AAR: Horseman (Axis) v AI (Allied)

[Horseman]

I've decided to do an AAR on my second go at this game playing the Axis, my first go was also as Axis and ended in a draw with me desperately holding the Russians just east of Berlin and the western allies in france..I hope to do better this time!

There is no advantage to either side and have FOW, oil consumption, random research and 1945 end all selected.

September 1st, 1939 - WAR!! Germany declares war on Poland. England and France respond with thier own declarations against Germany.

A review of German Military strength:
11 Army Korps (corp units)
2 Motorised Korps
3 Panzer Korps
3 Reserve Korps (garrisons)
the Slovak corp (garrison)
2 fighter Luftfotte
1 tac bomber Luftflotte
the Highseas fleet (BB)
and 2 Uboat flotillas

the vast majority of forces are deployed for the upcoming invasion of Poland with a small force deployed in the west and 1 lone Army Korp stationed in Finland (?)
Arrayed against them in Poland I can see 6 Polish armies (corp units) and 2 garrisons. Intelligence reports that there is a further army unit holding Warsaw, at least 1 more garrison unit and of course the Polish airforce.

Luftflotte 3 (fighter) opens the campaign with an attack against army Poznan hoping to cause some loss but also to hopefully draw out the Polish airforce. Success! Luftflotte 3 loses 2 steps dogfighting while knocking 4 steps off the Polish airforce and a further 1 off army Poznan. 3 Panzer Korp and 10 Korp attempt to exploit the weakend state of army Poznan, 1st driving it back and then destroying it utterly all for the loss of 1 step to 3 Panzer. The advance confirms the existance of the 3rd Polish garrison unit.

Luftflotte 2 (Tac) targets army Lodz knocking 2 steps off for no loss. 16 Panzer Korp and 13 Korp succeed in driving army Lodz back and then destroying it, again the loss was 1 step from 16 Panzer.

7 Panzer Korp and 6 Motorised Korp drive back and then destroy army Prusy losing 2 steps off 7 Panzer. This advance gets us close enough to Warsaw to confirm intelligence reports that there is an army unit stationed within the city.

Luftflotte 1 attacks the KOP unit (garrison) taking no damage and knocking 1 from the Poles. Followed up by 19 Motorised Korp who takes 1 step loss whilst inflicting 6 against the Poles. It should be noted that the KOP unit, whilst a 2nd rate garrison unit does not retreat in the face of horrendous casulties unlike some of the "better" Polish army units!

2 Korp takes Danzig unapposed. 8 Korp moves around Krakow to the east ready to advance on Warsaw from the south, I wil not waste man power or resource taking this city. 4 and 17 Korp move to cut off and surrond army Karpaty. 1 Korp moves around army Modlin in the north looking ot outflank Warsaw to the east.

9 and 12 korps redploy via rail to Kiel ready for the planned invasion of Denmark next turn.

Uboat flotilla 2 heads north westerly in the hope if finding an unescorted convoy to pick on, flotilla 1 takes to the seas to join up with it. Both flotillas have strict orders not to engage the Bristish navy unless they can pick on an isolated unit.

The final act of the turn is to use my starting PP's to build a general lab with a focus on industry.

The situation in Poland at end of turn:


Summary:
well a far better 1st turn than my previous game! Last time I took horendous loses battering through the polish front line. this time I remembered Blitzkrieg.....1st attack by air, then lead the attack with armour and finally mop up with infantry and its paid off well. Also instead of trying to take out the whole front line I've smashed a nice hole in it in which I can pour my units through and surrond Warsaw next turn. By my rekoning only 1 Polish Garrison unit is in postion to be able to move into the way of this advance..should be easily taken care of. My loses are also surprisingly light....2 steps of fighters, 4 of armour and 1 of motorised infantry, I think I may have been very lucky here but wasn't it Napoleon who said "I'd rather have lucky Generals than good ones"?

[Horseman]

The allied turn yielded few surprises. The Polish army falls back were it can towards Warsaw and holds position were it cant..in the process I lose sight of Army Modlin and the Polish airforce rebases further east and out of sight.

In the west the British bomber attacks Essen causing no damage but taking a step loss of its own.

Situation after allied turn


As you can see Warsaw is wide open still and the Polish fighter only has so many places it could be hid!

September 21st, 1939 - Dancing in the streets of Berlin as news of stuning success spreads

German high command is pleased to recieve news that our lab has made great progress in industry.

In an attempt to locate the Polish airbase and destroy thier airforce on the ground 8 Korp is orderd to move easterly and finds their target. the airbase is overrun for no loss and the remaining 2 steps of the Polish airforce is forced to relocate.

Luftflotte 2 (tac) strikes at the heart of Poland removing 1 step from army Warzawa and thier 1 point of entrenchment. 6 and 13 Korps lead the attack on the Polish Capital losing 0 and 1 step but reducing the Polish defenders to only 2 steps. 7 Panzer moves in for the coup de grace and by night fall German tanks rumble through the city for no further loses.

