Taifun (Axis) vs ElvisJJonesRambo (Allies)

[Taifun]

I started a new AAR of our current game, me as Axis and ElvisJJonesRambo as Allies. This is a game between veteran players who have been playing the game for quite a few years and trust each other. All the pics shown were taken at the end of my turn. Please feel free to ask any questions about our game. I hope that you enjoy…

1939-09-29
Poland surrendered and the USSR occupied eastern Poland. 

1939-10
German forces captured Eben Emael and Brussels. I engaged four armies (only one was upgraded to INF WEAPONS Level 1) and these ended the turn well understrength. I should have waited one turn to upgrade the armies as these took unnecessary losses. The two German panzerkorps were still behind, approaching the new Western front. 

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1939-11
Strasbourg was captured and the defending XIII French Corps was destroyed, breaching the Maginot Line. The German armies near Brussels were refitted. 

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1940-02
Germany declared war on Luxembourg. The French I Corps was destroyed and Lille was captured. The British sent reinforcements to France, including at least 2 AAs and a garrison unit. 

1940-03
Belfort was captured near the Swiss border with the help of a fallschrimjaeger unit. German troops pushed towards Chalons creating a salient between Amiens and Mezt. Severe air engagements between the RAF and Luftwaffe fighters over France as both sides fight for air supremacy. As a Luftwaffe fighter unit was sent to Palermo to assist Mussolini I had only 2 fighter units remaining. They had their hands full as at least 2 additional carriers were operating in the Channel. I was forced to ground them and only used them only as escorts. 
A new Indian AA unit was reported south of Lyon while the BEF was spotted defending Paris.

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1940-04-12
Amiens was captured but we lost the German XXX infantry corps in a counterattack. Communications between Paris and the cities of Nantes and Mezt were severed. A fourth British AA unit and a second British Army were spotted near the coast.
It was obvious that the Germans were behind schedule in France. I was not worried at this turn as I was gaining a lot of experience, with General von Rundstedt already a 3 star general. Losses were mounting within the Luftwaffe and a medium bomber unit strength 3 was sent south to Turin in Italy. A veteran panzerkorps was down to strength 5 and needed refit and rest. 

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[Taifun]

1940-05-10
Small progress near the coast as we approach Le Havre. German forces were stalled in the center as troops were refitted near Amiens, where 2 armies and a panzerkorps were brought up to full strength for the final push towards Paris. Some progress was made in the left wing of the front, as Nancy was captured and Metz isolated. German forces reached Dijon. A German Maritime bomber was deployed at Antwerp. The second medium bomber unit was ordered to move south towards Rome and the Mediterranean, thus further debilitating the Luftwaffe in France. 

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1940-06
Le Havre was captured, 2 British AA units were destroyed along with a French corps but the German 4th army was destroyed in the area. The British, enjoying total air supremacy over France, controlled the skies, and their heavy and medium bombers were inflicting a lot of damage in the open. Our troops had taken cover in the cities, mines, and forest north of Paris, vulnerable to Allied bombers and carriers operating freely in the area. The French deployed the heavy tanks near Paris. A Luftwaffe fighter unit retired to Mannheim badly mauled. 

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Something had to be done as losses rose within the Wehrmacht. There was a change of strategy in the German High Command. The Luftwaffe redeployed the 2 tactical bombers and a fighter unit to the Turin area in Italy where they met a refitted panzerkorps and 2 German infantry corps. An entrenched Indian corps defended Marseille. From the ports of Montpellier and Marseille arrived a constant stream of Allied reinforcements that had to be stopped…

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[Taifun]

The Mediterranean Theatre of Operations:

1940-01
Italy suddenly joined the war in January .
Earlier during 1939 I had reinforced the Italian positions in Libya, sending 2 Infantry corps to Tripoli and General Guzzoni with the Ariete tanks to Tobruk. The Italian 5th army was still moving overland towards Tobruk. A second Italian General was shipped to Benghazi.
Immediately the Italian troops near Tobruk were ordered to move forward and attacked the weak British XII corps defending Mersa Matruth. Simultaneously Gabes was captured in Tunisia, covering our western flank.
The Italian Leonardo sub was surprised near Algiers and was seriously damaged by Allied naval units. Two German U-Boote that had managed to enter the Mediterranean Sea were already operating in this Theatre of Operations. 

