The Combat Diaries of XXX Corps

[loki100]

Outline

As I've got used to the mechanics I find that the appeal of WiTW steadily increases. In particular, I think if you play the Allies the AI actually gives you a decent game (without too many bonuses). In WiTE you have to give it a huge boost and operate with constraints and even then there comes a clear point where the game (as a challenge) is over.

Anyway, all this experimenting has resulted in another WiTW AAR (again vs the AI) this time using the new 4th Supreme Command scenario as I was interested to see if the additional units and resources this gives to the Germans made for a more interesting game. The settings are the standard challenging (so basically the AI gets 10% on most scores and I have a 10% malus).



What I'm going to write this up differently as an experiment and to see if a very particular focus allows for some insights that are maybe obscured when reporting on the entire game.

So have decided on a point of view style of narrative. In this case, as a sort of combat diary of the British XXX Corps. In reality the Corps fought in Sicily and then France, swapping component units and command structure on a regular basis. This fits the WiTW command model where corps and armies are much looser concepts than say with the Soviets in WiTE where, once things settle down, you tend not to re-organise and armies become relatively fixed combinations of combat formations.

As a gameplay experiment this focus became quite interesting as it altered what I paid close attention to. What I'll do is to sketch out any significant developments that do not involve XXX Corps in a few summary posts as appropriate.

In particular I'll pay very little attention to the strategic air war. Having now run this a few times, and used the shorter scenarios for testing, I'm getting to grips with this. In this game I was able to gain about 10-12 VP per turn from bombing from about September 1943 onwards.

My basic strategy in 1943 was to split Bomber Command into large units. One had the Lancasters and primarily bombed manpower and HI. The other was a mix of the other air types and I gave as heavy a bomb payload as I could manage. These supported US 8 Air in hitting the U-Boats but also went after specific targets (trucks and fuel mainly). 8 Air I usually kept together and it alternated between U-Boats and other targets.

For targetting, I use a mix of relatively large areas (with multiple missions – I try for about 200 bombers in each) and picking single hexes. Mostly the former, especially for the missions that are really designed to generate victory points.

For both air groups, I suspended operations quite often either due to poor weather or low morale after a bad week. My logic is there is strength in numbers and small raids often lead to heavy losses.

I sometimes sent BC and 8 Air over the same target in an attempt to overwhelm the AA defences (not sure this really worked).

Another trick was to hit say the Ruhr from days 2-4, in part to exhaust the German night fighters. I'd then risk a weakly (or not at all) escorted raid deeper into Germany later in the week. Had mixed success with this approach but its worth thinking over. I also regularly used some British night fighters to fly AS over German airbases – which helped keep their night fighters busy.

For the initial landings, since I suspect the Axis will be stronger than in the basic scenario, I decided to land about 90% of the historical force. I've got a bit more used to the time constraints on the overall Italian campaign and, in particular, when you need to pull units back to England for the invasion of France. So this makes me less rushed to complete the third set of landings (ie those around Rome).

[loki100]

Table of Contents

Part A: The Sicilian Campaign

3 July 1943 – invasion
4 July - 6 August 1943 - the battle of Catania
7 August - 3 September 1943 - the battle for Messina

Part B: The Italian Campaign

4 September - 26 November 1943 - the battle for Reggio Calabria
27 November - 31 December 1943 - the battle for Crotone
1 - 29 January 1944 - the battle for Gaeta and redeployment to the UK

Part C: The French Campaign

30 January - 2 June 1944 - In Reserve
3 June - 23 June 1944 - The Arras-Amiens campaign: Initial battles
24 June - 21 July 1944 - The Arras-Amiens campaign: Crossing the Belgian border, liberation of Paris

Part D: To the borders of the Reich

22 July - 18 August 1944 - Liberation of Brussels
19 August - 22 September 1944 - Crossing the Maas, entering Germany
23 September - 3 November 1944 - across the Rhine
4 November - 29 December 1944 - Pressing into Germany

Part E: To Berlin

30 December 1944 - 23 February 1945 - Clearing the flanks
24 February - 27 April 1945 - Stuck on the Rhine
28 April - 18 May 1945 - The Road to Berlin
19 May - 2 June 1945 - The Battle for Berlin

[loki100]

3 July 1943 – The invasion of Sicily

In preparation for the invasion of western Sicily the corps was assigned 3 strong infantry divisions, 2 of which had recent combat experience (51 Highland and 1 Canadian) together with the 231 Infantry Brigade.