POLAND IS CONQUERED
Loses for the Germans were very light - 10,072 infantry, 208 tanks and 52 fighters the Polish fared far worse
266,908 infantryand over 200 fighters!

Scant hours after Germany declared war on Denmark shells from the highseas fleet rain down on Copenhagen. The Royal Danish army caught by surprise lose 3 steps and are reduced in effectiveness. Fighters from Luftflotte 1 cause no further casulties but do reduce Danish effectiveness to practically 0. 9 Korp makes an amphibious landing to the south and in bloody street fighting knocks a further 4 steps off the Danish losing 1 in return. 12 Korp completes the attack and Copenhagen is occupied for no further loss.

DENMARK IS CONQUERED

Even while the German people celebrate the stunning success's against Poland and Denmark, the german war machine begins redeployment ready for the war in the west. Luftflotte 3 and 10 Korp are the 1st to redeploy via rail. The former to hopefully punish the British bomber if it again attempts to bomb our cities.

Our 2nd lab is also completed, this time an air lab to hopefully help win air supremacy against the allies.

End of german turn - 21 September, 1939


Summary:
Well if the 1st turn was a success the 2nd turn was phenomenal! Though the success in Poland was really down to the 1st turns result and the success in Denmark was down to luck (I shall again refer you to Napoleon!)
With both Poland and Denmark conquered a turn earlier and with so little loss I should get a boost to my PP's compared to my 1st game....this will mosty be spent on research. As in my 1st game I feel the forces I have are suffient in the most part for this stage of the game. Exceptions - I will want to expand my Uboat fleet and my airforce. I will also be looking to build a leader before I invade France. Lab wise my next purchase will be a naval (with focus on subs) then an armour then an infantry. once my air lab has completed research in Strategic operations I will give them a focus on Dogfight.

I know its early but any thoughts so far? Any comments on my planned builds?

[Horseman]

The Allies turn once more sees the RAF bomb Essen. This time they lose 1 step to intercepting fighters but still cause no damage to the city.
In the Alantic a convoy of 23 moves into spotting distance of Uboat Flotilla 2.

October 11, 1939 - Rumours of impending attack are ignored in Norway as they remain steadfast neutrals

3 Panzer Korps and and 6 Korps rail to the west continuingthe build up. Luflotte's 1 and 2 rebase to northern Denmark, both in striking distance of Oslo......

A naval lab is built with a focus on Submarines and all combat loses are made good.

In the Atlantic Uboat flotilla 2 choses not to attack this turn and instead links up with flotilla 1 to provide mutral support, next turn they will both go after the convoy.

During the alies turn the RAF once more go after Essen. This time the intercepting fighters knock 3 steps off of the bombers and the cities own defences manage another 1. Essen remains undamaged and the RAF bomber group are down to 4 steps.
The convoy in the atlantic disapears without even a hint of which direction it went...I realise that when I pulled flotilla 2 back a bit I went to far and exceded my spotting distance!

October 31, 1939 - Norway still refusing to believe allied reports of impending attack despite sightings of German transports off the Norwegian coast

Uboat flotilla 2 gets lucky in its search and finds the missing convoy sinking 9 steps. Flotilla 1 joins the attack sinking a further 6.

7 Panzer Korps and 6 Motorised Korps rail to the west as the build up continues.

9 and 12 Korps board transports and sail to the Norwegian coastline ready to land next turn.

No further PP's spent this turn as want to buy a commander next.

in the allies turn the convoy movesaway and out of sight. The RAF cease bombing raids..probably repairing their bomber.

Summary:
A quiet 2 turns as I build up my forces for the Holland, Belgium and then France invasion. I plan to use my 2 air units in Denmark to soften up Oslo for 1 turn before they rebase again to support the main attack. Another stroke of luck when I took 4 steps of the RAF bomber...am starting to wonder how long this luck will last! But at least i've cost him some valuable PP's in repairing them

[Horseman]

November 20, 1939 - The Norwegion Peoples are stunned by the agression of Gemany. Holland and Belgium begin to fret that maybe they are next

Germany declares war on Norway scant hours before the 1st wave of air attacks bombard Oslo. The 1st Norwegion infantry corps (garrison) is staitoned in Oslo, although no other Norwegion military units can be seen intelligence indicates there may be more but that they will be too far from Oslo to intervene in time.

The forces preparing to battle over Oslo

The dive bombers of Luftflotte 2 hit 1st followed by the fighters of Luftflotte 1 causing 1 step lose each for none in return. They also reduce te Norwegion infantry to effectiveness 28. 12 Korps makes landfall to the east of Oslo caching the defenders competly unprepared. 4 further step loses to the Norwegions and thier effectiveness reduced further to 16, the Highseas fleet moves in to bombardment range but cause no damage and 9 Korps lands to the SW ready to move in next turn.

The situation after the initial attack

19 Motorised Korps and 4 Infantry Korps both rail westwards, the attack on Holland is slated to begin next month.
Manstein is purchased ready to deploy next turn to an armoured Korps.

The 8 strong convoy is located once more but this time both Uboat Flotillas choose not to attack as it is a little close to England and possbly thr Royal Navy.

During the allies turn the RAF once again resort to bombing Essen to no effect other tha the loss of 2 steps to the interceptors reducing them down to 7. The 1st RN Destroyer Flotilla appears close to the convoy the boats have been hounding, justifying their decision to "lay low" The 1st Norwegian infantry is reinforced upto 7 steps.

Summary:
The attack on Oslo went well with no loses incured and Norwegion effectiveness left dangerously low..I expect it to fall next turn even without my air units supporting so they'll be able to redeploy to be in position for the Belgium invasion, I will probably launch my attack on Holland next turn so theywill miss that but I expect my armour units to hae little difficulty there. I chose Manstein as he not only has the best leadership but he also brings an attack bonus for the unit he is with....perfect for an armoured corp. next on the build list will be an air unit (maybe 2) before Ireturn to labs and possibly some Uboats.

[Horseman]

December 10, 1939 - Norways resitance shattered despite brave defence! Holland invaded! English and French pleas for Belgium to enter the war fall on deaf ears

The Highseas fleet once more rains death on Oslo causing as step loss and reducing efectiveness to 16. 12 Korps leads the assault followed swiflty by 9 Korps. The 1st Norwegion infantry fight bravely to the end but are over run causing only 1 step loss to 12 Korps.

NORWAY IS CONQUERED

Germany declares war on Holland who mobilises her army ready to face the onslaught.

The forces deployed to defend Holland

1 Leger corps (corp) can be seen defending Hague with 2 Leger corp (corp) forming a defensive screen. 3 Leger corp (garrison) is south of Hague in reserve.

The fighters of Luffflotte 3 attack 2 Leger corp with both units taking a step loss. Shortly afterwards the tanks of 3 Panzer Korp inflict massive damage taking 6 steps off 2 Leger corp and losing none in return. 17 Korp follows up the retreating Leger corp and finishes it off for no loss.

19 Motorised Korp attacks 3 Leger corp driving it back with heavy casulties (4 steps lost on Leger) taking no damage in return. 7 Panzer Korp finnishes the job annihilating 3 Leger for no loss.

With Hague now practically surronded the remain German forces move into position ready for an attack into Belgium including the arrival of 2 and 17 Korps from the east and Luftflotte 1 and 2 rebasing. Word recieved from Manstein. he has now assumed direct command of 16 Panzer Korp and is ready to lead the attack into Belgium and onto France.

Build up on the Belgium boarder


In the atlantic both Uboat flotillas withdraw in the face af a RN presence and will look for a convoy to haraas closer to the canadian coast line.
No PP's spent this turn.

Summary:
A bertter attack on Holland this game clearing out both other units ready for an attack on Hague next turn, I expect it to fall and will start my advance into Belgium. This will bring the French army into play but I plan to be in Brussels in January. I'm saving for anothr air unit or 2 now. 1st up will be a 3rd fighter as I'll be up against the French and Bristish airforces now so I want to ensure at least air parity and in my last game the Brits built a 2nd fighter unit. i haven't decided whether to go for a 2nd tac bomber 1st, another sub or back to lab building!

[Horseman]

I forgot to add in that during the allies turn 1 Legerkorps attacked 19 Motorised Korps with both units losing a step.

[Horseman]

December 30, 1939 - Holland surenders, Belgium attacked, France commits army to aid in their defence

1st order of buisness sees my 3rd fighter purchased and my 1st armour lab (no focus) this leaves 10PP in the bank! Italy finally has enough PP to purchse their 1st lab, a general focused on industry to help bolster their war readiness.

Luftflotte 2 (tacb) begings the attack on Hague removing 1 step for no loss. 6 motorised Korps, 19 motorised Korps and 4 Korps assault the city loosing 1 step each but the attack ends with 4 Korps marching through the streets in triumph.

HOLLAND CONQUERED

German fighters fly sorties over Belgium as Germany declares war.

The Belgium army deploys for war

the 1st Belgium corps defends Brussels with the 2nd directly to the north (both corps units) to the east stand the 3rd and 4th Belgium corps (both garrison units)

Luftflotte 1 begings the attack on the Belgium 2nd corps and is intercepted by the RAF! both fighters take a step loss before the ground attack goes through inflicting a step loss on the Belgium corps.
3 Panzer Korps follows the air attack inflicting 6 step loses on the Belgium corps and forcing them to retreat, no loses in return. 7 Panzer Korps finnishes off the last of the Belgium 2nd corps losing 1 step of their own. In the process they get within spotting range of the 1st and 7th french armees (an armour and corps unit)

Luftflotte 3 targets the Belgium 3rd corps and is intercepted by the French airforce. We lose 2 steps to the French 3 before inflicting a step loss to the Belgium 3rd corps. 10 and 2 Korps combine to destroy the Belgium 3rd corps losing 2 and 1 steps.

