Slitherine

Here you are another AAR for you to check out the changes made to the game due to the latest 4.0 update (4.018).

Related to other updates you will see that the game has included HQ units and names of the commanders attached to them. Another significant change is in France-BEF 1939 OOB. Will explain later.

A quick update of what's going on in the game. Polish campaign saw German infantry taking considerable losses, mostly due to bad combat results, Warsaw falling to Germany in the 2nd turn without problems. There was a German 1939 Scandinavian campaign that was also successful, Denmark and Norway falling before bad weather.

At sea, German subs, mostly operating W and SW of Ireland coasts, started to attack convoys in December 1939. Taking advantage of bad weather, they dared to attack even escorted convoys. But they weren't very lucky when RAF and Allied DD's hit back. RAF SAC and both RN DD's and French DD (this one bumping into a sub), scored quite good hits on the German subs that meant to halve them in strength. Consequence of this was that Kriegsmarine subs, in need of repairs and located far from naval bases, stopped attacking convoys for several turns. It was first naval success for the Allies.

In 1940, fair weather arrived in March (turn 11). Wehrmacht invaded and conquered both Belgium and Holland:




In Allies reply, BEF retreated to the Somme. Powerful German armoured force in Brussels adviced against holding positions north of that river:



Recent changes in Allied 1939-40 OOB have made this campaign more of a challenge for both sides. BEF is now 3 corps unit sized (a motorized corps was added) and French army can be now composed mainly of corps units (vanilla game armoured corps back in the game) and not garrisons as before. All accounts for a more historical and interesting Case Blue campaign.

Commanders deployed in garrisons automatically convert those into HQ units, which have a movement allowance of 4 hexes.

April 8, 1940 (turn 12). Germans continued to advance at a steady pace, taking Lorraine resource (defended by Hutzinger defensive commander). French air force performed rather well vs German fighters.

April 28, 1940 (turn 13). Wehrmacht started to heavily engage main Allied positions along the rivers. This way, panzer forces crossed the Somme in force and Lille, which has not been attacked yet, was seized by motorised corps. Airborne operation, probably with the aim of disrupting Allies retreating moves, was launched 2xW of Paris, German paratroopers taking considerable losses when grounding:




Allies decided to counterattack. 2 targets seemed suitable: XVI PzK (located 2xN of Paris) and the isolated paratrooper division. The latter was destroyed whilst the panzerkorps unit ended heavily damaged. Both counterattacks counted with all the available Allied air support. East of Reims, French army gave up its positions N of the Seine:

May 18, 1940 (turn 14). French armoured ended destroyed after German army attacks. French motorised unit near Calais, that had been holding vs German attacks, was finally killed either. British I motorised Corps, surprisingly, held at minimal strength. In the eastern part of the front, Reims was taken. Allies couldn't do other thing than retreating to the Seine. In this turn, Italy joined the Axis.

June 7, 1940 (turn 15). Wehrmacht finally broke through Allied lines, crossing the Seine, close to Paris, in 2 spots. Germans pushed realy hard all along the front, forcing several French army units to retreat or to end unsupplied. BEF lost its first unit (II motorised Corps). Paris was completely surrounded:




In Alles turn, French army counterattacked again, targeting the weakened German motorised corps 2xSE of Paris but no significant damage was done to mentioned Axis unit. BEF prepared to evacuate to UK.

French unit defending Paris held the German attack made to the city in June 27, 1940 (turn 16) but it was destroyed on the very next turn, Germany accepting the armistice.

This ended Western Europe campaign with significant losses for the German army. To this it would have to add that Luftwaffe had had a considerable attrition. On the contrary, the Brits could be satisfied at that regard since the BEF only lost 1 unit out of the 5 sent to France and RAF fared rather well, suffering reasonable losses.

The Axis promptly shifted its area of operations from Western Europe to the Balkans and so in September 15, 1940 (turn 20) Yugoslavia was DoWed. This meant another good thing for the UK that was spared from a plausible Luftwaffe air campaign over England.

