abukede

Not much to report. The German army is skyrocketing... due to the large flow of cash. Most likely a lot of that is garrison units. The German airforce has also grown. Waiting for the ball to go up. Also... if you look on Al's chart above you will see the Royal navy has exploded in size to 32 ships.

Well. It's now April 41 and I expect the invasion of Russia though wouldn't it be interesting if Al struck elsewhere? Russia ticked up in readiness to 52%. Income is lagging just slightly. I never occupied Lithuania... so it's neutral at the moment. The USSR has 44 units deployed (with 9 more locked) so a total of 53 to Germany's 60. I expect the war to start this up coming turn or next. My strategy is one of delay and I've deployed a lot of little speed bumps with my punching power further back. Everything will come down to how heavily he hits me and when. At the moment he has an advantage. Russia's war readiness is climbing very slowly. If he waits till Russia hits the 90s he can make up for lost ground and quickly out-build me as he is at full production. It means a later start to the War in the East but a greater chance of maintaining momentum and suceeding. I think this is unlikely as everything Al has done to this point is hurry up offense. We will just have to see. Benghazi fell with no resistance. The UK forces are running across an undefended North Africa and the Med is now a lake for the Allies. Limited action in the Adriatic between my sub and an Italian DD. The Italian Navy pulled back and is now completely bottled up. Italy is virtually undefended and vulnerable. Also... Al made a mistake and took Gibralter which really pissed off the USA. Both Spain and Gibralter falling raised US war readiness to 67%... a huge jump in income for the USA. Once he attacks Russia USA war readiness should climb even further... so perhaps he will delay the inevitable till he has overwhelming firepower... perhaps not. I got a cool Decision event at the end of my turn. I picked Yes.

I launched what I call Operation M this turn to hammer the Italian Fleet. I moved a carrier fleet quietly into the Med with a small surface fleet screened by subs. I felt the time was ripe to locate and begin the destruction of the Italian fleet. One of my subs succeeded in finding the enemy fleet. I then moved in the carriers and surface ships to begin the reduction of the Italian Fleet. Note the upgraded BB in port. He must have just gotten the tech and upgraded it... a very expensive upgrade. That BB has been sunk and another heavily damaged. The sub was damaged too. Land based air and weather kept this from being a complete disaster for the Italians. It will be interesting to see what happens next. At the moment the entire Italian fleet is bottled up... and it's a large fleet. I may have to go in and get them. Better that then have them escape into the Atlantic and join up with the Germans once Gibralter falls. I expect some very costly fighting. Nice morale boost for the UK. I also advanced deeper into Libya this turn. We're still on baby steps.

Great turn for the allies this turn. Got a really cool decision event. I did choose the Yes option. Can't wait to see if it works. O'Conner's offensive continues. Tobruk Fell. I have a lot going on. The weather did not comply with me to continue the strategic war in Europe. We're well into December. Russia deployed a lot of units last turn. More still coming. Got a really cool tech advance for Russia that will make things much easier. Russia's war readiness remained at 46% again. Once into January I expect it to grow. On the down side Hungry joined the Axis... but this is to be expected.

CSS see the AAR above please.

It's now December 6th, 1940. O'Conner has started his winter offensive. Tobruk is under siege by UK and Commonwealth troops. Continued the air war over France bombing what ports I could (weather permitting) and the infantry corps in Brest. German troops are advancing on Gibralter. The Royal Navy has had more heavy ships delivered, including additional DD's from Lend Lease. Russia is coming along nicely though the lost land from Germany not honoring the Pact will complicate things a bit come spring when the German juggernaught gets going. I can't wait. He will beat up on me early but I love a defensive fight.

