Happycat
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Posts posted by Happycat
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While I can understand an attack on the Italian navy by RN CVs, I'm wondering if the Axis have a counter? For the RN CVs to hangout in the Adriatic for a couple of weeks without a land based air response seems a little ridiculous.
I would expect IRL if something like this occurred the RN CVs would be at the bottom of the Med or seriously damaged and turning tail for UK ports after a couple of attacks. I'm not concerned with political ramifications, just let the weapon platforms respond with the players making the decision to use the capability or not.
I think the Axis does have a counter. It is one I have used successfully in other strategic level WW2 games, but this is the first time I have done it with SC. Read my next post for the Aug 4th turn, and you will see the curious decision I have made. I'm confident that this decision, coupled with another one that I can't talk about yet, will keep things interesting and very lively
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Looks like the Americans don't like my garrison in Iceland. Oh well....
Below is a map released by OKW --- note that Vichy has fallen to the Italians. Marseilles continues to hold out but it will fall soon enough.
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DATELINE BERLIN: June 9, 1939:
Reliable reports from behind enemy lines tell us that the French morale is sagging. Civilians continue to clog roads, impeding movement (not that the French have much left of their army to move) and soldiers of the Third Republic of France are completely demoralized now that the Maginot Line has been all but destroyed.
All citizens should applaud the accomplishments of the Wehrmacht and look forward to an early end to this war. Surely the British will come to their senses when they see how the rotten French establishment has collapsed, leaving them alone in a war that most Britons do not want.
The above map shows how the French Maginot Line has disintegrated, and the disarray caused in the French line in front of Paris with the loss of their HQ. A French army was destroyed in Lorraine Province, and the resources there are now in German hands---while it will take time to repair the combat damage, the resources from the mines will be most welcome in the Ruhr industrial center.
DATELINE TOKYO: June 9, 1939
The final attack on Amoy has commenced. The last of the Chinese coastal cities will be part of our 10,000 year empire very soon! Japan grows stronger every day, and the Co-prosperity Sphere envisioned by our brilliant planners is fast becoming a reality.
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Hi there ,
- Thanks for the AAR, nice brawl so far, nice move by Marc to kill that panzer ! One question to Happycat: seems you have 3 german and 1 italian figthers, 1 german tac bomber and 1 italian (not counting the two med bombers for Norway). Do you need them all in France ?
- I can understand the strike on Regia Marina surprised you but is there a reason you don't put a fighter around those ports after that first attack to make things a bit more complicated for Royal Navy carriers ? Strategic choice ? Or maybe think they'd retreat thinking you'd think to send those planes
?It was a decision that for me could have gone either way, but my best guess was that Marc would press the attack on the Italian navy no matter what, and an unimproved Italian fighter is fairly useless in the face of the RN's carrier planes. But I do think that the German fighters should probably move south, given that the RAF is pretty much a "no show" in France.
In game terms I think that Marc's move against the Italian fleet is extremely sound strategically, but I am concerned that when relating the game to real-world politics of the era, an attack by Britain on Italy would have been unlikely.
Still, it should be left to players how they play the game---but maybe Hubert and his team who have created this scenario could consider making the political consequences for the UK more severe if they attack Italy. I'm also of the opinion that the Italian naval tech should be on a par with the UK for a couple of ships at least. Maybe the implementation could be that the Italians start out with naval tech 1, but only two ships have that tech, and the rest are at 0. That means the Italians will have the choice in the beginning of either building up their air and land units, or improving their ships, but NOT both.
What do you guys think?
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Medium bombers at low level? Just a play on words, or does there exist a real choice of capability?
Just taking some literary license Sea Monkey
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Damn, a whole Panzer loss already is tough to swallow.
Loving the AAR guys, thanks!
Thank you for telling us that you're enjoying the AAR.
About the panzer; it is a hard loss but not an insurmountable one. Neutralizing the French armoured capability so early makes me very happy---my remaining armour will now have a fairly free hand in France, with no fear of a French counter-stroke. When playing someone as skillful as Marc, it is important to know that at some point he will use the French armour effectively. So at least I got to choose the timing.
