Slitherine

Turn 68 – May 3, 1943

Some spotting moves reveal an alarming Russian buildup in the far south, as I feared. My southern army pulls back behind the river and prepares for heavy attack. I’m not sure Morris will do it, but I feel that I am prepared. My troops are dug in and at high 80s effectiveness. Given that, plus the rivers, plus the overall quality and high tech of my infantry, I think the worst that can happen is that I lose a few corps. It’s a risk I’m willing to take, rather than giving up this good defensive position for free.

The best thing that could happen for me is that Morris holds off and gives me time to bring in reinforcements and upgrade my heavy units. There are currently 4 upgrades to mechs and/or tanks above 75% completed. I have 4 tanks ready to rail in next turn and I just purchased 2 more for a total of 12 (so much for not building more than 10). I just need some time!

I do press my offensive in the north and center as planned, killing 4 Russian corps. The key is that I was able to do this while only committing 3 heavy units, and those are in the center within easy reach of the southern sector. German infantry is just awesome right now, in a totally different class above the Russians. Morris will be forced to pull back out of his tough forest position or face the envelopment of his entire northern army.

USSR North





USSR South





Med





And finally, a casualty screenshot taken before my turn. I think it will be interesting to compare this to the Fall 1943 screenshot. Whoever “wins” this summer season will probably win the game.

Turn 69 – May 23, 1943

Well, I said I wanted time, but of course Morris is too good to give me what I want. The Russians advance to positions adjacent to mine, but make only an isolated attack on one German corps. This leaves me with a decision: 1) stand my ground and allow Morris a chance for an absolutely massive attack with all his units in range, or 2) retreat to buy some time for reinforcements and upgrades to arrive. Attack is not an option, as I don’t have sufficient forces in the area to counter this huge Soviet force.

I choose to retreat rather than give Morris the first attack. It is crucial in this campaign where we are nearly evenly matched to keep the initiative. I don’t mind trading space for time, as I will take it all back when my army finally comes together.

Some good news on the research front: 3 armour upgrades are completed this turn (lv. 4 in each category)! This once again makes my tanks technologically superior to the Russians, though only by slim margins in shock and survivability. When I finally am ready to fight the Red Army again, I will have the advantage.

USSR North





USSR South





Med (pre-turn)

Turn 70 – June 12, 1943

A big research turn for the Germans. Not only do I get fixed defenses lv. 5, which was at 86% with focus, but I also get dog fight lv. 5, which was below 50%! Finally a break for Germany in dog fight tech!

The retreat in the USSR continues as planned. All tanks will be upgraded, and any mechs that can upgrade will receive a +2 survivability bonus (armour & fixed defenses). Oil cost is now 3 per turn, but it’s worth it. Any fighters already on station in the USSR will also be upgraded.

Germany assembles a mighty force west of Dnepropetrovsk:
- 10 tanks
- 11 mechs
- 9 fighters
- 8 tactical bombers
- 15 - 20 corps
- 3 paras
- Plus Axis minor and Italian forces: 3 mechs, 3 fighters, 2 tacs, several corps

I have the advantages of effectiveness and tech, and if Morris continues his reckless advance, I will have the advantage of the first strike as well. Also, it seems Morris wants to bypass Voronezh and Rostov. This could end very badly for him. Perhaps I will be able to use the isolated corps plus my paras to form a pocket?

In the Med, Cagliari falls as expected. Not much to do except wait for the next Allied move. My strategic reserve in Germany is almost totally depleted, so I need to build that up again over the next several turns.

USSR South (post-turn)

Turn 71 – July 2, 1943

The climactic battle of this game has arrived. Morris does not advance exactly as I’d hoped, keeping his tanks in reserve and not leaving an opportunity for encirclement, but I still have a chance to kill many units, especially mechs. Because this is such a pivotal turn, I decided to give a detailed analysis of how I played it. Here we go…

USSR South (pre-turn)



Preparation:
1. Define a realistic goal. Given the range of my forces, and the strength of my air and heavy units, I decided to try to eliminate all the Russian units west of the Donbass hex row.
2. Planning. I don’t plot out every move beforehand (I don’t have the mental capacity for that). But I do consider which units will be more difficult to kill. Factors include terrain, river protection, other nearby units, ZoC, etc. I conclude that the Russian mechs across the river in the rear will be the hardest to kill because of ZoC and the screening infantry in front. The Soviet units on my side of the river in the south will be relatively easy because they are closer (less of a ZoC problem) and there is less screening infantry. Therefore, I will focus my air units north of the river, and allow my powerful ground forces to handle the south side of the river by themselves.

During execution of moves, always plan several moves ahead. Consider how many attacks I can afford to spend on each enemy unit. Each attack uses up a hex, so use air and tank support to conserve hexes by killing units faster. Maximize range by attacking with rear-most units; save closer units for overcoming enemy ZoC. Never advance into a captured hex without careful consideration of how that will affect future moves. Most of all, always keep the overall goal in mind.

