AAR - "1939 Storm Over Europe" (Allies) - Return of the newbies!

[AshesFall]

With a WWI campaign game under our belt we decided to venture into territory where our historical knowledge is a lot better. That, and we couldn’t play a campaign we knew somewhat, then we wouldn’t be hopeless Newbies anymore!

My opponent will be wielding the Axis in this one, and I’ll try to hang on by the skin of my teeth as the Allies. This is going to be awesome!

Turn 1 – September 8th, 1939

That megalomaniacal madman Hitler has invaded Poland. He’s made some flimsy excuses and called it a “just retaliation”, but we’re not fooled. Enough is enough! It’s time to declare war. It’s time to… wait, what. Do… what?

Poland

Poland, shocked by immediate and immense losses, stumble back in disarray. Only one thought runs through Ridz-Smigleys’ command staff, if we hold Warzaw, surely the guarantees of our allies will be met? Surely we will receive help?

My entire setup is focused on trying to deny the Germans victory next turn. If they survive the third turn I will count it a miracle. The polish airforce did damage the western german fighter wing and the advancing armor in the west (probably under Rundstedt if I remember his position historically correctly).

France and England

Well that help is just not… going to happen. The state of our armed forces is truly deplorable.

The French are definitely not going to be able to conduct any sort of offensive operation, and neither are the British. So what is the plan, exactly? Good question…

I plan to switch the corps for the armies along the northern part of the Maginot line. This might tempt the Germans into attempting an attack head on, and might lead them to take more losses than they otherwise would. Another nice side effect is that it will free three corps for use elsewhere.

These armies along with the three brought in from the rest of France, will create a line from behind Sedan to Epinal, using another corps I plan to build. Reims to Compiegne will be held by AT units, and detachments spread out as speed bumps in the south near Italy and in the north. The Brits will set up from Abbeville to Compiegne, as far as their army will allow. When the Metz line looks likely to be encircled or breached, I will attempt to withdraw those troops to the Vincinity of Paris.

I avoid using operational movement at all unless absolutely necessary, I’ll need every single resource to build and prepare.

Russia

Um… brain overload. Let’s not think about this one too much for now.

War of the Atlantic

The English navy sends destroyers to scout the waters near Norway, suspecting that submarines might try to pass through here towards the north sea. A stronger task force lurks behind the screen to deal with any forays from the German navy.

General Staff

Well, our economy isn’t great either. We don’t spend anything this time, and france now sits around 200 and England at 266. They gain 126 and 155 MP per turn respectively. This should allow France to create a new army, possibly two, and two AT units in time for any hostilities.

Norway sends angry letters about respecting their territorial waters, and Canada declares war. Angry letters, hmmm... considering how violently our own staff reacted (the foreign minister is said to have thrown a fit in the middle of afternoon tea) perhaps it would be effective. Our military staff will immediately begin thinking of ways to use this as a tactic!

[AshesFall]

Turn 2 – September 22nd, 1939

Poland is being crushed faster than we thought possible, their army is in tatters.

Poland

The poles continued to retreat (some would say rout) from the fury of the Germans. All their efforts are now focused on trying to hold Warzawa for one more turn, and running away from the Germans so that they do not gain valuable experience destroying the airforce and odd units cut off from the capital

France and England

Nothing much to report, operation “Stonewall” is progressing about as fast as frozen molasses.

The Atlantic War

There are raiders somewhere along the convoys to Canada. A slight redeployment of our northern passage “U-Boat net” was made, and the net across the mouth of the channel strengthened by a British Cruiser.

General Staff

The general staff has been extremely busy with paperwork these past two weeks, trying to calculate possible timeframes for the inevitable German attack. At our best estimates, we have nine or ten turns to prepare if the blow falls in early June. It seems unlikely that the Germans would commence any major operations before being guaranteed fine weather.

This means that we can count on how much we can build and deploy. Let us be slightly pessimistic, nine turns to prepare.

Turn 9: Nothing. Waiting for resources to accumulate.

Turn 8: Tank groups for both England and France

Turn 7: Nothing for France except strengthening some corps, an army for the British

Turn 6: An army for both the British and the French.

Turn 5: An anti tank corps for the French, an upgraded army for the British.

Turn 4: An anti tank corps for the French, British build a corps.

Turn 3: The first army for the British arrives, French strengthen their corps.

