1939 Storm over Europe - AAR

[lhughes41]

Can't wait!

[Catacol Highlander]

OK - I'm back... and shaking off my fuzzy head from a day on a ferry I have taken my turn.

No change to my plan - yet. We are getting to the stage where I will have to adapt a bit, but for now it is full steam ahead until winter, and then I will review options a bit as was set out at the beginning of the game.

In the south of Russia my drive was maintained:

As you can see from this slide I smashed his defensive line and took the city with the very long name behind it. One thing to note here to new players: movement is very restricted in SC if territory around the target square is occupied by the enemy. I had a hell of a job freeing up enough movement points for my foremost infantry army to get it to the stage where it could reach that city, but I managed it - just. I killed 4 units in destroying that line plus one of the tank units behind that had hit me last turn.

Just to the north of the main drive I chose a tactical withdrawal - I was getting my nose pinched up there and losing units in poor supply, but at least it had sucked a lot of soviet forces into that zone and therefore freed up my advance further south.

It looks like it has also freed up a lot of other areas as the next 2 slides show:

and

In these northern zones Marc has withdrawn everything and 2 production cities fell as a result. This leads me to believe that he is very stretched in the East now - a bloody good thing because I have pumped nearly all my resources into the drive for Rostov, the mines and the oil, and if he were not feeling the pinch at least a bit then I would be in trouble.

Elsewhere it looks as though he may be eyeing up a landing in Spain. The USA is about to join, and that will increase his land forces enough for this to be inconvenient in 1942 if he pulls it off. I am maintaining a delicate balance here - I dont want to take anything away from the Russian Front unless I have to in 1942, but I may be forced to do some reinforcing of the West in 1942 to prevent him getting too adventurous.

Time to rest my head - been awake for over 24 hours now. Need rest to try and have a big turn tomorrow!

[abukede]

Okay… it’s game back on baby! Its been killing me to see what Al did in Russia and it was as I suspected he stopped trying to pincer around the sides of my dug in line and slugged it out pushing heavily forward and crushing that defensive line with ease. His supply line has been catching up slowly and I fell back to my next defensive position. Good thing Russia is huge. I could have attacked again but I felt I had done what I needed to do. The Russian army fought against heavily stacked odds and needs a brief breather. He got hammered hard by Russian partisans last turn as well. It is now the end of August.

Elsewhere… British forces captured Tobruk. Africa is mine.

Also… as a tiny side note the UK launched Operation Thunder and invaded Spain this turn. I captured the port town of La Corona and Allied troops are now pouring in. I landed West of Gijon as well and bombarded the town heavily.

In order to hedge my bets on the invasion… I’ve been a little busy the last few turns repeatedly strategic bombing Tours and La Rochelle. Those are two key cities in the rail link to Spain. It may have clued in Al that I was about to invade...

I apologize for the next screen shot as I forgot to save it and just went in and took a picture of a neutral Spanish coast… I coastal bombarded Bayone… I think down to 1 or 2… but can’t remember. I also nailed Gijon. My focus has been to destroy his rail heads, which means he will not be able to operate units to Spain. They will have to operate to middle France and then walk in. The longer I can keep German reinforcements out of Spain… the better off I am and the more time I have to pour in troops. There has been no strategic warfare against the UK and the British have one hell of an army which has been growing steadily.

Also… the USA prepared for War. Winter is coming shortly in the East. It’s the end of August. Africa just fell. Al has to now worry about a UK invasion of Italy and strong UK forces are now ashore in Spain with more on the way and shortly the US will join them. The strategic and tactical situation for the Axis just became very complicated and it’s only the end of the summer in 1941. I simply love this game.

[Catacol Highlander]

Turn squeezed in while cooking a roast chicken... :-)

In Russia, for the first time, I was forced to take a breather, largely to allow supply to catch up and to move air resources further forward again for one last push before winter. I epxect to renew my advance towards Rostov next turn, but did manage to take a couple of towns to north and south of the Pripet Marshes as you can see here:

This is important, as it opens up the big strategic options I wanted for 1942. I can choose now to drive on Moscow from the north, where I have a mechanized German force supported by weaker allies, from north of Kiev where I have another small mechanized force, drive into the Caucasus with my main thrust in the south or perform a big flanking move with that huge army and wheel it north for Moscow. It will not be easy for Marc to work out where my main thrust will come from, and over the winter I dont intend to give him too many clues.

