All submit to Golden Congress! [Random map, 6 AI+, shroud, LIVE]

[Westheim]

Round 66; attacks by the Trinity Party onto Balbofield did not get through, while the First Army is still trying to get between the VI and XI Corps.

Northern front: the IX Corps has reached a point, where it has no front line anymore, just single units in the hills. Something has to be done here. Meanwhile, the eastern half of the nothern front was quiet, but at Central I made a terrible mistake. A combined attack cleared the hex just north of the town and I threw my tanks there forwards along the road to gain ground, but they ran into hordes of Hindus in the thick woods, and the 70th Tank Division was completely annihilated. Both light tanks lost.

Eastern front: I tried a pincer movement in difficult terrain to cut off the First Army units that threaten the crossroads to Quicksilver, but failed. There’s a Medium Tank III in the woods, and it doesn’t look happy.

Southern front: The XII Corps stretched out to cover more front space and allow the VIII Corps to move southwest into the Trinitist flank. In fact, it is so stretched out – four divisions attempt to cover ten hexes of front. An air recon attempt showed a nasty surprise. My airforce was intercepted by 29(!!!) hostile fighters. They all made it back to Central Morning, but I can give up the thought of having air superiority here.

In general, I’m not panicking at the moment. I feel quite save. Quite. Balbofield is still threatened, but I feel like I have the situation contained for the moment. Hopefully the VIII Corps can cause some trouble down south and clear the south bank of the Central Morning River.
General observation: it looks like either First Org or Twisted Killers are dying. Not sure, who, but the Killers are on either side of the Org (at the VI and ahead of the XII Corps), and they seem to battle over Watcher Soul, which has always been a First Org domain. On the other hand, the Killers are SO weak, they haven’t made a move on me in at least 10 turns.
Also, I finally (after 66 turns!) researched Infantry Gun (level 1!!!) for 8 PPs(!!!!!), plus Scouts for 18 PPs, the latter mostly for the northern front, where I seem to lack any recon capability ...

[Westheim]

Round 67; what was meant to became a pocket in the east, became a desaster ...

Northern front: the IX Corps was finally split up. The northern half stays the IX, while the southern half is the new XIV Corps. (If you’re weak with roman numbers, you should consult Wikipedia about now.) The eastern half of the front was really quiet again, but I feel like the First Army is amassing troops somewhere up there. The X Corps spotted a lot of troop movement.

Eastern front: the front bulge between the VI and XI Corps exploded, with my troops badly beaten and running for cover. Three infantry divisions were almost wiped out entirely. Three more. Unable to defend the vital crossroads properly, therefore creating a situation, where the VI Corps could become cut off and would have to self-supply out of Quicksilver – and we all still know how the V Corps ended in a similar situation ...
I had to resort to a risky strategy. Three infantry divisions raced down the roads to Minister, cutting supply to the front bulge. The northwestern and eastern side of the pocket, which it is now, are fairly strong, but the southwestern, and most vital, side is a makeshift construction of engineers and a miserable collection of the paralyzed, blind, and amputated remnants of several VI Corps divisions.

[Westheim]

Round 67; what was meant to became a pocket in the east, became a desaster ...

Southern front: The next nasty surprise – it has been impossible to guess, just how much the Trinitists have been holding back. Stacked in Orion I found a whole lot of infantry plus 14 Artillery II! That’s more than the entire southern front has, and I talk about Artillery I now ...! I’m so doomed ... the VIII Corps will retire quickly if it lives to see another round rise.
The actions of the I and VII Corps chase the Trinitists away from Balbofield’s immediate vicinity, but I fail to win a decisive victory, plus I have to weaken the VII Corps’ left flank at a crossing over the Central Morning River.

[Westheim]

Round 68; the First Army keeps puzzling me ...

Northern front: the IX and XIV Corps continue their pushes west and north, but are very weak. The IX Corps fails to take Fallow. The II Corps was engaged again at Central and took some hits, but I managed to make progress and pocket a tank unit northeast of the village.

Eastern front: the First Army never does what I expect ... they pocketed units pushed north and east and freed themselves, while in turn pocketing my own units that aimed at Minister. I had to push them hard south again to free themselves, while retreating the XI Corps units on the western road as well. All other units available closed in on the southern part of the front bulge, creating two smaller pockets with weakened units, but sadly the most powerful weaponry has escaped and will soon be back beating me.

