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WWII: Struggle for Europe____WWII: Struggle for Asia => After Action Reports / Playtesting => Topic started by: Mark on October 14, 2014, 07:06:46 AM
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Had a great weekend at John's where a group of folks got to together to play a 1939 Europe game. We started Friday around 11am and played through until Sunday around 5pm. All told - about 38 hours of hardcore gaming! Different folks came in and out to take over parts of theaters, but there was a core group of 3-4 that played through from start to finish.
Allies consisted of John (all), Bryan (all), Mikie (Sun). Axis consisted of Mark (all), Jeff (Fri), Chris (Sat night) and Joe (Sun).
Here are some pics before all the carnage started. . .All quiet after the set-up Friday morning. . .
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WoW! Hardcore! I wish i would have been there ,-)
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Darkman - if you want to make the trip - consider this an open invite ;)
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WoW! Hardcore! I wish i would have been there ,-)
Yes - it was pretty intense. . .We played probably 11am-1am on Friday (14 hours), 9am-1am on Saturday (16 hours), and 9am-5pm on Sunday (another 8 hours). . .
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End of Turn 1 - Autumn 1939
The first initiative chit to fall was the German '2' - which enabled most of the German army, with the exception of East Prussia to hit Poland. The Germans attacked in order to lock down the Polish army. About 10 infantry, a couple armor and a few panzergrenadiers were left out of the attack in order to rail to the west.
A few more chits were drawn before the Germans got their '0 - all move' initiative. Luckily they drew it before the Allies, enabling them to attack Warsaw from East Prussia (had the allies drawn it first, I would have expected a spoiling attack to come out of Warsaw and hit East Prussia). The Germans applied most of their airpower to the Warsaw battle and won it. This enabled the German mech units to mech-move west instead of into Warsaw. Transport plane took our para west along with Guderian and Hoepner to the Rhineland. With the rail redeployment, the Germans are sitting with a pretty nice sized army ready to go in the Winter if they choose.
The u-boats inflicted some good economic damage on the Brits, but we lost an ace right out of the gates to Allied ASW.
In the Med, Italy remained neutral, redeployed their airpower to North Africa, Graziani and three more infantry to Albania, built a landing craft and started a transport.
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Poles shot down a German Squadron!
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Poles shot down a German Squadron!
Yeah - I forgot about that. . . Germans lost a u-boat ace to British ASW and a me109 unit to the Polish air force on the first turn. . .
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German builds by the way were:
Started 2 me 109 fighter units
Started 1 Stuka
Started 1 hy Artillery unit
Started 2 panzer units
Started 1 panzergrenadier unit
Built 2 Artillery units
Built a Landing Craft
Finished 1 U-boat
Saved 1 PP
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End of Turn 2 - Winter 1939
I believe the Germans took the initiative on turn 2. Another good round of economic damage to the British convoys by German u-boats. No losses this time. Guderian attacked Belgium in the Winter with a lot of support (3 artillery, 1 hy artillery, 2 stukas and bombers) and was able to smash through the Ardennes. He then carried on a mechanized attack into Champaigne that was also successful (I believe I lost only 1 panzergrenadier and 1 88 in the mech attack).
The Germans also declared war on and invaded Holland. The Allies thought they had a chance to defend it and inflict additional casualties on the Germans by landing a British expeditionary force of an artillery unit and an infantry unit under the command of Gort to reinforce the Dutch. Despite the Winter conditions, however, the Allied landings ended in a fiasco as the Germans blew through the Dutch defenses and even managed to score hits on the reserve British units landing at Rotterdam, eliminating them. Gort was forced to retreat to Flanders. The one bright spot to the Netherlands debacle was that the Dutch transport managed to evade German bombers and escape to England to carry on the fight.
The British continued to invest heavily in the defense of France, forting down 2 British and 1 Canadian infantry in Paris. The French built 2 additional fighters and the British 3 additional fighters (a spit, hurricane, and a mosquito). All told the Allies have 9 fighter units in Southern England and Northern France (against only 8 German - good thing I built those 2 fighters out of the gates).
In the Med, the Italians declared war on Greece. They dispatched their air force and navy into the Aegean and bombed the Greek transport in port (the Italian fleet waiting outside of port in case the planes missed and we needed to finish it off with surface gunnery). The raid on Athens was successful, however, and the Greek navy eliminated. The Italians landed their armored unit in Albania and look to be preparing for an attack on Epirus. The navy returned to Taranto and the Italians finished building their 2nd transport and added another landing craft on the build phase.
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The loss of the support forces for Holland was a surprise - sometimes the battle (dice) really tilt to one side. Things usually even out over the long run though :o
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End of Turn 3 - Spring 1940
A lot of choices for the German High Command. . ."How best to finish France off quickly with minimal casualties"? Alas, the choice was not to be for the Germans to make. The Allies won the initiative roll for Spring 1940 and decided to take it for themselves. Wavell's plan, no doubt, was to attack Guderian and the German spearheads and stop them in their tracks. . .
