Battlefield Europe mod - Barbarossa

[JimmyC]

I have decided to make an ARR for my playthrough of McGuba’s excellent Battlefield Europe mod. I am doing it on General difficulty setting. As it is a huge scenario and takes a very long time to play, I expect to only update this thread every week or so (assuming my enthusiasm holds up and I can find time to play).

The Plan – 1941

Black lines represent the general line of advance. Blue lines represent the positions expected to be occupied by our troops by the end of the year.

A determined drive will be made on Moscow, with both Army Group Center and Army Group North focusing on this task. The goal is to be in control of Moscow by Christmas. Our armies in this area will then assume a defensive posture, whilst some are transferred to commence the siege of Leningrad and others are transferred to the West to participate in Operation Sea Lion (the invasion of the UK). Sea Lion is penciled in for late January 1942, so we will commence diverting troops to this front from early December. Our Finnish troops, with some German reinforcements will bypass Leningrad and instead head towards Arkhangelsk to the extreme North.

Army Group South will not attempt to take Odesk initially, but will instead focus further North, assisting with the encirclement of the Kiev pocket. Once this is complete, they will assume defensive positions, with some forces being transferred for Sea Lion.

Our surface fleet will not participate in the harassment of the shipping lanes in the Atlantic, leaving this to the U-boats only. Instead, they will concentrate around the English Channel in preparation for Sea Lion.

In the Mediterranean we will focus on achieving naval superiority with the assistance of our air and sea forces. We have prioritized the taking of Malta and Tobruk. After this, our troops will adopt a predominantly defensive stance near the Halfaya Pass, as other theatres of war are prioritized.

[uzbek2012]

I have decided to make an ARR for my playthrough of McGuba’s excellent Battlefield Europe mod. I am doing it on General difficulty setting. As it is a huge scenario and takes a very long time to play, I expect to only update this thread every week or so (assuming my enthusiasm holds up and I can find time to play).

The Plan – 1941

Black lines represent the general line of advance. Blue lines represent the positions expected to be occupied by our troops by the end of the year.

A determined drive will be made on Moscow, with both Army Group Center and Army Group North focusing on this task. The goal is to be in control of Moscow by Christmas. Our armies in this area will then assume a defensive posture, whilst some are transferred to commence the siege of Leningrad and others are transferred to the West to participate in Operation Sea Lion (the invasion of the UK). Sea Lion is penciled in for late January 1942, so we will commence diverting troops to this front from early December. Our Finnish troops, with some German reinforcements will bypass Leningrad and instead head towards Arkhangelsk to the extreme North.

Army Group South will not attempt to take Odesk initially, but will instead focus further North, assisting with the encirclement of the Kiev pocket. Once this is complete, they will assume defensive positions, with some forces being transferred for Sea Lion.

Our surface fleet will not participate in the harassment of the shipping lanes in the Atlantic, leaving this to the U-boats only. Instead, they will concentrate around the English Channel in preparation for Sea Lion.

In the Mediterranean we will focus on achieving naval superiority with the assistance of our air and sea forces. We have prioritized the taking of Malta and Tobruk. After this, our troops will adopt a predominantly defensive stance near the Halfaya Pass, as other theatres of war are prioritized.

How to fix this interface in the scenarios ?

Make possible the care of the ships of the convoy as here ) or so units on the map a lot so at least they will have the opportunity to get in the door (we assume that they are unloaded in ports )))

With such power, allied with my brilliant command), the African body was completely smashed me by mid-January 1942 ) Finland fell back in 1941 ) And we had already taken Poland ) Waiting will be allowed to disembark in France ) if by the time Soviet troops the war will not end ))) Yes, and the difficulty level of the game field Marshal ) And then it would be not interesting and boring....












