Slitherine

It will be very interesting to follow this game, especially since you intend to launch Sealion. We need to know the if the latest mod changes have affected the chance for Sealion or not. So please keep us updated.

April 8, 1940

Paris just fell, and I am very happy to report that casualties were light; no German units were lost. Ronnie didn't send any British aid at all, so they will be tough to fight in either England or Egypt. I am still planning on launching Sealion, and in a few turns I will have 5 subs and 4 German tactical bombers, to go along with 2 German fighters plus the Italian air units. If Ronnie can stand up to that, then he deserves to keep England!

So far the only setback is that Ronnie placed the British air units in Brest and Bordeaux to keep them under Allied control when France surrendered. But he did that in our last playtest game, so I already have units moving over to take the cities. It will be 2 turns before they reach their destinations. Ronnie said he learned this trick from Borger, and I think it's something that everyone will start doing once they have it done to them. Just a very smart move that most of us would never think of.

May 18, 1940

Anticipating the UK sub's presence in the channel, I moved my DD first, hoping for some favorable ambush results. Losses were 5:3 in favor of the Germans, and 2 bomber attacks finished off the sub. I also occupied both Brest and Bordeaux.

You see the placement of my naval forces, designed to provide maximum protection for my DD should Ronnie decide to attack it. I used the Antwerp port as cover for my BB so he can only attack it from one hex. If he enters the channel from the west end, he will be ambushed, and two other subs are lurking over there as well. This is looking very good; I have 1 sub and 1 bomber scheduled to enter service next turn. But I haven't caught sight of the UK reserves, so I don't know how large/formidable they are. I could have boarded transport this turn, but several of my ground units were still depleted and needed repair. The operation is set to begin next turn, and we'll see what happens from there. To me, this period of the war is the most exciting in the whole game!

June 7, 1940

This is getting really good! To my surprise, Ronnie sent the RN into action. I was hoping he would attack me under cover of the Luftwaffe, but I didn't think he would. On his turn, he sent 3 BBs to the east end and used 2 fighters and a strategic bomber over there as well. My sub was reduced to 6 steps, my BB to 7, and my DD to 3. He also tried to send 2 DDs through the west end. As predicted, my sub ambushed the first one; losses were 3:3. His second DD only had enough movement points to make it halfway through the channel, stopping off Cherbourg. My moves are as follows:

A. Hit his depleted DD (the ambushed one) with a bomber, then destroy it with 2 subs. Move my depleted sub to block off the west end of the channel.

B. Attack his other DD with a fighter to draw up one of the enemy fighters to intercept. Otherwise one of my bombers would have to fly unescorted.

C. Attack his 7-step BB with 2 bombers, reducing it to 1 step. Finish this ship off with my 6-step sub.

D. Move BB into channel, and cover with infantry transports. I did this for several reasons:
1. Protect my only BB (most important).
2. Encourage Ronnie to stick around with his other 2 BBs so I can hit them with my bombers and the new sub that just appeared in port at Wilhelsmhaven.
3. Make sure the channel is sealed so his other DD cannot escape.

E. Move my DD to the Cherbourg port where it will be safe from all units except Ronnie's strategic bomber. It may even be safe from that unit if the bomber attacks the port instead.

Ultimately, I'm willing so sacrifice an infantry unit or two to destroy more of the RN and keep my own surface fleet intact. I've lost a lot of naval steps in this battle, but Ronnie has lost 3 whole fleets (1 sub, 1 BB, 1 DD). I will at least sink his remaining DD, and if he keeps his BBs where they are I will take them out too. Then I can pretty much land anywhere I want in England. I am SO glad I decided to build more bombers and subs! Speaking of which, I purchased another sub this turn which would make 6 total unless I lose one. Man, this is the most "into" a game I've been in awhile!

