Slitherine

jjdenver wrote:

The turkish op should be interesting....thanks for continuing the AAR and continuing the desperate-seeming battle.

Thanks for reading my AAR. Wow over 4200 views! That means that somebody must be reading about my desperate battle

12. February 1943 –Minor counterattack at the Perm front, the allies continue to upgrade their forces.
The allies get some techs this turn.


The US and Royal navy continue their shore bombardments. A British BB has been heavily damaged by Luftwaffe raids. But I spot a Luftwaffe fighter with only 3 steps left. I attack and destroy it.


I have surrounded the areas/ports where Ike99 can deploy his newly built fleet. This should give me chance to destroy them as they are deployed.


My fighter in Sicily continues to punish the Italian tactical bomber and fighter. My attack caused the Italians to lose 6 steps whilst only losing 1 step myself.


A German korps retreats after being attack by my armor and infantry.


In the south I lose the city of Astrakhan. North of the Crimea I manage to surround two korps. With any luck I can destroy them before Ike99 sends a relief force.

4. March 1943 –Minor counter attacks in Russia
The US gets some techs this turn.


The Atlantic fleet goes to port for repairs and upgrades. The Luftwaffe badly damages a British BB close to the Hague.

Preparations for Operation Fez are almost complete.

At the Russian Perm front a korps is destroyed and a Finnish korps is forced to retreat.


In the south one of the surrounded infantry korps north of the Crimea is destroyed. The next korps will be destroyed next turn. With any luck I will manage to ship the two partisan korps to the Caucasus front.


My Russian partisans are becoming active. For the last couple of turns I have gotten about 2-3 new partisan units for each turn. The plan is to move them to the front line and rail them to Perm.

Holding most of the USSR for awhile now, the Germans must be getting _huge_ production yet he looks weak at the front. What is he doing w/ all his production? Any idea?

jjdenver wrote:
New post Posted: 29 Sep 2009 05:27 Reply with quote
Holding most of the USSR for awhile now, the Germans must be getting _huge_ production yet he looks weak at the front. What is he doing w/ all his production? Any idea?

No I do not. This worries me a _LOT_. I have not been able to spot any large concentration of his forces. I know I destroyed most of ihis navy in the Atlantic. Perhaps Ike99 is building a super duper large fleet for an invasion of the US?
He must be spending his PPs on something ...

24. March 1943 –German defeats near Perm
The allies get some techs this turn.


Troop convoys have sailed towards Turkey. Operation Fez will commence next turn.

The Red Army initiates some counterattacks at the Perm front. Far north a korps is destroyed and a Finnish korps is very close to be surrounded. In front of Perm a panzer korps perishes from my brave attacks. Another panzer korps is badly mauled a little further south.


In the south one I manage to salvage one of the partisan units north of the Crimea. It will be shipped next turn. The other partisan unit is doomed.

13. April 1943 – Operation Fez has started – the invasion of Turkey
The allies get some techs this turn.


The Russian Baltic fleet sails to the German coast. No enemy vessels are observed. Seems that the German navy was sunk in the Atlantic, and no units have been built (yet).


The Red army uses its PPs for repairs. A Finnish korps north of Perm is surrounded.


An army is shipped from the Crimea to the Caucasus.


The allied invasion of Turkey has started. The plan is simple. Capture Ankara ASAP. This task is assigned to the amphibious landing force. The clear terrain towards Ankara should speed their progress. The other units will attack and keep the Turkish units busy so that they cannot help with the defence of Ankara. I assume that Ike99 won’t ship any reinforcements across the Black Sea. My strategic bombers will start their campaign simultaneously. They will bomb the captured oil fields in the Caucasus. Hopefully Turkey will be surrender pretty soon. I plan to use some allied units in the Caucasus to beef up the Russian defenses.


The allies land north of Istanbul. In retrospect perhaps not the smartest move. If I don’t capture Istanbul soon the unit is doomed as I suspect reinforcements are on the way. On the southern front my units cross the border and devastate a border guard. My strategic bombers bomb the oil fields in Maikop and Grozny. They encounter no Luftwaffe fighters. The production in Maikop is fully disrupted. An allied fighter moves to the Caucasus to act as fighter protection.