Turn 2: The first army is upgraded, tank corps and armies arrive for both nations, At corps for the French.

Turn 1: British receive another Army, French receive another AT corps.

Upgrades and transfer of british units as resources allow meanwhile.

This gives us An army transported from Egypt (in progress), the BEF, A tank group and Three other armies for the British. Six combat worthy units in total, with another army coming one turn after the others.

The French will, aside from the units on the Maginot line, have seven armies, two tank corps, two HQ’s and two AT-corps. I intend to defend France strongly! And once they have been stopped by the “stone wall”, our counter attacks can begin (or so high command seems to imagine…).

[AshesFall]

Turn 3 – October 20th, 1939

Poland falls as Warzaw is taken by the fell Hun. Frenchmen and Englishmen everywhere mourn for a moment, and then get on with it. Hitler honors some nefarious deal with the Soviets in the east… Ribbentrop, that oily snake, and Molotov, the blasted traitor!

France and England

Frozen. Moleasses.

The Atlantic war

Things got interesting fast here. A German fleet suddenly showed up in the channel! Two submarine packs and no less than four cruisers with a destroyer escort were spotted, there might be more… The channel “net” reacted, striking hard and damaging most of the ships while sinking a modern cruiser. The north sea net and backup force also raced towards the channel. Adjustments last turn to let the battleships reach the both channel and north sea easier paid off, we have now completely blocked any retreat. We were surprised and pleased to see that the polish destroyer did not surrender with their countrymen. I hope that the German navy here is smaller than in 1914, as the English navy is certainly much, much smaller.

General Staff

Tank corps commissioned for both france and Britain. We refused funds to the home Guard, let the professionals handle the fighting! Speaking of professionals, we have welcomed elements of the former polish army into England, they will soon help us fight our enemies.

The US invested in intelligence research.

[AshesFall]

Turn 4 – November 17th, 1939

The Atlantic war

The German fleet struck back, sinking the British cruiser norfolk, and disappeared into the west. The French located the cruiser again, the Gneisenau, and a fierce naval battle commenced with the French coming our slightly worse for wear. Destroyers moving through the channel to intercept visible U-Boats near the Bristol channel stumbled upon yet another submarine in the channel proper, and mobbed up on it to little effect.

We now wonder where the rest of the German fleet went, and keep the channel bottled up in case they try to sneak back the way they came.

General Staff

The british start recruiting a new army, and the Soviets an engineer. The latter also invades finland, hoping for easy territorial gains.

[AshesFall]

Turn 5 – December 15th, 1939

The allies are stunned by the relentless axis aggression. They have declared war on Neutral neatherlands, and Belgium! In winter! Apparently the conventions of war means nothing to them.

France and England

Well, this certainly throws all our plans into disarray. The British have pretty much no troops at all to send yet, and French reinforcements have barely begun building. The german army seems to stand in strength in the Netherlands, three HQ’s, four armies, a tank corps and artillery are visible. The Hun must have moved almost his entire army by train directly after the conquest of Poland.

So, the question is, how do we respond? Do we move the French troops meant for a second line of defense to Belgium? I could stall this decision for a little while, as the men assembling to create a new army was instead abruptly released to the corps in the field. Strengthening the troops we have must now be a priority. Depending on the weather and German progress, we can decide what to do. The British also stall, completely caught by surprise.

The Atlantic War

Submarines appeared and sunk the French Battleship Paris. In turn, our destroyers hunted and sent several (str points) submarines deeper into the depths from where they will not emerge again. Another submarine and a cruiser has been seen raiding outside Nova Scotia, brazenly within sight of the fishermen and sailors in port.

General Staff

The English start to assemble another army in a panic, strengthening their current forces for deployment to France in the coming two weeks. God help us, the Hun is at the door.

[AshesFall]

Turn 6 – January 26th, 1940

France and England

The Germans made very little headway in the snow, hitting the Netherlands but not yet taking them out of the war. The Belgians also benefited from the bad weather, holding up well under german attacks though inflicting no casualties in return.

French command managed to sort out the logistics and send armies to reinforce the beleaguered Belgium. They expect the war to turn out as it did the last time “now that we have our line, it will not budge”. The Germans, once again, seem to be focusing their full attention on going through Belgium. The BEF arrives on French soil, also slated for Belgium. We will maintain reserves in the rear as they are made available, for Defense of the heartland should the Hun try any sneaky tricks.