Those are sweet charts. What you did not see was the force size comparison chart. (This is the one that matters) If you look carefully you will see that the UK and Russian armies combined are greater than the German army. Qualitatively they are probably less effective at the moment but that will change with tech. The size of the armies at this point matters. That is a real problem for Germany... as he does not yet have sufficient forces to garrison and hold his new empire. There are 16 ports on the Spanish and French coast alone you need to garrison or when the Allies invade troops will pour in unhindered. If you add in Italy... axis land forces surpass Allied ground forces at the moment. However Italy alone has 15 ports alone to cover making it very hard to concentrate and use Italian ground forces effectively. There is a lot of territory to defend. What you also do not see are the USSR units in the que. When the war in the east begins... there are also I believe 9 additional Russian units that are "locked" under Stalin's direct control. These will be released upon the commencement of fighting. In all probability at this point the Germans will have fewer forces on the board than the entire Russian army. Al is behind the curve. At this point in the game when I play Germany I usually have around 60 units for Germany deployed with around 20 for the italians... ground wise. Yes Germany is making more than each country... but when you combine the UK and USSR it's close and the USSR is less than 50% mobilized. When the US gets into the game the economic race will change drastically. Also... it is important to note the size of the German airforce and UK airforce. Pretty darn close. Check out the size of the Navies too. Interesting stuff and the game is early. It will be interesting to see how a smaller technology superior German land army does as the game progresses.

You can also find several decision events... I believe after page 5 that I posted and or discussed. I think you will be very pleased.

I don't want to speak out of turn but I know Hubert has been putting some serious thought into it if not work.

I had hoped that Franco would hold out a bit longer. Unfotunately that was not to be. Al now has a huge coastline to defend and garrison. I think he has inadvertantly complicated his position. I know he does not have the force to lock everything down so it will be interesting to see how he does it and manages the War in the East. The UK at the moment has a lot options. Norway, Denmark, the Lowlands, Spain, Coast of France or Africa? I ramped up the air war against him this turn. I strategic bombed the sub pens and drydocks at St. Nazaire and also bombed the corps holding the city of Brest with a tactical unit and fighters. No air defense was present. Beyond that I am keeping mum on my activities. Russia has held her war readiness the last two turns. I expect that to change rapidly as we approach 41. Fun game so far.

It is now September 20th. Winter is about to set in a few turns from now. Not much action on my turn. The UK invested the French gold. Russia has gotten a number of tech advances and her army swells each turn. I am kinda wondering what Italy is up to as I've not seen hide nor hair. I have not advanced into Libya yet... though I expect it's only a matter of time till I do so. Spain is holding... depends upon what air assets he has in the region. I've not see any the last turn. He could have repaired them or operated them out to strike elsehwere. An invasion of England could still occur. Though I think it is likely he's preparing for a Russian or Yugo offensive. Guess we will have to wait and see. Any 'real' allied offensives should come in 41.

Germany's National Morale is at 100% or near it. I believe you were looking at Poland.

I authorized the historic raid on Dakar and against all odds was wildly successful in seizing the French gold reserves and liberating French naval assets. This is a very risky raid and has the extremely great potential to fail (as the raid was planned and executed poorly) and piss off the Vichy. Something you don’t generally want to do. Germany has enough cash as it is. I figured to gamble on this one and take the risk. The gold will come in handy. Beyond that... not much that I care to discuss at the moment. There is a lot in play behind the scenes.

The Allies dug in around Madrid though with enemy airpower I am at a disadvantage. I hope to cause Al some serious casualties in taking Madrid. He took another channel port this turn. I still retain control of 1 more. I have a number of concerns that I am working on at the moment. His actions post Spain dictate which direction I will go. I also had a number of cool decision events… from swapping bases for DDs, which I accepted… to the USA sending tactical aircraft to the UK and also whether to send an armored division to the middle east. The UK has a massive DD fleet now. All in all I am pleased with the game’s progress.

It's mid August 1940. Not much to report on this turn. I had expected to allocate resouces elsewhere for the UK but Spain required shifting around the Spanish army which was about the size of Al's invasion force though inferior in quality. I expect that he will have a bit of difficulty with Spain. I will take the readiness boost for the USA for trade in the fall of Spain and Gibralter. Once Spain falls.... my strategic options increase.

Not much to report this turn. It is the middle of July. Just preparing for where I expect him to hit next. I could have easily contested Norway and taken a couple of port cities. I still might, turning Norway into a quagmire for Germany. I have done it in a number of games and succeeded. At the moment I feel it's of prime importance to concentrate troops I would have sent there in England in the event he decided to attempt a channel crossing. Speaking of a channel crossing though it is possible... I think at this point it would be very difficult to pull off. Al would simultaneously need to destroy the RAF, Royal Navy and land with enough force to secure and hold a bridgehead. The UK's army is at this point large. In addition... the UK still holds 2 key french channel ports denying him the opportunity to use them as platforms. Last turn they held 3... he took 1 back. 2 of the major ports in the Lowlands have been rendered unusable by a combination of naval bombardment and strategic bombing. I think he might still be able to pull off a crossing before fall... but it would be a very tough fight with lots of casualties on both sides and would likely drag on well into 1941's summer and possibly fall. The economic gains in the short term would be offset by losses & steep costs of amphibious operations and would likely leave him vulnerable to a Russian sledgehammer around May 1941... that would be my guess for when Russia would enter the war on her own. Likely his next focus will be North Africa and Russia. The Italian Fleet is huge and I can see him utilizing it in conjunction with a land advance. Can't wait to see what will develop next.