While lucky with the initiative die roll, the Allies were less lucky with the chit draw, pulling a '4' for the first draw - which enabled them to move nothing. . . a lot of drama out of the gates, but the German high command got its wish and on the next draw decided to put into effect their attack. While risky, Guderian took his spearhead and threw it against Paris. Reichenau launched a pinning attack against the allied forces in Picardy to prevent them from reinforcing the Paris battle. Hoeppner moved the rest of the mechanized forces into Champaigne in order to assault Paris with a mech attack in case Gurderian failed. The German 2nd army attacked Flanders to eliminate the rest of the Belgian army.
Guderian's attack was halted by a determined Allied defense at the gates of Paris. While many of the Allied fortifications were reduced, the Allies were able to repel the German assault with minimal casualties. So minimal in fact, that Hoeppner's planned mech assault was called off (due also in part to the preponderance of Allied air power that could be brought into a mechanized battle over Paris). Instead, the Germans sent Hoeppner South to take Dijon and encircle the French forces still defending the Maginot forts in Alsace-Lorraine.
So - the Allies were successful in defending France in the Spring and prevented a French collapse - but, the Germans are well positioned to be able to take France out in the Summer.
In the Med, the Italians furthered their war with Greece by invading Crete with 2 infantry via landing craft supported by the Italian navy and air force.
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Darkman - if you want to make the trip - consider this an open invite ;)
:-) thanks when i will plan a trip to the U.S i won't forget you guys!
Question to the game.
Since when the Greece and Yugoslavia troops are already placed on Initial Setup.
I always played that they will be placed on declare war.
I like the german units in Wilhelmshaven planning the Invasion of england..
for the transport rules it is written that you can disembark immediatly in a friendly or unoccuipied territory rather than waiting for the combat phase.
Q: Is a territory also enemy occupied if only planes are in that territory? i would say it is unoccupied for that rule so you can't move planes into that territory to block that.. but i don't know how you guys play that.
I would say no ground troops in Plymouth , so the germans could do an invasion there with their troops if they have luck with the initiative and the bomber gets an instant return :)
France campaign looks not so good for the axis if the allies get the iniative ! Can't wait to see more!!
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Since when the Greece and Yugoslavia troops are already placed on Initial Setup.
I always played that they will be placed on declare war.
This is true. We set them up at the beginning just to save time later. I gave John the option to move around the Greek units when I declared war, if he wanted. There were not too many options, though. Crete gets one infantry unit and the mainland gets 7 units and an artillery unit between three territories.
For the transport rules it is written that you can disembark immediately in a friendly or unoccupied territory rather than waiting for the combat phase.
This is true, but it is still considered an amphibious assault even against unoccupied enemy territory. So the German transport could only still move 2 spaces and at least 1 infantry would need to be landed via landing craft (though the German player would not have to discard the landing craft at the conclusion of the assault). See the Amphibious Assault rules under Ground Combat.
An air unit would still mean the territory is unoccupied. It needs to be occupied by an enemy ground unit.
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End of Turn 4 - Summer 1940
The Germans got the initiative. With the double Summer mech move/combat, I felt confident I could take France out this turn. The question was how to do it with the fewest casualties possible. . .
Unconventionally, I withdrew most of the Luftwaffe out of France - why risk it in a battle where half the Allied planes were French and were going to be removed if France surrendered anyway? The Germans then attacked Paris with a pinning force from the 1st Army under Rundstedt. Hoepner sent a large mechanized force South of Paris through Vichy and then he, Guderian's panzergroup, and Reichenau's 4th army struck at the unsupplied French in Alsace Lorraine.
The French in Picardy retook the now abandoned Champaigne and Ardennes, but the Germans were able to take out Alsace-Lorraine pretty easily with Guderian's double offensive tactical re-roll. The French army in Paris was attacked for one round by Rundstedt, effectively pinning them. With almost no mechanized units the Allies were powerless to prevent Hoeppner's tanks from rolling on into Languedoc, Bordeaux and Brittany. Thus, the Germans were able to secure 6 in-supply French territories, more than meeting their requirements for a French surrender, which they accepted. Thankfully casualties in the Paris pinning action and the Alsace attack were light and we managed to end the French campaign in relatively good shape.
On the non-combat move, the Germans redeployed their air force to Flanders and Holland to punish England and prehaps lay the groundwork for operation Sea Lion. Some of the U-Boat fleet was ported in our newly captured French ports on the Bay of Biscay - opening up several more convoy zones to our wolf packs. The remnants of the British Army in France fell back to the Channel ports around Calais hoping for evacuation to England - will their Dunkirk be successful?
In the Med, The Italians attacked Epirus with a joint attack from Albania as well as an Amphibious assault from Taranto (I wanted that battleship shot). Luck continued to be with the Italians and we blew through Greek defenses with light casualties and forced them back to Athens. On the non-combat move, the Italians redeployed their air force to Crete and Rhodes.
