Timskorn

May '42: All quiet on the eastern front except for Leningrad which has fallen. Rockets in France persist against London but mostly just a bunch of howling noise flying overhead. Germans knock out Vichy defenders but don't take the city. Cruisers skirmish against Italian Navy near boot of Italy. Mussolini must be getting nervous, "Ehh...spare some change, Adolf?" US bombers work on Denmark's port seeking another way to shut down the convoys. Algeria and German Corp. there continue getting hammered by the USN's big guns, softening it up for easy pickings.

Cool info guys. I like the map, I had no idea so much U-Boat activity happened around Cuba and South America.

Ah yes, the propaganda is strong with this one. There is nothing so glorious for the German empire than a fanciful retreat. Von Rundstedt failed and he is to be given a medal for it, and likely another one for defeating the vicious Vichians. He can run all he wants, we’ll be happy to follow him into Europe. The USN, in a vain but noble effort, shells German troops along the coast of Southern France. The Vichians, inspired by the Algerians a year prior, reinforce and vow to fight to the last man. The German High Command is likely requesting additional resources now that their supplies from North Africa are about to disappear, their Swedish Ore cut off and Norway’s supplies coming in sporadically. I’ll be getting home late tonight. I’ll get the turn out then.

Interesting, why was the Caribbean so high? Bermuda Triangle?

March: Russians take out a Corp. NE of Moscow and almost another to the East. Surviving German scouts report, "Ouch." Tripoli back in British hands. N. Africa is a playground for the Allies. Axis get clear weather this turn all the way around. Should start seeing some pushes in the east soon.

Yeah, the only way you'd be able to get subs that close in SC2 is altering how spotting works with subs. Ie, bombers, fighters and ships don't automatically spot subs but have a % chance to spot each turn if in LOS. Then you'd have to have a reason WHY you'd want them that close. Would be interesting to give subs a % chance to slip by Gibralter. RN would need to keep a ship there or nearby, and Axis could take a chance on sending German subs to the Med.

German troops are probing NE of Moscow in the blistering cold to see what they'll be up against this Spring. US finally takes Casablanca. The greenhorns got a taste of some action, got a nice new town under their belt and are re-fitting for continued action. Brits are having supply issues in N. Africa. El Agheila was bombed back to the stone age and engineers are working feverishly to get supplies rolling again. Sweden and Norway are still shut down. Spain is turning Allied. 1943 is a new year and looking to be full of plot twists.

January: Stalemate at Norway. RN takes some losses, Kriegsmarine takes some more damage. JJR brought in reinforcements. Casablanca remains under siege while USN blasts Algiers and its port. British sink an Italian BB and surround Tripoli. Russian winter finally arrives.

December '42: UK ships spring out for attack at Norway to avenge their fallen brethren. German BB sunk, Bismark dropped to 4 and sub to 1. Bring out the rest of the Kriegsmarine and get some! Casablanca surrounded. US forces seeing their first action against a lone Italian Corp. British air at Algeria spots a German Army fleeing via transport. Londoners bunker down and await word of their brave men at sea. Moscow Army reinforces and Russians enjoy the rest of the winter in the comforts of their bunkers, assured that the red hordes are churning out of the factories and boot camps across the nation.

November '42: US weakly lands at Casablanca. British continue drive westward looking to keep a two-front pressure on North Africa. Russians continue churning out new units. Moscow will fall next turn. Russki's still have strong defensive line in the south. Russian Corp. re-captures one of the mines.

As I predicted. The non-believers prod and poke, no intention of learning anything, and the believers keep on believin'. Let's see how long it goes on.

n00b or vet bracket?

That would imply that there's a debate here.

To up the ante on this and possibly get more people involved, what's everyone's take on some kind of prize for each bracket? What is Battlefront's take on doing something like this, is it against the CoC? In my RTS dev days, fansites ran contests that were typically supported by the development company. Scenario design, tournaments, etc. Winners would win a copy of the game, or a company T-shirt or whatever. Not sure if HC and/or Battlefront would be interested but it there's not much to lose in doing it. If they can't or won't, we could always try pitching in for a prize but that'd be tough to coordinate.

You should really do it AZ, it's just fun playing against another human. I love a good AI game, but to truly test your skill (and for more satisfaction when victorious), H2H is the way to go. I've learned a lot from reading all the AAR's here, they really are great learning tools. As for figuring out who plays which side, I have a few ideas in mind. People can drop some ideas here in the meantime, but we won't need to decide anytime soon. Games can be played PBEM and/or TCP/IP. Whichever you and your opponent agree on.

I went a little gung-ho in the north with the Russian advance, but it wasn't a total loss. I pulled the German attack from the south away and destroyed a good 6 or so units in the process, even though I lost just as much. With a solid MPP stream coming in for all 3 Allies I felt it was worth it. The Brits have a strong presence in Africa that should keep Axis forces there if JJR wants to keep it. As for the Americans, we'll have to wait see what they're up to...

You noobs!

Which is why universal healthcare is on the lips of many presidential candidates. I live in Mass., where a new law recently went into effect requiring all citizens to have health insurance. Not exactly sure how it works as I get mine through work, but I'm sure we'll be used an example many times during debates on the topic.

Forgot to mention a couple of things as well. Allies have had extra MPP's to throw around and have worked several delegations with Spain and Sweden. RN has shelled Norways convoy port to zero as well, so MPP shipments from Sweden and Norway have been shut down. Been a interesting game so far with not much down time in the fighting.

October '42: Smolensk is indeed surrounded. Russian units strike back though. One German Para gone and an Army almost destroyed. German attack in the south stalled as they rush to help out in the north, giving the Russki's ample time to dig in and reinforce their losses. Germans haven't made any significant advances since the early easy grabs, just lots of bodies and vehicles strewn about on the Russian plains. In Africa, UK bomber and fighter strikes out against El Agheila as Brits mount second offensive. No sign of the German horde. Churchill orders all civilians underground in London. Massive casualties from V1 and V2's are on their way.

Blashy, how can you say you would never do something? You're shutting yourself down before you even begin. I don't know of anyone who worships unwillingly. Even believers find it hard to set an hour aside for worship.

Jollyguy gave the KIA report. Sounds like 7 units or more bit the dust.

Ideally the tourny should start the day of release, and those who are in it will begin their turns as soon as they can. I know some here already beta tested it, but that's fine. Whateva'. Here to have fun. I'll update the first post with everyone who has signed up, and the brackets. Arado and n0kn0k, what brackets? I'm not familiar with everyone's skill level off hand. We probably have a good month to get all the details settled, so once we get enough players we'll try and fine tune everything like time zones, PBEM vs. TCP/IP, etc.

August '42: Russians pull back to defensive lines in the north and take an opportunity to kill another Army unit in the south. Winter is approaching and a time for both sides to regroup. N. Africa quiet, Atlantic quiet. Two rockets are aimed at England from the French coast.

August '42: Germans bring in air support to help Riga and take down one Russian armor. We divert and head south, but still likely in range of his air. The south, we await the German advance. Malta loses its fighter and is open again to the Axis. No other action in Africa, Atlantic or anywhere else.