Battlefield Europe - Breaking the Yoke of Colonialism

[JimmyC]

The new German Government has reassessed its priorities with respect to the war, the ultimate object of which is to now free all occupied countries from colonial rule. As the main aggressor and enslaver of other nations, both historically and culturally, the British have refined colonialism to an art form. Therefore the British Commonwealth and her armed forces must be destroyed. In order to achieve this, it will not simply be necessary to liberate the occupied nations currently under British control, but rather, to also occupy the British Isles themselves. In this way a passive, non-expansionist government can be installed and all countries previously under the British yoke can experience true freedom from oppression and exploitation.

High Command has therefore set the main goal of the war as the total destruction of the British Empire. In order to achieve this and given the realities of distance, we envisage that by occupying Britain and destroying all British Commonwealth forces in the North Africa and Middle East theatres, it will act as a catalyst to other Commonwealth countries in far away theatres to overthrow their British oppressors without the need to bring significant German arms to bear in those theatres.

At the same time, however, we cannot forget the red threat that sits at Germany’s doorstep. Perhaps inspired by the British, the Russians have also shown their expansionist policies by occupying several nations on Germany’s borders. We will therefore set out to liberate the occupied nations of Eastern Europe so as to free them from Russian aggression. However, unlike the British, we believe that we can eventually come to an agreement with Russia to peacefully coexist with her neighbors without the threat of expansionism. German High Command have therefore set the secondary goal of the war as the liberation of all Russian occupied territories in Eastern Europe and the Caucuses, consisting of:
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Belorussia
- Ukraine
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia



In order to reach an eventual peace agreement with Russia and not enrage them too much, all German troops are forbidden from capturing any cities within Russia proper. Instead, assuming that all the above territories are liberated, the German armies will form strong defensive positions on the Russian border to deter any acts of aggression, whilst our diplomats negotiate peace with the Russians. Whilst we will surely face counterattacks from the Russian forces, it is hoped that we can hold their forces off for long enough for a diplomatic solution to be reached.

[JimmyC]

Given the self-imposed limitation of not allowing Axis forces to capture any cities in Russia proper, I decided to play on General difficulty so that my troops would have a bit more experience and hopefully be able to hold off the Russian winter juggernaut. I played through the earlier campaigns and am bringing 4 BF 109’s, 2 Pz IV’s and a 15cm artillery (all around 2 stars) to the scenario.

This is my first time to play v1.7. I previously played v1.6 on Field Marshall, however did not attempt Sealion during that playthrough - http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtop ... 45&t=67404

My self-imposed victory requirements by turn 100 are:
Decisive Victory – British Commonwealth surrenders and all cities of Eastern Europe and the Caucuses are controlled by the Axis (excluding Russia proper).
Minor Victory - Britain surrenders and either of the following are controlled by the Axis:
A. all cities of Eastern Europe (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Ukraine); or B. all cities in the Caucuses (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia).

<EDIT - i removed the restriction of not being able to cross into Russian territory and instead changed it so that i was not allowed to capture any Russian cities. I realised at around turn 10 that i would have to do this to make it more playable, as otherwise my troops would have to take long circuitous routes to reinforce other sectors lying on the border. However i will not abuse this by entrenching troops within Russia and will simply use it for moving troops. It will also allow me to perform some raids across the border to try and whittle down some of the Russian tanks before they strike my front lines>.

[JimmyC]

January 3, 1942 and the German forces are liberating city after city from the colonialists. However not all goes well.


① Rommel’s desert forces have been held up besieging Tobruk. After being pushed back during Operation Crusader forcing an end to the siege, Rommel consolidated territory and destroyed all units outside the Tobruk perimeter. Our forces have now positioned themselves for an assault on the Southern defenses, whilst the Regia Marina are bombarding the enemy artillery holed up in Tobruk. We are hopeful of taking Tobruk during Spring.
② No serious attempt has yet been made on assaulting fortress Malta. Instead, a portion of the Regia Marina, backed up by Axis fighters, has been maintaining the blockade on the island fortress. With significant Luftwaffe reinforcements being sent to the area, it is hoped that we can bomb the island into submission by Autumn.
③ Odessa has been proving a tough nut to crack, with our forces mostly bypassing it. Under the cover of the winter snow our forces have commenced a direct assault and it is expected to fall within the month.
④ As per High Command’s direction, limited encroachments have been made on the Russian motherland. However some liberated cities are in an indefensible position. Narva is one such example – lieing cut off from the rest of Estiona by the Narva River and within range of the Russian fortress further north. Our forces have therefore retreated from the city and will maintain position within support distance in case the Russian forces attempt to retake it.
⑤ After closing the Kiev pocket and capturing the better part of 3 Russian armies, our forces have switched to defensive positions on the Russian border. All the cities of Eastern Europe have been liberated with the exception of South-Eastern Ukraine. It is expected that these remaining cities will be liberated shortly, with the exception of the Crimean peninsula, which will take significant more time to liberate due to its strong defensive position.
⑥ Preparations are underway for the invasion of the British mainland. Our destroyers are clearing minefields in Southern England, which is a time consuming and costly process. When the weather clears, we will use tactical bombers, heavily supported by fighter squadrons, to try and speed up the process.

[JimmyC]

Whilst mostly bypassing Odessa to advance to the East, a strong Romanian contingent was left to besiege the area. After a costly artillery duel, the Romanian troops used the winter snow to launch a surprise attack, which has succeeded in destroying the Russian defences. It will soon be taken.


Our forces were pushed back from the siege of Tobruk during operation crusader. Strong Allied tank units are proving difficult for our armour to deal with, however with air superiority as well as better tactical decision making, the Africa Corps is holding out.