While the fall of France was happening, the Germans took advantage of the chaos on the continent to invade Trondheim and central Norway. It was a weak incursion, but I wanted to get into Norway soon and the situation presented itself. Don't know if I should have waited for more force or not. . .
Some German builds were placed in Austria for our upcoming plans to deal with Yugoslavia. I did not capture the Romanian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian deployments in the picture, but they, of course, joined the Axis and were deployed at the end of the turn when France fell.
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Really cool :) The painted units look so beautiful.
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By this point the Allies were getting pounded economically. U boats were cunningly deceptive at avoiding patrolling destroyers and the Luftwaffe was poised to industrial bomb the UK. Damage adds up fast when those two factors are combined - even with the 10 PP of US Lend Lease...
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End of Turn 5 - Autumn 1940
The British got the initiative and were able to pull off a Dunkirk-like evacuation of France under the noses of the Luftwaffe. The Germans made the English pay dearly though through the Blitz of Southern England production centers and a ferocious u-boat campaign. The u-boats continue to do better than average convoy damage and suffer below average losses - we must have cracked the Allied naval codes. . .
In Southern Europe, a combined Axis assault from Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Northern Greece attack Yugoslavia. The Italians declared war on the Allies and staged an assault on the Eastern Med fleet anchored at Alexandria. Italian air units based in Crete and Rhodes bombed the British fleet while the Italian navy sailed to attack the Royal Navy as it sortied from port. The attack was largely successful, thanks to Italian submarines, and the Axis managed to sink the British battleship group and damage a cruiser group, crippling the Eastern Med fleet.
On the non-combat phase, Italian transports moved 2 German armored units from Croatia down to Benghazi and promoted Rommel to lead the newly formed Afrkia Korps.
In Northern Europe, the Germans moved reinforcements under Reichenau to Trondheim to finish off the Norwegians.
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Mmh looking at this turn i wonder why you moved your second transport away, in my eyes you had a pretty good option to land in Plymouth, finishing off the british :-) Hell were are the german elite paratroopers ? *grin*
By the way, do the italian still get a +2 morale Bonus when german helps attacking greece with planes?
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I think my Fallschirmjagers bought it during Guderian's ill-fated Spring assault on Paris. . .
In order for the Italians to get the morale bonus for Greece, no German units can participate (air, naval or ground). I have not used any Germans yet in my attack of Greece. I have now based German planes in Crete, but they did not attack any Greek units.
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In hindsight, I should have probably gone for an invasion of England instead of reinforcing Norway. But, England is a commitment, and I was not ready to shift resources away from my future planned assault on Russia. I lost more infantry than I thought in France and was looking for a couple turns to build myself back up before hitting the Soviets.
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End of Turn 6 - Winter 1940
In the Med, the Italians were able to defeat the remnants of the Greek Army and take Athens. The spectacular victory of Greece provides the Italians with a morale bonus. With French Vichy VPs in Italian hands, Mussolini declare a New Roman Empire in the Med!
Rommel's new Afrika Korps advances into Egypt as the British withdraw and hastily build fortifications near El Alamein. German reconnaissance units reach Mersa Matruh on the mechanized phase before withdrawing back to the main Axis army consolidating near Sidi Barrani.
In Norway, Reichenau planned a combined land and sea-borne assault on Bergen which failed utterly. The poor Winter weather and reinforced Norwegian troops with British units withdrawn from France threw back the German assault with heavy losses. This Northern front is beginning to sap too many Axis resources, but is a thorn in our side. The u-boat war continues to have much success against English shipping. With the Luftwaffe withdrawn to the East, the Kriegsmarine has withdrawn back into the Baltic Sea to stay out of range of the RAF.
In the East, The Axis continued their redeployment of much of the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. The stage is set for a Spring Barbarossa. Three large army groups in East Prussia, Central Poland and Romania are poised to smash across the frontier. Soviet forces are deployed to meet their border requirements and have concentrated a large armored force around Kiev for a potential counter-offensive. . . We will need to plan our assault carefully for the Spring thaw. . .
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Ouch, that Norway campaign hurts !
Just thinking.. with the removal of ZOCs is there still a reason why anyone should still build cruisers (= cheaper battleships)?
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with the removal of ZOCs is there still a reason why anyone should still build cruisers (= cheaper battleships)?
I would say yes - cheaper and faster to build than battleships. Do you have other ideas for cruisers to make them more valuable? I think the current sea zone control rules work very well - I don't know if I would want to introduce zones of control again.
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Operation Barbarossa - the plan
This was essentially the German plan for Barbarossa in the Spring of 1941. . .The intention is to pin and encircle two of the larger and more powerful Soviet armies in the area around Brest-Litovsk and Vilnius in Southern Lithuania while blitzing our panzer spearheads on into Latvia, Minsk and Zhitomir. A Romanian army will advance into Bessarabia to threaten Odessa in the Summer.
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with the removal of ZOCs is there still a reason why anyone should still build cruisers (= cheaper battleships)?