Luxemberg is occuppied without a fight by 17 Korps securing some precious PP's for me and denying them to England and 8 Korps becomes the last unit to redeploy from Poland. This leaves 2 German Korps and 1 Reserve Korp (garrison) in the east.

Positions after invasion of Belgium


The Highseas fleet docks in Hague port
In the Atlantic Uboat flotilla 2 finds a large convoy (52 ships) Flotilla 1 attacks sinking 6

Allied turn
The convoy runs but I think I have a good idea of the direction.
In aerial battle Luftflotte 3 loses 2 steps whilst inflicting 2 steps of damge to the UK fighter and 1 to the UK bomber whose ground attack on 2 Korps has no effect.
The 1st Belgium corps attacks 2 Korps losing 1 step and killing 2.
The French launch a counter attack on the 7 Panzer Korps with their 1st armee, 7th armee and a (newbuild?) motorised corps. 7 Panzer loses 5 steps and is forced to withdraw inflicting a total of 7 steps against the French (3, 2, 2 respectively)

Summary:
As expected Hague fell this turn but I did not expect to have to use 3 units to do so.....I must remember this isn't panzer general and my units are not that much better than the allies! The attack on Belgium went well enough with 2 units next to Brussels and more able to attack it next turn I dont expect it to hold past my next go. The air battle went ok but not brilliantly, again I must remember that unlike in panzer general my air units dont outmatch the allies by a great margin. this is where I wish I already had my 3rd fighter so that I could repair at least 1 and still have enough fighters left to escort my bombers...still only 3turns to wait.
The french attack took me by surprise. 7 Panzer is now left with a choice of repairing where she stands, a risk as they're on the coast so could take a naval bombardment and is in range of all 3 allied air units or retreating. Still 7 panzer caused more damge than they took and the french armoured unit is now in bomber range and possibly vulnerable to attack..

[Horseman]

January 19, 1940 - Belgium forced to surrender even as German and French forces continue to fight on her soil

Great news from our scientists


Dispositions at start of turn


Luftflotte 1 dogfights the French airforce causing 3 steps of damage and losing none. The ground attack on Brussels does however remove 1 fighter step for no Belgium loss (other than their 1 point of entrenchment)
Luftflotte 3 dogfights the RAF causing 2 steps of damge for 1 in return. the ground attack has better success knocking a point off of the Belgium 1st corps.
17 and 2 Korps attack Brussels knocking the 1st corp down to 1 step and losing 3 and 1 steps themselves. 19 Motorised Korps finnishes the job and occupies the Belgium capital also losing 1 step.

Luftflotte 2 manages to knock 2 steps off the French 1st armee (armoured unit) but loses 1 step in return. 16 Panzer Korps follows this up leaving 1 step of the 1st armee to retreat back over the river for no loss. Unfortunately no other unit can get in to finish the job.

4 korps moves along the coast and attacks the 7th french armee forcing them to retreat with 2 step loses and losing 1 of their own. This allows 3 Panzer to reach the remnants of the 1st French armee and finish them off with no loss. 7 Panzer withdraws to safety behind the main line ready to repair next turn.

Final positions at end of turn


Uboat Flotilla 1 locates the convoy allowing Flotilla 2 to sink 8 steps
I purchase another Uboat in the hope of causing more damage to these convoys, also because if I decide to do sealion then I'll need a little more naval power to block of the channel, this leaves me 30 pp which I think should leave me just enough to purchase a 2nd tac bomber next turn

Allied turn

The RAF attempt to bomb the Highseas fleet in Hague port...Luftflotte 1 intercepts losing a step but causing 2 loses to the bombers. Luckily no bombs find their mark against the fleet.

Summary:
This is still going so much better than my 1st game. Belgium becomes the next to fall and I am in a position to launch my attack on france next turn. Also the French armoured unit that caused me so many problems and proved hard to eliminate in my 1st game has already been destroyed which should make the going a little easier. The air war is still finely balanced with neither side really having an edge...of course in my 1st game I already had my 3rd fighter before crossing the French boarder as I was a few turns behind. Still the RAF fighter will find it hard to assist unless it rebases to France in which case I may get a chance to knock it out. I'm suffering far heavier casulties now than earlier in the game but feel they're not excessive yet (even the badly mauled 7 panzer killed more than they lost)

[Horseman]

February 8, 1940 - German Panzers seen roaming French country side

Only 109PP's so I miscalclated.....still with both fighters and an armour unit badly damaged I would probably not have build a tac this turn anyway...it'll have to wait.

Dispositions at start turn


Risking the French fighters Luftflotte 2 attacks the French corps unit to the right of the motorised unit. The French fighter intercepts but had not been repaired and was still only at 7 steps. The ensuring dog fight sees a step loss for both air units. The remaining bombers manage to inflict 4 steps on the corps unit losing another 1 of theirs.
16 Panzer Korps crosses the river outflanking the french corps unit and destroys it for no loss.
This gap allows 3 Panzer Korp to strike at the French airbase, wiping their airforce out whilst on the ground, in it new position 3 Panzer gets a good look at the defences around Paris.