No matter the Axis did not enjoy much good weather, Yugoslavia soon fell to the Axis. Shortly after, Greece was DoWed either. Greeks offered a little bit more resistance but finally surrendered in March 14, 1941 (turn 29).

At sea, during second half of 1940 and first half of 1941, German subs resumed their offensive against Allied convoys. Given the high losses that they suffered at the hands of RN DD's in the early stages of the game, Axis naval units preferably attacked unescorted convoys.

The Axis DoWed USSR in June 2, 1941 (turn 33). We directly go to Eastern front since virtually nothing is happening in the Med.

Axis progress was good in the center reaching Belarus right in the very first turn of Barbarossa. Armoured forces attached to army groups north and center were powerful, a SS panzerkorps amongst them. In the south, Axis forces stalled a bit, although bad odds got (some Stalin Line forts holding at minimal strength) might have to do something with that.

In turn 34, Germans tried but failed to rapidly take Pskov. Even an airborne operation led by 2nd paratrooper division (which was very costly to Germans) was launched with that aim but the city held in Soviet hands for 1 more turn. A well positioned (2xE of Daugavpils) HQ unit (Popov) that held the position, turned to be really valuable.

In July 12, 1941 (turn 35), the Axis finally broke through Soviet defenses along Stalin Line destroying many units. Only some units around Vinnitsa and Odessa were left standing. In the north, Pskov was finally taken by strong German armoured forces.

Soviet army could no other thing than to retreat and so Axis advance continued largely unopposed. This way, Kiev and Odessa fell in August 21, 1941 (turn 37), Novgorod and Dnepropetrovsk in September 10, 1941 (turn 38) and finally Kharkov and Kursk fell in turn 39. Near Moscow, the cities of Vyazma and Orel marked Axis easternmost advance.

Mud came in October. That didn't stop the Finns from getting Vyborg thanks to generous Luftwaffe air support. Mud weather came to stay since it lasted until December in which severe Winter started.

As mentioned severe Winter started in December 19, 1941 (turn 43). During the mud weather turns Red Army had been making some approaching moves to Axis lines between Vyazma and Orel. The latter seemed like a good objective for this first Winter campaign. This was the position reached just before Allied moves



With a sizable air support from VVS, Soviets shifted to the offensive. Italian cavalry in Orel and adjacent German LX Armeekorps (from now on AK) were the targets. Italians fared rather well so no chances for a quick seizure of the city. German unit suffered much more and ended rather battered. A little bit south, more Soviet army units advanced and spotted Wehrmacht defensive positions around Kursk, city that might become a possible second objective for this offensive.


New year (January 8, 1942, turn 44). No German counterattack at sight. Italians repaired to full strength their cavalry unit in Orel and damaged LX AK unit was swapped with LXI AK to which it was attached a commander (Manstein):



Allies turn. In Orel sector, the Soviets brought more offensive units by swapping 3rd Shock Army and 3rd Tank Army. Referred units, with the help of VVS tacs, succeeded in destroying Manstein's HQ LXI AK. Meanwhile, offensive in Kursk started either. Here, Red Army was also able to commit armoured units to the attack (in this case 2nd Tank Army) and it worked well since German motorised XV AK 1xN of Kursk ended killed.


January 28, 1942 (turn 45). Wehrmacht made its first counterattacks:



I SS PzK, until now inactive, launched powerful attack vs Soviet 15th Army, which survived at minimal strength. Nearby 36th Army, was also attacked. In Orel sector, the Axis brought Hungarian mountain unit to replace German HQ unit killed there. In Allies turn, 3rd Shock and 3rd Tank Armies, were again successful when operating together, killing referred Hungarian unit. North of Kursk, depleted 15th Army was withdrawn and both 36th and 2nd Tank Armies were repaired to full strength.


February 17, 1942 (turn 46). Germans launched strong armoured counterattack in Orel:



As you can see in the pic above, Guderian's XIX PzK and I SS PzK attacked Soviet 3rd Tank Army located 1xN of Orel. Referred Allied unit suffered badly but held and became Guards (1st Guards). In Allies turn, Soviets withdrew their battered armoured unit. Furthermore, Italian HQ cavalry unit that had lost the city cover after being swapped with I SS PzK, was heavily attacked and much damaged.


In March 1942, offensive actions much reduced on both sides. Mud came back early so it was over for this first Winter campaign. It would only have to be mentioned that battered Italian HQ cavalry unit (Gambara), ended destroyed after a successful VVS air attack.

It has to be mentioned that Luftwaffe fighters fared really well all along the Winter campaign and that this was an important factor for the Soviets not accomplishing more.

An update of what's going on at the sea.

After suffering from several good Allied DD's hits in early game, German subs waited some turns for the necessary refitting. About the time of the France surrender, subs reappeared attacking convoys. They steadily operated for the rest of 1940 and all along 1941. They attacked both unescorted and escorted convoys, getting many evadings from British DD's and RAF. So apart from 1 isolated British DD bumping into a German sub near Greenland (this time for a reasonable outcome), there weren't major naval engagements during mentioned period.

Only in late 1941, a British DD in escorting duties, got again a massive hit (6:1) vs an attacking sub south of Ireland. This seemed to be another RN ASW success but facts proved otherwise since in the very next turn, German subs mounted massed attack against referred Allied naval unit and sunk it. It was first naval unit sunk in the game.

Africa now.

This has been an inactive front for a long time. Since October 1940 (in which Syria was taken by the Allies) till May 1942, there wasn't any offensive operation at all.

Anyway, Allies did make some preparations for the upcoming campaigns.This way, by late 1941, British and Commonwealth forces made some sort of approach to Libyan border. British fighters had recently got +1 spotting range which allowed the Allies to see without being seen (5 hexes Italian fighter spotting range):



Reconnaissance has thus showed that Axis had sizable forces around Tobruk and Gazala. Only with the later arrival of Canadian forces, Allies would get superior numbers.


Allied offensive started on May 8, 1942 (turn 50). By that date, Allies already counted with the couple of Canadian corps units. In this first round of Allied attacks, Italian 21 Corpo was left rather battered and was forced to retreat.


Axis counterattacked right away on the following turn, in which Axis forces targeted and killed Indian corps 1xSE of Tobruk. Battered 21 corpo was withdrawn to safety:



In the image above you can see that Italians had also deployed a sizable air force in Libya with 2 fighter units and 1 TAC. Also, you can notice that Italian HQ cops (Badoglio) left the city-fortress. It would be this HQ corps the one that would be targeted in the subsequent Allies reply, referred infantry unit ending destroyed.


In June 17, 1942 (turn 52), the Axis started a little retreat, concentrating around Gazala and leaving in Tobruk only a motorised unit to which it was attached a commander. Allies followed up cautiously.


One turn later (turn 53), Italian navy appeared: 2 BB's attacked and sunk Australian DD escorting British CV. RN reacted vigorously and sunk 1 of the Italian BB's and halved the other. At land, more approaches to Axis lines. Also, more reconnaissance from RAF which revealed that Italians have brought a 2nd mech (5 Corpo), as a reinforcement:





July 27, 1942 (turn 54). Italians withdrew their surviving BB. At land, they continued to wait for the Allies which in their turn, got even closer to Axis lines.


Turn 55. No offensive action from Axis. On the contrary, Allies started their 2nd round of attacks in Libya:



As you can see in the image, Allies attacked and battered Italian 6 and 10 Corpos. Also, notice that RAF already had its 2 TAC's units operating in Africa with recent antitank upgrades on them. Meanwhile, in the Western Mediterranean Sea, Torch was launched.


September 5, 1942 (turn 56). The Axis mounted big counterattack in Libya. Italians, with 2 mechs and 1 infantry and Germans with their LVIII PzK unit attacked and killed both the leading South African and New Zealand units. Furthermore, Luftwaffe had appeared in its scenario and a fighter unit started operating from Crete.

