abukede

Hyazinth, The game is not over yet. I still have hope. The Allies and axis are almost even for income at the moment. The Western allies have been a challenge to get rolling this game. Tech has lagged... though thankfully that has begun to change. I don't know if it will be in time yet. I made a few early mistakes and they are coming back to haunt me. In addition, a great many things were adjusted prior to the campagn being released... so I would caution reading too much into how our match has gone. The great thing about this game is that no two games are alike... there is a lot that can happen differently from one game to another.

Not much going on. Just preparing for Al's next assault and my next offensive.

Home Front I believe is doing good. Most of the UK army and RAF is there, including a strong fighter command. The US has the 8th airforce there and other units. The majority of my fleet is operating around the England at the moment with a strong force bottling up the Italians in the med. The UK was tech starved but that is beginning to change. The US and Uk own all of North Africa and Italy is preparing to defend against an expected landing no doubt.

Not much going on this turn. Some sub and destroyer action up north near Norway but beyond that the Allies are gathering their strength.

awesome pictures.

Hubert's Beta Tester Rule #117 clearly states and I quote: "No beta tester shall go on vacation to places named after drinks like Madeira." I think we should all blame Al for his violation of Rule #117 and place him in the Box of Shame for the delay in this AAR.

No... I think it's far from finished. I am hoping to recover as Russia. I still hold Stalingrad and Lenningrad. Al holds the middle and the south. For how long I can hold those 2 cities remains in question. Also winter is approaching and the weather will probably turn this turn or next. Russia has an entire new army about to deploy this turn... so it should be interesting in 43. Also the Allies are on the move. So Al has to worry about the US and UK. I think he might try an invasion of England in 43... but we will see. Right now Al is on holiday in France I think. I believe he has limited internet access so expect a turn from him any day now.

Ivanov took up the challenge. He shall be my next victim... err... opponent. I bet Al would be willing to pick up a challenger too.

I will taunt a bit further... sooon... very soon. Honestly I think you will be very pleased once the patch comes out. Hubert, Bill and the beta team has put a lot and I mean a lot of effort and time into it.

I have time to play 1 more game (multiplayer match) once the new campaign comes out. Email me at marc@2centhistory.com if you are interested and want to learn a lot quickly.

Yes it is possible... but not a wise thing to do.

Not much to talk about this turn. Russia attacked with 2 armies on the East front around Moscow and caused some damage. Al should take Moscow this turn. I still hold Lenningrad and Stalingrad... for how long I am not sure... but Russia is huge. Once past Moscow Al will begin to have serious supply problems due to the distance. He already have a partisan problem that will only get worse. The US completed the conquest of Algeria. The UK engaged Al's subs up north with DDs upgraded to Anti-Sub 1. Yes the allies are finally getting tech upgrades. The US is almost fully industrialized and is pulling in a large amount of cash now which due to the convoys is helping the UK and Russia. I think Al's next objective may be England. I think the British will be a tough nut to crack. Then again I thought he would have difficulty on the East Front.

Not much to report this turn. Defensive stance in the East. US is driving across Africa. Algeria will fall next turn. It's now the middle of September.

Okay... last turn was quite catastrophic. I lost more than I thought I would. Al pushed forward hard. He is almost on the gates of Moscow and may actually break through my fortifications next turn. His airpower is very devastating. We are now into september and I am hoping Winter comes early. I've gone over to the defensive. I have a number of units deploying over the next few turns... so it is far from over. The UK has held Spanish Morroco since Germany first invaded. The US used it as a springboard to invade Algeria this turn... taking 3 production cities. Beyond that a lot going on behind the scenes.

The UK and France both have the option to deploy Free Polish units.