Another question is why the Germans are so many units which I never had when I played for them ? )))


The red Army is advancing Allies are supporting its aircraft and ships ) To the beginning of operation Torch, the USSR already liberated all of Europe ))) Finish off enemies in Italy and waiting for the barge to land on the Islands )









I look forward to when opening the border will be given the opportunity to finish off the enemy )



Enemies on the script appeared and destroyed ) the Territory of the allies grew , and fascists decreased ) the Last place where there was a leg allies ) duration 1943 )










p.s. And why did the Soviet units can't disembark in Norway ? )

http://www.theunknownwar.ru/bitva_za_za ... vegii.html
http://cabal-ussr.livejournal.com/23037.html
Also why Soviet submarines cannot attack the surface position of the guns as submarines allies ?
http://www.moremhod.info/index.php/libr ... ?showall=1

[JimmyC]

Oh wow, i hope that my playthrough doesn't end up like yours. Looks tough! But i suppose i am having it easier as i'm only playing on General difficulty.

I will post an update on my progress later today, covering the period up to December 1941. I was going to do it yesterday, but had difficulties with formatting screenshots. Currently though it seems that my initial plan may have been overly ambitious...

[uzbek2012]

OK ! Very interested to see your progress ) The more ahead of you are Horde allies )

[McGuba]

Oh wow, i hope that my playthrough doesn't end up like yours. Looks tough! But i suppose i am having it easier as i'm only playing on General difficulty.

Haha,
I have a feeling that uzbek was playing the mod from the Allied side and that's why he defeated the AI controlled Axis so early and so badly. So I doubt that your playthrough would end up like that. (At least not so early... )

By the way, good luck with your playthrough, I always like to read how other people plan to beat the mod. There are many possible solutions and it is really amazing that every time someone post his plan I read some new strategy and never the same again.

However,

Currently though it seems that my initial plan may have been overly ambitious...

I had exactly the same feeling when I read your plans for 1941. Especially I do not think it is realistically possible to take both Malta and Tobruk in 1941, maybe unless you drop the offensive in the East all together and use all your air assets in the Med. Even then I think it is more likely you could only take both of those early/mid 1942.

[JimmyC]

June 1941 – December 1941

Our troops batter the poorly prepared Russian forces, catching many of the Russian airforces on the ground. This allows us air superiority and the Luftwaffe roams over the battlefields striking at will. Whilst tempting to push over the entire Eastern front, we are trying to stay focused on the original objectives – advancing towards Moscow, encircling the troops around Kiev and mostly leaving Leningrad and Odesk unmolested. However this focusing of our troops has created bottlenecks. Poor logistics planning has resulted in many of our stronger forces, such as the Panzer III’s and IV’s, being caught in the bottleneck, whilst our weaker units such as infantry and Panzer II’s are at the forefront of the battle. It is lucky that the Russian forces are so unprepared, as otherwise they would likely be able to stall our attacks. Adding to our logistics problems, partisans are disrupting the rail lines. These are swiftly dealt with by our Italian, Hungarian and Romanian allies, but necessitate the stationing of many of these units in captured territory to protect against further partisan activity. Whilst not so pressing now, this could pose a drain on our resources in the future.


Partisan activity necessitates the deployment of our units in previously captured territory.

Just as winter sets in we complete the strategic encirclement of the Kiev pocket. Whilst we suffered some casualties in this movement, it would have been much more if we had simply assaulted the Russian troops directly. The loss of so many troops and equipment is a massive blow to the Russian defensive effort.


Closing the pincers around the Kiev Pocket

Around the same time, our troops further North negotiated around the entrenched infantry and obstacles to reach the outskirts of Moscow. However, with Russian reinforcements arriving in greater and greater numbers and supported by the formidable T34 tanks, we have been unable to fully capture the city by the predetermined deadline of Christmas. Instead, a very bloody battle for the city and airfields is ongoing, with our forces both advancing and retreating as the battle ebbs and flows, but with German troops always maintaining a grip on at least a part of the city.


Battle for Moscow

Whilst highly dependent on the number of Russian reinforcements that are committed to the battle for Moscow, we are hopeful that we will be able to fully capture the city and its airfields by the end of January.

