ConsimWorld Expo 2015 - June 20-26

[georgemak1]

The Germans at this point of the game were placing  all of their reinforcements into the East front as well as the Luftwaffe, leaving them exposed in the west and the Mediterranean. I think the Allies were strategically bombing northern France and Belgium, causing about 6-7 PP of damage every turn, not much if you consider the German production at this point of the game was around 110PP but it's something. How long they can hold back the allies in the Mediterranean? are Allies going to take advantage of the axis lack of strong Atlantic defenses and attempt an early invasion, taking some pressure off the Russians are waiting to be seen. German army is still strong, but they can't be strong everywhere, soon they will have some tough decisions to make.

[Mark]

Yes - it certainly felt like the Axis were nearing their apex. . .but it also felt like Russia was on the point of collapse - if they lost both Moscow and Leningrad in the Spring, it could be disastrous. . .

At this point it was about midnight on Day 2 and we decided to call it a day. . .several restless players went to sleep wondering what tomorrow might bring. . .

[Mark]

Spring 1943 - Russian Front. . .

Army Group North:  Leningrad was a very near run thing. . .Rundstedt attacked with armies from Pskov and Novgorod and was reinforced by additional units ferried in from East Prussia.  The out of supply Russians fought nearly to the last bullet with the battle going all four rounds and the Soviets left with only 1-2 front line units left at the end of it to hold the territory. . .Timoshenko launched an attack to relieve the siege and managed to take Novgorod back from the German forces left there to defend it.  On the non-combat movement phase, the Russians poured reinforcements into the city.

Army Group Center:  Manstein takes Moscow and drives Zhukov's front back toward Kalinin. . . The German salient extends all the way to Gorkii (reinforced with German paratroopers to threaten Soviet Factories in the Urals).  However, the German advance hangs by a very thin thread with an undefended salient at Vyazma and with Koniev's and Yeremenko's fronts closing in from the South.

Army Group South:  With nearly all of the German reinforcements poured into the Moscow and Leningrad offensives, Army Group South was starved of troops, enabling the Soviets to gain a bridgehead over the Dnepr.  The remnants of Model's army retreats from Kharkov in disarray.

[Mark]

Spring 1943

In North Africa, the Germans are aggressively trying to blunt the Allied landings in Morocco by throwing most of their U-boats at interdicting supplies to Casablanca.  The British built a Mulberry and landed it on the coast to try and get more supplies in to Slim's forces.  While the strategic warfare is limiting the Allied forces, the positive side is that the effort decimated the once massive U-Boat fleet which is down now to only 5-6 flotillas.

In conjunction with the U-Boat effort, the Axis have reinforced Rommel's Italian-German-Vichy army in Algiers to either defend or attack Slim's forces and potentially push him back into the Sea.  Monty's Desert Rats have taken Tripoli and plan to advance into Tunisia in the Summer.  Busch has been ordered to form an army to defend Tunis as the Germans rush reinforcements to Sicily to delay the Allied offensive in North Africa as long as possible.

Stalin continues to demand a Second Front be launched in Northwestern Europe - and - having lost Moscow and with the French Coast only lightly defended - who can blame him?  At the end of Spring we see the Allies massing an army and amphibious capabilities in Southern England for maybe just such an enterprise. . .

[John D.]

The fact that Leningrad held was amazing. That was our version of Stalingrad in this game. It was an "all in" situation. The French coast was lightly defended and the German army was extremely overextended - in danger of many units being cut out of supply. Looks like a turning point - but you never know...

[georgemak1]

I still felt Axis were  ahead at this point of the game, despite the Russians defending and holding Leningrad till the last man(literally!!!!), they were weak in some areas (northern France, southern Russia), but they still have a firm foothold in North Africa, holding Moscow and the surrounding areas, and the Italian morale was still pretty strong. The Allies will have to take some calculated risks in the next turns, if they want to turn the tables around. I feel the next 2-3 turns of this game will be extremely interesting.

[Mark]

Summer 1943 - Pacific

It has been a while since we checked into the Pacific theater - but it has been no less dramatic than Europe. . .
Most of the action has been fought in and around the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.  The Americans and Australians have been moving aggressively to stop the Japanese advance and take back the Solomon chain.  In the Winter of 1942, the allies succeeded in taking back Guadalcanal and by Summer of 1943 they had taken Rabaul and Northern New Guinea.

The Japanese fought tenaciously to prevent the allied advance which resulted in two major naval actions between surface fleets and carrier forces: Battles of the Solomon Sea and Battle of the Bismarck Sea.  Again the carrier forces got off light with only a damaged flat top group for the Japanese.  The Japanese surface fleet suffered significant losses, however, losing both of their battleship groups to only damaged cruisers for the Americans. 

