Will95

Turn 12 Ash could've taken Smolensk this turn, but instead he turned the attentions of the luftwaffe and his panzers north, against my Red Army incursion. This is very good news for me, as it keeps him fighting on my terms. He has nothing to gain by attacking my thick wall of troops, no nearby cities or MPP sites to claim. With a bit of luck, Smolensk will hold out for another turn with this recent turn of events. The battle for Dnepropetrovsk is over, with the last troops retreated or destroyed. However, I decided to make a last big attack before retreating- I sacrificed both surviving light tank units to take a 12 step panzer down to 50% strength. Hopefully this will mean he isn't able to reinforce any elite steps on that particular unit- I REALLY don't want to be fighting 13 strength panzers in 1941. I'm forming a new defensive line behind Kiev to protect my flank at Smolensk. Whichever line breaks first, I'm going to need to fall back closer to Moscow. I'm all out of light armour now- it's defense only now until Soviet winter strikes and my tanks arrive. I got some Siberian reinforcements this turn which I plan to stockpile in the south.

Turn 11 My northern offensive makes up in sheer numbers what it lacks in depth and variation. A division guarding Ludza was destroyed and the town recaptured, while a corps was driven back from the gates of Smolensk. South of the marshes, Kiev was taken. Big battles around Dnepropetrovsk- I was tempted to counter attack immediately with my light armour but a good position didn't really open up. I need to let Ash come a little closer to the city before I bite back. Otherwise, divisions are filling in the back lines for when the main defense breaks. Pretty soon I'm gonna lose my juicy Patriotic War bonus income, so its back to the bog standard ~400 odd MPPs. Time to get building as many units as possible!

Turn 10 Kiev stands for another turn, but it will surely be the last. Seems Ash is deciding to take a slow 'n steady approach to his invasion, taking the time to reinforce before pushing ahead, despite the fact that he's outgunning me massively. I left a couple of units there in high readiness and supply as they should be able to take a few Germans with them, and fell back the rest. Further south there have been some minor battles outside Dnepropetrovsk, seeing a German corps sent fleeing and others wounded. The weight of panzers bears heavy on my Russian divisions though, and I'm already preparing the defensive of the Stalino as a second line in case the main line breaks suddenly. Further north, Russian troop presence is growing. There seems to be an absence of German fighters here, so I'm sending more Russian planes to start hitting the tactical bombers. Smolensk still holds firm, and our medium bombers are doing great work against the German HQ's.

I like the idea of fighting right down to the ruins of Berlin in theory, but in practise I'm too much of a competitive player to put the AAR/storytelling above my own fun Such scenarios where the game is effectively over, but it just hasn't ended yet, is known as a 'lame duck' scenario, and I just don't enjoy them. I'd rather get a fresh beginning and go again so I can try and improve.

Turn 9 The heavy fighting continues! German panzers are moving in the direction of Smolensk, apparently no longer interested in continuing the drive to Leningrad. I took this as an opportunity to apply some pressure and advance my line. A German panzer parked just next to one of my light tanks proved an opportunity too juicy to pass up- I had to sacrifice a whole unit, but I reduced the panzer to 50% strength. Even in purely economic terms these kinds of spoiling attacks can actually be profitable for me, but mainly I'm working on attacking those elite steps. The Russians have a good propensity for comebacks, but if you're facing 13 strength armour, you can kiss goodbye to your chances. The rest of my troops have fallen back to directly defend the city, and my medium bombers have been overhead hitting one of the German HQs for some solid damage. Kiev is getting pressed pretty hard, and will go down next turn. I've sent one of the HQ's that was here down south to Dnepropetrovsk as my army here is growing quite large. Hopefully this defense will prove a little harder to crack than they have been so far. I resisted the temptation to go on the counter-offensive right away in favour of digging in a little more. I'm gradually running out of light tanks to counter with, so I'm probably going to have to become more and more defensive as 1941 drags on. With a bit of luck though, I'll have built up enough AT guns that by the time the Soviet winter strikes, I'll have the ability to really hurt those tanks.

