Belgrad falls; another great victory.
At sea, another convoy is attacked and reduced from 32 to 7 steps.
In North Africa, a British infantry corps is destroyed.
AAR AC (Axis) vs. Frank (Allies)
Moderators: Happycat, rkr1958, Slitherine Core
March 24, 1941
On the (future) eastern front, build-up of forces continues. As said before, I will launch Barbarossa with the following German troops:
6 armor - 6 mech - 20 infantry - 3 TAC - 3 fighters
I hope it will be enough.
On the Egyptian frontier, skirmishing continues: a Royal Navy battleship is reduced.
On the (future) eastern front, build-up of forces continues. As said before, I will launch Barbarossa with the following German troops:
6 armor - 6 mech - 20 infantry - 3 TAC - 3 fighters
I hope it will be enough.
On the Egyptian frontier, skirmishing continues: a Royal Navy battleship is reduced.
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massina_nz
- Lieutenant Colonel - Fw 190A
- Posts: 1137
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 12:12 am
- Location: Wellington, New Zealand
April 13, 1941 – April 3, 1941???
A strange thing happens again – I do my turn on April 13, and the next turn the date is April 3! I’ve realized it only now while writing the AAR – not sure what is going on here. Maybe one of you gurus out there have an explanation?
Anyway, this is what has happened.
This was my final screenshot on April 13, showing build-up on the eastern front.
This is the next turn: April 3. In North Africa, the 8th Army strikes back and inflicts light casualties on the DAK and the Ariete.
In the Atlantic, the Allies announce a new tactic: hunter-killer-groups against my subs.
A strange thing happens again – I do my turn on April 13, and the next turn the date is April 3! I’ve realized it only now while writing the AAR – not sure what is going on here. Maybe one of you gurus out there have an explanation?
Anyway, this is what has happened.
This was my final screenshot on April 13, showing build-up on the eastern front.
This is the next turn: April 3. In North Africa, the 8th Army strikes back and inflicts light casualties on the DAK and the Ariete.
In the Atlantic, the Allies announce a new tactic: hunter-killer-groups against my subs.
May 13, 1941
The great day has come: Barbarossa is launched. In the south, my Panzers reach Odessa. In the center, Brest-Litovsk falls, while Lvov holds at one step. I make sure to have contact to as much enemy troops as possible to prevent them be railed to safety.
Scientist have delivered some results.
The great day has come: Barbarossa is launched. In the south, my Panzers reach Odessa. In the center, Brest-Litovsk falls, while Lvov holds at one step. I make sure to have contact to as much enemy troops as possible to prevent them be railed to safety.
Scientist have delivered some results.
June 2, 1941
Action develops all over the theaters of war. In the Atlantic, my subs spot a heavily escorted convoy and decide to attack: a British battleship is reduced to 4 steps by three subs, while two more lay ambush along the probable route of the convoy.
In Norway, the Allies try a raid on Trondheim and find the German destroyer fleet, positioned there for just such an event. I immediately order the Oslo garrison, a full strength infantry corps up north and sail a garrison from Kiel to Oslo; I only hope that my destroyer will not get trapped in that narrow fjord.
In Africa, the Brits managed to destroy the Italian armor and reduced the DAK to three steps. I decide that enough is enough and bring the the Italian navy to bear on the Royal Navy: the carrier is reduced to five, and a battleship to four steps. Unfortunately, my second battleship runs into a British sub off Tobruk harbour ... On the coast, a British infantry is destroyed and the front line re-established. I hope that my opponent will be forced to retreat his navy – I don’t think he can beat my ships and army at the same time.
In Russia, the advance continues. Riga is taken, Lvov falls, Vinnitsa too, and Odessa is down to two steps.
I build a mechanized corps, which will go to Africa in the event the DAK doesn’t survive the next turn, and an infantry corps for the eastern front.
Action develops all over the theaters of war. In the Atlantic, my subs spot a heavily escorted convoy and decide to attack: a British battleship is reduced to 4 steps by three subs, while two more lay ambush along the probable route of the convoy.