France finally fell on July 5th. The British people will fight on. Not much to report this turn. The UK is builing up to repel an invasion. I recognized the Free French and Churchill authorized and the navy executed the attack on the Vichey French Fleet. The Royal navy for the most part is in position and fighter command is ready for the Battle of Britain. Kind of a slow turn in general which I am sure is a nice break for both Al and myself. Call it a strategic pause as we both regroup and prepare for our next steps. It is the middle of July now. I feel Britain is safe from invasion for the moment.

lol... it's not AI... it's AL the beta tester... Sorry for the confusion.

Just cash...

Well… it’s the end of June… if I recall correctly June 28th for Al’s turn. France is still in the game but she will surrender next turn I “think” regardless of Paris falling. The French got tired of not attacking and went over to the offensive this turn. I hit an armored unit, army, HQ and an air unit. I did some nice damage to the armor and army… dropping them to 6 and 5. The HQ I took down 1 step… not in the picture but along the Maginot line. The air battle I am not sure how much I took down. I figured France is done and well why not inflict what little damage I could. You know… rub salt in the wound. I started the turn at 3% and after my attacks ended at 0. France is done. Now… I feel it is important to take a moment to discuss strategy. First he attacked and surprised me in a brilliant move. I don’t like to be surprised in this game as it usually ends with catastrophic results. I was able to recover due to a number of reasons and moves. Weather was very important to allowing me to hold onto France for a couple more turns, however my strategy was to simply impede Al’s progress and keep him away from Paris. At no point did I launch any offensives/attacks. Had I done so, it would have weakened my units allowing the Germans to destroy them much quicker. In addition, you lose morale when your units die soooo as France you want to keep your morale from falling too quickly. So I let Al do all the work and batter my units silly as they fell back, focusing on repair and replacement. Also my deployments were key in making sure that he had to destroy units in order to advance on Paris. I gave him some nice juicy targets that were just simply too ripe for the picking and he had to stop and kill. As he crossed the border into France, I gave him a path by leaving a couple of key towns (Verdun and Chalons) open near the Maginot Line, which turned his entire offensive south instead of continuing straight on in. (Path of least resistance kind of stuff.) The alternative for him would have been to batter through a dug in French line in winter. Not a fun thing to do. It would have meant taking unwanted casualties. (look back at some of the screen shots and you will see what I mean.) Channeling the enemy to where you want them to go can be very important in this game… especially on the Eastern Front later in the game. There are some very creative ways to do this in the East. I also had set a trap for Al with the French navy a couple turns back where I sent them in exposed bombarding ports. He did not take the bait. I had the entire Royal navy sitting just out of sight complete with carriers waiting for the German Navy to sally forth. Lucky for him he did not take the bait. My goal there had been to weaken the German navy to the point where it would have been risky to launch Sea Lion. The German navy is untouched and strong. He also chose Operation Z this turn. Got a note on the beginning of my turn. The Germans are building carriers. All in all I think I got very lucky in where Al chose to attack and was able to build upon that with what I had to make the invasion of France as difficult as possible. This game can be unforgiving at times… but due to the size and scope of the map, many times you can recover and build up a defense and strategy to fix mistakes you made. Surprise offensives and the unexpected happen frequently in this game. It’s why I think this is the best WWII game ever in the SC series. I am firmly addicted to it. It’s also why I feel I am in for a difficult game in the East. I do not think Al will approach another offensive against me without thinking it through very carefully, coming up with a creative strategy and applying overwhelming force. I have no idea what I am in for and can’t wait to see what develops even if he crushes me completely. It’s a real joy to play with Al. As a side note: I was discussing Al’s surprise aggressive invasion with Bill (one of the devs) and how completely unprepared and surprised I was… and well we were joking (at least I was) that the AAR may be over by 1940. I could literally see him hammering his forehead into his keyboard and groaning that I had been caught with my pants down and well people would think the campaign was not well balanced, poorly made and not want to give it a chance. The game ends in 40??? Really? Well… it looks now like we will have a full game, which I think is a testament to the engine, design and all of the combined effort that went into this campaign by Hubert, Bill and all of the Beta testers. It is really a lot of fun and you are able to do things with this game that you were not able to do in other SC games. I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on it… with that said it’s almost finished but still needs a bit of work.