Turn 8 The Germans have slowed their advance. The drive to Leningrad has certainly taken a break, no doubt to refit and rearm the troops. Fortunately, this gives me time to do the same. We made a minor counter-attack; pushing back a corps with our light tanks. My two main defensive lines are still holding firm. Kiev has been the site of the biggest battle of the war. My decision to upgrade all units in the vicinity to level 1 AA proved worthwhile; Ash lost a lot of MPPs trying in vain to bomb my troops. Unfortunately the first line of defense was broken regardless. Fresh divisions have been sent to fill the gaps. In the south I noticed a conspicuous lack of German armour- I suspect Ash is reinforcing his elite steps before pushing on any further. I have taken the time to build up my defense.

Turn 6 Okay, lots of exciting developments this turn. Ash has shown his hand- he is pressing hard in the south towards Dnepropetrovsk with what seems to be almost all his armour. Taking into account operating costs, this is quite a gamble for the Germans- he needs to make some serious gains if he's going to recoup those losses. His panzers did rather smash my Odessa line though, and destroyed one of my only slightly experienced HQ's. Fortunately I managed to evacuate my paratroopers before their destruction. Tired of being pushed back, STAVKA ordered an immediate counter offensive using our Kiev reserves. A forward panzer at strength 11 was destroyed by our light armour in a heroic attack that was plastered across Russian newspapers as a mighty propaganda victory. It cost me 19 steps of light armour to achieve, but ultimately that's still an MPP profit for the Soviets. In the north, we also counter-attacked. A forward veteran corps was destroyed easily, and even better, out of supply. German armour is still present in the north but I should have a lot more freedom to push back here with the bulk of the Axis blitzkrieg power down south. That's two corps, one fighter and a panzer down and we're not even into August. So far, I'm very pleased.

Turn 5 Nothing particularly out of the ordinary so far. Losses are beginning to slow, and I have now bought back every lost land unit (in good supply), and am now focusing on building up my AT capabilities- my best chance to fight the Panzers before T34's arrive next year. In the north, Smolensk will be the site of the first major battle. Naturally, I will be seriously outgunned and the city inevitably lost, but I might be able to counter-attack, at least in a limited fashion. A sturdier line is being built along the river near Ludza. This area is something of a chokepoint in preventing units from getting to Leningrad. My first engineers arrived this turn, so I need to buy them time to build some fortifications. In the south, I'm building up my forces around Kiev. Ash lacks the kind of mass tanks that he has in the north so I'm hoping to use my light armour to beat him back. A thin defensive line holds Odessa, but I'm willing to fall back should any panzers show up. All in all, it's so far so standard. I'm content with the situation- destroying that early fighter is really going to help in the long run, and the damage done to the German HQ in the south will be both expensive and time consuming for Ash to deal with. In the next few turns I should get a good idea of where he wants his main thrust to go- Moscow perhaps, maybe a drive for the Caucasus, or keep pushing to Leningrad to free up the Finnish troops. Experience tells me that even with a fairly low key offensive in the north, Leningrad will fall due to the number of panzers and the presence of the Finnish, but equally, the north is devoid of any particularly useful resources.

Alrighty, time for another good old fashioned romp across the steppe. Barbarossa has begun! I'll be beginning from turn 2. Turn 1 was quite a standard invasion, with the north getting pummeled by German armour while the south actually saw some minor Soviet victories, including the destruction of a Romanian corps and the damaging of a German HQ. This turn, the counter-attacks continued. My main line of defense is forming at Smolensk. Whether Ash chooses to go for Leningrad or Moscow, he has to go through this city first to protect his flanks. In the south, a number of surprising victories. Firstly, Ash got a little too optimistic with his placement of his fighters- sending them right to within a few miles of my light armour, presumably in the expectation that I wouldn't have the capacity to counter-attack. He was proven wrong, and I destroyed my first German fighter wing. Meanwhile further south at Roman, the German HQ I hit for 40% damage last turn was hit once again by cavalry and light armour and is now at just 30% strength. I even managed to capture a Romanian town! So far, so standard really in many respects. The damage I've done to the German HQ and the destruction of an early fighter are nice wins, but ultimately eclipsed by the huge losses of the Red Army. It'll be a few more turns before Ash's true direction and strategy is clear- all I can do for the moment is give ground for time.