Marc himself was the one who taught me "do not be afraid to lose that which you love" (or words to that effect) which I believe he said is a quote from Robert E. Lee. So I'm just following his advice
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(GAME NOTE: No plan survives the drafting table---first contact with the enemy always changes things. In this case, the loss of a panzer corps was a risk willingly undertaken, but not really expected. Luckily, a new one had deployed the turn before, so I still have the armoured punch to wreak havoc upon the Anglo/French defenders. And as noted previously, the boost in readiness I got for declaring war on Belgium last turn was offset by Marc's dastardly attack on Italy. But things are looking good, overall---the Germans have a decent penetration into France, the Italians are outside of Vichy, and Norway fell without any trouble at all. Churchill was recently quoted as saying "there will always be an England". True enough, but they will be driving Volkswagens!
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Marc and I got our signals crossed, so he has posted his new report before I could post the second part of my April 14th report.
The maps below show the situation PRIOR to Marc's counter-attack. My intentions were as follows when starting the attack into Belgium:
1. Destroy Belgian Army completely (for the experience) (accomplished)
2. Force Belgium to capitulate (accomplished)
3. Use panzer as bait, to force the French armour out into the front line (accomplished)
4. Hopefully NOT lose my panzer (failed: I had hoped it would survive)
Of course, now that I have replayed the turn that Marc sent, plus seen the post above, I know now that the extra readiness I achieved by DOW on Belgium, the loss of French morale due to Belgium's collapse, was offset by Marc's unexpected DOW on Italy. He did this in our last game; I didn't expect it to happen again. I thought he would work at triggering Italy into declaring war itself, so as to avoid antagonizing the USA.
Oh well...
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This update will be in two parts---the second part will not be released until after Marc finishes his turn. I want to let readers in on planning for the initial stage of the offensive in France, but since Marc and I are reading each other's posts, I need to be a bit secretive
April 14, 1940 – Admiral Donitz, in an interview with “Signal” advised that the Graf Spee, after a successful raid in the Capetown coastal area, and an inconclusive engagement with HMS Cumberland, has successfully escaped into the Indian Ocean. Bravo for our brave sailors!
PART TWO TO FOLLOW SHORTLY
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(GAME NOTE: as can be seen above, strategic/economic warfare can pay dividends. I'm sure the British miss the 36 mpp's that were lost this turn.)
DATELINE BERLIN: March 17, 1940
Denmark is now a protectorate of the Reich.
(GAME NOTE: I can't imagine anyone saying "no" to this decision event. In one stroke, a launching pad for an invasion of Norway is provided.)
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DATELINE TOKYO:
Rumors are swirling that another carrier hull has been laid down at Yokohama shipyards. Apparently the navy has won its fight with the army for funding more ships, which has translated into a very quiet couple of months for the army in China.
DATELINE BERLIN: For the first time, we are told, British warships have tried to sink our U-boats. While there was some damage, none of our brave submariners have been lost. The British are bragging that they will hunt our submarines "from now on". Hunt they might; finding them and sinking them is quite another thing and perhaps beyond their capabilities.
(GAME NOTE: No maps this turn---the buildup in the western part of Germany is occurring, but exact dispositions and order of battle are TOP SECRET.)
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That is surprising. In my testgame vs. HvS (V1.00.05) there is enough action in China.
And it costs a lot of MPP, since China got some improvements with the last patch.
But maybe it's just me and I'm a bit too aggressive.
@Jim:
Can you post more screenshots of the eastern frontline for me to compare the advancement?
Sorry, I'm not able to post anything yet (I don't want to show where the Japanese forces are at this time). But the front line is essentially unchanged since the beginning of the game, except that Foochow has fallen.
Soon enough, there will be something to report
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(GAME NOTE: Still in a very quiet point of the game. I've posted some decision events for you to look at, below and a map showing the precarious situation U-32s group found itself in off of the French coast. Happily, they escaped unharmed.
I wanted to explain why I said "yes" to both events below. First, who doesn't like a discount-priced carrier? In truth, another cruiser doesn't do much for Germany, but a CV can be handy when attacking Leningrad, and later as an extra air group for defense. And while it might seem wasteful to deploy the HQ in East Africa, if I say no, then it just goes into the queue and I have to pay for it. This way, I expect to be able to slow down Britain a bit if she goes after my African possessions. Plus I can think of a couple of other creative uses, which I won't speak of now
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DATELINE BERLIN: December 24, 1939
Poor weather in the west has delayed further action in the Low Countries. Meanwhile, the army takes advantage of the delay to upgrade weapons and vehicles.