In Norway, the Allies try a raid on Trondheim and find the German destroyer fleet, positioned there for just such an event. I immediately order the Oslo garrison, a full strength infantry corps up north and sail a garrison from Kiel to Oslo; I only hope that my destroyer will not get trapped in that narrow fjord.
In Africa, the Brits managed to destroy the Italian armor and reduced the DAK to three steps. I decide that enough is enough and bring the the Italian navy to bear on the Royal Navy: the carrier is reduced to five, and a battleship to four steps. Unfortunately, my second battleship runs into a British sub off Tobruk harbour ... On the coast, a British infantry is destroyed and the front line re-established. I hope that my opponent will be forced to retreat his navy – I don’t think he can beat my ships and army at the same time.
In Russia, the advance continues. Riga is taken, Lvov falls, Vinnitsa too, and Odessa is down to two steps.
I build a mechanized corps, which will go to Africa in the event the DAK doesn’t survive the next turn, and an infantry corps for the eastern front.
Hi massina_nz, thanks for your comment. I started Barbarossa with three TACS because I felt that it is the absolute minimum, and because I wanted an early start. In the future, with growing Soviet resistance, three will be too less, no doubt about it. Will try to build at least another one ASAP.massina_nz wrote:Not sure if 3 TAC and 3 Fighters will be enough for Barbarossa. Not that I've had any successful Barbarossa's against human opponents, but I normally go with at least 5 TAC in order to establish breakthroughs inthe Soviet lines.
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massina_nz
- Lieutenant Colonel - Fw 190A
- Posts: 1137
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 12:12 am
- Location: Wellington, New Zealand
You've started Barbarossa, very early, which is a good thing in my mind, but you're looking quite light in the number of units, although you have a stiong mechanised element. Attacking Odessa across a river with a single Panzer corps was very brave! I normally don't want he Russians to be able to re-inforce the garrisons, which I suspect Frank wil do.
I'm currently finishing a game with Frank. Well as the Allies he's finishing me off. I'll be lucky to last to 1944. I had a debacle invading Greece, lost most of the italian navy, one armoured and two infantry corps. Really set my timetable back, and my understrength and late Barborossa stalled after 1941.
My current thinking is to avoid invading Yugosalvia, it ties up units, costs PPs and doesn't earn that much. Greece however looks slightly better, although harder to invade from just Albania (Naval invasions versus Human opponents are very risky, as Frank taught me). Less Greek partisans and some strategic ports to help in Egypt, makes Greece more worth it.
I'm currently finishing a game with Frank. Well as the Allies he's finishing me off. I'll be lucky to last to 1944. I had a debacle invading Greece, lost most of the italian navy, one armoured and two infantry corps. Really set my timetable back, and my understrength and late Barborossa stalled after 1941.
My current thinking is to avoid invading Yugosalvia, it ties up units, costs PPs and doesn't earn that much. Greece however looks slightly better, although harder to invade from just Albania (Naval invasions versus Human opponents are very risky, as Frank taught me). Less Greek partisans and some strategic ports to help in Egypt, makes Greece more worth it.
Help please!
OK guys, I need your help.
I definitely seem to be unable to get a hold on North Africa. In every game against Frank so far, he pushed my out of Africa in 1941, and it's going this way also this time. This is the situation:
What should I do? Re-establish the line with the Italian tank? Retreat eveybody to Tobruk? Evacuate the whole of North Africa? Poor new reinforcements in?
I would also appreciate some general thoughts on how to conduct the North African campain.
Thank you in advance.
AC
I definitely seem to be unable to get a hold on North Africa. In every game against Frank so far, he pushed my out of Africa in 1941, and it's going this way also this time. This is the situation:
What should I do? Re-establish the line with the Italian tank? Retreat eveybody to Tobruk? Evacuate the whole of North Africa? Poor new reinforcements in?
I would also appreciate some general thoughts on how to conduct the North African campain.