July 1943 The Russian hammer fell across the Caucasus mountains, but also, and surprisingly, in Moscow. Russian armour and infantry now has parity with the Germans, meaning the only thing I have going for me is elite steps- which are nice, but not nice enough. We destroyed an army and badly damaged a number of armour units here, but ultimately our counter-attack was weak. Tanks breaking through at Moscow. I'm going to reorganise a new battle group at Kiev. Bit more luck against the British and Americans- we destroyed an armour group and badly damaged another. Still taking heavy losses due to superior US air power. The loss of a tac and a fighter in Norway to nothing but carriers isn't helping. HQ and armour still trapped in Norway, and my MPPs are a bit lower than their peak- about 820 now for Germany. Sadly I think the war may be over for the Germans at this point. Despite making good gains in Russia, the inability to actually force a surrender, and the seemingly limitless supply of Soviet MPPs, coupled with the relative invulnerability of British bombers, coupled with the addition of the USA and an economy I cannot hope to compete with, means that winning is pretty much out of the question. Even pulling out a draw will be next to impossible, because once the line breaks, or if I get outflanked in the Caucasus, I'll have no units to defend with. If the Russians hadn't attacked Moscow (read: if their army was 90% concentrated in the Caucasus) I might have had a chance- sadly that is no longer. I'll keep on the fight for a bit though.

July 1943 Battles are raging in the Balkans. I've managed to stall the Allied advance just inside Bulgaria and as troops become freed up from the eastern front, are being sent here in their droves. An attack by a battle group out of Romania did some solid damage to the Anglo-American flank. The Caucasus are shaping up to be the next big theater though- a large Soviet force has ammassed since the winter and now threatens my northern flank. I have a large entrenched force, but it may not be big enough... In other news, Leningrad has fallen. My paratroopers are out of Norway and en route to France, where I am planning to invade Britain to put a dent in the bombing campaign and attempt to sieze London, however one of my HQ's is still trapped in Norway by an effective Allied naval blockade, along with a full armour unit. I managed to destroy 2 British carriers, but have now lost my own. Overall the situation appears solid, but cracks are starting to show. Despite my impressive Russian holdings, I am outstripped by Allied income by some 1400 combined MPPs to my own 950 (including Italy). Even with experience and readiness on my side, if this becomes a protracted war my odds of winning are roughly nill- hence the planned invasion of Britain. I need to pull off something audacious.

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. The turns have been coming thick and fast, but overall the lines haven't really shifted into anything worth reporting. April 1943 So, we're well into the war now. The situation is looking quite positive for the Axis, with the odd point of annoyance. Army Group North is on full steam ahead towards Leningrad, cutting down any defenders in the way. We've managed to isolate quite a large amount of armies on our way, so Ash is going to really have to fork out if he wants to try and rebuild his Soviet armies. My forward scouts came within mere miles of the city this turn, which prompted the Finns to join. The Moscow battle group was initially heading towards Leningrad too, aiming to cut the rail links behind the city and properly trap all the units left there. However, I thought better of it. Supply in the area behind the city is horrid and this battle group could be better used elsewhere. Where is that 'elsewhere'? Romania. Read on, I shall explain. Army Group Caucasus had some unfortunate setbacks. An army sallies out from Stalingrad and cut the supply to my forward units, subsequently damaging my HQ. I also lost a panzer in the mountains out of supply. As a result, I have enacted a measured retreat from the Grozny oil fields, and sent considerable reinforcements to the area. I will now form two army groups out of these units; one will aim to retake the oil fields and continue pushing south, while another heads north towards Stalingrad to protect my flank on a more permanent basis. The British and Americans are pushing out of Greece with some speed. We're taking gradual losses on this front, and they took Bulgaria (no real loss). They even managed to sneak a few nasty hits on my HQ, but I hit back against O'Connor. Operation Lightning Strike has finally come to an end with the destruction of the last British units. This phase of my campaign definitely took a lot longer than I had originally planned, and it took a spare Panzer group to seal the deal. On the plus side, I now have a HQ, 3 paratroopers and a Panzer to use wherever I wish. On the one hand, I could use them in Hungary. On the other, I could try and blitz London... Italy are proving to be the dead weight they usually are, but they did finally finish production of their aircraft carrier. Combined with their battleship that arrives this summer and the cruiser I still have left, it's not a totally toothless navy. I have been doing some U-Boat warfare against the Brits and Russians. I'd like to start investing in sub tech but I feel like the opportunity may be slipping away slightly...