June 27, 1940

Why didn't I anticipate that Ronnie would move his DD into port at Southhampton? Sometimes I miss the most obvious things. Anyway, there wasn't much I could have done about it. He also moved a BB into port at London, but he left 1 exposed to attack my transport and I sunk it. That makes a total of 2 BBs, 1DD, and 1 sub. By my count, he has 4 BBs, 1DD, and 2 CVs left, with at least 3 of those ships in the Med. So the RN is still strong, as is the RAF since Ronnie repaired both his fighters. My own fighters are in dire need of repair, as are many subs and ships which I withdrew to port this turn. Sealion will have to be delayed since I'm not willing to try it with a substantially weakened navy. So Ronnie's costly effort with the RN has at least served some purpose.

I railed the Italian air units up to France to help out. I haven't decided what to do with the Afrika Korps or the Italian armour. It depends on whether I decide to go for England or Egypt; you really can't do both. Here's what I'm thinking, though any kind of feedback will also be considered.

Reasons to do Sealion:
1. Cripple British economy
2. Boost German economy
3. An offensive in Egypt is difficult because it is limited by the Malta supply rule
4. Make an Allied offensive in the west much more difficult in 1942-45

Reasons not to do Sealion:
1. It's expensive
2. It could delay/weaken Barbarossa
3. I can focus on Egypt and (hopefully) get the Middle East oil
4. Sealion makes it more difficult to attack convoys out of Allied air range

Next turn will be spent repairing my fighters and navy, and I'll have to make a decision after that.

I think Sealion is only a good solution if you can do it quickly and be sure you're not stuck there for months. A dedicated Allied player can make Sealion so expensive that you can't even think of building the force you need for Barbarossa.

If the German subs are used to fight the Royal Navy it means the convoys will not be harassed. So if Britain can hang on for some turns they get PP's needed to repair losses etc. The clock is ticking fast and you need to have landed in Britain in force before November or the winter will stop any more landings until March. Since next turn is already July and you still fight the Royal Navy it seems to me that Sealion is rather dangerous.

I think you would have been better off building 1-2 DD's or BB's instead of subs. Subs can't provide supply. With 3-4 surface naval units swarming around Britain it would have been easier for at least one of them to be able to provide supply.

But your effort is crippling the Royal Navy so all is not lost even though Sealion is eventually cancelled. The strong sub force will rule the Atlantic for a long time. You haven't wasted a lot of PP's by putting your land units on transports. So there is still a chance to send the Luftwaffe against Greece and then Egypt.

I think I would not have risked going through with Sealion meeting such a stiff resistance. I would have been satisfied with crippling the Royal Navy. But I don't know if you sacrificed lab building to get the PP's needed for the extra subs and bombers. If that's the case then you can't afford a prolonged war and must make a victory in the west (although temporary).

You will eventually succeed with Sealion if you push it to the limit and sacrifice some units to get ashore. But it will take so much time so the Russian bear will become really dangerous. The worst you can do now is to be indecisive, meaning that you continue a half-hearted Sealion. That means you will probably fail and not have the punch to get to Egypt in time. Either you stick to the original Sealion plan with all you got or you just cancel it completely moving on to the next targets asap.

Germany has a lot of things in 1940-1941, but time is NOT one of these assets. Germany is on such a tight schedule to launch Barbarossa at the right time that they can't afford to be delayed. E. g. Norway, Yugoslavia and Greece haven't been captured yet and those easy PP's are quite valuable to have.

Yes, thoughts of those easy pp have crossed my mind Rest assured; I will fully commit to whatever strategy I choose. It's been said that 'he who defends everything defends nothing.' The same thing applies for attacks. He who attacks everything will take nothing. I've set a decision deadline for myself for two turns, and I will keep to that.

There are a few reasons why I didn't purchase more surface naval units. In past games, I have found 2 to be plenty to run a successful Sealion. Also, they become pretty useless after 1940. It's too easy for the Allies to destroy them if they venture into the Atlantic, meaning they're relegated to sitting in port or fighting the Soviets in the Baltic. I was definitely planning for the long haul by building subs and bombers, units which are both invaluable throughout the war.

My research situation is actually pretty good. I have 2 labs in everything except naval, where I have 1 lab. My casualties were so low in France that I didn't have to spend much on repairs up until now.

My personal view is that you have a great opportunity to go for Africa with time on your hands - you need oil. The best place to get oil is the Middle east. I would push as much as possible into a breakthrough in the Med.