Thank you in advance.
AC
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Peter Stauffenberg
- General - Carrier
- Posts: 4745
- Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2007 4:13 pm
- Location: Oslo, Norway
I wonder why you attacked in Egypt in the first place without strong bomber support from Crete. Taking out Egypt must be done BEFORE you start Barbarossa because you need a lot of air units to overwhelm the British near El Alamein. But you also need these bombers for Barbarossa to succeed there. Now you're in a situation you can't win in Egypt. So you could consider retreating to Tobruk at see if you can get some air units at Crete to punish any pursuing British units.
I also believe you maybe rushed your start of Barbarossa.I usually attack later, but with a much stronger punch. I have 5-6 tac bombers, 2 strat bombers and 4-5 fighters when I launch Barbarossa. By carefully timing the lab builds you can make sure get the vital upgrades for infantry, mech, armor and air units in time for the start of Barbarossa. It seems to me that you got several upgrades after Barbarossa and you don't have time to upgrade the units once Barbarossa has started.
Barbarossa will be a cauldron that will consume almost all your resources and that makes it hard for you to turn the tide in the Med. If you reinforce the Med then your Barbarossa attack will be too weak to weaken the Russians enough before the upcoming winter. You need a lot of land units to form a strong enough defense line for the winter.
You seem to have enough land units to do the job, but with so few air units in the east it means you will have to make many attacks without air support. That means higher casualties and it will delay your progress and drain your manpower and PP's.
The main reason I have so many bombers before Barbarossa is that I can assign a bomber to every attack in the first turns of Barbarossa. This means I can usually attack Russian units with orange or red efficiency. Having my units upgraded before Barbarosa also means fewer casualtiesand more damage upn the Russians.
It'snot easy for the Axis player to so everything. You have to make a priority. If you attack in Egypt then Barbarossa will be weaker etc.
I also believe you maybe rushed your start of Barbarossa.I usually attack later, but with a much stronger punch. I have 5-6 tac bombers, 2 strat bombers and 4-5 fighters when I launch Barbarossa. By carefully timing the lab builds you can make sure get the vital upgrades for infantry, mech, armor and air units in time for the start of Barbarossa. It seems to me that you got several upgrades after Barbarossa and you don't have time to upgrade the units once Barbarossa has started.
Barbarossa will be a cauldron that will consume almost all your resources and that makes it hard for you to turn the tide in the Med. If you reinforce the Med then your Barbarossa attack will be too weak to weaken the Russians enough before the upcoming winter. You need a lot of land units to form a strong enough defense line for the winter.
You seem to have enough land units to do the job, but with so few air units in the east it means you will have to make many attacks without air support. That means higher casualties and it will delay your progress and drain your manpower and PP's.
The main reason I have so many bombers before Barbarossa is that I can assign a bomber to every attack in the first turns of Barbarossa. This means I can usually attack Russian units with orange or red efficiency. Having my units upgraded before Barbarosa also means fewer casualtiesand more damage upn the Russians.
It'snot easy for the Axis player to so everything. You have to make a priority. If you attack in Egypt then Barbarossa will be weaker etc.
Thanks for your quick reply.Stauffenberg wrote:I wonder why you attacked in Egypt in the first place without strong bomber support from Crete. Taking out Egypt must be done BEFORE you start Barbarossa because you need a lot of air units to overwhelm the British near El Alamein. But you also need these bombers for Barbarossa to succeed there. Now you're in a situation you can't win in Egypt. So you could consider retreating to Tobruk at see if you can get some air units at Crete to punish any pursuing British units.
I also believe you maybe rushed your start of Barbarossa.I usually attack later, but with a much stronger punch. I have 5-6 tac bombers, 2 strat bombers and 4-5 fighters when I launch Barbarossa. By carefully timing the lab builds you can make sure get the vital upgrades for infantry, mech, armor and air units in time for the start of Barbarossa. It seems to me that you got several upgrades after Barbarossa and you don't have time to upgrade the units once Barbarossa has started.
