AO Gotta catch 'em all! - The Pazermon Run

[Stormchaser]

A strong hero appears and such all existing units would like him assigned. Considering I lack infantry in this run, I add the hero to PzAbt 3, which already has bonuses to fighting against enemy infantry and further enhance the close combat tank unit.

I'm really hoping to get one of these guys (or Vigiliant, I'm not picky ) myself after I (hopefully) capture Vega once he upgrades to the OT-133. Having such a potent and dedicated Anti-Infantry Tank in SCW would be so, so useful...

New Units Commissioned:

PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - Matilda I
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35
PzAbt 12 - FT-17
Artillerie Abt 9 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11)

Captured Equipment Provided:

PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - Matilda I
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35
PzAbt 12 - FT-17
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16
AufkAbt 6 - Bilbao
Artillerie Abt 9 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11)

Rules of the run result in a absolutely hilarious situation combined with Zero Slots on Artillerie Abt 1. I have so much core slots to use that I have to update the army with absolutely everything I can, no excuses. This means FT-17 tanks, Bilbao recon cars and other gems come back. Renault R35 and Matilda I also make an appearance with some other additions, all of this resulting in twelve individual tank units and one more counting the extra Somua S35 that arrives later!

*wipes away tear*
It's...it's beautiful...

With Saarbrucken being a major defensive scenario I was concerned about positioning my forces in close terrain. Ultimately PzAbt 5 and PzAbt 7 took positions in Saarbrucken itself behind double artillery support to suppress attacking infantry and in the case of issues, not worry about losses too much. Gersweiler crossing was blocked by Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) and PzAbt 11, as I considered these tanks to be mostly expandable while still offering solid defense versus opposing tanks or recons (both units here also sat behind heavy artillery support fire). This ended up a success as the infantry units attacking these positions were unable to force any of my forces to retreat - artillery support suppression was simply too strong for the attackers to be able to cause any significant damage.

Good to see that you're not having too much trouble on the defensive end with your Tank armada.
Defensive Scenarios like this should also be interesting when I get to them, because in theory I could just have my Core chill at the defensive line while my Auxiliaries charge in and raise hell.

A thing to note that this time I-16 fighters did not manage to avoid losses, as they had to operate between many, many more French fighters and even focusing my AA fire against MS.406 planes did not fully discourage the French from shooting back. The I-16 losses here might be symbolic and in Poland the air force should be much weaker, but moving to 1940 this suggests I will need to find some better solutions, as this is the area where my army is mostly lacking, despite strong positions elsewhere. As time goes by, the demand for strong captured planes will increase for sure.

That's a sharp loss. It really is a shame that there aren't any depots with Planes to capture, we can't capture planes if we take the airfield they are based at, or really anything else besides 4 specific Commendation Rewards as ways to earn captured Planes. Especially since of the option available, the I-16 and Il-2 are the only decent options so far.

[Tassadar]

AO 1939 - Lvov

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 83805

Hero:



I guess Panzerjäger Abt 3 did not have a hero assigned yet. For sure not one of the most useful options, but in some defensive scenarios and lack of infantry to put on close terrain hexes I can certainly see some benefits.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - ** - Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - ** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-5 - ** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - * - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 75mm Vickers M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Legendary
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - ** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - 70mm Schneider M08 (SdKfz 10) - *

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland

Tactical Bomber

I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - German name of a Polish spa resort town by the Baltic sea, a favorite among German pensioners

Reserve

PzAbt 10 - Matilda I
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35
PzAbt 12 - FT-17
AufkAbt 4 - BA-6 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - Bilbao
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - 37mm M1930 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 3.7 cm Pak 36 (SdKfz 10)
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 8 - 75mm mle 1897 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 9 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11)
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - 37mm mle 30 (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10)
II./JG 1 - He 51 - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - He 51 - Entrenchment Killer 4x
I./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber

Summary:


That map is certainly crowded! Even with a reduced core compared to Bzura this is a scenario where the Polish army is severely outnumbered, so there's tons of time to set everything up.

Final Prestige: 87453 (up 3648)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

BT-5 - 109 (-1) - in use
T-26 - 391 (-1) - in use
Trubia - 110 (-1) - in use
Somua S35 - 67 (-1) - in use
7TPdw - 50 (+24)
TKS - 66 (+42)
UNL-35 - 197 (-5) - in use
SP wz. 29 - 60 (+16)
SP wz. 34 - 36 (+10)
105mm wz. 29 - 16 (+10)
155mm wz. 17 - 16 (+16)
20mm M33 - 132 (-1) - in use
40mm wz. 36 - 62 (+14)
75mm wz. 36 - 26 (+12)

Overall:

Since resistance in this scenario is rather weak and a lot of enemy forces consist of transports and/or infantry, my forces managed to avoid any major losses of their own and secure a bit of extra tanks, cars and guns. The next scenario would be the one much more interesting and challenging, as there's tons of Soviet stuff to capture after crossing the Bug river and not that much time to be honest.

AO 1939 - Wlodawa

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 22312

Hero:



River Assault again, this time getting admitted to PzAbt 11. I could see better options, but since I do not have Master of Blitzkrieg this time, it's actually with more potential thank if the trait was enabled.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - ** - Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - ** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-5 - ** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - * - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *
PzAbt 9 - Char B1
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 75mm Vickers M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Legendary
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - ** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - 70mm Schneider M08 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 9 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11)

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland

Tactical Bomber

I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train

Reserve

PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - Matilda I
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 12 - FT-17
AufkAbt 4 - BA-6 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - Bilbao
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - 37mm M1930 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 3.7 cm Pak 36 (SdKfz 10)
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 8 - 75mm mle 1897 (SdKfz 10) - *
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - 37mm mle 30 (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10)
II./JG 1 - He 51 - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - He 51 - Entrenchment Killer 4x
I./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber

Summary:


While the majority of my force pushes north against the Polish army, a small specialized part goes back to L'vov and tries to engage surprised Soviet forces to get some tasty captures.


Initial artillery encounters allow to adapt a good strategy for capturing them in the open. My tanks attack and deal about half strength damage, leaving the Soviets to use replacements next turn. The suppressed and healed unit is then attacked by AufkAbt 2 with Shock Tactics and secured. This does not always work of course, especially if enemy formations are larger, so extra artillery fire and using impassible terrain helps get even more.

Final Prestige: 33073 (up 10761)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

BT-5 - 119 (+10) - in use
T-26 - 406 (+15) - in use
Trubia - 109 (-1) - in use
Hotchkiss H35 - 52 (-3) - in use
Somua S35 - 66 (-1) - in use
7TPjw - 58 (+12)
TKS - 71 (+5)
UNL-35 - 194 (-3) - in use
Panhard 178 - 89 (-2) - in use
SP wz. 34 - 48 (+12)
37mm wz. 36 - 58 (+12)
105mm Vickers M22 - 139 (-1) - in use
70mm Schneider M08 - 123 (-2) - in use
152mm M10/30 - 115 (-1) - in use
75mm wz. 97 - 46 (+14)
122mm M1938 - 60 (+60)
152mm M1938 - 30 (+30)
BM-13 Katyusha - 48 (+48)
20mm M33 - 126 (-6) - in use
40mm wz. 36 - 70 (+8)
85mm M1939 - 96 (+96!)

Overall:

Wlodawa proved to be a true treasure hoard. My main target were of course the Katyushas, but as it turns out I got tons of amazing 85mm M1939 AA guns that were rather defenseless in the open if approached carefully and could be easily added to my army. Because these are also quite expensive, the total prestige gain was absolutely off the charts, filling a lot I had to sacrifice at the beginning of the scenario for the extra commendation points. I Also managed to secure some more tanks and Polish equipment, so I am now as ready for Warsaw as I can be with still just one infantry unit in the core. I must say I was initially concerned that moving back to L'vov and not using bridge engineers might affect my attempts to get a hold on more Soviet stuff, but luckily it's not the case. Eastern side of the river is not too significantly defended and initial artillery positions can be quickly overrun. BM-13 Katyushas ended up being captured by the Western team after all as both groups did not manage to join back together and had to operate separately for the whole scenario.

AO 1939 - Warsaw

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 35883

Hero:



Nice, Dieter Zimmermann adds hope that Warsaw can be completed without relying on more infantry. The question of where to assign him is actually not a question at all. PzAbt 9 with Char B1 is going to be a true behemoth.

Captured Equipment Provided:

PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7)
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11)
Former Artillerie Abt 9, now Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c
III./JG 1 - I-15
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - ** - Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - ** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-5 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - * - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher
PzAbt 10 - Matilda I
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - * - Legendary
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - 37mm mle 30 (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10)

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - ** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *
Artillerie Abt 8 - 75mm mle 1897 (SdKfz 10) - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - Entrenchment Killer 4x

Tactical Bomber

I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train

Reserve

PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-6 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - 37mm M1930 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 3.7 cm Pak 36 (SdKfz 10)
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber

Summary:


After initial heavy fighting around the outskirts it turns out that carefully reading Wagner's briefings really pays off. While without my own infantry I cannot ever dream to directly assault heavily fortified opposing infantry in a timely fashion, I can focus my efforts against supply depots and cut off entire districts. This actually works and allows me to keep steadily pushing ahead and even secure a lot of tanks and artillery that are deprived of fuel and ammo.

Final Prestige: 43612 (up 7729)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

BT-5 - 110 (-9) - in use
T-26 - 399 (-6) - in use
Trubia - 101 (-8) - in use
Matilda I - 25 (-3) - in use
Char B1 - 50 (-2) - in use
Hotchkiss H35 - 45 (-7) - in use
Somua S35 - 59 (-7) - in use
7TPjw - 68 (+20) - in use
TKS - 125 (+54)
FT-17 (pl) - 22 (+14)
UNL-35 - 185 (-9) - in use
Panhard 178 - 85 (-4) - in use
37mm wz. 36 - 92 (+34)
152mm M10/30 - 114 (-1) - in use
122mm M10/30 - 111 (-2) - in use
75mm Schneider M06 - 37 (-3) - in use
75mm mle 1897 - 35 (-1) - in use
105mm mle 1913 - 15 (-1) - in use
75mm wz. 97 - 52 (+6)
105mm wz. 29 - 72 (+56)
155mm wz. 17 - 28 (+12)
20mm M33 - 122 (-4) - in use
37mm mle 30 - 14 (-1) - in use
40mm wz. 36 - 96 (+28)
75mm wz. 36 - 78 (+52)
PZL P.11c - 8 (+18) - in use
I-15 - 8 (+18) - in use
PZL P.37B Los - 7 (+17) - in use

Overall:

Warsaw falls on turn 44 due to the defenders no longer having access to supplies and not being able to offer any resistance. That took quite some time, but methodical approach and cutting off the opposition district by district and then using rail transport was the only good option. After all even 10/10 entrenched infantry cannot offer much resistance if it is fully suppressed. I expected a tough, almost impossible fight, but this approach provided a workaround that allowed me to succeed on the first try. For what it was worth, I had a large artillery force that was able to cover much of the map and my AA guns deployed equally with a few fighters as well meant that I was not disturbed from the air in any major way and also had a significant ground presence, meaning more room to close off large parts of the map. Secondly, all tanks (especially the three with Butcher heroes) were quite good at luring defenders into attacking by standing next to city hexes in open ground and shooting back for major damage - such tempted units could then be easily taken out with extra artillery help. Especially the PzAbt 5 Verdeja 2 split into two 5 power stacks is a target the AI finds it difficult not to pursue and get punished as a result. Finally I still had Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) to hit key targets and kept it really busy all times. The most difficult part were the initial skirmishes just outside the city against Polish armored forces and the initial push for supply depots for which either the sole infantry of Butcher hero tanks were used. Once my army got into favorable positions, I just had to slowly tighten the grasp and wait. It was tempting to speed things up several times, but I think I managed to discipline myself and not get my forces into rough situations - lack of my usually favorite Perimeter Control trait has I think taught me a lot about better positioning on the battlefield and this paid off in Warsaw. Majority of my units took losses overall, even the mighty Char B1 got hit in these city conditions, but these results are a lot lower than I feared and for the most part spread around the entire force quite evenly.

