Slitherine

The next attack on Odessa is expected to happen very soon as well!
Italy/Slovene Lands:
American infantry, backed up by self-propelled armored artillery, started another attempt at the Alpine Line.
The Alps:
A first American attack on Munich from the south could be repelled!

France:
Von Rundstedt is barely holding the line around Lyon.
A German infantry unit was able to reoccupy Bourges!
Further north, Rommel is still holding Paris as well.

Turn 94 – 18 April 1945
Weather: clear and dry
Open core slots: 104 (+13)

Ostfront:
Kaunas has been encircled from three sides. Now it is too late to evacuate the city. In addition, Russian infantry units have passed the city and are heading south-west towards Poland.
Is this a Russian traffic jam east of Bialystok… well, the city has been encircled as well and it is just a question of time when it will fall. For this case, additional preparation are already underway in and around Warsaw.
The Russian advance around Lutsk has been stopped for the moment.

Heaviest fighting ever seen around Odessa… and most surprisingly, the heavy Russian AT ISU-122 was accompanied by a British Sherman III in desert design. Has it actually travelled all the way from the Middle East just to experience some real action? Well, be our guest…
Italy/Slovene Lands:
Although the Alpine Line next to Ljubljana has proven reliable in stopping the Allied advance from the south, the casualties incurred at this defense line have been significant as well. In case the Allied attacks will continue at the current rate, the OKW is considering to retreat behind the Drava River soon.
The Alps:
The situation south of Munich is quiet again… most likely the US troops are resting or are being refitted as well?

France:
Luckily, the American tanks are having trouble to advance in the hilly terrain between Rhone River and the Swiss border…
Rommel has lost all contact with the troops in Orleans. He is expecting the worst!
Paris still seems safe.

Germany:
The German skies are just dominated by Allied planes!
Norway:
A Partisan situation east of Trondheim in Norway could be cleared by a Volkssturm unit.
North Atlantic:
The battle of the Atlantic is basically over…

Turn 95 – 3 May 1945
Weather: clear and dry
Open core slots: 113 (+9)

Ostfront:
“A picture is worth a thousand words”… well, Kaunas and Bialystok have been overrun basically. Guderian has positioned the last mobile AT units south of Königsberg to buy some time and to be able to prepare additional defensive positions along the Vistula River. He also reached out to von Manstein if he can spare any armored units but hasn’t heard back yet…
The situation along the Bug River at Lublin is still much better though.
Von Manstein still has his hands full around Odessa. Luckily the heavy ISU-122 could be defeated quickly.

Italy/Slovene Lands:
Not many Axis units are left at the former Alpine Line adjacent to Ljubljana.
France:
Von Rundstedt withdrew to Dijon while the different Allied forces in France are about to converge…
As expected, Orleans was overrun but Rommel is still holding out in Paris… despite all odds…

Turn 96 – 18 May 1945
Weather: clear and dry
Open core slots: 124 (+11)

Ostfront:
Königsberg will fall within a few days. Now the Vistula River is the only hope left…
Further south, the situation is under control and the Romanian oilfield is still on stream as well.
Southern Europe:
The Alpine Line is history. The remaining troops are finally retreating behind the Drava River. Graz will be garrisoned now but Vienna is not too far anymore. South of Munich a second American attack could be repelled.

Westfront:
Von Rundstedt wasn’t able to hold Dijon and has retreated to Strasbourg. He also requested tank support from Rommel (as if he could still spare many tanks these days…). However, Paris and the Seine River are still under Axis control!
Germany:
The Luftwaffe has lost most of its planes by now.

These have been great to follow love the layout and the General/Field Marshall assessment of each area of battle.
Feel the tension big time

goose_2 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:56 pm These have been great to follow love the layout and the General/Field Marshall assessment of each area of battle.
Feel the tension big time

Glad to hear, thanks a lot Goose, very much appreciated!

PeteMitchell_2 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 6:56 pm

goose_2 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:56 pm These have been great to follow love the layout and the General/Field Marshall assessment of each area of battle.
Feel the tension big time

Glad to hear, thanks a lot Goose, very much appreciated!