Paris defence

The 6th armee hold Paris with another corps unit to the NE (yellow effectiveness) the remaining units are all garrisons.

10 Korps crosses the river and attacks the motorised corps losing 2 steps and killing 3.

The remaing undamaged units move to ensure a continuous chain to ensure the spearhead does not lose supply. The remaining damaged units are repaired including the 2 fighter Luftflotte. As 13 Korps has left Luxemberg 5 Reserve korps rails in to hold it.

Final positions in France


The Highsea fleet rebases to Wilhelmshaven to avoid the RAF bombers.

Uboat flotilla 2 once again locates the convoy but also finds the RN Destroyer flotilla....Flotilla 1 heads back west to see if it can find a more unprotected target.

Allied turn
The convoy that was being tracked by my Uboats remains in place however the UK Destroyers move into contact with it and to make matters worse the French Atlantic fleet has moved in support.

The French 7th armee withdraws and takes up postion SE of paris. this rings the city with units making it very unlikely to be attacked next turn.

Summary:
Another okish turn. Nothing happened to set the world alight but no major disastors either! being able to destroy the french airforce on the ground was a big bonus and means unless the ai rebases the RAF I can operate in France with almost total immunity. Due to fast conquests of Poland, Denmark, Holland and Belgium I'm no longer in a major rush so I can afford to take my time setting up the attack on Paris and that was the reason I more or less halted for the turn repairing my damaged units. Next on my build list is still a tac bomber but I might interupt this for my 1st infantry lab next turn as I would like to have at least 1 of each at this stage.

[OzHawkeye2]

Due to fast conquests of Poland, Denmark, Holland and Belgium I'm no longer in a major rush so I can afford to take my time setting up the attack on Paris and that was the reason I more or less halted for the turn repairing my damaged units.

The AI is much more forgiving, but against a Human this is the sort of thinking can doom the Axis. The critical factor for them is time. This is where against a human is so different, for starters that Tank unit south-east of Paris would be in deep trouble against a human I'd reckon. For your game here, I agree you do have a little time, but you still want to drop France real quick and begin preparations for Barbarossa. Unless you want to end up fighting off the Russians in eastern Germany again, you want to hit them like an absolute thunderclap around March/April '41.

Nice AAR by the way, just thought you might want to take the phrase "I can afford to take my time" and remove it from almost all future Axis thinking...hehe.

[Horseman]

The AI is much more forgiving, but against a Human this is the sort of thinking can doom the Axis. The critical factor for them is time. This is where against a human is so different, for starters that Tank unit south-east of Paris would be in deep trouble against a human I'd reckon. For your game here, I agree you do have a little time, but you still want to drop France real quick and begin preparations for Barbarossa. Unless you want to end up fighting off the Russians in eastern Germany again, you want to hit them like an absolute thunderclap around March/April '41.

Nice AAR by the way, just thought you might want to take the phrase "I can afford to take my time" and remove it from almost all future Axis thinking...hehe.

I must admit I took along time deciding if sending than tank se of paris was a good idea but in the end the chance of destroting the french fighter swayed my decsion, nice to know that it was as reckless as I thought it was! Well Paris won't fall next turn (I know that becasue next turn is about to be written up) but should be gone the turn after so that leaves me a whole year to start preperations for Barbarossa..oh no wait you rekon March/April 1941? Thats early but I can see the benefit to it.

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated and this is all practice for when I open my self up to PBEM so any comments on things I've done that would be crucified by a human opponent most appreciated!

[Horseman]

February 28, 1940 - French loses mount as the 1st Panzers reach Paris

The French Garrison unit that was directly south of Paris has moved away...not sure where it would have gone but its no where to be seen meaning Paris is no longer ringed...still its to small a gap to easily exploit so I still doubt there will be any attack on the city this turn.

Luftflotte 2 performs a ground attack on the French 7th armee knocking off 4 steps for no loss. 16 Panzer Korps finishes them off and follows up to end its turn next to Paris.

13 Korps and 6 Motorised Korps attack the last French corp unit ringing Paris (to the NE) losing 2 and 1 steps respectively but knock 8 of the French and forcing them to retreat. 19 Motorised Korps moves down and finishes them off totally cutting off the French motorised corp from any supply source. This leaves only garrison units arounf Paris.

Remaining ground troops advance ensuring the motorised corps will not get back into supply next turn and hopefully set up for the attack against Paris next turn.

Both fighter Luftflotte rebase to the channel coast so that they wil be in position to support any Sealion attempt if I launch it but also both in range of Paris this move reveals the UK dispositions around London...its well guarded! And both RAF units are back to full strength.

The new fighter deploys next to Essen as thats the closest I could get it.

I rail the Slovak Corps to Hague to act as garrison there as I feel the cities alnong the coast here do need to be guarded.