(British infantry embarking in N Africa)

For the initial landings all the armour and most of the artillery was held back in reserve.



This gave a notional strength of almost 80,000 men, 1,000 guns and 300 afv.



Expecting to meet strong German armoured forces, Corps artillery including 400 anti tank guns and the bulk of the armoured forces consisted of Mk III Shermans.

For the landings the corps was part of 8 Army and was ordered to land to the south of the small town of Avola. XIII corps, supported by paratroopers, was to land between Avola and Siracusa.



In reality there was almost no opposition to the corps and the bulk of the difficulties were related to moving heavy equipment off the beaches and setting up initial defensive positions.

51 Highland and 1 Canadian were mostly ashore by the end of the first day and lead elements of 51 were moving north towards Avola. In turn 231 Brigade pushed west to secure the high ground above Avola to prevent any attempt by the Germans to secure defensive positions dominating the coastal road.



By contrast XIII Corps reported heavier fighting but was able to secure Siracusa by the end of the first day. The only major disaster on the British landings was the near complete destruction of 3 Paratroop Brigade due to a combination of poor navigation and stronger than expected Italian forces in the Siracusa region. To the west, messages relayed via AFHQ indicated that the US 7 Army was ashore but had faced much stiffer resistance than 8 Army.

[Helpless]

Nice. Subscribed.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Helpless

Nice. Subscribed.

thank you ... its always fun to find a reason to dig around in the superb University of Texas map archives ....

[loki100]

4 July – 6 August 1943: The battle of Catania

Phase 1: Preparations


(showing the Catania region after 51 Division had completed the encirclement)

The bulk of the corps spent the days after the landings offloading heavy equipment.

In the meantime 231 Brigade was ordered to push westwards to link up with the US 7 Army. No Axis resistance was encountered and the Brigade entered Modica on 7 July where it made contact with US Paratroopers. With this, the Allied forces effectively gained complete control over the south-eastern quarter of Sicily.

The rest of the Corps pushed north in support of XII Corps.


(51 Division in Siracusa)

However, it became clear that the Germans intended to make a stand at Catania.

By the 17th, the Corps was re-organised, swapping formations with XII. The latter was ordered to assist US 7 Army in securing the western side of Mount Etna while XXX Corps prepared for its first significant action since leaving North Africa.


(OOB on the eve of the Catania battles)

The opening phase of the three week battle was an attempt by 51 Division to cut the road running from Catania to Messina. At the same time allied naval planes tried to cut sea communications into the port and the Corps was allocated the great bulk of Allied tactical airpower for the operation.

Even as 51 Division pushed north of the city, 50 Division had fought a series of fierce skirmishes to ensure Allied control over the Simeto with an important bridgehead secured on the 114 main road.

By the end of July, 51 Division had managed to cut the main road north and the bulk of the Corps had taken up assault positions on the north bank of the Simeto.

In anticipation of city fighting and the problems of clearing the coastal road around Etna, the Corps had received special reinforcements. 3 Brigades of Assault Engineers had been assigned, together with the freshly arrived 3 British Infantry Division.



Phase 2: Assault

The plan was for the initial attack to be led by 1 Canadian and 50 British Divisions on both sides of the 121 road running west from the city.

51 was expected to remain on the defensive to prevent any breakout by the Germans. Once the Germans had been forced back , 3 British was to break out from its positions on the Simeto and, using its attached engineer formations, seek to capture the docks area. It was hoped that the Germans would surrender when their only possible retreat routes had been cut off.


