1943 GC: kentkroeckel (Allies) vs Seminole (Axis)

[Seminole]

Turn 2, July 10th 1943


I want to work on my N. Europe air defense, as I feel this is the weakest part of my game.
What occurs seems so random at times.
To that end I want to try and fix the Luftwaffe command structure.
It will cost 30+ AP to dismiss Goering.
Josef Schmid must replace Goering ASAP!
Unfortunately, while trying to move RR flak I click the [x] to send it national reserve at a cost of 15(!) AP.
I should have gone to the city screen and ‘Assigned’ the RR flak to the city for no cost.
Don’t see where the manual explains this process, but know the difference!

Re-org of the German AF started, put most things under Luftflotte 2 & 3, transports to IX Flieger and placed in southern France for Operations Charybdis and Scylla - the defense of Corsica and Sardinia.

Air War

-Position night fighters
-Position German single engine fighters out of Allied sweep range (or at least at longer range).
-Set some repair priorities - with special attention to U-boat sites.
-Bf 110G-2 & Me 210 models are withdrawn for retraining as bombers.
Will use this force for a ground interdiction role to surprise Allies in S. Italy.
-Pull back the Fw-190F & G models to central/northern Italy to wait for Allied landings.
-The Italian AF will be particularly active.

North Air Directives:

I don't set air directives to defend the skies just to try and see some kind of baseline for interception before setting up Air Superiority ADs.

We do a little recon over the islands just for grins. Best case scenario he wastes some squadrons in the future patrolling the skies of Britain instead of causing me grief.



South Air Directives:

Allies have not landed all of their TFs on Sicily.
Only the slight interdiction from the TFs, no other naval interdiction.
Maybe saving it due to re-org?
In addition shore watch reports Allied forces off the coast of The Heel, and the top of the Toe.
Commercial fisherman radio back that there are more Allied ships at sea north of Sicily.
Seems like unnecessary losses among cargo and possibly troop ships to have contested seas at the landing sites and the resupply path, but there is no naval interdiction on behalf of the Allies to watch over these vessels.

I setup naval patrols to concentrate efforts on the troop ships at sea.



The Luftwaffe has decisive control of the seas around the Allied troop ships.



Air losses:



Allies suffer 10k KIA from 12 troop ship losses:

[Seminole]

The Allied air effort in the Med. is concentrated against the ports in Sicily.
This doesn't matter to me, and is in fact welcome because I don't want supplies even going to Sicily. If the Germans get greedy and try to hold too long it is a certain death trap, and I need to shut down Messina (priority 0) to ensure supplies flow to Sardinia.
The lack of Allied naval patrol executed during the Axis turn means he doesn't intend to protect his shipping at all. In response to this the Luftwaffe will be extra aggressive in confronting the Allied fleets. As we get into '44 Allied air dominance will make the Luftwaffe's level bombers much less useful. At which point I intend to transition them to the Eastern Front.

TF 545 brings the XIII Corps directly into Siracusa, routing the Italian 121st Coastal Rgt.
The British either had a para battalion come down at sea, or I think inside the city, and defeated, but the battle icon didn't display, just the battle result flashing when I started my turn and a Br airborne battalion showing destroyed.

TF 81 drops the US 1st Inf Div at Gela, with the 3/82nd Airborne on their east flank.
6615 Ranger Rgt on their western flank link beaches with the US 3rd Inf Div, disembarking on Licata.
For some reason an American armored division is floating off the coast of Sciacca, with a British HQ south of it.
We concentrated our naval patrols on the northern most ships, but these units are floating at sea in contested waters.



Additionally, a French Mtn Div and British HQ are sitting offshore of the airfield at Scalea.
In the Gulf of Taranto come reports of an American HQ (assumed based on the number of visible aerials on flagship) and some British flagged vessels.

Schmalz PzG Bde immediately moves toward the Americans in Gela, linking up with the Hermann Goering Pzr Div to attack the 1st US Inf Div.
The rapid response not only catches Bradley (II US Corps) off guard, it surprises Guzzoni (6th Ital Army) as well. He begrudgingly commits the 4th 'Livorno' Ital Mot Div to the assault.
Despite the presence of Task Force 81 off the coast the Americans flee.
The panzers drive to the edge of the beaches as the infantry retreat to the positions inland secured by the All Americans.



15th PzG Div joins the 26th 'Assietta' Ital Inf Div and the 177th Ital Beragieri Rgt in trying to punt the Americans other beachhead at Licata.

