Europe Aflame 2012 AAR: sealclubber vs Shadow

[sealclubber]

sealclubber: Axis
Shadow: Allies

Pre-war builds taken. The standard Axis start is to attack Poland on turn 4. I did not disappoint.

OKH’s attack plan is a two week (turn) knock-out blow against Poland. Units from East Prussia will attempt to advance on Warsaw from the east, ideally reaching Warsaw within a week. Airborne forces will drop directly north-east of Warsaw to prevent Polish units stationed in the region from reinforcing the city. All mobile units will attack along the path of least resistance between Poznan and Danzig where a single Polish frontier corps stands between them and open terrain all the way to Warsaw. Infantry units will surround, but not attack Polish infantry units on the frontier from as many sides as possible to prevent the reinforcement of Warsaw.

[sealclubber]

Week One:

The attack through central Poland is a resounding success. The Polish blocking corps on the frontier is utterly crushed. German mobile forces advance across the countryside unmolested and infantry units surround frontier Polish infantry corps, in as much as was possible.

The attack out of East Prussia encountered extremely stiff resistance and did not result in a linkup with the airborne forces as was hoped, but such is war.

Week Two:

A couple of Polish corps who escaped the frontier encirclements setup a blocking position west of Warsaw. Unfortified, they were quickly brushed aside by German motorized infantry and Warsaw was assaulted four times. One, single, beaten down reserve corps is all that remained fortified in Warsaw by T+2, but the city remained under Polish control. The attack north-east of Warsaw linked up with the airborne forces ensuring no reinforcements would reach Warsaw from that quarter.

[sealclubber]

Week Three:

Warsaw was taken after a final assault on the city. Goebbels announces to the German nation that 5 German soldiers were killed and 16 were wounded from combat during the campaign, including one with a broken nose inflicted by an enraged Polish housewife wielding a rolling pin.

Unreported by Goebbels, 14,823 German soldiers are MIA, believed to be the result of large-scale encounters with Poland’s top secret “wunderwaffe”:

[sealclubber]

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union shows its true colors with an aggressive invasion of peace-loving Iran. At the Shah’s order, the Iranian army prepares for the Red Army onslaught:

[sealclubber]

Shortly after the invasion of Iran, the Soviet Union declares war on Finland!

Finnish forces, expecting this attack, have already dug in along the frontier.

A bold Soviet commander sends tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers through the wilderness and badlands of Finland in an attempt to outflank Finnish forces north-east of the Mannerheim line:

[sealclubber]

Iranian forces cling for life outside of Tehran:

[sealclubber]

A suicidal attack by the Finnish bomber squad fails miserably and results in the unit's complete annihilation. Finnish frontier forces hold key choke points along the northern and central fronts, with the exception of Petsamo where Soviet forces have overwhelmed the garrison.

The "bold" Soviet commander attempting to outflank the Mannerheim line was summarily flown back to Moscow and shot for the egregious mistake of sending entire armies through the badlands without being able to supply them.

A Finnish brigade overruns a Soviet corps and completely traps another Soviet corps. The local Finnish commander, in an interview with a the Finnish Daily admits that the attack was militarily unnecessary but states that this was intended to be a message to Josef Stalin: "If you want Finland, you need to send at least 5 times more men and material."

[Edwire]

Nice to see other EA game going. Eager to see more [:)]

[sealclubber]

One Soviet corps is annihilated, starving in the badlands of Finland. The other Soviet forces hurriedly withdraw to their start positions with the exception of the successful Soviet seizure of Petsamo.

Otherwise, all quiet on the Finnish front.

Meanwhile, Iranian forces have been pushed back into Tehran. The Shah refuses to surrender and orders his army to fight to the death.

[sealclubber]

The Western front has been quiet since the aggressive British and French declaration of war on Germany. Several air battles took place early on but otherwise little action.

OKH has been carrying out numerous wargames to identify the best way to end the war with the western powers quickly. Guderian warns of the "3.4 bug". OKH scratches its collective heads over what exactly that means, but trusting his judgment begins testing different concepts for the prosecution of the war.

[sealclubber]

Thanks Edwire. I'm finding EA under 3.4 interesting. In a way, it's forced me to think a lot more about how to conduct campaigns. In the past as the Axis you could just use blunt force to blast your way through anything. Now fortified units present interesting challenges. It is a lot more "Sun Tzu" where the goal is to accomplish objectives with as little fighting as possible.

[sealclubber]

After extensive wargames and planning, OKH settles on a plan. On Oct 14, 1939, the Wehrmacht will blitz into the Low Countries. The objectives:
1. Complete seizure of Belgium, Holland an Luxembourg.
2. Minimize casualties due to Guderian's nebulous "3.4 bug" warning.
3. Seize jumping off positions for the campaign against France to avoid attacking French troops with tired or spent units.
4. Gain the luxury of time to initiate attacks on France on a very limited, narrow scale.

It has become evident to OKH that attacking everywhere with everything is no longer wise. This may have been the way to proceed in parallel EA universes in the past, however current realities dictate the fewest possible attacks on fortified units to achieve desired outcomes. Support assets, limited as they are, must be be focused and applied in an overwhelming manner.