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1940-02
Italian troops attacked Tunis, defended by a French garrison. General Guzzoni’s troops assaulted Mersa Matruth again, where a new Indian Infantry corps was signaled to have arrived in the area. 
The French Jaguar destroyer was sunk by the Regia Marina near Sicily. The Italian Leonardo sub was again attacked and nearly sunk by 4 Allied destroyers near Ibiza. The Axis sent important air reinforcements to Sicily. A new Italian Maritime bomber unit was deployed for service in Syracuse, and a Luftwaffe fighter unit was sent to Palermo to assist the 1st Squadra of Italian fighters. A new Italian sub was also deployed in Syracuse.

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1940-03
Mersa Matruth was captured as the British XII Corps retired behind the El Alamein.

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The French Terrible destroyer was sunk but we lost the Italian Leonardo sub. A British anti tank unit disembarked at Tunis port. As this AT unit was certainly earmarked earlier to join the Allies in France I was quite happy.

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[Taifun]

1940-05-10
General Guzzoni’s troops attacked the Indians defending El Alamein. Egyptian Nationalists rose against the British as the Axis approached Cairo. A Luftwaffe medium bomber unit reached Rome, while a second medium bomber was refitted at Venice. It was obvious that Tunis could not be captured by the low-supply Italian corps without additional reinforcements. No carriers have been spotted in the Mediterranean so far.

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1940-06
General Guzzoni moved his HQ to Mersa Matruh but his troops could not dislodge the Indians from El Alamein. The Luftwaffe medium bomber unit reached Palermo and the German maritime bomber was operated to Rome from Antwerp. To stop the influx of Allied reinforcements arriving at Marseille's port the Regia Marina deployed between Sardinia and the Spanish coast.

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[redrum68]

What caused the Italians to join so early?

[Taifun]

Void

[Taifun]

Hi Redrum68! Nice to know that you are around!
I am not sure. This happens every time that I play with the Germans. It suddenly jumps from 80% to 100% in a single turn. Not that I wanted to declare war so early... It cost me an Italian sub!


1940-07
To close the gap near the coast, Elvis redeployed the French heavy tanks between the two British armies, effectively sealing the front west of Paris. The defending British WDF army was attacked but survived. East of Paris, after heavy fighting, the strategic town of Chalons was seized. Metz, isolated near the Luxembourg border, was finally captured freeing several German infantry corps. Both German panzerkorps were exhausted and becoming unfit for further combat. 
Near the Italian border, the unsuspecting Indians holding Marseille advanced to attack the German garrison south of Turin. Still, they quickly retreated into Marseille when they spotted a German panzerkorps. It was too late, the surprised Indians were destroyed and the city was captured. The British antitank unit was transferred to Montpellier from Tunis.

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1940-08-02
Germany lost an Infantry corps near Paris after a concentrated coordinated counterattack. Near the coast, the British WDF army was destroyed and a new gap was created south of Le Havre. Vichy and Lyon were coming under pressure as Axis troops pushed through the Alps. Montpellier was seized after a recently arrived Indian corps
was destroyed, as the British AT was operated intelligently near Paris earlier. Both German paratroopers prepared to jump the next turn.

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1940-08-30
In another well-coordinated counterattack, the German 3rd Army was destroyed near Paris. It was a hard coup, the second army lost in this campaign (an additional 2 German Infantry corps were also destroyed).
Elvis used a weak French corps to close the gap near the coast. Sensing the weak spot and smelling blood, I concentrated my attack against this unit. After eliminating this Infantry corps, German forces advanced south and managed to destroy the Malta AA unit and the 1st DCR heavy tanks. German fallschrimjaegers jumped near Caen and almost killed a troublesome British fighter unit. 

