Metolius (Axis) vs Morris (Allies) (Morris Welcome!)

[metolius]

Howdy. This game has been going on for some time, actually, and is now nearing its end.

I thought I'd try posting a few interesting bits in here.

September 1939
The Axis went with the usual Poland option, but opted for an immediate attack on Denmark and Norway. Denmark fell on turn 3 and Axis naval forces were in position to land in Norway, anticipating no Allied interference at this early date. We were mistaken – the Allies appear in force:

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We counter by invading Holland and putting the whole Luftwaffe in Denmark to savage the Allied fleet. Considerable damage to both sides, including the loss of the German BB, as I recall. Axis immediately put a couple of DDs in the production queue, in the event we need some support for a Sealion attempt.

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More soon...

[mamahuhu]

any more?

[metolius]

19-March-1940
After a the carnage in the North Sea –– 2nd Battle of Jutland, we could call it –– the Allies seem to be bent on getting as making the Axis pay dearly for France, at the risk of leaving the UK unprotected.

So, the Axis, decide to take a different tack. We will invade the UK immediately in 1940, before conquering France. We will NOT attack Belgium, but instead leave it as a defensive barrier. And we will engage in some diversionary attacks on the Maginot Line, where a number of the French garrisons have pulled back:

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Here goes!!

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And by 18-May-1940, we are ashore:
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So, a big gamble. We'll see what happens...

[Cybvep]

You should read other AARs which deal with Moriss strategy. I don't know whether an attack on the UK is the best option against him, because he doesn't care whether the UK will fall or not. He concentrates on the Soviet Union, where he deals his final blow by massive counterattacks.

But then, if you are nearing the end, you probably already know the outcome.

[Crazygunner1]

Wow...gutsy move... I do smell à disaster though!

[JimR]

Nerves of steel -- it will be interesting to see how Morris responds. Can the Allies lose Britain but make up for the loss by concentrating on the USSR? If Britain falls, certainly France will be next. That's a lot of PPs flowing into the Axis account.

[metolius]

25-October-1940

Things look grim. The Axis have only managed to partially surround London, and needing more troops in the UK, have pulled back completely from the French front:

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On the plus side, we seized an unoccupied Scapa Flow and thrashed the Allied navies in the North Sea:

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We can only hope to capture London before the bad weather.

The general prospect here is... bad. The Axis may be finished in 1941.

[metolius]

23 April 1941

The Germans spent the winter capturing London and consolidating their hold on southern England. The Allies eventually occupied Belgium, and with the best part of the German army in England, this is menacing. The Germans did manage to seize Cherburg with a landing party:

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Meanwhile, the English have most overrun the Italians around Tobruk:

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[metolius]

12 July 1941

The Germans expand their beachhead around Cherbourg, and the Allies appear concerned, withdrawing their forces from the Low Countries. The German paras seize Rouen, too, but are almost wiped out:

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[metolius]

21 August 1941

The Germans get Manstein and some armor ashore near Cherbourg, and the Allies are now on the defensive. Brussels is overrun. The Italians have been chipping away at the French defenses around Marseilles, too:

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[metolius]

30 September 1941

OK, well, the Axis have finally got something interesting going:

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The Italians, Hungarians and Romanians managed to get a sliver of a force over the mountains and up as far as Lyons, where it crossed paths with a panzer force from the landing force coming from Cherbourg. I immediately us the rail connection to deliver a sizable force behind the French lines. Now Paris is in a vice.

[metolius]

20 October 1941

Paris now looks to follow London into the Axis bag. The Axis have driven a spearhead through the Allies on each side of Paris:

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[metolius]

9 March 1942

Well, the Americans are in the War (but NOT the Russians, yet...), and our u-boats have shadowed a large fleet across the Atlantic. Axis troops are in Spain, waiting for the expected landings in Portugal to occur. It looks like the Allies are going to skip Lisbon.

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In other news, the Axis are holding out in Africa, and massing some forces for the expected engagement with Russia. After some careful planning, we are hoping to hit the Russians on the last possible date before they DOW on us, taking advantage of fair weather.

[metolius]

8 May 1942

The Allies have pounded out a beachhead around Porto, and more troops are on the way.

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The Axis have done their best to harass the troop transports at sea, while preparing forces for an active defense of the Peninsula.

The opening salvos of the Russian campaign have occurred, with the Axis destroying a number of Russian units before retiring to prepared defensive lines.

[metolius]

27 July 1942

The Axis attacked the Russians in the early spring, then fell back to a defensive line close to their starting point:

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The plan is simple – make the Russians come to us, making the most of the terrain and advantages of the defensive to grind up as many Russian units as possible. As expected, we have complete air dominance, so we can use that to blunt the strength of Russian units.

The southern front looks quite bad, though, and there's been a bit of a breakthrough into Hungary:
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The Russians are probing all along the line, looking for a weak spot...

[Crazygunner1]

If you don´t strenghten the eastern front as quickly as possible.....the Russians will be in Berlin by the end of 42

[peterjfrigate]

it's looking a lot like my last game with Morris

[metolius]

If you don´t strenghten the eastern front as quickly as possible.....the Russians will be in Berlin by the end of 42

That's what I was thinking, too! I'm going to start a pool for guesses.

[metolius]

And the consensus is that Morris will be in Berlin in 1943, with a more or less even split on the 1st or 2nd half of the year.

[Morris]

you are making a Hollywood Movie ! The audience will be surprised by the second half of the story .