With the battle for Moscow still ongoing, our scheduled transfer of troops to the beaches of Belgium and the Netherlands in preparation for operation Sea Lion has been delayed. Our surface fleet have had limited impact in weakening the British land defences and engaging the British fleet, as Allied air superiority have forced our fleet to stay close to the coast where our AA defences can protect them. We have also been hindered by mining of the waters off Northern England and Scotland. However, with the new Fw-A2 model becoming available we have committed significant resources to upgrading several of our fighter squadrons to this model, which should allow both our surface fleet and bomber squadrons to adopt a much more aggressive stance. Unfortunately the transfer of our air forces to the English Channel has coincided with bad weather, which has seen the Luftwaffe mostly grounded. Sea Lion has therefore been rescheduled for late February/early March 1942 to allow sufficient buildup of our forces and reduction of enemy defences prior to the landings.


English channel

The Battle of the Atlantic has seen us suffering heavy losses in u-boats as the Allies have a strong destroyer force protecting the shipping lanes. However we have still had some success in harassing the Allied merchant fleet, which has assisted in hindering the Allied forces.

Finnish troops with German support manage to capture Petrozavodsk in late December and are ready to commence their advance on Arkhangelsk to the extreme North. The harsh terrain favors the defenders and we are hoping that the highly experienced Finnish troops will be able to deal with the heavily entrenched Russian defenders who are sure to be defending the approaches.


The Finnish about to capture Petrozavodsk from the Russian defenders. Another long slog through harsh terrain awaits before they can reach Arkhangelsk to the North.

In late October the British launched Operation Crusader to relieve their forces in Tobruk. Whilst the overstrength Crusader tanks caused considerable damage, we were able to funnel them into a choke point at Halfaya Pass, where they were bombarded by artillery, before being engaged by our 88’s. Whilst this saw the British suffer significant casualties, the bad weather denied us support by the Luftwaffe and the large number of strong British troops forced us into a strategic withdrawal. This is only a temporary measure, however, as once good weather returns and we are able to bring the Luftwaffe to bear, we will re-engage the enemy outside of Tobruk and renew the siege. It is hoped that we will be able to divert some of our surface fleet from Malta to assist in this effort.


Tobruk and Operation Crusader (note there are more British tanks and infantry hidden in the fog of war)

Unfortunately our naval and air bombardment of Malta is not proceeding as planned. A strong and ever growing Allied fighter presence has limited the impact of our air campaign and Allied submarines continually harass our surface fleet. The increasingly bad weather has seen the Luftwaffe mostly grounded for the last 2 months of the year and we have made relatively little impact on Malta. We have therefore diverted fighter squadrons from North Africa and Russia to assist in eliminating the Allied fighters once the weather clears. We have also brought in the hero Hans Rudel and his squadron of Junkers to assist in the effort. Contingent upon the weather improving, we are hoping that Malta will fall by the end of February 1942. Once this objective is complete, we will divert the Regia Marina to assist in taking Tobruk, whilst most of the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica will be transferred North to assist in Operation Sea Lion.

[uzbek2012]

Battle for Moscow

Get Moscow is not difficult but keep Russian tank attacks near Kharkov and Kursk is very difficult ) And those damn guerrillas quite real problem is sometimes more than the regular army )))

I have to get another and partisan cavalry )))

[JimmyC]

6-month plan Jan-June 1942

Well it turns out that the first half-year plan was overly ambitious, with only 1 of the major objectives (the encircling of the Kiev pocket) and 1 minor objective (the Finnish capture of Petrozavodsk) being completed by Christmas. We are mostly in control of Moscow, with our troops occupying most of the city, so that one is at least almost complete and only slightly behind schedule. The preparations for Sea Lion were particularly disappointing though. First the allied air superiority really restricted the Kriegsmarine and bombers. And by the time I brought over sufficient fighters from other theatres, bad weather had set in. It was the same story with Malta, although in that case the Regia Marina also had to contend with Allied subs.

Here is the 6 month plan to June 1942, showing our positions in late December ‘41:

The purple line shows the position our forces intend to occupy by late summer, at which time they will assume a defensive stance. The black arrows show the lines of attack/transfer of troops with the main areas of effort being Leningrad, Tobruk and England.

Axis troops to consolidate around Moscow, with some troops being diverted for Sea Lion and others advancing to the River Don, where they will adopt a defensive stance. We will also divert troops North to commence the assault on Leningrad. It is hoped that we will be able to take Leningrad by late Summer of ’42. Our Finnish forces will also continue advancing to Arkhangelsk, although due to the bad terrain, I don’t expect to be in a position to assault it until late in the year.