Barbarossa will be a cauldron that will consume almost all your resources and that makes it hard for you to turn the tide in the Med. If you reinforce the Med then your Barbarossa attack will be too weak to weaken the Russians enough before the upcoming winter. You need a lot of land units to form a strong enough defense line for the winter.
You seem to have enough land units to do the job, but with so few air units in the east it means you will have to make many attacks without air support. That means higher casualties and it will delay your progress and drain your manpower and PP's.
The main reason I have so many bombers before Barbarossa is that I can assign a bomber to every attack in the first turns of Barbarossa. This means I can usually attack Russian units with orange or red efficiency. Having my units upgraded before Barbarosa also means fewer casualtiesand more damage upn the Russians.
It'snot easy for the Axis player to so everything. You have to make a priority. If you attack in Egypt then Barbarossa will be weaker etc.
I deliberately decided not to attack Greece in order to start Barbarossa as early as possible. And taking Crete means necessarily conquering Greece, else you would find yourself with an open back door, or am I wrong? I begin thinking that it would have been wiser to wait some more turns, building up a more powerful force and getting some upgrades.
As far as Africa is concerned, I think I should focus on Barbarossa. This means retreating to Tobruk, almost certainly loosing some more units in the process, and trying to make a stand there. I could also re-deploy one or even both tac-bombers to the Russian front, now that I'm on the defensive only.
Another question: how can you afford such a mighty airforce in terms of oil? 12 aircraft will use plenty when flying every turn?
AC
August 1, 1941
I decided for a limited counterattack, hoping to destroy the British armor; unfortunately, it survived with two steps left. I expect the remnants of my army to be destroyed and/or encircled the next turn, but I am confident to save the air assets. The objective in North Africa must be to hold as long as possible, tying down allied forces.
In Russia, the advance continues in the south. Mopping up around Odessa is done, so new forces are available for the front line.
At least, a view at actual losses. Not so bad, IMHO, especially as far as manpower is concerned.
I decided for a limited counterattack, hoping to destroy the British armor; unfortunately, it survived with two steps left. I expect the remnants of my army to be destroyed and/or encircled the next turn, but I am confident to save the air assets. The objective in North Africa must be to hold as long as possible, tying down allied forces.
In Russia, the advance continues in the south. Mopping up around Odessa is done, so new forces are available for the front line.
At least, a view at actual losses. Not so bad, IMHO, especially as far as manpower is concerned.
August 21, 1941
We get some techs:
In North Africa, things go as predicted: a corps is destroyed, another one encircled, even an airfield attacked. I retreat everything towards Tobruk, and pour new reinforcements in. Below, images after my opponent's and my turn.
At sea, I get lucky and spot the first Murmansk convoy. Two wolfpacks are in range, and knock it down from 42 to 26 sticks. A third wolfpack maneuvers to not loose track of the prey.
In Russia, the going gets tougher. After loosing a tank a couple of turns before while trying to establish a bridgehead across the Dniepr, I launch several attacks with air support but manage only to knock some steps off the Soviet defenders; same goes in the extreme south. At north, I take Tallinn and approach the Soviet main defensive line, already established two hexes deep.
I think what's hurting me here is the lack of adequate airpower, as someone stated before. I've bought another tac for this reason, and will probably buy another, which will give me five in Russia. I doubt I can break the enemy line before winter, but have to inflict as much casualties as possible, in order to get a weak counter once winter strikes.
I also upgrade and repair units wherever possible, which also slows me down.
We get some techs:
In North Africa, things go as predicted: a corps is destroyed, another one encircled, even an airfield attacked. I retreat everything towards Tobruk, and pour new reinforcements in. Below, images after my opponent's and my turn.
At sea, I get lucky and spot the first Murmansk convoy. Two wolfpacks are in range, and knock it down from 42 to 26 sticks. A third wolfpack maneuvers to not loose track of the prey.