Sealion now is taking too long and besides delaying Barbarossa (which in my opinion is no massive blow). The bigger issue is the loss of oil.

If Germany has oil they win to me its as simple as that.

July 17, 1940

Thanks to Stauffenberg and afk_nero for the input. I was already leaning toward abandoning Sealion, so you guys confirmed what I was thinking. It's too late in the season to launch Sealion and still be ready for Barbarossa in June 1941. An earlier invasion of Russia would be even better. I will release my subs into the Atlantic, where they can hound convoys with relative impunity until the Americans enter the war (and well after). This turn I set plans in motion that will lead to Norway and Greece being invaded in 2 turns.

1. Railed 2 corps to Kiel. Repaired BB and got 3 subs in position to block off channel between Denmark and Norway (1 as insurance in case Ronnie decides to intervene).

2. Railed 2 German bombers and a German corps to Taranto. The bombers don't have the strategic operations upgrade yet, so they will have to rebase. I also have some Italian units on transports ready to move into landing position next turn. Ronnie has shown a reluctance to risk his navy in the Med in our previous games, and I expect he will be especially cautious considering the RN's losses in the Atlantic. I hope to take advantage.

September 15, 1940

Norway and Greece have surrendered according to schedule, and my army in Libya is almost ready to move out. I already have 1 Italian motorized, 1 Italian tank, and the Afrika Korps (commanded by List). I am also planning to send 1 Italian fighter, 1 Italian TAC, and 1 German TAC. That should fill out my quota under the Malta Supply Rule nicely and give me some much needed punch, especially against the British armour. I know Ronnie has 2 fighters in England and therefore only 1 in Egypt, and the Italian fighter unit should be sufficient to provide escort for the bombers. My 2 German fighters in France recieved the dog fight and strategic operations upgrades this turn, so Ronnie's fighters are now visible to me. He has them on "sleep" mode, but perhaps I will attack them if odds are favorable.

Hungary joined the Axis this turn, meaning that Yugoslavia will be invaded in 2 turns. I could wait until Romania joins to obtain a 1-turn capture, but I find that I can usually get a 2-turn conquest while invading from Hungary, and I can do it a few months sooner.

December 4, 1940

A fortuitous turn of events for me: in attempting to rebase one of his BBs out of air range, Ronnie hits the Italian sub, which was over scouting how much naval force he had near Egypt. I sunk the BB on the next turn, and therefore the Malta Supply Rule is no longer in effect. The German Navy is assigned the important task of keeping it that way so the 2 German bombers I sent to Egypt can continue to function.

Even so, capturing Egypt is going to be incredibly difficult. One look at the screenshot tells you all you need to know about Ronnie's defense. I attacked Alexandria, hoping to either weaken it enough so I can capture it next turn or cause Ronnie to come into the desert to attack me. If he stays in his defensive position, it's going to be tough sledding. I will have to focus on one unit at a time. If he reestablishes the Malta Supply Rule, I'm going to have to call off the entire offensive and try to conserve oil.

A stategic bomber arrived in France this turn and will begin bombing London next turn. Ronnie has both his fighters on sleep, but mine are only getting 4:3 odds against them so I don't want to attack. I found in a previous game that a single strategic bomber can keep Moscow at 0 production relatively cheaply, which makes 1942 a whole lot easier on the eastern front.

December 24, 1940

Ronnie reestablished the Malta Supply Rule; he must have had a BB over by Gibraltar. But all is not lost. I used 2 German bombers and the DAK to capture Alexandria. So now my supply is 7 points, and my maximum expenditure per turn is 7.5. So 1 unit will have to stay inactive per turn, but that isn't too much of a hinderance.

In the Atlantic, the KM continues to actively hunt convoys. I sent my BB and DD into the fray as well; no sense having them sit in port while the RN has been weakened. Also, I began bombing London with my new strategic bomber. It remains to be seen whether Ronnie will take his fighters off sleep to confront this problem, but I hope he does. The buildup for Barbarossa continiues, with Mainstein already in Poland and Kluge set to take over in France for Reicheneau. Two high-ranking German commanders is always sufficient for 1941 at least. I will recruit a third sometime during the winter.