Meanwhile, we will land our invasion forces in Northern England after reducing the fixed defences and link radar in the area. I am not so worried about the Allied ground forces, but rather the British Navy, which is massed around Scapa Flow and is hard to get at due to mining of surrounding waters. Hopefully we can engage/distract them with our surface fleet and Luftwaffe so that our landings are unmolested.

We have built up sufficient fighter forces to destroy the allied fighters around Malta once the weather clears, which will then allow for a (hopefully) quick and successful bombing campaign. Once Malta is taken, most of the Luftwaffe will be diverted to Sea Lion, whilst the Regia Marina will assist in bombarding the Tobruk defences. We are hopefully that we can take Tobruk in the Summer.

[uzbek2012]

6-month plan Jan-June 1942

Well it turns out that the first half-year plan was overly ambitious, with only 1 of the major objectives (the encircling of the Kiev pocket) and 1 minor objective (the Finnish capture of Petrozavodsk) being completed by Christmas. We are mostly in control of Moscow, with our troops occupying most of the city, so that one is at least almost complete and only slightly behind schedule. The preparations for Sea Lion were particularly disappointing though. First the allied air superiority really restricted the Kriegsmarine and bombers. And by the time I brought over sufficient fighters from other theatres, bad weather had set in. It was the same story with Malta, although in that case the Regia Marina also had to contend with Allied subs.

Here is the 6 month plan to June 1942, showing our positions in late December ‘41:

The purple line shows the position our forces intend to occupy by late summer, at which time they will assume a defensive stance. The black arrows show the lines of attack/transfer of troops with the main areas of effort being Leningrad, Tobruk and England.

Axis troops to consolidate around Moscow, with some troops being diverted for Sea Lion and others advancing to the River Don, where they will adopt a defensive stance. We will also divert troops North to commence the assault on Leningrad. It is hoped that we will be able to take Leningrad by late Summer of ’42. Our Finnish forces will also continue advancing to Arkhangelsk, although due to the bad terrain, I don’t expect to be in a position to assault it until late in the year.

Meanwhile, we will land our invasion forces in Northern England after reducing the fixed defences and link radar in the area. I am not so worried about the Allied ground forces, but rather the British Navy, which is massed around Scapa Flow and is hard to get at due to mining of surrounding waters. Hopefully we can engage/distract them with our surface fleet and Luftwaffe so that our landings are unmolested.

We have built up sufficient fighter forces to destroy the allied fighters around Malta once the weather clears, which will then allow for a (hopefully) quick and successful bombing campaign. Once Malta is taken, most of the Luftwaffe will be diverted to Sea Lion, whilst the Regia Marina will assist in bombarding the Tobruk defences. We are hopefully that we can take Tobruk in the Summer.

As opposed to the partisans of the anti-Nazi propose to add various guerrilla groups, which will help the Germans and attack Soviet units ) Let it be for example the Ukrainian insurgent army and Estonian forest brothers

[JimmyC]

As opposed to the partisans of the anti-Nazi propose to add various guerrilla groups, which will help the Germans and attack Soviet units ) Let it be for example the Ukrainian insurgent army and Estonian forest brothers

Its a nice idea, but you already get so many of the minor allied infantry (Hungarian, Romanian, Italian, etc.) that i dont think it would make much difference, apart from adding a bit of colour.

However, if these guerilla units were outside your control and yet were allied with you (ie they attack the enemy, but you dont control their movements), that would be cool.

[uzbek2012]

As opposed to the partisans of the anti-Nazi propose to add various guerrilla groups, which will help the Germans and attack Soviet units ) Let it be for example the Ukrainian insurgent army and Estonian forest brothers

Its a nice idea, but you already get so many of the minor allied infantry (Hungarian, Romanian, Italian, etc.) that i dont think it would make much difference, apart from adding a bit of colour.

However, if these guerilla units were outside your control and yet were allied with you (ie they attack the enemy, but you dont control their movements), that would be cool.