I would say yes - cheaper and faster to build than battleships. Do you have other ideas for cruisers to make them more valuable? I think the current sea zone control rules work very well - I don't know if I would want to introduce zones of control again.
mh the job of the cruiser was sea control-to patrol and observe anything going on, to look for the enemy fleet, and to enforce blockades/harass enemy shipping maybe giving them
a bonus to the strategic value of a fleet (+1 for each cruiser or +1 max for having cruisers in the fleet). Don't have more ideas on that :)
@Barbarossa
Nice tactic, but pinning such are huge army. How many troops do you let attacking (dying) on that?
Don't you fear counteroffensives from them?
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The pins are only one round - and with the defensive penalty the Russians incur on the first round of the German assault - it usually is not a big deal... Then the next round everything is out of supply so the German can reduce the pockets - as long as they get initiative....
Allies did keep the Germans busy in Norway - the mountains are good defense to say the least. Better come in very prepared...
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For Barbarossa, perhaps 4 infantry is enough to conduct a pinning attack. If the Russians counterattack (with a -1 modifier because of the 1st round surprise penalty), they are unlikely to score more than 2-3 hits. The Germans retreat after the first round of battle - you just want to prevent the Russians from moving or reacting - so just attack for one round to pin them and then retreat (the attacker always has the option to retreat first after every round of battle).
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End of Turn 7 - Spring 1941
In North Africa, the Afrika Korps takes Mersa Matruh. The British Eastern Mediterranean Fleet has had to vacate Alexandria due to Axis air power. The Italian fleet has relocated to the Aegean Sea in order to support potential attacks against either Cyprus or Egypt.
In Norway, the Axis debacle continues with British infantry units fortifying their positions around Bergen.
In Russia, the Germans launched operation Barbarossa. In the South, the Romanians take Bessarabia. Army Group South managed to encircle a large Soviet force near Brest-Litovsk and successfully defended against a fierce Russian armored attack near Zhitomir. In the North, Kleist drove his panzers through Riga over the Dvina and into Latvia. List pinned a large Soviet army in Southern Lithuania while Army Group Center drove through Bialystok. While a German panzer corps seized Minsk, Gurderian attacked the Soviet pocket around Vilnius. With no place to retreat, the Soviet pocket was reduced and the Germans bagged hundreds of thousands of POWs.
On the non-combat movement phase, Army Group North consolidated its gains in Latvia while Army Group Center infantry and artillery caught up to the Panzers at Minsk. The Soviet border defenses were mostly shattered. I do not believe the Russian end of turn builds were placed when the picture was taken, but there was not much left between Minsk and Moscow.
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Norway looks pretty lost... I'm sure the OKW goes into raging mode with Reichenau and some other Leaders that start to argue too much ::)
P.S You guys forgot to replace the italian leaders ;-)
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End of Turn 8 - Summer 1941
In North Africa, Rommel attacked El Alamein. In conjunction with a seaborne invasion launched by the Italian navy (1 infantry unit landed via landing craft and 2 infantry in reserve from Greece), Rommel attacked with the full force of the Afrika Korps and Axis air force. The attack came within a hairs breadth of succeeding, but in the end, Auchinlek succeeded in defending the British positions and Rommel was forced to retreat back to Mersa Matruh having lost several Italian armored divisions and infantry formations. Slim, who was leading an attack against the Vichy French in Syria (who had joined the Axis along with Iraq with the fall of Athens), had to withdraw to speed reinforcements to Alexandria.
In Norway, the British landed more reinforcements and the Royal Navy managed to cut off Reichenau and the German expeditionary force was out of supply.
In Russia, Guderian turned his Panzergroup South to help Hoeppner encircle a large Soviet army withdrawing from Kiev (I know, kind of historical). The Soviets were not going to let their encircled army at Sumy be annihilated without a fight and even committed two parachute corps to the fight. The Soviet defense was hopeless, however, and they were overwhelmed by the German armored fists.
Bock advanced Army Group Center up to Viazma (albeit without much of the armor which had been diverted South). Von Leeb and Kleist attacked and drove back the Soviets out of Pskov and reached the gates of Leningrad.
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One of the consistently positive theaters for the Axis early in the game was the battle of the Atlantic. German u-boats continued to inflict significant damage to British shipping and suffered few losses. The lower production is beginning to be apparent in the reduced number of Allied units on the board - John is having to make tougher choices with his British builds.
Here is a pic of the glorious wolfpack fleet returning to port at St. Nazaire, Lorient, and Bordeux. In addition to these u-boat groups, another was operating in the South Atlantic off of the German merchant raider and another group was still based out of Bremen.
I kept one coming out every turn pretty consistently.
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Yes - tough decisions when you are building with half of your income... Getting economically choked means careful decision making with precious resources...