[Tassadar]

AO 1939 - Raate Road

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 45822

Hero:



All my AT, AA and artillery units have a chance of reaching this skill at one point due to the length of AO, so I decide to add the hero to III./JG 1 for potential future fighter support. This way I can have a unit who while escorting bombers can also shoot at ground targets to weaken entrenchment.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - ** - Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - ** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-5 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - **
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-6 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - *
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - 37mm mle 30 (SdKfz 11) - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - ** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support

Reserve

PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - Matilda I - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - 37mm M1930 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 3.7 cm Pak 36 (SdKfz 10)
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *
Artillerie Abt 8 - 75mm mle 1897 (SdKfz 10) - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *
I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


If this looks like a mess, that's because it is. Things happening in this scenario were absolutely insane and caused some serious trouble.

Final Prestige: 47864 (up 2042)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

BT-5 - 105 (-5) - in use
T-26 - 395 (-4) - in use
Trubia - 97 (-4) - in use
OT-133 - 39 (+22) - in use
Char B1 - 49 (-1) - in use
Hotchkiss H35 - 41 (-4) - in use
Somua S35 - 50 (-9) - in use
BT-7 - 16 (+16)
T-28 - 16 (+16)
UNL-35 - 181 (-4) - in use
BA-6 - 80 (-2) - in use
SP wz. 29 - 41 (-9) - in use
AT-1 - 14 (+14)
105mm Vickers M22 - 137 (-2) - in use
203mm M1931 - 27 (+8) - in use
152mm M10/30 - 107 (-7) - in use
155mm C mle 1917 - 26 (-3) - in use
BT-7A - 18 (+18)
20mm M33 - 120 (-2) - in use
76.2mm M31 - 80 (-2) - in use
37mm mle 30 - 12 (-2) - in use
85mm M1939 - 85 (-1) - in use
Gaz-AA MG - 18 (+18)

Overall:

This was by far the most difficult scenario for me, much tougher than Warsaw in fact. Not because the objectives were extrem, by now I knew more or less how to best approach them after many earlier tries, but due to the fact I aimed at getting all the possible good or at least new units to capture. This caused some issues and made me replay the scenario three times. The first attempt was as suggested by Magic1111 in the Slow Retrograde run - cross the rivers, take the towns and wait by the crossings. That actually works in practice, but downing all the planes so fast meant I did not have room to make all the captures I want - when I tried to get the units, the scenario ended too quickly with good stuff still being available. I then tweaked the approach slightly and still made use of the rivers, but without taking the airfields to keep the regular Soviet units destroyed count lower. This second modified approach worked until... 2-4 strength planes started suicide charging themselves right into AA fire and that despite my AA guns being split and the AI in theory knowing my guns location. The third try finally worked when I essentially again used the rivers, did not take the airfields and after severely damaging the Soviet air force I switched all my AA guns back to AT mode. This meant my forces took some more losses, but it was the only way to keep things in order. I just failed to get one towed AT gun, the newer 45mm variant, as the unit just refused to replace losses after being taken down to 2 strength. With that extra objective I took upon myself the level really felt like a puzzle that required solving and I enjoyed it quite a lot due to this.

AO 1939 - Taipale

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 49222

Hero:



Taipale hero assignment is quite straightforward. I only have one unit with which it works, so no other option than to add First Aid to Infanterie Reg 1 (span.). I hope later in AO I'll be able to get some other gift infantry (maybe Romanian or Italian?) to have more options in case further infantry heroes show up.

Captured Equipment Provided

Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
Former Artillerie Abt 8, now Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *

Small upgrades in the form of outfitting Panzerjäger Abt 4 with new guns and having my very first self-propelled artillery unit that can serve as a tank in case of need as well.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - ** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-5 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - **
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - *
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - 37mm mle 30 (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *

Reserve

PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - Matilda I - *
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-6 - *** - Overrun
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - 37mm M1930 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


Lacking infantry, I had to set up defensive positions by the bridges and only move to a counter attack once the first few waves of Soviet troops exhausted their momentum.

Final Prestige: 53443 (up 4221)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

BT-5 - 90 (-15) - in use
T-26 - 297 (+2) - in use
Trubia - 90 (-7) - in use
OT-133 - 53 (+14) - in use
Char B1 - 48 (-1) - in use
Renault R35 - 55 (-5) - in use
Somua S35 - 46 (-4) - in use
BT-7 - 40 (+24)
UNL-35 - 173 (-8) - in use
AMC P16 - 30 (-3) - in use
Panhard 178 - 83 (-2) - in use
BA-10 - 66 (+38)
25mm SA 34 - 63 (-3) - in use
AT-1 - 40 (+26)
45mm M1937 - 16 (+16)
105mm Vickers M22 - 133 (-4) - in use
155mm C mle 1917 - 24 (-2) - in use
105mm mle 1913 - 14 (-1) - in use
76.2mm M1939 - 14 (+14)
75mm mle 39 - 40 (-6) - in use
25mm CA mle 39 - 13 (-2) - in use
Gaz-AA MG - 32 (+14)
37mm M1939 - 16 (+16)

Overall:

Taipale was fair in terms of overall difficulty, but had a few tricky issues to deal with. First of all I again kept my air force in reserve. I could not afford the risk of my planes getting severely damaged by Soviet fighters and had to involve my AA guns in keeping the forces safe. They did a good job, as double AA fire support prevented losses to Artillerie Abt 1, but obviously not all units could be equally well protected. Secondly, I was just able to secure some of the locations with infantry, and thus had to fall back and defend outside of close terrain (aside from the town itself) this meant that Soviet tanks had a chance to score some good hits. Finally, BT-5, Trubia or UNL-35 are constantly becoming less competitive on the battlefield and new Soviet reinforcements meant that the power with which they hit back increases. I wonder how this will look in 1940 - on one side I already had a glimpse at French forces in 1939, but these were not using their full potential yet, so extra firepower will be required. With this regard I am happy to get a good supply of the AT-1 anti-tank gun, the mobile GAZ-AA MG and enough BT-7 and BA-10 parts to upgrade existing units to these new variants. I only regret not being able to secure more T-28 tanks to make them worth using. Only two 15 strength tanks like this appeared during the scenario, but the first one constantly attacked my OT-133 protected by AT guns and thus got seriously beaten with no opportunity to set up a capture and the second appeared around the final turns, with not enough time to surround and secure it.

AO 1939 - Denmark

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 54630

Hero:



Final hero of 1939 is yet another Overrun one and joins AufkAbt 6 with the continued trend of having overrun recon units for the sake of dealing with wounded infantry quicker.

Captured Equipment Provided

PzAbt 2 - BT-7
PzAbt 10 - KV-2
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG

Several important upgrades, not only improving stats on a few existing units providing them with better Soviet equipment, but also some that increase the mobility of my army. This is great,m since better mobility further increases the chances for hood captures. As for PzAbt 10, that's quite the change from a Matilda I all the way to KV-2...

On a side note, I changed the camouflage on my units, using on pattern per country of origin (for example all Soviet ground units now use Ambush - Daimler Benz), which works better than 2 units per pattern I normally use.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - ** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - **
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - * - Overrun

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los

Reserve

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


The option to cut off entire masses of land means I can get my hands on tons of motorcycles, which I'm sure to use at least on one unit, maybe even a new one in 1940.

Final Prestige: 61222 (up 6592)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Hotchkiss H35 - 39 (-2) - in use
Renault R35 - 51 (-4) - in use
7TPjw - 67 (-1) - in use
KV-2 - 25 (+35) - in use
T-15 - 32 (+32)
SP wz. 29 - 23 (-3) - in use
DK Motorcycle - 104 (+104)
37mm Bofors - 48 (+48)
T-13 - 18 (+18)
20mm M/38 - 84 (+84)
75mm FRC M27 - 14 (+14)

Overall:

Since the Danish forces do not have any artillery support, the only issue was making sure the front row of my forces consist of units that can take losses, as the motorcycle forces are known to be quite nimble and can easily strike unguarded targets. As long as that condition was met, I could get large encirclement with the extra help from the German fleet and hoard some new types of units. From all of them I will probably only end up using the motorcycle forces, but 20mm M/38 might end up replacing the SCW variant if that supply runs out as these are essentially identical AA auto-cannons.

