Slitherine

I could do some transport upgrades, namely truck/horsetransport to mechanised but i refrain from doing so until DLC 41.
The army drove through Sedan like a knife through butter, the French never saw it coming. French tanks were adequately dealt with by the Stukas.
Once again, no losses, a DV in 14 turns with 14028 PP.

I prefer to follow the "French" branch of the campaign, i find these scenarios to be more challenging

Core composition after 15 scenarios:
(*=100 XP)

2x 39 Wehr Inf **
1x 39 Gebirgsjäger ***
1x 39 Pioniere **
1x MG 34 **
1x MG 34 ***
1x Pz 38(t)A **
1x Pz IIIF **
1x Pz IVD **
1x Captured S35
1x Pz IID ***
1x Pz IID **
1x SS Pz IIIF ***
1x SS pz IVD **
2x 10.5 cm leFH 18 ***
1x 15 cm sFH 18 *
2x StuG IIIA ***
1x Bf 109e ***
2x Bf 109e **
1x Bf 109e *
4x Ju 87B ***
1x Ju 87B (recon flight - unused until Barbarossa)
1x Bf 110D ***
1x Bonus Bf 110D ***
1x He 111H2 ***
1x He 111H2 **

I remember that i made the battle of Stonne harder, and it surely proved to be far more challenging to fight the French armored units. At the start a SdKfz 7/1 AA was purchased but no units were upgraded.
At turn 16 a DV was rewarded after an intense battle but luckily no core units were lost. The prestige pool holds now 15985 points.

General Giraud has reached our lines in 15 turns. Although a great mission, the enemy counter-attack can hardly be called a surprise after Giraud has been captured.
No losses, 16651 PP.

The Channel has been reached! Despite a heroic French defence in the area around the city of Rouen, my army has prevailed again. The job was done in 19 turns, no core losses and 18415 PP.

The army advanced towards Dunkirk and we stuck to the mission orders. A Matilda II tank was captured although i do not see a suitable role for it in this campaign. No army losses, DV in 8 turns with 18264 PP, that is a little bit less
than the previous mission but i kinda went wild with elite replacements in the beginning and also there were not many PP to be gained here.

The Battle for Reims is over. Despite a heroic effort of the French to stop my offensive, a DV was rewarded at turn 15 and 19890 PP. No core losses but i almost lost the bonus Bf 110.

France is defeated, well almost. One task remains still. Dijon is captured and the collapse of the French army is much more obvious in this scenario. DV in 16 turns, no core losses, 21159 PP... and another CharB1 was captured.

The campaign in the west is now over. The forts of the Maginot line have been silenced in 11 turns, 22988 PP.
Since there is no French air activity, i didn't deploy the fighters. It was a good opportunity to field a brandnew Pz IVD tank and all captured French tanks.

Core composition at the beginning of DLC 41:


(*=100 XP)

2x 39 Wehr Inf ***
1x 39 Gebirgsjäger ***
1x 39 Pioniere ***
2x MG 34 ***
1x Pz 38(t)F ***
1x Pz IIIH ***
1x Pz IVD ***
1x Pz IVD
1x Somua 35(f) **
2x Char B1(f) *
1x Matilda II(e)
1x Pz IIF **
1x Pz IIF***
1x SS Pz IIIH***
1x SS Pz IVE ***
1x SS Pz IVE
3x 15 cm sFH 18 ***
2x StuG IIIB ***
1x SdKfz 7/1 *
4x Bf 109e ***
4x Ju 87B ***
1x Ju87B recon flight
1x Bf 110D ***
1x Bonus Bf 110D ***
2x He 111H2 ***

I play DLC 41 with AI level 2, AI prestige 200%, new gamerules, combat random normal, reform units on.

I enjoyed the upgraded version as much as the original. The Romanian auxiliaries, except for the cavalry (mission critical), were replaced by German auxiliaries. I also made some changes to the Yugoslavian unit composition; the T-26 tanks were replaced and some Yugoslavian bombers were added. These bombers could be a nasty surprise to the unprepared still. Belgrade was captured on schedule, and a DV was awarded on turn 13 with 23092 PP. No core losses.

Remember, the latest vanilla upgrade file v16 and the DLC 41 upgrade package are required in order to watch the replays; grab them here: http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtop ... &start=280

The Metaxas line is no more. The captured Italian tanks in Greek service were trying to make a stand but were no match for the panzers. The mission was accomplished in 12 turns, 24639 PP sofar. No core losses.