The Atlantic War

A large concentration of three submarine packs found and sank the French battleship “Paris”. In return, English destroyers sent one pack down into the depths, and badly mauled a second one. We still have not found the German cruisers…

General Staff

The USSR annexes territory from finland after a short but grueling war, and the French increase their industrial efforts to match the demands of war.

The US gains an advance in infrastructure, and invests more into intelligence research.

[AshesFall]

Turn 7 – March 22nd, 1940

Denmark has accepted becoming a protectorate of Germany, with violent protests to follow in iceland. The netherlands have been overrun and surrendered, and Germany has comissioned a new cruiser.

France and England

The Germans mauled a French army by Brussels and spread out across the north. We have inflicted very little damage on them in return. The British are upgrading and arriving in more force, while the French continue to strengthen their existing forces, having no time to build any new ones.

The Atlantic War

All of the enemy naval forces have vanished into the open ocean, none of our forces combing the vast atlantic has found any of them. We shall simply have to wait and see where they appear again.

General Staff

The Brits build another army and the US invest in intelligence to the fullest. They also develop their infrastructure, while the USSR makes advances in modern airpower (advance air lvl 1) and modernizes their industry with German help under standing agreements… (industry lvl 1).

[AshesFall]

Turn 8 – April 19th, 1940

France and England

The German army seems to completely disregard the weather and the rivers, striking hard and destroying both a French and a Belgian army while severely damaging another of the French armies. Our positions in Belgium become Perilous, as the German tanks (they’re using them in large formations! They’re supposed to spread out among the infantry as support only!) wrap around our lines. Quick action was in order, moving our forces far back behind our approximate original defensive line. The Germans seem to be focusing everything in the north and as we desperately lack troops due to the early attack we cannot defend everywhere. I'm banking on that he follows through with this northern thrust. Hopefully this will give us a week or two to prepare before the Germans reach us. More Brits have deployed in France. Perhaps we will hold…

The Atlantic War

I sent a task force to deal with the raiders along Canadas coast, and have started sifting through the atlantic northwards and westwards for the damaged ships and submarines.

I really like how (appropriately) HUGE the atlantic is in this game. Really gives room for cat and mouse games...

General Staff

The USSR invests in infantry technology.

[AshesFall]

Turn 9 – May 17th, 1939

Ouch… this is a bad, bad turn. Italy is entering the war, Belgium and Luzemburg surrendered. And French morale continues to suffer.

France and England

This was the scene of most of the disasters. A sneaky paradrop that I hadn’t anticipated (I was moving forces around, and kinda figured bad weather would prevent any shenanigans) took Nancy, and the unstoppable German army just continues to mow down whatever gets in its’ way. I had to abandon the Metz line, it was about to get encircled, and with Nancy gone it just wasn’t tenable. The single bright spot is that we now have what looks like armor parity with the Germans, with one more group upgraded. Perhaps I can finally strike back a little, unfortunately the second French group wasn’t even at full strength, blech. I am really surprised at how easily the Germans could declare war in December and smash through Netherlands and Belgium, I just had no forces at that point and wouldn’t have had even if I had built the single French army first thing I did. It sort of goes against conventional military wisdom to be able to commence a major offensive in the dead of winter… but eh, I’ll just have to live with it. We’ll if France can hold out until July.

Allied hyperbole aside my –real- goal for France is to make the Germans bleed. If at all possible, I would like to destroy a tank group or two, and get British troops out without too many destroyed units. That’s the reason for the motorization upgrades, I’ll need to move them fast once France is set to fall.

Atlantic War

Still moving ships that huge distance towards Canada, where a destroyer, a cruiser and a U-boat are raiding merrily. Starting to sweep the north Atlantic and going to check around Iceland.

Italy

Moving the French and British fleets around to locate targets and strike the Italian navy while the French are still in the war. Looking to prevent Italian reinforcements from reaching north Africa.

General Staff

The US invests in infantry technology and the USSR gains production technology.

[AshesFall]

Turn 10 – June 14th, 1940

France and England

Nothing is working out at all the way I want it to in this theatre. The Germans continue to juggernaut forward, their airpower strikes devastating blows and annihilates the amies retreating from the Maginot line and most of the corps holding it as well. They are pouring in over the border and the Italians are coming from the south. At least the Brits are now strong, but I fear I spent a lot of MPP’s to ferry them over only to have to retreat them to no use and pay again for that. Because of the early I attack I have had no time to redeploy any sort of defense to the south. France is collapsing, I have to try to take some of the enemy with me. Perhaps next turn as both the British and French armies are now combat ready and led by Hq’s in the field (finally).