(Street map of central Catania around the Docks)

In preparation, the airforce switched from interdiction to directly attacking German defensive positions. Although this caused few outright casualties, it disrupted the German front lines. Equally, the Panzer Grenadiers had effectively been cut off from resupply for several weeks.

The result was a surprisingly one-sided action. The initial assualt forces reported that the Germans mostly fell back. The result was that 1 Canadian was ordered to push into the city even before 3 British had broken out of its narrow bridgehead over the Simeto.


(AVRE Churchills moving up at Catania)

Advanced patrols of the two divisions met near the Customs House late on 1 August. After a tense nights negotiations, the German commander agreed to surrender early in the morning of 2 August when it was clear that his troops had no means of escape and had run out of ammunition.



Almost immediately, British and American transport planes commenced a major resupply operation as the Corps re-organised to push north towards Messina.

For losses of around 500 men in the entire 3 week operation, the Corps had successfully secured its first major objective. In the meantime US 7 Army was reporting that the only Axis forces left in western Sicily were defending Palermo. However XIII Corps was reporting fierce resistance as it tried to secure the western slopes of Mount Etna.

[loki100]

7 August – 3 September: The Road to Messina

After the Catania battles, the corps was given priority for both resupply and air support as the Allied command tried to capture Messina as quickly as possible.

Early on 8 August, the Corps launched a massive frontal assault on the Italian 54th Division dug in near Taormina. 5 British Division from XIII Corps supported the attack while other formations from XIII threatened to cut the coast road.



Vastly outnumbered and isolated, the Italians gave way with limited resistance.

However, an attempt to exploit the earlier victory was stalled when German reserves intervened.




(British artillery moving along the Coastal Road)

This set the tone for the following weeks, the Axis forces were clearly falling back towards Messina but were looking to delay the Allied advance and inflict losses as they could.



Even so, by 20 August, US 7 Army had ended all Italian resistance on the west of the island. As a result, their combat formations were pulled back to rest and prepare for the planned landings on mainland Italy.

By 28 August, the Germans had retreated to the outskirts of Messina itself. 16 Panzer Division and the Italian 206 Coastal Division were well dug in. Faced with such a significant defence, 8 Army had little choice but to plan a frontal assault. In an attempt to disrupt the Axis forces, significant numbers of ships were allocated to support the attack.



The assault was led by 4 divisions of XXX corps and 2 (46 and 78 British) from XIII corps.

The result was the fiercest fighting of the Sicilian campaign. The opening attacks saw the British making very limited gains but German artillery positions came under sustained shellfire both by land based artillery and the navy.

The result was that by late on the 29th, the German front line started to crumble. The 30th saw sustained street fighting as British troops tried to stop the Germans evacuating from across the Straights.


(elements of 5 Division in action near the docks)

By the 1st of September, British units captured the dock areas and the final German rearguards surrendered.



In just under 2 months, Sicily had been liberated. Allied losses included just over 14,000 killed, mostly British and Canadian.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


This is for context. I'll provide this and overall loss and wider context information at key stages. Even accepting that this is against the AI, I am pretty pleased with my strategic bombing score.

[loki100]

The Italian Campaign from Messina to Napoli: 4 September – 26 November 1943

With the fall of Messina, both the Corps and 8 Army found themselves in a secondary role in the Mediterranean Theatre.

On 25 September, elements of US 7 Army invaded mainland Italy south of Taranto and Brundisium.

As a result Italy promptly surrendered and by mid-October, a significant defeat had been inflicted on German units in the region leading to the surrender of 7 German divisions (including 3 Pzr, 1 Pzr Gr and 1 Airborne). By early November, Allied units had reached the Mediterranean cutting off Axis units defending Calabria,



This led to a major re-organisation of XXX Corps as it prepared to capture the vital port of Reggio Calabria. 2 Armoured divisions that had pushed down the coastal road, were incorporated in the corps while much of the infantry that had been part of the Sicilian battles was transferred to XIII Corps.



The initial attempt to storm Reggio Calabria was a major defeat.




