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1943 Campaign - carlkay58 vs Pelton

This AAR will focus on strategic decisions and applying them to the game. The actual mechanics will be glossed over - although if you wish to know more about anything in this AAR - feel free to ask.

My overall strategic goal is capturing Berlin by the end of March 1945 and beating the Soviets there. The odds are not that great, but it is the strategic goal and I will have to be efficient and fast moving to have a chance at it.

More immediate strategic goals are to take Italy out of the war as soon as possible. I would like to hold Rome by the end of October, 1943 so that I get the benefit of its victory points for a long time and since the best VP divisor is in 1943, this would give me two months of great VP production from holding that city. It is an agressive goal and I will have to move fast in all regards to do this.

The Med Front will take precedent in 43 over the British Isles front. So I will be transferring some of the troops from Britain to the Med to help. These troops will need to be returned to Britain well before the Northern French invasion in May/June 44. In the meanwhile I hope that they will gain experience and morale and be better troops for me. I would like to stabalize the Italian front north of Rome and leave the BR 8th Army to hold the line alone. The US 5th Army will be targeting southern France and the US 7th Army will hopefully be able to go to Britain and help out in northern France.

The Air War will be used to aid my ground goals. The Strategic Air War will see the British RAF Bomber Command generating Bombing VPs through the Ruhr Valley. The targets of Manpower, Heavy Industry, Fuel, and Oil generate these VPs. There are plenty of targets in the Ruhr Valley for the RAF Bomber Command to hit and generate these VPs for me. That will hopefully help to offset the VPs I will lose for casualties.

The 8th USAAF will be used to bomb the UBoat and VW locations. Once those are in hand, the bombers will be used to attack the Axis industries producing fuel and oil to aid in collecting bombing VPs. The concentration on fuel and oil will really start to pay dividends after the 15th USAAF starts to hit the Ploesti oil targets. Until these can be hit the Allies cannot really affect the Axis fuel production very much. But those are the targets which produce Bombing VPs - so they are the targets.

The Strategic AF in the Med, and its successor the 15th USAAF, will begin by concentrating against the Axis ports in the Med. This will increase the Allies naval control and open more of the Med up for Allied troop ships and invasion forces. They will then concentrate against the Italian rail network until such time as the airbases in the Foggia and/or Taranto areas are captured and allow the bombing of Ploesti oil fields.

The land war will start with Sicily. Against the AI I usually redirect two of the invasions sites to mainland Italy. I will not do that in this game. Two of the invasion sites (Gela and Siracusa) are ports and will allow me to gather them back to start planning invasions on Sardinia and Corsica. These invasions will be small - regimental or brigade sized, and be primarily there for the temporary ports. This will allow me to ship other forces in quickly and capture those islands. Once they have fallen I will convert them to large airbases and extend Allied naval control throughout the Western Med. This will give me the greatest flexibility in doing another major invasion of the Italian mainland and capturing Rome as early as possible. I will get a third Naval Unit back on Turn 2 from the southern British landing as a single Naval Amphib will cover both beach heads. This one will prep for a landing near Taranto at the divisional level to capture those airbases, stretch the Axis defenses, hit mainland Italy, and let me start to send over the Strategic AF and hit Ploesti.

The initial ground forces are the BR 8th Army tasked with the invasion of Sicily and capturing the eastern portion of the island including Messina. The US 7th Army will invade Sicily and take control of the western portion of the island including Palermo. The US 5th Army will be in charge of the initial Italian mainland invasion and the invasions of Sardinia and Corsica. Additional land forces from Britain will be sent. One US Army Corps and the Canandian army (one corps with two infantry and two armored divisions) will be sent to the Med for gaining experience and speeding up the gains in Italy.

Turn 1:

Air: It starts with the Air Phase. I begin with deleting all current Air Directives. Next I will change things in the Air Doctrines. It is important to change the Air Doctrine before setting any new Air Directives in order to be sure that the changes pass through.

The RAF Bomber Command will change the Bomb City Air Doctrine as follows:
1) Change the Altitude to 21,000 - this makes the light flak ineffective. It will also put the missions beyond the ceiling of the Stirling bombers so these squadrons will not fly in these missions. More on that later.
2) Change the Schedule to fly on D2, D4, and D6. Three days a week rather than two. The increase of a single day does not seem to add additional wear and tear with the Medium Intensity. Changing the Intensity from Medium to High would add more than the additional day and I will not change that as of yet.
3) Change the Target Priorities for Bomb City missions. All targets will be ignored except Manpower, Oil, Fuel, and HI will be set to the Normal levels.

