Terif Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Once Axis ruled over most of the known world, from Trondheim in the icy north till Gorky near Ural mountains...France, Spain, Portugal...Cassablanca through the untamed desert...up to Tehran the old persian city...not even the ancient Greece and the much younger state of Yugoslavia were able to avoid the axis tyranny.... ...until tens of thousands of allied bombers from a tiny island in the ocean...called England...soar into the air...bringing havoc to the enemy and burning down all axis cities to the ground....after the firestorms ceased, only ruins and dust remained of the once mighty evil empire... Lots of games vs Rambo lately – this one deserves an AAR as it was among the longest games I ever played and demonstrates the possible longterm power of british and american bombers even if the whole continent is under Axis control and german level 4 subs rule the ocean . This game my Allies decided to use a full bomber strategy – also a result of very busy german scientists researching sub technology – western Allies built nearly no ground units except for a few corps and paratroopers that were sent on sabotage missions into France and Germany, but eventually every UK and US citizen had its own personal aircraft... . Axis started the war with a fast western approach, conquering LowCountries and Denmark in turn 2...german diplomats boosted by the early successes were driven to contribute their part...so they delivered a christmas present to the axis leader: 2 hits in Spain, one of them a mega-hit – and in January 1940 Spain was already at 81% readiness...therefore UK didn´t bother any more to send own diplomats as blocking was not possible any more and so Spain joined Axis not much later. France fell in May 1940 as usual – one french battleship decided to continue the fight. After the experiences during the last war where Axis was not able to conquer Egypt, Germany this time sent a massive task force to Africa: 3 italian armies, 2 corps and a HQ conquered Syria (which resulted in Iraq joining Axis 1941) and supported by italian air approached Egypt from the east...while strong german forces – after taking Tunis and Vichy Algeria - attacked from the western side the allied stronghold of Alexandria. Facing such superior firepower, UK forces evacuated the country, but brave egyptian soldiers were still able to hold out quite some time till they finally had to surrender in spring 1941. At sea the first major encounter took place in August-October 1940: The axis navy was divided into 3 task forces and all of them started a simultaneous assault against Royal Navy. While at Portugal Graf Spee and a spanish cruiser after assaulting and damaging a tank transport could be sunk without much hassle, sinking Bismarck east of Gibraltar took a heavy toll on the british fleet and Royal Navy had to retreat...especially as the combined italian-german navy there had airsupport from Spain. In the LowCountries/Denmark battle the german subs were unfortunately able to dive away from 8 attacks, so only 1 hit could be scored before they retreated back into Baltic. The next round took place in April 1941 when the last 2 german cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and a sub sunk at Denmark in a heroic but fruitless battle. 2 months later italian cruiser and 2 battleshipgroups get lost in the english channel, Tirpitz finds its last resting place near Bergen in August 1941. Meanwhile german forces ambushed their former ally Sweden in July 1941 – resulting in heavy battles in the norwegian mountains with the british expeditionary forces that had originally been placed there for the same reason....and so the first major land battle of this war took place in Scandinavia. German HQ, tanks and multiple armies + corps, supported by 3 airfleets against strong UK forces in the mountains with also several armies and corps, UK bomber and air flying support missions from Bergen. Until winter 41/42 both sides exchanged units in front of the mountain chain in Norway – Germany with much more firepower, but forced to attack from the plain fields against the UK forces entrenched in their mountains...however, lastly UK run out of recruits as it was not able to send additional units into the battle...when spring 1942 arrived and with it better weather so the german air could fly again, O´Connor HQ the last survivor of the british expeditonary forces finally set sail back to England. Tales of the mountain fight of the brave but hopelessly outnumbered british army, holding out nearly a year against far superior enemy forces are beeing told the children and grandchildren of the survivors till the present day...during the rest of the war never again such a formidable british force were ever built...all british armies went down in glory, remembered and never to be rebuilt . In the meantime Barbarossa started August 1941 – German forces entering Russias northern part to secure Finland and establish a connection with Scandinavia. Yugoslavia and Greece get conquered and in Middle East Iran occupied by Axis via the previously joined Iraq. When USA enters the war in November 41, Axis also annexes Portugal and Vichy France. Russias main forces were sent into Caucasus to free Iran and punish Iraq for joining the enemy...fighting against a dozen axis troops there...so northwest-Russia was undefended. Nevertheless the lonely Leningrad garrison managed to resist till May 1942 – also due to most of the german forces and all air still beeing busy in Norway at that time, battling against the heroic british defenders... Following the fall of Leningrad and with clear summer turns, russian city after russian city fell in the northern part of the country, including Moskow...but not without a fight and sending home countless axis body bags... Elsewhere...: The battle of the Atlantic seemed to be more or less over end of 1941 with most of the axis navy at the bottom of the sea...the remaining ships had been sent into Baltic to destroy the 2 russian cruisers there... After completion of this task, Western Allies suspected the axis naval commander to order his usual breakout into the Atlantic via the street between Iceland and Scotland...so they laid out a trap...bombers both in Iceland and Scotland spotting for the blockade runners, carriers and surface fleet awaiting the enemy