Well… it’s now the end of May and France is still managing to hold out. I think it is very likely that Al will force France to surrender this upcoming turn. He may not take Paris but by destruction of enough French units France may collapse like a house of cards. Morale is now sadly at 12%. I’ve positioned my units (note French armor makes a surprise appearance) in such a way as to make it exceedingly difficult to take Paris by a lightning strike. The Paris corps is dug in at 6 and full strength. He can try to batter her down by air… a costly approach, however due to the surrounding units and ZOCs it may be difficult to actually take this turn. He may be forced to eliminate the blocking units first before going for Paris, which could likely cause France to surrender anyway. I’ve got my fingers crossed that she will last just one more frustrating turn for him. I think regardless by having France hold on by her fingernails… and having him waste loads of cash operating his army across Germany… I’ve won a tactical victory in disrupting his plans. Remember he attacked in October/November and now it’s almost June. It’s time to start shooting the Generals or at least firing them… I also had a decision event concerning the deployment of commonwealth troops to Egypt. Essentially… get them now below strength or later at full strength. I will let Al wonder which one I took. I also hammered the occupied ports again in the lowlands… reducing them to 0. I intend to make an invasion of England as difficult as possible. I am betting that Al will likely strike me first in Egypt and then invade Russia in April 41. I may let him cross into Egypt because it makes Russia a bit nervous which translates into higher war readiness and cash. Invading England does the same. He’s already irritated Stalin. Having Russia go active early would be a nice bonus for me.

Okay... it's now May and I think I've pulled off the near impossible with Mother Nature's help of course. When Al attacked in the West there was almost nothing in his path to Paris. If he had driven through the Ardennes/Luxemburg area instead of focusing on the Low Countries first he would have taken Paris before December. There was virtually nothing there to stop him. I had a March strategy in place... meaning I would be fully prepared to slow him and give him a difficult time by March. Long range builds... To delay him I threw units in his path that were too tempting to pass up... i.e. part of the British Expeditionary Force, 2 French Corps and an Army which he obligingly took the time to hammer and destroy. Had he bypassed them and driven straight in they would have been isolated with limited supply and unable to attack or move effectively. Follow up German units could have finished them off. Part of his problem, I presume, is the size of his army or really lack of it. He attacked early having spent critical cash to operate his army west when the units could have easily walked and attacked in May with crushing might. (additional units having been built over winter… Germany can really build a colossal army early in the war) When I attack in May with Germany I can usually force France to surrender by the end of June… so right now I am fairly pleased with my defense since it’s the beginning of May. I have a very strong block defending Paris with units strategically placed to slow/impede his progress with 2 French HQ’s supporting. I have also slowly abandoned parts of the Maginot Line, leaving key armies to slow a flood into France. That being said… “should” French morale hold a little while longer (very very unlikely)… I think I might be able to buy France 2 or possibly 3 more turns… If so… it places the surrender of France at the beginning of June which would put Germany in a extremely difficult position. Does he then attack East early with a smaller invasion force than he would have in 41? (July/August… which is not a good time to attack as the weather starts turning bad in September and Russia is huge). He would have to operate his force to the East again spending critical cash that is needed for research and units. Or… does he go for England and risk a prolonged fight which will most assuredly stretch into Spring and Summer 1941. The UK has had the time and cash to build up a large army better equipped than France. There has been no strategic warfare (subs attacking convoys) and the UK has been at peak production since September 1940. By the time an invasion is ready the UK army will be fully deployed and ready with a supporting air force (fighter command). He had a tough winter advancing across France with weak defending French units… imagine him doing that in Russia against a strong Russian defense (Winter 1940) or getting bogged down with bad English weather and an angry Russian bear. (Russia “will” start the war with more armor than the Germans…) An invasion of England will see heavy casualties which will need reinforcement. In addition there is the Royal navy to worry about to secure a crossing. He has a lot to think about in the coming turns once France falls. I do not envy him at all. The early attack was gutsy and still may work if French morale collapses unexpectedly. In his position, after the capitulation for France, I would probably consolidate my holdings, build a massive army, wait till May 1941 and attack Russia. Then again this is Al we are talking about and he thinks well ‘outside the box.’ There is no telling what he might do or be able to pull off. More than once he has kicked my butt hard and this game is very far from being over. I would not put it past him to try and pull off the impossible… On a side note: He also took Denmark On the picture please see how I spread the forward part of the French army out in an attempt to speed bump him. I have cropped out Paris and am letting the French defense of Paris be a surprise… should French morale allow the war to continue to that point. French morale is at 33% and falling fast. It has been an exciting and fast paced game so far. Very fun.