Guzzoni is unable to take advantage of the panzers and Bradley rallies to avoid a second defeat.



The Italians otherwise move forward toward the Allied beachheads. If we're lucky we can keep the Americans isolated and capture them next week, but we don't expect to hold against Allied firepower. Instead this move really is intended to affect our adversary psychologically, as they must respond to prevent a catastrophe, even as they try to continue asserting their own plans.

[Seminole]

Next are the strategic moves to meet our garrison requirements, prepare our outer defenses, and refit for the Eastern Front.

Operations Charybdis and Scylla are initiated to defend Corsica and Sardinia in the event of Italian betrayal with immediate re-deployment of security and paratroops:

Security unit distribution for Garrison requirements:
197th Sec Rgt - Bordeaux
16th Sec Rgt - Avignon
195th Sec Rgt - Rennes
35th Sec Rgt - Amiens
22nd Sec Rgt - Brussels
26th Sec Rgt from Amsterdam to Bologna (on train)

95th Sec Rgt sails from Marseilles to Olbia to unload next week, the first reinforcements have arrived.

Security Regiments relocated to southern France for deployment in the Med:
193rd Sec Rgt rails to Lyon
200th Sec Rgt rails to Valence.
198th, 192nd, & 66th Sec Rgt to Avignon
199th & 194th & 56th Sec Rgt to Avignon
196th Sec Rgt to Avignon
66th Sec Rgt rails to Avignon
325th Sec Div from Paris to Avignon

135th Fortress Bde sailed to Olbia and unloaded.
Landstorm Nederland SS Inf Rgt rails to Genoa from Netherlands
16th SS Sturm Bde (Mot) loads up and sails to Salerno to unload next week.
90th PzG Div from Corsica to Naples, unloaded.

4th FSCHJ Div to Bari to defend The Heel (still on rail cars).
16th Pzr Div breaks down to garrison Brindisi, and two regiments are moved to top of ‘foot’ to help hold critical terrain from potential beachhead forces ZOC.
29th PzG Div sets up in The Toe to block any secondary invasions.
3rd PzG Div rails from just north of Rome to Cosenza and unloads. Will use as mobile reserve for secondary invasion in The Toe.

14th Pzr Div rails to La Rochelle from NW France so that 10 SS PzG Div can leave SW France for Italy.
10th SS PzG Div takes train to Livorno (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 & 2nd FSCHJ Div to Marseilles with XI LW Flieger Corps for transport next week.
Fernhalle Pzr Div moves into Avignon so paratroops can leave for the islands.

Army Group C

1st Army reporting to Army Group C will handle the defense of Corsica and Sardinia
LXVI Corps
LXXXVII Corps
XI LW Flieger Corps

15th Army will be responsible for southern Italy, on rails in Bologna now.
Landstorm Nederland SS Inf Rgt
LXXVI Panzer Corps
26th Pzr Div
9th SS PzG Div
10th SS PzG Div
XIV Panzer Corps (next turn, still attached to Army Group C)
LXXIV Corps - on rails in N Italy enroute.


Strategic Overview of Med. Theater:

[Seminole]

Turn 3, July 17th 1943

Landings at three more sites. Two in Sicily and one on the sunrise side of the Toe.
Paratroops have been scattered behind the line to interdict movement.



Tempted as hell to bomb these like crazy and hit them with the free German armor, but will most likely focus on escaping and crushing the toe beach head.
He has used up all his TFs, so I’m safe from further landings for a few weeks, we will concentrate forces with this in mind.

First the north.
Not real happy with the fighter efforts, need to change loadouts for FW-190s to rockets and back them up to intercept unescorted formations.
FB locations:



Night intercept sucks so bad I'm half tempted to make them long range day fighters just to see if they can hit anything at all.
NF locations:



In the south we shift out naval patrol to follow the Allied troop ships still at sea.



Effective naval interdiction with our new wonder weapons.





Allies take some steep troop ship losses, adding another 27 to the bottom of the Med. and 14k men killed.

[Seminole]

Italians attack and force the American paras (509th) on the mountains in Sicily to surrender (retreat?)



Another attack against elements of the 82nd Airborne isn't successful.



Herman Goering Pzr Div and Schmalz Bde break out from their positions after the Italians soften up the British vanguard.



German and Italian forces flood south into the toe to confront the northernmost beach head. We have a few turns before the Italian surrender, so the invasion will have to face Mussolini's speedbumps.
Kesselring will see if Germany can punt some of Montgomery's forces, but concentration is on escaping with all German formations at this point.