Elsewhere the allies are in Spain. Now honestly I'm in two minds about that. I'm a litte frustrated that he was able to perform such an operation as early as 1941, but on the other hand I have invaded Spain myself in other creations of SC and found it an allied graveyard. Supply is hard, the ground is perfect for defence and the route up to Paris is generally really difficult, and much harder than going via Normandy or the Pas De Calais. Marc will have to decide whether this is a sideshow or the real deal - I have the same decision to make in allocation of defensive resources. This slide shows my main problem at present:

Circled areas are key supply lines, and Marc has cut them by reducing several to less than 5 (5 is the baseline for most operations in SC, especially upgrading and operational movement.) This is easy to do. It is also easy for me to open them up again by declaring on Vichy and taking it out in a lightning strike, but that also opens up much wider attack opportunities for Marc should he decide to try and retake France via this landing. I will sit and see on this one. But an allied landing in Spain is not a disaster - but it certainly makes the game more interesting!!

In another turn or two I will write up a strategic review of how I think the first 2 years of axis advance have gone. I am not a betting man anyway - if I were I dont now where I would put my money right now. I am desperately short of knowledge in terms of how quickly and strongly the US is able to get involved, and that is now the final factor that Marc will be able to weigh up much more effectively than me, but one thing is sure: Germany will be even stronger in 1942 than she was in 1941 and will be able to mount some massive blows. If I get this right I can win the game, even if US intervention over the next 12 months proves to be bigger than it was historically. He has a 3 month head start on production already...

[abukede]

Not much to report this turn. I strategic bombarded Tours and La Rochelle again this turn... surprise surprise... Al redeployed a Fighter unit to keep that from happening. I still got through. I coastal bombarded Bayonee and San Sabastion, landed more troops. Advanced a bit, and took a mine as well as another town. The USA is gearing up. The US got a huge navy deployed... well in comparison to what they had on the map. In the East it was a quiet turn. I am working to receive Al's next push. It was a rough summer of fighting for the both of us and the strategic pause I predicted happened the last two turns. I doubt it will continue a third turn... but you never know. It is now the middle of September. Winter is just around the corner.

[hellraiser]

Sorry to hijack a bit this thread but, can you guys tell me how long a turn takes to play? (pre and post barbarossa)

Is it feasible for TCP/IP or e-mail is the way to go?

[Catacol Highlander]

OK - winter approaches. However as you can see from this shot I should just be able to make it to Rostov before the rain and snow arrives:

I destroyed 4 Soviet units around the mines at Stalino , and you can see how strong my spearhead still is. However it is now time for a review, and that will follow in my next post.

Elsewhere I did very little. You will remember perhaps that I talked about mobilising U boats in 1941 - I did a bit of that, but unfortunately the tech war has really hit me hard there and in 2 years I have not had a U boat upgrade. Such things can happen from time to time in SC - without the tech the U boats will not stand much chance, but there is little point leaving them in harbour for the war, so might as well attack a bit.

Finally the balance of mpps ha now turned. I was able to get a report on US mpps that turn and they are quite substantial, more substantial than I expected bearing in mind the Japanese threat. Perhaps when Pearl happens something will change - I dont know. Anyway the clock is ticking. If I dont get in a winning position in 1942 I will lose the game - the mpp balance is massively in favour of the allies from here on in.

[Catacol Highlander]

Hellraiser - I play tcp once or twice a week on the ww1 version (same map). You and your opponent need to have some kind of rule on time, but once you get good at this game a turn is very possible in 20mins. Cant claim that the game is therefore "fast" but I enjoy it.

[Hyazinth von Strachwitz]

Good fun seing those PzKfW VI "Tiger" waltzing through Russia in 1941... Do you think it would work with tech Level 2 as well? Honestly I love the early assault strategy a lot, but if you have bad luck in tank research, you loose the game.. just because of bad luck.