August 1942 The German offensive earned a well deserved break, but now they're back into the thick of it. AGN will shortly take Smolensk, and bag 2 out of supply armies for their troubles. Forward recon reveal that the Russian force has moved back to the next town along to regroup. He will probably get a wave of reinforcements around September time, so I need to be wary of any armour build up. The Russians are a fickle lot, and don't go down easily. The Moscow troops are pressing in simultaneously from the north, and we have begun upgrading our armour to level 3. In many ways the remaining Russian army is now trapped- they have no rail lines that lead into the mountains anymore, Leningrad is as far as they can go. And with the Finnish coming from the rear... AGC stole another oil field, 2 out of the total 4 in the region, and removed the Grozny defenders. Defense of this area appears sparse at best, and I look forward to the income growth I will experience over the winter (currently at around 780MPP, set to increase to around 900MPP by 1943). There was fighting in Greece which saw an American army take some losses. I have enough infantry in this area to effectively 'plug the gap', as it were. I was worried that the US might have arrived to the field carrying level 3 equipment, so the sighting of merely level 1 infantry is a huge relief. The American army is still in single figures, so it will be mainly the British I fight here. 2 fresh German armies have been operated to the region to show the Bulgarians how true soldiers fight. Norway continues to get messy, with naval bombardments hitting my troops by the shore. The British are proving difficult to dislodge without air power, and the navy is causing me a pain. Therefore I saw it prudent to send a HQ along with 2 tactical bombers and one heavy bomber to Denmark to start hurting those carriers. The Germans got a hit on industry this turn, which is always welcome. Next turn I'm going to pump my MPPs into tech once again. I am also beginning the slow process of upgrading my mines in western Europe with some rudimentary AA defense.

July 1942 Moscow has fallen- the Russian capital flies the glorious Iron Cross! Against all expectations, Army Group South stormed the capital this turn and captured it, destroying all Soviet forces within. Ash partially withrew his army and I sent some of my own troops to chase him down. Now for a moments rest, as this army group celebrates its victory and takes victory marches by the Kremlin. AGN saw fierce fighting once again, with many tit-for-tat exchanges across the front, including the loss of another Soviet armour group. However, German forces scored a major kill; Zhukov's HQ was destroyed utterly. Without proper leadership and lacking the superiority of tanks, the Soviets in this sector must surely now be forced into a full scale retreat- but where to now that Moscow has fallen? I see only one way out of this for the Soviets- to retreat to Leningrad and try to buy time. However, if he does take this route, the Finnish will join forces shortly and the Russian army will only disintegrate quicker. Lightning Strike suffered a blow this turn, as a large and battle-ready fleet entered the Skaggerak, sinking the Bismark. My naval forces are busy raiding Russian trade in the North Sea, so there isn't much for me to do here. Fortunately, with almost all Russian armour destroyed, I can probably afford to send 2 of my tactical bombers to Denmark as support. Greece reached 95% mobilization due to diplomatic efforts on part of the British. It seems Ash really wants to open up a new front here. Rather than let him take the initiative, I decided to invade with what little force I do have at the border- right now, that's just a single Italian armour unit. I do however have Hungarian, Romanian and Bulgarian troops en route under the command of a German headquarters in support. I know Ash has a minimum of 2 British armour units he plans to deploy here so it's time to put the Russians to bed so I can focus my efforts entirely on the Western Allies. To the uninitiated reader, it might appear as if the Russians will now surrender, now that Moscow has fallen. Sadly, this is not the case. One cannot conventionally 'defeat' the Russians- with Moscow captured, their capital simply switches to Stalingrad, and even if I now took that city, their capital would transfer again to an extremely remote city in the Urals which would be practically impossible to reach in any reasonable amount of time. What I can do, however, is disable the Russians to the extent that they no longer pose a threat. By capturing Moscow, the Caucasus oil field and Leningrad, the Soviet Union will lack both the resources and main supply centers to build up to any kind of proper attacking force. Given enough time, Ash could potentially raise another army, but he would be fighting an uphill battle from poor supply, as the area behind the Leningrad/Moscow/Stalingrad 'line' is basically miles and miles of open steppe, with just the occasional town. With the British having swapped their diplomatic chits from Spain to Greece, there is yet a possibility that Spain could join me. Finland will almost certainly join me before 1942 is over too. If both those countries join the Axis, it will significantly grow both my income and army size. Once all the oil fields are captured (I still have 3 left to capture, plus 2 cities in the region, = 110MPP per turn) I will have such a large income it will likely dwarf both the British and Americans combined. With no more diplomatic penalties to take for invading neutrals (as the US is in the war), I can also turn my attention to enlarging my MPP base by 'mopping up'- Vichy France, Switzerland, Turkey...