Italy and the Mediterranean

Italy’s entry into the war sparked an immediate naval clash outside Sicily, with my prepared forces being attacked by the Italians and then the counter thrust. We sank one italian cruiser. The Italian navy came out a little worse generally, and if he stays to fight we will both me pretty badly mauled, but him worse than me I think.

The Atlantic War

The near eternal trek over the atlantic was rewarded by finding the U-boat, I placed a destroyer slightly off the side so that he’d run into it if he tried to disengage and run away. If his destroyer and cruiser move up to engage, I have battleships waiting behind.

General Staff

England fears for her African holdings. Commonwealth forces appeared here, from Australia and New Zeeland, as well as a HQ. We strengthened our forces in east Africa, and formed the first polish corps from the volunteers.

The USSR starts creating an army.

[AshesFall]

Turn 11 – July 5th, 1940

France and England

That thing I said last turn, about things really not going the way I want them to? Yeah. That. Holy cripes those paratroopers can move! Who said white boys can’t jump? So, we lost Paris to sneaky paradrops. That was… well. Hum.

The real kickers though were the facts that;

1. French armor only has a single strike (I knew the plentiful and upgraded French armor had to be too good to be true, and I am an idiot for not checking the stats more carefully)

2. German paratroopers fight well even when out of supply. The bastards took no less than four armor steps and an infantry step with them to the grave. Thank god that I invested in mechanized infantry for the Brits or I would have never taken Paris back.

At least France is still hanging in there and we retook Paris. I’m crediting that to the very large English force I have in France (though I might be wrong).

Italy and the Mediterranean

Elsewhere things were a bit more fun. The Italian navy stayed around to continue the fight. They sank a French battleship (don’t care!) and lost no less than three battleships of their own with the fourth one badly damaged.

The Atlantic War

The submarine escaped, and we could not find it. The cruiser and destroyer came out to play, so the battleships pounced and took some six steps off it. Our search in the north atlantic has come up empty. It may be time to send the destroyers along the convoy routes and waiting for reports from the convoys on where they are being raided.

General Staff

The US developed advanced artillery and intelligence lvl1, while the USSR built another army.

[AshesFall]

Turn 12 – July 19th, 1940

France and England

Well, we have now officially held on a good bit longer than the history books say. This was also the turn of the first actual offensive success in France, with the decimation of a German army and the destruction of a German armor group. We await the Huns retaliation, and hope that the British do not get too mangled.

Oddly French morale fell further as the Germans closed in on Paris. They have already taken the city, but I suppose the people felt that to be a momentary attack by paratroopers, quickly driven out by our brave forces (at least that is what it will say when I rewrite the history books). I’m hoping that the French will to fight will last another turn or two.

Italy and the Mediterranean

The Italian navy retreated, though british and French submarines found a damaged battleship at port by sicily and fired torpedoes at it to help the construction crew find the damage easier. We will now spread out the fleet a little to keep an eye on the various ports, and any Italian reinforcements coming to North Africa.

The Atlantic War

The cruiser escaped, but the destroyer was found and sunk. Our own destroyers will start redeploying to cover convoy lines. Until something new and interesting happens here, no more reports will come from this area.

General Staff

We have decided to shift convoys away from continental France, Iceland and the Mediterranean. The USSR annexes the Baltic states.

The US develops infantry warfare 1 and amphibious warfare 2, and invests more into intelligence.

[AshesFall]

Turn 13 – August 2nd, 1939

France and England

France will collapse shortly without a doubt. Though their fighting spirit remains at least an ember, their forces are being slaughtered by the Germans with frightening ease. The British cavalry armor group was smashed in retaliation for german losses. Churchill has decided to withdraw the British, but not before accomplishing one last mission. A weakened German Panzercorps was destroyed in a combined attack by French and English forces. The French now stand bravely Near Tours, making their final efforts.

Italy and the Mediterranean

An Italian Cruiser went for our submarines by Palermo, and a destroyer also appeared. We immediately sent naval forces and sank it. Another cruiser near the port of Civitavecchia and Rome was hit by French submarines.