AO 1939 - Summary

Starting Prestige: 43174
Final Prestige: 61222 (up 18048)

Final Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - * - Overrun

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Trophies of War (with compared to end of SCW):

Tank:

FT-17 - 45 (+23)
BT-5 - 100 (-36)
T-26 - 407 (-18)
Trubia - 100 (-42)
OT-133 - 63 (+36)
Matilda I - 35 (-3)
AMC 35 - 44 (+44)
Char B1 - 58 (+58)
Hotchkiss H35 - 49 (+49)
Renault R35 - 61 (+61)
Somua S35 - 56 (+56)
7TPdw - 50 (+50)
7TPjw - 77 (+77)
TKS - 125 (+125)
FT-17 (pl) - 22 (+22)
BT-7 - 40 (+40)
T-28 - 16 (+16)
KV-2 - 35 (+35)
T-15 - 32 (+32)

Recon:

Bilbao - 55 (-2)
UNL-35 - 183 (-51)
AAC-1937 - 128 (-15)
BA-6 - 90 (-21)
AMC P16 - 40 (+40)
Panhard 178 - 93 (+93)
SP wz. 29 - 48 (+48)
SP wz. 34 - 48 (+48)
BA-10 - 66 (+66)
DK Motorcycle - 104 (+104)

Anti-Tank:

37mm M1930 - 64 (-1)
45mm M1932 - 66 (-2)
47mm SA 37 - 65 (+39)
25mm SA 34 - 73 (+73)
37mm wz. 36 - 92 (+92)
AT-1 - 40 (+40)
45mm M1937 - 16 (+16)
37mm Bofors - 48 (+48)
T-13 - 18 (+18)

Artillery:

105mm Vickers M22 - 143 (-14)
70mm Schneider M08 - 133 (-2)
203mm M1931 - 37 (+6)
152mm M10/30 - 117 (-12)
122mm M10/30 - 121 (-2)
75mm Schneider M06 - 47 (-8)
155mm C mle 1917 - 34 (+34)
75mm mle 1897 - 45 (+45)
105mm mle 1913 - 24 (+24)
75mm wz. 97 - 52 (+52)
105mm wz. 29 - 72 (+72)
155mm wz. 17 - 28 (+28)
122mm M1938 - 60 (+60)
152mm M1938 - 30 (+30)
BM-13 Katyusha - 48 (+48)
BT-7A - 18 (+18)
76.2mm M1939 - 14 (+14)

Anti-Aircraft:

20mm M33 - 130 (-23)
75mm Vickers M1931 - 23 (no change)
76.2mm M31 - 90 (-2)
37mm mle 30 - 22 (+8)
75mm mle 39 - 50 (+34)
25mm CA mle 39 - 23 (+23)
40mm wz. 36 - 98 (+98)
75mm wz. 36 - 78 (+78)
85mm M1939 - 95 (+95)
Gaz-AA MG - 32 (+32)
37mm M1939 - 16 (+16)
20mm M/38 - 84 (+84)
75mm FRC M27 - 14 (+14)

Fighter:

I-16 - 41 (-3)
PZL P.11c - 18 (+18)
I-15 - 18 (+18)

Strategic Bomber:

PZL P.37B Los - 17 (+17)

Thoughts:

This now looks a lot better than after SCW. I now have choice in terms of my army composition and can adjust it depending on scenario needs in the future. With the increased amount of different units there comes the need to supply them all, but so far it was not a major issue since in this early stage of the war differences in unit quality are not as huge as later on. T-26 proved to be a tough nut to crack for the opposing forces in 1939, but other SCW tanks were less resistant to enemy fire. For example I do not expect the Trubias to continue being useful in 1941, if they even survive with enough supply at this rate. UNL-35 losses were highest as this unit is most involved in encirclement and that's to be expected and remaining recons somehow managed to get better results. I hope for more unique scenarios like Raate Road or Taipale, where my main focus can be reaching some difficult captures, further adding to the experience beyond just main and side objective. My play order remains unchanged - first the Little Tanks run to get to known the campaign and essentially play with whatever I seem most fun at the moment, then the Slow Retrograde to scout out the other possible scenario paths and finally Panzermon, once I know what I can expect where an in case it's needed focus my play to missions where there are going to be more interesting capture targets.

[Stormchaser]

It's both good and sad to see this run reach it's (temporary) end. But at least you're ready to take on 1940 when it releases. Whereas I've pretty much accepted that between work and other commitments I might not even have finished SCW by then.
Which will then probably go on a bit of a break as I play around in 1940 with one of my other saves and gather data for the Commendation and Cache Guide.

[Tassadar]

I'm already slightly depressed by having to go back to work after two weeks, so I'll also won't be able to pick up the same fast pace as I had so far. Hopefully around the holidays and new year things will look better, but there's also that ghost of Cyberpunk that's poking me in the side and asking about time to spare.

[Tassadar]

AO 1940 - Fornebu

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 62801

Hero:



Things start of strong with a very useful hero with my low-infantry situation. The new hero can be assigned to PzAbt 3 - with Trubia's Rapid Fire, Butcher and No Retaliation it creates a unit that can clear infantry quickly and thus help in many, many scenarios where I would otherwise struggle to break through.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - * - Overrun

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los

Reserve

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


Even with Luftwaffe weak as it is, I manage to actually save the ship. That was pure luck and two 3 strength hits on the fort by I./SG 1 - praise the default 50% random combat results!


With new hero assignment, PzAbt 3 becomes a perfect tank for clearing out cities. Those results are scary, I just need to ensure that any AT weapons are cleared or suppressed first.


With no paratroopers and not enough bombers to clear the Norwegian navy and allow for a timely embarked landing, my forces rushes to save the pilots, resulting in the largest traffic jam in Norwegian history.

Final Prestige: 69179 (up 6378)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Matilda I - 47 (+12)
AMC 35 - 29 (-5) - in use
7TPjw - 66 (-1) - in use
UNL-35 - 172 (-1) - in use
AMC P16 - 29 (-1) - in use
SP wz. 29 - 35 (-3) - in use
Morris CS9 LAC - 30 (+30)
QF 2 pounder - 28 (+28)
7.5 cm m/01 - 70 (+70)
40mm m/36 - 34 (+34)
75mm m/32 - 32 (+32)
I-16 - 40 (-1) - in use

Overall:

Really good start to AO 1940! Not only did I manage to somehow take down the fort before my capital ship got sunk (again, luck of the random elements and two good hits early despite lack of experience on my tactical bomber), I also managed to save all four planes - the weakest one just barely, but like in most games it's the last hit point that counts. Apparently the AI favors my own infantry over the grounded planes, attacking them only if no better targets present themselves, so cycling damaged and healed paratroopers to present themselves as targets helped buy time. My fighters also assisted once they could change airfields (not as easy this time without Fast Rebase...) and scared off the Matilda I tank and recon cars before they could do major damage. As for captured equipment, not much from Norway interests me, but the Morris CS9 LAC seems like a decent upgrade provided that the British ones will count towards the same pool. A thing to consider moving forward. Only downside was poor placement of PzAbt 8 on hills by accident and thus losing 5 points of AMC 35 tanks to Norwegian mountain infantry.

AO 1940 - Undisclosed Location CZ

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 69493

Hero:



Combo hero for AufkAbt 2 makes me happy. I will now have a specialized unit that can go after rare, remote capture targets that would for various reasons be difficult to get - either due to existing in very limited numbers, or being located in encirclement resistant places. I don't plan to use AufkAbt 2 to force my way through objectives, but get those specific captures I would like to have.

New Units Commissioned:

Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle

Captured Equipment Provided

Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle

New unit to ad to the unit flavor. Interestingly it costs 3 core slots compared to 2 that usual Kradschützen require.

Starting Army Composition:

Recon

AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - * - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - * - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los

Reserve

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir
PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


As my forces advance to make a gap in the training bunkers, FlaK Abt 6 provides important AA cover.

Final Prestige: 70043 (up 550)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

None

Overall:

Another non-standard training approach, yet again done by making a great hole in the barrier and getting my units through. Not as effective in the Retrograde run and did not give all my units as many turns as I would like, but it's great that such a workaround exists in the first place.

AO 1940 - Valkenburg Raid

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 71793

Hero:



AufkAbt 1 gets this hero to preserve my supply of valuable Panhard 178 cars better since I am not sure with how many I will end up and these are really good and won't have significant upgrades for a very long time.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - **
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - ** - Overrun

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - *

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Reserve

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - *
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - ** - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - I-15 - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - *
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber

Summary:


Unit capturing team approaches Amsterdam...


...and a giant encirclement is created to secure much equipment.

Final Prestige: 79127 (up 7334)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

BT-7 - 28 (-2) - in use
OT-133 - 52 (-1) - in use
Trubia - 88 (-2) - in use
UNL-35 - 165 (-7) - in use
AAC-1937 - 117 (-1) - in use
AMC P16 - 27 (-2) - in use
SP wz. 29 - 34 (-1) - in use
BA-10 - 54 (-2) - in use
47mm Bohler - 100 (+100)
105mm Bofors - 48 (+48)
150mm Krupp - 28 (+28)
75mm Krupp - 70 (+70)
20mm Oerlikon - 14 (+14)
40mm Bofors - 14 (+14)
75mm Vickers/Resita - 6 (+6)
Fokker D.XXI - 30 (+30)

Overall:

Deploying any planes if no paratroopers are present would be a trap. There are not many core slots available, so every land unit is critical to the mission success. That was a long scenario in terms of unit setup and trying to avoid counter attacks from the Dutch army. The mission is intended with paratroopers in numbers, so lack of them makes things more tricky as I cannot be everywhere at once. A large encirclement is still possible due to the way terrain near Amsterdam looks like, but fortifications are a major obstacle in the south. Infantry or towed guns can and will also appear from the fog, so I had to watch out to not get any objectives retaken in a silly way. Ultimately all of this for a bunch of Fokker D.XXI fighters, but if I ever need some 47mm Bohler guns I've got a supply covered...

[Stormchaser]

Excellent start so far it looks like.
Really excited for how things will go once you get to France and Britain. (Char 2C! Char 2C!)

An interesting thought occurse to me that will be relevant near the end. Greece captures a number of Italian Tanks in the 2 Scenarios at the end. You can capture those, right?

[Tassadar]

Excellent start so far it looks like.
Really excited for how things will go once you get to France and Britain. (Char 2C! Char 2C!)

An interesting thought occurse to me that will be relevant near the end. Greece captures a number of Italian Tanks in the 2 Scenarios at the end. You can capture those, right?

I plan to leave the Char 2C as something to try out in the Wunderwaffe run - not because I would not be able to use it there, but because by that time I should have a wide selection of different tanks and then it seems the Char B1 is better thanks to that extra movement. Char 2C is big, slow, impractical and over the top - perfect for Wunderwaffe run and the rules of that crazy one are starting to take shape.

At the same time, Italian equipment is perfectly fine and will be used if I manage to get enough of it. Especially that AA gun and another flame tanks seem tempting. They also are in the spirit of the run - I don't really care who I capture the equipment from and who was the original owner.

[Stormchaser]

I plan to leave the Char 2C as something to try out in the Wunderwaffe run - not because I would not be able to use it there, but because by that time I should have a wide selection of different tanks and then it seems the Char B1 is better thanks to that extra movement. Char 2C is big, slow, impractical and over the top - perfect for Wunderwaffe run and the rules of that crazy one are starting to take shape.

Fair enough I suppose. I'm definitely curious about how that will work and anticipate when you get around to starting it.

[Tassadar]

AO 1940 - Battle of the Grebeberg

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 80467

Hero:



Normally this is a hero I like to assign to fighter planes, but as my fighter plane hero list is long, this time I use Kradschützen Bataillon 1 instead.

New Units Commissioned:

IV./JG 1 - I-15

Captured Equipment Provided

IV./JG 1 - I-15
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI

Not only do I upgrade one of my fighter planes, but I can in fact earn a brand new fighter group! That's a major event for my air force.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - to join during the mission

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - ** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - * - Combat Luck

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - **

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - ** - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - *

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Reserve

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - **
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber

Summary:


I./SG 1 is strong enough to operate without fighter escorts - Dutch planes are unable to take any down and loose a few of their own instead!


PzAbt 10 on artillery duty positioned on Hill 14. Quite a useful beast when tank fire is less important.

