Operation Sledgehammer ’43

[TankBushido]

Turn 40:
Still waiting for better weather.

Turn 41:
Light mud so I start attacking in France. I start with air interdiction and then attack west of St. Lo. I reduce the fort but am unable to take the hex on a 1.4:1 attack.

[TankBushido]

Turn 42:
My first attack west of St. Lo pushes the two infantry and one panzer division back. I advance in pursuit and am content with that gain for my turn.

[TankBushido]

Turn 43:
I’ve got an itchy trigger finger on my invasions of Brittany and the south of France, but the weather isn’t cooperating. A big storm is rolling through France bringing heavy mud in the north and rain in the south. The south was clear last turn but my 2nd task force had one more turn of preparation. With the storm front forecasted to dump some more rain, my plans will have to wait at least a couple of more turns. Turn 45 is the start of May, which promises the coming of clear weather. I halt my attacks and rest my air for a turn.

[CaptBeefheart]

Great AAR! I like the alt-history aspect. I gave this game a go after it came out and I may give it another shot based on your AAR.

Cheers,
CB

[TankBushido]

Thanks for reading, CaptBeefheart. I love the alternate history aspect of war games. I have a tentative plan to do a trilogy of AARs for WITW with this one being the first in the series, all based on What If scenarios around Allied strategic planning. I have the other two already in my head, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself as I need to get through this one first.

[EddyBear81]

I find it an interesting experimentation ! But in the end, your choice of invading in Cotentin put you in a hard bottleneck.

With hindsight, would you try to invade somewhere else ? At the price of lower air cover / higher chance of being pushed back by Panzer thrusts in clearer terrain (Britanny, Le Havre-area ?)

Also, what kind of Air settings do you use ? What level of strat bombing do you allocate ?

Keep up the regular posts !

[TankBushido]

Good questions. Given the intent of the operation was a capture and hold, I still think the Cotentin is the best choice because of the defensive terrain. I am somewhat bottled up right now, but I don't think I'm in a bad situation. I've proven that I can push the line and the line is going to be extending for the Germans as I push out of the peninsula. I think the German defense is a balloon that is going to pop and disperse quickly. Operation Cobra and the historic breakout took place in the last week of July and first week of August. We'll see how it plays out, but I feel like I'm in a position for a breakout 6-8 weeks ahead of that timeline. I feel like a breakout can happen within 3-6 weeks from my current position once there is good weather. I also have additional advantages over history in that I have a large secondary invasion coming to Brittany in May and my Operation Dragoon in Southern France will start in May/June instead of August. I'm expecting the German defensive situation to quickly collapse under the multiple threats with a pullback to eastern France expected by June. Wishful thinking? This is my first play through, so what do I know? We'll know soon enough.

Air is AI managed, but on attack turns I'm setting High Air Supremacy and Interdiction, with Low priority on Ground Support. Strategic bombers are bombing the Ruhr and beyond, but I will be switching them to Railyards in May.

[TankBushido]

Turn 44:
Some shifting front lines present some opportunities, both in France and in Italy.

Here the AI has hung a unit out to dry in Bayeux in France.

[TankBushido]

And here in Italy.

[TankBushido]

I take Bayeux in an easy attack.

In Italy, I count about 20 divisions on the line for the Germans in Italy. I only have around 15. Glad to be tying down some troops here.

[TankBushido]

Turn 46:
Clear weather! There is still mud on the ground in some places, but Brittany looks mostly clear, so I launch my secondary invasion this turn. Air is fully committed to covering the invasion focusing on Supremacy, Interdiction, and Railyards.

[TankBushido]

I try to attack in Normandy, but the Germans have three reserve Panzer divisions that join in to stop the advance. I probably should have held my attacks here because I didn’t have air interdiction, but I thought I’d try.

[TankBushido]

Positions after the German turn.

[TankBushido]

Turn 47:
I expand the beachhead in Brittany. My forces push one hex south in Normandy, but am unable to take Avranches.

[TankBushido]

Operation Dragoon kicks off in the South of France.

[TankBushido]

Turn 48:
Rain and light mud in France, but I take one hex in the south side of the front in Normandy. The Germans have committed around 12 divisions to cover the Brittany beachhead. They can’t hold everywhere, so I’m bound to be able to push somewhere.

[TankBushido]

I consolidate my beachhead in Southern France as follow-on forces land ashore with even more ready off the coast of Corsica. I realize that I’m probably over-committed here and probably should have shipping some of these units to the beaches in NW France.

[TankBushido]

Turn 49:
The German defense in Southern France is paper thin. It’s not a matter of if I’ll break out, but where. I decide to punch two holes in the line one eastward and one westward. My eastern thrust exploits across the river line north of Nice. In the west, I aim to encircle Marseille, but am only able to take one hex for now.

[TankBushido]

Breakout! I was trying to make a concerted effort to breakout in the south so I could threaten the German forces in Brittany with encirclement, but the Germans defended heavily there, so I shifted my axis or attack to weaker forces in the east of the front. I punched a hole in the line and armor poured through the hole. Caen is liberated and I push across the Orne river, cutting off an SS panzer division in the process. Fitting that it was on the first week in June; I like to think that the breakout was on June 6th.

[TankBushido]

And the German defensive bubble is popped. They break off and form a line east of my breakout. Not a moment too soon. Last turn the Germans hammered the 30th Infantry division holding the covering beach near the neck of Brittany; it was almost eliminated (saved by the beach defense last stand rules). I was really thin on troops in Brittany, but they did their job of pulling forces away from the decisive sector in Normandy.