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End of Turn 9 - Autumn 1941
The Second battle of El Alamein ended in a serious defeat for Rommel and his Afrika Korps. I do not believe the Axis attack on the British position inflicted any hits on the defending forces, while the British defense was fairly punishing on Rommel's army. Also suffering from severe supply shortages due to British submarine and surface fleet activity attacking shipping to Tripoli and Benghazi, Rommel is now in headlong retreat back to the Libyan border as the British in Egypt continue to be reinforced. . .
In Northern Europe, the Germans reinforce Reichenau's forces in Norway and manage to isolate the British expeditionary force defending Bergen and Oslo. German airpower and reinforcements mass around Hamburg and in Denmark.
On the Russian Front, Army Group South liberates most of the Ukraine. The Crimea is still in Soviet hands, but the Axis forces have taken Rostov and Voronezh. . .In Central and Northern Russia, German reinforcements catch up to the spearheads at the gates of Moscow and Leningrad. Reconnaissance units and a para-drop manage to isolate Soviet forces around Leningrad and Novgorod - but only temporarily. Soviet forces begin to build up around Novgorod, Kalinin, and Moscow.
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Where is Messe ?
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we forgot to swap out the italian leaders. I think we remembered in 1942 sometime and replaced them then. Messe got to see lots of action later in the game -don't worry! ;)
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End of Turn 10 - Winter 1941
Apparently there was perhaps a nervous breakdown with the German leadership in the Winter - or they had their hands full trying to manage the vicious Soviet counter-offensive. . .but, whatever the reason, no pictures were taken during the Winter 1941 turn! Sorry about that - but I promise this is the only turn I did not document for this game.
But - this is what happened:
On the Russian front, the Soviets placed their end of Autumn builds and counterattacked in the Winter mechanized phase when the German forces were out of supply. They took back Voronezh in the South and pushed the Germans out of Vyazma in the Center. It could have been much bloodier, but luckily the Soviets had been pretty depleted over the last couple turns (the encirclement battles of Vilnius and Sumy killed off several Artillery units which helped) and John played it a little more cautious to build up Russian forces rather than squander them in pitched battles. German forces are thinned out significantly in the center and the Russians have been able to build up their forces between Moscow and Leningrad.
The German reinforced Norway with some additional reinforcements and continued to cut the British expeditionary force out of supply there. It looks that Reichenau has the resources to launch an assault to dislodge the British in the Spring.
In the Med, Rommel withdraws to Gazala and the British continue to reinforce the 8th Army in Egypt. Auchinlek cautiously advances to retake Mersa Matruh. The Royal Navy and submarines continue to pound Axis shipping to North Africa, keeping Rommel's at a shoestring supply and unable to send more reinforcements to Libya without driving our tanks and artillery out of supply.
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Wow - good memory - this was a game to remember 8)
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End of Turn 11 - Spring 1942
The German Spring 1942 offensive started out very aggressively on the Russian front. In the South, Manstein drove through Soviet forces under Vatutin that were overextended from their offensive to retake Voronezh in the Winter. Manstein was able to defeat Vatutin, drive him back over the Volga and seize Stalingrad. Soviet forces build up in Crimea and around Grozny - expecting a potential German thrust South for the oilfields in the Summer.
In Northern Russia, German forces pivoted from Army Group Center to reinforce Army Group North. In conjunction with Mannerheim's Finnish forces, the Germans were able to surprise Soviet defenders and take Leningrad! While Soviet strength continues to build and German forces are a bit stretched, the combined fall of both Leningrad and Stalingrad on the same turn has shaken Soviet morale. . .
In the Med, Rommel continues to fall back and faces an ever growing British Army under the command of Montgomery now. The Italian fleet sortied to try and defend some of the supply convoys to keep Rommel in supply and got thumped - losing a battleship group and having a cruiser group severely damaged.
In Northern Europe, with Kleist now in command, the Germans launch a combined air-sea-ground assault on the Allied positions around Bergen and drive the remnants of the British defenders back into Oslo. Could this be the beginning of the end in Norway?
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End of Turn 12 - Summer 1942
In North Africa, the British continue to force Rommel back. Axis shipping continues to be harassed by British surface ships and submarines as the Afrika Korps falls back on Benghazi. American mechanized and armored formations have reinforced Monty's 8th Army.
In Norway, the British surprise the Germans and take Trondheim as Kleist's forces move in behind them and capture Oslo. On the non-combat movement phase the British reinforce their Norwegian Army with additional artillery and AA support units.
In Southern Russia, the Germans solidify their gains around Stalingrad and Manstein turns his Panzergruppe South. The Soviet build up on the opposite bank of the Volga and a large army is formed near Maikop for a counteroffensive. In Norther Russia, both the Germans and the Soviet pour reinforcements into Smolensk and Vyazma. German and Finnish units dig in and fortify Leningrad.
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Tough to push Rommel back- unless he's out of supply... ;)
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End of Turn 13 - Autumn 1942
In Southern Russia, Manstein briefly takes Krasnodar which knocks the Crimea out of supply. German heavy armor and artillery reinforce Kuchler for an assault on the peninsula. A large Soviet army under Rokossovsky, however, is building up around Maikop to threaten the German positions stretched out on the Don Steppe. Hoth's Army continues to hold on to Stalingrad. In Northern Russia, Army Group Center retakes Vyazma as both sides continue to pour reinforcements into this theater and build up. Mannerheim continues to fortify the German-Finnish defenses of Leningrad.