Final Prestige: 87083 (up 6616)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Vickers Mk.III - 28 (+28)
Trubia - 87 (-1) - in use
7TPjw - 64 (-2) - in use
Char B1 - 47 (-1) - in use
UNL-35 - 162 (-3) - in use
SP wz. 29 - 32 (-2) - in use
DK Motorcycle - 91 (-3) - in use
Morris CS9 LAC - 76 (+46)
47mm Bohler - 124 (+24)
105mm Bofors - 84 (+36)
150mm Krupp - 62 (+34)
75mm Krupp - 74 (+4)
20mm Oerlikon - 28 (+14)
40mm Bofors - 38 (+24)
75mm Vickers/Resita 18 (+12)

Overall:

Aside from the Vickers Mk.III that I finally get after missing it in SCW, there's not much in terms of captures that would be significantly better than what I already have. That said, there's another pile of Morris CS9 LAC cars that make their use much more viable now that there's enough supply. Too bad artillery is basically the same just with different unit models and thus not viable as an actual upgrade. French equipment however starting from the next mission should be much more fruitful and while I collected some machines in 1939 already, a larger supply is something that for sure will come in handy! Losses were low - the Dutch army does not have the mobility and armor in this scenario to offer any significant resistance.

AO 1940 - Sedan

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 89690

Hero:



This new hero for now goes to reserve - he will be perfect for the unit acquired in this mission!

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - * - Combat Luck

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *

Fighter

I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - * - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - *

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - **
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - ** - Overrun
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - ** - Avenger, Prudent
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


Wounded nemesis is not getting away this time, caught in open terrains and vulnerable to my artillery.


Once Sedan falls, let the capturing commence!


Finally! Kradschützen Bataillon 1 ends the long journey avoiding enemies and accidental contact with 7th Panzer Division as well to reach Dinant from the Western side due to lack of bridge engineers. Not with many turns to spare, that's for sure!

Final Prestige: 102018 (up 12328)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Somua S35 - 51 (+5) - in use
T-26 - 391 (-6) - in use
Trubia - 85 (-2) - in use
AMC 35 - 54 (+25) - in use
Char B1 - 68 (+21) - in use
Hotchkiss H35 - 91 (+52) - in use
Renault R35 - 75 (+24) - in use
UNL-35 - 152 (-10) - in use
AMC P16 - 61 (+34) - in use
Panhard 178 - 136 (+54) - in use
47mm SA 37 - 95 (+40) - in use
25mm SA 34 - 73 (+10) - in use
155mm C mle 1917 - 50 (+26) - in use
75mm mle 1897 - 95 (+50)
105mm mle 1913 - 70 (+56) - in use
20mm M33 - 117 (-3) - in use
25mm CA mle 39 - 26 (+13) - in use
37mm mle 30 - 64 (+42)
75mm mle 39 - 56 (+16) - in use
Breguet 693 - 30 (+30)

Overall:

The first refill of French equipment is quite welcome as my supply of AMC 35 tanks, AMC P16 recons and 105mm mle 1913 artillery was not too high. Dense forested terrain helps encirclement as it prevents retreat, while allied German forces are rather counter productive to my efforts as they constantly try to take down targets I intend to capture and give me SCW flashbacks. The overall result is quite satisfying and what makes me even more happy is the acquisition of the second tactical bomber to my force. At this pace by the end of 1940 and moving towards 1941, I can perhaps end up with a semi-decent air force that will not have to operate from the rear lines and only appear once my AA guns did their job for a couple of turns.

AO 1940 - Battle of Arras


It just so happens I only have one infantry unit, so not the biggest dilemma I ever faced...

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 52050

Hero:



Trying this new hero on a recon unit that will be directly responsible for unit support. AufkAbt 5 will fill this role.

New Units Commissioned:

II./SG 1 - Breguet 693

Captured Equipment Provided

II./SG 1 - Breguet 693

Second tactical bomber! Not as defensible as the Il-2, but valuable as it can start slowly earning experience and further help my air force. I'm a bit concerned deploying it against the British forces, so I will need to be careful about it. The plan is to deploy both tactical bombers without fighter cover and operate beyond British plane range.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Hotchkiss H35 - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - **
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Reserve

PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Renault R35 - River Assault
AufkAbt 3 - AAC-1937 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - ** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - ** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
Artillerie Abt 6 - 75mm Schneider M06 (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - 105mm mle 1913 (SdKfz 11) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *
I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - ** - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber

Summary:


That's a lot of new, tasty British equipment just waiting to be incorporated into my own army.

Final Prestige: 63608 (up 11558)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Vickers Mk.VI - 46 (+46)
Somua S35 - 50 (-1) - in use
BT-7 - 26 (-2) - in use
T-26 - 388 (-3) - in use
Trubia - 81 (-4) - in use
7TPjw - 63 (-1) - in use
AMC 35 - 52 (-2) - in use
Char B1 - 66 (-2) - in use
Cruiser Mk.I - 26 (+26)
Cruiser Mk.IV - 30 (+30)
Hotchkiss H35 - 89 (-2) - in use
Matilda II - 48 (+48)
Wasp MkIIC - 12 (+12)
Matilda I - 138 (+91)
UNL-35 - 143 (-9) - in use
BA-10 - 52 (-2) - in use
Daimler Dingo - 34 (+34)
Humber AC Mk.I - 18 (+18)
45mm M1932 - 52 (-4) - in use
QF 2 pounder - 58 (+30)
105mm Vickers M22 - 131 (-2) - in use
BL 6 inch 26 cwt - 18 (+18)
BL 4.5 inch - 32 (+32)
152mm M10/30 - 105 (-2) in use
122mm M10/30 - 107 (-4) - in use
QF 25 pounder - 32 (+32)
BL 5.5 inch - 16 (+16)
40mm Bofors (gb) - 52 (+52)
75mm mle 39 - 52 (-4) - in use
QF 3 inch - 12 (+12)

Overall:

Arras hunt proved to be plentiful The British offer new options that allow me to upgrade several units and make them more reliable for the rest of the campaign, so the fact this scenario traditionally is rather generous in terms of capturing possibilities helped a lot. Too bad the most common loot was the Matlida I, which is really not something I want to be using. Other tanks and artillery are much more tempting and in the next mission I'll start making use of them. I am satisfied that my idea of using bombers away from the reach of British fighters paid off, this makes me more willing to at least partially consider using planes in some future scenarios, but with a true challenge incoming soon, I need to be extra careful about what I deploy.

[Tassadar]

AO 1940 - Siege of Lille

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 66354

Hero:



Time to reinforce PzAbt 11, my second river assault tank. But honestly, that's nothing too impressive.

Captured Equipment Provided

PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch

Time to put some British equipment into service. This allows me to greatly upgrade my dated French tanks, apply a 8 movement recon car instead of old SCW one and switch artillery to better, heavier variants or in case of the light guns - one that can also serve in AT mode if needed, being quite flexible this way.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - ** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - ** - Overrun

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *

Fighter

II./JG 1 - PZL P.11c - ** - Avenger, Prudent
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - **
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - River Assault, No Surrender
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
I./JG 1 - I-16 - *** - Adolf Galland
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
III./KG 1 - Ju 52 Bomber
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


First turn my planes retreat far to the bottom of the map to avoid accidental air contact until my AA guns manage to reduce the number of French planes significantly.


The plan was reasonable in theory, but I kept getting hit by rain switching with clear weather turn after turn , so my AA guns could not fire offensively and this enabled the French planes to live much longer, restricting my own options as well.

Final Prestige: 71294 (up 4940)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Somua S35 - 62 (+12) - in use
T-26 - 387 (-1) - in use
OT-133 - 50 (-2) - in use
Trubia - 75 (-6) - in use
AMC 35 - 62 (+10) - in use
Char B1 - 89 (+23) - in use
Hotchkiss H35 - 107 (+8)
AMC P16 - 75 (+14) - in use
UNL-35 - 138 (-5) - in use
SP wz. 29 - 25 (-7) - in use
Panhard 178 - 150 (+14) - in use
47mm SA 37 - 123 (+28) - in use
25mm CA mle 39 - 34 (+8) - in use
75mm mle 39 - 68 (+16) - in use
85mm M1939 - 84 (-1) - in use
155mm C mle 1917 - 61 (+11) - in use
BL 5.5 inch - 4 (-2) - in use
QF 25 pounder - 21 (-1) - in use
D.520 - 35 (+35)

Overall:

Operating with AI allies always makes captures more tricky. Their tendency to destroy exactly what I was intending to get makes their assistance undesirable in many situations. Fortunately the allies in 1940 are better than SCW infantry, but that might just be since my own force is now much more mobile and can secure terrain better to prevent my friends from "helping". The scenario did not go fully as I hoped it would, but that is almost fully due to difficult weather conditions, slowing me down significantly and allowing Armée de l’air operate much longer than I would ever like them to... What is best about Lille is the appearance of D.520 fighters in my captured pool, critical for the next mission. Otherwise not one of the most plentiful bounty, aside maybe form a Char B1 captured in the forest just by the starting location.

AO 1940 - Dunkirk

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 72936

Hero:



This type of hero proved quite useful on PzAbt 2. In a similar fashion, another high attack but relatively low armor unit should have the same benefit, so I will try the hero out on AufkAbt 4 with BA-10 cars.

New Units Commissioned

I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - Bf 109E
III./JG 2 - Bf 109E
I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B

I have tons of free slots since my existing aircraft are so cheap. This means I have room to fill temporarily with German equipment.

New Equipment Provided

II./KG 1 - Do 17Z
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z

This upgrade is a rare exception to the rule of upgrading only to captured equipment. Ju 52 Bombers are no longer in the roster, so I allow myself to upgrade these museum-tier planes to the weakest currently available variant. Of course in case of any future strategic bomber captures these will be replace even if they are worse - same with freshly assigned new fighters and tactical bombers.

Captured Equipment Provided

I./JG 1 - D.520
II./JG 1 - I-16
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c

Some major unit reshuffle is required now. New captured fighters need to be assigned to best pilots, while old ones in order of power to the less experienced units.

Starting Army Composition:

Fighter

I./JG 1 - D.520 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - I-16 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - Bf 109E
III./JG 2 - Bf 109E

Tactical Bomber

I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - **
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z

Reserve

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir
PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - ** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)
Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


One of the funniest things that happened to me in Panzer Corps 2. A truck apparently gets lost and runs into my bunker, making at least one of the objectives easier. If only AA guns would be so willing to attack as well...


I./SG 1 acts as ultimate bait, being the core of my approach towards this whole mission.

