Morris (Axis) vs. Schnurri (Allies)

[Schnurri]

Jan. 28/1942 -In the North we try to force a corps to retreat but are refused. On the southern front our forces are depleted but this turn the Luftwaffe doesn't fly (oil?). Around Rostov we clear out a Minor Ally Corps and leave the space for the German corps to retreat forward next turn. Around Kursk, we could take Kursk or try to destroy a Mech - the Russians opt for the Mech and take it out and reduce Kursk to 2 steps - it will fall next turn. More reinforcements purchased, just Corps for now.





No way we will get near Stalino this winter so goal is to build forces around Rostov to defend there this summer.

[Schnurri]

Feb 17, 1942

In the North we move to surround the Finnish Corp moving south.



In the South we have been fairly active - retake Kursk plus destroy a German (injured) and ally Corps and destroy a German Corps around Rostov.



Building more Infantry as this lovely weather won't last much longer.

[Crazygunner1]

Good winter offensive, though nothing decisive yet. Stand ground in the northern forests where you got defensive bonus and behind rivers but in the south i strongly suggest that you retreat behind the Don river and save your troops. Axis are still strong in 42 and if you get caught on open field you will regret it. Maybe put a strong unit in Rostov.

Leaving the southern area might be to tempting for Morris so he will head down to the Caucasus, if he does you will probably be in a good position to strike from behind the Don

[richardsd]

Good winter offensive, though nothing decisive yet. Stand ground in the northern forests where you got defensive bonus and behind rivers but in the south i strongly suggest that you retreat behind the Don river and save your troops. Axis are still strong in 42 and if you get caught on open field you will regret it. Maybe put a strong unit in Rostov.

Leaving the southern area might be to tempting for Morris so he will head down to the Caucasus, if he does you will probably be in a good position to strike from behind the Don

exactly the thoughts I was having - I hope its not fine next turn!

[Schnurri]

Mar 9, 1942





Mar 29, 1942

[Diplomaticus]

It's interesting to compare the recent AAR's with the older RC11 ones. You can really see that the adjustments we made--IMO most especially the return of that anti-tank tech--make a difference in the ability of the Red Army to fight back. No doubt the changes to Efficiency and winter help too. It was really frustrating in the earlier versions when the Russian winter was really no big deal for Axis, and when a player as aggressive as Morris doesn't even have to pause to dig in... well you're in trouble.

[Peter Stauffenberg]

I guess the current Morris strategy doesn't work anymore. Leaving Libya and not building submarines means the Alies will get control in the Mediterranean too early. The Germans seem to have more problems taking advantage of a concentrated attack in the south that Morris is so well known for.

I think the focus for the Axis in 1941 should be to kill Russian units and form a contiguous defense line behind river to hold well during the winter. Rushing in the south all the way down to Caucasus creates a very long defense line. That can be exploited by the Russians.

Maybe it's better to get to Rostov and use the Don line (with Donets as the fallback position)?

[Schnurri]

May 8 1942 - Sorry I don't have much time for discussion due to work comittments. Morris looks like he is going all out for Moscow this summer. It may be reckless of me but instead of going on defense I took out another Arm and Mech but other damage. Like a dirty shirt the Brits are back in Sicily (3rd time is the charm) with US reinforcements coming soon. The Russians plan to bleed him and the western Allies come in from the rear. Landings soon in France as well.

[Crazygunner1]

Think you got a little eager on the eastern front...things arent looking that good anymore. Since you havent garrisoned your cities in the south he can put up good speed during summer offensive in 42.

[Cybvep]

I agree with the above poster. Remember that it's Morris we are talking about here, he will not hesitate to exploit gaps in the frontline even if it costs him much PP.

[Schnurri]

May 28, 1942 - start. I may have overreached on the Eastern Front but Morris doesn't have that much offensive power anymore and is facing threats on more fronts. I feel Morris is stretched too thin in the south so I'm going to continue being aggressive despite everyone's comments.