January 13, 1941

This is turning into a slugfest in Egypt. Ronnie killed an Italian corps this turn, but I struck back by destroying 2 UK corps this turn. I believe Axis superiority in air and armour will eventually carry the day. You see that I have another Italian corps poised to land behind his line, probably just to give him something else to think about.
The Bismark and its destroyer and U-boat escorts continue to hunt convoys in the Atlantic. I have vowed that not a single convoy will reach England until the Allies venture out of port to challenge me. I also inflicted a 4-step loss on the UK strategic bomber, which Ronnie made the mistake of moving into Luftwaffe range. He still has not taken his fighters off sleep, but we'll see if he does now.

February 2, 1941

Breakthrough in Egypt!!! The British attempt to retreat and 2 more corps are caught from behind and annihilated. The once mighty 8th army is reduced to 1 tank, 1 motorized, 1 fighter, and 3 garrisons (plus the units in Syria and Iraq). Cairo will probably be assaulted next turn; I could have captured it this turn, but destroying those 2 corps was much more important because my ultimate objective is Iraq, and now I won't have to face those units later. Also, the Malta Supply Rule is no longer in effect as Ronnie has withdrawn all his naval units save a CV at Port Said. He may just be repositioning them to Gibraltar, but that's a chance I'm willing to take. One German corps is already en route, with 1 fighter, 1 motorized, and 1 corps railed to Greece to embark next turn. Italian reinforcements continue to trickle in as well. The Italian navy started shelling Famagusta in preparation for an assault in a month or two.

Didn't I tell you I would fully commit to the strategy I chose? There's no use being wishy-washy when going for the Middle East, and I learned that lesson the hard way in a vanilla game against supermax. I'm leaving nothing to chance this time, even if it means Barbarossa is slightly weaker than it would have been. Things are going very well so far and I'm extremely happy with the progress. One thing I will have to watch out for is the RN returning from the Med to threaten my surface fleets. I only have 6 subs, so my navy is far from invincible against the ships Ronnie has now.

March 14, 1941

Cairo and Port Said have been taken, and the Suez Canal is now closed to the Allies. Multiple naval, air, and ground assaults destroyed the UK tank unit, which was in a desert last turn and therefore could not make an escape with the movement penalty. The Italian fighter is pretty beat up; I attacked the Port Said port just to draw up the UK fighters (losses were 1:2 instead of the 0:3+ I would have taken if a bomber flew unescorted). But a fresh German fighter is now in the area to take over escort duties. Jerusalem should fall next turn and Famagusta will be attacked by ground forces. Right now Jerusalem is defended by the UK motorized corps, the only non-garrison unit Ronnie has left outside of Syria or Iraq. I'm sure he will withdraw it and put his last garrison unit there instead. That's fine with me; I have destroyed the 8th army and am ready to make a major push into the Middle East. The only way Ronnie can stop me is if he sends tons of reinforcements, and that means no invasion of France until at least 1943. The KM pounds on a large UK convoy for the second straight turn, and production for Barbarossa continues in earnest.

April 3, 1941

Ronnie withdrew his motorized corps and I made it a priority to catch up. The DAK drove right past Jerusalem and attacked after an air bombardment, and the city fell easily so I was able to hit the motorized with a German corps as well. The motorized corps is down to 3 steps with no chance of escape. Ronnie will have to reassign his general, who somehow escaped injury. Famagusta was only reduced to 6 steps in tough fighting but the garrison is now low on effectiveness and will be much weaker next turn.

In another interesting development, Ronnie is forced to withdraw his CV through the manual transport corridor at the bottom of the map instead of using the now Axis-controlled transportation loop. I will send the Italian navy through the loop and the German navy southward to meet him when he emerges on the other side. Perhaps I can sink several RN ships in one battle! This isn't realistic, but you can think of it as the Italians chasing the British around Africa with the Germans waiting off Morocco. The house rules do not allow me to use the manual corridor so I have to use the loop.