(Infantry trying to secure a bridgehead during the initial battle)

However, the Germans had been cut off from resupply by allied bombing and naval interdiction. When the attack was renewed in the pouring rain the Germans lacked ammunition and this time the town was captured.



Despite this, the corps continued to occupy a secondary status as the campaign continued. After the fall of Reggio Calabria, the bulk of the infantry divisions were withdrawn to the UK in preparation for the planned invasion of France.

As a result the Corps took on command of the bulk of the British and Canadian armoured divisions in preparation for the battles against the Hermann Goering division around Crotone. This new structure, in effect as an armoured formation, was to be retained after the Corps returned to England. It was to continue as the primary armoured grouping in the British army till the end of the war even if the precise Order of Battle was subject to constant change.




(Sherman tanks moving north from Reggio Calabria)

Elsewhere, on 26 September 5 Army had landed in southern Sardinia. A week later French units landed on Corsica where Italian units had already captured Ajaccio. The Sardinian campaign was to see sustained and hard fighting that lasted into January 1944 but Corsica was fully captured by the end of October. Despite the ongoing Sardinian battles, 5 Army prepared itself for a fresh set of landings north of Rome with troops landing early on 26 November.

[IslandInland]

I will be taking an avid interest in this AAR, given my forum name. [:D]

[KWG]

Whats your favorite support setup for a armor division?

Do you keep them support full or let HQ handle it.

For a armor division I like a light tank/Calvary with a engineer. They seem to work together getting in close in combat. 3rd support varies.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: XXXCorps

I will be taking an avid interest in this AAR, given my forum name. [:D]

that does seem appropriate. I picked the formation as one that I could realistically use in both Italy and France (that it did so historically was a bonus). Compared to WiTE, I find combat commands in WiTW (realistically) much more porous which is interesting in itself

ORIGINAL: KWG

Whats your favorite support setup for a armor division?

Do you keep them support full or let HQ handle it.

For a armor division I like a light tank/Calvary with a engineer. They seem to work together getting in close in combat. 3rd support varies.

At the moment with the British I give each armoured division one of the off/on-map tank brigades. This easily adds 6+cv to the unit (assuming full supply etc). At start I was trying to build combined arms units but worked out the game engine doesn't (or doesn't seem to) take that into account. So for pure combat power, it seems the best option is to build a formation that has a tank:infantry ratio that in reality would have been flawed.

With the Americans, I mix things a bit, usually a tank battalion, a SP art battalion and perhaps a SP AA battalion. The smaller units add less to the actual combat power.

Infantry in both armies get a mix of engineers and more infantry.

I also build one US Corp with all the US and British heavy artillery plus masses of combat engineers. This moves along the coast, supported by the task forces, clearing out fortified ports. A US command is best here as they have a bonus for artillery support.

[KWG]

"At start I was trying to build combined arms units but worked out the game engine doesn't (or doesn't seem to) take that into account. So for pure combat power, it seems the best option is to build a formation that has a tank:infantry ratio that in reality would have been flawed."


Is there a post on this. Be great if you would expand on that, in a new thread if needed.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: loki100

So have decided on a point of view style of narrative. In this case, as a sort of combat diary of the British XXX Corps.

warspite1

Nice [:)] Some cool graphics too [&o]

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: KWG

"At start I was trying to build combined arms units but worked out the game engine doesn't (or doesn't seem to) take that into account. So for pure combat power, it seems the best option is to build a formation that has a tank:infantry ratio that in reality would have been flawed."


Is there a post on this. Be great if you would expand on that, in a new thread if needed.

I must admit my understanding of the combat engine is based on testing out ideas and some rather simple assumptions. But my basic view is that if you use tanks in good tank terrain then there is no real penalty for adding more tanks (in other words there is no balancing effect against too many tanks). More than happy to be corrected by someone who really knows but after a few games all my British and Canadian armoured divisions have an embedded armoured brigade for the cv etc. I've worked out how to manage the supply implications which seems to be the only constraint on this unit design.