End Turn

[Crazygunner1]

Morris is stretched too thin in the south so I'm going to continue being aggressive despite everyone's comments.

For sure....now it is too late to withdraw...you are better off as you say keep pressure and dont let him rest. Seem to be doing a good job though i dont think you will entirely stop him until 43.

[richardsd]

there a some pretty good opportunities for Morris to cut off your units, I wonder if he will?

[richardsd]

oops, not as many as I thought as one of his is already out of supply!

[Schnurri]

Sorry for long delay in posting and skipping many turns. I've had flu for over a week and basically cut off one of my fingers doing some remodeling so typing is difficult - I tried to keep my various games going and let this slip - apologies.

As illustrated I should have listened to posters. Although I damaged German panzers Morris came back in 42 and swept the Russians away. Best I could hope for now is to hold Omsk but you can see there are lots of skipped cities for Morris to get where he did - which is quite far.

My goal in this game was to try for an early out of the Italians as Morris bases his strategy on using Italians to hold things off in the west while his best troops roar forward in the east. In the end I was successful in this and the Italians quit the struggle in 42 already. This happened because Morris was not aware of the new surrender rules and left Tirana unguarded and I got it plus Caligieiri, the NA ports and Palermo. The shock of the new rules made it impossible to continue on so we decided to end the game. With an early Italian out I might have made up for my mistakes in Russia but only the gods will know.

Med



Eastern Front North



Eastern Front South

[Cybvep]

He decided to quit the game when you knocked out Italy? Seems like a strange decision, especially considering the fact that he was doing so well on the Eastern Front.

[Peter Stauffenberg]

What is the fun in playing a game if you know your opponent will quit immediately if he made a mistake?

I think it's better to live with the mistake and play on to see if you can recover. I still remember that Supermax fought bravely after losing Italy to an amph landing in Rome early in the game. He didn't quit that game. He eventually lost, but he fought as well as he could, hoping that his skills would even out the odds after the major setback.

I hope that my opponents will remain in the game until it's finished in May 1945 or we both agree that we can restart.

[Plaid]

Funny, I have totally opposite views.
I think its better to surrender game then to play under wierd conditions (USA surrender, USSR surrender, Italy surrender in 1940-41, axis forced to be on total defence from 1942 everywhere, etc). Its just completely wrong experience for both players, if you ask me.
You know, its like when you kick person, which is already on the ground.
I am always happy when my opponent is willing to surrender and never have hard feelings about that people.
If your opponent surrendered it means you won afterall, you supposed to be happy.

[Schnurri]

One of the guys that taught me the game said there is no point continuing if you aren't enjoying it and I think Morris felt blindsided by a rule rather than a strategy. I respect his decision. We've started a new game with me as Axis. I've never beaten him and doubt I will this time either but he is predictable in his strategy so you'd think I could beat him knowing what is coming.

One thing I was pondering in my delerium was those 42 and 43 "Sledgehammers" meant mainly to distract from Russia rather than actually succeed (I've done them myself). To be historical shouldn't massive losses affect the western allies to a much greater extent than the Russians? A morale penalty for excessive losses would preclude some of the strategies like using the Brits as cannon fodder just to bleed the Reich a bit.

Oh, I see Plaid agrees with me.

I quit a game early with Supermax because of a massive intervention in Norway that just spelled a long pointless Axis experience - i was planning to try a new strategy and this put such a bad wrinkle into things that I didn'y enjoy the game any further. Max may never play me again and I respect his decision on that but it is supposed to be fun and wasn't anymore.

[Cybvep]

Admitting defeat when you feel that you can't achieve much is one thing, but quitting in mid-game when everything is still possible is sth completely different. Usually I fight when I see that I can still reduce the scale of the opponent's victory and get a Minor/Major Defeat, but if I'm badly beaten, then I just surrender and stop wasting time.

Of course, if both sides agree that continuing the game wouldn't be fun anymore, then it's perfectly fine.

I hate when the opponent suddenly "disappears" or stop responding to my e-mail. This is probably the single most annoying thing one can do in this game.