The Reich Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment has released the following map and photos for publication.
We are also delighted to have received this photograph from the Luftwaffe HQ in Berlin. It shows a formation of Stuka divebombers, somewhere over Poland during the recent pacification of that unruly nation.
(GAME NOTE: This is the lull before the storm. A great time to use the ‘swap’ feature in the game, to easily move units out of the front line in France for upgrading. In addition, I intended to mention this earlier: I always us the “auto-assist” setting for my HQ’s rather than full “auto”. When HQ’s are on full automatic, they do a good job of keeping units in command-control, but sometimes they are not the units that I want assigned to the particular HQ. So using the assisted setting gives me the best of both worlds---if I forget, at least the HQ will keep units linked. But of course the real attraction for me with this setting is that I can put my best HQ’s in charge of the leading elements of my advance. Nothing is more frustrating than having HQ’s on automatic, running an attack, and then discovering that one of your combat units was not under command of an HQ, and instead that HQ was controlling a garrison 200 miles back of the battlefield.)
NOTE: No action in the Far East this turn
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Splendid results from just two U-boat groups. Imagine the mayhem three will cause. The third, previously uncommitted U-boat group has been sent under cover of a rainstorm to raid coastal shipping right at the mouth of the River Mersey by Liverpool. And the weather for the next week or two looks like snow, which will make chances of escape after the raiding very good. Unfortunately for the British, there do not seem to be any warships of any kind in Liverpool’s harbor.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE REICH-MINISTER FOR PROPAGANDA AND ENLIGHTENMENT’S OFFICE:
Time and again we have asked our Teutonic brothers in the Netherlands for their assistance, but all we receive is meager assurances of material aid. It is not enough: in fact, it is insulting. This morning at 8 a.m. local time, our brave soldiers crossed the frontier into Holland, quickly sweeping aside the defenders in the capital. The Netherlands has surrendered; victory is ours. Already, some forward-looking Dutch citizens are volunteering to join the Wehrmacht.
(GAME NOTE: A relatively small area of western Germany and all of Holland had good weather. I thought about also invading Belgium, but if the weather turns nasty, and I have not taken out the country, then I have to deal with Belgians, Brits and French all at the same time in March or April. So a small bite is more easily digested. The extra income helps for the next few turns, and the DOW gives me extra readiness for next turn if the weather is still good. No down side here at all---if the weather is rotten, I can wait until spring and still get a readiness boost from declaring war on Belgium. Of course, Marc won’t be sitting on his hands, and I can expect to see a robust defense in the spring).
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DATELINE BERLIN: October 29, 1939
The communique from the Americans must be taken seriously. Our agents in the United States report that they take their “Monroe Doctrine” quite to heart, and are likely to be very angry if we send U-boats or surface raiders into their exclusion zone.
The map above shows the current disposition of our commerce raiders. Admiral Donitz has not yet informed us of his decision as regards the final destination for the Graf Spee.
As can be seen from the above map, Italy seems to be making some interesting moves on the border. We have spoken with Minister von Ribbentrop, and he is puzzled. There has been little from Il Duce to indicate that Italy has any interest in supporting our efforts against France and Britain. In fact, the Minister said that Der Fuhrer still hopes that the stupidity of the Churchill government will be over-ruled by common sense and that Britain, together with France, will sit down with the Reich government to work out details of a “Pax Europa” (on our terms, naturally).
DATELINE TOKYO: October 29, 1939
Army HQ released the following, edited map to show how things are progressing for his Imperial Majesty’s forces in China. Banzai !!!
( GAME NOTE: This scenario already feels so different from its predecessors, such as “GC Gold”. Income seems to be a bit tighter, forcing me at least to make tough choices. So for Germany, I’m focusing on air, and research early on---but soon will want to build another tank. I do not see a paratrooper in the production queue and so have to assume that if I want one in May, I’d better build it soon! But my choice this turn was to build a tactical air for Germany. Italy is poising itself for an invasion of France, obviously. This means I have had little money to spend on East Africa. If the Brits want it, they can usually get it anyway, so I don’t think it’s an issue for me. And for Japan, as noted, it’s time for carriers, carriers, and more carriers. Once I have enough in the queue, the next priority is to build tactical air, fighters, and then more ground troops. Adding in another DD or two would be a good idea for me also---Marc often sends American subs into Japanese waters and I like to keep him happy by chasing after them).