Further south the spearhead panzerkorps bypassed Vichy and advanced in the Massif Central menacing the Allied rear areas. Vichy, Dijon, and Lyon lost rail communications with the Capital. 

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It was a decisive turn. Elvis will have to make a crucial decision. Will he prolong the fight, counterattacking to destroy the weak paras (strength 4) near Caen to restore the front? Could reinforcements arrive in time?

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[Taifun]

The Mediterranean Theatre of Operations:

1940-07
The French Navy had previously lost in April the BB Paris, sunk by the Luftwaffe in the British Channel. In this turn, the bill will be much more expensive. Acting as spotters, French light naval forces bumped into our main battle line north of Menorca. The French Navy main battle units along with British DDs attacked, severely damaging an Italian BB, which escaped miraculously with 1 point of strength. Once the area was cleared, the British AT unit was shipped from Tunis to Montpellier, an Indian Corps taking over the defense of Tunis.

The Axis response was brutal, a total slaughter. Trapped and attacked by bomber units from France, mainland Italy, and Sicily, the French BB Provence, BB Dunkerke, and CA Tourville were all sunk near Sardinia in collaboration with the Regia Marina. The French Navy was thus reduced to a single sub and one light cruiser. Several Royal Navy units were signaled at Tunis, Malta, and near Tobruk but no CVs could be detected.
The Indians defended stubbornly El Alamein.

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1940-08-02
Allied DDs acting as a mad wolf pack managed to sink the U-47 sub but they paid a high cost. During the Axis turn, the combined attacks of bomber units coordinated with the Regia Marina sunk the French CL Marseillaisse, DD Mohawk, and DDVendetta.
A tactical German bomber flew to Naples on his way south towards Sicily.

The Indians defending Tunis were shipped to Montpellier (didn't survive long), and a British garrison took over the defense of Tunis. Noticing this change of guards the Italian Corps advanced again from Gabes, forcing the garrison to leave the city, but wasn't able to enter Tunis as they had expended all the MPs. General Guzzoni's troops were handed some medals.

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1940-08-30
A relatively quiet turn in the Mediterranean. The tactical German bomber flew to Sicily from Naples. The German medium bombers were upgraded and the Regia Marina redeployed its units closer to Sicily to begin the bombardment of Malta's ports.
Our old friends, the British XII Corps disembarked at Tunis from Egypt.

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[Bavre]

Hi Redrum68! Nice to know that you are around!
I am not sure. This happens every time that I play with the Germans. It suddenly jumps from 80% to 100% in a single turn. Not that I wanted to declare war so early... It cost me an Italian sub!

...

Was this maybe the turn you moved a unit within 2 hexes of Paris? IIrc, that's one of the scripted triggers for Italy.

[Taifun]

Hi Bavre,
Great to have you on board! Italy declared war on 1940-02-02 before the Germans reached 2 Hexes from Paris.

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[Taifun]

1940-09
It was raining over Western France during the turn, the summer was over. Elvis decided to retreat west. Paris was declared an open city and all Allied troops were operated or retreated toward Bretagne, the Allied air units flying to England. German troops paraded in Paris. Generals Gamelin and Huntzinger were captured. The few remaining French troops were isolated between Dijon and Lyon. The West campaign was almost over. France would surrender at the end of the turn. It has been a costly campaign. 
At this point, I decided to send troops to Libya to capture Egypt. I operated troops and planes to Italy to capture Malta and the pyramids. 

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1940-10
France surrendered but the British refused to leave the continent. German troops advanced west to finish the last pockets of resistance. I considered that 3 armies, a panzerkorps, and a few infantry corps would do the job. 

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1940-11
Elvis counterattacked again. Allied troops, supported by bombers attacking from England, finished the German 8th Army near Nantes. It was again a hard blow. I must say that during this turn I thought that things were going wrong in this game. I already lost 3 armies, 2 infantry corps, and over 5000 MPPs in France. I was not very happy, to say the least. Winter was coming and I was still fighting on French soil… the ghost of a 2 front war appeared that night. 
German troops recovering from the shock, managed to destroy the British I Corps, an Indian AA, and an Indian Infantry Corps.

