AAR2 - Joe (Axis) vs Ronnie (Allied) (The War is Over!)

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:42 pm

December 10, 1939. Belgium Invaded! Belgium Falls! French Defense Set! German U-boats Continue to Sink UK Convoys!

Joe took out Belgium this turn, as he told me he would. I move forward with the French and have established a double defense line. Based on my past experiences playing Joe he will roll up this first line next turn. Hopefully, I will get lucky and he'll take some losses.

The leader that Joe built was finally revealed this turn. It was Reichenau, who costs 70 PPs, meaning that Joe built him and a research lab (probably infantry) on turn 1.

At sea the three German u-boat flotillas were active again. Given their positions this means that there is no need to escort the Canadian motorized corps to Africa.

Next turn, I plan to move the Canadian infantry corps due south from Halifax and escort it with only one BB, which is the one that will take up position at Gibraltar. It is very unlikely that Joe will move his u-boat(s) south so I don't view this as very risky. Even if he did this would put his u-boats way out of position and far away from France & Germany. So one BB escort for the infantry corps will suffice.

The rest of the UK Atlantic fleet took up position out of spotting range of the German u-boats and in position to protect a 31 PP convoy mid Atlantic heading from the US.

The two French BB fleets moved next to UF-1 and UF-2 to interfere with their movement if they choose to move south. Most likely they'll move a couple of hexes and try to catch the adjacent convoy when it moves. Knowing where Joe's u-boats are is in some way worth the PPs that he's sinking. Though, I sure could use the PPs.

The Russians built their first lab this turn, which was a General lab. The US was 1 PP shy of being able to build their first, which also will be a general lab.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:06 am

December 30, 1939. French Frontline Defenses Shattered! German U-boats Attacks on Convoys Continue.

As feared Joe rolled up my front defensive line in France. I don't know how he does it each time but he does. I do need to rethink my French defense strategy. I did the best I could to reestablish a double defense line. It's not even 1940 and I'm already in trouble in France.

Two of the three German u-boat flotillas attacked. The good news is that I can also send the Canadian infantry transport to North Africa unescorted.

The French and UK fleets move in contact with the two visible u-boat flotillas. Hopefully the two French fleets will be able to run into his subs when he moves them.

The UK built their five and first infantry lab. The US built their first lab, with was a general lab.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:52 am

January 19,1940. Do the French Have in Fight in Them? Where is the UK?

Joe destroyed one French infantry corps and two garrisons. He slicing through my French defenses like a hot knife through butter. I established a double defense line in the middle against an attack through the Ardennes forest. But I only have a single defense line in the north along the coast and in the south.

The French fleet headed at full speed to channel to see what mischief they might cause. The UK Atlantic fleet is escorting a 31 PP convoy.

The Canadian motorized corps transport made it to the West African Route transport loop. The Canadian infantry corps transport will make it there next turn.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:47 pm

February 8, 1940. Lillie and Lorraine Falls! Germans Breakthrough in the Ardennes. Pretelot's Taxicab Army?

Can I last until April? The only positive situation in France is that Joe's air is out of range to attack Paris. Next turn Joe will no doubt completely shatter any semblance of a coherent French defense and my strategy will be to ring Paris. Joe's losses have been relatively light too. I don't have a shot of that screen but will post it when France falls in two or three turns.

The Canadian infantry transport made it to the West African Transport loop and it's "escorting" BB based at Gibraltar.

The French fleet sortied into the channel and shelled a German infantry corps on the coast knocking it down from 8 to 6-steps.

The UK Atlantic fleet continues to escort the 31 PP convoys. The UK CV was placed in position to provide coverage of the 11 PP convoy nearby. Also, the RAF strategic bomber and a fighter were rebased in Northern Ireland to provide air coverage of both convoys.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:42 pm

February 28, 1940. Germans Drive Towards Paris! French Launch Desperate Counterattacks. German U-boats are Quite?

Joe took Nancy and crossed the river in force shattering the French defense. I had enough PPs for one build and to repair the garrison on the coast northeast of Paris. I ringed Paris with what units I could to hopefully hold out one more turn. The good news (for me) is that only one of Joe's air units are in range of Paris and that unit is a fighter. Also, I have the French armor in position to force him to use quality units to dislodge/kill it.

