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Ashore in Normandy, Caen and Bayeux under Allied control. Managed to get some reinforcements ashore including some armor to expand the beachhead a bit. Definitely a better invasion this time. I'm including a screen image of the interdiction levels. Live an learn. This time I covered the invasion.

Interdiction levels over the channel and inland. I did a much better job this time.

And the situation in Italy: Captured the lida di Roma

Meklore and I are playing may '44 campaign with him as Allies, and I think you got even better interdiction numbers! I tell, you as the Axis player you cannot move through that with a coherent unit.

Just a couple of hexes at the beach where the Axis had the better but reinforcing (hopefully) will be quite tough for them. At least I certainly hope so. I think based on that I'm not touching anything in my AD's for a couple turns at least.

The same turn I landed, I was also using the heavy bombers for strategic bombing. I ignored it in my game with Pelton and it cost me. My numbers are lower cause I am still hitting strategic target's every turn and only one from each of my heavy bomber AD's from the 8th and Bomber Command are dedicated to ground interdiction.

Turn 3 June 13. Interdiction behind the beach is still nice and high and the sea lanes are covered. (did lose a couple ships bringing reinforcements across but not severe losses. St. Lo and Carentan fall to the Allies, although I couldn't advance to Carentan. Hopefully he won't be able to retake it. Broke two gaps in the German line and I was able to move into those gaps. Overall, this feels like a successful invasion so far. We're expanding off the beaches and into the bocage with good air cover.

The situation in Normandy:

Interdiction levels Turn 3 Still a tough battle right over the beachhead ports, but behind the beach we rule the skies. (note the interdiction levels are shown prior to ground combat).

Ike owns the peninsula ... well most of it and the airpower is damn brutal to units moving on rolling stock .... Had an SS unit drop from 13 to 0 .... guess won't be doing that again ...

Allied troops pour ashore, and the Canadians push ahead. Cherbourg will not last much longer as this week's attacks heavily depleted the units defending it. Air interdiction continues to hamper German efforts to reinforce. So far so good. (for me).

Cherbourg falls to the Allies as the US 2d Armored Division rolls into the city center. The remaining German forces on the penninsula are hemmed in by the 2 AD, the 82d and 101st Abn divisions and the US 4th ID. No escaping this.

To the south, the Canadians push forward again (they are hidden in the stacks below the British 50th and 43rd Infantry divisions) along with units of the British XXX Corps and the US 3rd Armored advances down the western shore of the penninsula. I can tell from recon, airpower and the steady grind of Allied attacks are taking a toll on the defenders. More reinforcements crossed the channel, this time with transport losses (first turn that's happened).

July 4, both army HQ make the channel crossing, along with the delayed XXX Corps HQ and the 1 Cdn Corps HQ. Concentrated on beating on the eastern corner of the beachhead with good success.

The US V, VII, and XX Corps shove south across a broad front, with the 82d and 101st Abn following up and exploiting a gap as the infantry corps were spent after the attacks. XiX Corps crossed the whole front to the east side to exploit a gap blown by the Canadian armor and the British I Corps.

Meanwhile behind them the first units of Patton's 3rd Army come ashore, the XV Corps, as the buildup continues. Patton remains in England for the moment but it won't be long. Pretty happy with how the advance is going so far. Tough resistance from the Germans but we are making steady progress all across the front.

1st Army breaks open the German lines and captures Granville and keep going. British infantry pushes east and the armor south pushing a bulge into the German lines.

The Allies just keep coming .........

Yes they do. And this week saw massive attacks all along the front but more so in the west with the US 1st Army reinforced with units from the arriving 3rd Army pushed well south of Avranches. French and Polish armor and the Cdn I Corps also were in the front. To the east, the British pushed steadily eastward and southeast, shoving the German army in front of it.

Much more fun for the WA without the EF box Here is the Normandy area at the conclusion of this turn. Because of the need to find units available to exploit holes and follow on attacks, the divisions are a bit intermingled from their corps assignments. So far it hasn't caused any hardship in the attack, but need to straighten out a bit. It will end up with the British and Canadians in the north, US 1st Army in the middle and 3rd Army to the south, much like history.

Aug 1 and the WA expands the front all along the line, pushing in the west to the outskirts of St. Malo and in the east to near Le Havre. Need to start paying more attention to straightening out supply now that the "beachhead" has expanded so much. Just a couple of weeks ago all the HQ were concentrated in a couple hexes with the corps right in front. Now they are outrunning the HQ.

As the Crinch says ...... "Boo Hoo" ......

OK Grinch ..... So I can't spell ;>

The US 1st Army breaks through to the banks of the Loire, while 3rd Army routs the German defenders of St. Malo and Rennes to the west. British 2d Army and the Canadians continue to push east facing heavier resistance. The American armies are having an easier go to the south and west where the terrain is more wide open. In the screen shot the 1st Army is yellow, the 3rd Army is Gray/Green (I'm colorblind - the darker of the two US armies), British only have one army so that's obvious. Polish and French armored divisions are attached to US Corps in the 1st Army. I've gotten the Corps straightened out in line (mostly). Time to push for the Seine. For a minute this turn it looked like I was going to encircle a number of German units up agains the Loire, but they retreated smartly and managed to keep a defensive line anchored on the Loire.

With the 3rd Armored Division reaching the Loire, I've effectively split the German defense in half, with a number of units now left to defend the Brittany penninsula and the rest to defend Paris/Germany. 3rd Army may get the assignment to reduce the Brittany peninsula while everyone else heads east.