A debate rages within OKH about the merits of losing the element of surprise (70% Allied Shock) by attacking the Low Countries before Germany is totally prepared for war with France (Axis 175% Case Yellow shock bonus). However, it is thought that this tradeoff worth it as it would:

1. Allow the Wehrmacht the luxury of time to starve the Belgian Army into submission.
2. Enable the Wehrmacht to carefully and methodically probe French defences in 1939 to improve jumping off points for the main attack the following campaigning season.
3. Ensure that the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine are fully rested and at 100% strength when the main attack on France begins.

The plan? Simply put, seal the fate of the Low Countries with 4 individual attacks:



1. Antwerp. Without Antwerp, Belgian forces will be starved of supply and be forced to abandon their fortifications. The capture of Antwerp is to be achieved with a combined airborne and sea-lifted assault force.
2. Amsterdam. The seat of power of the Netherlands - the capture of which will force the Dutch to capitulate.
3. This frontier division will be the first speed bump along the road to Amsterdam. OKH simulations suggest this unit has very low morale and will retreat (before combat) without much of a fight.
4. This Dutch corps will need to be properly assaulted as it blocks the road to Amsterdam.

By taking hex 1, 3 and 4 in the first week, the Allies will be presented with a fait accompli. The French will be unlikely to abandon their fortifications to assist the Belgian Army but if they do, they will be vulnerable to encirclement by Wehrmacht mobile forces rushing to the frontier. After numerous simulations, OKH is pleased with the plan. These wargames showed an extremely high probabilty of success putting Amsterdam to siege within a week and a greater than 50% probability of success taking Antwerp in the first week thus depriving the entire Belgian Army of supply.

To minimize any chance of the attack on Antwerp being derailed, Amsterdam will not be assaulted in the first week and left for week two.

[sealclubber]

A successful outcome (from the best case OKH simulation) after the first week looks like so:

[sealclubber]

Oct 14, 1939

Germany begins its blitz of the Low Countries. OKH attempts to put the plan into action:



What's missing? The paratroopers?!?!

Apparently General Student "didn't get the memo" that the attack was being launched because all of the paratroopers were getting drunk in a bar in Dusseldorf which doesn't have an airfield. OKH had to abort the assault on Antwerp and improvise.

Hitler orders General Student hung from a tree, shot and run over with a Buick (kudos if you get the reference).

[sealclubber]

On the brighter side, the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine annihilate the Dutch war fleet. In addition, a bridge blowing campaign is conducted to hamper the French in any attempt to rapidly redeploy troops by rail. Furthermore many RAF fighters are shot down, however Luftwaffe intelligence reports these to be mostly obsolete models with no Hurricanes or Spitfires in sight.

In the North, the Finns come to realize that the Red Army has no further interest in advancing. Military intelligence suggests that Red Army commanders just wanted "free stuff". As such, Finnish troops begin advancing to Petsamo to test Red Army resolve. A small Soviet reconnaissance unit (HQ) is surrounded and destroyed and the northern force advances.

Meanwhile, the Persians manage to fend off the Red Army for another week. With the Red Army transfixed on events unfolding in the Low Countries, the Shah believes his troops will receive a couple of weeks to recuperate before the Red Army continues its assault on Tehran.

[Telumar]

ORIGINAL: sealclubber

Thanks Edwire. I'm finding EA under 3.4 interesting. In a way, it's forced me to think a lot more about how to conduct campaigns. In the past as the Axis you could just use blunt force to blast your way through anything. Now fortified units present interesting challenges. It is a lot more "Sun Tzu" where the goal is to accomplish objectives with as little fighting as possible.

+1 Ditto.

[sealclubber]

Oct 21, 1939

The suddeness of the assault through the Low Countries paralyzes the Belgian and Dutch armies. This stroke of luck enables the Wehrmacht to achieve its desired outcomes (albeit delayed by a week) as planned. To the surprise of the local commander, Antwerp is seized after only a brief firefight. The demoralized Belgian troops retreat into Brussels. Fresh reserves occupy Antwerp and begin digging in...

[sealclubber]

The Wehrmacht seizes supply dumps in Antwerp and the soldiers feast on waffles while the Belgian Army goes hungry:

[sealclubber]

In the Netherlands, the Wehrmacht launches three successive assaults on Amsterdam with heavy Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine support. After putting up a valiant fight, the Dutch garrison melts away:

[sealclubber]

OKH reports total casualties for the Low Countries campaign thus far to be ~3,000 (men, not squads) KIA. It is expected this will rise as the Belgian army is now surrounded and out of supply precluding mass assaults on surrounding German forces.

The Royal Navy has cut German iron ore supplies out of Narvik. Admiral Raeder consults with Hitler to discuss options and possible counter-measures. In other news, the Soviet Union invades the Baltic States. Cut off from outside supplies, soldiers defect en masse to the advancing Red Army. The Red Army, as expected does not continue its attack on Tehran.

Meanwhile, the RAF, now spoiling for a fight, deploys into aerodromes in south-eastern England and begins running CAP missions over the Low Countries. Major air battles occur during the attack on Amsterdam and Antwerp. Through sheer superiority of numbers, the Luftwaffe combat support missions are relatively unmolested. However in an ominous sign of things to come, fighter losses for both sides are very high and relatively equal: