Joe v. Morris Round II (Joe's AAR)

[joerock22]

Its not hard to capture Athens in 1 turn this late - remember, greek infantry have no upgrades at all. But looks like Morris don't have HQ for his air units in Lybia - it is probably the only thing, that stopped him from 1 turn conquest.

Yes, after thinking about it I realized that it wouldn't have been that lucky. Next time I'll plan better for it.

[joerock22]

Turn 64 – February 12, 1943

Still all quiet in the east, which I am thrilled about. In Greece, the German counteroffensive begins. Morris’s troops are not very exposed, so I can only kill one unit. It will most likely be a slow, methodical march down the peninsula rather than a blitz rush to Athens. That suits me just fine.

Germany develops industry lv. 5, so I purchase a 4th infantry lab as promised. PP production is now 214 and oil is 64!

Greece

[Kragdob]

Morris did the same move in game with me and was squasheed instantly. I wonder what he hopes to achieve by this? Wouldn't it be better to conquer Sardinia and DOW Vichy?

[joerock22]

Morris did the same move in game with me and was squasheed instantly. I wonder what he hopes to achieve by this? Wouldn't it be better to conquer Sardinia and DOW Vichy?

I don't think he wants to DOW Vichy because it will give me extra PPs. But it's much more difficult to get anything serious done in the Med without capturing Vichy North Africa first.

[Morris]

Morris did the same move in game with me and was squasheed instantly. I wonder what he hopes to achieve by this? Wouldn't it be better to conquer Sardinia and DOW Vichy?

I don't think he wants to DOW Vichy because it will give me extra PPs. But it's much more difficult to get anything serious done in the Med without capturing Vichy North Africa first.

Actually , this is another my big mistake ! Since I don't know the rule of free France .I still asked Joe why there was no Free France . If I knew they would not appear if I do not Dow Vichy , I would Dow it in the autumn of 1942 . Although it will give Joe more pp , it would give Allies more opportunity & several free units .

[joerock22]

Turn 65 – March 4, 1943

Just some air combat in Greece, which goes the RAF’s way. It looks like Morris’s fighter in the yellow got 1:1 against a German fighter and then beat my Tac for 2:0. They also knock 2 steps off my SS mech, apparently with just BB attacks. I don’t like either of these results, but I promise to make the Allies pay on my turn. Germany developed dog fight lv. 4, but there’s no time to upgrade now.

Greece

[Cybvep]

Disappointing combat rolls, but good strategic results. 4-lvl FTRs will be handy in the East and Morris is not getting anywhere in Greece.

[Peter Stauffenberg]

I think the timing of Morris'es invasion was not right. Since it's rather quiet in the east it means Joerock can send the Luftwaffe to Greece. If Morris had invaded while the Germans needed all their air units in the east then maybe the invasion could succeed. Or at least help the defense of Russia by forcing the Germans to withdraw units from the east.

If the Axis can kill Allied / Russian units in separate offensives like in this game then they will win for sure. The Allied way to win is to overwhelm the Axis with activity in more places than the Axis can respond to. Then you exploit the areas the Axis are weak at.

E. g. the invasion of Greece would have been ok if the Allies had invaded in e. g. France or Italy soon after or started a major Russian offensive. Then the units in Greece could just withdraw when the heat got too tough.

[Morris]

RAF 's dog fight lvl is higher than Luftwaffe's Bf109 , before combat the computer 's prediction (RAF FTR attack Luftwaffe's Stuka )is 3:0 . So after combat I still a little bit disappointed for not geting the best result .
But the BB's attack is quite lucky which I didn't think of it .

[Morris]

Turn 65 – March 4, 1943

Just some air combat in Greece, which goes the RAF’s way. It looks like Morris’s fighter in the yellow got 1:1 against a German fighter and then beat my Tac for 2:0. They also knock 2 steps off my SS mech, apparently with just BB attacks. I don’t like either of these results, but I promise to make the Allies pay on my turn. Germany developed dog fight lv. 4, but there’s no time to upgrade now.

RAF 's dog fight lvl is higher than Luftwaffe's Bf109 , before combat the computer 's prediction (RAF FTR attack Luftwaffe's Stuka )is 3:0 . So after combat I still a little bit disappointed for not geting the best result .
But the BB's attack is quite lucky which I didn't think of it .

[joerock22]

RAF 's dog fight lvl is higher than Luftwaffe's Bf109 , before combat the computer 's prediction (RAF FTR attack Luftwaffe's Stuka )is 3:0 . So after combat I still a little bit disappointed for not geting the best result .
But the BB's attack is quite lucky which I didn't think of it .

Yes, your dog fight was a little higher, but my effectivness was about 30 points higher. How can you be disappointed in the results you got with that fighter in yellow effectiveness?

[Cybvep]

RAF 's dog fight lvl is higher than Luftwaffe's Bf109 , before combat the computer 's prediction (RAF FTR attack Luftwaffe's Stuka )is 3:0 . So after combat I still a little bit disappointed for not geting the best result .