lhughes41, In answer to your questions: Poland/Lithuania -- as a followup to the last point I noticed a mention of USSR attacking due to Lithuania pact option. From what I've read of the history of that pact Lithuania as German was originally going to be a part of the pact and Stalin would get more of Poland. So a bit surprised on Lithuania going to Axis yielding a war... comments? Germany taking Lithuania and not honoring the Pact did not start a war but it swung the USSR heavily against Germany and increased war readiness making the USSR more beligerent. Stalin is irriated and Germany will have to live with the consequences should Russia enter the war early. On the flip side Germany gets a little more income and can start the war in the east closer to Moscow. -- Air Power -- in pre Global Tactical Air Power seemed quite overpowering. I always had to focus the soviets on anti-aircraft and then airpower to try to stay alive. I noticed comments recently to the same effect about Global. So I'm curious as to why the German player here has decided to treat Air as a 2ndary tech objective (I know tech in general is secondary for him...understood.. but within tech he says Air is still secondary as well). Does this mean tac air is less powerful in this scenario? That would be welcome news. I will get Al answer this one... -- National Morale -- I've read on how National Morale impacts WWI game. I don't recall it being present in pre-Global. Can you speak to it's impact in this scenario please? Morale does not play as huge roll as it does in WWI game but it does affect gameplay in the form or readiness and morale at the unit level and also when a country surrenders. i.e. loses the will to fight. France is nearing that point and should cave in shortly. It is much harder to force Germany or Russia to do the same... much harder. -- Moscow -- sounds like Moscow is central to victory or defeat for USSR in this game. True? I don't recall clearly it being absolutely key in the earlier SCs but maybe I have forgotten. There are alternative capitals like Stalingrad... however Moscow is a critical city. France winter -- I'm also not too keen on the whole 'conquer france in 39 to 40' from a history standpoint and it always seems to be a big advantage in SC. Getting France early pays off big. I'd like to see winter toughened perhaps. Just a comment. Or at least you can't take down poland and france in this period. One or the other. Al was betting he could nock out France much quicker... winter, mud, ice and a creative deployment slowed that down significantly. Likely he will still manage to knock out France early but I'm trying my best to keep that from happening. Once the weather turns it will be all over for France. Anyone else have any questions?

No problem... this game is a different animal than previous versions. You have to approach it from a different mindset and be very careful about what you do.

French morale is in the toilet and dropping rapidly. Trying to slow Al down to keep from accelerating morale loss faster than it is now. If I give up too much ground too quickly... i.e. fall back from cities and valuable points I could rapidly tip France over. So I am walking a tight rope. As a result I can not just abandon the Maginot line. It would allow him to flood into France and cause France to surrender much quicker. At best I am hoping to slow him down to the point where his early offensive only gives him a 2 month lead. Mother nature and creative dispositions have slowed him down. I took a risk and put the French fleet to work this turn hammering captured ports with a focus on destroying key facilities that could be used to launch an amphibious attack against England. I hope the German navy comes out to play. I also conducted a bombing raid on German industry. There was no air defense as the German airpower is supporting the invasion of France. It’s not much but it’s a beginning at striking back. Baby steps. As the game progresses my goal will be to hit him where he is not expecting it and make the strikes costly so he is forced to defend everything… stretching his defenses and making him vulnerable. One thing he will discover shortly is that once France falls… he has to defend it and it’s one big coast with a lot of key points to assault. England is rapidly becoming a tough nut to crack.