Final Prestige: 73238 (up 302)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

I-16 - 38 (-2) - in use
I-15 - 7 (-1) - in use
PZL P.37B Los - 4 (-3) - in use

Overall:

The losses above seem microscopic compared to the potential difficulty of the scenario and my unit pool, but there's a huge catch to that. These represent my second attempt at the scenario. First time, with identical unit setup I got absolutely demolished and basically since turn 2 everything fell apart on my first try. The British started going for my weakest units, shooting them down from the sky one by one and my better fighters could not keep up at all. However, this allowed me to observe several patterns in AI behavior that turned the situation entirely when I went to this mission once more. These included:

1. Keeping my non-captured units to the west aside from Ju 87B and my captured ones to the east. This way only non-captured units were in direct range of the fighters incoming from the northwest base. Once the Hurricanes from the central airfield were dealt with, I./JG 1 moved west to assist with more incoming forces.
2. Only attacking AA guns with non-captured units and I./KG 1, unless they are wounded and in the open.
3. Position I./AG 1 and I./SG 1 as fighter bait, always operating fully unescorted and as close to the northwestern airfield as possible. Especially I./SG 1 was great as this, since the British fighter repeatedly target it due to high unit cost, but it has good air defense and decent air attack, meaning it not only can "tank" even 3-4 fighter hits, but also inflict damage. Next turn it can replace losses since it was usually attacked by 2 fighters at most, and move in again unescorted for the second group of British fighters that appear every other turn.
4. Fighters wounded by attacking I./SG 1 would then be surrounded by I./JG 1, I./JG 2 and II./JG 2, making use of Leadership, Aiming assistance and Mass Attack. I./JG 2 and II./JG 2 always strike first, one against one fighter and then the one that suffered less losses would be finished off by I./JG 1, while the other by I./ZG 1 and II./ZG 1.

All of this trapped the AI in a loop it could not free itself of. Using this method I was able to not only secure all objectives, but also suffer minimum casualties to my captured unit pool, all due to unlucky AA hits. Knowing the map and playing it a lot of times before, spotting some useful AI exploits and a bit of luck really came together and in the end human brain triumphed over the cybernetic one.

AO 1940 - Battle of the Abbeville

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 76078

Hero:



Ugh... I guess I can assign this hero to some sort of unit, but that's probably one of the worse choices for a run where I focus on not losing the stock as much as possible. I do not want to assign this hero to unlimited supply units as well, as these will gain experience by virtue of being bait units regardless of this hero. So for now it's a topic for deep reserve.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - * - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - ** - Leadership

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - *

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - *
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - *

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
I./JG 1 - D.520 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - I-16 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - Bf 109E
III./JG 2 - Bf 109E - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z

Summary:


Rare, but useful feature - splitting light AA guns to finish off wounded planes. A benefit of the AA Veteran trait.


Tough frontline encounter with a lot of British troops coming down to assist early and 7th Panzer Division busy north with their own trouble.


Attempting to assist the 7th Panzer Division against French tanks forces that appear and cause some serious trouble for Rommel and his troops.

Final Prestige: 86178 (up 10100)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Vickers Mk.VI - 58 (+12)
Somua S35 - 145 (+73) - in use
T-26 - 382 (-5) - in use
Trubia - 66 (-9) - in use
AMC 35 - 96 (+34) - in use
Char B1 - 145 (+56) - in use
Cruiser Mk.IV - 54 (+34) - in use
Hotchkiss H35 - 143 (+36)
Matilda II - 35 (-3) - in use
AMC P16 - 73 (-2) - in use
UNL-35 - 128 (-10) - in use
Panhard 178 - 218 (+68) - in use
BA-10 - 50 (-2) - in use
Morris CS9 LAC - 59 (-7) - in use
Humber AC Mk.I - 30 (+12)
AT-1 - 29 (-1) - in use
25mm SA 34 - 100 (+27) - in use
QF 2 pounder - 68 (+10)
45mm M1932 - 50 (-2) - in use
47mm SA 37 - 116 (-7) - in use
105mm Vickers M22 - 128 (-3) - in use
152mm M10/30 - 104 (-1) - in use
122mm M10/30 - 104 (-3) - in use
75mm mle 1897 - 107 (+12)
105mm mle 1913 - 104 (+24)
QF 25 pounder - 24 (+3) - in use
BL 5.5 inch - 19 (+15) - in use
20mm M33 - 116 (-1) - in use
76.2mm M31 - 76 (-4) - in use
37mm mle 30 - 78 (+14)
75mm mle 39 - 66 (-2) - in use
25mm CA mle 39 - 32 (-2) - in use

Overall:

Unsurprisingly a huge tank battle results in a huge number of captured tanks. Somua S35 and Char B1 have stats still perfectly fine for 1941 and early 1942, so their extra pool is more than welcome with just one scenario in France left. Likewise the Panhard 178 should last me a long while. As for the mission itself, the best captures happened down south and later once counter attacks from the French arrived. Main fight with de Gaulle and his army while useful in getting a few units, was too fierce to reliably set up anything. The nemesis remained alive this time, but his friends were neutralized. Not deploying any air units was probably a good idea. The central airfield is required to get planes into battle and that's for me too close to possible reinforcements that may appear out of nowhere. I need to consider preserving my full air force strength for Dover, s this time I will not be able to loop the AI as I did in Dunkirk and also base don the rules of the run I will not be able to deploy non-captured/gift units, so not relying on Bf 109E to take the first, most devastating hits...

[WalterTFD]

Abbeville is just a brutal slog. Way to overcome it in your quest to 'catch em all'!

[Tassadar]

AO 1940 - Neufchateau

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 89130

Hero:



Double Support seems nice for Panzer Artillerie Abt 1. Their BT-7A does not fire too hard, but can often provide that support fire being directly behind the open field front line.

Starting Army Composition:

Almost identical deployment as in Abbeville - only difference is putting slow PzAbt 11 in reserve in favor of flame tanks to deal with entrenched infantry positions.I still do not feel like using my planes before Dover...

Infantrya

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - *

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - * - Skilled Support

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
I./JG 1 - D.520 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - I-16 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - Bf 109E
III./JG 2 - Bf 109E - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z

Summary:


Encounter with the French forces is a challenge to my front line, but it somehow holds the first impact...


...and after several more turns of slowly tightening the grasp and constant reinforcement/switching units, the enemy is in a very difficult position. The nemesis remains a major pain as usual, but all artillery fire rains down on him in an attempt to prevent any significant losses.

Final Prestige: 96958 (up 7828)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Somua S35 - 155 (+10) - in use
T-26 - 375 (-7) - in use
Trubia - 54 (-12) - in use
AMC 35 - 128 (+32) - in use
Char 2C - 35 (+35)
Char B1 - 170 (+25) - in use
Cruiser Mk.IV - 46 (-8) - in use
AMC P16 - 70 (-3) - in use
UNL-35 - 120 (-8) - in use
Panhard 178 - 254 (+36) - in use
BA-10 - 48 (-2) - in use
Morris CS9 LAC - 58 (-1) - in use
25mm SA 34 - 99 (-1) - in use
47mm SA 37 - 111 (-5) - in use
45mm M1932 - 45 (-5) - in use
105mm Vickers M22 - 127 (-1) - in use
155mm C mle 1917 - 126 (+67) - in use
75mm mle 1897 - 139 (+32)
105mm mle 1913 - 120 (+16)
76.2mm M31 - 75 (-1) - in use
37mm mle 30 - 116 (+48)
75mm mle 39 - 80 (+14) - in use
25mm CA mle 39 - 56 (+24) - in use

Overall:

After a lot of tank captured in Abbeville, time has come for artillery in Neufchateau to finish my supply of these units before we move away from France. There were not many opportunities to capture tanks - a lot of armored machines appear, but placed such that getting them is not an easy task, so I focused on those with weaker armor, especially AMC 35. Without planes deployed in this scenario I lacked the usual stopping power against the most experienced units, nemesis included, but at the same time I had tanks that were at least as good as the opposing ones and a lot of AT support available. Time to move to the British Isles and try to take on the RAF which I'm sure is eager to take revenge for Dunkirk.

AO 1940 - Jersey

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 98279

Hero:



Aggressive Counterattack will fit I./ZG 1 nicely, as after the British campaign I will be able to get some captured planes for that unit.

Starting Army Composition:

Time to train units that did not have many chances to appear so far an mostly joined my core for just specific missions. This should make them much more useful moving forward and widen my options.

Tank

PzAbt 8 - AMC 35
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - *
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10)

Reserve

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir
PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - *
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - * - Skilled Support
I./JG 1 - D.520 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - I-16 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Fokker D.XXI - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - Bf 109E
III./JG 2 - Bf 109E - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C - Aggresive Counterattack
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


Not the landing force one would normally expect for sure!

Final Prestige: 98529 (up 300)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Spitfire Mk.II - 9 (+9)
Hurricane Mk.IIC - 25 (+25)

Overall:

Not much to say other than this scenario is critical for bringing better fighters to the mix and trying to secure my landing forces in the next scenario. If only Hurricanes had better initiative... but I guess then the same would apply to enemy planes, so that's a tough thing to evaluate.

AO 1940 - Dover

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 8480

Hero:



Fierce Fighter joins PzAbt 8. AufkAbt 1 was a contender as well, but I want to help my tanks first since they need to stand up to the challenge.

Captured Equipement Provided:

III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI

New aircraft upgrades (well, in case of III./JG 2 it's a downgrade, but rules are rules), let's see how they fare escorting my landing craft and keeping the beachhead safe.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - **
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - *

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - UNL-35 - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - ***

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - **
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - * - Skilled Support

Fighter

I./JG 1 - D.520 - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - I-16 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes

I make the bet on quality over quantity. This is not much, so I really hope my AA guns can land quickly and get to work!

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw - **
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - ** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - **
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - Bf 109E
I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C - Aggresive Counterattack
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


Finally, landing is successful and my AA guns are deployed. Luftwaffe too some significant damage, but now that it can leave the dirty work to ground cannons things should start going my way.


AufkAbt 2 tempts multiple home guard units to attack, but they inflict no losses at all...


...getting wiped out by PzAbt 3 instead.

Final Prestige: 16112 (up 7632)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Char B1 - 167 (-3) - in use
Cruiser Mk.I - 40 (+14)
Matilda I - 154 (+16)
Matilda II - 51 (+16) - in use
UNL-35 - 118 (-2) - in use
Daimler Dingo - 46 (+12) - in use
QF 2 pounder - 114 (+46)
152mm M10/30 - 102 (-2) - in use
QF 25 pounder - 74 (+50) - in use
76.2mm M31 - 73 (-2) - in use
85mm M1939 - 82 (-2) - in use
25mm CA mle 39 - 55 (-1) - in use
20mm Oerlikon (gb) - 10 (+10)
40mm Bofors (gb) - 64 (+12)
QF 3 inch - 66 (+44)
I-16 - 33 (-5) - in use
Hurricane Mk.IIC - 14 (-1) - in use

Overall:

That went surprisingly well for several reason. Firstly, with my fighters positioned over naval transports, the RAF took easier targets, focusing on destroyers and capital ships as well as on the usual bait I./SG 1. This gave me time to secure a beachhead and deploy heavy AA guns, after which the situation was under control thanks to AA Veteran trait. Only II./JG 1 got hit in any major way, so my supplies were not significantly affected. Secondly, once my army landed on the beaches, the enemy was relatively passive. Only home guard units challenged the landing, and they lacked the firepower to deal any significant dame to anything (example of AufkAbt 2 unimpressed despite being attacked by several units!). Since remaining British forces did not have much heavy equipment aside from a few tanks and recon cars the later turns were just a case of patiently setting up the encirclement.