The Japanese also lost many of their best pilots in these battles and had to start replacing their veteran crews with '4' factor fighter units. . .With all of the Japanese carrier forces still intact (Wolf built an additional 2 carrier groups), the American advance had to be cautious and was very reliant on land based air out of Port Moresby and Guadalcanal to push the Japanese back.

In the China-Burma theater, the war of attrition continued, but the Japanese were finally able to secure Singapore and take back Rangoon.  China continues to be a thorn in their side, however, chewing up most of their infantry replacements and preventing them from being shipped out to the Pacific where they could help stem the American advance. . .

[Mark]

Summer 1943

In North Africa, Rommel attacked Slim in Morocco, but was unable to dislodge the British and had to fall back on Oran after sacrificing most of his Vichy infantry (which, we assume by the die rolls, must have just surrendered en-mass and melted away).  in Tunisia, Busch's army was reinforced by an SS panzergrenadier division and some Italian armor.  The cautious British 8th Army, now under the command of Horrocks, brought up their infantry and artillery before planning an assault on the Axis positions.  The Allies now enjoy air supremacy in the Med, making maneuver much easier. . .

In Northwest Europe, The Allies launch an invasion of Dieppe and the pas-de-Calais in the Summer of 1943 against the weak German coastal defenses.  Monty is ashore with the 1st Allied Army, but the Germans were swift to rush reinforcements into France to push him back into the sea.  Airpower was diverted from the Med and the Eastern front along with Model, Kesselring and a lot of units that were originally destined to fight in Russia.  Will the Allies be able to hold onto their Beachhead faced with this kind of firepower?

[Mark]

Summer 1943 - Russian Front. . .

The transfer of reinforcements to France has created a vaccuum in the Ukraine which the Russians are quickly filling. . . Kiev and Odessa are both liberated and the Romanians are suddenly a bit nervous that nothing stands between them and the Red Army. . .

In the North, The Germans evacuate their Moscow-Gorkii salient and Manstein withdraws to Veliki Luki to shorten the German lines.  It looks like the Russian front has gone over to the defensive.

[georgemak1]

Feel bad for the axis players, last turn you come within a dice roll to be in great position to win the game, and the next turn everything has been turned upside down. South Russia is so empty of axis units I don't know how they will be able to contain them over there. Early invasion of France is always a big gamble, but at this game it took so much pressure of the Russians and the Med, I think the benefits outweigh the risk. Do you trigger vinchy surrender dice roll when you occupy a territory in France? If you do, we forgot to roll for it.

[Mark]

Autumn 1943 - Pacific

By the end of Autumn the Allies had taken back all of the Solomons, Rabaul, and New Guinea.  The Japanese fleet was still a lurking threat, but after two minor losses to the US Navy and a loss of trained airpower it was keeping its distance to the preponderance of carrier and land based planes the Allies had based in and around the Solomons.

On the mainland, the Japanese continued to reinforce their positions in Indo-China and fall back to key territories along the coast in China.

[Mark]

Autumn 1943 - Russian Front. . .

In the Ukraine, the Germans are falling back faster than the Russians can advance.  The rest of Ukraine is liberated and the Red Army has taken Bessarabia, but need to pause in order to build and bring up reinforcements for a Winter offensive.

Army Group's North and Center have regrouped in the Baltic States and Eastern Poland as reinforcements pour into East Prussia to try and stem the red tide.  Koniev liberated Minsk as Zhukov builds up his forces for a big push in the Winter for force back Rundstedt and Paulus.

[Mark]

Autumn 1943

In the Med, the Allies have managed to finally mop up Axis resistance in North Africa and are poised for an invasion of Italy or Southern France.  The Italians have reinforced Rome and Northern Italy, but have completely neglected any defenses in the South, opening up Sicily, Taranto and Naples to easy Allied landings. . .Perhaps the Italian leadership is already planning on switching sides?

In France, the redistribution of German strength from the Russian Front enabled the Germans to smash the Allied beachhead at Calais and force a Dunkirk-like evacuation of the mainland.  The Allies lost their artillery and armor, but retreated the remnants of their infantry back to England. . . The history books will record this event as a raid, rather than invasion, planned all along to draw German strength from the Russian front and to test the Atlantic Wall defenses and not to be THE invasion . . .whether that was the true planned intent of the operation will never be known except by the Allied leadership that launched it. . .

German defenses in France now look much more formidable.  If the Allies are to attempt another invasion in 1944, it will need to be much better planned and organized.

[John D.]

No need to feel bad for the Axis - they started this whole thing.
Good choice for early Allies landing. All the rail was diverted West and the Allies came very close to holding on. That would have really collapsed thing quickly....

[Mark]

Winter 1943 - Pacific

Halsey takes the Gilberts by assaulting Tarawa.  As the US fleets move beyond the Solomon islands, it is forcing the Japanese to react.  Now that the Japanese carriers are once again fully complimented with aircraft (though with lower quality pilots), things are looking like they are going to culminate in a major carrier battle soon.