New purchases were approved by High Command: a Bf 109F, a Bf 110D and a Do 217E. Both He 111H2s were upgraded to Do 217E. In merely 6 turns, all objectives in Crete were taken without core losses and 22499 PP to spare.
Russia awaits.

nikivdd wrote:Even in The Netherlands, my army is performing at peak efficiency. No upgrades at the start were required to perform adequately on this field of battle.
Unfortunately one of the Fallschirmjägers didn't make it but luckily i still got the DV after 14 turns and with 13047 PP.

14 - The Hague (14 turns).rar

It's almost impossible to keep both of the units holding the northern airfield alive. You just can't get the help out there in time - not without prohibitive cost anyway. IMO the best thing to do is retreat the unit on the airfield to the nearby fortified hex. If you're lucky and an attacking unit sustains heavy damage, you can counter attack during your turn & hopefully wipe it out. Other than that, keep reinforcing or resupplying and hold on as long as you can. As you've demonstrated, it's still very possible to get a DV even if one or both of the units are lost.

Operation Barbarossa has begun. All infantry have been mechanized, a T-34 has been captured, the super Stuka appeared and finally Minsk fell at turn 12 with 23024 PP.

Sofar the Blitzkrieg is going well. Another important city, Smolensk, has been captured. A DV in 17 turns, no core losses and 26085 PP; a KV-1B was captured along the way.
The e-file has been updated to version 17, update your copy.
I chose to advance to Kiev.

Units sold: 1x T-34/40(r), 2x Matilda II(e), 1x KV-1B, Ju-87B recon flight
Units upgraded: 2x Pz IVD to Pz IVF, 1x Pz IIC to Pz IVF, 2x Pz IIF to Pz IIG

Core army after Smolensk:
(*=100XP)

Note: i don't buy SS units, i use only those i get as a bonus.

2x Wehr 40 inf ***
1x 39 Gebirgsjäger ***
1x 39 Gebirgsjäger *
1x 39 Pioniere ***
2x MG 34 ***
1x Pz IIIH ***
1x Pz IIIH **
2x Pz IVF *
1x Pz IVF ***
2x Char B1(f) **
1x Pz 38(f)F ***
1x Pz IIG **
1x Pz IIG***
1x SS Pz IIIH ***
1x SS Pz IVF ***
1x SS Pz IVF *
3x 15cm sFH 18 ***
2x StuG IIIB ***
1x SdKfz 7/1 **
4x Bf 109e ***
1x Bf 109f *
4x Ju 87B ***
1x Ju 87B **
1x Bf 110D ***
1x Bf 110D
1x Bonus Bf110D ***
3x Do 217E ***

The Battle for Kiev has begun. As part of encircling the city of Kiev, the most important objective of today has been the capture of the city of Zhitomir, just west of Kiev. The mission was accomplished in 10 turns with 29516 PP and no core losses.

The Kiev pocket is getting smaller by the day. Zhurivka, east of Kiev has been well-secured in 11 turns, with 31302 PP to spare and no core losses. The second SdKfz 7/1 i requested has been delivered and put to good use.

The final phase of the Battle of Kiev is about to begin. Both StuG IIIBs have been upgraded to model E. Some of the Pz IVFs level of experience is still too low for my taste, so i will definitely commit them here.
It was a tough battle but Kiev is finally captured, including a prize T-34. This concludes the battle of Kiev, a DV in 12 turns, no core losses and 31990 PP. During the course of this mission the Pz IIIJ became available, so i will be upgrading my Pz IIIs to the latest model. The next mission will prove to be a real tough nut to crack.

At the start of Vyazma, i upgraded two Bf 109e to f and all Ju 87B to model R.
The last muddy hurdle towards Moscow has been taken. The gates of Moscow were reached near turn 18. Yet another DV, no core losses and 33156 PP.

What a fight in the streets of Moscow, i really get claustrophobic by urban maps and those kind of scenarios are not really my cup of tea. At least i got another special fighter and captured a few Soviet tanks, which i am going to sell hereafter.
At the very end i took the last objective and by doing so, i was rewarded yet with another DV, in 24 turns ,34903 PP without losing any core units. One more mission to go to finish DLC 41.