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1940-12
Unexpectedly all Allied troops were evacuated from the Continent. What happened? For that, we must take a look at events in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. 

[Taifun]

The Mediterranean Theatre of Operations

1940-09
As Egypt was now the priority in the German High Command new troops arrived in the theatre. A German General was dispatched to Sicily to organize the aerial assault on Malta. 
A second tactical German bomber flew to Naples on his way south towards Sicily. A fully upgraded and refitted panzerkorps was operated in Taranto. A paratrooper unit was transferred to the area and prepared to jump (to capture La Valletta as soon as the weak garrison was destroyed). The Italian Maritime bomber flew to Tripolitania as a first stop-over on his way to Egypt.

The assault on Malta began this turn. The 2 Axis medium bombers attacked the Indian garrison. Italian BBs bombarded La Valetta's ports and rendered them inoperative, other Regia Marina units sieged the island…

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1940-10
The Royal Navy appeared suddenly in force around the strait of Syracuse and Malta, sinking the Italian DD Lampo. I think that they were clearing a passage south of Sicily for naval transports on their transit towards Egypt from the West. 
The ensuing naval battle was epic, with the Allied Nations losing 6 ships: DD Assiniboine, BC Hood, CL Perth, CA Kent, CA Australia, and BB Valiant.

The AFRIKA KORPS deployed for service in Italy. General Rommel was immediately shipped to Benghazi with a panzerkorps. By now most of the Luftwaffe units were operating from Italy. 

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1940-11
News arrived that General Guzzoni’s (2-star by now) troops finally captured El Alamein. The impatient Rommel got in motion. He transferred his HQ to Tobruk and ordered his panzerkorps to advance toward the front. Rommel got additional reinforcements: a medium bomber and a Maritime bomber flew to Tobruk, while an additional panzerkorps along with a motorized infantry corps were shipped to Benghazi.

The Royal Navy was gone. Axis bombers hammered the Indian garrison defending Malta in rainy weather. A field artillery unit was deployed in Syracuse.

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[petedalby]

Another excellent AAR Taifun - thank you.

I've never used the Allied 'all in' strategy nor had it used against me. I suspect you are about to exploit the potential flaw in the plan. NA, Egypt and ultimately the ME are likely to be vulnerable. Italian NM should still be quite high. And the Med a virtual no-go area for the Allied Navy due to to the German & Italian airforce.

Did USSR invade Finland? If so did the Allies send troops to help the Finns?

Have you taken Norway & Denmark or left them to keep US mobilisation low? I suspect not as Holland still appears to be neutral.

I look forward to seeing how the game develops. Good luck to you both.

[Bavre]

Hi Bavre,
Great to have you on board! Italy declared war on 1940-02-02 before the Germans reached 2 Hexes from Paris.
...

Hm, very odd. There are triggers in the Benelux too, but 2 hexes from Paris is for me always the one that brings them in.

Also overstrength Italians lol, not something you see in every game.

[Taifun]

Hi petedalby!
That is an excellent analysis of the situation. The Allies focused their attention on France leaving Egypt vulnerable. This allowed the Axis powers for a short window of opportunity. I was lucky that Benghazi’s port remained fully operative. Maybe Elvis thought the Germans were so hard-pressed in France that they had no available troops for Libya… 
Allied players should render inoperative Tobruk’s and Benghazi’s ports for as long as possible. 
The USSR didn’t invade Finland. The Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark were still neutral. 

1940-12
The Indian garrison defending Malta was destroyed, but as it was raining, the German paras didn’t have the range to reach the island.
A long-range maritime reconnaissance mission revealed Allied forces defending the Nile. As expected, a British HQ was transferred from France to Alexandria. Two tank units (the delivery of US tanks enabled Britain to increase its armored force), and a couple of weak infantry corps assisted by AA and a field artillery unit. Iraq joined the Axis a couple of turns ago: if Allied positions were quickly overrun in Egypt I might even save the Iraqi garrison in time. 