In the Med, the ever growing British-American 8th Army under Montgomery has pushed Rommel back to El Aghielia. The Axis were able to get 10 points of supply through to the beleaguered Afrika Korps - only enough to keep it in supply, but likely without enough forces to stop the advancing Allies.
In Northern Europe, the Battle for Norway continues. Kleist has been reinforced with additional air support, artillery, and an SS Panzer Group. The Lufwaffe again cuts the British defending Trondheim out of supply.
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I still think 1 italian leader would fit into the game .. so you have one in africa , one in russia and one in italy .
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Autumn 1942 - Overview of Western Front
High-level view of the Western Front at the end of Autumn. The Axis are slowly beginning to build their Atlantic Wall defenses. U-boats are still scoring successes against Allied shipping with most now based in U-boat pens on the Bay of Biscay. A large Allied fleet is harbored off of Gibraltar.
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End of Turn 14 - Winter 1942
In Russia, The Axis Winter assault on the Crimea bogged down in the mud and failed to drive the Soviets out of the peninsula. Given the failed offensive and German losses as well as increasing Soviet pressure from Rokossovsky's Caucasus Front, Manstein withdrew Army Group South from its forward positions, abandoning Stalingrad. Hoth is relieved of command for giving up the city and replaced by Busch.
In Northern Russia, a lot of attrition, but the front lines do not move too much. The Finns continue to fortify their Leningrad position and both sides pour more reinforcements into the theater ahead of the Spring thaw.
In North Africa, Montgomery launches a brilliant offensive against Rommel. Attacking the Afrika Korps position around El Agheilia, Monty dropped the British 6th airborne division behind the Axis to block their retreat route to Tripoli. Rommel, overwhelmed by the scale of the British offensive was forced to retreat South of Tripoli into the Libyan desert. British armor then rushed forward along the coastal roads and on to Mareth in Southern Tunisia, cutting Rommel and the remnants of his army out of supply and isolated. A bright spot in the Med for the Axis was a botched Allied invasion of Morocco which was defeated by Vichy units at Casablanca. With the incursion into their 'neutral' territory, the Vichy join the Axis. . .at least for now, though the German high command fears there are secret negotiations going on. . .
In Northern Europe, the Germans had learned their lessons from Winter warfare in Norway from last year and chose to instead wait for the Spring and content themselves with cutting supply off to the Allied units around Trondheim. Despite the supply situation, the allies reinforce their Norwegian Army with an American Corps of 3 infantry units.
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The failed Vichy landing created quite a delay in Allied plans but surrounding Rommel was a great consolation. Allies needed to control initiative to hammer the trapped Afrika Corps once and for all.
The Russian progress is picking up steam - things are stabilizing but inaction will not win the game. The loss of Leningrad is problematic. It looks like it would be easier to invade Finland to knock them out of the war. Sometimes as the Russians - you have to build forward and worry about enemies behind the lines later :)
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End of Turn 15 - Spring 1943
Fighting continues in the Soviet Union. . .In the South, the Russians liberate Stalingrad and advance, though Manstein executed a successful withdraw and has established a stronger German line behind the Don anchored on Rostov. In Northern Russia, Koniev launched his Spring offensive and the fourth battle of Vyazma against Army Group Center and drove Model back to Smolensk. Army Group North and the Finns continue to hold their positions while the Germans begin to fortify 'the Panther Line' in Lithuania and Belorussia as a potential fall-back position.
In Norway, Kleist launched his offensive against the Allies in central Norway. The SS Panzer, artillery and airpower proved to be decisive with the Germans successfully defeating the Allied front line taking only minimal casualties. Many allies marched off to German POW camps. . .
In North Africa, Rommel's isolated army in the Libyan desert was attacked and wiped out. . .many Germans (and also Rommel) marched off to Allied POW camps. . .The Allies also successfully landed at Casablanca, but the Vichy continue to fight for the Axis. The German high command decides to fight on in Tunisia and landed a new reinforced Panzer Armee Afrika at Tunis under Kesselring and Messe. However, the Allied armies, now under command of Patton and Montgomery are poised to advance into Tunisia from the South as their newly landed army in Morocco readies to drive across French North Africa in the Summer.
U-boats are still active in the North Atlantic from their bases on the Bay of Biscay as the German forces in France continue to build the Atlantic Wall. . .
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End of Turn 16 - Summer 1943
In Southern Russia, Manstein continues to hold his defensive line on the Don/Donetz and along the Perekop Isthmus. The Soviets, however, have reinforced the Crimean Front under Rokossovsky which is significantly threatening Army Group South's flank. In the North, Malinovsky's army cracked the German defenses at Pskov, unhinging the German main line of defense and forcing Army Group's North and Center to fall back to the Panther Line. Koniev liberates Smolensk.
