Seminole v Bomazz

[Seminole]

Turn 2



First a total re-org of Luftwaffe. A lot of this is just to help me keep things straight in my head with regard to unit assignment/role so I can find and eventually learn my assets.

Sent Me 410A and Bf 110G-2 to bomber training, will get them back on turn 10.
Will do the same with any other twin engine FBs that arrive for CAS role.
ZG 76 (Bf 110G-2) will arrive on turn 6 and likely be sent back for bomber training.

Luftflotte Reich get the Transport role (Liftwaffe)

Italian LW Cmd takes charge of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Mix of types, as well as Italians.

IX Fleiger Corps get the patrol and recon aircraft

I Jagd Corps get the day fighters to protect northern Europe
II Jagd Corps get the night fighters to protect northern Europe

Luftflotte 2 in charge of Italy
II Flieger Corps reports to Luftflotte 2 and controls most assets

Luftflotte 3 in charge of II Jagd Corps and IX Fleiger Corps

He 111 (2x30 with 109G escort) fight for naval control over Palermo and an identical group carry out a second directive east of Catania.



Uncontested success at Palermo, but we only manage to obtain a neutral path to Catania. Catalina's are very good at interdiction. Would like to try and intercept them outside escort range with an ambush.



Off of Sardinian coast Italian LW Cmd issues several 2 hex radius naval patrol with local assignment authority. FW-190s and Bf109Gs providing escort conduct the patrols. Decent success (~4).



IX Flieger tests some patrol and recon air groups to test interdiction capabilities off the Spanish coasts, but results are unappealing.

This game has the East Front option on, so I intend to pull a few key units and replace them with reinforcements scheduled to arrive. In particular I'm interested in the mountain division units largely assigned to garrison duties. Their mobility advantages are of no use in the EF box.

This week 1st SS Mot Bde is ordered to return from East Front.

Sicily Theater enemy units:
1st & 3rd US Inf Div, 6615 Ranger Rgt, unknown Para Rgt
British paras, unknown units totaling 5 (incl Can.)

We only see 4 TFs, so a follow up invasion expected.

90th PzG Div to Salerno from Corsica, still on boats.
16th Pzr Div stays in Taranto area garrisoning Bari, Brindisi, and Taranto.
29th PzG Div sets up in the toe to block any secondary invasions.
3rd PzG Div rails from just north of Rome to Cosenza (still on flatcars). Will use as mobile reserve for secondary invasion in the toe.

157th Mtn Div from SE Fr to central Italy via rail (on train)

16th SS Sturm Bdde (Mot) loads up and sails to Tortoli to unload next week.
95th Sec Rgt sails from Marseilles to Oristano and unloads.
26th Sec Rgt from Amsterdam to Turin (on train)
16th Sec Rgt from Antwerp to Turin (on train)
325th Sec Div from Paris to Genoa (on train)
193rd & 193th Sec Rgt from NW Fr to Nice (on train)
56th Sec Rgt from NW Fr to Marseilles (on train)
198th & 199th Sec Rgt from NW Fr to La Spezia (on train)
200th Sec Rgt rails to Imperia.

All Sec units that aren't on city garrison duty are now awaiting transport to the islands.

Landstorm Nederland SS Inf Rgt rails to Bologna from Netherlands
2nd FSCHJ Div to Marseilles for transport next week.
4th FSCHJ Div to Livorno for transport next week.
Partisan shuffling:
14th Pzr Div to La Rochelle from NW Fr so that 10 SS PzG Div can leave SW Fr for Italy (on train near Genoa)
10th SS PzG Div takes train to Alessandra (N. Italy), replaced in SW France by 14th Pzr Div which rebases in La Rochelle.
305th Inf Div takes over for 9th SS PzG Div (railed to Parma) in Amiens

1st and 15th Army take trains for Italy.
Move some construction SUs to HQ Corps and send them south for the islands.

The Allies expend most of their air effort over Sicily itself:



The defensive arrangement after Axis moves are completed:

[Seminole]

Turn 3

Second landing on the toe!



The Luftwaffe clean up Catalinas this week with some efforts at countering naval patrol - downing 22!
Keep in mind that this was run from an earlier version of the game, consequently Luftwaffe naval interdiction is stronger than now, and TF's didn't project the same type of air superiority/naval patrol that they do now.
I also used this game to try and highlight a bug in air supply that allowed the player to generate a draw on the supply network beyond the air dropped supplies. This bug has been fixed.