Allies in return, destroyed Italian 20 Corpo (mech) and heavily damaged panzerkorps unit. Couple of RAF tacs got both god hits on the armoured that was left weakened enough as for the Australians to attack it and leave it at low strength and morale. Italian killed mech (which was located 1xSW of Tobruk) had Graziani commander attached and, after being also attacked by air, a single hit from British X armoured Corps sufficed for finishing it off:



Notice how RN BB's started to harass Luftwaffe fighter in Crete. Axis air unit didn't last much on that location and was soon rebased to other scenarios.


September 25, 1942 (turn 57). Italians, still enjoying good air support, were able to counterattack again, destroying British XXX Corps. In the attack participated 5 and 21 Corpos. Damaged panzerkorps was withdrawn. Allies reply meant to destroy both mentioned Italian units. Allies were starting to win the battle in the desert.

Let's continue in Africa where we left it.

Remarkably, damaged panzerkorps unit was able to make its way to Bengazhi and to await there for the British and Commonwealth forces. It had better luck that remaining Italian infantry forces (Corpos 6 and 10) that ended destroyed.

Allied navy achieved success in turn 60 (November 24,1942): in Axis turn, an Italian BB got ambushed by a British sub escorting British CV. RN ships, reinforced by US Navy ships coming from Torch operation, had no major problems in sinking referred Axis naval unit.

Allies, once got something close to naval supremacy in the Med, blocked both the ports of Tobruk and Bengazhi, in order to keep both German PzK and Italian motorised unit from being evacuated. Both cities were under heavy siege and Bengazhi was the first one to fall in Allied hands in turn 61. Previously, German commander attached to the PzK (Paulus) had left the unit and Italian air force had made a last stand harassing Allied besieging forces. Tobruk fell 2 turns later (January 23, 1943).

There was still a long way to Tripoli that fell in April 13,1943. By that date, all Magreb Mediterranean coastline, from Oran to Sfax, has been already conquered by the Allies.The last Axis resistance spot was in Mareth fortress that fell in May 3, 1943, date in which all Northern Africa was in Allied hands.

Eastern Front, Summer 1942.

First on the Axis to-do list for Eastern Front in 1942 was Leningrad. Finns and Germans started the attack in May 8, 1942 (turn 50). They started well, since Soviet Corps unit with Govorov (+1 defense) commander attached ws halved in strength. It was of little use that the unit become Guards, since 2 turns later, on June 17, 1942, the city fell to the Axis. Soviets have lost an important strategic city and the only positive thing was the performance of VVS during this campaign, that firmly opposed to enemy air attacks, causing considerable losses to Luftwaffe.

In the meantime, central and southern fronts remained quiet on this early Summer campaign stages.

That changed in July 7, 1942 (turn 53) in which real Axis Summer offensive started. Images below correspond to the initial phase of Axis offensive.

Before Axis attacks:


And after:


As you can see, sector chosen for the offensive was Don river at Rostov. Wehrmacht crossed the river in force on mentioned spot, destroying 3 Soviet armies and Timoshenko HQ unit. Soviet 61th Army was also attacked and halved in strength. It was a strong mobile and armoured German army onslaught, with those 2 panzerkorps units crossing the river (2 SS PzK and XVI PzK) probably coming from Stalino area. Furthermore, VVS fighter defending this sector of the front was heavily attacked by Luftwaffe and it was left much weakened. At the same time, you can see that Romanians started campaign in Crimea.

Allies turn. Commanded by Kirponos, Soviet army southern front still have sizable forces north of Manych river. But keeping in mind how the left wing of this front had been virtually wiped out and the strength of German armoured forces in this sector, it seemed more advisable to retreat NE and to reinforce defenses at Stalingrad. Kutnesov HQ unit and battered 61th Army retreated to Krasnodar.


July 27, 1942 (turn 54). Kutnesov unit and 61th Army were easily killed by the powerful German forces assigned for the offensive in the Caucasus. Krasnodar and Maikop oilfield were taken:



Image above shows how a mountain unit sent by the Soviets to Novorossiysk as a reinforcement, also suffered badly from Wehrmacht attacks. You can also see how Crimean campaign is now entirely a German army task. Thanks to a generous air support from Luftwaffe air support, Sevastopol is not expected to hold for long.