Those French units that couldn't reach Paris or block access to it launched a series of desperate counterattacks inflicting a step or two loss here and there.

The small convoy got home will the larger one stayed in place. My preference would have been for the larger one to go first. I kept the UK fleet there to provide protection for the final leg of its journey.

The UK built their fifth lab, which was their first armor lab. I should get enough PPs next turn to build the UK's 6th and final lab until their war effort ramps up more.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 3:31 am

March 19, 1940. Civilians Flee Paris. French Make Desperate Counterattacks.

Next turn will be the end of France. The second picture shows the odds as 4-4 for the French corps in Paris attacking the depleted 6-step armor corps to south. There are also no terrain of entrenchment deductions. I couldn't pass up the chance to knock one of Joe's armor corps down to 2-steps. Final result of the attack was that the French corps lost 2-steps and the German tank corps only lost 1. The rest of the desperate French counterattacks went about as well.

The UK built their 2nd air lab, which is their 6th lab total.

In my final act in the defense of France the UK deployed a fighter to Brest and its strategic bomber to Bordeaux. These two units after the fall of France next turn will have the range at supply level 3 to fly home. Since they will be in these two cities at the Fall of France then control of them will belong to the UK. This means that Joe will have send ground units overland to claim them. This has the double benefit of providing a few extra PPs to the UK and to force Joe to hopefully waste an extra turn or two getting to them.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 4:22 am

April 8, 1940. France Surrenders! Brest and Bordeaux Still Hold Out!

No surprise here. France fell. The upside is that the UK controlled Brest and Bordeaux this turn and will next turn too. These two cities and their ports are worth a total of 7 PPs. The UK gets 100% of this for two turns will translates into an extra 14 PPs. Also, it causes Joe some grief too. The two UK air units flew back to the UK.

The UK took no losses in its "defense" of France. Joe's losses through the fall of France are light. The casualties translate into 52 infantry steps, 17 tank steps and 17 armor steps, which is equivalent to 299 PPs in repair costs. This is well on the low side and is especially hard to take given that Joe knocked France out early. See viewtopic.php?p=95523#95523

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:29 pm

April 28, 1940. England All Alone! Churchill Vows to Go It Alone. German U-boats Attack UK's Lifeline. Massive Evacuations Through Brest and Bordeaux Continue.

German u-boat flotillas UF-1 and UF-3 popped up again. However; I will not, cannot, respond to their attacks. I must prepare for Sea Lion. Both the UK and Canadian fighters are on Sentry and will not intercept unless directly attacked. Since they're out of spotting range of Axis aircraft and out of attack range of any fighters this is unlikely. The strategic bomber will stay where it is to provide coverage of England's coast. Note that the two UK BB squadrons in and near Edinburgh are within the protective coverage of this bomber unit.

The UK started the turn with 72 PPs, of which I used 70 to build two infantry corps. By the way, the UK manpower dropped to 74% after the 2nd corps was built so neither will suffer the -1 quality penalty. I wanted to get these corps built and deployed so that their effectiveness due to Wilson will be maximized if Joe does decide to invade. Hopefully I will have sufficient PPs to build the UK's 7th lab when the UK's war effort, which is at 67%, reaches 70% and allows for the 7th lab. Even not, I felt the building of the two UK infantry corps and the maximization of their effectiveness was the highest priority just now. Even if Joe chooses to forgo Sea Lion I'll put the two infantry corps to good use when it's time for Torch. But that's a long way down the road.

If Joe does decide to forgo Sea Lion then that means he'll probably go after the Suez Canal/Iraqi Oil Fields and / or go for an early invasion of Russia. So the likely scenarios one of the following five: (1) Sea Lion, (2) Suez Canal/Iraqi Oil Fields, (3) An Early Invasion of Russia, (4) (1) & (3) or (5) (2) & (3).

Here's what I included in my email to Joe,

PBEM email to Joe wrote:This is the most "lonely" and dangerous time for the UK. It does give you the flavor of what Churchill must have been feeling. Of course we're only playing a game. But besides that ...