The air attacks against bombers tend to be weaker after interception.

[Morris]

RAF 's dog fight lvl is higher than Luftwaffe's Bf109 , before combat the computer 's prediction (RAF FTR attack Luftwaffe's Stuka )is 3:0 . So after combat I still a little bit disappointed for not geting the best result .
But the BB's attack is quite lucky which I didn't think of it .

Yes, your dog fight was a little higher, but my effectivness was about 30 points higher. How can you be disappointed in the results you got with that fighter in yellow effectiveness?

To fight with an elite like you ,I am always greedy for the better combat result although I usually feel disappointed

[joerock22]

Turn 66 – March 24, 1943

The Allies air forces go all out, attacking my ground troops and bombers. My fighters hold their own, however, and Morris’s forces look the worse for wear. In desperation the Allies move to land further north, east of Salonika. I would not mind a landing here either. Morris should cut his losses and run at this point, but it doesn’t look like he will.

A late turn of mud in Central Europe messes up my plans a bit, but it also means that Morris’s bombers on Crete will be less effective on his turn. Allied ground troops keep upgrading, so it doesn’t look like my plan to destroy the American tank will work. I still may attack it to remove the threat, but actually killing it will be a long shot. I do think I have a great chance to kill an enemy fighter—Morris has only 1 fighter out of the bad weather zone, while I have 4!

I will say one thing: all of this action in Greece is forcing me to cut back or at least delay my plans in Russia. If Morris’s objective was to buy the Russians some additional time to recover, then he has succeeded. But at heavy cost to the Allies. I still hope to capture Stalingrad and Gorki this year, but it will surely take longer than anticipated. Hopefully I can defeat this Allied invasion soon and start moving troops to Russia in time for them to be of some use.

Greece

[Cybvep]

Morris still have time to withdraw, he just needs to cancel the invasion and withdraw the MECH stationed in Athens and most or all air units. PARA and ARM are lost, anyway.

The overall outcome is not good for the Allies, but at least they managed to buy themselves some time, as you will have to repair, upgrade and rail all those units back to Russia.

I see that you are preparing your troops in Reggio for the Allied invasion?

[Morris]

Morris still have time to withdraw, he just needs to cancel the invasion and withdraw the MECH stationed in Athens and most or all air units. PARA and ARM are lost, anyway.

The overall outcome is not good for the Allies, but at least they managed to buy themselves some time, as you will have to repair, upgrade and rail all those units back to Russia.

I see that you are preparing your troops in Reggio for the Allied invasion?

He just prepared the troops for victory celebration

[Peter Stauffenberg]

The Allied invasion of Greece could have worked much better if the Russians had been on the offensive in the east. Then Joerock could not have afforded to send tanks and Luftwaffe units to Greece. So timing of the Allied offensives is essential.

[joerock22]

The Allied invasion of Greece could have worked much better if the Russians had been on the offensive in the east. Then Joerock could not have afforded to send tanks and Luftwaffe units to Greece. So timing of the Allied offensives is essential.

I agree, and I'm sure Morris does too! If Morris had delayed his landing in Greece until May, I would probably have taken a much more defensive approach. My defense would likely have been based between Tirana and Salonika. Morris would have made good progress before coming up against any strong German units. Hopefully by the time he reached my line I would have dealt with the Russians enough to send reinforcements in.

But the fact that the Western Allies and the USSR were not working together made things much easier!

[joerock22]

Turn 67 – April 13, 1943

Allied forces in the Med withdraw, though Morris’s BBs continue to get hits with almost every attack they make, even on my high-survivability tanks. It’s a little annoying, so I decide to do something about it. But because I think Morris will keep up his bombardment anyway, I start pulling some of my units out of harm’s way. I can see that at least some of the American bombers have moved to the Tripoli area, though whether for a “real” landing on Sicily or an invasion of Vichy North Africa I can’t say.

Some movement on the Russian front for the first time in months. Soviet fighters attack my front line, and a Russian mech appears in the newly-upgraded spotting range of my Finnish fighter next to Rostov. Has Morris moved his main mech/armour concentration to the Caucuses, rather than Stalingrad? At any rate, I am far too weak to push for Stalingrad at the moment. I will likely focus on the Russian infantry in the north first, until my southern army is back to full strength. In the meantime, the river will act as an excellent first line of defense in the south.

Greece





USSR South (post-turn)

[Morris]

The Allied invasion of Greece could have worked much better if the Russians had been on the offensive in the east. Then Joerock could not have afforded to send tanks and Luftwaffe units to Greece. So timing of the Allied offensives is essential.

I agree, and I'm sure Morris does too! If Morris had delayed his landing in Greece until May, I would probably have taken a much more defensive approach. My defense would likely have been based between Tirana and Salonika. Morris would have made good progress before coming up against any strong German units. Hopefully by the time he reached my line I would have dealt with the Russians enough to send reinforcements in.

But the fact that the Western Allies and the USSR were not working together made things much easier!

That's quite historic !