AAR – PanzerGeneral vs Supermax - war is over

[BuddyGrant]

Good turn - I like the middle east defense especially.

[PanzerGeneral]

23. January 1943, the Russian offensive continues
The weather.


US and Russian scientists are very productive.


The French partisans have finally become more active, currently they hold two cities. One of the units have managed to destroy parts of the Westwall not that it matters as there will never be any Overlord in this game.


All quiet in the US. The newly deployed infantry units sets sail into the Atlantic. I have not decided yet where it should go yet. The USAF is upgraded once again.


The US sub is position near Gibraltar in order to block any troops moving from the US to the Middle East. In retrospect this should have been done ages ago, but I am learning all the time


The Red Army continues its offensive in the Middle East and destroys more axis infantry. My Red armour will destroy more infantry next turn. Supermax has pulled back his panzers, and I observe more Luftwaffe units arriving.


All quiet in the northern sector.


All quiet in the central sector.


A German infantry korps is destroyed south of Dnepropetrovsk, and I manage to cross the Dnieper with a tank army. The Red Air Force attacks the nearby axis units in order to decrease their attack effectiveness.


Russia buys its 4th general lab and the rest of the PPs are spent on upgrading my fighters and infantry.

[pickle]

Have you considered beginning a bombing campaign on Ploesti? Not sure if you have enough range with your strategic bombers from your holdings in the Crimea or not. Even moving that partisan group in that direction could wreck some havoc.

[Lynz]

Great reading here. This has been a game well fought. Against such an experienced player you have done very well to recover from early setbacks. Personally, regardless of the game's victory conditions, I believe that any war not lost is a war won.

[PanzerGeneral]

Have you considered beginning a bombing campaign on Ploesti? Not sure if you have enough range with your strategic bombers from your holdings in the Crimea or not. Even moving that partisan group in that direction could wreck some havoc.

Yes. But I have hardly had any upgrades for my strategic bomber and without controlling the Crimea I think I am out of range. Right now it fulfills its purpose as a recon unit in the Middle East. I am contemplating to liberate the Crimea in a spring/summer campaign in 1943, after that I will have the opportunity to reduce Ploesti to dust.

[PanzerGeneral]

Great reading here. This has been a game well fought. Against such an experienced player you have done very well to recover from early setbacks. Personally, regardless of the game's victory conditions, I believe that any war not lost is a war won.

Yep. I also think that I have managed to salvage a minute chance to defeat Supermax. Even if that chance is minute, I have never played a game where I lost Britain and are about to lose the US (who have?), and Russia is my only hope. Even with loads of setbacks it has been fun, and I want to complete the game to see if the axis has a chance to defeat Russia with the Western allies defeated. Or can Russia turn the tide? Time will tell ...

[PanzerGeneral]

12. February 1943, Dnepropetrovsk is liberated
The weather.


Russian scientists are bullied by Stalin to produce some results.


All quiet in the US. A US partisan unit has appeared and attacks the Luftwaffe tac bomber.
The destination for the US corps will be France. It will help the French partisans to harrass the axis.


The Red army destroys an Italian infantry corps in the Middle East and damage a Wehrmacht korps. The rest of the army is approaching the front line. The tac bombers are upgraded and my strat bomber reveals the new axis defensive line.
Another infantry army and fighter will be deployed to this theatre.


All quiet in the northern sector. I have started to redeploy units from the southern sector to Leningrad. They will be part of my amphibious force that will land in Finland. They will land next to the captured cities and advance on Helsinki from the rear. Two tac bombers will be deployed here when the offensive starts in order to facilitate the assault on Helsinki.


All quiet in the central sector.


Strong Red Force and Red Army attacks destroy a Romanian motorized corps and the Wehrmacht korps in Dnepropetrovsk. Dnepropetrovsk is liberated by the Red Army. One of my tank armies is a bit vulnerable to panzer attacks next turn. With only 6 steps left, it is at the mercy of Supermax.
My Red fighters reveal a Luftwaffe fighter way behind the front line.


Russia buys yet another fighter and spends the rest of the PPs on unit repairs and upgrades.


What is the state of my and the axis unit tech levels? For infantry I believe we are even, but for tanks Supermax still has the upper hand. The Luftwaffe fighters have tech level 10, and my Red fighters are just behind with tech level 8.

[PanzerGeneral]

I and Supermax will have a ceasefire until he is back from vacation. The war will continue in early March.

[trulster]

Quite the Red Air Force! Maybe a bit overkill in aircraft production though, when summer comes you might feel the need for some more infantry corps to buff up your line. Two fighters = ca six infantry corps which would be enough to rush Finland or build a double defensive line where the Axis look most threatening. Also, be careful to time the end of the winter so those tanks are not sitting ducks for the coming Wehrmacht offensive.

[richardsd]

I am suprised you are sending your Ameriacn Corps to Europe, surely America will be lost before it can do anything?

I think your corps along with the free french should land behind his lines in the US, this will make him spend more effort and oil in the US even after it falls.

[richardsd]

you could also mess with him in the UK if you wanted

[PanzerGeneral]

Quite the Red Air Force! Maybe a bit overkill in aircraft production though, when summer comes you might feel the need for some more infantry corps to buff up your line. Two fighters = ca six infantry corps which would be enough to rush Finland or build a double defensive line where the Axis look most threatening. Also, be careful to time the end of the winter so those tanks are not sitting ducks for the coming Wehrmacht offensive.