Yes there is and Romanians and Italians + other ) But they can appear only in their territories , and these so to speak collaborators will be able to appear everywhere ) and give us something to counter the Horde allies ) can occur whole partisan battle )))
http://country-osi.narod.ru/
http://www.wolfschanze.ru/


http://ww2history.ru/1520-lzhepartizany.html
http://partizan.my1.ru/publ/partizany/p ... li/9-1-0-6

[JimmyC]

The Generalfeldmarschall paced up and down in front of a magnificent mahogany table at high command headquarters in Berlin. Although it could seat 20, the table could hardly be seen under the huge map which was spread out on top of it. The map had pins sticking in it, showing the location of friendly and enemy forces, as well as key objectives and cities. As he paced up and down, his adjuncts and the other generals present followed him with their eyes, but daren’t address him. Finally, one of the braver generals ventured a comment “Generalfeldmarschall, we should be celebrating. Moscow has fallen and is ours. The Russian bear will surely crumble without their capital.” Another chimed in “And we have regained control of the Mediterranean and can now access its shipping lanes without risk of assault by the British forces formerly based in Malta. With Rommel leading the Africa Corps and his supply lines secured, surely we will have victory in this theatre of operations.”

Gunter, the new adjunct, joined in the chorus “Our Luftwaffe has been victorious in stopping the British bombing of our cities. We have gained air superiority over all but the British mainland.” At this comment, the Generalfeldmarschall stopped suddenly and all those present felt a chill in the air. It was not wise to mention anything to do with the British aisles whilst in his presence. The fiasco that resulted from the poor intelligence gathering and planning for Operation Sea Lion did not bear thinking. Half a year had been wasted and the cream of the Wehrmacht’s troops had been left idle waiting as a result, when they could have instead been assisting to defeat the Russian winter offensive. The Generalfeldmarschall sighed. Now was not the time for recrimination, but for clear thinking. “Gentlemen, let us analyse each theatre of operations and develop a new 6-month plan. It would be wise to speak frankly of our performance and strategic position. Sugar coating the real situation will result in a one-way trip to the Eastern front”.

[JimmyC]

Army Group Centre

With Stalin desperate to hold onto Moscow at any cost, the Russian troops were thrown at the city with little regard for their own lives. Here, a fearsome group of KV-1 tanks have moved into central Moscow in an effort to hold the city. Whilst these tanks are more than a match for any of our own armour, the poor tactics shown by their commanders can be exploited. In the following days, these normally invincible tanks were blown apart by our infantry and AT guns which were lying in wait in the streets and buildings of the city.

After withstanding the Russian winter counteroffensive, our troops consolidated their position and captured Moscow, the Russian capital, in mid Spring. We were able to capture significant war materials, further boosting the war effort. Army Group Centre has regained the initiative and succeeded in driving most of the Russian forces back behind the Don River. We have maintained air superiority, although our lack of fighters (many of which were diverted for Sea Lion) has restricted the ability of our bombers to operate safely in the region, which has resulted in some of them remaining grounded, rather than operating without a fighter escort. Our forces are now concentrating on defeating the remaining pockets of Russian resistance on the West side of the Don and will then adopt defensive positions, whilst non-essential units redeploy to other fronts.


Our forces have reached the Don, but will hold position here, given the large Russian forces to the East and the prioritizing of other fronts.

Army Group North
With the fall of Moscow in mid Spring it has allowed us to turn our attention to Leningrad, which is strongly held by the Russian’s and has a significant tank presence. Combined with the strong artillery (including the Battleship Marat) and supporting flak batteries, this is proving a very difficult nut to crack. We are predominantly relying on artillery to pound the heavily entrenched defenders into a weakened state so as to allow for our infantry to close in for the assault. We have also been searching out and destroying the Russian units located to the East of Leningrad in order to cut off any possible supplies from reaching the defenders and further tighten our grip. However, given the defence is stronger than anticipated, the original objective of taking Leningrad by Summer now seems overly optimistic and we have revised our estimates to early Winter.


Our artillery are wearing down the Leningrad defenders. It is slow going and we face sporadic harassment from the Russian air forces who are able to safely operate out of Leningrad’s airport.

