Terif VS Liam

[Liam]

I demanded a rematch after the humiliating defeat to Terif previously. I took the Axis again... Panzerliga Match

Operating West, to take Benelux Early and cleaning off Denmark left Poland a hard fought victory a German Tank and Army taking major damage. France moved forward due to ill deployment of Axis troops on the Western Front and took out the Siegfried line pretty much, leaving only 1 tile in place. Regardless this only motivated German troops to move further forward taking Frontal Position against Paris. Eventually Terif would have to operate back, taking heavy losses, reinforcements arriving late from Poland. Regardless France held out until Mid-Spring 1939. German U-Boat was hunted and taken out...Also retook Brest from British Commandos nearly having lost a German Army there..Those Commandos possessed some amazing AntiAircraft Guns!

Second swing of action would be diplomatic, Spain didn't move at all and wasn't part of the Great Reich until 1941. However Iraq and USA both bent to the will of Churchill, two little Girls in the diplomatic bed! One started shipment of Oil the other American Supplies! An Atrocity they would both come to regret joining the war the following year.

Norway had been conquested during 1939, with the Northern Flank of the German's threatened, I launched an amphibious invasion of Sweden, taking it in late '40 along with Norway, polishing off hard british resistance. British losing their BEF there and the Axis having a rather poor weather campaign, waiting too long to take the iniative. North Africa also Fell in The East to the Germans and Italians, with Afrika Corp sent personally by Berlin... IN the West however Morocco and Vichy Algeria had been seized by the Allies. With nearly their entire navy, pinning down the Italians and Germans from expanding any further. No Major naval engagements as of yet. All this British Action made it difficult for Axis to build up strong and the delay of Spain means she is a little weak going into Late '41

As USA Joined early, Summer of '41 Germany decided to delay Barbarossa and capture Switzerland, Portugal and Vichy France. All were done in timely fashion, but the USSR joined up a bit early. Despite only moving into Syria Italian and German troops did not have a chance to take Iraq by force as USSR pre-DOWed it... She joined Late Summer of '41 and Axis occuppied 2 frontal cities. Bit after Finland was assualted, the outcome of that Campaign is yet to be resolved, Russians are in the front with bad weather, so resupply doesn't look possible.

In the Med, we have taken up defensive positions and attempted not to engage the Royal Navy, the British are moving Eastward ( Go east Young Man ) To retake the entirety of North Africa back to Colonial Rule. Axis meanwhile are regrouping and preparing for a Cold Winter... Iran to Libya still Axis. For the most part, despite some Commando Raids, and Some Royal Airforce Action against the Rock-Spain and the Luftwaffe in Spain. The US and UK navy and airfleets nearly destroyed several Axis units attempting to join Minor Portugal to her Big Iberian Brother in Spain Then pushed back the Italian Navy out of the Boot Region further East, Italians uneasy about engaging a foe so much larger than herself!

Axis possess no tech edge and no apparent Numerical superiority, USSR is Silent, a dead frontier.. a second Front could come any day or the Allies will just bleed the Axis all the way to Iran. All major land techs are maxed out pretty much on all sides, air is on the allied side and must Assume MPPs as well. It's a downhill battle for Terif after he survives Winter and Siberians come SOON

That will mean Axis have no Army Advantage. I am beginning to believe if Axis don't win 1941 they don't win the game at all... It's all about the Operations and Actions of these years.. So far I do not believe I have lost 1 Unit on Land

[ October 25, 2006, 03:55 AM: Message edited by: Liam ]

[Retributar]

"NEVER SURRENDER!!!,...NEVER GIVE UP!!!". "STICK & STAY & MAKE IT PAY!!!". "EVERY DAY ABOVE GROUND IS A GOOD DAY!!!".

[Iron Ranger]

Against a good player (one that has counted the tiles), the turn 2 LC gambit is a loser for axis I feel. Yea, it looks great and there is risk for both sides but due to split force's and low moral due to operating units west axis is missing its power - one huge punching group.

"I am beginning to believe if Axis don't win 1941 they don't win the game at all"

looks at past posts... shocking!

[Liam]

Winter 1941

Frozen in their trenches German boots cannot be kicked clean off ice. So Axis troops hold out on Winter Offensive in USSR. Gather and regroup for the Offensive of 1941 which starts early! In Spring, with clear weather in the South... Finland had fallen during the Winter despite the shipment in of Elite German Corps. However the Russians would not ship home Helsinki Industry for most the rest of War due to Axis 18 Inch guns leveling Helsinki to the ground.

Around Kiev, Odessa German troops poise for the Assualt into the The Ukraine, to Unite all People's of the USSR under our Iron Cross, crushing all resistance without much payback, Terif withdrawl's his Russian Armies but leaves a strong pocket around Kharkov in entrenched fortifications. Regardless these are captured, along with Donetz Coal and Sevastapol. German Units face Fierce Soviet counter attacks for the Southern Coalfields losing two tank armies. These are an objective Terif does not wish to lose. 6 Axis air focuse their concentrated firepower on reducing the Immense Fortification efforts by the Soviets to Smitherines.. Very effectively...