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DATELINE BERLIN: October 1, 1939
Despite their attempts to form a cohesive line around Warsaw, the remainder of Poland’s army was crushed, and our heroic soldiers have occupied the capital. One attack in particular during the final days of the campaign stands out---the Krakow Army which had retreated from that city was attacked by tactical bombers, with fighters leading the way in strafing runs. Losses to the defenders were close to 50% just from air attack alone. It was then an easy matter for ground forces to finish off the shattered remnants. Surely this points the way to the future development and tactics of the Wehrmacht.
Now that the Polish question has been emphatically answered, our new friends in the USSR have been invited to occupy the eastern portion of Poland, while we take the resource rich western portion.
(GAME NOTE: Combined arms is an essential component of all SC games, particularly one as large in scope as this scenario/campaign. Later, as Marc and I both enjoy better incomes, expect to see the use of air, artillery, shore bombardment when possible, and specialized units such as anti-air and anti-tank.)
DATELINE TOKYO: October 1, 1939
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(GAME NOTE: the next few maps show the attacks as they unfold northwest and southwest of Warsaw. For those, I initially used icons, and then switched to NATO symbols, so that those less familiar with SC can appreciate the versatility of the display. Personally, I love the traditional symbols but I believe that I am in a small and aging minority
)This NEXT map supplied by OKH shows the attack unfolding on and around Krakow. Only minor probing attacks were made upon the city itself. Other troops flowed around the perimeter of the city, advancing until contact was made with the HQ of Ridz-Smigly.
After the initial skirmishing with infantry, our powerful panzers smashed into the Polish HQ, sending it reeling northwards, not stopping until it was pushed across the river.
In the north, 4th Army pushed the Polish Pomorze Army back, and then 15th division moved northeast to take out Danzig, and then hooked southeast to rejoin the advance. Panzers from the northern army group finish off the Polish HQ, and also take a big bite out of the Modlin Army to the east of the German armour.
(GAME NOTE: the only other things that the German player should do at this point in the game is to deploy U-boats, moving them asap to convoy attack. Make sure that they are not on "silent" running when they are on a convoy route, otherwise you won't kill any MPP's. Likewise, move the Graf Spee to Trinidad, setting it to "Raider" and making sure it is on one of the ship-icons adjacent to that island. Alternatively, you can also move it to French coastal waters, which is semi-suicidal, or perhaps send it to the Indian Ocean to raid convoy routes there. Lots of options, for sure.)
DATELINE TOKYO: September 3, 1939
Our glorious Imperial soldiers are resolutely watching the Chinese "army", which in truth is really just a collection of warlords, mercenaries, and Chinese who can't make up their minds between Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Tse-Tung. Disposing of this unruly bunch in only a matter of time. Meanwhile, steps are being taken to stop the partisan raids on resources in our zone of control.
(GAME NOTE: My preference is to take it easy in China initially. Contrary to the propaganda above, the Chinese Army is big, fairly effective and very dangerous. More Japanese HQ's are needed in China before getting too adventuresome. But it is a good idea to suppress partisan activity. See the map below; the most dangerous are the "P" tiles with no diagonal line. These can generate an actual partisan unit which can really mess up your supply lines if left unchecked. Moving any Japanese unit on or adjacent to the tile is how to stop this from happening. The "P" tiles with a line don't generate a unit, but can randomly siphon off two or three MPP's from your treasury, which is annoying. Eventually you might cover them all, but ask yourself how much you are spending in order to deal with this problem before going into it fully. Generally, I think it's worth covering the tiles that are close enough where two or three can be covered by one Japanese unit, but I am not enthusiastic about doing much more than this.)
ONE FINAL NOTE----From here on in, I will only use the 3d icons, as most people prefer those. Also, my style is to make the game reports read like news reports. When you see a "game note", that will be for those who are less familiar with SC, to help them out. I would encourage you more experienced players to feel free to correct me if and when I make a mistake, or even if you just don't agree with my advice.