2nd RAF Tactical Air Force will change the Bomb City Air Doctrine as follows:
1) Change the altitude to 17,000 which will allow Stirling Bombers to fly the missions.
2) Change the Schedule to fly on D2, D4, and D6.
3) Change the Target Priorities for Bomb City missions. All targets will be ignored except V-Weapon and V-W Launch will be set to Normal levels.
4) Change the Target Priorities for Ground Attack missions. All targets will be ignored except Airfield set to Normal.

8th USAF will change the Bomb City Air Doctrine as follows:
1) Change the Schedule to fly on D2, D4, and D6.
2) Change the Target Priorities for Bomb City missions. All targets will be ignored except U-Boat set to Normal.

9th USAF will change the Bomb City Air Doctrine as follows:
1) Change the Altitude to 21,000 to avoid light flak.
2) Change the Schedule to fly on D2, D4, and D6.
3) Change the Taget Priorities for Bomb City missions. All targets will be ignored except V-Weapon and V-W Launch will be set to Normal levels.
4) Change the Target Prioirities for Ground Attack missions. All targets will be ignored except Airfield set to Normal.
5) Change the altitude for Ground Attack to 21,000 to avoid light flak.

Strategic AF will change the Bomb City Air Doctrine as follows:
1) Change the Schedule to fly on D2, D4, and D6.
2) Change the Target Priorities for Bomb City missions. All targets will be ignored except Port set to Normal.
3) Change the Target Priorities for Ground Attack missions. All targets will be ignored except Ferry set to Normal.

Tactical AF will change the Bomb City Air Doctrine as follows:
1) Change the Schedule to D2, D4, and D6.
2) Change the Target Priorities for Ground Attack missions. All targets will be ignored except Interdict set to Normal.

Now it is time to reorganize the air forces.
1) Transfer the three Transport squadrons from RAF Transport Command to the XII Troop Carrier Command. Fly the squadrons to the Med theater - it will probably take two flights to reach the proper area of North Africa.
2) Transfer all of the Recon squadrons from the RAF Fighter Command to the 2nd RAF Tactical AF.
3) Transfer the Tactical Bomber squadrons from RAF Bomber Command to the 2nd RAF Tactical AF remembering to change their mission type to Day & Night. Do the same with the Stirling I & Stirling III squadrons (otherwise they never fly because they cannot reach our preferred mission altitude).
4) Transfer the Recon squadrons from 8th USAAF to the 9th USAAF. Transfer all of the Fighter squadrons to the 9th USAAF also (the range of the P-47Ds is not long enough to escort the 8th USAAF bombers very far). Transfer the B-26B/C Marauder squadrons to the 9th USAAF. Transfer the Transport squadron to the XII Troop Carrier Command and transfer the squadron to North Africa.
5) Transfer the Recon squadrons from the Strategic AF to the Tactical AF.

The above transfers concentrate all of the Recon squadrons in the tactical AFs. They also construct the 9th USAAF (which starts without any squadrons), concentrate all of the transport aircraft into the XII Troop Carrier Command which will need as much lifting capacity as possible for air drops, and move the aircraft around to more efficient use due to range and altitude. When you do transfer the squadrons you probably should move the squadrons to airbases commanded by the appropriate air commands (or an easier method may be to just reassign the airbase to the new air command). There is a readiness penalty (20%) for not having air bases and squadrons in the same command.

Now I actually set the Air Directives for the Air Commands.

RAF Bomber Command:
1) Bomb City with target of (114,180) with radius of 5.

2nd RAF Tactical AF:
1) Ground Support mission assigned to 21st BR Army Group.
2) Recon mission with target of (108,180) with radius of 9.
3) Ground Attack mission with target of (108,180) with radius of 9.

8th USAAF:
1) Bomb City missions against the six closest undamaged UBoat industry targets with radius of 0.

9th USAAF:
1) Recon mission with target of (86,201) with radius of 9.
2) Ground Attack mission with target of (86,201) with radius of 9.