I don't really know what I'm doing in the N. European air war, but we some occasional strong results:




We prepare new naval patrol zones to try and raise shipping losses and possibly cut off the secondary invasions.



We also dial up several ground interdiction directives to try and keep the Allied soldiers in their foxholes.



Recon, recon, recon! If you want to get the most from your bombing efforts (of all kinds) you need to do plenty of recon. Having played the Axis side repeatedly I see this mistake. From the German side I see the real results of air directives that don't have accompanying recon, and they're hardly worthwhile.



Because the Allies don't have the bases yet on Sicily to bring their short legged air frames into the fight (and before some of the patches) the Luftwaffe puts up a nice blockade.

[Seminole]

Turn 3

I'm pretty decently prepared considering last week's movement.
Landings on both side are split by the defenses on rough terrain.
2/1st Airborne Div is destroyed. Landed atop a PzG Rgt.
Other paradrop blown off course - failed to bisect the toe and link beaches. Must not allow beaches to link!

Losses at the start of the turn:




For operational purposes the beachheads are named Sunrise (east) and Sunset (west).
3rd PzG Div continues rail to unload at Bottleneck for breakdown.
Bring 157th Mtn Division to Sunrise Beach north shore to hold that side.
105th Rovigo It Inf Div continues rail trip to Sunset Beach north shore to hold in the rough.
152nd Piceno Div pulled on rail from heel defenses (on trains, in bdes)

Naval patrols are very successful, and the WA own interdiction efforts are overwhelmed. I suspect lack of fighters, as my own Italian led effort (based in Reggio Calebria) seemed to counter the AS mission of Malta Air Cmd.

H Goering Pzr Div, Schmalz Pzr Bde, and 1/29th PzG Rgt force 2/82nd back onto the invasion beaches.
A cloud of 74 Axis fighters turn back the WA's P-40N FBs escorted by Spitfires, each side losing 7 planes.

Defenders move in to encroach on the beaches and force combat to try and exit. Hopefully we can crank up the ground interdiction next week. More fighters will be brought in if possible too.

Arrival in the bottleneck of 9th and 10th SS PzG Div. 16th Pzr Div unloads in Cantazaro.
1st and 15th Army arrive by rail. 1st Army will cede command to 15th Army and shift to take over the build up on the islands.
LXXVI Pzr Corps arrives in Cosenza to take over tactical command on the north side of the bottleneck.

A view of the secondary invasion area after moves:



General Hube's XIV Panzer Corps makes an attack to reduce the Allied beachhead, forcing back elements of the 82nd Airborne.




A view of the Sicilian theater before moves:




325th Sec Div sails to Oblia
4 more Sec Rgts flown in.
2nd FSCHJ Div sails to Oristano (loses two transports)

Italians have an opportunity to keep the allies in knots for another week or two. One Mot Bde is cut off, but the Germans should be able to provide a good delay against the forces present. Key will be interdiction over the beaches.



Known enemy OoB:
Sicily:
7th Army
1st & 2nd US Arm Div
1st & 3rd US Inf Div
3/82nd Airborne Rgt
6615 Ranger Rgt

8th Army
1st CA Inf Div
50th BR Inf Div
51st BR Inf Div
1st BR Special Service Bde
231st BR Inf Bde
3/1st BR Airborne Rgt
Unknown Inf formation

Sunrise Beach (TF 545 (B) Amphib HQ):
onshore:
5th BR Inf Div
at sea:
1st BR Inf Div
56th BR Inf Div
6th BR Arm Div
X BR Corps
3 unknown units

Sunset Beach (TF 85 Amphib HQ):
onshore:
45th US Inf Div
2/82nd US Airborne Rgt
at sea:
34th & 36th US Inf Div
VI US Corps
4th Moroccan FF Mtn Div
2nd Tabor Goums FF Mtn Rgt
I FF Corps
1 unknown unit (BR?)

Rebase Ju-88s from Foggia (just bombed) to heel in hopes of not getting caught on the ground.

Order both 6th & 7th SS Mtn Div to return from EF

Will pull 2 Mtn Div per turn to be replaced by regular reinforcements as they arrive.

Med. Strategic overview:



With the secondary invasion having taken place I'm unworried for the immediate future about additional Allied landings, so the Italians will man the coastal defenses and ports while I send the Germans to the toe in order to make sure I can extricate everything from Sicily in good order.
The Allies inability to secure the rough terrain and link the invasion beaches averted a bad situation. Only by immediately withdrawing in the face of a partial invasion of Sicily was an encirclement prevented.