[Seminole]

Security units flown to Corsica so handle the Italian surrender:
56th, 66th, 192nd, 194th, 196th, 198th, 199th Security Regiments
In Sardinia the 95th Security Regiment unloads and 135th Fortress Brigade rails inland to take up a position on the eastern coast.
Landstorm Nederland SS Inf Rgt is shipped to Olbia, but lacks SMP to unload this week.

Two regiments of 325th Security Division are flown in, with one more to follow next week.
2nd FJ Div sails into Oristano and unloads. 1st FJ will follow them next week and that will be enough units to cover all Italians for surrender.
Two more security regiments will join them with the Corps HQ.



Army Group C and 15th Army rail south to the toe with all other available units. We’ll smash hard then rail back north for September with the SS PzG.

9th SS PzG Div - railed to depot just north of Allied Toe beach head
10th SS PzG Div - Reggio Calabria
16th SS Sturm Bde - shipped to Messina and moved into hills to the west
Schmalz PzG Bde - on Sicily
3rd PzG Div - beachhead containment in the Toe
15th PzG Div - beachhead containment near Messina as Rgts on Sicily
29th PzG Div - two Rgts beachhead containment near Messina and holding mountain on Toe
16th Pzr Div - covering the Toe landing sites
26th Pzr Div - on rails in the Toe
Hermann Goering Pzr Div - on Sicily covering Catania.
4th FJ Div - railed toward the Toe to help cover beaches

Will try to concentrate on the Messina landing and kill it, plus any paras of opportunity, but they will largely be left to the Italians.
Should be able to focus and push him off the landing zone this turn, kill isolated stack next turn.
Then pull off the island and focus on toe beaches and pulling units to N. Italy.

Juggle refit for some units along the Eastern Front and send the 3rd Mtn Div (which was in refit from turn 2) to the West. It will rebuild in the Low Countries before being sent south to Italy.

[Seminole]

Turn 4, July 24th 1943

4th Mtn Div is pulled from EF box next.
Garrison levels have fallen short in 3 zones and we shuffle regiments around to get things aligned.



Allies finally try to provide naval interdiction, and apparently pull in some of their TFs for repair.
Shipping losses to date:
Troop ships - 66 (completely unsustainable - only gain 4 per turn).
Cargo ships - 69

Naval interdiction at the start of the turn:



Germans adjust their air directives, with most of the ships ashore Army Group C decides to focus on the two beachheads that are most remote from support:



Setup naval interdiction from Naples to Sardinian ports on two routes, with He-111s assigned, but rested in this phase.

Rest some fighter groups in northern europe that are fatigued. Turn off rest after first air phase.



Situation map at the beginning of the turn in the combat theater:

[Seminole]

N Europe FB concentrations.



N Europe NF concentrations.



S. Italy FB concentrations and Air Directives for all units.



10K more Allied KIA with the troop ship losses.



German mech formations concentrate to hit the Allies mainland beachheads in the north and south.



The 8th BR Armoured Bde Grp is annihilated and its remnants re-embarked to Sicily to regroup and re-organize.



Army Group C considers it too dangerous to place troops on Sicily, and uses the cover to extract Hermann Goering Pzr Div from the island, but Schmalz Bde doesn’t have the MP to completely pull out. Defenses are setup in the hills around Messina. Maybe hold onto it for another turn or two.



Garrison juggle - 3rd Mtn from Berlin to Netherlands, needs to refit for a while then go to Italy when requirements change.
Setup color coding for the occupation armies in Europe to match national colors.
Moved units to command limits wherever possible in the occupied territories and fixed command structure.
Raised priority supply for all units.
Next turn we need to start building depots and forts.

[Seminole]

Turn 5, July 31st, 1943

Allies fail to breach Messina defenses, but after a lot of failure sweep up most of the other Italians on the island.
Troop ships spotted in the Balearic Sea are designated for attack from several Naval Patrol ADs.
All ADs are wiped and attacks on the Toe beachhead and NP off the coast of only that temp port are setup.
Several German air units are resting or changing air platforms and thus held out of action this week.

Brit paras land isolated in the Toe. Maybe an effort to break rail lines that missed?
29th PzG Div re-unites and hits the freshly dropped paras but fails to compel surrender with a hasty attack. A follow up deliberate attack does the job.



On the southern end of The Toe the British 3/1st paras are forced back by 26th Pzr Div.



