Blashy (Allies) vs Jollyguy (Axis) AAR

[Jollyguy]

Well, it concerns me when Blashy says he’s “trying something different.” Last time he said that he conjured up that chitless Iraq activation by invading Syria, followed by the southern invasion of Turkey.

Sombra is correct, max out your US convoys and England can get up to 90 or 100 mpps per turn I believe. In four or five turns you have enough for a fighter. Blashy could also be upgrading his carriers, as after two turns of air attacks by Goring’s boys I just killed the Malta corp, and will take the island next turn. So, he will have the entire Italian navy to contend with, plus the two Spanish cruisers, plus the entire German navy, most of it experienced from hitting Malta for close to ten turns. BTW, carriers are quite effective anti-ship weapons since the patch. I’ve used them very effectively in several of my other ladder games. What I do is not upgrade them unless it looks like I’ll need them because it is costly to do so, but if needed they can come in handy.

As to the game, it’s July, 1942, and the German High Command is nervously watching Russian readiness climb, as it stands around 60% now.

And Sombra’s also correct on having the French buy the Iraq chits. In my games I usually have the French buy three chits ASAP, and I’d say better than 2/3rds of the time, maybe even 3/4s of the time, I get the Iraq convoys started. That extra 30 mpps per turn makes a huge difference to England.

Bob

[Jollyguy]

I had too many units on the Russian border and readiness spiked, even though Berlin telegrammed Stalin that the "settlers" were only there for summer recreation, and to stake out town sites in the new Polish real estate seized 1 ½ years earlier. Stalin visits the frontier and doesn’t buy it, especially when he sees the settlers driving tanks instead of tractors, and hoisting small arms rather than shovels and spades. He declares war. Germany rightfully sees this as an unprovoked act, just like when the Poles attacked defenseless German troops in September, 1939, and sends their soldiers, er, settlers pouring across the border during August, 1941. Truth be told, Adolf is pissed, because he was planning to announce his DOW in a big speech at the Olympic Stadium, and you know how good an orator AW is, so he feels Stalin upstaged him.

In the first tactical mistake that might have consequences, the Russian central command leaves an HQ too close to the front, several hexes south of Leningrad, and a motorized Wehrmacht corp and army combine to take it out. Blashy had an entrenched Russian corp hit one of my corps and inflict damage as it moved to envelope a city, so the HQ was supporting his units, but the HQ obviously got one hex too close to the front.

Meanwhile Yugoslavia was subdued a couple turns ago, meaning 3 minor corps are on garrison duty. Blashy told me all the mountain hexes need zones-of-control by two units, then Belgrade needs to be garrisoned, in order to prevent partisans.

Out west I finally take Brest back, which was garrisoned by a British army. I hit the port one turn with a bomber and airfleet fresh from subduing Malta, to trap the unit, and then moved up land units, which the RN and RAF hit and inflicted moderate to heavy damage, while the two and three bar Luftwaffe fighters take minor damage. I destroy the BEF army and take the city back the next turn, and rush a Spanish cruiser into the port. Meanwhile, my northern port is still reduced, and the cowardly Swedes and Norwegians refuse to put their ships out to sea, so the Germans don't receive the tribute they so rightly deserve.

US readiness is in the mid 70%’s, but a US Carrier from the Pacific fleet takes a look see around Brest. With Franco already in they can do this without worrying about a readiness increase.

Bob

[Jollyguy]

An update on this game. Once Spain joined the Axis took Portugal, Gibralter, and hit Syria triggering Iraqi entry on Axis side, and it took me awhile to secure all the other Vichy cites, but the Med is now an Axis lake. I noticed after securing the other two Vichy Africa cities that my resources didn’t go up like they did in SC 1, and Blashy said you need to secure a landbridge through Turkey for that. Our house rule is no Southern Turkey invasion, so the Axis high command is weighing whether hitting Turkey from Europe proper would be worth the commitment of forces, and if so, when.

Greece is still neutral as I just couldn’t spare the troops, as is Switzerland and Turkey and Iran. Blashy triggered Yugoslavia pre-Barbarossa which tied down some troops, but after it surrendered he told me where to place my three unit garrison, so no partisans have appeared there (need zones of control on all mountain hexes, plus Belgrade). I took Norway and Sweden earlier, and then Leningrad in 1941, which connected Scandanavia, upping all their resources. My bomber helped reduce the entrenchment on Leningrad, and btw other cities, and as Axis I always build one now for the Russian campaign. The Koninsberg port and ore convoys were only down for about a year, as when winter hit he couldn’t hit it with his bomber, and I planted a battleship there so he couldn’t’ hit it with his navy. Once the port got back up to 5 it was upgraded to AA level 2, and I moved in the Spanish fighter. When the weather cleared he tried hitting it again, but I suspect took heavy damage, and he hasn’t hit it since.