Seriously in comparison to my laborious detailed layout your layout is really well done and makes General Werner proud

goose_2 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 6:58 pm

PeteMitchell_2 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 6:56 pm

goose_2 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:56 pm These have been great to follow love the layout and the General/Field Marshall assessment of each area of battle.
Feel the tension big time

Glad to hear, thanks a lot Goose, very much appreciated!

Seriously in comparison to my laborious detailed layout your layout is really well done and makes General Werner proud

Thanks Goose, I use Greenshot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenshot) for the screenshots. Of course, there are many more programs but I found Greenshot has some nice features and it is also very easy to use (which is most important to me)!

Turn 97 – 2 June 1945
Weather: cloudy and dry
Open core slots: 130 (+6)

Ostfront:
Königsberg has fallen, Lublin has been evacuated and Russian tanks have reached the Vistula River between Warsaw and Bromberg. Also from the east, Russian troops are advancing towards Warsaw across the Bug River. Timed to coincide with the Russian advance towards Warsaw, a major Polish uprising occurred in Warsaw to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. However, the Polish resistance was defeated given the retreating German forces in the area (and please note: historically, due to the fact that the Red Army temporarily halted combat operations). It was the single largest military effort taken by any European resistance movement during the war.
(Please note: the actual troops of the Warsaw Uprising, historically it happened in August/September 1944, are not visible in the below screenshot anymore as they appeared and were defeated during the same turn)
A single (but very fast) Russian armored scout car broke through to Lvov. Looking at the map, it is expected to be heading towards Kassa or Debrecen to eventually reach Budapest, the undefended Hungarian capital. By all means, this has to be avoided as such an event might trigger additional (unpleasant) events and/or even further Russian troop movements into this direction/across the Carpathian Mountains. Therefore, some available light troops were moved to Kassa and to the Tisza River crossing. Let’s see what will happen…
A Russian AT attack across the Southern Bug River could be ambushed while at the same time, von Manstein agreed to send the remaining Tigers north towards Vinnitsa. However, it is unclear if they can still reach Guderian’s troops or might even get cut off as Lvov (with the connecting road to the north) already represents the forward line of enemy troops in the area.

Germany:
Allied troops are trying to cross the Drava River south of Graz. Vienna is only around 200 km (125 miles) away.
The isolated small-scale American advance towards Munich seems defeated, only a single towed AT unit seems to be left in the area between the Danube River and the Alps?

Westfront:
Two Volkssturm units and Rommel’s (last) tank unit have been positioned west of Strasbourg awaiting the Allied advance.
The pressure on Paris is definitely increasing week by week! Nonetheless, the city is still under German control. However, the German troops in and around Le Havre are expected to be encircled as a British Cromwell tank unit is crossing the Seine River east of the Le Havre.

Turn 98 – 17 June 1945
Weather: rain and dry
Open core slots: 136 (+6)

Ostfront:
Heavy fighting along the Vistula River and around Warsaw continues. The Jagdtiger has been encircled but it fulfilled its mission to delay the Russian steamroller. Luckily, some rainy days in June have grounded most of the Allied bombers…
Further to the north-west, AT units have been positioned along the west banks of the Vistula River, to prevent Russian breakthroughs towards Berlin.
Also Breslau, the easternmost German city (i.e. victory objective) has been garrisoned a long time ago, just in case of a Russian breakthrough across the Vistula River between Bromberg and Warsaw.

Germany:
The bad weather has halted the Allied advance across the Drava River.
No enemy activities to be reported anymore in the Munich area.

Westfront:
Even west of Strasbourg, the bad weather must have impacted any planned Allied operations…
Attack on Paris! Rommel had to give up the western parts of the city. In addition, the troops in Le Havre got encircled (as expected). Nonetheless, a light defense line from Paris to Abbeville still exists. However, Allied capital ships are providing naval gunfire support to the enemy ground operations in the area!
Further to the east (of Paris), Rommel ordered to position last remaining reserves along the Meuse River and to garrison Brussels, i.e. just to be able to halt any possible Allied breakthrough prior to the Rhine River.