With the flanks of the Allied beachhead contained the SS PzG Div were brought forward to try and storm the temporary port.
The Allies rally and the Task Force suppresses even the SS mythologized fanaticism.



It is decided to hit the temporary port again with 90th PzG, as well as 9th & 10th SS PzG Div.
The follow up attack is countered by American command. They rally even more spectacularly, and thwart the SS from taking the temporary port.



Kesselring recognizes the best chance to take this beach has now passed, and forces are ordered to begin a staged and orderly withdrawal.



This defensive arrangement should provide partisan coverage in the event the Italian forces surrender to most of the rail network in Southern Italy.

[Seminole]

The German security forces and paratroops are now all shadowing their Italian allies on the island.
At the first word of an Italian surrender they are not to await further orders, but to immediately demand the disarmament or surrender of their Axis counterparts.

Allied troops ships waiting offshore for a sign of friendly ports will be left wanting when the Italians feel the winds change.

Island defenses and naval interdiction values for the Allies Mediterranean cruise lines:

[Seminole]

Turn 6, August 7th, 1943
Italians have surrendered.
Allies failed to make headway against the Italians before they quit the field, so we still own Messina and the Toe beachhead remains constrained.
Allies stepped up naval patrols. German fighters are moved to Sardinia to try and disrupt the patrol aircraft. Disappointing results with respect to kills, but we’re able to again isolate the Toe beachhead, and open up the sea lanes to Sardinia.
Allies Med cruise continues, with at least four units spotted off the coast of Sardinia, and we hammer them with naval patrols, taking control of the seas.



Troop ship losses are now up to 85, with over 48k KIA.



Air losses:



OoB after Italy leaves the war:



VP chart:



Southern Italy defenses at the end of turn 6:



Relocate units on the islands to better defensive positions and sail 4th FJ to Sardinia to unload next week.

We rail the SS PzG Divs from the Toe to N. Italy, and send the newly arrived 12th SS PzG Div to Milan for refit.
4th Mtn and 7th SS Mtn Div are also railed to N. Italy.
15th PzG Div is railed to N. Italy, with 2/15th staying in Rome temporarily.
Hermann Goering Pzr Div splits up to cover the exit from the Toe.

Med Theater Map end of turn 6:

[Seminole]

Turn 7, August 14th, 1943

Polish paras spotted off the western coast of Sardinia.
We schedule a Luftwaffe welcoming party.

Supplies getting to the islands. Sardinia is at 83% capacity, but Corsica has fallen to 13%. May need to lower priority on Sardinia and see if that helps stock Corsica.
Just not enough cargo ships for the AI logistics routines to feed both islands if any open ports on Sardinia have a higher priority. It doesn't try to split the effort, just seems to work from south to north, hence the need to turn OFF Sicilian supply at the outset to make sure and get supplies into Sardinia before the Allies become wise and begin trying to close off the islands.

Garrison levels are being met, requirements are about to fall in the Low Countries and come into effect in N. Italy. We're prepared, and will work to keep N. Italy over garrisoned until needed to deal with the next invasion.
It appears that Milan, as a Nation Supply Source and also the southern most such supply source gets first dibs on replacements. I put units in here on refit and they pop into the 90s TOE in one turn, then usually one more to hit 99% TOE.
I will setup a cycle of units in the East needing refit to return to Berlin, rail to Vienna, then rail to Milan, then rail back East after refit.



SS are refitting in northern Italy and 15th Army receives more reinforcements in the form of freshly raised infantry divisions from Germany and the 7th SS Mtn and 6th Mtn Div.
These units encountered broken rail before reaching the Toe. Confused as this area was sufficiently covered by German garrison CV value and shouldn’t have flipped sides.
Next week they’ll take up positions and relieve Hermann Goering Pzr Div to refit in N. Italy.

It appears the Allies are migrating the straits to the Toe. I see at least eleven formations on the Toe and an armored group just off of it.



1st Army OoB, responsible for islands defense:



15th Army OoB, responsible for southern Italy defense:



Overall Med Theater Map:

[Seminole]

Turn 8, August 21st, 1943

Supplies still getting to the islands, but down a little 79% in Sardinia and up to 16% in Corsica.




Allies still have lots of forces in the Toe. Tying to contest naval interdiction around the islands.
I don’t like the outcome from the air superiority directives.





Interdiction levels in the Med:



In the Eastern Front we continue to cycle units to refit. While we've slightly drawn down on the divisions in the theater, we've managed to increase the combat power overall by starting to move some Schwabs and Kette from the West to the East.