[Stormchaser]

There is something comical about seeing a Trubia tank and UNL-35 running around the British countryside.

[Tassadar]

And they are still valid! The Trubia especially with heroes allowing to increase anti-infantry power is still quite useful thanks to Rapid Fire and extra close defense - but these are probably some last scenarios for it as the losses are increasing and in 1941 I'll need to switch to something else.

[Tassadar]

AO 1940 - Brighton

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 17710

Hero:



Further future investment in I./ZG 1 - new planes to use will appear shortly.

Captured Equipement Provided:

AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I
I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II
II./JG 1 - D.520
II./JG 2 - I-16

Galland gets his Spitfire finally after all these previous runs! Also, AufkAbt 2 receives new scout cars. The UNL-35 was fine, but 5 hard attack made it literally impossible to capture some tanks and recon cars with it (especially those tougher ones I would love to add to my core) and since it's my unit that is intended for those special task capture missions, it needed some extra stats now.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - ** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - **
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - *

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - ***
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - ** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - **

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - **
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - 25mm CA mle 39 (SdKfz 10) - * - Skilled Support

Fighter

I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw - **
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Summary:


This time I sacrifice the Kriegsmarine so that the Royal Navy leaves my land forces alone.


Artillerie Abt 6 showing power despite weak artillery stats of QF 25 pdr guns - the secondary AT mode really makes a difference!

Final Prestige: 26480 (up 8770)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Vickers Mk.VI - 72 (+14)
Somua S35 - 154 (-1) - in use
T-26 - 369 (-6) - in use
Trubia - 49 (-5) - in use
Cruiser Mk.IV - 84 (+38) - in use
Matilda I - 176 (+22) - in use
Matilda II - 116 (+65) - in use
Wasp MkIIC - 44 (+32) - in use
AMC P16 - 66 (-4) - in use
Panhard 178 - 250 (-4) - in use
Morris CS9 LAC - 70 (+12) - in use
Daimler Dingo - 58 (+12) - in use
Humber AC Mk.I - 53 (+33) - in use
45mm M1932 - 41 (-4) - in use
47mm SA 37 - 110 (-1) - in use
25mm SA 34 - 93 (-6) - in use
122mm M10/30 - 101 (-3) - in use
BL 4.5 inch - 76 (+44)
152mm M10/30 - 101 (-1) - in use
QF 25 pounder - 73 (-1) - in use
BL 5.5 inch - 18 (-1) - in use
BL 7.2 inch - 18 (+18)
76.2mm M31 - 71 (-2) - in use
85mm M1939 - 80 (-2) - in use
40mm Bofors (gb) - 94 (+30)
QF 3 inch - 92 (+26)
20mm Oerlikon (gb) - 22 (+12)
Vickers AA - 42 (+42)
Spitfire Mk.II - 30 (+31) - in use

Overall:

A lot more fierce scenario, with the Royal Navy bombarding my forces after they dealt with Kriegsmarine. At the same time, positioning my gift tanks and infantry down south allowed to take those hits by units that can replace forever without loss of stock. AufkAbt 2 had a very important role hunting down Vickers AA around them map as I really wanted to incorporate them into my core, so that recon unit had a lot of distance to travel. Capturing BL 7.2 inch guns was also great and if I manage to get one more stock I should be safe to use them. These require 5 slots, but have extra range which is going to be great in the future. My Luftwaffe was deployed in very limited numbers and did not go close to the southern part of the map to not invite carrier based Spitfires. AA guns took care of these after on of the carriers got sunk and the planes aboard were forced to rebase to land airfields.

AO 1940 - Epsom

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 27815

Hero:



PzAbt 12 could use Aiming Assistance - having a support semi-recon tanks seems like a nice thought.

Captured Equipement Provided:

FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA

My AA support reais going in the right direction slowly - heavy towed AA guns and light, mobile self-propelled ones.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (Opel Blitz) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - ** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - ** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - ***
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - * - Survivor

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - ***
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - ** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - **

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - 155mm C mle 1917 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - *
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - *
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - * - Skilled Support

Fighter

I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - *

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw - ** - Aiming Assistance
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Bf 110C - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z

Summary:


AufkAbt 2 continues its Vickers AA hunt.


When the nemesis appears, my captured unit pool suddenly drops by a lot...


You do not mess with my towed AA guns, almost as good, or as good as the 8.8 cm FlaK.


Some capturing is easier than other, but the large amounts of forests, fortifications and lack of tanks mean that specialized units need to take care of such locations. Having Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) available is absolutely critical.

Final Prestige: 43340 (up 15525)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Somua S35 - 146 (-8) - in use
T-26 - 357 (-12) - in use
Trubia - 40 (-9) - in use
AMC 35 - 126 (-2) - in use
Char B1 - 165 (-2) - in use
Cruiser Mk.IV - 90 (+6) - in use
Matilda I - 230 (+54)
Matilda II - 149 (+36) - in use
Wasp MkIIC - 66 (+22)
Panhard 178 - 239 (-11) - in use
Morris CS9 LAC - 67 (-3) - in use
Humber AC Mk.I - 58 (+5) - in use
47mm SA 37 - 106 (-4) - in use
25mm SA 34 - 79 (-14) - in use
QF 2 pounder - 226 (+112)
105mm Vickers M22 - 122 (-5) - in use
BL 6 inch 26 cwt - 64 (+46)
BL 4.5 inch - 134 (+58)
152mm M10/30 - 100 (-1) - in use
122mm M10/30 - 99 (-2) - in use
155mm C mle 1917 - 123 (-3) - in use
QF 25 pounder - 95 (+22) - in use
BL 5.5 inch - 58 (+40) - in use
BL 7.2 inch - 50 (+32)
20mm M33 - 114 (-2) - in use
85mm M1939 - 79 (-1) - in use
40mm Bofors (gb) - 106 (+12)
QF 3 inch - 108 (+16)
Vickers AA - 50 (+18) - in use
Spitfire Mk.II - 28 (-1) - in use
Hurricane Mk.IIC - 12 (-2) - in use
Meteor Mk.III - 1 (+1)

Overall:

That was a long one! I was quite surprised how much close terrain this scenario has - after all, I was used to a more infantry based approach when accessing the objectives. All in all, objectives were achieved, Great Aerodrome raided and a few useful vehicles acquired. I have enough BL 7.2 inch guns to justify a unit and this will keep my artillery power high. Funny enough, for the sake of captures weaker artillery is sometimes better as it only suppresses rather than kills, but as the war progresses targets will get tougher, so higher damage will be a must.

AO 1940 - Portsmouth

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 43759

Hero:



Perfectly fine hero to use on II./JG 2 in 1941. I just hope for some kind of air force training scenario in the next AO DLC, so I can bring my inexperienced planes to a higher level overall.

Captured Equipment Provided:

Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch
I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF

Heavy fighters and more heavy artillery appear, things are getting interesting for 1941!

New Equipment Provided:

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - transport upgraded, I totally forgot about it earlier...

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - *** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - ***
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - ** - Survivor

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - ***
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - ** - Skilled Support

Fighter

I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw - ** - Aiming Assistance
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - ***
Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - **
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16 - Entrenchment Killer 3x
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - **

Summary:


After dealing easily with weak Dutch planes, I./SG 1 again graduates from being Spitfire bait to inflicting serious damage to attacking fighters once again, even those modern ones.


PzAbt 3 stats. 2618 infantry killls versus 55 tank, that's one specialized unit! Too bad my Trubia supply is running low, I'll have to switch to some other Rapid Fire tank sooner or later.


Neubaufahrzeug does what it is supposed to in this army. It takes the hits for everyone else, this time standing in place and replacing losses inflicted by Royal Navy.

Final Prestige: 48303 (up 4544)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Somua S35 - 145 (-1) - in use
T-26 - 355 (-2) - in use
Char B1 - 161 (-4) - in use
Cruiser Mk.IV - 101 (+11) - in use
Matilda I - 238 (+8)
Matilda II - 162 (+13) - in use
AMC P16 - 62 (-4) - in use
Daimler Dingo - 74 (+16)
Humber AC Mk.I - 84 (+26) - in use
AT-1 - 28 (-1) - in use
QF 2 pounder - 240 (+14)
BL 4.5 inch - 146 (+12)
QF 25 pounder - 107 (+12) - in use
BL 7.2 inch - 56 (+16) - in use
40mm Bofors (gb) - 120 (+14)
76.2mm M31 - 70 (-1) - in use
85mm M1939 - 78 (-1) - in use
QF 3 inch - 138 (+30)
Vickers AA - 47 (-3) - in use
Spitfire Mk.II - 38 (+10) - in use
Hurricane Mk.IIC - 19 (+7) - in use
Beaufighter Mk.IF - 19 (+29) - in use

Overall:

This was quite strange and slightly disappointing in terms of what I was able to achieve. Objectives went fine and even with my limited air force I was able to sink the Royal Navy ships thanks to submarines as long as I./KG 1 took care of the destroyer quickly. The thing is that the massive tank counter attack from the west, that I was hoping to encircle and capture, did not behaves as planned. Perhaps the British did not have a lot of prestige, but they just refused to stop and replace losses, charging against my forces instead and getting destroyed by AT guns support. In the end it meant I was not able to get many of them and had to shift my focus towards more BL 7.2 inch guns and Humber AC Mk.I cars, two of my most important targets for this mission.

[Tassadar]

AO 1940 - Battle of Pindus

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 49807

Hero:



Another Double Support hero gets assigned to Artillerie Abt 6 for the purpose of reinforcing the potentially weakest artillery piece and offer really nasty double AT support mode.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - ** - Survivor

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - ** - Double Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - ** - Skilled Support

Reserve

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - *** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 9 - Char B1 - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - 7TPjw - ** - Aiming Assistance
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - ***
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - ***
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - ***
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20mm M33 (SdKfz 10) - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16 - Entrenchment Killer 3x
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - **

Summary:


While not impressive at this stage of the war, Greek artillery is something I will surely collect.


PzAbt 3 in action as the first ever mountain tank. Gebirgstrubia?


Italian flame tanks captured by the Greeks are then recaptured for my own use and will come in handy for sure!

Final Prestige: 52953 (up 3146)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Trubia - 38 (-2) - in use
L6/40 Lf - 24 (+24)
Humber AC Mk.I - 83 (-1) - in use
105mm M.1925/27 - 50 (+50)
75mm M.1919 - 42 (+42)

Overall:

Not a lot of new captures this time, but I won't say not to extra L6/40 Lf tanks, as I plan to be using them moving forward and have to good flame tanks in my core which along with the Trubia can perfectly compensate for the lack of infantry units. This is a very good compensation in fact, as the Trubia proved extremely powerful in this scenario, being able o overrun multiple Greek units and as long as it was protected by artillery and not placed in close terrain, it proved to be a machine to be afraid off.

