Looking for strong Axis player to play Harsh Winter

[stjeand]

I have not had a chance to test this against a very strong Axis player....

Wondering how big a difference it has made...

[ncc1701e]

Try kklemmick

[kklemmick]

I could probably afford to start one more game as the Axis, lol. Set one up and DM me the PW.

[stjeand]

So far the game has been extremely interesting...

Poland fell as expected...nothing crazy there.
Yugoslavia fell but not till 1940...
Netherlands fell turn one of the invasion along with Norway.
Belgium lasted an extra turn.
I need to work on Brussels...he was able to surround the unit and it was a one turn surrender which was painful for a good unit.
It is the end of August and German now sit with 4 worn units next to Paris.
France should fall in Mid/late September... Depends upon odds. Was hoping to last one more turn but suspect not.

German losses are pretty harsh...will post the turn prior to French surrender.

kklemmick builds very differently than I as the Axis...so has been keeping me on my toes.

The UK and Middle East I believe are safe...though one never knows. If I don't pay full attention that could all change.
Africa is at a stalemate hopefully. The UK made a few attacks and smashed the Italian armor and a German corps.
Both are back rebuilt I am sure...Once France falls Africa could change but hopefully the heavy losses there have made him reconsider.
The UK attacked Persia and took the oil...and that is how that stands. Iraq will have to wait.
Forces are just outside of Greece...waiting to enter I suspect when France falls but it is looking like it may have to be sooner. French naval units are awaiting the attack. Once they are gone the UK will have to take over which they are NOT looking forward too...though the Germany Luftwaffe is very beat up.

I think the German army needs a long rest.


Winter is coming.

[ncc1701e]

Interesting.

[stjeand]

France has fallen...end of September was the surrender.

Axis land losses are 350, air losses are 156...the Luftwaffe is a shell of its former self.
I forgot to pull the UK losses as the French losses are expected.

Greece is now under siege...hoping for some rain to slow down the extremely weak panzer corps coming in.
Air will be the issue...his continues to hit every naval unit that moves...so have to stay away.

[stjeand]

Axis losses in France totals...

~260 land...not sure infantry to armor...
~156 air...this was a big win for the Allies...it will be expensive to replace before and during Barbarossa.



Greece continues to be under siege...heavy rain in the area will stop the advance. Only Athens remains.
Lots of air are in the area so naval units have to avoid getting involved.
More units landing in Persia so that the UK can complete the takeover and then move to Iraq.
Malta has been reinforced with heavy anti-air and an air unit...time to ground the Italian air.
Instead of the Battle of Britain it is the battle of France. UK bombers are striking Axis units luring up wearing out even more Luftwaffe units.
Heavy Axis movements within France moving south...Vichy reports odd activity on their border after capitulation.

[stjeand]

End of November 1940

Greece fell two turns ago and the Axis has swept into Vichy.
France has capitulated.
Vichy Africa is a different story. UK forces enroute to the Middle east and Egypt were rerouted and have reinforced the area.
Oran had fallen to Italian occupation but was liberated by UK forces.
Egypt sits at the moment...tensions high...Germany has moved in a couple of armored corps and a shell of the former once unstoppable Luftwaffe have arrived, but they are very worn from non-stop action. Canadian and UK forces are dug in waiting to see if an attack is coming...UK command believes there will be one push shortly but with both air and naval support.
Only one naval battle occurred between French and Italian ships...the battle was inconclusive.

[stjeand]

I know this is not the correct forum but continuing...

End of December 40, if I remember correctly.

Vichy Africa and the Middle East are in flames...
Middle East
The Canadians were caught with their pants down and surrendered after heavy losses and a huge force of British were surrounded in El Alamein. They were able with assistance to smash through an elite German paratrooper corps and have fallen back to Cairo.
The Germans have 3 panzer corps on the border but only 1 if highly operational...the other two are worn from heavy fighting and little rest.

North Africa.
The UK has heavily reinforced the French there...and dug in at a river line. A huge Italian force with a mix of a German armored corps and a few infantry are headed there now with the bulk of the German and Italian airforce. But the RAF has moved from the UK to Africa, and the skies will look like a damaged wasp nest in the coming weeks.