[loki100]

interesting start, esp with such a quick attempt at landings in Calabria

... hastily scribbling notes on how to set up the Luftwaffe [8D]

[LiquidSky]

I thought this was the Italian scenario..or is it the full campaign? I'm so confused.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: loki100

interesting start, esp with such a quick attempt at landings in Calabria

... hastily scribbling notes on how to set up the Luftwaffe [8D]

Seminole has an interesting approach, though I don't think I would send any LW units for Bomber training. LW can cause havoc on Allied ground units, but I think it's better to keep as many pilots as possible as fighter pilots. I realize you can convert back, but the need is just too great.

I put the 2E fighters in Romania at start, or in the middle of Germany; somewhere they won't have to dogfight as much, and can focus on killing bombers. Eventually, you have the planes to switch them all to single-engine fighters.

[decourcy2]

Why on version 1.011?

[Seminole]

I thought this was the Italian scenario..or is it the full campaign? I'm so confused.

'43 campaign, but the action is mostly in the Med. I hadn't started fiddling with AAA, etc.

... hastily scribbling notes on how to set up the Luftwaffe

Honestly a lot of it at the outset was just to help me differentiate the Luftwaffe because I had no real familiarity with them. In my games of WitE I left that to the AI.
The main thing that carries over to how I play now is I like to break recon groups into the smaller air commands so I can assign a discrete recon directive for each recon air group.
I group the transports under a single command just for aesthetics. I group the N Europe fighters under Luftflotte 3 because of Sperle's rating, and I plan to devolve back to lower commands to get the additional command chances if I spend the AP on improving their commanders, or Hitler takes care of it for me. In the south I group the bombers under Luftflotte 2 because of that commanders skill. I like to group the tac air in Italian LW command so I can assign it to specific armies or corps if I want to have ground support on. I don't frequently use ground support though as the Germans.
Usually I'm trying to preserve the air frames and morale for when I want to use them. More sword than shield. I don't have the game experience beyond smaller scenarios to verify, but I think the same can't really be done with the Luftwaffe in N Europe in mid to late '44 because the numbers are too far out of whack and they have all those bases basically on top of you. It's different when it is a stretch, and they face hundreds of miles more of rain, etc. to get on target.

Why on version 1.011?

I've got a couple of folders of saved AARs that I hadn't gotten to posting because I try to only do them when I don't have a turn pending.
This game highlights some aspects of the game that have been modified (like naval interdiction), but there are strategic factors in the course of the game that are still entirely relevant.

I don't think I would send any LW units for Bomber training. LW can cause havoc on Allied ground units, but I think it's better to keep as many pilots as possible as fighter pilots. I realize you can convert back, but the need is just too great.

I think there is something about the ground attack engine that favors more bombs, and the ability to carry 8 make them able to generate high interdiction relative to their number vis a vis Allied groups. You cannot spam them week after week like it seems the Allies have the numbers to do. They are more of a scalpel than maul. Maybe I get 10 or 12 good weeks out of them over the course of the game. But that can be decisive. The Allied timetable isn't especially forgiving.
I do need to learn to better manage my fighter losses. I feel like I'm just throwing them into a meat grinder up north.
With the EF box on, and the ability to juggle in more tactical airpower at specific time, I might play this differently. I find the EF box favors the German player because of how some unit capabilities aren't necessarily reflected in the aggregate of unit CV. I am starting my latest and last game for a while as the Germans with the EF box. I will play it with the intent of 'overstacking' the box and trying to preserve the Reich until game end.

[Seminole]

Turn 4



Rains continue, which will hopefully present additional hurdles to the Allies with regard to their air support and flow of supplies.

We run essentially the same air directives, and continue to maintain a blockade over the The Toe invasion beaches with the Luftwaffe.



Results like this don't happen anymore as the embedded air support in TFs are more disruptive to enemy naval patrol efforts now.
If you want to try and cut off invasion beaches its easier to try and set the blockade farther from shore. About two hex distance from the TF seems like a better place to be nowadays, but an experienced Allied player will devote the resources to maintain a supply corridor. The real goal with Axis naval interdiction isn't a pure blockade (as achieved here), but increasing Allied shipping losses.






The Allies continue putting units ashore and expand their beachhead against the Italian screen, but they fail to dislodge the Germans in rough terrain.