Execution:
1. Start in the far north, eliminate 2 corps west of Voronezh using units north of Kursk.
2. Eliminate 3 corps and 2 mechs north and northeast of Kharkov. 3 tanks and some air support used. Plan moves carefully so every unit can be destroyed without lucky results, especially the hard-to-reach units in the rear. Leave hex directly northeast of Kharkov German-occupied, but open for further attack. To improve chances of success, stop here before tackling the remaining 3 mechs east of Kharkov, and start southern offensive.
3. Start in far south and work my way back northwards, capturing Stalino with 2 SS mechs (no entrenchment). 4 tanks and some tactical air support used, primarily for units close to river where ZoC was becoming a factor. Be very careful not to occupy all hexes on my side of the river; leave a Russian-controlled hex on my side for the Soviet mechs to retreat into.
4. Eliminate 3 mechs east of Kharkov, using 5 tactical air and 3 tanks. Mainstein makes first attack from Kharkov after 2 Tac strikes and leading Russian mech retreats south toward me. Do not occupy the empty hex with Mainstein. Now attack the northern of the 2 remaining mechs with 2 Tacs and an SS panzer from the empty hex I left northeast of Kharkov. Mech is eliminated easily, incredibly low chance of failure because I knew I needed this attack to work and I used my best units. I probably could have worked something else out if it failed. Finally, kill the other mech with 1 Tac and final German tank, plus follow-up units. The last unit turned out to be easy (no ZoC problem).

USSR South (post-turn)



Reaction and Analysis:

A huge victory for me, obviously. The Russians lose 10 mechs and 7 corps (worth 795 PPs), and their power is broken. They will not trouble me until 1944 at the earliest. Morris’s only choice is to retreat and keep his tank reserve intact. Any other course of action will result in the utter destruction of the Red Army as an effective fighting force.

Looking at Axis losses, my air units suffered worse than my ground units by far. Fighter losses were high but Russian losses were higher, which is correct I feel given my tech and effectiveness advantage. Bomber casualties were fairly high as well, but within the average range. Ground losses are where I feel luck swung slightly in my favor. I’m not talking about the number of enemy units killed—I take credit for that with my planning and execution—but I do feel some good fortune in the losses I suffered. I believe that I could play this turn several more times and achieve the same results, but that my ground casualties would be slightly higher on average. Not much, but a few steps here and there, especially in the south where my tanks and mechs had to attack without much air support. You can see one mech lost 3 steps, but that was really the only bloody nose. Not that Morris’s effectiveness or mech tech were very impressive, and I had great projection for the most part, but I also didn’t get unlucky very much.

On to the Med now, Morris prepares a small landing force in Northern Italy. I send some reserve units in response and put some German corps into production. Germany also takes over the defense of Rome, though this means losing the entrenchment. But I feel much safer now. Morris only has 2 Italian surrender cities (Cagliari and Tripoli), but I would like to prevent him from making too much headway here. It would be nice to crush this invasion without spending too much oil. I used close to half my stockpile in Russia this turn! But it was well spent, and now that the Russians are no longer a major threat for the time being, I can cut back on movement and build up my stockpile again.

Italy (post-turn)

CONCLUSION

So there you have it. Morris asked for surrender after the last turn, and I accepted. I was planning to offer him a chance to surrender anyway, so I don’t mind. He played long enough to determine who the winner would be beyond a reasonable doubt. I am pretty sure that I would have been able to control 4 major capitals to the end of the game (Berlin, Rome, Paris, Moscow and/or London). Victory was basically assured, and there was only a low chance that Morris could improve his defeat condition.

And so, we go our separate ways. Morris has asked me for another rematch, but I have declined. I want to play someone I’ve never played before, a new challenge.

I don’t think I need the same long analysis that I wrote at the end of Morris’s AAR of our last game because I’ve been pretty detailed throughout. I’d be happy to respond to any questions or comments, however, so by all means post if you have one (or many). Until next time!

4 Axis capitals at the end of the game is Axis ultimate victory. Very impressive indeed. I think a big congratulations is in order.

at first , big congratulations to Joe's great victory !

Thanks for Joe's detail explaination of How did he get this great victory !

Yes , I did ask Joe for another rematch since I made too many mistakes in this pbem . Joe had confirmed his victory after Oct 1942 . This is a pbem which perfectly reflect Joe's startegy & skill by the help of my bad performance . I just want to an opportunity to see if I can beat him down without so many mistakes . It seems Joe refuse to give me this chance ! So personally ,Joe is the only player who can defeat me by both sides (Axis & Allies ) ! I will always be here to wait for next chance to challenge great Joe !

A great game and a great AAR. Well done .

Thanks guys, this was highly entertaining to follow! Just staggering, brilliant, play by Joerock, and I mean no disrespect to Morris--they are both very, very, skilled players.