Just waiting.

[Seminole]

Turn 9, August 28th, 1943

Allies make failed attacks in the Toe.



Paras come down in Crotone. Schmalz Bde responds in reserve, wins the fight, but the paras survive?
They’re floating off the coast right now it appears.



I didn't get screenshots, but my opponent apparently air transported additional forces into the hex that had just been defended.
Not quite sure I understand what happened there, but no naval patrols off the coast. I'm unsure if that is a TF to repair the port immediately, or a unit waiting to unload, or the paras that 'retreated' from their loss.

Looks like just the para unit that swam out to sea after Schmalz Pzr Bde showed up.
Allies will be able to repair the port if they station a TF, but it will not have beachhead defense bonuses. Can we take advantage of this and cause some surrenders? I think so…

Broken rail due to the Italian surrender bug threatens success in this effort.

*****
I calculated CV garrison coverage, and unless I missed an update in one of the patches it isn't working as described. My 16 CV unit seemed to only prevent hexes flipping within a range of 4 hexes.
If I'd know this ahead of time I would have positioned units and built FZs to accommodate my strategy.
To compound the issue the AI logistics refuses to dispatch rail repair in the S. Italy 'rebellion zone' East of X 151.
I don't see this documented anywhere, it was simply observed behavior from positioning of repair units in various HQ levels over several turns.
It WILL repair airfields in the aforementioned 'rebellion zone', just not rail.
*****

Should have put naval patrol over this area next week.
We will bring forward our units and hold them in the clear terrain. Then bring down some SS to help smash what is there and take the port behind them.
Without Sardinia it will be hard to make a landing near Rome.

10th Army moves into position and takes over the Toe Corps.
15th Army will defend central Italy.
Set depots on Corsica to 4 and everywhere else 3 or lower.



Operations Charybdis and Scylla defensive positions:



EF combat strength sags this week even though we added a division, as another half dozen went into refit to try and recover from the last Soviet surge:

[Seminole]

Turn 10, September 4th, 1943

Built a depot in Trencin, Slovakia so units can rail from Milan to the East in one turn.
9th SS PzG Div (20 CV, 93 morale) is sent East. 10th SS PzG Div will go next week.
5th SS PzG Div is sent back West, in bad need of refit (will park in N. Italy for when it arrives)
This consumes all 6 AP for the turn. :/

EF before:



EF after:



12th SS PzG is sent back north to provide garrison support in Florence.

In the Toe the Allies have apparently abandoned the 82nd Airborne and 6th Br Para Div.
Turns out they have been forced to recall one of their Task Forces for a 12 week long refit, and miscalculated the point loss associated with re-assigning a Task Force landing site.

Setup ADs for the Med:



The Crotone port is isolated. Without a temporary port from a landing site (national supply source for isolation tracing) they are justifiably nervous.



Von Vietinghoff (10th Army) orders the assault against Crotone.
Hube leads 16th & 26th Pzr Div with 3rd PzG Div and Schmalz PzG Bde and they stunningly thwarted by the valiant paras in their first attempt, losing over 800 men and 31 tanks in the process!
The follow up assault succeeds, and the paras retreat from Crotone to the corner of the beach.
Next week they will almost certainly be liquidated.



Allies are pulling back down the Toe, and with the supply problems we need to pull back to the Crati river (Death Valley) and see if we can entice an advance to punish.
The Allies failed another attack in the Toe last turn, that's why they are pulling back now:



Still waiting for the next landing, not sure where to expect it, but Sardinia is the leading candidate.
We’ve adjusted the priority of the depot on Corsica to see if we can get supplies into the other ports.

[Seminole]

Turn 11, Sept 11th, 1943

Sperrle was fired for Meister, but he's not having much more luck.
An extreme example, but in a sense indicative of how I'd felt trying to hold off the Americans in N. Europe:



The allies have made a landing unopposed just north of Crotone.



The tempting regiments holdings in the Toe are attacked, and the Allies succeed in gaining a hex.
Good. We want them to go this way and not get on boats to outflank Death Valley.



A hasty attack by 3rd PzG Div and 26th Pzr Div against 82nd Airborne is rebuffed. A follow up hasty attack chases them to the same hex as 6th BR Airborne Div.
16th Pzr Div joins 26th Pzr Div and 3rd PzG Div in a deliberate assault against the paras that send the lot to POW camps.