AO 1940 - Valona

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 54823

Hero:



Final hero of the run gives me Envelopment and I assign him to PzAbt 13. This has huge potential, since while AufkAbt 2 does a great job acquiring key units on the map, it cannot reliably penetrate armor of some tougher units. And that's even with higher hard attack over the UNL-35 that was used in this role for so long. Somua S35 has 7 more points of hard attack than a Humber AC Mk.I, so it will be much better at dealing the finishing blow to some of the incoming units (T-34 and KV tanks, I'm looking at you!).

Captured Equipment Provided:

PzAbt 9 - L6/40 Lf
PzAbt 12 - Char B1
FlaK Abt 2 - 20/70 quadruplo

Some tank changes are required. PzAbt 9 with Butcher will be really scary after getting L6/40 Lf tanks, but this leaves me with the great Char B1 to reassign. I choose to upgrade PzAbt 12, since I already have AMC 35 tanks that are very similar to 7TPjw, but have one extra hard attack and more parts in stock. 7TPjw is therefore put into storage as of now and not likely to come back. Also, 20/70 quadruplo AA guns will be great and finally allow all of my light AA force to be self-propelled.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 9 - L6/40 Lf - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 12 - Char B1 - ** - Aiming Assistance
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *** - Envelopment
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - ** - Survivor

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Ferocious Defense

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - ** - Double Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 2 - 20/70 quadruplo - **
FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - ** - Skilled Support

Reserve

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - *** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - ***
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - ***
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16 - Entrenchment Killer 3x
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - **

Summary:


Greek infantry advances, but faces my tanks in the open and is unable to deal significant damage.


Armored cars try to assist the next Greek wave, but in a snowstorm they run into tripple AT support fire and get blown away without taking a shot.

Final Prestige: 58976 (up 4153)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

L3/35 - 14 (+14)
Renault R35 (gr) - 14 (+14)
M13/40 - 20 (+20)
L6/40 - 36 (+36)
L6/40 Lf - 48 (+34) - in use
Humber AC Mk.I - 81 (-2) - in use
AB 40 - 46 (+46)
47mm SA 37 - 105 (-1) - in use
105mm M.1925/27 - 104 (+54)
75mm M.1919 - 70 (+28)
BL 5.5 inch - 56 (-2) - in use
QF 25 pounder - 103 (-4) - in use
Vickers AA - 43 (-4) - in use
20/70 quadruplo - 25 (+35) - in use

Overall:

Yay, Italian tankettes captured, achievement unlocked! Truth be told the CP award of L6/40 Lf and the 20/70 quadruplo are only really useful units gained here, but it's still nice to expend the collection now. AO 1941 ends on a strong note with a greatly improved army overall and this scenario showed it. I'm getting better at dealing with my low infantry core and have access to an increasingly specialized list of units that make the force ready for anything!

AO 1940 - Summary

Starting Prestige: 61222
Final Prestige: 58976 (down 2246)

Final Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - *** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *** - Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 9 - L6/40 Lf - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - Char B1 - ** - Aiming Assistance
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *** - Envelopment
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - ** - Survivor

Recon

AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - *** - Overrun
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - ***
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - ***

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20/70 quadruplo - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG (SdKfz 11) - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - ** - Skilled Support

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (Horse Transport) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - ** - Double Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support

Fighter

I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16 - Entrenchment Killer 3x
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes

Tactical Bomber

I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - **

Trophies of War (compared to end of 1939):

Tank:

FT-17 - 45 (no change)
BT-5 - 100 (no change)
T-26 - 365 (-42)
Trubia - 48 (-52)
OT-133 - 60 (-3)
Matilda I - 238 (+203)
AMC 35 - 136 (+96)
Char B1 - 171 (+113)
Hotchkiss H35 - 143 (+94)
Renault R35 - 85 (+24)
Somua S35 - 155 (+99)
7TPdw - 50 (no change)
7TPjw - 73 (-4)
TKS - 125 (no change)
FT-17 (pl) - 22 (no change)
BT-7 - 36 (-4)
T-28 - 16 (no change)
KV-2 - 35 (no change)
T-15 - 32 (no change)
Vickers Mk.III - 28 (+28)
Vickers Mk.VI - 72 (+72)
Cruiser Mk.I - 40 (+40)
Cruiser Mk.IV - 111 (+111)
Matilda II - 172 (+172)
Wasp MkIIC - 66 (+66)
Char 2C - 35 (+35)
L6/40 Lf - 58 (+58)
L3/35 - 14 (+14)
Renault R35 (gr) - 14 (+14)
M13/40 - 20 (+20)
L6/40 - 36 (+36)

Recon:

Bilbao - 55 (no change)
UNL-35 - 128 (-55)
AAC-1937 - 127 (-1)
BA-6 - 90 (no change)
AMC P16 - 72 (+32)
Panhard 178 - 249 (+156)
SP wz. 29 - 35 (-13)
SP wz. 34 - 48 (no change)
BA-10 - 58 (-8)
DK Motorcycle - 101 (-3)
Morris CS9 LAC - 77 (+77)
Daimler Dingo - 74 (+74)
Humber AC Mk.I - 91 (+91)
AB 40 - 46 (+46)

Anti-Tank:

37mm M1930 - 64 (no change)
45mm M1932 - 51 (-15)
47mm SA 37 - 115 (+50)
25mm SA 34 - 89 (+16)
37mm wz. 36 - 92 (no change)
AT-1 - 38 (-2)
45mm M1937 - 16 (no change)
37mm Bofors - 48 (no change)
T-13 - 18 (no change)
QF 2 pounder - 240 (+240)
47mm Bohler - 124 (+124)

Artillery:

105mm Vickers M22 - 132 (-9)
70mm Schneider M08 - 133 (no change)
203mm M1931 - 37 (no change)
152mm M10/30 - 110 (-7)
122mm M10/30 - 109 (-12)
75mm Schneider M06 - 47 (no change)
155mm C mle 1917 - 133 (+99)
75mm mle 1897 - 139 (+94)
105mm mle 1913 - 120 (+96)
75mm wz. 97 - 52 (no change)
105mm wz. 29 - 72 (no change)
155mm wz. 17 - 28 (no change)
122mm M1938 - 60 (no change)
152mm M1938 - 30 (no change)
BM-13 Katyusha - 48 (no change)
BT-7A - 18 (no change)
76.2mm M1939 - 14 (no change)
7.5 cm m/01 - 70 (+70)
105mm Bofors - 84 (+84)
150mm Krupp - 62 (+62)
75mm Krupp - 74 (+74)
BL 6 inch 26 cwt - 64 (+64)
BL 4.5 inch - 146 (+146)
QF 25 pounder - 113 (+113)
BL 5.5 inch - 66 (+66)
BL 7.2 inch - 66 (+60)
105mm M.1925/27 - 104 (+104)
75mm M.1919 - 70 (+70)

Anti-Aircraft:

20mm M33 - 124 (-6)
75mm Vickers M1931 - 23 (no change)
76.2mm M31 - 80 (-10)
37mm mle 30 - 116 (+94)
75mm mle 39 - 90 (+40)
25mm CA mle 39 - 65 (+42)
40mm wz. 36 - 98 (no change)
75mm wz. 36 - 78 (no change)
85mm M1939 - 88 (-7)
Gaz-AA MG - 32 (no change)
37mm M1939 - 16 (no change)
20mm M/38 - 84 (no change)
75mm FRC M27 - 14 (no change)
40mm m/36 - 34 (+34)
75mm m/32 - 32 (+32)
20mm Oerlikon (nl) - 28 (+28)
20mm Oerlikon (gb) - 22 (+22)
40mm Bofors (nl) - 38 (+38)
40mm Bofors (gb) - 120 (+120)
75mm Vickers/Resita - 18 (+18)
QF 3 inch - 138 (+138)
Vickers AA - 53 (+53)
20/70 quadruplo - 35 (+35)

Fighter:

I-16 - 43 (-8)
PZL P.11c - 18 (no change)
I-15 - 17 (-1)
Fokker D.XXI - 30 (+30)
D.520 - 35 (+35)
Spitfire Mk.II - 48 (+48)
Hurricane Mk.IIC - 29 (+29)
Meteor Mk.III - 1 (+1)

Tactical Bomber:

Breguet 693 - 30 (+30)
Beaufighter Mk.IF - 29 (+29)

Strategic Bomber:

PZL P.37B Los - 14 (-3)

Thoughts:

With my air force preserved well and much new equipment gained, I think I can optimistically look at AO 1941. There will for sure be new things to capture, but the technological jump will probably not be as impressive as in 1940, so things should progress more slowly. That's probably good, since my core is huge and I prefer to expand the usage of my existing units rather then getting many more - it would be a real mess otherwise. I for sure need to use my planes more, but still carefully. I./KG 1 for example has just 4 spare parts so can essentially operate only when it's absolutely safe to be available for scenarios where I absolutely need a strategic bomber. AufkAbt 2 capture combo for sure allowed to get a lot more units, especially rare ones, but also better armor of my own forces and another bait units in the form of the Neubaufahrzeug allowed for better encirclements and tempting the AI to attack exactly what I want instead of more valuable targets.

[Tassadar]

Small edit now for the future of this run. Starting from AO 1941, German gift units (Panzer II and the Neubaufahrzeug) will be replaced by captured units entirely. Looking at my "normal" run, 1941 will give even more room and options for captured stuff and looking back at the Panzermon AAR I think I so far relied a bit too much on these two to bait enemy fire and reducing damage. Verdeja 2 will stay of course.

As for the idea of upgrading units only withing specific unit type/vehicle chassis, this will stay for the Wunderwaffe AAR and besides, I think I am onto something after looking at Edmon's Ultimate Challange and some other inspiring videos. This will have to wait until those AARs are done of course, but there is some potential for increased difficulty and dealing with that Generalissimus level I've been staying clear of so far.

[Tassadar]

AO 1941 - Zagreb

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 59726

Hero:


That's a good start! I'm constantly short on infantry, so any extra firepower will help bust through Moscow at the end of the campaign. Assigned to PzAbt 7 as I already have my flame tanks with this hero (that's pure overkill, but I need all the edge there) and it works best on Rapid Fire vehicles.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 9 - L6/40 Lf - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *** - Envelopment

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - ***

Anti-Tank

Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - ** - Double Support
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - * - Double Support

Reserve

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - *** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 7 - Panzer IIC - *** - Butcher, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - Char B1 - ** - Aiming Assistance
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - ** - Survivor
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - ***
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20/70 quadruplo - **
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - ** - Skilled Support
I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16 - Entrenchment Killer 3x
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - **

Summary:


With the mission being mostly against infantry, my anti-infantry tanks do a good job from the start.


There we go! Some unique vehicles appear in this scenario. I'll capture them for sure and while they are not immediately appealing, who knows what I am forced to use later in the campaign as enemy units become more unified and I'm short on playable machines with the one type per unit rule.