Ultimately despite these successes and the capture of Rostov, The Germans are hurting. North Africa has been overrun. Scandanavia as well. American Armies, corps and tanks with a lightning speed Liberate Sweden and capture Norway... Also open the Baltic Sea to destroy the Kriegsmarine once and for all!

The Line as of 1942, as we sit again through another Winter is from outside Leningrad-down through Smolensk to a new pocket which has now formed, the Rostov Voronezh Pocket! Which is bolstered by Axis reinforcements, all units which were destroyed the Prior Campaign are brought back to bare upon the Soviets! However The High Command decides instead of pushing upon the Caucasus or Stalingrad, the objective will be at Moscow to open up the Pocket...

meanwhile in the MiddleEast and Egypt, Allied Commando landings pave the way for the Liberation of All territories there conquored the prior years by the Axis, All the way into Iraq the Afrika korp is pursued, so it is now officially the Arab korp We hold out a long time there but the front collapses due to superior Allied airpower and numbers, the entire Med is controlled by Allied Naval fleets but a major landing from the underbelly of Europe is never attempted full scale

In the East, we place near 10 armies and tanks mixed with another 10 corps and 6 high experienced Airfleets...all facing Moscow, the objective is to take the Russian Capitol, as the Winter breaks and the ground hardens we hear news, Soviet Counter Attack in the South! Most unexpected. Close to 6 Soviet Tank Armies and upwards of 20 mixed other combats units pour out of the Caucasus and from Behind Moscow. The entire plane is unveiled the Pocket is closed in on and crushed. German Commanders make a last ditch effort striking out in an offensive action to clear the supply lines but is all doomed. The movement North has made our inferior numbers vulnerable to Attack and we're squeezed like a grape....

Meanwhile American's land in Prussia from Sweden and Brit's are landing Normandy, the Germans seek peace not wanting to prolong the war and lose anymore troops in the field, it is a total route to continue

Aftermath: Germany had the Punch in '42 I kept them relatively Beefed up but that year was a building year for the Allies, they must outnumber Axis 3 to 1

[Terif]

A classical summer-offensive / winter-build-up game in the east .

- Summer 1941 Axis conquered the territories Riga-Minsk-Kiev, to move into wintering grounds near the mines.

- Summer 1942 a massive aircampaign with 6 AF followed by 7 ground attacks destroy the mighty russian fortress behind the river south of the 2 mines, so german forces can break through. Therefore Russia decides to retreat its unprotected forces towards Rostov/Stalingrad while the fortress system around Kharkov had to hold off the invaders which before finally beeing eliminated they accomplished excellently and even managed to destroy several heavy axis pieces before winter was near and both sides started entrenching and building up.

Meanwhile western Allies were not passive:

Starting in Cassablanca, the outmost western city in the african desert, they started their desert war, liberating city after city, destroying several italian armies entrenched in them...finally reaching Tobruk and Egypt. In front of Tobruk Royal Navy encountered the first light naval battle with the italian fleet that retreated towards the east after they lost their sub and superior allied forces arrived. In Iraq 3 axis armies supported by Manstein and several corps were battling with some russian forces in the mountains and got obviously orders to stay and fight till death – no retreat, no surrender, directly from german high command. In Egypt and Syria the italian fleet got trapped with no way to escape any more. 2 ships destroyed by ground forces in the ports, the crew of the last italian remnants paniced in front of the allied battleship fleet supported by 4 carriers and surrendered without much of a fight. Till winter 1942 the last axis forces that retreated till Iran got eliminated after a last mountain battle.

During this campaign US forces conquered Albania and Corsica. The last italian battleship was hiding in Venice port, licking its wounds and receiving extensive repairs after it got in a battle with a US battleship group and 2 carriers bombarded it in port. Since due to constant repairs a destruction from sea was impossible, UK special forces landed in northern Italy. Taking Torino and cutting off the italian boot at Venice. So they forced the battleship group out of their hiding to leave their now threatened port position and UK naval forces waiting outside the harbor gave him the death blow – the italian fleet was no more.

UK special forces evacutated immeditately when facing german elite units in Switzerland and Venice, escaping with their boats. Simultaneously in southern Spain both spanish cruisers went into their last combat and got sunk by several light allied patrol ships. In the Atlantic the last 2 german subs got sunk by US destroyers after damaging several convoy ships.

At the same time Allies also invaded Scandinavia via the empty Bergen, moving further inland. In Sweden Axis gathered a powerful force including german HQ and heavy pieces for defence – but when they spotted 3 US HQs with all available armies and both tank groups, while Royal Navy broke through at Denmark - entering Baltic - they started evacuation. In the effort to secure evacuation, the german Kriegsmarine got eradicated – but except for a german army, all swedish defenders were able to escape, so they did their duty.

So in a pretty much simultaneous battle at 4 places - the eastern Med, southern Spain, Atlantic and Baltic - the entire axis fleet got sunk. Losses were 2 allied vessels vs 16 axis ships .