Strategic AF:
1) Bomb City missions against Messina, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Crotone, Salerno, and Naples with radius of 0.

Tactical AF:
1) Ground Support mission assigned to 15th BR Army Group.
2) Recon mission with target of (147,289) with radius of 9.
3) Superiority mission with target of (151,292) with radius of 5.
4) Ground Attack mission with target of (151,292) with radius of 5.

I then visit the Commander's Report. I go to the Air Groups tab. Click on the Change Upgr Function and change the upgrades to Automatic. This will allow the AI to upgrade or change the aircraft in the squadrons without me having to do so manually. I am willing to do some micro management, but there is a limit and I don't see that much of a difference.

I then run the Air Phase.

Ground:

I launch all of the invasions. I then naval transport all of the remaining 8th BR and 7th US Armies as the second wave making sure to keep the British reinforcements in Allied Naval Controlled water. I then move 5th US Army units into Oran, Algeirs, and Tunis where they will start to prepare the second wave of invasions starting next turn.

I do not launch the air drops. I find they are inconsequential and usually end up with the loss of the units - why take unnecessary casualties. I combine the airborne divisions and plot new targets for them. The 82nd US Airborne XX will target Termini to help split Sicily into two. The 1st BR Airborne will target (157,248) just northeast of Reggio Calabria to aid in crossing the Messina straits after the fall of Sicily. The 509th US Parachute III will target (145,288) to aid the 82 US Airborne in cutting Sicily into two.

ETO theater sees the I US Corps and 1st CA Army move into ports in preparation for transferring to the MTO. It will be next turn that I transfer them down to the MTO when shipping assets will be freed up.

I then end the turn. And I forgot to get a screen shot first - not used to server games any more!

Turn 2:

Status: Somehow I manage to gain 119 VPs due to Partisan/Garrison VPs. What did Pelton do? Strip everything? I rarely see any VPs in this category playing against the AI. This is my first game against a Human other than controlling both sides by myself. I have never had that many VPs awarded in that category even when I was playing Axis. So I have to think Pelton has done some major shifting of troops and resources.

Axis naval interdiction values in the Med are higher than usual, but not extraordinarily so. This is not unexpected. There is a slight edge to me around Palermo but he has control over the Messina - Reggio Calabria area. The real concentration is directly east of Sardinia about halfway to Naples. Major Axis interdiction values in this area - mostly 9s with the lowest being 7s. Some obvious naval patrol directive in this area - and a good area to do so - it is beyond real Allied fighter strength and it protects vs a near Rome invasion area.

Air: Tactical AF shifts the Ground attack nearer to Messina while the other directives remain the same. Strategic AF hits more ports along the western edge of the Italian mainland. 9th USAAF has had two fighter squadrons update to P-38s and one to P-51s. These get transferred back to the 8th USAAF. The Recon and Ground Attack missions change to northern Germany. 2nd RAF Tactical AF also shifts its targets. 8th USAAF continues to hit UBoat sites. The RAF Bomber Command continues its attacks on the Ruhr Valley.

Neither 2nd RAF Tactical AF nor the 9th USAAF flies a single sortie. The 8th USAAF flies only three missions to the same target (different days). Danzig no longer has any UBoat factories.

Note Strategic AF results bombing Gaeta. The summary line reads that no enemy a/c were destroyed or damage, but the individual lines show over 40 shot down. Also note the damage taken on the port (totals to 142%) - FOW info is fun!

Land: 7th US Army expands outward. Airdrops by the 82nd US Airborne and the 509th US Parachute III are successful, linking up with the 7th US Army and cutting Sicily in half. The 8th BR Army advances northwards and reaches the outskirts of Catania while capturing Modica and linking with the US beaches.

Three of the Naval Amphib groups have now left their beach heads. These beach heads are either ports (and do not benefit from the Naval Amphib staying adjacent) or have another Naval Amphib adjacent to the beach head and supporting the temporary port. This will allow the 5th US Army to begin to plan the next wave of invasions.

119 garrison VPS? did he move all german forces out of france?

I honestly have no idea. I know he has an AAR going of this game too, but I have deliberately not looked at it in case it gave me something I really should not know. It is more fun to guess!

Great AAR! Very informative to us newbs. Many thanks.