Positions in France at end turn


As I was just short of PP's I still have not built my 2nd tac bomber yet...after much thought I make the decision to build my 1st infantry lab as I want to get the tech of all my units ahead of the Russians if I can, so I need to actually start research asap, thats 1 lab in each area now.

Allied turn
A small convoy (16 ships) appears in the NW Atlantic....hmm could be easy prey?
The RAF bomber group flys a sortie against 6 Motorised Korps on the outskirts of Paris losing 1 step to inteceptors and 1 to AA fire. The 6th French armee holding Paris attempts to exploit this and also attacks losing 2 steps in the process. 6 Motorised Korp is now down to 5 steps.

A 2nd UK fighter appears around London taking confirmed RAF strength to 2 fighters and 1 strategic bomber.

Another French garrison moves away from Paris..

Summary:
A quietish turn as I decided to take my time setting up for the attack on Paris rather than rushing in and taking excessive casulties (yes yes MrOzHawkeye I had played this turn before I got your advice!) Still I think it should fall next turn which is still well ahead of my 1st game, the real war and my expectations! I just want to know where these French garrisons are going?!?!?

A 2nd British fighter appearing makes me glad I built my own 3rd....means I still have air superiority as I doubt the AI has built another one just yet!

I know I once again bumped the tac bomber back (it probably wont be built even next turn) but I feel the quicker I get my labs the better the tech difference wil be against Russia.

[Horseman]

March 19, 1940 - France forced to surrender as Paris occupied, the UK brace themselves for invasion

Dispositions at start of turn


The Luftwaffe open the bombardment of Paris with all 3 Luftflotte raining fire onto the streets. Only the fighters of Luftflotte 1 remove a step from the 6th armee but luckily I lose no planes and crucially the 6th armees effectivness is reduced to 38 and their entrenchment to 5.

16 Panzer Korps with Manstein at their head manage to reduce the french defenders to 2 steps and effectivness 19 all for the loss of only 1 step. This allows the tanks of 3 Panzer to overrun the last defenders and occupy Paris for the loss of 1 more step.

FRANCE IS CONQUERED

I have 109 PP (again!) so still no tac bomber, I'm sorely tempted by a 2nd BB to support a possible sealion but resist the urge and content my self with repairing damaged units.

2 and 17 Korps rail to Hague in readiness for a possible Sealion ofensive whilst the newly created Luftflotte 4 (fgt) rebases to the coast.

Both Uboat Flotillas sail away from the convoy heading for England to take up positions blocking the channel at either end. Enroute they discover the Royal navys 1st battle squadron.

Italy builds her 2nd lab this one an infantry lab with no focus. Germany saves her remaining PP (75)

Germanys research status

Well that infantry lab that stopped me getting another tac bomber this turn certainly paid off......
The Armour lab is doing well resarching armour...increased survivabilty is a good thing!
My Air lab is making good headway in dogfighting, thats not so bad as I will be switching focus to that sooner or later but I really want strategic operations level 1 1st to get increased range on my fighters.
The naval scientists need a good talking too.....I have set focus to subs (for obvious reasons) but they seem to be doing far better in ASW!!!!!!
My general lab will hopefully have the next level of industry soon, Yes! I'm not to fussed about radar but that last level of organisation would be nice too!

Allied turn
The RAF fighters attempt to knock the luftwaffe out of the sky! Both UK squadrens lose 2 steps, Luftflotte 3 loses 1 and Luftflotte 4 loses 4! Not so good...

The convoy I spotted last turn hardly moves but it matters little because I wont be going after it.
The RN 1st battle squadron runs strait into Uboat flotilla 2 resulting in 3 loses to the BB and 1 to the sub...fourtunately no other UK ships attack the now vulnerable sub but the 4th UK battle squadron does appear on the scene, I think thats 1 from the med (possibly Gibraltor) meaning the RN is out in force in the Atlantic!

Summary:
Paris fell with a whimper but the RAF struck back with vengence! I Still have the slight edge on the air way due to having a 3rd fighter..
I'm now worried about the RN presence in the Atlantic and without a serious ship building program I cant hope to win the Atlantic war. I should however have just enough Naval power to hold the Chanel long enough to invade England. I was toying with the idea of building another BB to support the invasion, but they take 8 turns to complete and theres no way I would want to wait that long, the advice recieved earlier from OzHawkeye reminded me I dont have plenty of time and in my 1st game it was waiting for the 2nd BB that resulted in me launching a very very late sealion and that I think was what sealed my defeat (well a draw..but same thing!)
Incase you aven't picked up on it I will be going for Sealion almost 100% sure of it. I cant resist the urge to avenge my blunder in my 1st game and not having England on my back door will be a nice relief when the Yanks decide to weigh in.
This leaves me needing to decide how to distribute my forces to be ready for Barborassa in early/mid 1941. before then I want to secure the oil fields in Iraq, take England as well as Yugoslavia and Greece.
I want at least 1 German fighter and tac air in Africa and also for the Yugoslvia/Greece campaign and if I want to start these early it means wiping out the RAF fast and/or building up plenty more planes. I also need more armour as 1 will goto Africa, more motorised Korps as 1 or 2 will goto Africa, more Korps units because I dont really have enough, more subs/naval presence to challenge the allies in the atlantic oh and more labs to really kickstart my research......hmmmm what I really need is more PPs!!!!!!!
I do currently have 2 corps units in Norway (1 in Oslo and 1 in Bergen) I think I can bring one of those home to support Sealion and rely on my navy to hold Bergen port...just a shame I cant get a garrison unit or 2 up there!