In Russia, the going gets tougher. After loosing a tank a couple of turns before while trying to establish a bridgehead across the Dniepr, I launch several attacks with air support but manage only to knock some steps off the Soviet defenders; same goes in the extreme south. At north, I take Tallinn and approach the Soviet main defensive line, already established two hexes deep.
I think what's hurting me here is the lack of adequate airpower, as someone stated before. I've bought another tac for this reason, and will probably buy another, which will give me five in Russia. I doubt I can break the enemy line before winter, but have to inflict as much casualties as possible, in order to get a weak counter once winter strikes.
I also upgrade and repair units wherever possible, which also slows me down.
September 10, 1941
Africa: 8th Army advances and kills my rearguard. Reinforcements have arrived, however, and aircraft is repaired. The Italian fleet is up to some strenght again, and I hope the Royal Navy will show up off Tobruk harbour ...
In Russia, heavy fighting with some casualties, but I am still not able to break the Soviet line. I wonder if I should not call off these attacks and prepare for winter, even if it is still some turns until then.
At least good news from my subs, which definitely destroy the Murmansk convoy.
Africa: 8th Army advances and kills my rearguard. Reinforcements have arrived, however, and aircraft is repaired. The Italian fleet is up to some strenght again, and I hope the Royal Navy will show up off Tobruk harbour ...
In Russia, heavy fighting with some casualties, but I am still not able to break the Soviet line. I wonder if I should not call off these attacks and prepare for winter, even if it is still some turns until then.
At least good news from my subs, which definitely destroy the Murmansk convoy.
September 30, 1941
The Regia Marina strikes! A british battleship is reduced to five, and a destroyer to two steps. The Royal Navy will have no choice then to disappear, which will get me rid of the nuisance of their shore bombardments.
In Russia, some progress is made by destroying at least one infantry corps.
The Regia Marina strikes! A british battleship is reduced to five, and a destroyer to two steps. The Royal Navy will have no choice then to disappear, which will get me rid of the nuisance of their shore bombardments.
In Russia, some progress is made by destroying at least one infantry corps.
October 20 to November 11, 1941
Some fighting in North Africa, and nothing new in Russia, where I manage to inflict more casualties than I take, but the fightig is static. Mud has come in October, and the times of free rampaging over the Russian fields are all but gone. One new tac has been deployed, and another ordered, but I will begin building loads of infantry in order to get my defences ready for winter. In the south, a double line is already established, there is somethin to do in the north and center.
Manpower is not an issue for now, as is oil.
Some fighting in North Africa, and nothing new in Russia, where I manage to inflict more casualties than I take, but the fightig is static. Mud has come in October, and the times of free rampaging over the Russian fields are all but gone. One new tac has been deployed, and another ordered, but I will begin building loads of infantry in order to get my defences ready for winter. In the south, a double line is already established, there is somethin to do in the north and center.
Manpower is not an issue for now, as is oil.
I think Stauffenberg's comments were right on. I'd agree that you have to either go all out in N. Africa before Barbarossa or forget about it and defend at Tobruk or Sardinia/Sicily.
As for Barbarossa, I could be wrong but personally I'd prefer a strong later Barbarossa than a weak early Barbarossa.
As for Barbarossa, I could be wrong but personally I'd prefer a strong later Barbarossa than a weak early Barbarossa.
November 9, 1941
The Germans get some techs:
In North Africa, the 8th Army reaches the outskirts of Tobruk. An Italian TAC is evacuated to Italy, while reinforcements are shipped to Benghasi.
In Russia, I have halted all attacks in preparation of the Russian winter offensive. In the south, a double defensive line is already established; infantry is built for the central part of the front.
My subs spot a heavy Murmansk convoy.
The Germans get some techs:
In North Africa, the 8th Army reaches the outskirts of Tobruk. An Italian TAC is evacuated to Italy, while reinforcements are shipped to Benghasi.
In Russia, I have halted all attacks in preparation of the Russian winter offensive. In the south, a double defensive line is already established; infantry is built for the central part of the front.
My subs spot a heavy Murmansk convoy.