June 1942 This turn proved to be one of the bloodiest for both sides since the war began. The massive tank battles are now quietening down in the north of Russia- not due to a lack of fighting I might add, but simply that both sides are destroying each other's tanks at at alarming rate. I lost another panzer in this sector leaving me with just one (another operated in from Yugoslavia during my turn). However, my infantry is still superior. After taking heavy losses in my turn, I threw the kitchen sink at Ash- destroying 3 armies, 1 artillery piece and an armoured unit. I brought in my additional tactical bomber from Norway as support. Things are looking more pleasantly one-sided in the battle for Moscow. An army and a corps went down, and two AT units were reduced to about 20% strength. Hopefully next turn I can take at least part of the capital. Events were most positive in the south. Ash launched a kind of flanking attack on me, but failed to do more that scratch my panzer's paintwork. I destroyed an AT unit and two armies in low supply who attempted to cut off my forces. Despite taking much heavier losses than I'd like in Army Group North, I think Ash will soon find himself too far stretched for his own good. It is very likely that I will sieze Moscow in the next couple of turns, which will leave his main battle group completely open to flanking attacks. My Caucasus campaign will also come to a close shortly, due to the lack of Soviet armour. As soon as I've freed up these troops, as long as I don't lose too much in the meantime, I should have won. Of course, there is always the small matter of the Western Allies.... The transports I damaged vanished, and part of the Royal Navy limped towards my sub to try and give it a seeing-to. Things went quite the other way, and I escaped with both my cruiser and my sub, while destroying a battleship. In other news, my paras in Norway are gradually wearing away the Brits. Once the first army has been destroyed, I might send 1 of the paras to the eastern front as support.

May 1942 The skies cleared (mostly) and Case Blue was off to an explosive start. The Soviets counter-attacked as harshly as was expected, destroying 2 armour columns (1 out of supply...grr, don't know how I messed that up) and 2 armies. The German counter-attack saw us come out on top though, I think. We destroyed 2 armoured columns, an army and an AT unit. What's more, all my forces are in good spirits with high morale, readiness and good supply, while the Soviet armour falls flat on all 3 accounts. Ash still outnumbers me in sheer tank numbers, but I believe my air and infantry superiority will win out if he stays in the fight. We also began our assault on Moscow itself. Capturing a nearby town to secure the flank, we are just a few miles from the city center. Infantry here is well dug in, but I have brought my favourite railgun to bear to start hammering fortifications. Together with my 3 tank units and my special forces, I should be able to roll over his defenses. Army Group Caucasus secured another town on the road to Grozny, destroying 2 corps and badly damaging an AT unit on the way. Intelligence has also revealed some infantry presence to the north. I have to be wary of a flanking attack here, although I don't have an awful lot of reserves anymore to commit. I sent an army there plus some corps to guard my rear towns to prevent my troops being cut off in the mountains. Lightning Strike saw further developments, with an attack on a British army unit holding a town close to the capital. Another para unit arrived this turn to speed things up. I have also taken the opportunity while the Royal Navy blockade is lifted to send 4 U-boats into the North Sea to start hitting Soviet supply income from the British. They're currently netting about 50MPPs per turn from these convoys and I'd like to put a stop to that. The Italians (finally) proved they were good for something- their intelligence revealed British transports right next to Athens. I had a submarine go for a further inspection, and found no less than 2 armoured units floating gently in the Mediterranean with apparently no naval support. I damaged the more experienced unit of the two, and sent a carrier to help out should the Royal Navy arrive. The sighting of the transports is an important development. Clearly, Ash is planning to bring Greece to the Allied side. Since they slipped closer to joining the Allies when I conquered Yugoslavia, they just need a tickle to commit to the war. This looks like my hand will be forced- I will have to invade Greece, hopefully before they join the Allies diplomatically. I will use my Yugoslavian invasion force (2 Hungarian armies + 1 German panzer) as well as my 3 paratrooper units once they're done in Norway. I've also sent a little Italian detachment of an armour unit and a HQ, so Mussolini can feel like he's doing something. My memory is a little foggy, but as I recall the Greek army is not strong, but not entirely toothless either. Combine a small Greek force with at least 2 British tanks and possibly even Americans, and this could rapidly escalate. We shall soon see what happens. One thing is clear though- I need a decisive victory against the Russians in 1942, if I am to adequately tackle the Western Allies invasion.

