I never though the Axis could put up such a Bold forward defense!

But that begs the question. most of the battles near the Italian toe, for most of them, the americans didn't have air support, why is this? aren't the Allies suppose to have 1000s of planes to use as CAS?

[Seminole]

hey there, I really enjoying the ARR! I never though the Axis could put up such a Bold forward defense!

But that begs the question. most of the battles near the Italian toe, for most of them, the americans didn't have air support, why is this? aren't the Allies suppose to have 1000s of planes to use as CAS?

Thanks, I'll put more into this AAR when I can get caught up on my turns during the upcoming holiday weekend (I have three ongoing games, and two of them are patiently waiting on me right now).
Vol II against S2Tanker is underway, and it's been at least as exciting.

Not knowing his force allocation, I can only guess he's suffering from a lack of nearby suitable airfields.

It's another reason I'm partial to making the Allied landing on Italy in The Heel is that depending on how you place your landings you can have 8-10 level 2 airfields almost immediately, and their proximity better serves making the breakout from The Heel and seizing the fields at Foggia.

[Seminole]

Turn 51
June 17th, 1944

Allied air concentration shifts to the peninsula.



The Allied attacks on Corsica continue.
A slow, bloody slog.





Air Directives over the island



Results are disappointing, as the Allied concentration has overcome ours and isolated the island.



Armored units are on flat cars and headed north, with the SS already making their way through the Alps.




The Atlantic Wall awaits the Allied landing. I'm starting to wonder if I will actually get the beachhead bonus...

[Seminole]

Turn 52
June 24th, 1944

The Atlantic Wall remains untouched, with some shifting of reserves.



Allied attention has turned to SE France.



The evacuation of Corsica is underway, note the German air drops.



On Corsica the defenders are thinning and the Allies begin to make progress.



Shipping losses to date:



Ground losses to date:

[Seminole]

Turn 53

July 1, 1944

Ike has to be frustrated by the weather.



Allied airpower swings back to the Cherbourg peninsula.



German units in the region.



The Corsican withdrawal continues.



These units are used to reinforce SE France at this time.