[Catacol Highlander]

Here is a strategic review of the axis gameplan for the first two years:

Successes:

1. Conquest of the West including Spain happened fast and on schedule.

2. Tech investment was satisfactory, with gains in industrial output, infantry weapons, armoured warfare and intelligence all gathered.

3. Diplomatic investment got Romania into the war early with accompanying oil.

4. Drive into Southern Russia was successful with Rostov (probably) captured, and plenty of mine resources under German control.

5. More territory in Northern Russia was captured than expected, opening up options in 1942.

Failures:

1. No U-boat tech advance was a pity.

2. More armour was destroyed in Southern Russia than was necessary, and it is expensive to replace.

3. Italian navy was unable to launch into the Mediterranean which had been the plan.

4. North Africa fell more quickly than was ideal.

5. An allied landing occurred in 1941, in North West Spain. Not planned for.

6. The USA joined before Pearl Harbour.

Points of interest (largely the result of not playing this scenario before):

1. Finland didnt join. That is a surprise - dont know why the Finns would stay out, and didnt see an diplomatic activity that would account for it, so obviously something in the scenario that I am not aware of. Would Finland be upset by an invasion of Spain? Maybe.

2. Italian income is very modest, even with industry upgrades.

3. HQs are capped at 3 stars of experience, something else new and unexpected. This will affect the Germans particularly hard.

Lessons?

1. The invasion of Spain may not have been wise. Time will tell whether Marc's reconquest actually does him more harm than good, but if Finland were affected then I would say that it was probably a mistake. I really wanted Finnish pressure exerted in the North on Leningrad. It may have been better to plough a load of diplomatic points into it, or ignore it altogether. The USA entering 3 months early puts greater pressure on the key hinge point of winter 1942.

2. The Italian Navy needed to act earlier. I chose to wait, but did not realise that the RN got so many carriers early on. This was an error which was the result of a lack of experience with the scenario - wont make it again.

3. One more garrison in North Africa should have been deployed at least.

Now - the key. Where do I go from here? This is an AAR so it doesnt matter to me if word of all this gets to Marc: more important to give you folks some fun reading and a chance to disagree with me, but here goes:

1. Priority MUST remain in Russia. Germany is outproducing the UK/USA at present, but not when Russia's industry is accounted for on top. A destruction of Russia in 1942 is paramount. Rather than attack on a single front in 1942 I will hit Marc from 2 directions: north and south. Even if one attack stalls I hope the other will make ground. Moscow is reachable from both directions.

2. A secondary force will be deployed and sent into Spain, leaving Vichy as it is. This will be supported by air assets that might just do enough damage to the RN (currently merrily sailing around Biscay) to scare it off. If enough damage can be done to the fledgling allied army in Spain then real allied progress in 1943 may be put back even if Russia holds out, and if Marc pours enough into Spain it may also take the pressure off Italy. In essence I have decided that I cannot totally ignore what is happening in Spain, not because I particularly fear an allied drive from there into France but because it opens up an opportunity to deal real damage to allied ground forces.

3. A small mobile reserve will be deployed in Germany. It will have a dedicated HQ and be ready to deploy instantly in defence of any landing in Italy or the northern European coast. No major assets will be attached, but it will have enough power to hold any landing for up to 3 turns until more support can arrive.

4. Yugoslavia will be attacked as soon as possible. With it already leaning towards the allies (45% I think) there is a long term danger of diplomatic investment by the allies leading to Yugoslavian entry on the allied side. If this were to happen at a key moment it could take important formations out of other areas, and I would rather deal with it in my own time. There should be time enough over winter to plan and execute a lightning attack without hitting my Russian timetable.

5. U-boats will be deployed to attack the convoys to Russia. Bases in Norway will help maintain them, and anything I can do to hit Russia is worth it even if I lose boats with low tech.

6. Suppression of partisan activity on key supply routes plus pesky "spawning" zones will be a subsidiary priority. I hate having partisans spawn and mess up my planning, so I will put an end to that possibility straight away, certainly before spring 1942.

7. Tech investment will be altered slightly. Industry will be a continued priority (currently at level 3) but now I will put chits into air defence (in anticipation of the US air force) and also advanced air which I have been happy to leave so far. Intelligence will be run down - I got it to level 3 and that is reasonable enough.