To make things worse for the Soviets, in the same turn, the Axis also attacked Red Army positions south of Voronezh, destroying 2 infantry corps:



This meant that the Axis was launching two simultaneous big offensives in the east.

Red Army was not in condition to contest Axis offensive in the Caucasus but in Voronezh front it would be possible indeed to engage the Germans into some battles of attrition. This way, in Allies reply, with good air support, Red Army launched strong counterattack in the Don, targeting XLVI PzK, referred armoured unit surviving at very low strength (1).


August 16, 1942 (turn 56). At the Don, south of Voronezh, Germans destroyed a Soviet armoured that had been one of the Red Army units participating in last turn counterattack. In Sevastopol, mountain unit was offering an heroic resistance vs the attacking Germans and became Guards. Meanwhile, in the Caucasus, Novorossiysk fell to the Germans which destroyed depleted mountain unit and HQ unit defending the city.

In Allies turn, Soviets were able to reply to the loss of their armoured, since VVS, previous a spotting move, was able to finish off depleted panzerkorps unit that had been withdrawn to Kharkov. Things were really dull in the Caucasus, with Germans not having any obstacle between them and the Baku oilfields. Some Soviet units were deployed in several cities along the Caucasus trying to, at least, delay the Axis forces.


The fact is that Germans didn't go further neither in the Caucasus nor in Voronezh which was sort of a relief for the Soviets which had seen its PP's income significantly reduced. One reason for the Axis stopping its offensive operations in the USSR might be that it was already late Summer, meaning not many guaranteed fair weather turns ahead. Anyway, Sevastopol was taken by the Germans in September 5, 1942 (turn 57) and Kerch was seized couple of turns later.

Belomorsk had been taken by the Finns during this 1942 campaign which was another limiting factor for the Soviets.

1942 Summer campaign had ended with the Axis strongly consolidating its positions in Eastern Front.

Aimed at softening a little Axis pressure on the Soviets, Western Allies and specifically, the UK, planned to launch an amphibious operation in Northern France in Summer 1942.

Only 2 first line units (German corps XLVIII and LV) which had been already spotted since long (they had been busy fighting French partisans) seemed to be deployed permanently in the Western Front. Furthermore, RAF fighters (which after a new upgrade have got +7 hexes spotting range) haven't noticed strong German forces in France. Things seemed to be suitable for a landing operation. This way, in June 17, 1942 (turn 52), the Brits sent a landing fleet composed of 2 infantry corps, one of them motorized. Landing units were strongly escorted by a powerful RN fleet composed of 3 BB's, 3 DD's and 1 CV. Place chosen for the operation was Normandy and the first and main objective was the capture of Cherbourg.


July 7, 1942. In Axis turn, Germans moved referred infantry corps to locations 1xS and 1xSE of Cherbourg in order to oppose the landings. This proved ineffective since after a massive RN and RAF bombardment, both British units successfully landed, forcing the Germans to retreat and doing so, isolating Cherbourg from main supply:




July 27, 1942 (turn 54). Judging by the number and the quality of the units sent to France as reinforcements, it could be said that Germans took seriously the threat of the British landings in Normandy. Amongst them, I SS PzK (veteran unit brought from the Eastern Front) was specially bad news for the British infantry units. Meanwhile, in Normandy itself all Wehrmacht units had been repaired:



In Allies turn, British army tried but failed to take Cherbourg. Garrison held at low strength (3). Had the city fallen, landings could have been deemed as a success. Now British infantry feared a strong counterattack no matter German reinforcements have been softened a bit through RAF ground attacks.


August 16, 1942 (turn 55). I SS PzK and LXIX AK (mech) led the German attack which left both British corps halved in strength. No Luftwaffe support for this offensive action. Garrison in Cherbourg was again repaired:



In Allies turn, II Corps was repaired whilst I Corps attacked again Cherbourg that held at minimal strength (1), the city itself was left at supply level 1. Heavy air and naval harassment of Wehrmacht units, continued.