The last ground battle started in summer 1943:

During winter, Russia had rebuilt all lost units from the last summer battles and built extensive fortifications between Rostov and Stalingrad, awaiting the enemy in a 2-row defence line behind the river...but the enemy never came. Instead Axis had built their own defence cluster between Kharkov and Vologda with their 6 airfleets in the middle.

So the 3 allied powers decided in their winter war conference in Iceland to end the war in a gigantic battle of encirclement and annihilation:

- Russia launched the battle with its main offensive from Stalingrad in the east, immediately liberating Rostov

- A second army group attacked from the north via Moskov

- UK attacked from the south: landing a strong force under O´Connor with tank, army and several corps in Northern Italy, destroying a defending german corps and cutting of the italian boot. As a distraction also some forces landed in Normandy, cutting off Brest.

- The main strike of western Allies got lead by Patton and Eisenhower when they landed in Königsberg with their troops, marching east towards the battle around Kharkov to cut the last german survivors there off from the west.

So in the end the german pocket in Russia was under attack from all 4 directions, all 7 german tanks got destroyed and the AFs in the middle of the corral already under direct attack when Axis surrendered unconditionally.

To support the last offensive, another task force liberated Denmark. Clark stayed in Sweden as well as Montgomery to command the 8 allied AFs and bombers there. In a massive bombing campaign, german cities and mines got totally destroyed and burned down in firestorms – Berlin completely eradicated to str 0, the last defender fleed the city so it was empty with US tanks approaching when Axis surrendered in July 1943.

An interesting and good long game, with the biggest ground battle in history fought in the last days of the war – Germany operated all available german units from all over Europe into this battle so there were only minor units defending the west and all german units caught in one huge pocket... under attack and crushed from all sides .

[JJColorado]

Wow - when I read this review I can't understand how the Western Allies are so strong in your game. When I am Wallies and I lose Egypt and the Germans take Norway and Spain, I have a hard time making an offensive anywhere - even repairing the navy is difficult. Also you had 4 CV's in the Med it said in the report. Did you build an extra CV? This seems so difficult with little Allied MPP income.

It's amazing to read how your allies are so strong. Mine are always so poor.

[Terif]

When Spain goes to Axis, then Allies get a fourth carrier - so they have 3 UK and 1 US carrier.

Allies (and Axis) have more than enough mpps to buy everything they want if they spend their ressources wise - and USA + Russia have to always research Industry Tech since this greatly increases their income.

One mistake you should never make is to repair (or upgrade) your ships (be it as Axis or Allies) - otherwise you will loose the war at land since ships are very expensive to repair and upgrade. If Allies know how to use their ships, then Axis never can threaten their supremacy at sea any more as soon as USA is in the war.

[Blashy]

JJColorado,

1) Terif is THE master of this game, bar none, he has studied EVERY aspect and knows it better than anyone, no one comes close to his knowledge of the game mechanics.

2) He is also a great player, even if he did not study the game so extensively he would end up being in the top 5 players.

3) He is patient, he made all those attacks simultaneously (or close to that) and he is the master at coordinating units in this game.

4) UK 3 Carriers, USA gets 1 when spain joins.

NOTE: The game still slightly favors Axis, but vs. Terif that is irrelevant, hehe.

But I'm sure Terif can do better to offer you some tips.

[Desert Dave]

1) Terif is THE master of this game, bar none, he has studied EVERY aspect and knows it better than anyone, no one comes close to his knowledge of the game mechanics.

Even including Hubert? LOL!

[... perhaps? Edit out "bar none?"]

Well,

I would rate "game mechanics"

A distant third, behind:

1) Game "aesthetics," IE, variants and appearance of units & game-board and the like

kind of "pleasure-creating" aspects

2) Reasonable adherence to WHATEVER historical imperative it might be, whether WW-2

or USA Civil War #1, and etc

Other than that,

Another!

Wonderful AAR,

Superbly written and contested,

As per usual. :cool:

[Liam]

No, it's not rocket science to get Allied MPPs, it's just knowing how to spend them. It's true what Terif said, DO NOT upgrade your damaged ships, you hide them and protect them with undamaged ships, this is not SC1 and even then, you should wait till they're actually used. Biggest mistake of Young Allied Players. Carriers are not really important, they are precision weapons and expensive to upgrade and use... 4 of them makes only a small contribution to the game. I find they're best on Subs and knocking out entrenched Axis units. If you want Allied MPPs, ignore defense, on go on offense, both diplomatically and on neutrals, but beware the wrong neutrals... Brits can have 2 HQs, 10 land units, and 3 or 4 air units all upgraded by 1942 easy

Some by Summer of '41

You get good by practice, I do not study scripts much, some I admit. Mainly from accidents it's funner that way and I'm ok.. I think if Terif went to sleep in this game for about 5-6 months he might of lost... he know's his Map as well as his income... You must learn from experience to know the map, the income and scripts/events will come as well as the strategies

Practice, signup for Panzerleague