8. Purchase priorities will remain on keeping armour, tac air and special forces at full strength, but I will now move away a bit from maximum quality units to more of a quantitative approach. I want as many German corps on the map as possible by the middle of 1942 to allow better protection, and also to exploit the gaps that I expect to open up in Russia. Corps are cheap to build and quick to arrive, so over the winter I will build lots. All armour, air and special forces are already either built or in the production queue. I'll need at least one more HQ too.

Objectives?

1. Moscow by Winter 1942.

2. Lots of allied ground casualties in Spain. Maybe also naval damage.

3. Maintenance of air parity in France.

4. Successful defence of Italy.

If I manage all 4 then I will begin to believe that the game is mine. The key is Moscow - if all the other 3 were fails but I got to Moscow I still think a win would be very possible.

So - let's see what happens!!

[abukede]

No much happening this turn that I care to report on. I have a lot in play at the moment. The invasion of Spain continues. Supply is an issue at the moment as the Germans employed scorched earth. But it's now been 3 turns and I have a good number of units ashore. In Russia... not much going on other than building up for my winter offensive and trading space for time. I initially had some difficulty in deciding where to strike but I finally settled on an area of focus. It is the end of September 41. I intend to complicate Al's Spring 42 offensive with a number of headaches. The US economy is just getting rolling.

[Catacol Highlander]

No graphic this turn - my objectives were achieved. Rostov fell after a brief fight, and Marc evacuated Kharkov just to the north allowing a bloodless occupation.

In Spain no axis action as yet.

It is now down to half a dozen or so hard planning turns before renewed axis action. Marc will probably push on hard in Spain to try and dislodge axis units, and maybe he will try and do something with his reinforcements in Russia bearing in mind he can deploy them right up close to the front when fresh from the factories/training ground, but meanwhile I will be spending a lot of money getting forces in the right place and trying to be ready for Spring.

One immediate problem with my plan above: my German Army is already maxed out on the number of corps it is allowed. :-( For newcomers to the game there is a cap on how many units can be bought of different types to prevent anyone from creating historically unrealistic armies. I am going to have to buy a whole assortment of other things to give me more ground power - a pity, as corps are very mobile, cheap and damned useful when the map opens up.

[abukede]

No graphics this turn. I was hampered by mud on the East Front a bit... We're into Oct. Mud, ice and snow are coming shortly. The Russian army at this moment is very strong and should Al lunge forward I think I could really hammer him hard especially with the loss of supply and the coming winter . The army is smaller than normal but hitting power is very strong. Russian reinforcements have been deploying steadily the last couple turns. It may surprise everyone but I think I have another 20 units that will deploy before the end of October and November. Long term builds here not to mention the Siberian Reinforcements due to arrive soon. So if Al starts another offensive drive I may throw everything in knowing I have a completely new army arriving around the time the Russian winter hammers him. Funny thing is... I've not even deployed the entire Soviet army yet... like Al all of my coprs are deployed but I think I still have 15 armies to deploy and 4 or 5 Guards. (special forces)... not to mention a large amount of arty, anti-tank, air, etc. On a side note most of my lost armor has been replaced. Al's army is huge and I am pretty sure his offensive of spring 42 will decide the game. Then again knowing Al... he may attack in winter.

Elsewhere... the advance continues slowly in Spain. Getting through the mountains has been a pain and supply was an issue. That's been fixed now. My african army has been very quiet... I wonder where it could be? Strategic bombing of resouces continued in France with no air defense. USA is still gearing up.

It's been a fantastic game so far. Oh and I got a stunning tech advance this turn.

[lettowvorbeck]

I hope this thing is released this week.

[Catacol Highlander]

Very quiet turn. I didnt fire a shot anywhere on the map, but the railways were humming and the depots at full stretch. :-) As soon as I have another graphic to post I'll stick it up. Until then its raining across Europe and snow/mud will restrict operations a great deal.

Into November...

[abukede]

Queit turn. Snow has come to the East Front. Russia's army is growing. Deployed a lot of units this turn. The UK has arrived on the outskirts of Madrid. Al sent in reinforcements to Spain. So far I see 2 German Corps. Not much else to report. I bet he is still wondering where that Africa force went to.