In the Med, the Allied army in Morocco drove across Northern Algeria and joined Patton's army driving up from Tunisia through Tebessa. The Vichy forces quickly collapsed and surrendered to the Allies at the end of the turn. Facing two significant armies and still suffering from supply shortages, Kesselring withdrew the German Panzer Armee successfully from Tunis and landing most of it in Southern France and Sicily.
The Allies redeployed many of their resources back to England on the non-combat movement phase to prepare for an Autumn invasion of Europe. The Allies had the initiative - so their move was telegraphed to the Germans who also redeployed as many forces as they could to the Atlantic Wall to repel the anticipated Allied invasion. The stage appears to be set for operation Anvil - will the German defenses hold? Will a German mechanized counterattack drive the invaders back into the sea? Will the Allies postpone their planned strike? Autumn 1943 will be an interesting turn. . .
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Intimidating coastal defenses in France, not to mention the deadly mech counter attack, once forces have landed. Allies need to move forward - the clock is ticking!!
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End of Turn 17 - Autumn 1943
In Southern Russia, Rokossovsky and Vatutin launched a combined offensive against Army Group South. With the Crimean Front, Rokossovsky drove Kuchler and the German defenders out of the Perekop Isthmus and back behind the Dnepr. Simultaneously, Vatutin attacked Manstein's salient at Rostov from the North and South, forcing him to retreat back on Mariupol. Koniev's Central front advancing on Orel from the North convinced the German high command to withdraw all of AGS back behind the Dnepr to stronger defensive positions on the non-combat phase.
In Northern Russia, the Soviets test the Axis defenses at Leningrad and find them to be very formidable. Army Group North and Center defenses at the Panther Line continue to be reinforced and fortified.
In the Med: The end of the North African Campaign as Allied forces liberate Tunisia. With the diversion of Allied landing craft to Northwest Europe, the Italians at least have a turn or two to fortify and defend Southern Europe.
Operation Anvil is launched in September against the Brittany coast. Five front line landed infantry along with 3 para formations managed to successfully fight their way across the beaches and inland. A ferocious German mechanized attack also failed to dislodge the Allies (though it almost succeeded by reducing the Allies down to 1 front line unit before the Germans were forced to withdraw). Allied reinforcements were landed on the non-combat movement phase and additional German reinforcements were rushed into France to reinforce the newly created 1st and 3rd Panzer Armees with orders to "throw the Allies back into the sea!". V-rockets, based in Holland, begin to hammer London in an effort to convince the Allies to negotiate an end to the war.
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Strong western defensive line :) Looks like you kick the allies back into the sea. Will an rushed Invasion lead to an axis victory :)
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End of Turn 18 - Winter 1943
The third Winter of war in Russia. . . Rokossovsky's army continued its offensive over the Dnepr and broke through the German Army Group South defensive line. Kuchler was replaced by Schorner and additional German reinforcements have been sent to stabilize the situation. In the North, the Soviets have managed to isolate Leningrad and cut the Axis forces their out of supply. Army Groups Center and North continue to hold their defensive line in Lithuania and Belorusia.
In the Med, the Allies shifted their naval and amphibious assets back to Tunisia. Along with more reinforcements, it looks as if an amphibious invasion of Italy may be expected in the Spring. In France, the Allies successfully defended their Brittany beachhead, though the battle of attrition inflicted significant casualties on both sides.
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Wow thought you would kick them out of france.. What happend to the german landing crafts? Late Invasion to England possible?
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The Allies took the initiative and landed more troops in Brittany before the Germans could attack. I believe John had Cunningham (4 initiative leader) with a bunch of transports off the coast of the USA so that he was assured to be able to move and reinforce before the Germans could attack. That reinforced army, combined with attacking in the Winter and in rough terrain ultimately doomed the Axis assault.
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Wow pretty good forward planning
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I will guess that the Allies went into Anzio. Looks like the easiest entry point.
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End of Turn 19 - Spring 1944
In Southern Russia, a reinforced Army Group South forced Rokossovsky and Vatutin back over the Dnepr, but then withdrew on the non-combat phase back on a line from Kiev through Kirovo and Bessarabia. The Southern Soviet armies have been starved of reinforcements as the Russians pour all available troops into the north to crack the Axis defenses around Leningrad and Latvia.
In the North, a cut-off Leningrad finally falls to Soviet pressure. Mannerheim and what was left of the Finnish-German defenders march into captivity in Siberia. The German Eastwall defensive line continues to hold, though the Germans continue to fortify their defenses in depth by forting down infantry behind the Dvina in Lithuania.
In the Med, the Allies invade Taranto and Southern Italy. They opted for this territory as it provided much more port transport capacity than several of the other options and had a lighter defense than Sicily or Naples. With the invasion and Allied dominance of the sea zones, Sicily is cut off and out of supply. Kluge and Garibaldi have formed a defensive line with the remnants of the Southern Italian forces to defend Naples and the Allied approaches to central Italy and Rome.