in two task forces: One west of Ireland and the second one at Scapa Flow to close the bag when the last enemy ship had been sailed into the mouse trap. And it all went according to plan : when the Iceland bombers spotted italian battleships in the street heading south, the plan got set into motion and the trap closed...resulting in the destruction of the last axis surface vessels: italian battleship + cruiser, another spanish cruiser and also 3 german subs got sunk...only the italian sub escaped the slaughter. Now the naval war could have been expected to be definitely over.... ....but quite the contrary.... fortuna and unbelievably massive investments into shipyards and naval research facilities by Axis changed that situation in 1942...thousands of mpps already poured into repairs of Kriegsmarine and Il Duces navy and now thousands more followed: Germany started a massive sub build up and research program... as revealed after the war, Germany got 3 breakthroughs in a row in sub technology and reached subs level 4 just after the destruction of the axis surface fleet in the battle of Scotland... ...and so end of 1942 the situation completely changed: when the subs from the production queue arrived, the Axis naval Golden Age began...and the at this time unbeatable sub fleet ruled the sea....Royal Navy lost its last cruisers and one of its carriers...2 battleships and 2 carriers the last remainders of the once proud fleet. Axis subs raiding 100 mpps each turn from allied convois... In these dark hours, Western Allies could only put their hope on the just arriving wonder weapons...flying fortresses ...built in the tens of thousands...and now arriving from the production queue...during the building process USA already developed Bomber lv 3 as well as LongRange lv 4 while UK in work division researched also LR but prefered Jets lv 4 for their airfleets instead of Bomber tech (later USA researched Jets 4 too with German beeing at Jets 4 as well). Russia on the other side of the world also invested heavily into its air wing...with US help reaching even Bomber lv 4 and LongRange 3, only in Jets keep beeing stuck at lv 1 – two divisions of flying fortresses delivered via lend-lease to Russia from USA. ....And so the neverending firestorm accross Europe begins...city after city gets wasted and burned down to the ground...Brussel, Paris, Kopenhagen, Madrid, Lisbon, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Hamburg, Essen, Frankfurt, Berlin...wherever the bomb bays open their doors...setting free the horrible cargo...nothing survives... 1943 is in the sign of naval research and building up the allied fleet – so they can regain naval superiority in the Atlantic...Allies also build 4 subs (1 US, 2 UK, 1 russian), using them to raid norwegian and swedish ore convois...USA and UK research Anti-Sub-Warfare...in 1944 finally reaching level 4 each...now they are ready to contest the axis supremacy at sea and the fleet moves into battle.... At the same time Russia fought hard and well in Middle East and Africa...beeing victorious they finally reach the Atlantic at Cassablanca and start bombarding Spain.... Axis just moving forward in Russia, Kazan the last free russian city before the Ural under heavy air attacks ...and now Axis make the crucial and deadly mistake to operate all airfleets from the russian front back to Spain... forcing the offensive in Russia to a full stop...instead starting an expensive airfight at Gibraltar with no goal that can be achieved. German air has Jets 3 (later Jets 4) vs Russian Jet 1 fighters, which makes it pretty expensive for Russia...but having removed the dangerous axis air from the russian main front is worth every price as the main role of airfleets is ground support...and in Spain there are no ground units to support for the axis air...and so the cornerstone for the Axis defeat is laid...without airsupport, the axis forces in Russia are doomed and forced to go into defence positions...unable to conquer further territories... ...and so the economic war can take its toll as Axis ressources dwindle further and further under the allied bombardments.... Different theater... ...in May 1944 the big moment occurs - clash of the titans in the ocean : Axis airfleets are covering the german subs ressuplying at Bilbao, but allied air from England and Ireland now has enough range to force them into airbattles so carriers can launch their sub hunters unharmed...together with the other 8 surface vessels they go in the offensive and wreak havoc amongst the enemy sub fleet...eventually destroying all 7 of them in the gigantic slaughter...only loosing a battleship and a cruiser...at the end of the war there are in total 24 axis vessels at the bottom of the sea, 12 of them subs... ...lastly the economic warfare proves to be a full success...German income gets despite the large expansion and lots of conquered ressources bombed down to first ~270 mpps and eventually less than 150 mpps each turn ! ...and 150 mpps are not enough to sustain the war machinery...troops receive less and less reinforcements, equipment and material...until they finally break in 1944....and the Axis empire begins to crumble faster and faster from the east...russian forces reconquer all the lost territories within a couple of turns, only held up by the lack of supply as the reconquered cities are destroyed by the defenders, following their scorched earth doctrine...finally after bloody battles, russian troops reach the doorstep of Germany...still a powerful german army is standing in the fortifications they built along the border and in russian territory, but Axis have no mpps left after the bombings from western Allies to repair their damaged units or even build new ones....and so they finally surrender unconditionally in October 1944 – still nearly all of continental Europe in axis hands, but the destroyed cities generating no war production any more to support a continuation of the fight....and so after 5 years, the world war was over. [ July 08, 2007, 02:07 AM: Message edited by: Terif ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terif Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 First turn after Barbarossa began – Battle of Scandinavia still in progress, Middle East about to see its first large ground battles: May 1943 – Axis at its largest expansion, approaching Ural: December 1943 - Airbattle over Gibraltar – initializing the downfall of Axis: May 1944 -The last naval battle of this era starts at Bilbao: July 1944 – quick intermezzo in Spain...russian invasion, shortly after repulsed by half a dozen Axis ground units: Exemplary combat losses from bombing...each turn with different cities...so whole Europe is rotationaly bombed to rubble: September 1944 – the whole might of the Allies combined on one little island...all UK combat ground troops can be seen on the map (Brussel and Brest) ...Western Allies built a flying machine for every citizen...in the end Germany and Italy researched Anti-Air level 3, but it didn´t help them any more, all ressources were already destroyed by bombers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I have never seen such a powerful Bomber Strategy employed. 