The most interesting part of the game was in Russia, it was an absolute knockdown, drag out, toe-to-toe bloodletting. I secured the forward center cities and Leningrad in 1941, but that was all I was able to do before winter hit. So he was able to build-up, and then the Siberians transferred. My bomber could see extensive fortifications running five hexes south of Moscow, almost connecting to the city above the mines, but the Wehrmacht had little interest in disturbing Stalin at his Moscow dacha. When the weather cleared I turned southeast, hitting the mines with my level three tanks and level two IW and AT infantry, backed up by five Luftwaffe airfleets and the bomber and the Rumanian airfleet. Blashy left Sevastapol empty, and I pondered whether this was a trap, but landed my paratroops anyway, and it ended up not being a trap. He committed the bulk of his forces and tanks to meet me around the mines, and for the next several turns it was a slugfest as we traded units back-and-forth by the dozen. When the smoke cleared I believe I lost over a dozen corps, probably half a dozen armies, and several tanks. His losses were at least equal. But after clearing the battlefield of the dead and bulldozing the wreckage aside, I continued forward. I took that city above the mine, then finally sank his Black Sea navy which had been harrying me the entire time, and took that next city southeast and pushed into the Caucusses, taking the northern oil field but the Caucusses is not cut off yet, which is where things stand as the fall of 1942 approaches.

Looking back, I think the difference in the Russian battle is that I hit first. Like the airfleet exchanges that used to occur in SC 1, I was able to exact first blood and take out and damage the first set of units, leaving him that much less to hit back with. I also screened my tanks and armies when possible with corps, leaving me with more high value (tank) units standing.

Out west my trusty minors have been assigned primary first wave defense duty, and are dug-in, while my AA level two has exacted damage each time his bombers have hit Brest and Paris. He took Brest in the summer of 1942 but didn’t move for probably half a dozen turns, and has just now moved to take that second French coastal city, using his Americans. That will likely fall next turn, and maybe Paris too, but that will probably be about where things end until the spring of 1943.

One interesting thing out west is the transfer of the US Pacific fleet tips naval dominance to the Allies. I lost one Italian capital ship awhile ago when I had thoughts of trying to interdict the movement of US transports, but after it was swarmed by the RN and USN, well, my admirals refuse to venture into the Atlantic anymore, which is an Allied lake. So my navy, still a viable force, remain bottled up in the Med and the Baltic. I debated suicide runs, but decided to hold them in reserve for possible use later, depending on how the rest of the war goes.

Bob

[Blashy]

If I said 3 minors for Yugoslavia, I instructed you wrong, you only need two. My error sorry about that.

In Russia the AFs I hate even more now that I've played my mod in which they seem more realistic, everything else as well .

Still Russians must have cost him some cash because I took out as many as he took, my only problem are his tanks.

I've taken Brest and Bordeaux and keep Paris at 0 supply for tactical reasons, helping me secure the French West coast. Summer of 43 is coming up.

[Jollyguy]

Okay, this one ended in an Axis victory. Blashy gave me a run for my money, but once Spain threw their hat in the ring with Adolf, I changed strategy and started collecting minors in Rambo-like fashion, one after the other. By the end of the game the only minors not in were Greece, Turkey, Iran, and Ireland.

Because of minor collecting my Barbarossa was anemic, only capturing the four front cities. I then concentrated on Leningrad, then the mines and that area. Then, after taking Rostov following incredible bloodletting, and crossing the Don River and moving east to try to cut Russia in half, Blashy hit me with something like 14 corps at IW and AT 3, in basically human wave attacks. He pushed me back to Rostov, where I stabalized the front. We parried back-and-forth some more, but I eventually wore him down.

Out West he was able to put Paris under siege, but never took it. I got up to advanced aircraft 3, which was enough to attrit his lesser tech airfleets trying to soften Paris, where I had anti-air 2. Without Egypt Britain was mpp starved and probably funding Russia as best she could, and each US army/corp destroyed meant he had to replace them from the US, which is time consuming. Eventually I was able to put my Germans on the offense in Russia and the Italians out West the same turn.

IMO the Western Allies need help when Spain comes in. As Terif said months ago, if Spain comes in, it's virtually game over against a competent Axis opponent. All the Axis has to do is collect minors. By the end of the game I was uas up to 545 mpps for Germany during the summer, and 100 for the Italians. That seems out of balance, that the Italians out produce the Brits, and the Germans produce twice the US, and with all those units as a head start too. Meanwhile I was planning on hitting Greece, then Turkey, to up my Africa holdings.

But even then, I think changes should be gradual, but there should help out West for the Allies when Spain comes in, and Turkey needs to be fixed, and Sea Lion should be just a bit harder. Without Spain the Axis has a harder time. With luck in my game with Terif the Axis won't get Spain, and I'll get to see how an Axis game proceeds accordingly.

Bob

[Blashy]

You don't need Spain, it just makes the end occur sooner.

I've got one game to go with the default campaign and then no more games with it. It's not historical and the Allies can't win while the Axis can conquer the world, so it is also not realistic .

I've got 5 games going with my mod and it is prooving much more realistic, historical and best of all, more entertaining, that was an unexpected bonus.

Oh antoher bonus, most games go to 1945. The only time one would end sooner is if an inexperienced player was playing either side vs. an experienced player.

Jollyguy, Turkey is fixed and Sealion is as well in my mod. Give it a shot.

It was a good game still, it gave me a chance to try something. A mass DDay in 43. A slight tickle to the Axis.