Sorry for the delay in getting this turn back. I have a full time job, I am working on the next episode of my show for 2 Cent History (new subject here WWII) and writing a novel… plus I have a loving wife and 2 small kids at home… with her family visiting, so it’s been hectic the last few days. To top it off the AAR is constantly on my mind. Love this game. My wife is beginning to hate it. Okay. I launched another limited offensive in the East with some great results. The Russian Front is now chewing up units at an amazing rate. Good thing I have a large reserve and another 20 units in production… for next spring. Al has 2 major army groups in the region… call them Army Group North and Center. What I wanted to avoid was going all in on one Army Group and having the other flank me, which I know he’s planning to do. I held back 5 armor this turn and a large number of corps and armies. I have concentrated a large amount of air power for support and they have to be taking their toll on Al’s air step by step. They are very cheap for me to repair. The offensive went off nicely. I hammered one of Al’s armor with air. I destroyed an army, SS (special forces unit) and I think 2 corps with another 3 mauled. I fully expect to be mauled in return. This was the beginning of the attack. Notice the over-strengthed Russian armor... battle experience. I am not going to post a follow up picture as I do not want to show my reserves… though Al may be able to see them if he has long range air tech for recon. The charts are interesting to review: This is a chart showing MMP losses for Russia so far. You can see how the fighting is chewing up units. Also… Russia is struggling for cash at the moment… but I have Production 4 so… it makes life a lot easier to replace lost units and is almost like being at full industry without any losses. Replacement armies I think now cost me 64 MMP. Don’t even ask what corps and garrisons cost. This is the German chart showing MMP losses. You can see how much more the Germans have suffered when the Russians attacked and or fighting occurred. You can also see how much Al is making. Interesting stuff. In the West… the Allies are up to something. I can tell Al can sense it… he’s redeployed a lot. I wonder if he knows what I am up to. We are now at the end of August 42. As to tech… It is my understanding the tech system has been adjusted already and when this campaign is released I expect it to operate a bit more realistically. Hubert has given it a lot of attention. A number of other modifications to game play and unit deployments have been made so when released the campaign will be a bit more balanced and fun. Bill has added a lot of content too… including a ton of popups concerning various commando raids, etc. Really some cool stuff. Speaking of release… I am going to open to playing 2 more games. Please email me at marc@2centhistory.com if you are interested in playing me. You will learn a lot very quickly. I made this same offer when WWI was released and Al snatched up the opportunity. He learned very quickly the advantages of entrenching your units… At the cost of a lot of Poor Frenchies…

Okay... no screenies this turn. Sorry. Too much to hide... Al did not hit me back as hard as I had expected. As a result I had more options and I had to seriously resist the urge to hammer Al's center army group. I think I could have broken it but he is too close to supply and after hammering his HQ's he withdrew a little bit. I am not ready to take the chance that I could be hurt worse in the long run than him... Instead I reconsolidated my line and focued on reinforcement and repositioning. There was some fighting with the Northern Army group approaching Moscow as he worked his way through my fortifications. I mauled a corp, army and Panzer. The Panzer took an air-strike. In the south my offensive drive has taken a "lot" of territory. I've pushed all the way out from Stlalingrad and was just 2 movement away from attacking Rostov and cutting off the German army going for my oil. I also took back Orel, Kursk and almost Belograd... but there was a garrison in the city. Russian corps destroyed him but could not liberate that city. In the North the Italians are stalled on their drive for Lenningrad. The Western allies invaded Syria... I needed Syria for a reason... will tell you later. In other places... the UK and US are building up for an invasion. I wonder where? Oh and the tech starved Western allies have improved their tech edge.

Note: Photo Post limit so I had to split this into 2 posts... sorry On his battle group to the North I left them mostly untouched because I sense a hole forming center that I may be able to exploit next turn but I did hammer the forward units with arty fire. They were low on supply 2s and 3s and I wanted to wreck their readiness which I did. There is an HQ there but they will be less effective than they would have been next turn… forcing Al to take more casualties. I would love to show you the entire front as the offensive drive finished but that would be giving away too much, including my reserves. So I will show you a larger picture to illustrate the size of the offensive area. This is the front during the drive: There are a lot of hidden units. Summary: I am disappointed with my immediate results. Not having motorized 1 hindered the overall effectiveness of my drive. (luck of the tech draw) Al has a lot of power concentrated in the offensive are… and depending upon how many backup HQ’s there are in the area will determine how badly I suffer. I do think my forward units will get hammered hard by air and ground. I do have a lot of air in the region but it’s not the equivalent of German fighters though they will hurt the Germans. It’s my counter-punch that may decide this summer on the East Front. If I had not gone after the HQ’s I would have probably destroyed an armor and probably 3 more armies and a corps. I think I got 2 HQ, 2 armies, 1 SS and a corps or 2 with a bunch of units damaged in the mix including a fighter. I wish I had gotten more, however the HQ’s were a risk I felt I could not ignore. We both have a lot of units… I wonder how badly the loss of those 2 HQ’s will be for Al. If I were Al… I might back off, regroup and strike elsewhere. It’s a big front. His next actions may decide the war.