The Atlantic War

The fleeing German cruiser was found in the Guld of St. Lawrence by a the French cruiser task force “Suffren” as it headed back to Charlottetown to refit. The battleship Rodney responded, and sank the unfortunate Germans in the bay.

General Staff

The UK and US both advance their heavy bomber technology, probably in a joint research venture. The USSR builds another army, and deploys one army.

[AshesFall]

Turn 14 – August 16th, 1939

France and England

The French are a brave people. Though their capital has fallen, twice, and their forces are nearly destroyed, they bravely fight on to protect their British brethren as they withdraw from French soil to continue the fight elsewhere. Bilotte waits in Orleans to attempt a Parley with the Germans, hopefully they will follow the rules of war and pause, giving the English time to board waiting ships. Huntzinger stands bravely on the banks of the river outside Tours, rallying the last of the fighting French army to make a stand against the germans, buying the british in Bordeux and La Rochelle a little more time.

(I cant believe they haven’t surrendered yet, I really thought they would two turns past or something like that).

It has become a dangerous race, as German paratroopers land in Nantes, cutting off the W.D.F army’s retreat path. Many fishermen and civilians that have rallied to the call of the government to help ferry our troops to safety were fired upon by the German Paratroopers and had to flee the harbor. As soon as Gortz exits Brest, the army will attempt to follow. Perhaps they will have enough time.

General Staff

The USSR NKVD has developed more efficient intelligence routines, and the US invests in armor tech.

The UK has accepted the trade of five destroyer groups for some of their naval bases. (I thought a long time about this, but essentially even though the german navy is all but sunk already their number of submarines will no doubt increase. It takes several destroyers to deal effectively with a single sub, and five of these at 450 is essentially half price).

We have also sent 7th armored in a heavily protected transport to egypt.

[AshesFall]

Turn 15 – August 30th, 1940

France and England

France, amazingly, still fights on. Nearly all of the British forces evacuated this turn, though the 2nd army barely escaped La Rochelle, having been pursued and savaged by the vengeful XIX panzer corps and Italian Centauro tank group. The W.D.F army is attempting to coordinate its’ escape out of Brest, pursued by several corps, low on both morale and leaving equipment and their dead by the roadside. Will they escape?

Two of the Armies from France are on their way to Egypt, another will be dispatched from Great Britain soon.

Italy and the Mediterranean

Apparently the Italian navy is not yet defeated. Two battleships and two cruisers appeared and sank our Destroyer. We have sent two more battleships and a Carrier towards the Mediterranean.

There are three Armies slated for Egypt. We shall see how this develops.

The Atlantic War

Our American friends sent us intelligence about a cruiser in the Dutch bay near Rotterdam. The battleship sent to investigate discovered a large navy hiding among the small islands and shoals, a destroyer group, two cruiser taskforces and a pack of submarines. We sent every available ship to blockade the bay, and sank one of the cruisers. The depleted carrier will shortly be replaced by a newly commissioned battleship.

General Staff

The US develops naval warfare 1 and USSR develops infantry warfare 1. This last one I feel is important!

[Strategiclayabout]

Hi there ^^ ,

- Regia Marina has good numbers in 1940, Benito has spent a lot to build it before the war, however it's hard to maintain or improve it with Italy small industrial base.

- Good job using all those french ships to kill german and italian MPPs, that's the best use for them . Looks like you've discovered how ù^$* big Atlantic is and how easy it is to lose contact with german raiders, but don't worry, they always come back (until they're sunk) .

- Nice stand in France despite early Benelux invasion and those paratroopers disrupting your plans.

- BEF exit was quite "hot", could have been a disaster with some subs waiting for your transports but your western "Dunkerque" saved most of your units.

- One question since you invested a lot in british army: I remember Gort HQ being quite awful (level 4 ?), have you considered sacking him to get at least a 6 or even a 8 ? Combat results around Paris would have been better for sure.

- Do you have a plan for USSR already or are you just waiting to see what axis will do for now ?

[AshesFall]

Turn 16 & 17 – September, 1940

There really is not much tangible to report. It is said that Bilotte stood on the main street of Orleans, waving a white handkerchief when the Germans came. They shot him down in the street and entered to kill all of his remaining staff, senseless in their fury. A black and white photograph of the man himself, lying in a slightly blacker pool on the light grey stone of the street with the hanky still in his left hand just starting to soak up the darker liquid will stand as an epitaph of the war for hundreds of years to come.