Army Group South
Bypassing Odessa, our troops are pushing the Russians back towards the Don. The open terrain should favor our blitzkrieg tactics, however our lack of medium tanks has hampered our ability to deal with the Russian heavy KV-1 and T34 tanks in the area. The Luftwaffe have been instrumental in engaging these units and we have made gradual process. Once this area is secure (estimated at around late Autumn) our forces will adopt a defensive posture, whilst some are diverted to commence the attack on Odessa and later, Sevastopol.


The Russian tanks are slowing down our advance, whilst posing a threat to our exposed infantry. We have been relying on the Luftwaffe to soften them up before engaging them with our comparatively weaker medium tanks and AT guns.

[JimmyC]

Mediterranean Theatre
With the weather clearing, we were finally able to release the Luftwaffe on Malta. Headed by Hans Rudel and supported by several capital ships of the Regia Marina, we were able to bombard the defenders into oblivion. In order to appease Mussolini and in recognition of the efforts of our major ally, the honor of capturing Malta was given to Italian troops. We have now redeploy our air forces to assist in operation Sea Lion, whilst the Regia Marina is engaging in the siege of Tobruk.


The capturing of Malta has allowed for the opening up of trade routes to Africa that were previously closed and has provided a large boost to our war resources.

The change in weather allowed us to resume the offensive in the area around Tobruk. Our air forces punished the relieving forces of Operation Crusader who were outside the protective screen of Tobruk, allowing our tanks and 88’s to finish them off. The Regia Marina also provided vital support in this operation and have allowed us to close the ring and rejoin the siege against the Allied defenders. The Italian capital ships are now concentrating on wearing down the defenders enough to allow for a frontal assault on Tobruk, which we have commenced, breaking through the outer defences. Our aim is to capture Tobruk by early Autumn.


With Operation Crusader defeated and the siege renewed, the British have little hope of holding out much longer.

Sea Lion
High command has made a severe strategic error in planning to land troops in the North of England, which was only realized at the beginning of Spring. This has resulted in serious delays to Operation Sea Lion and has necessitated the redeployment of our invasion forces from the waters North of Belgium to the new jump off point in Southern France, around Brest. Our surface fleet have therefore shifted their focus to the South of England and Wales, where we now intend to land the invasion fleet. After careful consideration, it was decided to abandon the landing of troops in Northern England for 2 main reasons:

1. The presence of the British fleet in Scapa Flow - far from any friendly airfields, the fleet is difficult to engage with the Luftwaffe and we dare not engage directly with the Kriegsmarine without air support. From this location the British fleet can easily intercept any transports attempting to land in the North.
2. Significant mining of the waters in the East Coast of Northern England/Scotland, which limits the ability of our vessels, both transports and capital ships, to operate in the area.


The waters off Northern England and Scotland are heavily mined and protected by the British fleet based out of Scapa Flow. Attempting to land in this area would be disastrous.

In comparison, the South of England and Wales are much closer to friendly airfields and ports, which will allow for easier support of the land forces. There are also not thought to be any significant British vessels in the area, which should hopefully allow our transports to reach the beaches unmolested.


The invasion forces prepare for a landing on the South West coast near Plymouth.

As a result, we have rescheduled the landing of troops to later in the year, once the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe have sufficiently reduced the British defenders around Plymouth. We have also diverted further landing troops and Fallschirmjäger to assist and have positioned long range 17cm artillery units in France to bombard the British coast.

Battle of the Atlantic
Our uboats have had some success in damaging the transports in the area, although it is very much a game of cat and mouse with the destroyers in the area. The significant distance from friendly ports to the shipping lanes is the largest impediment as our uboats have to return to base as they run short of torpedoes or to undertake repairs. We have still been reasonably successful though in disrupting shipping operations.

[GeneralWerner]

Hello,
thank you for this interesting update.

Very interesting approach and quite different to mine. You focused on Moscow and your troops stand much wider in the east than my troops. I focused on the Caucasus but have yet not seen Moscow at all. Your front line in the east looks much better (shorter) and if you get the new tank models you have good chances to hold the lines in the winter when your Stukas become useless.