September 5, 1942 (turn 56). British I motorised Corps was destroyed due to the subsequent German attack. Remarkably, II Corps survived:



In Allies turn, German LV AK (with 4 steps of strength) ended destroyed after both RN and RAF scored hits on it. Also, and although this came late, Cherbourg was taken. Depleted mech was further bombed:




As you must suppose, Cherbourg was retaken by the Germans on turn 57. British landings had failed.

Back to Eastern Front.

Wehrmacht abandoned the Caucasus in late Summer-Autumn 1942. Not even garrisons were left in places like Krasnodar or Maikop oilfields, which Red Army retook without a fight. Surely, British landings in France and the fact that Axis front line in the east was a bit overextended, might have influenced that move. Further north, near Voronezh, the Axis also retreated giving up positions occupied on the west bank of the Don.

Severe Winter started early in November 1942. Red Army used bad weather turns for approaching to Axis lines and for making some upgrades to its units. Prior to the start of severe Winter, Soviets had already made contact with many Wehrmacht units. Attacks started immediately. Sectors chosen for the first attacks were 1xSE of Kursk and 2xNE of Rostov. As a result, 2 German corps were destroyed in those locations. In the Donets, no exploitation movement was made. In Kursk, 20th Soviet mechanized Army occupied hex left vacated by killed unit:



That image corresponds to November 24, 1942 (turn 60), at the end of Allies turn. VVS amply supported the attacks.


In the very next turn, the Axis made its first counterattack. Mentioned Soviet 20th Army mech suffered a concentrated attack and ended destroyed. Germans did not occupy the vacated hex, though. In Allies turn, Soviets reoccupied that hex and doing so was instrumental in the seizure of Kursk after a strong attack which finished off veteran XXI AK defending the city.


It then started a tit-for-tat in which Kursk changed hands 2 more times: in Axis turn 62 (January 3, 1943), Germans retook Kursk and in the same turn, in Allies reply, Soviets seized again the city.


Meanwhile, combats in the Donets continued and intensified. Most remarkable thing there was the killing of Rommel's XXXII AK (mech). Just near to the end of Winter, Red Army crossed the river and tried hard to take Voroshilovgrad. The city held and in the subsequent Axis turn, Soviet bridgehead was removed. Also, in Karelia, Belomorsk was liberated by the Soviets in February 1943, the USSR getting back the much needed PP's of northern convoy in the very following turns.


All Soviet attacks were regularly supported by VVS that, on this occasion, much improved its performance vs Luftwaffe. Many air combats were won by the Soviets and VVS tacs sometimes delivered crushing hits on weakened land units.


Mud weather turns came early so other than the liberation of Kursk and Belomorsk by the Soviets and the killing of couple of good Wehrmacht units, strategically, little changes had occurred in the Eastern Front. The Axis was still very strong.

We have almost forgotten about the Atlantic.

We left it with German u-boats steadily attacking and sinking convoys throughout 1941 and, lately, they going after DD's itself (1 Allied DD sunk so far).

The fact is that, probably due to bad weather and/or necessary upgrades and repairs, German subs stood a great deal of 1942 (from January to May) without doing a single attack against any convoy. Anyway, when they resumed the attacks, they did it for good, causing great losses in PP's mainly to central and northern convoys. Allied reply came from USAF SAC's that got some hits on the subs but not big deal.


In turn 61 (December 14, 1942), 2 hexes south of Iceland, a British DD bumped into a sub for a 4:4 outcome. But referred Allied naval unit did more than that since she also spotted 2 nearby German BB's. This caused the RN to completely mobilise all its available units in the UK. They moved so they all could reach German vessels in case that these decided to attack. Couple of RAF units were rebased to Scotland either.


And Kriegsmarine went into attack. As a result, 2 British DD's were sunk in a BB's-subs joint action:



That image corresponds to turn 62 (January 3, 1943), after Axis moves. In Allies reply, both German BB's were sunk in an intense aeronaval action in which participated virtually all available units, SAC's obtaining some good hits on the subs either.