June 2, 1941

Beirut has been occupied and the lone remaining UK corps in the Middle East is retreating. I hope to hit it with air attacks next turn. Iraq will soon join the Allies, but it will soon be occupied by Axis forces. One of the German bombers is rebased to Greece en route to the eastern front. I still have 2 fighters and 2 bombers in the Middle East (1 Italian each).

Most of my navy attacks a convoy in the central Atlantic in an effort to lure Ronnie's CV out of the southern transport corridor. I have 2 subs down there keeping an eye on things, and the Italian Navy lingering in the Red Sea ready to hop on the African transport loop. Ronnie is probably too smart to sail his CV out of its safe haven, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared to recieve it anyway.

Barbarossa is tentatively scheduled for July 12. I ended this turn with 509 oil, so even with my expenditures in Egypt and the Atlantic I'm still in good shape. The Iraqi oil will help me build a large stockpile for a massive 1942 offensive.

July 12, 1941

Here we go. Barbarossa begins, and the first two screenshots show my progress. I surrounded 7 garrisons and took 3 cities. One of my tanks got a bloody nose, but such is the luck of the draw sometimes. I also destroyed that motorized corps up by Riga. Overall, I'm happy with the invasion's beginning. Meanwhile, Axis forces are poised to take the Iraqi oil fields and begin a drive on Baghdad through the clear terrain west of the capital.

In other action, my Atlantic ruse has come to fruition, and more! I predicted Ronnie's path perfectly and his CV ran into my sub, allowing me to kill it this turn. Furthermore, he sent a BB from Gibraltar to help, and I will definitely kill this unit next turn. I have hidden subs in place to block its path both back to Gibraltar and to the southern corridor. The only way for him to possibly escape is to run westward, but I don't think he will do that. And if he does, the German BB and the Italian surface ships (freshly arrived on the transport loop) will be in range to attack. The war in the Atlantic is going swimmingly for me this game!

August 21, 1941

A very interesting development in the Middle East: the Soviets have invaded Persia! I have linked up with my new allies and taken the Iraqi oil fields, but I don't have rail capability so the Persians are pretty much on their own. If it looks like they will hold out for awhile, I will push hard towards Kuwait in the hopes of eliminating the British presence there before turning northwards to face the Russians. In the meantime, I appreciate the extra 24 oil points per turn! Baghdad will fall next turn, but much of my infantry is lagging behind and it will take several turns for them to catch up. More Italians are being sent from the coastal cities in Egypt and Syria as well as from mainland Italy. I'm going to push Ronnie very hard in Russia in 1942 as it is, and now the Soviets have a second front to fight on. This is going to be exciting!

In Russia, the front is now almost on a north-south line through Kiev. There are still more cities to be taken before winter, however.

I did sink that BB off Morocco, and now I spot a British BB and DD off Spain. I don't know what they're doing there, but the Italians attacked the BB. Losses were 5:3 in favor of the British. I posotioned my subs and the rest of my navy to try to cut off escape routes. I hope to be able to sink at least one of these two ships. The only downfall to this battle with the RN is that some convoys are getting through, but that loss is well worth the gain of sinking combat ships.

September 30, 1941

Things continue to go well in Russia. Smolensk and Byransk have fallen, and my troops approach Leningrad from the south. I am almost where I want to be for winter. Pushing any further than that will probably result in a confrontation with the main Soviet army in the blinding snow, which is something to be avoided at all costs.

In the Middle East, I see now that Ronnie is prepared to land transports along Persian's northern coast. Baghdad fell last turn, and this turn I decided to go for Kuwait City. It's a gamble, but if it pays off the British will be completely gone and I will just have the Russians to worry about. Italian reinforcements continue to trickle in toward Iraq. My main hope continues to be that Persia holds out long enough to let me deal with the Brits. I haven't passed the point of no return yet, so I can still change my mind and withdraw toward Baghdad.

In the Atlantic, Ronnie sunk my Italian DD last turn and has a 7-ship navy off England. I will construct more subs and repair and upgrade my existing naval units before the U.S. enters the war. I will also post ships and/or subs by Gibraltar and the southern transport lane to at least give me advance warning of any reinforcments being sent to the Middle East. In the meantime, my subs can continue to attack convoys with relative impunity.