Huntzinger fought like a lion. Outnumbered, with no supplies and beset by frantic messages from his traitorous government to stand down, he and his men battled the Germans until they shattered and the French army was no more. Not a single army or man in active service anywhere on the soil of France. Those in France who use “vichy” as a byword for those betraying the very memory and sacrifice of these men will continue to fight however they can. The English government does not recognize the new regime, and launched attacks to prevent their navy falling into German hands.

The W.D.F got away, leaving the harbor in fishing boats of all kinds as the German army entered Brest and impotently stood by and watched them sail away.

The German navy that the English believed “trapped” in the bay struck back viciously, another U-boat appearing out of nowhere to sink a cruiser and a battleship with the aid of the Luftwaffe. It is clear that we must find better ways to combat these wolves of the sea.

A daring raid on Dakar was not a success. Our researchers have made great strides. The US have advanced aircraft, the USSR better infrastructure, again in collusion with German engineers. Stalin dares hope for peace with the continued cooperation between the two nation, even as he annexes the Baltic nations. Uk has developed more efficient engines for our aircraft, they will now be able to travel farther.

[AshesFall]

Turn 18 – October 25th, 1940

As little is happening, this will be a turn of reflection and planning (this post will also aim to answer some of your questions, StrategicLayabout ^^).

France

I was really quite surprised at how well they held up, and for how long. They didn’t surrender until September, so they held on a lot longer than historical. I really don’t know if two tank corps and a paratrooper unit is considered “high losses” for the taking of France, but I know that I invested significantly into the English army to help the French and inflict as many losses as possible. Did the french hold up because of the amount of Brits in there to help? When looking back at the French stats they really were awful, their armies were a lot worse than German and British armies, and their tanks as well. The Brits did lose a tank group, but otherwise made it out fairly intact. I am fairly pleased with how this turned out after all. Perhaps my opponent would have been better served spending as little as possible on operating units, researching and building more tanks and then attacking in late may with even more overwhelming force than he already had.

England

I did consider sacking the extremely incompetent English HQ. However, I just never had the funds to spare (I needed to save MPP’s to transport the English out of france, and that was a good thing as I just had enough).

At this moment English income is extremely bad, what with several events hampering them. However, I don’t intend to sit still with the Brits. I want them to fight and hinder the Axis as much as possible, with as few losses as possible. If I don’t misremember my history there will be attacks on Yugoslavia and Greece, and perhaps the Brits can be there in force for Greece and make it take long enough to put gravel in the machinery building towards Barbarossa.

I am wondering if I get any of these commanders by script (Montgomery, Wavel or the others…), or if I need to build/Sack them myself?

Also, the italian navy might not be out of it yet. But they cant be happy about the loss of a cruiser and three battleships either. ^^

USA

I’m going for an extremely tech heavy strategy with the US, aiming for as much “intelligence” tech and all other kinds as well as possible before the end of 1941. Once that swings around I’ll build units instead, and the US should have a small force ready to cause headaches where possible around mid/late 42. It seems sensible to focus on tech first with the US.

USSR

With the soviets I am doing the opposite more or less. I’ve put a chit into the most important areas, Infantry (I got a hit off the inf tech, which was very nice) and armor tech, and am building as much as possible in units otherwise. There are some five armies and two corps in their production queue on or before January 1941 as it is.

As for the defense of the Soviet motherland I am extremely torn. Russia is very, very big. This means that it is very difficult to defend in any sort of “static” line. On the other hand, Maneuver warfare against superior German troops is a bit silly as well. I basically have three thoughts so far.

First, there will be units deploying In Siauliai and Bialystok in the north. Perfectly placed to be surrounded and destroyed by the Germans first thing. Can this be prevented? Any of these units that I can operate away deep into Russia will be huge assets later on. I have zero illusions about being able to hold a line anywhere in the north during all of 1941, there is just too much open ground and the Germans will be too awesome. Maybe, if I can put corps in most of the cities. That’s 9 corps right there, should not be impossible to do. A total of ten armies create something of a screen around the tanks and fighters. Most of these will try to retreat if they survive the first two weeks.

In the south, the fact that Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria will all be axis makes the border impossible to defend. Any Soviet troops at Lwow will be encircled with certainty if the axis devote any real effort to the task. I figure it is better to just try and hold the cities here, so that if the Axis focus in the north the units around Lwow can move back out of reach. If they do strike here, it will take some time for them to move forward. Seven Corps in the south then.