50% of Fatherlands resources hammered in to oblivion. There is no way to continue to fight on in a situation like this without having something the Allies simply couldn't counter. I do not see where Rambo afforded to enter Russia at all with all that naval investment, but I suppose he gave away North Africa and MidEast.. stripping every garrison to focus like a laserbeam on his objectives... I figuring a lot of luck granted the Axis so much leeway to build U-boats and to also build a little bit of airforce... But having no real army cost this game it seems? Regardless one of the most entertaining games I've seen Terif have to play vs an Axis opponent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n0kn0k Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 WoW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Dave Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 How did all 'em Red Cats Get to Algeria? Op Moves? Well, No RAILS in Libya at'all so... that Won't be possible enny more. Could force-march them there I guess? Take some long while, tho. Yep, LOTS of old S & T Soon enough becomes doomed, defunct. EVERYBODY starts over, Starts out - even up, in the 'hood. Learning many, many new things, And that's ever - for the good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terif Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 All the Red Cats had to walk on their own feet the whole way from Caucasus to Algeria - originally there were a dozen tanks and armies that conquered the desert (as you can see in the screenshots they advanced on a broad front even deep down in the desert to outflank the axis defenders at the coast...). The only operational moves occured when sending them home to mother Russia after finished business in the newly built railways...Transafrican Railway got officially opened after the conquest of the entire northafrican coast to connect the new territories with the russian homeland . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Terif I'm still in awe at the vision of so many aircraft in England, however couldn't this have been a potential nightmare if Rambo had performed a Sea Lion? At just the right moment least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terif Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 Sealion was no option against all those bombers - remember: german amphibs have only a range of 4 and bombers are anti-ship units, so they would all have been sunk several turns away from the british coast - besides...there was no empty landing spot for them left anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_j_rambo Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Africa: I ran away in Africa. With sorry supply & a history of getting waxed by Yodl in the desert, I gave a very limited fight up...meaning I sacrifice a few corps. Subware: Yes, my Navy was virtually eliminated early on. I exchanged pieces, but the Axis had no ships. I throw some tech chits into subs, and hit 3 times in a row in '42, I believe! My plan was to appear "dead in the water", then try to ambush the Yanks later in the war from crossing the Atlantic. Only problem, the Yanks were flying the friendly skies, therefore, I was limited to raid those Africa points from Egypt & Iraq. I was destroying 80 to 100 MMPs per turn for awhile, that was quite fun Eventually, LR spotters from Algeria/Morocco found me, and I get peppered to death from rebuilt & teched with anti-Sub Russian: I gave a nice push in the North, but couldn't break to the Urals or threw the dreaded Yodl Dnieper typical forrest fortresses. Spain: I got a mega hit, that was cool. Great game, Yodl is king. I've lost 50+ games. Who will be first to beat Yodl in SC2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_j_rambo Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 What a sorry explanation post on my part. I'm half asleep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Gen. Guderian Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 So basically if you hadn't diverted the AF's west then you still could have forced Russia's surrender? Seems to me like Terif won by a very small margin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 That looks like one heck of a game. Sheesh, Russians in Casablanca...who'd a thunk it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blashy Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 JJvR gave Russia some breathing room by removing his air fleet and it was expensive moving all that air power. And trying to defend Africa, even lightly was not necessary. I think it was a closer game than it appeared. JJvR did pretty good... his brash play sometimes gets the better of him, he's the one who has said that more than once, hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_j_rambo Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Yeah, at my height of the game, things looked gold. Russia did have Africa, whatever...I had the Atlantic raiding 100 MMPs per turn. The Yanks & Brits leveled every target in site. My MMP base got dumped, big time. Hard to fight Russians or any air war with only 190 MMPs per turn after having 500 MMP per turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arado234 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Rambo it looks like you came the closest to dethroning the champ.Then you would have gotten your wish and we all would have called you PRESIDENT JON_J_RAMBO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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