LXXVI Panzer Corps (Generalleutnant Herr) takes command of mech units on the north side of The Toe, and both LXXVI Pzr Corps and XIV Pzr Corps HQ are re-assigned to 15th Army under General von Vietinghoff. All three of them are excellent commanders. As the Axis, make sure you pull the decent commanders from the Atlantic Wall in '43 so you can get some use out of them. I don't waste the AP transferring them, just put them on rails and re-organize the chain of command.

As much as I'd like to let Bomazz get more units ashore and then find a way to force them to surrender I decide to play it safe and drive the invaders on Sunset Beach into the sea immediately, before they can entrench, or get some lucky naval support that allows them to dig into better terrain.

9th and 10th SS PzG Divs ride into battle with 16th Pzr Div against the 45th US Inf Div and drive them back into the sea.



A follow up attack by several more divisions (the SS panzers are out of MP after unloading and attacking) against the defenders of Sunset Beach throw the invaders into the sea (a rout in this case means showing up in Sicily).
34th & 36th US Inf Div along with the 4th Moroccan FF Mtn Div lose almost 10k men in the debacle.



At sea off Sunset Beach are the 2/82nd Airborne Rgt, 2nd Tabor Goums FF Mtn Rgt, I FF Corps, two unknown units. I assume they will retreat next week now that the invasion beach has been evacuated.

No more attacks this turn, just solidifying our positions.
157th Mtn Div break down to cover northern side of Sunrise Beach.
9th SS PzG Div takes the rough terrain in the saddle, while 1/29th Pzg Rgt, and 3/15th PzG Rgt join 1/211st IT Coastal Div in anchoring the southern flank of Sunrise Beach.
With no fear of another invasion in the near future more troops are brought in.
1st SS Mot Bde rails to Catanzaro and joins LXXVI Pzr Corps. 90th PzG Div rails from Salerno to the same town and joins 15th Army.

1st Army takes command of the HQs for island defenses and sets up near Rome.
4th FJ Div sails from the Rome region to Sardinia to take up port defenses.
LXXXIV Corps takes southern Sardinian responsibilities and sets up camp in Oristano.
LXVI Corps will take over northern Sardinian responsibilities hopefully next week. Currently supporting 6th and 7th SS Mtn Div near Bologna (enroute to The Toe)
Brandenburg FJ Rgt flies to Porto Vecchio.
LXXXIX Corps takes command of Corsican defenses (von Hubicki)
Calvi, Ajaccio, and Bastia Airbases are set for expansion now that von Hubicki has arrived with some construction support units.

Island defenses are nearly set. Should be finalized next week, before the Italians are able to surrender.

Sicily:

A German reserve reaction thwarts one Allied attack, but overall the slow and steady advance continues to push back the Italians.



I abandon Catania in order to begin defending the Mt Etna Line.
Only 2 PzG Rgts on the island. Italians are getting spread thin, and becoming brittle.
We may be able to send reinforcements to the island to defend the Messina approaches if the enemy retreats from Sunrise beach.

I have the garrisons stretched tighter than a drum at the moment:

[Seminole]

Turn 5

The clouds are gone, but we still plan to rain on the Allied parade.




Overview of the Sicilian theater:




The Luftwaffe continues to master the sea lanes.




LXXVI Corps launches an attack against Sunrise Beach's temporary port with 9th SS PzG Div, 90th PzG Div, and 3rd PzG Div (XIV Corps).
They succeed in taking the temporary port and extract over 10k losses from the 7th BR Arm Div and 1st BR Inf Div.




Sunrise Beach is now split. On the south side 6th & 7th BR Arm Div and 1st BR Inf Div, on the north side 5th & 56th BR Inf Div have the still routed 36th US Inf Div accompanying them. I assume he didn't re-assign the 36th, and if they were more than 6 hexes from their chain of command HQ no recovery. The 36th US Inf Div somehow routed to this temp port when I overran Sunset Beach. A quirk in the retreat logic, but this also means that now they too are trapped.
Eliminating this beachhead before August should mean that the threat of Italian surrender consequent to having a supplied Allied unit on the mainland is moot in the near term.

On Sicily the WA continue their slow advance. 10th SS PzG Div is moved across the Straits to setup defenses on the southern perimeter of Barcellona. 16th Pzr Div and last regiment of the 15th PzG Div also move across the Straits.

Next week will see an assault on the southern pocket at Sunrise Beach, and hopefully an attack against the northern pocket as well to get this cleaned up ASAP.