You moved troops from the east to the west for Sea Lion. I moved troops from the west to the east to hunt down the Soviet counter attacks.

You have done a lot against the British in Malta and around England. I fear that your fleet could be surprised by strong British fleets and bombers. The Graf Zeppelin could help you a lot. My German fleet is floating around doing nothing waiting for day X when the British try to cross the channel.

I look forward to see how this all will end

[JimmyC]

Strategic map of troop positions on 2 July ’42.
* The 2 red stars show the key objectives that were captured in the last 6 months – Moscow and Malta.
* The blue circles show the primary objectives for the following 6 months – Leningrad and Tobruk.
* The purple line shows the positioning of our troops along the Eastern front. It is intended that our troops will adopt a defensive stance along this line in preparation for the inevitable Russian counterattack which is expected to commence in winter.
* The green circles/lines show the repositioning of our invasion troops for Sea Lion as a result of the change in landing location from Northern England to South West England. It is estimated that this delayed the landing of our forces by approximately 6 months as our capital ships and aircraft had to bombard the South West Coast and our landing troops had to relocate to a new jump off point. Invasion troops are now poised to commence the landing.

High Command HQ in Berlin
The Generalfeldmarschall pointed at several points in the map in quick succession. Gunter, who had been relegated to pin duty, frantically attempted to mark the key cities and locations on the map.
Generalfeldmarschall: “Tobruk will fall within the month. Once we have captured the port city, Rommel shall be instructed to adopt a defensive posture, as it is likely that the British will attempt to recapture it with their troops in Egypt."

The Generalfeldmarschall points gestures towards the Northern area of the map “It is completely unacceptable that Leningrad remains in Russian hands. Army Group North MUST take this city before the years end so that the siege forces can be redeployed to assist in defending against the Russian counterattack that is sure to develop over the upcoming winter.”

The Generalfeldmarschall slams his fist on the table for emphasis. “As for the debacle that saw Sea Lion delayed, I want to see German troops on British soil this Autumn. The delay has allowed the British to reinforce their positions on the aisles, so it will be a hard fought battle, but this front must be given maximum priority. I want the Luftwaffe in the air supporting our troops all day every day. And I don’t want to see a German sailor in port unless his vessel is undergoing repair/resupply. I cannot emphasis how important it is that we crush all British resistance!”

“Make no mistake, this war will be won or lost in the next year. Failure is not an option.”

[uzbek2012]

Further the Reich expects the horror and the massive allied invasion ))) + guerrilla Horde

[JimmyC]

Actually i found it relatively easy to capture Moscow and also close the Kiev pocket. You just have to rush your troops to do it. If i hadnt diverted my best troops for Sea Lion, then it would have been easier. Instead, those troops were sitting around in their boats for about half a year as i had to change the planned landing point. Also, i have to say that i really hate sea mines. They are so annoying - especially because they become hidden next turn, even though you spotted them before. I hope McGuba changes this in the next patch.

I also think Moscow is a good location to adopt defensive positions, so it worked well for my strategy of focusing on UK and putting the Eastern front on the defensive. Actually, the hardest thing about the Eastern front now is that i am tempted to keep advancing with my troops. It feels almost a waste to just sit there every turn waiting for the winter counteroffensive.

[JimmyC]

Things were going well. Not perfect, but certainly better than the first half of the year. Given the positive situation, the Generalfeldmarschall had allowed himself some time off. He was currently in a spa town of Southern France, enjoying the relatively warmer climate. Sitting down at the dinner table, sampling the fine wine that the resort had to offer, he mulled over the events of the past Summer and Autumn. Tobruk had been captured in mid Summer, with many of the Commonwealth troops laying down their arms and surrendering. After a long and bloody siege, Leningrad was also about to be taken. This would free up troops to respond to the impending Russian counterattack. But the greatest achievement of all was the successful landing of troops on British soil. Not only had his troops secured their bridgeheads, but they had taken several cities in the process. It was now just a matter of capturing London and then driving up to the North before all the UK would be in German hands.