The Bismark headed to sea and struck at the convoy lanes...though only causing light losses. (On the other hand 3 subs sank 4 escorts in a single attack. That seems WAY off...never seen that many before).
The BOA is pretty much unimpeded as the Axis did not decide to create much of a navy.
A full carrier force caught that German fleet in a French port and caused major damage.
UK naval command expects them to make a run for Germany so they have asked the entire navy to be ready.

The Russian front is still very quiet. With all the German forces in Africa it is looking highly likely that the USSR will be spared the Axis onslaught.

[stjeand]

Jan - Feb 41

Axis has invaded more ports in France that were open due to UK command incompetence and the thought that Germany did not have enough naval left to continue. Foolish mistake.
It forced the UK navy to divert fully to Africa as well as more troops.
The Axis hold one port with a large corps dug in...though supply is shaky. the other retreated.
The Axis continue to probe the UK lines...heavy armor losses to the Italians have slowed.
Most German armored units have left Africa according to British intelligence. Likely to refit.

The Middle East is all but secure. Nothing is guaranteed but Axis forces are sparse by Cairo.

USSR HQ is growing slightly concerned as to the number of Axis troops seen by their borders with Germany. Though German high command states they are just training in cold conditions.

[stjeand]

March - April 41

The flames in Africa have died down. Algiers and West are in Allied control as is Cairo and East...though Iraq still remains neutral...though UK forces have been given the go ahead to invade so they are have moved to the border.


The UK Carrier group was ordered to strike the U-Boat pens at Kiel and struck a huge blow. One UBoat was demolished while another crippled. They have since moved deeper into the Baltic away from prying naval air.
For the past 2 months German surface vessals have roamed the high seas but at a huge cost. At least 4 have been significantly damaged. It is not known what the Kriegsmarine has planned though all have gone deep within the Baltic.

Allies await Spring to see where the Axis will strike next.

The USSR continue to rebuild their army and continue to see German "training" on their border.
Concern is growing at the Kremlin.

[kklemmick]

I love these updates, keep them coming, lol!

I have to say, stjeand is pretty much kicking my butt here. Almost nothing has gone according to plan or schedule and I've had to abort several planned operations. The situation isn't as dire IMO as he makes it sound, but it isn't good either. I will have to rethink my strategies in the future when faced with a highly aggressive and skilled player.

I do believe that if I had focused on it I could still have taken the Middle East, but stjeand invaded Persia early, so it just didn't seem like it was worth the cost. In my game with ncc1701e, the entire Italian navy was beat down to 1-2 points each supporting the necessary invasions, and I never bothered to rebuild them. In this game they are still having some fun sinking UK ships.

I am about as prepared for a Soviet invasion as I normally am. Short a few infantry at most. This is largely because I have a lot less territory to garrison than I normally do, despite taking much heavier losses than expected. My main question here is how well I'll do here against stjeand. I suspect I'll hit a brick wall like the Axis normally does with me, but we'll see. It will be happening very soon..

[stjeand]

German propaganda...

Clearly they have been mislead on a foolish crusade across Europe.




But honestly...it is FAR from dire. Russia is where I have always struggled. I keep trying though trying to learn from my last mistakes. Sadly this will be my second time in a year playing them...and second time with the changes....so more to test and get used to.

[stjeand]

May 1941

Russian Front opens
German aggression continues as they declare war on the Russian Empire.
Army Group North make minimal gains.
The Russian navy sets to sea hoping to disrupt German resources.
Army Group Center make minimal gains also but due to rear guard incompetence Russian forces charge into Poland cutting their supply lines.
Army Group South, made up of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Panzer Army, roll through Russian defenders and cut off the 3rd Russian defense army group made up of more than half a dozen corps.
More Russian forces stream south hoping to slow the German advance.
Russian air units in the south bomb the capital of Romania and shoot down a large portion of the Romanian airforce. This was a surprise to Russian air command but they are thrilled with the outcome.

UK
Africa is completely quiet.
UK air bomb a few German units hoping to make them rethink another attack.
The BOA is going well enough for the UK...but more ships sink to the bottom.
More are being built daily...hopefully it will keep up with demand.

[stjeand]

Late May 41

Russian Front
Russians are folding like a house of cards. Even with 12 air attacks they are not able to disrupt movement of a single unit. Reinforcement appear to have gotten lost and headed for Siberia. They have been recalled but the train gears appear to be frozen. No idea when or if they will arrive.

