Slitherine

Turn 64. February 12, 1943 Axis.

February 12, 1942 Axis.

Surely, it's a mistake?

Cybvep wrote:

February 12, 1942 Axis.

Surely, it's a mistake?

Yes it is. It's 1943. Corrected. Thanks.

eisenkopf wrote:Great AAR, and great Axis performance!

There is one other area where I would be cautious, besides the northern sector: The Crimea. The Russians can recruit two units there per turn. If aided by one or two TACs, they can quickly break out and unhinge your front. I would either clear out the Crimea, or make sure you can see whats going on.

Since you've already taken Rostov, a better option would to be simply cut off the Crimea from contact with the rest of Russia. Move south from Rostov, and voila!

Turn 65. March 4, 1943 Axis.

Turn 65. March 24, 1943 Axis.

Turn 67. April 13, 1943 Axis.

Turn 68. May 3, 1943 Axis.

Turn 69. May 23, 1943 Axis.

Turn 70. June 12, 1943 Axis.

Turn 71. July 2, 1943 Axis.

I don't get it. What the Allies have been doing with their navy all this time? You are sinking hundreds of PPs here and yet there are no convoy escorts.

Turn 72. July 22, 1943 Axis.

Turn 73. August 11, 1943 Axis.

Turn 74. August 31, 1943 Axis.

What do you think of the game balance so far? It looks like the Germans will win this game. Could Dave have played differently to prevent this?`

The Allies need to take initiative in 1943 to have a chance to get to Berlin before May 1945. It seems the Russians struggle and waste good units instead of getting them to safety.

Stauffenberg wrote:What do you think of the game balance so far? It looks like the Germans will win this game. Could Dave have played differently to prevent this?`

The Allies need to take initiative in 1943 to have a chance to get to Berlin before May 1945. It seems the Russians struggle and waste good units instead of getting them to safety.

Borger, I know it's a lot to read through but I think the game in the east is balanced. Not to give anything away but I may try this same strategy against a more experienced opponent so as to have a good point of comparison. Well; that is I may try the same strategy through 1941 and the launch of Barbarossa. However; I expect to see very different game situations when that game reaches the same time point as this one.

Everyone else -- I'll let you in on the inside joke ... my experienced opponent for this second game is Borger. Though I've just revealed my game plan to him I hold no illusion that he wouldn't had been able to deduce it for himself in early '41. Also, if the situation warrants I can always change things on the fly.

But back to the original question ... I think the way we have things now in the east; especially the supply levels and so forth does give an axis player who want to go for Moscow in 1941/1942 some hope of achieving that goal. Before this change I feel we made it virtually impossible for the axis player to achieve this. Now, again, I hold no illusions in our game that I will get Moscow in 1941. But I wanted to try and if I'm able to get it against an experienced player like you then the game would need tweaking. However; I have a feeling that you will stop me short and will never lose Moscow. Then in 1943 you will be putting pressure on me on all fronts and I will have to begin my retreat in the east.

Now one thing I'm very interested in is to see how the Battle of Atlantic goes in our game. If you're not able to get that under control by 1942 or 1943 then we may have to take a look at that.

From what I can see, the reason you are winning is because you are outplaying your opponent, not because of game balance.

Example: if it were me, I'd forget about Tobruk and send all those high-quality units to somewhere they can be more useful. Why tie down a whole army for a fotress that's worth 1 PP? The bombers especially would be more useful elsewhere. I'd leave a couple corps by Tobruk just to act as a holding force. Station them each 2 hexes from Tobruk, one on either side. If Leeb moves to attack one, you can swoop in with the other and capture the fotress. More likely, Leeb will just sit there. Now you're holding a German mech for the price of 2 Allies corps, and it's not costing you any PP. Sounds like a good exchange to me.

Turn 75. September 20, 1943 Axis.

Turn 76. October 10, 1943 Axis.