The mech are pulled back and 7th SS Mtn Div take up positions south of Cosenza in the mountains to block 8th Army.
10th Army’s construction units are dispatched by the AI to repair airfields in the Heel instead of fix our rail.
We re-assign them to LXXVI Pzr Corps in the hopes they’ll stay close and try to fix the damaged rail.
This means the depot in Catanzaro and Consenza are now emptied and can't be refilled. This is what forces us to pull back or lose massive amounts of trucks for no reason.

10th SS PzG Div is sent East and 2nd Mtn Div is pulled West.
3 LB groups (Kette) are sent East as well.



Overview of Med Theater:

[Seminole]

Turn 12, Sept 18th, 1943

The 2nd & 9th SS PzG Div get absolutely walloped fighting the Russians.



12th SS PzG Div is sent East and provide a significant lift to morale across the Front.
5th SS PzG Div is sent to N. Italy from Vienna.
Rotate refitted Feldherrnhalle PzG Div back to Avignon from Milan, 24th Pzr Div goes to Milan to refit. H. Goering Pzr Div still in Milan and joined by 1st SS PzG Div to refit.
2nd Mtn Div moves to Vienna from Berlin and 1st Mtn Div is recalled from Russia.
Send in two LB Kette and 1 Ju-52M Schwab sent East.



EF box chart:




Allies make a two pronged amphibious invasion of Sardinia.
The Polish paras have the misfortune of landing on top of a 2/325th Sec. Div dug into the hills and they are captured.
Bad year for Allied paras.

[Seminole]

Surrendered so far:
1st Polish Parachute Bde
82nd Airborne Div
6th Airborne Div
2/1st Airborne Div
509th Parachute Btn
8th Armoured Bde Group (actually routed off beaches in the Toe, but listed among destroyed formations)

Heavy naval patrols setup around Sardinia succeed in creating contested seas. Hopefully we’ll tag some more Allied shipping in the logistics phase.



In Sardinia the paras move forward to contain both beachheads.



In the Toe Hube continues his fighting retreat.



It appears the depot problem is annihilating my truck pool SO FRUSTRATING!
I’ve countered his every move so far, but the broken italian surrender rule has cost me thousands and thousands of trucks.
Next week maybe we can get some rail repaired and setup a close depot. If that works we can counter attack in the Valley of Death and use our air interdiction.

VP situation:

[Seminole]

Turn 13, Sept 25th, 1943

Allies make a new landing at Lido di Roma (just SW of Rome) with a single armored brigade.
The landing site will be isolated by naval patrols.




The Allies have moved forward into the Valley of Death, but Axis supply depots are exhausted. I can’t fight here for the time period expected, just too costly in trucks to try and do it.
Bf-110’s and Me-410s retrained for the close air support role join the Fw-190Gs and provide solid interdiction levels:



Vietinghoff brings together 16th & 26th Pzr Divs and 3rd & 29th PzG Divs to hit the the 1st Armored Division, knocking out half their tanks!



I'd love to stay here a few more weeks and deliver these kinds of losses, but the fact is the broken rail means my two nearest depots are already empty and won't be restocked.
We simply must pull back to the Gothic line for no other reason than our AI driven rail repair refuses to address the damaged hexes (that shouldn't have been damaged) even though they're presently covered by on map units to provide security.

Hermann Goering & 24th Pzr Div move with 16th SS Sturm Bde from N Italy to Rome to defend.
159th Reserve division pickets the beach, but we won’t try to attack the beachhead defenses.



On Sardinian the Fallschirmjäger hold their ground against multiple attacks. 90 morale entrenched in rough terrain is a tough nut to crack.
One regiment rotates from the eastern beaches to Tortoli to be replaced by the regiment defending Tortoli.

We setup our air directives to ensure that the port of Olbia would be open next week, and that the isolation rules would not be in effect during any Allied attacks.

Sardinia Defenses and interdiction levels at the end of the turn:

[Seminole]

Ground Losses:

KIA and POW numbers continue to mount for the Allies:



The Battle for the Mediterranean Sea has taken what we believe is an unsustainable toll on the Allied fleets:



Air losses to date:



Unable to secure the sea lanes to the existing beachheads, with two Task Forces over 80% damaged and one already lost for at least two more months, the Supreme Allied Commander has tendered his resignation.
It is unknown how this news will affect the War in the West, or in the East, but there will be no further updates in this War Diary.

Fun game, Kent! Hope you encountered some new strategies to consider and try.