I think it is a smart move to land by Istanbul. The potential payoff is that you prevent the Axis from railing a German or Italian unit into the city and can capture it easily. The worst that happens is you lose a corps, which isn't a big deal. The reward is well worth the risk.

I confess that I thought you were doomed before winter hit. You have done a nice job turning the tide. It is baffling that Ike99 does not have a larger/better army in Siberia. Perhaps he is running low on oil? You wouldn't think so because of the Caucuses fields in his possession, but then where the hell are his armour and air units? And why didn't he withdraw his 1-step tank--with a commander, no less--from the front line? Destroy that sucker, by the way.

I think it would be a good idea to bomb Ploesti. I also think you need to keep most of the British and American forces concentrated in one place. You could send them to the Caucuses and try to push him out of the region, or you could land in Bulgaria or Romania and open up another front. Another option is to take advantage of your supply sources in Crimea and land there. Either way, if you keep them together as one force they will be much tougher for Ike99 to deal with.

joerock22 wrote:
I think it would be a good idea to bomb Ploesti. I also think you need to keep most of the British and American forces concentrated in one place. You could send them to the Caucuses and try to push him out of the region, or you could land in Bulgaria or Romania and open up another front. Another option is to take advantage of your supply sources in Crimea and land there. Either way, if you keep them together as one force they will be much tougher for Ike99 to deal with.

Yep, Ploesti is the next target for my strategic bombers.

Thanks for the advice for my forces. I have not planned so far ahead. I am tempted to land them in Russia and help the Russians get some of their PPs producing cities back into Russian hands. In my eyes I have to get Russia back into the fight as they have the manpower I need to defeat Germany.

3. May 1943 – Advance into Turkey, strategic bombing in the Caucasus
The allies get some techs this turn.


The Russian Baltic fleet sails to Kiel, it spots two Luftwaffe units.

The garrison at Cherbourg is destroyed by sea and air attacks. Fortress Europe is strong, loads of German infantry along the coast.


The Red army uses its PPs for repairs. The surrounded Finnish korps is attacked, but my attack fails (too many casualites). My tank armies attack and punish the poor infantry korps they attack.


South of Grozny my mechanized and armor is attacked. The oil fields are bombed. No production at Maikop, the production at Grozny will be disrupted next turn. My partisan unit lands near Batumi.


The allied units advance towards Ankara. The armored unit link up with this task force so it is no longer depends on supply from my BB. The Turkish border guard is destroyed along with a Turkish motorized korps. It has been so long since my last turn that I forgot to attack Istanbul

23. May 1943 – Advance into Turkey, strategic bombing in the Caucasus continues, German attacks in the Caucaus
The allies get a load of techs this turn.


All quiet at the Perm front. I repair some units and let my armor attack a poor axis allied unit, which lose 5 steps. Partisan units rail to Kotlas.


The Germans continue their attack south of Grozny. I have to repair my armor and mechanized unit again. Another allied fighter is moved to the Caucasus. The new infantry unit at Batumi swings north in an attempt to cut off the axis allied unit. The oil fields at Grozny and Maikop are bombed their production is fully disrupted.


I have saved up a lot of Russian PPs, and buy 3 tank armies. They will come in useful for a planned offensive at Perm. I feel that I have enough infantry, and some armor should be able to punish the axis infantry.


The allied units continue to advance towards Ankara. The BBs bomb the garrison in Istanbul. I move in my tactical bombers to Turkey they will facilitate in bombing Ankara to dust. My other corps is moving in a north east direction their goal is to move into Russia when Turkey has surrendered.

A tank offensive in Siberia sounds like a good idea. The Germans are still only 2 hexes away from Perm, and total victory. I wonder why your opponent is attacking you south of Grozny. If I were him, I would just try to hold on all fronts except Perm, where I would ship every unit I could spare. The only way he is going to win the game is if he captures Perm, and his window of opportunity is rapidly closing.

12. June 1943 – Turkey surrenders, Italian navy suffers heavy losses
The allies get a load of techs this turn.


All quiet at the Perm front. I pull back my armor for upgrades. The surrounded Finnish korps is attacked but still hold on. Ike99 pulls back a little bit south-east of Perm.