[Horseman]

April 8, 1940 - English cities evacuated as threat of bombing and invasion looms

Well looks like my scientists might have read my aar last turn...

And I'm now collecting 94 PP's a turn....

Uboats spy enemy in all directions!


Both Uboat Flotillas head for England ready to block of the channel

The Battle for Britain begins.....2 Luftflotte open the fight targeting the RAF bombers. At the end of the 1st round the RAF 1st Fighter group is down to 5 steps, the new build fighters down to 3 and the 1st bomber group down to 4. Luftflote 1 is down to 6 and Luftflotte 3 8 steps. Luftflotte 4 does not join the attack and repairs back to full strength.

7 and 16 Panzer Korps rail to Hague ready to embark for England all other units in the area repair or hold still building up effectivness.

No longer fearful of the RAF the Highseas fleet rebases to Hague and Uboat Flotilla 3 (new build) deploys in Wilhelmshaven.

I finally build a 2nd Tac Bomber!

Sealion is slated to begin in May.

Allied turn
The RAF preditably rebuild its strength.
Lots of Naval movement but no attacks...interestingly the 1st UK Carrier group moves inbetween my 2 hidden Uboat flotillas....shame they have to make all speed to the channel as that is a tempting target!

Summary:
Not a great turn from me...I should have rebuilt all my fighters rather than attack...or if I did attack I should have thrown everything at 1 of the fighters to try and eliminate it. Still I can rebuild my other 2 fighters now so I will have 3 full strength groups.

Sealion should be launched in May and I'm confidant it will be a better success than last game, I will not land as many troops so it may take a little longer but I will have operations going in the Balklands/Greece a lot earlier which ultimately should leave me prepared for barbarossa a lot sooner

[Horseman]

April 28, 1940 - Panic in London as RAF loses mount

The battle of Britain continues with Luftflottes 1, 3 and 4 destroying the newbuild RAF fighter squadron only losing a single step off of Luftflotte 3. Luftflotte 2 now at full strength rebases to the channel coast ready to add its bombs to the carnage.

17 korps rails to Hague and 6 Motorised Korps rails to Brest. The invasion force is now assembled and ready to embark next turn. I will be taking 2 armoured korps (including Manstein) 1 motorised Korp and 4 infantry Korps (including 1 arriving from Norway) This should be enough and still leave me with enough force for Africa and the Balklands.

Uboat Flotilla 3 sails from Wilhelmshaven and takes uip position blocking the east side of the channel. Flotillas 1 and 2 sail closer ready to take up blocking positions near Brest.

4 PP's spent repairing 16 Panzer and another 4 shipping the Korp from Bergen. Another General lab is built to help the race to build up industry leaving 45 PP's that will be saved until next turn.

Allied turn
The RAF bomber group once more go's after the Highseas fleet and loses 3 steps to the intercepting Luftflotte 3 for no German loses.
The RN navy stays close to the convoy and narrowly misses discovering Uboat flotilla 2...that was close!

Summary:
Well the invasion is prepared so fingers crossed. I remembered to concentate my fighters in 1 place and was happy to be rewarded with the destruction of a UK fighter group. I still have to build up more labs but I also want to get another leader for the Africa campaign and probably 1 for the Balklands, as well as another armoured Korp...still to many needs and not enough PP's!!!!!

[Horseman]

May 18, 1940 - RAF taking heavy loses. German landing barges seen approaching the English coast line!!!!

Panic sets in when I realise that it takes 3 ships to block the channel near Brest.....my earlier luck holds when both Uboats have just enough movement to reach the Cherbourg line, the Channel is now blocked both ends.

The Battle for Britain continues with the RAF taking heavy loses. The 1st Bomber group is wiped out and the 1st Fighter group reduced to 6 steps all for the loss of 2 steps from Luftflotte 4. Luftflotte 1 repairs to full strength.

With control of the skies achieved and the channel blocked either end the invasion force sets sail lining the southern English coastline ready to land next turn. 21 and 5 Reserve Korps rail to Cherbourg and Brest respectively to garrison the coastal cities.

The invasion force


My 2nd air lab is purchsed, I need to boost research as it appears to be going rather slowly!