Southern front: massive air and artillery attacks completely wiped out the 30th Tank Division (VIII Corps). The corps is running north, panicked. On the other hand, Balbofield is safe again! After air recon showed that there were only few Trinitists west of the city, a massive tank, infantry, and artillery storm rolled through the Pass of the Four Springs. Only problem right now: the I and VII Corps have become totally intermingled during the Balbofield defense. I plan to head the I Corps west again and to keep the VII at Balbofield, defending facing south, but right now they’re both about 50:50.

Stonebeatleford front: the III Corps has defended the town successfully and has broken continued Trinitist Party advances for several turns with little to no reinforcements and reported this turn that the town seems secured.

Whether the I Corps will carry the momentum into Trinitist territory is the biggest question at the moment. Air recon shows no troops in the area west of the mountain range, but this can change rapidly of course.

[Jeffrey H.]

I like this AAR, it's a little hard to follow but I always play random games and this is a good one.

[Westheim]

Maybe I should post more pictures to make you suffer less while reading ...

[Jeffrey H.]

Actually, the difficulty I have is in the tie in between your text and your pictures. It's not so easy for me to relate the events as described to the pictures and specifically, what part of the pictures you are talking about. You name towns and rivers and other features but I can't always tell what part of the map you are really referring to. I think some editing of the pics themselves to include your comments and thoughts would really improve things.
 
That's just IMHO. I almost get the feeling you are in the writing/editing/reading business.   

[Westheim]

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

I almost get the feeling you are in the writing/editing/reading business.   

Not quite. I'm an apprentice in an office of two tax advisors. [:D] But I have written (or tried to) write books for years, but I never really finish anything because the longer I work on anything, the more annoyed do I become. I have a 360-something pages manuscript lieing in my shelf. I hate it. [8|]

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: Westheim

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

I almost get the feeling you are in the writing/editing/reading business.   

Not quite. I'm an apprentice in an office of two tax advisors. [:D] But I have written (or tried to) write books for years, but I never really finish anything because the longer I work on anything, the more annoyed do I become. I have a 360-something pages manuscript lieing in my shelf. I hate it. [8|]

Ha !, like I said, "almost".

I think you're pretty good, maybe you just need to find the right outlet ?

Hopefully you finish this AAR......

[Westheim]

I will definitely continue this battle. The map is great and I think I can win this thing. The plan now is to roll over the Hindus, find their capital, and use the production power of it to battle back the other AIs.

[Westheim]

Round 69; not much action this turn, except at the II Corps' front.

Northern front: only one of the six corps was heavily engaged, the II. I managed to secure the road that leads north from Central, but lost two medium tanks in the process (ouch!), and my scouts have spotted the Hindu Capitol: Stoneroad. It is about ten hexes north of Central.

Eastern front: the VI and XI Corps eliminated the pockets created in the last turns and tried to create a stable front line against the First Army.

Southern front: not much has happened this turn. I'm building up force and refresh some of the bled out divisions in the I Corps. The same corps and some armoured formations subordinated to the Front HQ have claimed some territory to the west of Balbofield, but overall the round was very quiet.

[Westheim]

Round 70; the Hindus are concentrating on my left flank there now, which is extremely thin.

Northern front: the XIV and IX Corps had pressure put on them by Hindus. I see grand strategy in there. As I see it, only one road runs from Stoneroad to the western realms of the Hindu Movement, and this road runs right through Fallow, which is right in front of the eyes of the IX Corps, and the II Corps’ scouts have cut the road further to the east. The Hindus responded with a massive air attack on the IX Corps, which almost eliminated two infantry divisions, but cold hearted as I am, I threw them to attack Fallow, because apart from a few engineers, it was barely defended, but stuffed with the Hindu airforce. The attack succeeded, breaking the neck of the Hindu airforce, and most likely, the completely army!

[Westheim]

Round 70;

Northwestern theater – the IX Corps has taken the village of Fallow on the left side of the map. Scouts have spotted Minor Town, most ironically a city Stoneroad is just two hexes northeast of the lake, the Hindu Capitol separated from the rest of their realm. My IX (mint green), II (blue), and XIII (bright green) Corps, pushing hard north. Light blue units are subordinated to the Northern Front HQ: tanks, artillery, airforce, and engineers.

[Westheim]

Round 70;

Eastern front: A successful artillery barrage destroyed a First Army medium tank and enabled me to push north. I have taken the fort on the road to Minister again with units from the XI Corps. But overall, I’m merely bluffing. All divisions are very small in size, yet highly experienced.

Southern front: the I Corps has closed in on the Trinitist city of Fort Darkon and is slowly getting support from the III Corps from the north, but at the moment, these troops are hampered by the bridge in their rear is still destroyed. Further east, the VII and VIII Corps launched a combined operation to clear the southern bank of the Central Morning river. I don’t know, what’s going on, but the Trinitists seem to collapse! I also destroyed more than 20 airplanes on the ground when my tanks rolled across the airfield between the two rivers.