H. Goering Pzr Div and 3/29th PzG Rgt take up position on the Sunrise Beach air base and oversee a 200+ LB supply drop that brings everyone back up to 90%+ supplies/fuel/ammo. With this game I was able to demonstrate the air supply bug that allowed units with a valid path to the existing supply network to draw on those supplies instead of just what was delivered by air. In effect this bug allowed the player rerun logistics phases for selected units so long as air groups were available. This was patched.

LXVI Corps travels by rail with 6th & 7th SS Mtn Div to Cantanzaro.
Jersey and Guernsey are evacuated. These units can't be reliably supplied in the face of Allied auto naval patrol, and I don't see a point in wasting airframes trying to contest the waters, or fly in freight

1st & 2nd Mtn Div rail with I SS Pzr Corps to northern Italy.

Even though I've transferred some units out of the EF, its strength continues to grow:




Still playing with fire with regard to garrison levels, just waiting on more reinforcements to be constituted in Germany so I can rail them west.




Can someone help me understand the discrepancy I'm seeing between Allied losses and the Allied OoB figures?







The WA OoB has fallen 331k men total from the outset, and 413k fewer 'ready' men.
Is it an emptying of unused (but initially staffed) airbases into the manpower pool?

[Seminole]

Turn 6

Italy has surrendered. Turns out I found another bug. The routine that checked for Italian surrender conditions was not verifying that the WA units on the mainland were in fact 'in supply', and so the condition was considered met and the Italians folded.



This is supposed to be fixed too now, but haven't had the conditions arise to test that it works as described in the rules.

No loss of territory in Italy in partisan revolt.
Going to abandon the toe since it has no purpose post Italian surrender to me.
Will destroy the Brits there first.

Brits launch a hopeless attack on the beachhead, and after its failure the TF sails away, abandoning the landed troops.



Overview of the Sicilian theater:



Relocate a lot of air force. Heavy bombing by the WA against the airbase in Crotone sparks this relocation (in addition to the loss of the Italian air force).
Spread recon units across the Med theater, and relocate Ju-88s to Corsica while several fighter groups are sent to Sardinia.
FW-190s are sent to Decimomannu (Sardinia) to provide CAS support against invasion after some rest.


LXXVI Pzr Corps attacks the north split of Sunrise Beach
The northern pocket resists valiantly!
Air cover helps the WA hang on by the barest of margins - without naval gunfire support, or even the 'last stand' modifier.




Focus turns to the south split and we break it.




Schmalz Bde moves across the battlefield to join another hasty against the northern split.



Finally the 6th SS Mountaineers are brought to the beaches and they are able to compel the British officers to accept reality.



WA have lost to capture over 70k men since the campaign began.
This week the total rises to include:
US 36th Inf Div
BR 1st Inf Div
BR 5th Inf Div
BR 56th Inf Div
BR 6th Arm Div
BR 7th Arm Div

Previously:
2/82nd US Airborne Div
2/1st BR Airborne Div

The 'soft underbelly' comment is giving Churchill a lot of indigestion at the moment...



12th PzG Div arrives in France, we rail it to Milan so it can refit this month.
I SS Pzr Corps sent to Milan as well.
242nd Inf Div to Ghent while 162nd Turkomen Inf Div rails to Utrecht.
Fernherrnhalle Pzr Div broken down for beach digging in SE France.
Had to juggle some units from NE to SE France to balance garrison requirements.
1st Mtn Div rails to Rome while the 2nd Mtn Div breaks down to fortify the ports in front of Rome.




7th SS Mtn Div divides to cover Naples (under Army Group C), Taranto and Brindisi (under LXVI Corps)

Sicilian theater after moves:

[Seminole]

Turn 7

Weather remains nice, so no screenie.

8th Army hammers the eastern side of the line, finally pushing back the Germans.







As this was one of my earliest games I didn't realize that the Italian surrender was going to play such havoc with the rail lines feeding 'the foot'.
This meant having to try and hustle some units north so I can get them on rail and not get terrible VP penalty from N Italy in September.
H Goering
3rd PzG Div
90th PzG Div
1 SS Mot Bde
Scmalz PzG Bde
all move toward Taranto and under command of LXVI Corps.

Resupply via air the 10th SS PzG unit that took part in the battle so they can take the line more effectively.
1/15th PzG Div sits on Barcellona airbase and we use a Stab Ju88 for the flight. All three aircraft are shot down, but everyone is resupplied into the 90s. More proof to me it is tapping the ground supply net. For some reason it doesn't cost an AP either. I believe this was because I didn't have any AP left, but it still executed the mission (air freight missions conducted by LBs cost 1 AP, if you use transport aircraft there is no AP cost). Not sure if this has been fixed, as I haven't tested it.
Another air freight mission from a Stab Ju88 - single aircraft is not intercepted by 4 Spitfires - pushes H Goering back from <40% fuel to >90% fuel.