In France, German attacks and Allied counterattacks ravage the Brittany countryside, but result in very little territory gains or losses. The Allies managed to clear the Atlantic coastline of German units and fortifications, but had to withdraw during the mechanized phase back into Brittany. Two seasons of attrition warfare has begun to sap German strength in France with all available local reinforcements being drawn into the armies defending Normandy and Paris. With the thinning of garrison troops in Vichy, Rhone, Champaigne, and Dijon, French resistance has stepped up in these regions and the Germans are no longer collecting PP from these territories. The remnants of the Luftwaffe has withdrawn out of range of Allies fighter in England and Brittany.
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End of Turn 20 - Summer 1944
In France, the Allies finally break out of Brittany. Patton smashed through German defenses in Normandy, while an Allied army under Truscott took Bordeux and sent an armored corps sweeping through the French countryside and liberating Dijon by August. Kesselring reluctantly withdrew the 1st Panzer Army out of Paris during the non-combat phase while von Weichs withdrew the remnants of the 3rd Panzer Army into Flanders at the end of the turn. Garibaldi established an Axis army in Languedoc to defend Marseilles. Importantly, Paris is still owned by the Axis - which is important for propaganda purposes. . .
In Italy, the Allies mopped up Axis resistance in Sicily and also took Naples. Von Kluge established an Italian defensive line at Monte Casino. Both sides have been thinned out from the last two seasons of fighting with most reserves being sent to France.
In Northern Russia, Zhukov's front blasted the Germans out of Latvia and drove the Axis forces behind the Dvina. Koniev's front fails to drive Army Group Center out of its positions defending Minsk, though Paulus' army has been thinned considerably. In the South, the Germans launch a surprise counter-offensive takeing back Odessa. The ambitious German plan, which was only have successful, called for a reinforced panzer corps under Messe to strike South and seize the Crimea while a Northern thrust under Dietrich aimed at taking back Kharkov. In the end, only Dietrich was successful in taking back a hard earned victory point.
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VICTORY! (Or Defeat, depending on your perspective. . .)
With the recapture of Kharkov, The Axis managed to win the game on victory points: 24 VPs at the end of Summer 1944! The stalled Soviet advance and horrific losses of Allied soldiers I suppose contributed to a negotiated peace. Chalk one up to the Axis - a win in 1944 is not too easy!
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:) Congratulations to the Axis players for a hard-won victory.
With the early invasion of France, and the loss of the DAK, I thought things were a bit dire.
But, of course, a delay in the Eastern Objectives can mean all the difference.
It just reaffirms how pivotal the fall of Leningrad to the Germans really is. So much time, energy and manpower poured into cracking that very tough nut.
Kudos, gentleman.
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What a hard fought game. The beauty of this Struggle is that it is even fun to lose :P
The time table puts so much pressure on the Allies (which is exhilarating) that planning is the key to the game. The Allies need to have enough force and control losses to keep pushing forward. It really is a game of finesse.
I am an addict.
Does Struggle Anonymous exist?
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Why would you care?
Sounds like you don't want to be cured. ;D
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Yeah - my 12 steps are based on Military Industrial Production..
Hey - when are you free?!
Mark and I will fly down
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I'm always free (and easy!!!!). 8)
Right now we are in a bit of flux as a gaming group. Martin is back in the fold so we are operating with four, but Dan is taking a bit of a hiatus during December and January. Between being deluged with projects at work (CAD work for the Big Three comes in waves.) and trying to concentrate on practicing for the next step in his martial arts training, he is taking a bit of a gaming break.
We are going to continue our on-going modification work for our version of the first edition. Our latest few outings of Eric's Fall '40 start have fallen apart with easy Sea Lion attacks blowing up the game. A major flaw in his set up has forced us to review his thinking and we worked last night to come up with some revisions to said set up. Also, we are looking to split the US entry system into Euro and Pac stand alone parts coupled with the UK and US having split economies for Pac and Euro boards.
Plenty of ideas being hashed through and they still need plenty of playtesting.
While I would love to have you out, we haven't put in any time towards the new version. So it would probably a bit of a waste to try and work through that with four duffers.
But I wouldn't want to discourage any kind of gaming opportunity. So if you want to put in the painful teaching team, I know I won't say no. Like I said- I'm easy.
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Wow - you guys are busy - doing good things. 8)
Are we going to need to wait til retirement. I need things to look forward to...
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Beating Mark like a rented mule isn't enough for you??????? ;) ;D 8)
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Hey - just so you know - he whipped me twice in a row - this is like a streak!
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Dogs and cats living together....... :o
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Yeah.. not so much... :o
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Don't tell me he has actually gotten good? :o
Maybe I don't want you to show now. :-[ ;)
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Yeah - he has redeemed himself
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For the aircraft decals did you guy use the 1/300 or 1/600 ones from Dom's Decals?
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I believe it was the 1/600th scale. . .it has been a little while, but I am pretty sure.