I want a (very) strong Red Air Force to meet Luftwaffe America when it arrives on the Russian front after the US is defeated. My Russian strategy this time is to build up a large air force early and use to pound on the axis units. I want my air force to soften up the axis front line before attacking it. The Russians cannot waste all their manpower in this war as they are quite alone I will start to build tanks and cannon fodder (infantry), but I want to 2-3 more fighters. I want to dominate the skies on the Eastern Front!

One advantage of building lots of air is that it does not consume too much manpower. Thus my manpower reserves are at an healthy 80% (approx).

[PanzerGeneral]

I am suprised you are sending your Ameriacn Corps to Europe, surely America will be lost before it can do anything?

I think your corps along with the free french should land behind his lines in the US, this will make him spend more effort and oil in the US even after it falls.

No I will leave the Free French alone for now. The reason is that that will enable more Vichy troops to travel to the East. The Russians have more than enough units they have to kill Also they would only be a minor harassment. My view is that it would gain Supermax more than me as he get troops and more PPs.

One thought, when the US surrenders can the free French repair their units?? Will they use Russian PPs?

[PanzerGeneral]

you could also mess with him in the UK if you wanted

No I want it to go to France, there it will help the partisan units. In England it will be quite alone and I think it will be easier for Supermax to defeat it.

[PanzerGeneral]

4. March 1943, USA surrenders!
The weather.


Russian scientists work overtime and rogue US scientists produce some results even if the war is lost.


USA has surrendered. I guess this is a message most folk don’t see too often.


The Russian production has increased. I guess that the Russians have taken control over the Middle East PPs production and oil production.


Supermax managed to kill my Washington corps after only one turn of clear weather. I actually thought it would hold out 2-3 turns. Congratulations to Supermax for an impressive victory over the US.

A large number of axis troops are now free to travel back to Russia.


A side effect of the US surrender is that all western partisans gave up their struggle and surrendered as well. The cowards!!

In the Middle East I kill an exposed Italian infantry corps. My motorized army is a bit exposed, but this is where I will build my defensive line. A fourth and final fighter is deployed to this theatre.


All quiet in the northern sector. My amphibious landing force is ready to set sail when the weather clears.


All quiet in the central sector.


The Red Army wrecks mayhem against AG South. With the help of air strikes and armoured attacks, a panzer korps and panzer grenadier korps are destroyed outside Dnepropetrovsk.


Russia buys yet another fighter and an infantry army, the rest is spent on unit repairs and upgrades.

[PanzerGeneral]

24. March 1943, Heavy battles in Russia
The weather, winter continues in Russia.


Russian scientists work overtime.


My defensive line has been assembled in the Middle East. The rest of the army receives repairs for the upcoming battles.
Once again I am being indecisive, a fighter is ordered back to Russia. This is because of the strong Luftwaffe presence detected in AG South.


All quiet in the northern sector.


Supermax has attempted a thrust around Gomel. The result is a destroyed army and a surrounded army. I guess this is his spring offensive to get running wild on the steppe. What should I do? This is my best chance to try to stop him rather than retreating. The Red Air Force is ordered to attack the forward infantry elements and panzer korps. The air war rages as Luftwaffe suffers more casualties Red Air Force. The Luftwaffe is paying the price for lousy quality of their pilots, the brave Russian pilots have excellent quality . My manpower is at 80%.
After some heavy battles a Wehrmacht infantry korps is destroyed and another surrounded. Instead of waiting for his panzers to attack I attack the south of Gomel with my motorized army. The odds are 5:5 so I don’t expect it to survive the next turn. But once again the quality of the Red Army is excellent. The panzer suffers a 5 step loss against my 3. An infantry army continues the attack and leaves the panzer korps badly battered (2 steps left).


For once all is quiet in the south as the Red Army receives some much wanted repairs.


The Russians spend most of their PPs on repairs this turn, and a few PPs on unit upgrades.

[Clark]

Supermax has attempted a thrust around Gomel. The result is a destroyed army and a surrounded army. I guess this is his spring offensive to get running wild on the steppe. What should I do?

I think you need more infantry! The airpower you have is great, but it won't hold the ground for you if he manages to break through your lines. Then again, you did achieve some good results this turn in the center.

[trulster]

I hate to say I told you so, but yes, you need more infantry rather than fighters! Your air power is moot if the Wehrmacht can easily overrun their bases. Crank out lots of infantry corps and stem the tide in the center or support a counterattack. The situation is not good if the Axis have more corps that the Russians

[trulster]

The air war rages as Luftwaffe suffers more casualties Red Air Force. The Luftwaffe is paying the price for lousy quality of their pilots, the brave Russian pilots have excellent quality .

Rather, they pay the price for contesting the air when they are halved due to winter conditions :p So keep up the pressure but when summer comes matters will change!

[PanzerGeneral]

I hate to say I told you so, but yes, you need more infantry rather than fighters! Your air power is moot if the Wehrmacht can easily overrun their bases. Crank out lots of infantry corps and stem the tide in the center or support a counterattack. The situation is not good if the Axis have more corps that the Russians

STAVKA will follow the advice from you and Clark. I agree that I need more cannon fodder in order to bolster up my defense for the upcoming summer battles.

So far the Red Air Force have been an excellent tool in denying the Germans too much offensive power. The punch from my 6 tac bombers renders most attacks useless after 1-2 turns. Time will tell if this still is viable for the 1943 summer campaign.