April 1942 Case Blue has begun. Tactical bombers came in first- then the panzers, followed by infantry to mop up. It was far from a decisive battle, given the significant armoured reserves in the Soviet back lines. Total Soviet casualties stand at 2 armies, 1 tank unit and 50% of Zhukov's staff. My panzers didn't come out totally unscathed, but they're not in terrible nick either. I'm outnumbered in terms of sheer armour here- but my readiness is higher, my infantry better and I have tactical bombers on my side. Time will tell if this is enough. Reserve troops I was saving for such an event have been operated into my rearguard to replace my inevitable losses. Army Group South paused and regrouped while we let supply catch up. I am very close to Moscow. Army Group Caucasus destroyed 2 corps and captured another town. We are not too far away from the next oil field, and the city of Grozny. Some AT stands in the way, but I expect my panzer-grenadiers to make short work of it. Lightning Strike is proceeding well. We destroyed the corps holding Porsgrunn, leaving just 2 isolated armies. A 3rd paratrooper will 'drop in' to help with the clean-up operation. Soon I will have a large airborne troop reserve spare....where to put them, eh? I conquered Yugoslavia this turn. It was a simple operation with no real casualties (1 lost panzer step, annoying but **** happens). Another 30MPPs in the bank! As a result of my aggression, Greece has signed some form of alliance with the British. I may yet have to invade the country if I wish to retain the element of surprise- perhaps here will be a good target for my paratroopers? With the conquer of Yugoslavia, combining over 100MPPs of plunder and the additional income from her mines and cities, I finished my turn netting a cool 850MPPs. Army Group North is certainly going to take heavy casualities over the next few turns, but at least I should have no problem replacing them!

Yeah I've got some AA on the way, and AA tech is coming...slowly!

March 1941 Operation Lightning Strike proceeds as planned. Paratroopers landed and damaged the most forward corps. A HQ and tactical bomber are in support, and will be joined next turn by an additional army. Hopefully I can put this exercize to bed relatively quickly, I'd like to use this HQ for other things than chasing the British around. Army Group North sent out scouts which revealed the Soviet armour presence nearby. I was expecting if not during, then at least after the Soviet Winter event. But...nothing. Not a peep. This suits me just fine- I will simply wait for good weather, then pound the Soviets to dust. Army Group South is just a few miles from Moscow and I have yet to see signs of a significant defense force. Is he luring me in? I cannot be sure. The Soviet army has grown considerably over the winter, and is now about 55 units strong. Mine is at 91, but I have significant garrisons throughout Russia and western Europe. That still leaves a very big Russian force unaccounted for, so I have to be wary here. AGS lacks proper air cover if attacked by an armoured force. Army Group Caucasus pauses to reinforce elite steps, but the special forces advanced to scout out the mountains. Corps here are in very low supply and will be easy to destroy. I may take a tactical bomber down here shortly to speed up the process. In other news, a HQ and an armoured unit was transported back to civilized country, in Hungary. Hungarian troops received fresh stocks of new German weapons and prepare to knock out Yugoslavia in a nice clean blow. My Wehrmacht aircraft carrier also arrived this turn. Finally, the Brits might get a taste of their own medicine!