About a 1/6 of the army has been lost already...and more to fall shortly. Germanys are close to Kiev already at the edge of their supply lines. A lone Russian armor sits waiting for the assault.

UK
More merchants sink with little damage to Uboats...
Little else happens.



Honestly I wish I had a clue how to defend with the Russians. Maybe with twice as many troops. I tried something different which is not going to pay off. I expect Russia to fold in 1942 as they normally do once German supplies reach.
But we shall see. The German armor is wearing and at the edge of supply...but Russian reinforcements are not arriving.
I messed up my builds and suspect that will not help. But one never knows.

[kklemmick]

In my opinion, the way to defend the USSR is to build mech and armor units. You can place these strategically to keep your rifle units from being surrounded. I've never lost more than maybe 3-4 units as the Soviets. Then again, I've not played against someone like myself who prioritizes killing troops rather than taking territory, so maybe there just isn't a defense to that..

[stjeand]

Early June 41

Russian Front
The front lines are quiet at the Axis armor and infantry mop up some units behind their lines and close by.
There are still Russian forces moving through Poland and Hungary though suspect this will be coming to a close soon enough.
The Siberian train found its way back and some highly needed reinforcements arrive...albeit a bit late.
The Russians now wait for the Summer offensive to begin.
The Russian navy took a beating trying to sink a few German merchant ships. It appears that they trailed to much black smoke and were easily spotted by the Bismarck and escorts...The fleet has limped back to port.
Air units FINALLY disrupt a German armor.

UK
A quiet BOA with no merchants lost. The Kriegsmarine is focusing on Russian aid.

Africa is quiet...too quiet. Australians and New Zealanders have been brought in as well as some Indian forces.
Neither side appears to wish to make the first move.

France, UK bombers pound a French production point for the Axis...Italian air raise to the occasion and get smashed by RAF spitfires. The unit will likely be out of service for a few months while repairing.



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

If you have only lost 3 units...that is a problem. That means either the game is completely broken or your opponents are not of equal skill. No matter what you do the Russians should lose hundreds. If not there is no reason to play.
Normally when the USSR focus on Armor I surround them...and that is worse overall as they cost is so high. But that depends upon your opponent.
After this game we should probably have a mirror game and see how they go.

I need more time to get back into WPE. I keep messing up air ranges mixing them up with WPP which is annoying.
At least the ground is the same but not fought any armor in a long while.

[kklemmick]

I'm not sure I have the willpower to start another 1939 game, but was thinking we could run a quick 1940 scenario and just play it through the USSR invasion. I've had really good luck defending there, but it may be that my opponents were thrown off by my unconventional defensive tactics, so I'd be interested to test this against you. I'd suggest the 1941 scenario, but as I posted elsewhere I think it's completely unbalanced and wouldn't be representative of how things would look if players started in 1939.

[stjeand]

Late June 1941

Russia
Germans continue to refuel, resupply and clean up Russian positions that were overrun earlier in the month.
The Russian units try to dig in but the rumble of armor can be heard in the distance along with columns of German Infantry finally making it to the lines.
It appears that the German High Command focused their main thrust with Army Group South. The lines by Army Group Center and North are fairly stable but again there are reports of armor in the distance which could change it all. Russian air units are scrambled in and effort to delay their progress.
More reinforcements arrive but the numbers are still to small to make a difference. A new training program is being implemented but will take another month to make any significant impact.


UK
Africa. The lines appear to be very stable at the moment, neither side willing to flinch.
By Cairo UK units move within eyesight range of Axis units with plans to dig in until word is given. More units arrive weekly.
Now the two sides just stare across the desert through barbed wire and minefields and await the inevitable.

US
Concern is growing among the people that they will be dragged into another war on foreign soil. For the moment most feel that Europe should be left to its own devices...though some in government know that it is only a matter of time until this changes, but for now only food and medical supplies are offered to the people of the United Kingdom.

- scenario wise they are all that way...1939 offers more to the players than historically.
Look at 1940...Russia has basically built nothing from 1939 - June 1940...that is a lot of points that just "vanish".
Unless something changed. Same with 1941 as you say...

[ncc1701e]

You are doing fine then.