Then, (turn 63) it came a further Axis naval attack, targeting British CV. Sadly, Allied naval unit got sunk by the subs. In the Allies turn, RAF units got further hits on the subs but failed to sink any. The outcome of this intense naval battle had been, then, inconclusive (Allies lost 2 DD's and 1 CV and Axis lost 2 BB's and got several subs depleted).

MTO 1943.

After having cleared all northern Africa of Axis units, Western Allies forces in MTO, poised to kick Italy out of the war, planned an amphibious operation in Sicily. Air reconnaissance from Malta had showed that Italian army forces in the island weren't that strong. It had also showed no Wehrmacht unit at all. This could be partially explained by the fact that the Axis armies had been completely defeated in Libya and so, not even a single unit had been evacuated to Italy.

At sea, Reggia Marina was very weakened after not a brilliant performance in the past years.

Axis air forces strength in the Med was unknown, though. We knew for the heavy Luftwaffe commitment to German 43' Summer offensive (which started in the very same turn that Allies sent their landing units to Sicily) and for the fighters deployed in Germany vs Allied strategic camapign, that, likely, only Italian air force (which strength wasn't well known after its withdrawal from Libya) would be the one opposing the landings.

There wasn't a strong reason that rendered the landings unadvisable and so, a mighty Allied navy sailed to the southern coasts of Sicily in turn 70 (June 12, 1943). Landings first wave included 3 armoured units (from US, UK and Free France) and Canadian infantry Corps.


Soon (in the very next turn, July 2, 1943), Reggia Aeronautica attacks commenced. Italians had a sizable air force of 3 fighters units, stationed in southern Italy, and 1 TAC, stationed in central Italy and, as expected, no Luftwaffe unit appeared. Air attacks centered on the British LST (which was halved in strength), but also targeted Canadian unit. Allies, no matter the air attacks, went ahead with the landings and so, Patton's I armoured Corps attacked and forced to retreat Italian 6 Corpo whilst the French (De Gaulle) attacked Palermo:



That image is at the end of Allies turn 71. You can see that Canadian infantry, although damaged, landed anyway. You can also see that the 2nd wave was already positioned to land and that Allied BB's started to shore bomb Italian units all around the island. Not showed in the image, bombed UK LST (carrying X armoured Corps) was withdrawn to Tripoli port.


In July 22, 1943 (turn 72) came first serious Italian counterattack. Concentrating their attacks on the leading US armoured, Italians got referred Allied unit battered. Surely, good hits from previous Italian air force attacks paved the way for the Italians that also counted with a well positioned HQ (Roatta) powerful mountain unit (19 Corpo). Allies didn't expect this early harsh response from the Italians and so they unattached Patton HQ from the mauled armoured unit. Anyway, landings continued with the 2nd wave of 4 units getting ashore without problems. Italian defenders in Palermo got much weakened after another attack from the French.


August 11, 1943 (turn 73). In another counterattack, Italians killed battered US armoured unit. Seemingly, Sicily campaign was going to be harder than expected.

Eastern Front, Summer 1943.

At the end of 1942-43 Soviet Winter campaign, Axis forces in the Eastern Front remained really strong. From Karelia to Rostov, Wehrmacht plus Italy and minor Axis countries armies, accounted for a huge armed force with enough units to cover the entire front line, no matter how long that was.

Wehrmacht was particularly strong around Kursk and in the Donets, the spots for a possible Summer offensive. May 1943 turns (68 and 69) went without any attack at all from the Axis. It was in June 12, 1943 (turn 70) that German offensive started:



As showed in the image, it was quite a strong offensive which, on its first round, destroyed 3 Soviet corps units (2 of them Shock units), retook Kursk and mauled a Soviet fighter. Air support from Luftwaffe was massive with 7 fighters and (not showed in the image) 5 TAC's.

In Allies turn, Soviets did not engage and retreated. Several factors influenced on that decision. First, Germany still had slight air superiority in the East, Luftwaffe fighters tech still a little bit ahead of the VVS ones. Second, the bulk of Soviet armoured forces was located further south, in the Donets, whilst the Germans in Kursk enjoyed superiority both in numbers and in tech.