I still got the additional 7 PPs this turn from controlling Brest and Bordeaux. I'm sure this will be the last turn as I expected Joe to capture these two ports next turn. It was good while it lasted.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:22 pm

May 18, 1940. Britain and Germany Battle for Control of the Channel. Major Clash of Air and Naval Forces.

It looks like it's option (1) (at a minimum). Joe sent his DD in to uncover my sub controlling the east channel choke point. His DD lost 3-steps to 5-steps for my sub. He then finished it off with two tactical bombers.

I attacked his DD with my strategic bomber, which resulted in fighter to fighter combat, followed by an air attack by a fighter. This knocked his DD down to 3-steps. I then sent in a UK BB squadron, which as expected, ran into a hidden u-boat flotilla. The BB lost 2-steps to the flotilla's 4-steps. This flotilla was a recently undiscovered new build. A second UK BB squadron was sent in and was able to make it adjacent the the German BB squadron. It attacked and both BB squadrons lost 3-steps. A third UK BB squadron deployed adjacent to the other two UK squadrons.

On the west side a UK DD squadron was sent into the channel but ran into UF-2. Both lost 3-steps. A second DD squadron made it in the channel from the west. It's the classic case of the dog that finally caught the car ... now what? It's fully exposed and will be lost or will take significant damage if Joe decides to go after it next turn. However; that means he won't have that air available for other attacks.

He definitely has his choice of targets from which to choose.

The 4th UK BB squadron based at Gibraltar left to patrol the waters east of Ottawa. I know it's unlikely for Joe to try to sneak a transport of two up there and try to capture Ottawa but with Sea Lion potentially underway I can't afford the risk.

I know if Joe goes for Sea Lion that I will lose England. My job will be to make him take as long and make it as costly as possible from him to conquer it. The land units there are expendable. The RAF and RN are not. Though that doesn't mean I won't lose any fleets. I will; but, I can't afford to lose them all.

By the way, I built another UK infantry corps which will be ready next turn. I hope to make it tough for Joe.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:04 pm

June 7, 1940. The Battle of Britain Continues. England's Naval Losses Mount. Mussolini Declares War on England!

Joe sunk a DD and BB squadron. He used infantry transports to protect his German BB and the badly depleted DD docked at Cherbourg. In response the two UK BBs to the east attacked the blocking infantry transport and knocked it down to 1-step. The surviving DD in the channel docked south of London.

The RAF strategic bomber hit UF-1 and inflicted another 3-steps of loss knocking it down to 5-steps. I decided to attack the sub to the west and repair the RAF fighters back to full strength. Unfortunately these repairs are at the -1 quality loss since UK manpower levels are still at 74%. However; the effectiveness of both are at or over 70% after repair and is not that much lower than the 77% effectiveness of the two depleted German fighters.

I had briefing though about sending the UK CV to bomb the 3-step DD in Cherbourg. But that though went quickly away when I noticed that UF-2, which was visible last turn north of Brest wasn't anywhere to be seen. This means it was likely hiding in the apparent "gap" in the west to the channel. So I decide to rebase the UK CV in Belfast so as not to have it blocked by German subs if Joe chose to do.

I'm also setting up the UK's defense in Egypt.

The USA and USSR both built their second lab this turn.

BuddyGrant · Post by **BuddyGrant** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:39 am

Why are you doing that forward defence (in both AAR's) with the French? Are the defensive advantages of rivers reduced in this mod?

Peter Stauffenberg · Post by **Peter Stauffenberg** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:39 am

No, the river bonus is the same.

OzHawkeye2 · Post by **OzHawkeye2** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:28 pm

Wouldn't the river bonus plus the built up entrenchment make the forward french defense not worth it?

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:35 pm

OzHawkeye wrote:Wouldn't the river bonus plus the built up entrenchment make the forward french defense not worth it?

In retrospect and given the way things have turned out twice I'd say yes.

BuddyGrant wrote:Why are you doing that forward defence (in both AAR's) with the French?

So others can learn from my mistakes. Hopefully, I learn from them too.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:26 am

June 27, 1940. More Losses for the Royal Navy. German Naval Intelligence Taunts UK.

Unfortunately I forgot to capture the situation in England at the end of the turn so I annotated it on the first picture, which is from the beginning of the turn. I lost another BB squadron and got this in my email from Joe,

Most of the subs dissapear, but where have they gone?