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: loki100

So have decided on a point of view style of narrative. In this case, as a sort of combat diary of the British XXX Corps.

warspite1

Nice [:)] Some cool graphics too [&o]

thank you ... I love maps and the University of Texas map archive has some incredible historical gems including a near complete British mapping of Europe for 1941 and US mapping for 1943. Such great fun to dig around in.

Also it has an interesting effect on game play. Sort of more broadbrush for everything else that is going on which is an interesting variant to normal play.

[Devonport]

Entertaining and interesting as always loki. Like the mixture of gameplay and roleplay. Also love maps.

How are you finding this scenario? Is it noticeably different (playing as the allies against the AI) from the 43-45 version, or is it too soon to say?

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Devonport

Entertaining and interesting as always loki. Like the mixture of gameplay and roleplay. Also love maps.

How are you finding this scenario? Is it noticeably different (playing as the allies against the AI) from the 43-45 version, or is it too soon to say?

I think its better. The AI benefits from the extra units and the much simpler equipment chain. I think PBEM or with the Germans vs an Allied AI its too much. But its producing an interesting game with the usual challenging setting - its making me think and plan rather than just rely on overpowering the AI.

[loki100]

The Italian Campaign: Battle of Crotone 27 November – 31 December 1943

After capturing Reggio Calabria, 8 Army found itself involved in a series of fierce batttles with German forces by passed by 7 Army's rapid push northwards.

The first of these was with the Hermann Goering Panzer Division trapped at Crotone. The Corps had the dual task of protecting the rail line from Sicily as well as fighting their way into the well defended town.

In a major re-organisation, the corps took control of the armoured forces pinning in the Germans from X Corps and prepared to attack.


(OOB on the eve of the battle)



By the 27th the initial attack had stalled. Worse, the Germans had broken out of the weakly held encirclement and threatened the allied supply lines.

Fortunately the Italian 1st Motorised Brigade had taken up defensive positions to the north. While they were no match for the German armour they managed to delay the Germans till additional infantry from XIII corps took up positions. It was clear the Germans lacked fuel and were running short of ammunition. The short delay imposed by the Italians was enough to take the sting out of the last German offensive capability.

Fuel shortages were not just a problem for the Germans. 7 Army had concentrated on repairing rail links to its battles around Foggia and 8 Army's rail heads were still in southern Calabria. The result was severe shortages of fuel that hampered the ability to exploit gains and maintain pressure on the Germans.

However, AFHQ stressed the importance of speedily reducing the pocket. To help, naval assets were redeployed to both prevent any resupply and to pound the German defences with heavy guns.


(British armour moving up for the second attack on Crotone)



With their supply lines cut, the remnant of the HG Division was forced to surrender by 20 December.





Following the end of the Crotone fighting, 8 Army was ordered to support the drive on Naples and the attempt to reach 5 Army pinned down to the north of Rome.

[IslandInland]

I also build one US Corp with all the US and British heavy artillery plus masses of combat engineers. This moves along the coast, supported by the task forces, clearing out fortified ports. A US command is best here as they have a bonus for artillery support.

That's an excellent idea. A purpose built corps level fortress buster.

Even a year after release this game still rewards incisive thought. It really is a great wargame, probably my all time favourite.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: XXXCorps

I also build one US Corp with all the US and British heavy artillery plus masses of combat engineers. This moves along the coast, supported by the task forces, clearing out fortified ports. A US command is best here as they have a bonus for artillery support.

That's an excellent idea. A purpose built corps level fortress buster.

Even a year after release this game still rewards incisive thought. It really is a great wargame, probably my all time favourite.

aye its taken a while to grow on me. At first I liked the mechanisms but felt it lacked the scale of WiTE. I'm not at the point where I move back to WiTE (few ongoing games) and feel very disappointed.

this is so deep, and its good to see ongoing discussions about tactics and options

- must confess this particular idea came from a trick I use in Rise of Prussia. Stack up one Russian corps with everything that damages fortresses and watch it eat its way along the Baltic coast. Rubbish if it ever needs to fight a battle but superb at just one job.

[warspite1]

Hi loki, apologies in advance if this is a dumbarse question, but how do you get so many pictures in one post?