Rail the Mtn Divs around Rome back to N Italy in case they're needed. Also send two 3rd & 4th Mtn Divs from EF to N Italy.
5th & 6th Mtn Div summoned from EF

A little shifting of the line now that we've been pushed back from Mt Etna.




More juggling trying to get supply to islands. I think it works priority from the outside in, and Sicily is considered more 'outside'. What I've noticed is that if Sicily is available, Sicily gets fed over the other islands even if they are listed at a higher priority.

The Allies extend some naval patrol toward Sardinia.



Sicily is cut off from resupply by sea because we pulled the naval interdiction for phase II in the Italy campaign. No idea where the next landing will come. Suspect islands over mainland, but we'll see...

I suspect some Allied shipping losses contributed to the losses of last week:





We're getting in the Allies into a nice hole to start the campaign:



Strength in the east continues to grow.



And we're finally starting to build some margins in the garrisons.

[Seminole]

Turn 8

Weather remains nice.

This turn 5th & 6th Mtn Div arrive from EF
Pull 7th Mtn Div from EF, last Mtn Div in the East
18th SS Mtn Sec Rgt pulled from EF, will probably send to Corsica
4th SS Polizei Inf Div pulled from EF for garrison duty

Keep moving units from the foot of Italy toward N Italy for garrison assignment and refit.

2nd Mtn Div secures Rome and nearby port.

Now to the fun stuff.

WA invade Sardinia, but it is a weak force (1/82nd Arb Rgt and 2nd BR Special Service Bde)

The 1/82nd apparently struggle to overcome the unoccupied terrain, but the Tommies arrive to help them sort it out.
I don't know what to make of these combat results...





II Flieger Corps uses Ju88s to interdict the landing beaches as well as ensure supply routes into Sardinian ports are open.
The landing hex is also hit hard by TACB and some LBs
All directives are a success.



Luftwaffe Air Cmd is in control of Do217s and FW190 FBs. They are assigned ground support to First Army and ground attack to the area around the landing itself (auto for both).
Air Recon 99 over the beach, Air Interdict 74.
16th SS Sturm Bde (mot), 2nd FJ Div, and 2 Rgts of the 4th FJ Div manage to drive the WA into the sea. For some reason I failed to get a screen grab of the combat itself.
Shuffle to resume defensive duties.

Because the logistics engine seems to prioritize Messina over other options I haven't gotten as much supply into the islands of Sardinia and Corsica as I would like. In subsequent games I've taken to putting Sicilian depots at priority 0 to make sure supplies get into the islands better at the outset and then balancing from there depending on the degree of fighting in Sicily itself.

Corsica Supply Sitrep:
Porto Vecchio: 8k
Ajaccio: 0
Calvi: 6k
Bastia: 22k
Total: 36k

Sardinia Supply Sitrep:
Cagliiari: 0
Oristano: 0
Tortoli: 0
Sassari: 20k
Ozeiri: 27k
Olbia: 21k
Total: 68k

On Sicily the Allies make some more headway on the south side, but run into a brick wall in the north. I suspect the tons and tons of artillery that the 8th Army is bringing to fight is what is driving down the combat value for Hube. Bomazz was not using TFs in an offensive role.






The Germans pull back a little to consolidate their positions in Sicily.



The N Italy garrison is coming together.



WA units that have been destroyed thus far:

[Seminole]

Turn 9

Fall weather is starting to arrive. Rain in the Med and coming from Russia.




WA attempt to attack the center of the line where they can bring the most weight to bear.
Hube reinforces the 29th PzG Div with 2/16th Pz Div.
8th Army suffers 6-1 casualties for their efforts.



Allied losses overall continue to mount, but the Luftwaffe is paying a heavy price relative to what they inflict on the enemy air forces.




The situation in the Sicily theater:



N. Italy garrisons are staffed. We're ready for September, and can hopefully get a few garrison points.



EF box:



Victory Point chart:




Corsica Supply Sitrep:
Porto Vecchio: 0 (100k)
Ajaccio: 0 (65k)
Calvi: 1k (50k)
Bastia: 8k (50k)
Total: 9k (265k)

Sardinia Supply Sitrep:
Cagliiari: 0 (85k)
Oristano: 19k (50k)
Tortoli: 31k (50k)
Sassari: 20k (20k)
Ozeiri: 38k (40k)
Olbia: 0 (50k)
Total: 108k (295k)

Supplies increased in Sardinia, but reduced in Corsica.
Weather has turned rotten over Italy, and so the Allies withdraw from the Sardinia invasion to lick their wounds.