The strategic bombing against Maikop and Grozny continues. They produce no oil for the axis war machine. Otherwise all is quiet this front.


Ankara is bombed, attacked and captured. Turkey surrenders to the USA. What will be my next move for my allied units?


South of Istanbul an Italian submarine has bumped into one of my BBs. It is attacked and sunk. I spot a damaged Italian BB in the port of Taranto, it is bombed and sunk as well. I guess that there are only remnants of the Italian navy left hiding in ports in northern Italy.

2. July 1943 - German attacks at the Perm and Caucaus front
Russia gets some techs this turn.


The allies destroy the garrison in Brest by combined sea and air attacks. The Italian air force is spotted in the Bretagne area.


Turkey is occupied and the allied armies rest and receive equipment upgrades.


Ike99 attacks near Perm. The German panzer korps damage my mechanized army badly. It retreats for repairs. The surrounded Finnish korps is annihilated by brave infantry attacks. I spot a damaged motorised korps, 4 steps left. I attack and manage to destroy it! Russian units not at the front line receive equipment upgrades.


South of Grozny Ike99 continues to attack my mechanized army, which has lost 2 steps. It is repaired and ready for the next wave of attacks. The allied tactical bombers move to Batumi, they will help in the attack against the panzer korps.


The new Russian tank armies will be deployed next turn. I guess this will surprise my opponent

Summary of the war so far
Der PanzerGeneral will once again summarize the last year of fighting.

The allied production is not very big. I believe the axis is out producing the allies at this point. The England and USA has spent all its PPs for repairs and equipment upgrades the last couple of months. I have prioritized to get my forces on the same tech level as the axis.


Since the last year Germany has suffered almost 1.5 million casualties and lost about 3000 tanks and 2500 planes. The British and USA have lost hardly any men, and lost only 800 planes. For Russia the picture is still bleak. Mother Russia has suffered 2 million casualties, 2000 tanks and 1000 planes in the last year.

Manpower reserves are still plenty:
England: 128% (808)
USA: 140% (906)
Russia: 104% (2034)



England
The British research progress.


The Brits need more land and air units.

USA
The US research progress.


Same as the Brits, more land and air units are required.

The invasion of Turkey was a success. What next? The plan is an amphibious landing in Romania and Bulgaria and link up with Turkey/Istanbul for supplies. There are two objectives for this campaign. Get the Ploesti oil field, and force Romania and Bulgaria out of the war. The axis should lose a couple of infantry units. Their fighting ability sucks, but Ike99 needs to replace them with German units. This should help drain the German manpower pool a little bit more.

Russia
The Russian research progress.


I feel that the fronts at Perm and Caucasus have been stabilized. The plans for next year for the Russians are some limited offensives at Perm, with the help of 3 new tank armies.

I have gotten a couple of questions of what Ike99 has done with his PPs. A very good question and I honestly don’t know. I have the feeling I will find out as the allies go more on the offensive in the coming months. Ike99 surely must have some super duper strategic reserve waiting to pounce on me.

22. July 1943 – Russian counter offensive at Perm, lots of Luftwaffe units identified in the West
The US gets a tech this turn.


The poor garrison on Brest is bombarded from the sea. My CVs and fighters attack the Italian fighter in an attempt to kill it off, but it survives with 5 steps left. My strategic bomber attacks the Ruhr and it reveals a large number of Luftwaffe units. I count 5 Luftwaffe tac bombers and 3 fighters. It seems that Ike99 is waiting for an amphibious landing in France soon. Perhaps he believes my attack on Turkey was decoy Well he is wrong! I need to make him believe that an amphibious landing is imminent, thus my allied PPs will be used to purchase infantry units that will be deployed in England. I want his Luftwaffe in the west, with that force he could have bombed my units at Perm to dust.


There is no rail capacity in Turkey! My units are stranded deep inside Turkey. Some units will move towards Istanbul and the southern force will move towards Beirut. The landing in Romania and Bulgaria is scheduled for late 1943.