Interrupting him from his musing, one of the resort staff hurriedly passed him a note – it seems he was required to call HQ urgently. Rushing to the phone, he was appraised of the situation – it seems the Russian counterattack had struck in the South towards Kharkov, rather than the expected stroke in the North towards Moscow. The Allies had also commenced two counterattacks in Africa – one of which had been expected (around El Alamein) and the other unexpected (an audacious invasion of the Vicky French in North Africa). It was the latter of the two which caused the most concern and troops were even now being rushed into the territory previously occupied by the Vicky French, before the American’s could capture too many of the key cities and ports in the area.

Within the hour, he was in a car on the way to the airport. He would arrive at high command HQ before the sun rose the next day.

[JimmyC]

Army Group North
Leningrad has finally been taken! After withstanding the siege for more than 1 year, the Russians were violently swept away in early December by our victorious German troops. On capturing the city, we were able to recover significant war materials, which will contribute to furthering the war effort. The troops involved in the siege are now being redeployed to other fronts. And just in time too, as the Russian counterattack is in full swing.

In the extreme North, our Finnish allies have made contact with Arkhangelsk, where they are attempting to outflank the heavily entrenched infantry to attack the artillery support from the North-East.

Army Group Centre
We heavily reinforced our troops around Moscow in expectation for a counterattack in Winter. Whilst it did come, it was much less than expected, as the Russians are focusing their efforts further South. Whilst high command initially refused to release any troops to assist Army Group South, the pressure being applied there by the Russian armour has now reached critical levels and we have therefore transferred most of our armour to that theatre. In their heavily fortified positions, the remaining infantry around Moscow are holding up well and there is no currently no great threat of the Russians breaking through.

Army Group South
Our troops had adopted defensive positions along the Don River, however as high command thought the main Russian effort would fall against Army Group North, there was limited armour allocated to this front. This turned out to be a mistake as large numbers of the Russian KV1’s and T34’s forced our troops back from the Don to a second defensive position along the Donets River. As there are several cities and forests in this area which are not conducive to armoured fighting, we have been able to hold this line and are now bringing armour reinforcements from the North to help attack the enemy head on.


A significant Russian counterattack has pushed our forces back to a new defensive position. The blue line shows our original position and the red line the advance of the Russian armour. We have been able to hold them at the Donets River for the moment and are bring down armour from the North to deal with them before the Russian infantry catches up.

Operation Sea Lion
After the long delay, our invasion of the UK has proceeded better than expected. Whilst mines are causing us continual bother, we have managed to land forces at 2 points in the South-West of England and Wales. Our troops have pushed forward and captured several cities, beating off a weak counterattack by the British. We are now assaulting London and ready to drive North to Liverpool and beyond. Our land forces are being harassed by the Royal Navy, whilst the Kriegsmarine are likewise assisting us with bombarding the defenders.

Surprisingly, given that we are invading their homeland, the British are still maintaining a strong bomber presence over mainland Europe, supported by fighters. For the moment we are ignoring these, apart from our Flak defences, with the Luftwaffe instead focusing on the invasion.


After initially being bottle up at the landing sites (red circles), our forces were able to break out. We are attacking London from 2 sides, as well as getting ready to drive further North.

North Africa
As expected, the British have mounted a significant counterattack from El Alamein late in the year. We have therefore assumed defensive positions around Halfaya Pass and Tobruk, where we hope to blunt the invasion. We have also positioned the Marina Regia in the waters off the coast, ready to bombard the invaders.


Our defences seem strong. But will they be strong enough?

Catching our forces totally unprepared, the US has invaded Vicky French Africa. The traitorous Vicky French have surrendered without a fight and we are now in a desperate race to reinforce the area before the US troops are able to complete the advance on Tunis. It is thought that if they are able to capture Tunis, the US will be able to use it as a springboard to launch an invasion of Italy. We have therefore sent Italian reinforcements from the mainland, as well as some Germany armour and 88’s from Tobruk.

Strategic Map Overview

Stars show key objectives captured in the last 6 months. The purple lines shows our main fronts which are currently on the defensive. The blue circle shows our main objectives for the next 6 months. The red arrow shows the intended drive up to the North of Britain, whilst the green arrows show the reinforcements flowing through to assist in stopping the Allies reaching Tunis.