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DATELINE BERLIN: SEPTEMBER 1, 1939
Despite previous reasonable requests put forward to Poland by our Foreign Ministry, the Poles have not agreed to give up the Danzig Corridor. In addition, the Poles have added another provocation to the growing list of our complaints against the so-called Polish nation, and sent a small detachment of their troops to attack our peaceful radio station at Gleiwitz.
All of the invading forces were annihilated, and as we write this, our brave soldiers are crossing the frontier near Silesia to teach the Poles a lesson they shall not soon forget.
DATELINE BERLIN: SEPTEMBER 3, 1939
Although Italy and France were both disposed towards negotiating a settlement of the Polish question by peaceful means, Britain seems to be inclined towards war. The British government insisted, quite unreasonably, upon our removing our forces from Polish territory before sitting down to talk. Quite out of the question, obviously.
Admiral Donitz, upon being made aware of Britain's declaration of war this morning, issued the above-noted statement.
(GAME NOTE: In Strategic Command AOD World at War, attacking the red-lined convoy routes on the map can pay big dividends for the Axis. It is not unusual to see losses of up to 20+ mpp's per turn for Great Britain if Germany uses its initial batch of subs and raiders wisely. Remember to make sure subs are NOT set to "silent" and that surface raiders are set to "Raider")
DATELINE BERLIN: SEPTEMBER 1-7, 1939
OKW has very graciously given us the following maps to illustrate the first few days of the campaign against Poland.
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A couple of weeks ago, I played the Allies in another AAR of this campaign... the AAR is in German, but the screenshots will be understandable for everyone.
http://www.si-games.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25149
Have fun!
Your AAR pictures and videos make me wish I could read more German. I know just enough German to get the gist of each sentence, but there are many words that send me running to my dictionary
The AAR you and your friend did would be an awesome summer project for you to translate into English, don't you think? Seriously, however, it is a very nicely presented AAR. Thanks for linking it to this forum!
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Thanks for the great AAR both of you .
Congratulations to Germans for saving their honor and to Entente for the draw despite the losses.
Better strategic analysis award for Happycat and better creative move award for Bill
.Thank YOU for following the AAR and for your feedback; it's nice to know that it was being enjoyed.
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And thank you to you also, Bill. I enjoyed the game as well as the lesson in mobile warfare. I also appreciate your thoughts about the Entente strategy, and especially like the thought about Bismarckburg. It is easy to ignore it, because it seem like it's not a threat, but in fact it should be an early objective for the British forces.
A rematch is in order, some day when we have time...
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There will be no heroes welcome for Smuts or any of his generals. The chart above says it all---Entente losses were hideous, by any standard one cares to set.
In retrospect, trying to divide the Central Railway and thus splitting Ujiji off from support out of Dar-es-Salaam was a waste of time and resources. The Germans used their forces wisely and creatively. It was a huge mistake for the Entente to spread itself so thin and to move so quickly. Morale suffered hugely, and in very few instances was it ever possible for the Entente to greatly outnumber the Germans when they were defending---which of course violates one of the basic rules of warfare.
A concentration of Entente power, was needed, and the Germans should have been gradually shoved into one mass in the center of East Africa. Cut off from the sea and their primary sources of supply, it would have then just been a matter of time before the Entente superiority in manpower and material made itself known.
The map below shows one, perhaps the only way that victory might have been achieved by Entente forces.
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Despite the balls-up that has become the offspring of the Entente's plan in East Africa, news from Europe is encouraging indeed! In light of the situation, we have made only such movement as necessary to ensure that we hold onto what we have now, and to reduce further casualties as much as possible. Peace is close at hand, and on our terms it seems.
And indeed, news now reaches us of an armistice, with a cessation of hostilities imminent. We will stand in place now, and hope that word reaches our German foe. However, given their isolation from the coast, we expect one more round of fighting yet, but we will take it on the chin, and not respond---if need be, we will send emissaries to the German commanders and show them the news bulletins which we are in possession of.
The scene in Paris...
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Official 1939 World At War AAR/Walkthrough
in Strategic Command - Assault on Democracy
Posted
OH, so that's the way it is, is it?
Fine: no more Mr. Nice Guy :ROFL