At the Perm front I spot an opportunity after I have deployed my 3 tank armies. I surround and infantry korps near Kotlas and another one north west of Perm. Ike99 attacked last turn. A damaged panzer korps and infantry korps is ripe for destruction. My tank army pulverize the infantry korps and my air force destroy a Luftwaffe fighter and leaves the panzer korps with only 1 step left. I want to destroy it. The only unit within attack range is the infantry army located in Perm. I take a big gamble and move it out destroy the panzer korps. Perm is without a garrison, but I cannot see how Ike99 can capture it in one turn


At the Caucasus front my allied tac bombers attack the panzer korps and the Russian tank army attack as well. The panzer korps has 6 steps left after my attacks. I have sent two allied infantry korps to Caucasus. It will be some time before they arrive at the front. But they should help to stabilize it further and perhaps help in limited counter attacks.

It occurs to me that this isn't necessarily a bad strategy by Ike99 - at least from what he sees. Slugging it out at Perm is difficult to do at the end of a long supply line with no way to rail in reinforcements. You're still going to have a devil of a time marching the Soviet army from Perm to Berlin in the next two years (with 10 turns of winter mixed in), and the shorter path from the shores of Normandy is pretty much blocked. Maybe Ike99 thinks it's easier to conserve manpower and oil by holding on to what he's got, rather than expending the effort in finishing off the USSR.

That being said, I really don't understand why all those bombers are parked in Western Europe as opposed to obliterating every Red Army unit between the German front lines and Perm.

It seems like Ike99 is playing for victory by condition in 1945. He will try to hold onto France and Moscow and win the game that way. That's fine for you. Keep pushing him, and you should be able to break him. I learned from experience in a recent game (on the wrong side, unfortunately ) how quickly the Germans can go from holding firm to utter collapse when manpower is in the red. It can literally happen in just a few months.

joerock22 wrote:It seems like Ike99 is playing for victory by condition in 1945. He will try to hold onto France and Moscow and win the game that way. That's fine for you. Keep pushing him, and you should be able to break him. I learned from experience in a recent game (on the wrong side, unfortunately ) how quickly the Germans can go from holding firm to utter collapse when manpower is in the red. It can literally happen in just a few months.

Hmmm, according to the agreement between me and Ike99 the game option "End 1945" should be disabled.

If it is not I am in serious trouble. Is there any way to check the game parameters after the game has started?
Up until now time has been my best friend. But judging from his playing style I think both of you are correct.

This means that my allied armies must shift gear and hurry up all the way to Berlin before June 1945

11. August 1943 – Russian counter offensive at Perm, lots of Luftwaffe units identified in the West
The Brits get some techs.


The Brits spend all their PPs on equipment upgrades. Around Paris the concentration of Luftwaffe forces have grown. I now spot 3 fighters and 6 tac bomber. I pull back my navies which have shelled Brest for the last couple of turns. England needs more fighters in order to face this threat. The Brits will buy infantry to fill up their island and the US will buy fighters in order to combat the Luftwaffe. I do not dare approach the French coast with such a strong Luftwaffe against me. But better here, than on the Russian front


In Turkey the allies advance slowly towards Istanbul and Beirut. US reinforcements arrive (2 motorised korps and a strategic bomber) from the Suez Canal.


Russia get a large convoy to Murmansk (145PPs). The Russians have 220PPs to spend. I buy a fighter and a tech (General).


My armor attacks and destroys an axis infantry korps at the Perm front. I continue to advance south slowly. My new armor receives equipment upgrades. They will rest a couple of turns before wrecking havoc on the Germans.


All quiet at the Caucasus front.

31. August 1943 – Russian counter offensive at Perm, Luftwaffe on Western front has disappeared
All the Luftwaffe units on the Western front have disappeared. Where have they gone? I am sure Ike99 will let me know soon enough. My navy will close in on the garrisons along the coast and bombard them.


The redeployment in Turkey makes slow progress. While waiting them to assemble, my Mediterranean fleet will visit the Italian ports and kill any remaining navy vessels there.

Strategic bombing of Ploesti has started. The oil facility there will be rendered useless in a couple of turns.

At the Perm front a surrounded German korps is destroyed. Further south my armies advance and kill an Italian korps.


All quiet at the Caucasus front.