Now the only place I have found where I just might, in theory, make a stand is around Kiev to Alexandrovsk and Kherson, deep into southern Russia. To this end, an engineer (the very first thing I built with the soviets when I had 200mp) has been constructing forts in front of Dnepropetrovsk, to shorten the line as much as possible. Two more forts will be built near Kherson. This effort just might close the way into southern Russia, as lakes and rivers make lanes of attack difficult. However, such a defensive line also ties up between 12 and 14 armies, which I just do not have any way of producing while still trying to maintain the north at the moment. Perhaps, once Russia is actually in the war, it will be possible. Especially if the Germans don’t focus in the south.

Northern Russia seems impossible to defend in any static way whatsoever. Too much territory, not enough troops. I’ll try to watch where the Germans focus, and counter them as best I can. Moving to positions behind rivers or in forests and swamps, trying to “seed” the cities in their arc of advance with cheap troops to slow them down. As a last line of defense, I have started building a line of fortresses in front of Moscow, this will be expanded as much as possible. Should the Germans reach this line, we will attempt to hold Moscow for as long as possible.

At the current count then, I'll need at least 10 armies and 16 corps. This is not counting the at least 12 armies that will be needed for the southern defensive line.

We currently have 10 Armies active in all of Russia, and eight corps. Five more armies are being created, and two corps. They will all have arrived by January. Looks like we'll be building corps in the coming months.

General Staff

Aside from much reflecting, the UK developed lvl 1 artillery, and the US lvl 2 intelligence.

Oh yes, and Hungary joined the Axis.

[AshesFall]

Turn 19 – November 22nd, 1940

The Germans are tireless in their thirst for new conquests. They declared war on Greece, and apparently this belligerence is just the thing Franco likes, as the axis have had diplomatic success here and they are now at 48%.

Romania also joined them. While Britain stands alone, isolated and fighting bravely, being chummy with the Nazis seems to be the done thing in continental Europe.

Greece

The Greeks were about as badly prepared for war as anyone else so far, and were given a rough awakening as Germans parade into their country and savage the Army in Ioannina. The British armies on their boats heading for Egypt diverted and landed in Athens. An Italian battleship appeared off the ciast near Corfu, and was immediately intercepted and sunk by British naval forces.

England

The Germans constantly harass out ports with their Luftwaffe. They sank a cruiser laying at anchor under repairs, and reconnaissance flights spotted a highly modern German battleship, the Bismark, and a modern cruiser in the channel. Our damaged ships withdrew, hoping to find shelter elsewhere.

The Atlantic War

Two German cruiser squadrons appeared in the north Atlantic to do battle with a destroyer fleet of ours, it got away with minor damage. As our Destroyers moved to intercept, we found no less than two submarines. Badly damaging one and slightly damaging the other.

General Staff

Englands extremely low income, and for that matter the very low income of all allied countries across the board really hurts. There is so much that needs to be done!

[AshesFall]

Turn 20 – November 22nd, 1940

Greece

The actual invasion seems fairly low key, three German armies are visible so far and a Fallschirmsjager division. The Italians are loitering in the rear, no doubt too busy playing mandolins to do any real fighting. The British moved up to secure an important crossroads, and we sent proper leadership to the Greek mainland. We will soon send corps to occupy Crete and eventually Kalamata and Patrai. (Question, does the british occupation of Crete go by sctipt, giving me troops there, or do I need to grab it?)

The Atlantic War

The U-boats sank into the seas and vanished, we could not find them. We’re assembling a task force to escort our destroyers, defending them from the two cruisers we know are out there somewhere, and that battleship and cruiser task force that just bulled their way through the channel.

General Staff

We chose not to attack the German port in France, retaining the destroyer and the funds. UK developed intelligence lvl 1, US invested in a third chit in intelligence, and the USSR continues building corps for “operation speedbump”.

[Strategiclayabout]

Thanks for all details on USSR plans .

Crete:

- As far as I know Crete becomes Axis when Athens is captured/Greece falls so I suppose UK have to send something there before that to retain the island.

- There is also a pop window for operation Merkur when a german unit come close to Heraklion (even if it's already Axis ).

[Strategiclayabout]

- Your USSR plan is interesting, I can't (and won't) say bad or good because many things depend on what Axis will do and how it will do it. Well you know it and I suppose that's why you keep your strategy flexible.