I decided to chance it and ran the 9 step DD in Portsmouth through "gap" east of London to Edinburgh. It was clear and the DD made it there. I then rebased the remaining BB fleet to Scapa Flow.

The visible u-boat in the channel was another new build, which brings the number of known German u-boat flotillas to 5. The RAF strategic bomber and a fighter unit bomber it. An 10-step Italian fighter popped up and was knocked down to 3-steps to 1 of loss for the RAF. The 6-step German fighter northwest of Lillie intercepted the second attack and knocked off 2-steps while losing 2-steps itself. The u-boat flotilla was knocked down to 8-steps.

I have no earthly idea what Joe is up to. While he sunk three fleets (2 BBs & 1 DD) he's suffered a number of step losses to his air and naval units.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:30 am

July 17, 1940. Too Quite?

I repaired back to full strength RAF and 9-step DD in Edinburgh. I haven't the foggiest what Joe is up to.

A UK BB took up a blocking position on the coast of Canada and I'm preparing my defense line in Egypt.

The UK build priorities will be two DDs, research lab and a leader for North Africa. Hopefully the two convoys just west of Ireland, totalling 95 PPs, will make it home untouched over the next two turns.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:07 pm

August 6, 1940. Phony War? UK Stands Alone!

British Naval Intelligence intercepted and decoded the following message by the Kriegsmarine.

Joe's email wrote:All quiet. I didn't fully realize how battered my navy was until I started to repair it...

Though RN losses have been high it seems that they've impacted the German navy. Also, I caught a glimpse of the German BB being rebased to the east.

I built a DD, which will be ready in 6-turns, and upgraded the CV and two fighters in the UK. I also rebased the RAF strategic bomber to Ireland provide coverage of the 55 PP convoy still off the west coast of Ireland. Hopefully that convoy will get home. I need a leader for the British 8th Army in Egypt.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:49 pm

August 26, 1940. The Phony War is Over! Convoy Sunk. Norway Invaded. Greece Invaded.

Joe revealed this turn what the Kriegsmarine was up to. The Baltic Sea DD squadron teamed up with UF-2 to sink a small convoy (the 55 PP one got through) and the BB fleet is providing supply to the troops in the invasion of Norway.

I'm planning to use another tactic on Joe that I learned from Borger the hard way. I moved the garrison out of Bergen and rebased the RAF strategic bomber there. I will keep it there until Norway falls. Bergen will remain under Allied control until Joe can move a unit there, which with the terrain of Norway takes several turns.

The garrison in Oslo was knocked down to 7-steps. I spent the 3 PPs to repair it back to 10-steps.

The infantry corps in Athens was reduced to 4-steps. I spent 6 PPs to reinforce it up to 7-steps. I also moved the Greek infantry corps in the north towards the two German tactical bombers. If Greece survives next turn I'll get a whack at one of those. That'd be nice!

I built the 7th UK research lab, which was the 2nd naval lab with a focus on ASW.

I also upgrade the fighter and CV in east the east Med. My next planned build for the UK is a leader for the east Med. After that, I need to build DDs and strategic bombers.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:33 am

September 15, 1940. Norway Surrenders! Greece Surrenders! Hungary Joins the Axis! USA & USSR Mobilizing?

Both Norway and Greece fell this turn. Too bad in Greece because I wanted to get a shot at one of Joe's tactical bombers in Albania. I did; however, leave him a present in Norway. Since the RAF strategic bomber was in that city when Norway fell control of it belongs to the UK. It'll take several turns for one of his infantry units to capture it.

The USA and USSR each built their 3rd lab. An air lab for the USA and an armor lab for the USSR. Also, the USSR began their infantry builds for preparation of the German invasion in 1941.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:19 am

October 4, 1940. U-boat Attacks Increase. Invasion Transports Spotted Off Egyptian Coast. USSR Continues Peacetime Buildup.

With no transports off the coast of England and next turn being the last turn before winter then England is safe from invasion until spring. However; an Italian infantry transport was spotted off coast of Egypt, which means Joe has turned his attention to North Africa. I built Auchinleck for deployment (i.e., command) next turn to North Africa.