Allied turn
The remaining RAF fighters withdraw to the north out of direct harms way...
The RN 3rd battle squadron docks in Cardiff

Summary:
Well Sealion is set, all forces in position and the word is GO! Fingers crossed it all goes well. I targeted the bombers there as I didnt want them hitting any of my transports, if I can keep the pressure on the last fighter group then I can safely safely say the RAF is no longer a threat.
My research appears to be going slowly, infact the Italians have surpassed the Germans in Infantry research!!!! Talking of the Italians they are due to enter the war any turn now so next purchase will be a commander to join what will be the "Afrika Korp" Afer that I'll focus all PP's on maxing out my labs, I really need to get ahead in the tech race and I fear I'm not even close to being even slightly ahead!

[OzHawkeye2]

An alternative strategy you've got as an option (for next time anyway) is to forgo Sealion altogether. Build a decently sized fleet of subs (8-10 or so) and they can thoroughly lock up the Atlantic starving the UK of PP's until you're ready to turn on them. Base 2 fighters or 1 fighter 1 TAC on the French coast and you'll keep the RAF somewhere between busy and extinct as well (3 fighters does this really well, but is probably overkill).

The advantage to this is it makes setting up Barbarossa against the AI hugely easier, with it possible to launch by April with 7-8 leader-equipped Armoured units, 4-5 Mechanised Infantry (and the rest Infantry). While Oil is a problem with such a track-heavy assault force put a weighting on Army Group South and have it drive hell bent for the Caucasus(sp?) and grab the Russian oilfields.

Even on a no-advantage game it's possible to knock Russia out by Xmas '43, rail the units back westward, invade the UK (and Ireland), rush across the Atlantic (having begun a crash course of Carriers post USSR-surrender) and be knocking down the front gates of the White House before the '45 end-date.

Just an alternative way of doing things.

You seem to be doing pretty well in this game, you should invest UK fairly easily and still be able to turn on a good Barbarossa by its historical start date I would think (and the advantage to investing the UK is you need only stop the Russian convoys then as well).

[Horseman]

An alternative strategy you've got as an option (for next time anyway) is to forgo Sealion altogether. Build a decently sized fleet of subs (8-10 or so) and they can thoroughly lock up the Atlantic starving the UK of PP's until you're ready to turn on them. Base 2 fighters or 1 fighter 1 TAC on the French coast and you'll keep the RAF somewhere between busy and extinct as well (3 fighters does this really well, but is probably overkill).

The advantage to this is it makes setting up Barbarossa against the AI hugely easier, with it possible to launch by April with 7-8 leader-equipped Armoured units, 4-5 Mechanised Infantry (and the rest Infantry). While Oil is a problem with such a track-heavy assault force put a weighting on Army Group South and have it drive hell bent for the Caucasus(sp?) and grab the Russian oilfields.

Even on a no-advantage game it's possible to knock Russia out by Xmas '43, rail the units back westward, invade the UK (and Ireland), rush across the Atlantic (having begun a crash course of Carriers post USSR-surrender) and be knocking down the front gates of the White House before the '45 end-date.

Just an alternative way of doing things.

You seem to be doing pretty well in this game, you should invest UK fairly easily and still be able to turn on a good Barbarossa by its historical start date I would think (and the advantage to investing the UK is you need only stop the Russian convoys then as well).

I had toyed with the idea of forgoing sealion but in the end the chance to put right my big mistake last time overcame my desire to "play it safe" with barbarossa. Still with Sealion launched so much earlier (id only just taken france at this stage in my last game and then waited till almost the end of the year) things are looking up. I dont need most of the forces in England to get back to the mainland till the end of the year so that should give me plenty of time to take out the Brits!

I will say its an interesting stratagy though, one to try on my next go with the Axis side. This time round I'm hoping to get the middle east oil fields again because my oil supplies are heading downwards at quite an alarming rate!

EDIT: Oh and its nice to know I have at least 1 reader

[Horseman]

June 7, 1940 - Panic in the streets as reports flood in of German troops landing in force

Some good news from my scientists


Luftflotte's 1, 2 and 4 all launch ground attack missions on the UK's 50th Motor corp. Luftflotte 1 loses 1 step to the intercepting RAF, knocking 2 steps of the UK fighters in return, In total 50th motor loses 6 steps. Luftflotte 3 repairs to full strength.

16 Panzer Korps led personally by Manstein is the 1st unit to land attacking 50th Motor and wiping them out for the loss of 1 step.
All other Korps make landfall unopposed.

Luftflotte 5 (new tac bomber) deploys near Essen.

I have just enough PP's to purchase Rommel, he'll be my leader in command of the African campaign (who else!)

The initial landings


3 Panzer Korps rails to Marseilles ready to ship to Africa as soon as the Italians join the war.

Allied turn
Not much to report - 1st and 4th UK Battle squadrons arrive near Cardiff.

Summary:
Well its looking good so far. Next turn will se the switch to maxing out labs.....unless I get tempted by something else in the mean time!

[OzHawkeye2]

This time round I'm hoping to get the middle east oil fields again because my oil supplies are heading downwards at quite an alarming rate!

I always make sure the Krauts get all the oil fields. The Italians are support players only.

EDIT: Oh and its nice to know I have at least 1 reader