Okay… it finally got ugly on the East Front this turn. Let me say first this game is giving me an ulcer. I can not decide if I made a mistake by striking first or I had no choice. I had excellent intelligence and saw the buildup of forces over the course of the winter… a sledgehammer drive toward Moscow it looked. So I concentrated 20 armies, a like number of corps and 10 armored corps, 5 fighters, 1 tactical unit in and around Moscow. I also concentrated a small mobile force around Stalingrad. The Germans advanced in two wedges that I could see or a haphazard approach leaving open key units to a lightening strike which upon discovering I took advantage of though in all likelihood my advanced offensive units will suffer in return as a result. I think it is a good thing I held back about 50% of my force to hammer Al’s counter attack. Though I will not post a picture of it… a mobile force around Stalingrad Surged forward too. This is how the offensive started. I probed south to see the extent of Al’s offensive thrust. I discovered an uncovered Romanian fighter. Unfortunately, I left it at 2 strength and not 0. I discovered an exposed HQ Rundstedt and destroyed it. I used a combination of advancing with weak units and recon air strikes to find vulnerable units behind enemy lines. An HQ is a prime target as Al swept forward the last turn… and supply has not caught up. I surged forward with armor killing an SS unit and an army I believe and I discovered another HQ List. He was farther in than I was prepared to go… I had expected to destroy the armor unit but take advantage of an opportunity I may not get again and decided to kill the second HQ. Here I am drestoying an army. Notice the SS unit that was damaged by fighting. Another picture hammering a corps.

Not much going on. I mauled a German corps that got too close on the East Front. I could have easily finished him but had to restrain myself. I think he was put out there to draw out armor. lol It's now the middle of July and we have two extremely large armies facing off one another. Russia is close to 70 units and Germany in the low 90s. Both armies are maxed out with infantry and armor tech. We have 7 or 8 turns before the weather turns ugly. Al inched forward this turn with some powerful army groups and I had to seriously restrain myself from attacking. I feel I could have easily destroyed 5 to 7 armies with 3 or 4 corps and 2 HQs.... but I think I would prefer to let him strike me first hammering against my fortifications which will be very costly. He will not be able to continue to inch up and if he is going to go for it it must be soon. If it was me... I would proably have unleashed the German army last turn. I am wondering if Al at this point intends to fight a defensive war and go for a draw. If so... he may be able to pull it off. His industrial base is massive and the allies will not really be ready to challenge him on the continent till 44. If he goes this route... it will be incredibly difficult for me but a hell of a lot of fun. On a side note... I evacuated Spain this turn for the most part. The Germans are just too strong... allied tech is lacking but I got some great hits this turn so that is changing. I also still have the rail links cut so Al is only making 50% of the income from spain... also he's still missing some production cities I still hold. The US 8th airforce put in an appearance this turn... hammering German industry. British air got in on the game too but rain into fighter cover... so our fighters dualed it out. All in all a fascinating game.

Crispy... I just don't know.

Not much to report... I think we are at the end of June now. No major fighting on the Eastern front. Al crept forward with several powerful forces without fighting. I pulled back giving him some ground. Al is very close to Moscow and Stalingrad with powerful forces. I wonder where he is going to go.

It's the middle of may. Not much happening. Waiting for Al's next move. Some sub and DD action north. The weather is poor so losses are small. That will change shortly. Russia is standing by for a massive assualt.

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?

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.