[Westheim]

Round 71; the death battle of the southeastern AIs seems decided. The Twisted Killers are shaping up strong in the east, while the First Org has almost vanished from my eyesight.

Northern front: Fallow remained in my hands during the turn. The Hindus only managed a few weak and uncoordinated attacks on all three corps that are facing them, but didn’t deal much damage. However, I’m concerned over the First Army’s momentum. It’s highly likely, given the weakness of my XIII Corps in that area, that they will take the Hindu Capitol Stoneroad faster than me, which wouldn’t be exactly in my favor, or liking. At the moment, they are closer to the city than me, and the terrain also makes it impossible to attack from the west, while the southern vicinity of the city is already under First Army control.
I also noticed that the First Army had weakened it’s lines ahead of my X Corps. When I ordered two divisions to cautiously explore the area, they didn’t found a First Army line at all, just a single weak mobilized infantry unit, which was properly taken care of. The point is, that the X Corps is just a few hexes away from Treeflow, a city only about ten hexes southeast of Stoneroad, and the supply to the attackers of Stoneroad will flow through Treeflow most likely. The First Army units that engage my XIII and part of my II Corps are definitely supplied through Treeflow. Taking it would be super great. The „but“ comes now: but the X Corps is infantry only and has no heavy weaponry available. I moved over the small tank division from the IV Corps, but right now the 3rd Infantry Division (X Corps) ist closest to Treeflow (circled), two hexes away.

Note that I have actually reached the northern edge of the map here.

[Westheim]

Round 71; the death battle of the southeastern AIs seems decided. The Twisted Killers are shaping up strong in the east, while the First Org has almost vanished from my eyesight.

Eastern front: Danger! powerful Twisted Killers units have appeared south of Quicksilver, an area barely guarded so far. The VI Corps has retreated from the road to Minister. Most of it’s divisions have moved south rapidly to defend there. The XI Corps had to stretch out to cover both roads to Minister and is still assisted by VI Corps troops. No support from SHQ can be expected.

Southern front: I’m still wondering what has happened to the Trinity Party. They are completely breaking down! The I and III Corps (which was resubordinated to the Southern Front this turn) have encircled the city of Fort Darkon in the southwest, while the VII and VIII Corps are pushing south across the river with little to no resistance by the Trinitists. My wildest guess is that they have received a terrible defeat by the Twisted Killers further down south, but I have no way to know for sure.
I wish I had more troops available to have the III Corps push west as well. Also, the XII Corps has to sit stationary due to a lack of sufficient support for an offensive.

And finally, happy news: a check of the kills table showed me that I destroyed the jaw dropping amount of 1,800 power points the previous turn – that’s about 2.5-times as much as the previous record high, and about the amount of losses I had in the last seven to eight rounds. I give credit to the 46 airplanes I destroyed on the ground in both Fallow and on the airfield between the rivers between Balbofield and Stonebeatleford. Although, in a perfect world, you could just take those planes and put them into your own army
Picture shows the dangerous threat the Twisted Killers are setting up. The unit in lower left is a division in my XII Corps, by the way, just to let you see the huge gap I have in my defenses north of Watcher Soul (the city by the lake). The city was controlled by the First Org the time I tried to catch it (failed), but I think the Killers have taken it now. Please note that my flank protection on the river there consists of a whopping 19 riflemen and 3 SMGs.
Originally I wanted to research Artillery II now for 38 PP (have 44 now), but the fact that the Killers popped up in the east, made me change my mind. I shifted production a bit out of supply (have a little stockpile in my SHQ for at least 1.5 turns of complete demand, but as I still produce 5,200 now, this will last longer in fact), and almost completely out of aircraft, trucks and PPs. I need infantry. Lots and lots of infantry.

[Westheim]

Round 72; Surprise: the Third Conglomerate still lives! I thought them gone, but they still hold the city west of the lake, where the III Corps has it’s right flank. They battle the Trinitists back as well now.

Northern front: bad news regarding Stoneroad. My tanks ran into an ambush in the mountain pass and were pretty much wiped out. One medium and two light tanks lost, the forces there reduced to rubble, I have to give up my ambitions of taking the city. The Hindus also gear up for a final offensive at Minor Town. I moved my artillery there. The II Corps seems to be in a bit of trouble. The X Corps also found Treeflow well defended.