Final Prestige: 65210 (up 5484)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Trubia - 38 (-2) - in use
L6/40 Lf - 45 (-3) - in use
38M Toldi I - 30 (+30)
FT-17 (yu) - 28 (+28)
Renault R35 (yu) - 46 (+46)
Humber AC Mk.I - 80 (-1) in use
37mm M.39 - 18 (+18)
47mm M.36 - 14 (+14)
2pdr portee - 18 (+18)
75mm M.15 - 54 (+54)
20mm M.35 - 16 (+16)
20 mm portee - 18 (+18)

Overall:

Start of the capture run goes well in terms of getting my hands on every unique unit type that was available in the Zagreb mission. None of these are that impressive compared to what I have and for now will probably not be used, but they at least exist and might come into play later at one point. At least the 38M Toldi I can replace the Panzer IIC as per my new dedication. Zagreb itself is a extremely tough mission in terms of capturing. Constant rain makes it very hard to locate unit and muddy ground is a huge obstacle to overcome when it comes to closing an encirclement. Luckily, knowing where the enemy is more or less located allows to avoid too big of a surprise.

AO 1941 - Yugoslavia

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 65675

Hero:


Despite this being a very good hero, I prefer to capture units rather than destroy them. Since on many units return fire or support fire can result in a negative with this hero on board, I assign him to Panzerzug Kolberg. I will probably have best control over what the armored train shoots at to minimize this effect.

Captured Equipment Provided:

PzAbt 7 - 38M Toldi I

This is a upgrade that preserves identical stats, but it means I am one step closer to using only non-German units. PzAbt 14 will follow at one point and if I ever deploy it, the Neubaufahrzeug will get replaced.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - 38M Toldi I - *** - Butcher, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 9 - L6/40 Lf - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 12 - Char B1 - ** - Aiming Assistance
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *** - Envelopment, Steamroller

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - ** - Double Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - ** - Double Support, Skilled Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 2 - 20/70 quadruplo - **
FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - ** - Skilled Support

Fighter

I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Tactical Bomber

I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack

Strategic Bomber

I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **

Armored Train

Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - ** - Lethal Attack

Reserve

PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - *** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - ** - Survivor
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - ***
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - ***
FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c
II./JG 2 - I-16 - Entrenchment Killer 3x
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z

Summary:


Glad I brought some AA cover along, both in terms of ground guns, but also planes that will help shoot down any opposing flying machines and gain some experience that they so far mostly lacked.

Final Prestige: 76702 (up 11027)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Somua S35 - 142 (-3) - in use
Trubia - 35 (-1) - in use
Char B1 - 159 (-2) - in use
FT-17 (yu) - 58 (+30)
Renault R35 (yu) - 126 (+80)
Humber AC Mk.I - 79 (-1) - in use
37mm M.39 - 36 (+18)
47mm M.36 - 44 (+30)
152mm M10/30 - 99 (-1) - in use
105mm M.13 - 36 (+36)
155mm M.17 - 42 (+42)
75mm M.15 - 98 (+44)
20mm M.35 - 94 (+78)
80mm M.05/32 - 32 (+32)
Vickers AA - 40 (-3) - in use

Overall:

A decent amount of various captures but as with Zagreb none of them impress too much. Tanks are old and obsolete, artillery is basically the same as what I have already and as such it is not a priority to add any new units. Lethal Attack on Panzerzug Kolberg was a good idea, as it prevented inflicting accidental losses where I did not want to do so. My air force finally got to roam the skies, but I left the anti-fighter action to my AA guns remembering how very limited my plane supply is and how needed it will be for Operation Mercury later on, so I just cannot afford even the smallest accidental hits.

AO 1941 - Thessaloniki

Starting Prestige (after purchases and replacements): 77941

Hero:


New hero is assigned to I./JG 2. Later in the game I will end up with a lot of relatively cheap fighters that have little actual value in air combat, so at least they can help remove entrenchment and allow for faster ground target captures.

New Units Commissioned:

FlaK Abt 7 - 20 mm portee

With the RAF roaming around Greek sky I will find some use for this fast and light AA gun that can not only provide cover fire, but actively chase down British planes. Once again I need to save up my fighters for Operation Mercury, so I can deploy a limited number of planes here.

Starting Army Composition:

Infantry

Infanterie Reg 1 (span.) - Azul Infanterie (SdKfz 251/1) - *** - First Aid, Oleh Dir

Tank

PzAbt 1 - T-26 - *** - Steamroller, Albert Kerscher
PzAbt 2 - BT-7 - *** - Double Move, Superior Maneuver, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 3 - Trubia - *** - Butcher, Ignores Entrenchment, No Retaliation, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 5 - Verdeja 2 - *** - River Assault, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 6 - OT-133 - *** - Butcher, Field Repairs, Steamroller
PzAbt 9 - L6/40 Lf - ** - Butcher, Steamroller
PzAbt 10 - KV-2 - **
PzAbt 11 - Matilda II - * - River Assault, No Surrender
PzAbt 12 - Char B1 - *** - Aiming Assistance
PzAbt 13 - Somua S35 - *** - Envelopment, Steamroller

Recon

AufkAbt 2 - Humber AC Mk.I - *** - Overwhelming Attack, Shock Tactics
Kradschützen Bataillon 1 - DK Motorcycle - ** - Combat Luck

Artillery

Artillerie Abt 1 - 203mm M1931 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Fast Deployment, Zero Slots, Skilled Support, Elsa Kloss
Artillerie Abt 2 - 105mm Vickers M22 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 3 - 122mm M10/30 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Famous
Artillerie Abt 4 - 152mm M10/30 (SdKfz 7) - *** - Counter Battery Fire, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 5 - BL 7.2 inch (SdKfz 7) - *** - Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 6 - QF 25 pdr (SdKfz 10) - ** - Double Support, Skilled Support
Artillerie Abt 7 - BL 5.5 inch (SdKfz 11) - ** - Skilled Support
Werfer Abt 1 - BM-13 Katyusha - *
Panzer Artillerie Abt 1 - BT-7A - ** - Double Support, Skilled Support

Anti-Aircraft

FlaK Abt 1 - 85mm M1939 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Legendary, Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 2 - 20/70 quadruplo - **
FlaK Abt 4 - Gaz-AA MG - * - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 6 - Vickers AA - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 7 - 20 mm portee

Fighter

I./JG 1 - Spitfire Mk.II - *** - Adolf Galland
II./JG 1 - D.520 - ** - Avenger, Prudent, Survivor, Heinrich Bar
III./JG 1 - Hurricane Mk.IIC - ** - Entrenchment Killer 4x, Expert Support

Reserve

PzAbt 4 - Cruiser Mk.IV - *** - Tank Killer, Steamroller
PzAbt 7 - 38M Toldi I - *** - Butcher, Steamroller, Survivor
PzAbt 8 - AMC 35 - ** - Fierce Fighter
PzAbt 14 - Neubaufahrzeug - ** - Survivor
AufkAbt 1 - Panhard 178 - *** - Tenacious Defender, Survivor
AufkAbt 3 - Morris CS9 LAC - ***
AufkAbt 4 - BA-10 - *** - Overrun, Superior Maneuver
AufkAbt 5 - AMC P16 - *** - Leadership
AufkAbt 6 - SP wz. 29 - *** - Overrun
Panzerjäger Abt 1 - 45mm M1932 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Skilled Support
Panzerjäger Abt 2 - AT-1 - *
Panzerjäger Abt 3 - 47mm SA 37 (SdKfz 11) - *** - Ferocious Defense
Panzerjäger Abt 4 - 25mm SA 34 (SdKfz 10) - ***
FlaK Abt 3 - 76.2mm M31 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
FlaK Abt 5 - 75mm mle 39 (SdKfz 7) - ** - Skilled Support
IV./JG 1 - I-15
I./JG 2 - PZL P.11c - Entrenchment Killer 3x
II./JG 2 - I-16 - Entrenchment Killer 3x
III./JG 2 - Fokker D.XXI - Learns From Mistakes
I./ZG 1 - Beaufighter Mk.IF - Aggresive Counterattack, Evasive
II./ZG 1 - Bf 110C
I./AG 1 - Fi 156 Storch - *
I./SG 1 - Il-2 Shturmovik - ** - Survivor
II./SG 1 - Breguet 693 - Aggressive Counterattack
III./SG 1 - Ju 87B
I./KG 1 - PZL P.37B Los - **
II./KG 1 - Do 17Z - Survivor
III./KG 1 - Do 17Z
Panzerzug Kolberg - Armoured Train - ** - Lethal Attack

Summary:


Light anti-tank guns set up in defensive positions? The KV-2 is not impressed.


Gaz-AA MG gets an overrun in tank mode, not something that happens too often.


Kradschützen Bataillon 1 will take some losses, but cutting of the Greek forces in the west is critical to making that part of the front so much easier.


Slowly moving my main force south with a lot of support fire making sure my units do not get hit too hard by the British. Too bad I forgot that BL 5.5 inch does not provide anti-tank support and it caused PzAbt 6 to suffer heavy damage from Cruiser tanks. In situations like this Field Repairs comes in handy.


Final encirclement with my units capturing defenseless Greek equipment and gaining bits of extra experience.

Final Prestige: 92691 (up 14750)

Captured equipment pool changes (+10 extra to the total figure if it's in use):

Somua S35 - 135 (-7) - in use
T-26 - 351 (-4) - in use
Char B1 - 154 (-5) - in use
Cruiser Mk.IV - 189 (+88) - in use
Matilda II - 160 (-2) - in use
M13/40 - 32 (+12) - in use
Humber AC Mk.I - 94 (+15) - in use
DK Motorcycle - 87 (-4) - in use
QF 2 pounder - 294 (+54)
105mm Vickers M22 - 121 (-1) - in use
BL 6 inch 26 cwt - 82 (+18)
152mm M10/30 - 98 (-1) - in use
105mm M.1925/27 - 192 (+88)
155mm M.1917 - 36 (+36)
75mm M.1919 - 96 (+26)
BL 7.2 inch - 73 (+17) - in use
QF 25 pounder - 108 (+5) - in use
Cruiser Mk.II CS - 34
Gaz-AA MG - 20 (-2) - in use
20mm Oerlikon (gb) - 36 (+14)
40mm Bofors (gb) - 150 (+30)
40 mm SPAA - 20 (+20)
D.520 - 24 (-1) - in use
Spitfire Mk.II - 37 (-1) - in use

Overall:

That's a lot of captured stuff and since there's some British valuable equipment it will be more useful than Yugoslavian or Greek options from earlier missions. Cruiser Mk.IV tanks should be valuable in the vast open spaces of the Soviet Union and extra Humber AC Mk.I cars are invaluable as it is one of my main capturing units. I am also really curious about the new Cruiser Mk.II CS artillery as it is highly mobile and can provide needed support and light suppression. Airplane losses were purely symbolic and most of the job was done once again by AA guns. FlaK Abt 7 was especially nice due to the large size of the map, as it could cover a lot of distance and reach planes that needed to be shot down.

[WalterTFD]

Gotta Catch Em All indeed! Time to roll east, challenge the reds and harvest some superior equipment.