- Location of fortifications are an important factor in how well nazis will do. You choice is a bit different from usual strategies but it adds some surprise to the whole plan . One thing I can add without spoiling the game: did you hit the "P" key to see partisan tiles in USSR ? Can be of use to plan with that in mind .

[AshesFall]

Turn 21 & 22 – December 20th through 28th ´March

(Last turn was supposed to be December 20th sorry about that!)

The war is fairly quiet, giving me time to reflect on the state of things a little more (rarely a good thing ^^).

Britain

England’s economy remains terrible, and can barely keep up with the very minimum requirements of repairing some of the navy to a working standard and trying to repair the airforce and invest at least one chit in anti-submarine warfare. Possibly I should have left some of those events alone, but I can’t see any that would have been a good idea to decline. Possibly, since we can’t seem to do much to deal with the U-boats anyway, the destroyers for bases one and then just sit tight and wait for the Americans to enter the war. For now, most plans have been put on hold. I did start to send an army to the Med, but the Italian navy is out in force, our own is too badly damaged to fight it (there are two battleships heading to the area, but taking a long time in getting there) and the Bismarck along with at least four cruisers are roving the Atlantic. It just wasn’t a good idea, so I sent them back. That’s a few wasted MPP’s right there, but better than having the army sunk into the sea by either the Italians or the Germans. I can’t even afford upgrades for my fighters.

Greece

Defensive posture for now, will try to delay the fall of this minor for as long as possible. Hopefully, I will get some more funds so that I can repair the navy and chase away the Italians. That way I can reinforce, or evacuate if needed. I chose to stage a coup in Yugoslavia, and according to the Strat guide they should now be joining me. Hopefully, that will put a crimp in Hitlers plans for Russia and cost him valuable time.

The Atlantic War

The Germans raid our convoys with U-boats, and then attack our destroyers with a roaming pack of cruisers. I’m wary of going out to hunt these cruisers in force, as that would leave Britain entirely undefended on the naval side, something I don’t want to do until the Axis have committed in the East.

USSR

We’re slowly building the defense of Russia, too slowly. The south is still almost entirely undefended, and the corps are too late in coming. I expect things to kick off here soon, and I’m not particularly ready. At least the north is geared up somewhat to my expectations. The Yugoslavia coup was part desperation to try and delay the attack on USSR for a bit more, letting me prepare.

General Staff

Aside from the Yugoslavian coup I lent funds to special operations to set Europe Ablaze. The cost was negligible, and it might produce some disturbances. I have to do everything possible to disrupt Hitlers eastern conquest.

Speaking of that, I got a hit off the chit in armor tech for USSR, now at lvl 2. That should hopefully put me on par with the germans in armor at least.

[AshesFall]

Turn 23 – April 25th, 1941

I got something of a nasty scare this turn, when an intelligence report revealed German armor in Antwerp. The Germans also have at least seven or eight Aircraft in the west judging by the attacks and escorts, striking savagely at my troops along the coast. This could be a feint, but why would the Germans have armor sitting in the west with Barbarossa at most two months away? the Aircraft can be operated, but why take the expense?

If the weather is clear next turn I’ll try to scout with aircraft from the carriers over France. Nonetheless, the navy that has been hiding on the east and west coast of England started moving closer to the channel. With so many Carriers reinforced again now I hope to be able to protect the ships from the Luftwaffe.

General Staff

The USA developed intelligence lvl 3. I have started investing in anti submarine warfare with the US, if they get a hit or two, UK’s chances of getting a hit increases.

[Strategiclayabout]

- Actually, for Yugoslavia, it will probably come very close to your side but not 100%, you'll have to invest at least 1 chit to finish the job but usually Axis decides to deal with the threat first and invade, sparing you the cost .

- Your little venture in Greece is doing well so far, calling back your sailing units is an interesting choice given the cost. A bit surprised not to see more air support in Greece, one stuka would have done terrible damages and speed up things a lot for Axis though I know (and you know) operating/upgrading units can be punishing MPPs wise.

- Otherwise, fun game with unusual moves and a lot of naval action. Don't worry too much about USSR state, I've seen far worse. My first SoE campaign was a mess on both sides (bad production planning) with nearly no troops for Barbarossa: no defense in towns but not enough nazi units to grab them all . Tanks lvl 2 is a very good hit for Soviets in early 1941, that will do a lot of damage if Germans arn't cautious.