Eastern front: I’m in trouble. The Killers have Heavy Tanks II. I see only one of them (air recon, thank you), but ... I’m in trouble. Established new XV Corps, taking the flank guards of the VI Corps, plus two new weak infantry divisions, the 123rd and 124th. I removed all VI Corps units from the Minister front and pulled them south. The picture shows the one hex I can’t lose, a fort at the vital crossroads south of Quicksilver. Losing it would open the road into my country for the Killers.

Southern front: The Killers gear up here as well. They are aiming for Orion, just as my VII and VIII Corps do. Understandable, since it is a capitol after all. It is also heavily defended.
The Trinitists are dying like flies. This is still puzzling me ... I swept over Fort Darkon and took the city, destroying another 85 airplanes in there!! I Corps divisions push southeast from there to reunite with VII Corps divisions that have crossed the Central Morning River at Balbofield.

This was a very complicated turn. I massively reinforced the east, but I have nothing against Heavy Tanks II besides airforce and artillery power. I’m still clueless on why the Trinitists are breaking down so hard. Have the Twisted Killers taken their capitol? They may also have the First Org capitol, but the First Org still holds Watcher Soul, I think.
Did a quick count: I have one capitol, five cities, five towns, and six villages in my country, that’s a total production capacity of 48,000 points. Should the Twisted Killers have THREE capitols in their hands, they’d have (with AI+ bonus added) 45,000 points out of those ALONE. And they will have about a dozen more victory locations, so I might have to deal with an enemy that can outproduce me at about a 5:3 ratio, while he has only two weakened enemies besides me, while I am fighting with almost everybody on the map. You can find me screaming into my fluffy pillow in my panic room ... now!

[Westheim]

Round 73; the war minister said: „Everything is under control and we are sure we can win this war.“ Translation: „We don’t know what we’re doing – help us!“

Northern front: not too much action. I just closed in a bit more on Minor Town with the II Corps. First Army tried to expose a gap between the XIII and X Corps, but that threat has been contained. On the other hand, the First Army also heavily reinforced Treeflow, leading me to abandon my plans to occupy it and the X Corps retreated into the woods.

Eastern front: the XI Corps lost all it’s tanks in a First Army counteroffensive. That’s bad, I guess. I can’t take Minister and try to establish a defensive position that covers the roads to both Minor Town and Quicksilver.
The VI Corps faces more and more Twisted Killers divisions at Quicksilver. They are already putting pressure on the crossroads. Some weak units crossed the river under the nose of the XV Corps, which is too weak to respond. I moved the 67th Airforce Division from the Southern Front HQ to this front. The 67th had been stationed at Central Morning for a long time, but I desperately need more weaponry here.

Southern front: the I and III Corps continue to push in the west, while the VII and VIII Corps close in on Orion. There are two problems: the Trinitists have A LOT of artillery in there (at least a dozen Artillery II), and the Twisted Killers are there, too.

Should the Twisted Killers take Orion ... their fourth capitol (likely) ... oh, no, I need happy thoughts, happy thoughts ...!!

[Westheim]

Round 74; the Killers are ever more Twisting ...

Northern front: after artillery and divebombers went to work, the II Corps captured the city of Minor Town and destroyed everything Hindu around it. Recon shows that the First Army is just one hex away from Stoneroad. I can’t allow them get that capitol, but at the same time I am unlikely to attack myself for at least three turns. I don’t even have forces. I tried something else: the 88th Tank Division has, with some support from scouts, exposed a gap in the First Army lines west of Treeflow. I made them drive right in there and had them cut all roads from Treeflow to the west, affecting both their battle groups at Stoneroad and ahead of my weak XIII Corps.

Eastern front: the Twisted Killers are not to be stopped at the moment. Also, the First Army pushes my XI Corps, which is melting away. The whole corps is down to 73 infantry, of which one third is staff, and 6 trucks. They have support from the 42nd Engineer Division (30 infantry). Nothing more. The First Army operates with Tankdestroyers and Medium Tanks. Ouch.
The Twisted Killers try to flank my position at the crossroads to the west, where I have no reserves, and their tanks aim at Quicksilver. I did a counterattack there on two divisions with infantry, a Light Tank III, and a Heavy Tank II, destroyed most of the infantry and the light tank, but the heavy tank escaped, while I lost two light tanks I can’t replace ...!
The circled hex has been hastily fortified.

[Westheim]

Round 74; the Killers are ever more Twisting ...

Southern front: The I Corps is as far stretched out as possible. The left flank has reached Bluestuff End, a Trinitist village, but can’t attack it in this turn. The other corps come closer to Orion, but are dramatically outnumbered by the Twisted hordes.