[Catacol Highlander]

Into December, and my aggressive nature got the better of me and some German air plus the Madrid garrison gave the advancing UK armour a bloody nose in Spain.

I also decided that sitting tight was a bit dull, so I began another offensive in the area around Rostov. I cut the rail link to the oil fields of the Caucasus in the process.

I'm afraid I totally forgot to take graphic shots of these - I'll do it next turn.

Elsewhere it is still all about redeployment. Got a few more turns to be ready.

[abukede]

Not much going on. Preparing to assault Madrid. I have something in the works and it will either work spectacularly of fail.

Oh and Patton deployed this turn.

[lhughes41]

Very nice. Very like what the allies did viz a vis normandy.

[Catacol Highlander]

Deep winter across Europe - and for all you AAR readers who are still wondering about the game, havent played it before etc etc here is a salutory lesson...

I have only one active Area of Operations at present, and that is south of Rostov where I am after oil. I have cut the rail link down there meaning that the only way Marc can reinforce it is through putting reinforcements from his queue down there, and that effectively isolates them from action. That is reason enough for me to threaten the area, but really I am after the game's largest single production producer - - - oil.

Take a look at this picture:

I decided to take it slowly and focus all my attention on hitting the town that is left garrisoned by a corps on strength 1. I attempted one of my favourite moves - a kind of leapfrog attack. Armour hits the units twice and then bypasses. Follow up infantry units finish off the job and then an HQ captures the town. This leaves all units still in full supply at the end of the attack, and in any normal circumstance that unit would have been killed very easily. It didnt even start on strength 10 as my armour hit it at the end of last turn - it only started on 8. Here, with a strong HQ commanding all 4 German units, I hit it twice with adjacent armour, and 3 times with blitzing infantry formations. ("blitzing" formations move before they attack and suffer a penalty for doing so. Strongest attacks are always carried out by units sitting adjacent at the start of the turn...)

The damned unit didnt die - and it might not even have any HQ control down there to help it out. The reason? Snow. Snow/ice is a killer for offensive operations, and it has left my armour rather exposed as the leapfrog failed. I am hoping Marc wont have enough force in this region to make me pay too much for my failed assault - I would certainly expect to be able to kill the corps next turn and leave the oil to the south ready for acquisition before spring arrives.

Elsewhere it is quiet. In Spain I will be ready soon to try and carry out my Spanish objectives - in Russia I probably need another 3 turns to be nearly ready and I might take one or two more than that if I feel it is worth the wait. Meanwhile Marc has suddenly had a big jump in the number of soviet forces on the map, and I smell a possible counter attack. I hope he hits ice and snow and suffers the same frustration as me!

And one more thing. Marc was getting around 120 convoy points of mpp for Russia each turn from the UK. I now have the U boat fleet fully mobilised and about 80% of that is heading to the bottom of the north sea. I dont doubt that a major effort will be made shortly by him to chase the U boats away, but it should help slow down his production efforts at a crucial time of the war coming up.

[abukede]

It was a busy turn for me. The Soviet Army has exploded in size.

Al wanted Finland in the war so I kinda helped him out a bit and invaded Launching Operation Sideshow. Truth is that defending against a Finnish attack has tied up a lot of units and I decided to take advantage of Al’s fixation in the south and the poor weather. The Russians fight much better in poor weather. Also… Finish readiness has ticked up a bit… and I did not want to defend Leningrad from two sides.

This was my disposition prior to the attack. As you can see I am using only a fraction of my punching power to take Finland. I wonder where the rest is?

This is how the invasion progressed. Snow hampered my advance a bit.

I also attempted to bombard the capital port and put the Soviet navy to good use… but alas the sailrrs were rusty and a bit hung over from spending so long tied up in port and did no damage...

In the Med I decided to play with Al’s Italian navy and air force again with mixed results.

In Spain… not much happening. Supply, winter and the mountains are a real issue.

Russia did indeed take a huge MMP hit due to strategic warfare and Al cutting the rail lines. However the Russian army has exploded in size, and to top it off the Siberian forces arrived this turn… along with the Russian winter. I would say that Al and I probably have parity in force equivalents at the moment on the East front… Armor… probably not. The Soviets probably have around 3 more armor thanks to the Siberians and they come experienced!!!

