Western Front
Operation Neptune, the largest seaborne invasion that the world has ever seen, commenced in early June ’44. Whilst not completely unexpected, the sheer number of Allied aircraft caught us by surprise, with them quickly achieving air supremacy and forcing the Luftwaffe to withdraw further inland. Our fighters are now engaging and destroying Allied bombers that venture too far inland without fighter support, however our 3 squadrons of Fw-190’s are otherwise helpless to support our defences near the coast. Thankfully, we have very strong flak defences, however this is not deterring the Allied bombers from attacking our troops.
The Allies also have complete control of the sea, with a huge force of capital ships screened by destroyers. Whilst the capital ships initially bombarded our fixed coastal defences, they are now targeting our troops further inland, which will necessitate the withdrawal of our troops even further from the coast and give the Allies easy Axis to the channel ports.
This shows the position of the Allied and Axis forces at the commencement of the invasion. Rennes was initially designated as a strongpoint, with the intention of German forces to stand and fight at the city. However the rapid deployment of the Allies resulted in us deciding to withdraw our troops to more defensible positions south of the Loire river.
British Naval Forces
The Kriegsmarine had been concentrating near the waters off Denmark, ready to attack any transports within range. However all transports were located south of the English Channel and in the north there is a very strong Allied surface fleet that blocks any attempts to approach. In this area the British outgun and outnumber us and our own surface fleet has been forced to withdraw to avoid annihilation. Showing the futility of attacking the British fleet north of the channel, HKW have even released the uboats concentrating in Denmark and sent them back to the Atlantic shipping lanes, as it is believed they can cause more damage disrupting supplies rather than attacking the strongly defended capital ships. If the Kriegsmarine had been located south of the English Channel, then they would have been in a position to contest the landings, as the supporting Allied surface fleet are fewer in that area. For the moment though, they are impotent.
Of major concern is the damage the Allied capital ships are doing to our shore based defences. The constant naval barrages have resulted in all coastal defences having to be abandoned and our troops will have to withdraw far inland to escape the range of their guns. This has significant implications for our defensive strategy.
The Allied capital ships north of the English Channel are ringed by an escort of destroyers, making it almost impossible for uboats to attack undetected. The Kriegsmarine is no match for these forces and has therefore retreated a safe distance. Meanwhile, south of the English channel, the invasion force lands unopposed.
Defence of the Loire River
Our forces south east of the main landing areas have withdrawn to strong defensive positions along the Loire River, after abandoning Rennes. Further reinforcing our defences, a construction brigade has built a strongpoint/fortified bunker complex east of Nantes. As long as the Allied navy doesn’t intervene, we are confident that we can hold this defensive line. If the Allied navy does intervene, we will implement a staged withdrawal further east.
Strong Axis defences south of the Loire River. Their only vulnerability is from possible naval bombardment, should the Allied capital ships move south from their current location
Defence of Paris
We have 3 lines of defence for Paris. First, we have infantry units entrenched in the bocage terrain to the west (circled blue). These forces will delay any advancing Allied troops, hopefully inflicting significant damage, before falling back to the 2nd line of defence. The 2nd line is a combined arms battle group, consisting of AA, artillery, AT and infantry. Should the pressure on the 2nd line of defences prove too much, we will fall back to the 3rd line of defences, along the Siene River and in Paris itself. A construction brigade has built a strongpoint/fortified bunker complex at the main crossing point of the Siene River on the outskirts of Paris, whilst AA and infantry occupy Paris and its surrounds, providing us with protection from every expected direction of attack.
HKW have declared Paris to be a stronghold.