Will pull back after this week to the outskirts of Messina. Use Mtn Rgt from 157th to bolster the center of the line that the allies tested last week.
Spread defenses along Italian coast and shuffle reserves into N Italy
Build depots in Ghent, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Shuffle some garrison units to help fort building behind the beaches.
Will start saving APs for leadership replacements.
Next phase is planning who will lead.

[Seminole]

Turn 10

Nothing too exciting. Rain disappears (really can't tell how things will look one week to the next).

Allies decide to try and hit the wings after seeing the reinforcement of the center, but again to no avail.





Corsica Supply Sitrep:
Porto Vecchio: 0k (100k)
Ajaccio: 0k (65k)
Calvi: 0k (50k)
Bastia: 0k (50k)
Total: 0k (265k)

Sardinia Supply Sitrep:
Cagliiari: 5k (85k)
Oristano: 36k (50k)
Tortoli: 46k (50k)
Sassari: 20k (20k)
Ozeiri: 39k (40k)
Olbia: 0k (50k)
Total: 146k (295k)

Build some FZ across Sardinia and move the 157th Mtn Div into the line to defend Messina.
WA attacks toward Messina failed, so we stay one more week.
Lots of bombing against airfields in Sardinia.
Hope to get the supply situation better sorted out as Corsica was drained. Lost shipping hurts. In the future I need to make an effort to steer the supplies sooner so I'm not dealing with scraping the barrel.

Started out the turn fine on the garrison front:



Shifted some things around and ended up with a unit unable to unload from rail. That's going to cost a few points...

[Seminole]

Turn 11

For some reason supplies don't flow to Corsica, I guess not enough transports?
Some supplies to Sardinia

Enemy drops Sardinia blockade for heavy move against Naples region. We counter interdict as well as ensure clean sea lanes around Sardinia. Works well enough to open the lanes this time, we'll see about on his turn.
Air Directives:



Results:



Could be a feint, but we withdraw mech from Sicily with 157th Mtn Div covering the retreat. No advantage to holding this island with Italy falling due to rule/code oversight.
Make it with most units halfway up the toe.



H Goering is set in reserve around Naples, with FZs constructed to aid in holding as long as possible.

Shuffle the Atlantic defenses to build up more fort levels.
Static a few units and juggle panzer from NW France to SW and then SE so I can send 1st FJ to Rome.
Build FZs in Amsterdam and Rotterdam

Garrison situation is straightened out after paying a price:

[Seminole]

Turn 12

Rain in the far north, but clear otherwise this week.

Corsica Supply Sitrep:
Porto Vecchio: 0 (100k)
Ajaccio: 0 (65k)
Calvi: 0 (50k)
Bastia: 0 (50k)
Total: 0 (265k)

Sardinia Supply Sitrep:
Cagliiari: 0 (85k)
Oristano: 27k (50k)
Tortoli: 36k (50k)
Sassari: 20k (20k)
Ozeiri: 39k (40k)
Olbia: 1k (50k)
Total: 123k (295k)

50k in freight went to Messina. Shouldn't have had the depot level higher at Messina than on Corsica and Sardinia since it is being abandoned. I think the logistics AI concentrates on getting supplies as far south as possible so Sicily won out.

Configure naval patrols to try and ensure supply to Sardinia as well as protect approaches to Naples (supplies flow from here to Sardinia or Sicily).




On the East Front we move some units into reserve to address low morale
8th Pzr Div <70 morale so they are rested
11 infantry divisions of various stripes are also rested for <60 morale
Will assess each turn going forward and try to rest the lowest units. Want to try and get all Inf to at least 65 morale if at all possible.

Naval Patrols go well, with very high interdiction levels in the seas around Naples. Enemy is trying setup naval interdiction in the Salerno area. Will re-position to contain that possibility.




Air supply the units in Corsica and fly the Brandenburg Para Rgt to Olbia while 18th SS Mtn Sec Rgt is sailed to their old position at Ajaccio from Genoa.

Re-position assets on Sardinia to continue digging in.
Want to spend the next month or two maximizing supplies on the islands while containing the next mainland landing. Build more FZs to support Rome defenses and break down 1st FJ to help dig that wall.