I did have fighers there throughout much of 1941 (not that they do anything- as long as there's an escort, bombers always get through unscathed) but that fighter wing is now in Denmark acting as cover against British carriers while I execute Lightning Strike. Once I feel confident that they are no longer needed in Russia, and I can spare a HQ, I will send most of my fighers to Britain and start hitting his bombers directly.

February, 1942 The USA has joined the war, and with their entrance, any chance of diplomatically assisting the Spanish into joining an Axis alliance are lost. The British recieved a massive bonus to morale- perhaps they now naively think that the Fuhrer can be defeated? The Soviet Winter event struck late this year. However, it's effects are manageable. A few troops went from 11 to 10 strength and retained their experienced, with the only real damage being to my HQ's, who lost some experienced staff in the Russian snowstorms. However, I believe Ash has made a grave error in failing to attack me when he had the chance. Dealing with the Soviet Winter in the middle of an assault would have been very difficult to manage without conceding troops and/or territory. However, he has opted to continue to hold back on his advance, giving me extra time to dig in and repair any lost units. AGN holds firm as forward scouts reveal danger-close Russian armour. AGS has found no signs of resistance in months now, and cautiously advances, capturing territory closer and closer to Moscow. Sevastopol also fell this turn, and the carrier resting in port there was destroyed. The HQ in charge of the Sevastopol operation will now take his 2 armoured units and in a combined German-Hungarian operation, will take Yugoslavia. Operation Lightning Strike is proceeding. The Royal Navy, after taking a destroyer loss and severe damage to their battleships, has retreated out of the Skaggerak. A net of U-boats now guards against any naval incursion which might hamper Lightning Strike. Our paratroopers are now ready and will land on the Norweigan coast next turn, weather permitting, joined by an additional army and a HQ. A tactical bombers will join them to ensure complete destruction of the British forces here- 2 armies and 1 corps, not a bad catch. My biggest concern remains the British bombing campaign against German industry and French cities. I have invested in AA technology but it is slow in forthcoming. In the meantime I must simply watch as my mines are reduced turn after turn. Hopefully once Case Blue has forced the Russians into effective submission, I can show the Britain the true power of the Luftwaffe.

November 21, 1941 A more detailed update to explain my plans moving forward. Army Group North AGN will push forward to bring Finland into the war. Once Finland have joined the Axis, I will let them occupy the Leningrad defenders, while AGN presses directly on Moscow. Army Group South AGS is currently quite spread out, but over the next few turns I will gather their forces together. This will be a slightly smaller army than AGN and will be tasked with sieging Moscow. I don't expect AGS to be able to take Moscow on their own, but hopefully they will provide cover to prevent AGN being flanked. Army Group Caucasus AGC will continue to make headway through the mountains with the aim of capturing all oil fields in the region. Hopefully this will be completed by the summer of 1942. Operation Lightning Strike OLS will primarily involve the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. Last turn the British captured the Norweigan capital Oslo (without the use of a HQ and in 0 supply, I might add). I counted 2 armies and 1 corps at level 1 infantry. Norway is not of much strategic importance (and I still control all the mines and ports), but I feel there is an opportunity to do some damage here. The first phase of OLS is to destroy or force a retreat of, the Royal Navy blockading the area. So far I've lost a battleship but I'm doing heavy damage to him with my tactical bombers and u-boats. I may not be able to destroy him but with my ports being much closer, I should be able to eventually force away the bulk of the navy. This will allow me to enact the land based invasion, consisting of 3 paratroopers (another is on the way due to arrive early 1942), a HQ and an army if I feel it is required. Together with the tac bomber, I should be able to retake Oslo and restore Norwegian trade. Further plans Russia is heavily neutered. Her income trundles along at around 400-450 while mine is shooting upwards past 600 per turn, even with the loss of Norway. By spring 1942, when my captured mines and oil fields have had time to restore to full working order, I should be in excess of 700 MPPs per turn. This will allow me to dedicate enough force to drive Russia out of the war (although a complete surrender will be near impossible) while still retaining a large army for other purposes. Therefore, for 1942 and beyond, I have the following objectives; - Invade Yugoslavia. There are 3 cities including the capital as well as a mine; occupation of the country will net me an extra 30MPPs per turn. This will be easy. - Possibly invade Greece. This will be trickier as the capital is harder to reach and the Royal Navy has complete control of the Mediterranean. I may be tempted to leave Greece as-is, simply because an invasion at this point will be an expensive and probably costly operation. I don't wish to open a 2nd major front against the British here. - Bring Spain into the war, and take Gibraltar. Spain are trickling towards me slowly but surely. If they join the Axis before the US enter the war and throw their diplomacy chits against them, it will add a sizable force to the already large Axis army. They can then be used to defend Italy, or France, in case of an Allied invasion. - Invade Britain. This is a more lofty, long term goal, but if pulled off successfully, will mean certain victory for the Axis. It will require the full force of the Luftwaffe however, and I expect them to be engaged with the Russians for the bulk of 1942. The invasion of Norway will provide a 'testing ground' for my invasion strategy, to be hopefully replicated here. I believe Russia's fate has been sealed, massive successful winter counter-attacks notwithstanding. The fate of the Allies now rests on the USA. I have rather nasty memories of the US being able to assemble a frightening large army by 1943 and enact a D-Day a full year before the historical date from previous games, so I will have to be wary.