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1941-01
With the new year, Elvis ordered a general retreat! Allied forces abandoned Egypt without a fight. Axis forces paraded through Cairo and Alexandria. 
Malta was captured. It was a catastrophic day for British morale. 
Germany started upgrading their panzers to level 2. 

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Rommel visited the Giza Pyramids.

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At this moment I laid out my plans for the 1941 summer campaign. Germany and Japan will simultaneously attack the USSR. Japan would in parallel invade the USA's West coast to divert the US forces. It was a bold plan.

Barbarossa was to be delayed until August. The Wehrmacht was a weakened force after suffering the loss of 5000 MPPs. The fighting in France took a heavy toll on our infantry forces and the new panzers weren’t expected to arrive until June/July and would need upgrading. 

After capturing the usual suspect's objectives, Japan stopped advancing in China to keep the USA mobilization as low as possible. Japan was building 2 tanks and a mechanized unit to increase their invasion land forces. 

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[Taifun]

Review of stats as the new 1941 year begins:

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Germany lost 5603 MPPs. That’s quite a lot and affected Germany’s research capabilities. I couldn't invest any MMPs in my beloved subs.
 

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The UK lost 6026 MPPs, mainly in naval and air units. 

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Japan lost only 2173 MMPs fighting the Chinese.

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The USA was mobilized at 32%, the USSR 34%, and the Netherlands (37%), Norway (44%) and Denmark (0%) were still neutral. 

[Taifun]

1941-02
Iraqui Government collapsed. The USSR reacted to Axis successes in the Middle East. The Italians entered Palestine and reached Jerusalem.

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1941-03
Amman captured. Palestine and Transjordan surrendered. Pro-Allied coup in Yugoslavia.

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1941-04
Axis tanks enter Iraq. 

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Germany and its allies attacked Yugoslavia. The Luftwaffe massed 5 bomber units in the Balkans. 

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[Taifun]

1941-05-09
Allies liberate Abyssinia. Yugoslavia surrendered. Axis liberate Iraq.

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1941-06-09 
Panzers reach Kuwait. 

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1941-08-01
Barbarossa begins: the World holds its breath. 
Axis forces declared war on Persia. Bushehr in the Persian Gulf and Isfahan were captured. 

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The USA mobilization reaches 48%. The Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark were still neutral. 

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[redrum68]

Wow. Very nice invasion of North Africa. Can't imagine this game lasts much longer with the Germans already pushing into Persia. I don't see too many invasions in North Africa these days but with the heavy defense of France, it was a good move.

[Taifun]

Berlin received a cable from Tokyo on August 1st: JAPANESE FORCES NOT READY STOP NEED EXTRA TIME STOP ATTACK WILL BEGIN SEPTEMBER 26 STOP. It was a disappointing message. But Germany could not wait, Adolf launched Operation Barbarossa without Japan. 

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As Barbarossa was delayed until August, Germany will enjoy very few good weather turns in AGN theatre of operations. The Soviets had Smolensk fortified. I was aiming to capture Riga and Minsk, maybe to advance a little further, but Smolensk will be difficult to capture with the forces available. 
In AGS we could expect a couple of extra good weather turns. I was aiming for Rostov and Kharkov, after crossing the Dnepr. The city of Rostov was defended by fortifications facing the West. 


German forces were deployed accordingly. As usual, they were divided into 2 groups. The group attacking north of the Pripyat Marshes (AGN) deployed a single panzerkorps, 1 artillery unit, and a maritime bomber. The group attacking south of the Pripyat Marshes (AGS) deployed 4 panzerkorps, 6 bomber units, a maritime bomber, 2 artillery units, 1AT, 1 paratrooper, and 2 armored trains.

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All the Soviet spanning units around Bialystok and Lwow were destroyed but in the north, around Riga, all the spanning units escaped destruction. 

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