Either way… I think the game will be a close match. At this point it can go either way. I think it will depend upon who comes out of winter stronger on the East Front and who makes the first real critical mistake. And how quickly the US can arrive in Spain.

Also... Don’t listen to Al complain. He is a hardcore SC vet who has beat me and fought me to a draw on numerous occasions. The simple truth is this is one ugly fight... and both Al and I can't stop from thinking about the game constantly, even while I am sure he was on holiday. We both love the SC series and at times with such a titanic struggle it drives you a bit nuts. Heck it's even messed with my time a bit as I prepare my next show of my podcast on the Second World War.

[Catacol Highlander]

Marc has invaded Finland, and for the first time really caught me by surprise. I did not expect this at all. He will gain a single production centre in Helsinki, and need fewer forces to the north of Leningrad, but it will also cost him time and effort to get this substantial armoured force back from there.

It made me want to attack immediately, but .... yuck oh yuck - Russian Winter struck. Now I hate Russian Winter - I hoped it was something that maybe hadnt been copied into this game from Global Conflict, but it has. To those new to the game it means that every German unit in Russia is liable to damage. A lot of my units were hit, one so hard that it dropped from 10 down to 5 in strength. I had to spend an entire turn's mpps on reinforcing all the damaged units - and so any attack while Marc's armour was in Finland was not possible. It hits once only in the game at random during a winter turn - thank goodness.

So I sat tight and did nothing that turn except rebuild and prepare more. The Finns will fall - but so be it.

One graphic to give you:

This is now an all out U boat assault on the arctic convoys. It is costing Marc quite a lot - I have to decide now how long to leave the U boats out before they risk annihilation - it is possible I have left them out one turn too long already...

Spring getting closer!

[abukede]

Well the advance into Finland continues. I am pleased by the progress so far. Here is the advance. Winter makes it more difficult but I should take Helsinki by next turn.

Notice Helsinik is surrounded. The soviets landed troops behind the lines

Aside from Finland Al’s strategic warfare against Russia is hurting. It is keeping me from building an army a turn. I’ve begun concentrating forces near an area I think he will shoot for. I have 7 armored divisions and supporting units waiting. It’s March and if he attacks now while his supply is still low it will be a very difficult year for him. I fully expect him to wait till the weather turns. If he does he increases his chances of taking Russia out of the war. Either way both of us are in a difficult situation. His offensive drive of 42 must break me completely. I must hold. He has deployed around 90 units… Russia around 60. It’s going to be ugly.

Spain is going so so… Al has pumped in German units. Not a lot of fighting but positioning and building up. Screens to come in a few turns. I do not what to reveal what I have yet.

[Catacol Highlander]

OK - as Marc tears up Finland I have two things to report in the dead of winter:

Spain - a counter attack.

On the cross I destroyed a precious unit of British armour, and that will cost Marc a lot to replace.

... and south of Rostov, in an offensive that has rather bogged down, a step close to oil. After destroying a corps and a garrison it finished like this:

Slow, but sure progress.

Spring that little bit nearer, and the Wehrmacht coiling to strike...

[abukede]

Finland fell this turn. 3 turn offensive in the middle of winter... I got a nice bonus and readiness jump. It actually hurts Al because his morale falls a bit. lol. It was at 107% and now it's at 105%. Removing Finland allows me to redeploy a good number of units. Weather was all mud in Russia. Intelligence has pinpointed a number of Al's key offensive units. I think I know where he is going to drive... but if I guess wrong I am screwed. I tangled with all those nice subs up north but the weather was poor and did limited damage but broke the stranglehold on Russia. I pulled back in the south back toward the oil. I expect it to get very ugly in Russia shortly.

In Spain Al hit me with armor and air. The UK is nowhere near German tech levels... I was forced to withdraw deep into the mountains. I've kept the rail lines cut... so he must have landed them in spain from Italy. At least they are not on the eastern front. I caused him a bit of a headache down there.

Russia got a huge tech advance this turn. The US and UK are suffering tech wise a bit but that should change soon.

Beyond that... I wonder where that missing UK army is? Also what are the US up to?