Will re-position air assets to try and deal with the next invasion.

A regiment of the 157th Mtn Division was pushed back. We decide to try and hold the high ground west of Messina in the hopes it will add an extra week to clearing the island.



Keeping our thumb on the local populace as well:

[Seminole]

Turn 13

Not a whole lot to report.

Pushed out of Messina after repeated attacks, one rgt of 157th Mtn Div trapped. Should have pulled back and consolidated the division, retreat is too costly, and with Italy's surrender there wasn't a whole lot of point to keeping anything in Sicily. Lesson learned.




He's bombing ports and airfields, perhaps to support next try at islands?

I screwed up garrisons again. Don't remember how and didn't put it in my notes. Maybe a unit withdrawal or TOE change I wasn't prepared for? This was one of my first games, perhaps my first '43 GC, so I was taking a few lessons the hard way.



Corsica Supply Sitrep:
Porto Vecchio: 44k (100k)
Ajaccio: 0 (65k)
Calvi: 0 (50k)
Bastia: 0 (50k)
Total: 44k (265k)

Sardinia Supply Sitrep:
Cagliiari: 0 (85k)
Oristano: 24k (50k)
Tortoli: 30k (50k)
Sassari: 20k (20k)
Ozeiri: 40k (40k)
Olbia: 0 (50k)
Total: 114k (295k)

Strength in the EF box has dipped because of my cycling units into reserve to try and preserve morale.

[Seminole]

Turn 14

With Sicily cleared and no other landings to contest there is little to report.

Corsica Supply Sitrep:
Porto Vecchio: 30k (100k)
Ajaccio: 35k (65k)
Calvi: 0 (50k)
Bastia: 0 (50k)
Total: 65k (265k)

Sardinia Supply Sitrep:
Cagliiari: 0 (85k)
Oristano: 20k (50k)
Tortoli: 26k (50k)
Sassari: 20k (20k)
Ozeiri: 39k (40k)
Olbia: 0 (50k)
Total: 105k (295k)

1st Army is stationed on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, and they're well fed.

Sup Need Received Lost
500 1075 34

First Army on map units:



Here's some info from the event log.
I still don't understand why some ports just get completely ignored.

Freight Received Used Shipped Truck Use
0 0 0 0 0 Cagliari (119 , 277)
28311 23 1128 465 408 Tortoli (122 , 271)
22549 6 684 961 34 Oristano (117 , 272)
0 0 0 0 0 Olbia (122 , 263)
39160 849 907 455 332 Ozieri (119 , 266)
19526 472 0 276 0 Sassari (116 , 265)


30946 1791 1477 705 37 Porto Vecchio (121 , 257)
0 37546 986 777 56 Ajaccio (118 , 255)
0 0 0 0 0 Bastia (122 , 250)
0 0 0 0 0 Calvi (118 , 251)

Anzio and Lida de Roma ports bombed by WA.
WA naval patrols at the ankle, I concentrate mine on Sardinia and Naples region.

[Seminole]

Turn 15

With Messina out of the picture island supply is finally getting straightened out.

Corsica Supply Sitrep:
Porto Vecchio: 30k (100k)
Ajaccio: 32k (65k)
Calvi: 29k (50k)
Bastia: 3k (50k)
Total: 94k (265k)

Sardinia Supply Sitrep:
Cagliiari: 0 (85k)
Oristano: 14k (50k)
Tortoli: 21k (50k)
Sassari: 20k (20k)
Ozeiri: 40k (40k)
Olbia: 3k (50k)
Total: 98k (295k)

1st Army
Sup Need Received Lost
369 926 36

Two more FZs built in Sardinia to cover the SW beach and juggle diggers to make better entrenchments.
Also put some units in depot hexes on refit to try and get them better prepared.
Hermann Balck takes command of 10th Army.
Fortify another Atlantic Wall port (St. Brieuc)
Send two new infantry divisions to Normandy and Brittany to help dig in.
Naval patrols keep the areas we want open for now around Naples and Sardinia. Just waiting for the invasion to take place.
Moved some recon to England. Will check out if he is prepping an early Channel crossing with so many divisions returned to England from his failed invasions.
Pull away from Reggio Calabria. Two remaining regiments of 157th Mtn Div hold at the bottleneck on the toe. I hope he decides to cross here instead of commit deeper. I'll be happy to fight over this terrain.
3rd Mtn moved from N Italy to take over for 10th SS PzG Div (railed north of Rome)