I especially like the air war treatment. Also, if you have any insights on logistics, that would be appreciated.

Cheers,
CC

Turn 3:

Bad weather in the Med over Sicily. No land counter attacks but continued heavy naval

interdiction around Sicily and between Sardinia and the mainland. It looks like he has

fixed his garrison problem and I lose a VP in that category. I am sitting really nice in

VPs - a real shock at this point for the Allies.

Air: Tactical AF changes the target for both the Superiority and Ground Attack directives

to Messina. Strategic AF continues to bomb the Axis ports on the mainland. This should

reduce the Axis Naval Interdiction some along the coast. I have been avoiding the ports

on Corsica and Sardinia waiting for closer to the invasion and also not to damage them

right before I capture them.

8th USAAF continues to hit UBoat targets while the RAF Bomber Command continues bombing

the Ruhr Valley. I create fresh air directives (Recon and Ground Attack) for the 9th

USAAF near Paris to hit the airfields in that area. The 2nd RAF Tactial AF also creates

new Recon and Ground Attack directives in the Lille area. I transfer squadrons forward

from the rear in North Africa for the Tactical and Coastal AFs.

2nd RAF Tactical AF still flies no missions. The rest of the AFs do. There is a

disconnect in the program - while the summary on top of the window states no Enemy

Aircraft Lost/Damaged, there are definite 'reported' losses from the Tactical AF's

Superiority mission. Something does not 'add up' right here. The Air Losses report states

that the Axis did lose quite a few aircraft. <Note: The 2nd RAF Tactical AF was not flying either the Recon nor the Ground Support missions due to no aircraft on the airbases. This has been fixed in 1.00.7/8)

Land: 7th US Army captures Sciacca and reaches the outskirts of Palermo along with

seizing the railroad along the northern Sicilian coast to the east of Cefalu. The 8th BR

Army captures Catania and begin to advance towards Messina around the volcano. The 5th US

Army now has all three landing brigades/regiments at Prep Level 21. They will all be

eligible for landing on Turn 5, although weather and naval control may affect the timing.

Have you considered going after the rail lines in the toe and the port of messina itself with interdiction/ground attack?

My belief is you can make it hard for all those units to get out, as well as eroding them as they run out of freight.

Yes, but I usually attack the Axis ports first because that lowers the Axis naval interdiction near the ports and opens up more of the Italian coastline to non-contested Allied naval control. After the ports are damaged I turn the Strategic AF towards the railnet and airbases.

Status: Somehow I manage to gain 119 VPs due to Partisan/Garrison VPs. What did Pelton do? Strip everything? I rarely see any VPs in this category playing against the AI. This is my first game against a Human other than controlling both sides by myself. I have never had that many VPs awarded in that category even when I was playing Axis. So I have to think Pelton has done some major shifting of troops and resources.

Handling ahistorical game play with VP conditions instead of strict game mechanics is a nice evolution.

Turn 4:

Western Sicily is now isolated for the Axis so 7th US Army will be able to mop up this turn and next. The Italians continue to shield the Axis withdrawal towards Messina. Axis Naval interdiction between Sardinia and Naples continues to be high, although there are some splotchy spots starting to show up. Once I finish capturing western Sicily and move more of the Coastal AF there and that will start to lower even more. Bombing the Axis mainland ports has also helped quite a bit towards lowering the interdiction.

Air: Tactical AF moves its Recon mission to the Italian toe. It will still cover the Axis Messina defenses but will also give me some intel on Axis forces in general for this area. I keep away from the intended invasion zones to keep them hidden from the Axis. Recon on the Italian toe may help build the impression that there is my next invasion.

The Strategic AF continues to bomb mainland ports. The 9th USAAF, 2nd RAF Tactical AF, 8th USAAF, and RAF Bomber Commands continue to hit their usual targets.

2nd Tactical AF and 9th USAAF commands fly no sorties. The enemy lost aircraft are still wonky.

Land: The 8th BR Army has cleared the western edge of the volcano. The Provisional US Corps is holding the British left flank. The II US Corps captures Palermo and reaches the outskirts of Marettimo. The 5th US Army has reached 42 prep points for each of the three invasions for next turn.

The troops shipping from ETO to the MTO will also sail next turn.

How have you gotten the prep points to 42 for the US 5th Army already?