I have noticed this in SoE as well. Mines not providing supply around Dnepropetrovsk.

I've got a bit of a bone to pick with how France currently works in SoE, with 2 main issues; - The capital transfer to Bordeaux - The expendability of her troops - Bordeaux I really dislike the fact that you can take Paris and France still stands, even when her military is in tatters. Simply put, it removes any kind of fun decision making for the German player- usually, the Axis can choose either to spearhead straight for the capital (pros: France falls quicker, more plunder, but less experience) or do as much damage as possible, such as by tackling the BEF first before surrounding Paris and grinding it down slowly (pros: more experience, but France falls slower). However when the capital transfers to Bordeaux the majority of the time it forces you by default into the 2nd option; you have to destroy everything in your path, potentially taking higher losses (as I did in our AAR). I would suggest either; - Make it like AoD/GC (when Paris falls, France surrenders) - Add some kind of script where the presence of the BEF in France permits capital transfer to Bordeaux, but if they evac, then Paris falls = surrender (not sure of the feasibility) The other big problem as stated is the way the Allied player can use French forces, primarily the navy, but to a lesser extent, the army as well. I have nothing against France being able to 'hail Mary' the Italian navy (again what happened in our AAR and others like it), except that it comes with virtually NO consequences for the Allies- there is no benefit to them conserving their navy, so why shouldn't they suicide everything? Just sinking a single ship, even if they lose their entire fleet, is, in essence, a victory. It's the same deal when Germany invades France- France is going to surrender anyway, so there's very little downside, should the opportunity arise, to abandon all defensive positions and gang up on a single HQ/armour unit, even if the MPP loss is disproportionate. In many ways, French MPP is 'free'. I would therefore suggest either; - Tie French NM blows to the British (makes a kind of historical sense; as Britain watches its only ally mindlessly suicide its forces, it loses morale, also gives an incentive for the Axis to actively hunt the French navy rather than sitting in port until they go away) - Give a % chance for each remaining French ship after the fall of France to be scrapped and salvaged by the British Interested in hearing other's thoughts on this.

September 26, 1941 Barbarossa continues unabated. One of the oil fields is now in our possession, and German income is now over 600MPP's per turn, set to increase dramatically by 1942- Soviet MPP's languish around 400, and set to drop. In the north, a large force has been operated up here in anticipation of a Russian attack. The British made an interesting move this turn- they invaded Norway. 2 armies and a corps made landing near Oslo, where I only have a garrison. However it's a well entrenched garrison, and the enemy has zero supply. The Royal Navy has also come out to play in recent turns, and we had our first major skirmish. A fighter is in Denmark ready to provide support against the carriers. The one annoyance is that technology is proceeding very slowly. I imagine Ash has plugged all his US chits into intelligence to try and slow my rate of teching.