Once Red Army retreated, Germans didn't follow. In July 22, 1943 (turn 72) there was an isolated German attack vs Soviet 44th mountain Army. Allied unit held and became Guards.


Soviets had chosen to play safe this time, maybe wisely.

Western Front 1943.

Only offensive actions from the Allies in this scenario after the failed British landing in Normandy came from RAF SAC's that increasingly engaged in strategic bombings. First bombings of Germany itself came in Autumn 1942, Ruhr resource being heavily attacked and down to 0 PP's in couple of turns.


First half of 1943 (in which USAF joined RAF in the strategic campaign) saw a sharp increase in Allied strategic attacks to Axis cities and resources. Ruhr area (resource, city and oil plant) was left with 0 PP's. To this important loss in PP's due to the attack of Germany owned resources, it would have to add the loss coming from the bombing of Lorraine resource and Paris in France, that had been also the targets. In either case, it wasn't found Luftwaffe opposition at all.


In Summer things changed. At first, Allied bombers attacks extended to other-than-Ruhr-area German cities that also fell within the Allies fighters escorting range. But soon, and in view of Luftwaffe heavy commitment to Summer '43 Axis offensive in Russia, the Allies dared to attack both Berlin and Hamburg. That happened in July 2, 1943 (turn 71), bombers found again no fighter opposition and both cities lost many of their PP's:



Image corresponds to turn 72 (July 22, 1943) just before Allies moves. In Allies turn, SAC's went again after Berlin and Hamburg, succeeding in leaving both capitals with no PP's but this time they encountered the opposition of German fighters based on Eastern Germany and Czechoslovakia which inflicted high losses on the Allied bombers. Those fighters, that likely had been rebased from the Eastern Front (that by that date had become an inactive scenario), made Allied SAC's to sharply stop bombings on Berlin.


Strategic bombings continued all along the year, extending to many other resources and cities in Western Europe. Surely, those bombings drained lots of Axis PP's, significantly affecting its turn by turn income. From this POV, and although losses in Allied SAC's had been important, Allied strategic campaign could be deemed as successful.

MTO, 1943. Sicily.

We left it here with Italians offering a rather stiff resistance to Allied landings. Things improved a bit for the Allies when in August 11, 1943 (turn 74) they finally took Palermo and killed Italian HQ mountain unit in central Sicily. After that, Allies steadily progressed on their Sicily campaign. In turn 75, Messe's Italian 5 Corpo was destroyed, British HQ (Monty) XIII motorised Corps occupying its position in central Sicily:



That image corresponds to turn 76 (October 10, 1943), before Allies moves. In Allies turn, Catania was taken. Italian army units in Sicily were getting so depleted that no serious counterattack was now feared.


October 30, 1943 (turn 77). Italian resistance finally collapsed: after destroying 3 units, Allies reached Messina, defended by 4 Corpo. In this turn, a Free French landing fleet was sent to Sardinia in order to take that island. Italy surrender was getting closer.


November 19, 1943 (turn 78). First attacks on Messina that held at very low strength. In Sardinia, French landed and attacked Cagliari garrison which was left battered.


December 9, 1943 (turn 79). Italians swapped depleted unit in Messina with Italian armoured in an attempt to delay the fall of the city. It didn't work since Allies, through intense air and naval bombings and having got good rolls, took the city anyway. This coupled with the seizure of Cagliari, meant Italy surrender.

Eastern Front, Autumn 1943.

In late Summer, the Axis started a general withdrawal in the East. Important cities like Smolensk, Kursk, Kharkov, Stalino and Rostov were completely abandoned. Thus, Red Army liberated all of those cities without a fight which meant a really welcome increase on USSR income.

Soviets reached the whole length of the Dnepr in October 30, 1943 (Turn 77). That turn was fair weather so VVS operated at will (no Luftwaffe oposition either). This much eased the killing of a SS infantry unit 2xS of Dnepropetrovsk, Soviet 42nd Army, advancing into emptied location:




Image is of that referred 77 turn, at the end of Allies turn and it shows the entire Eastern Front from Leningrad to Black Sea. Notice how strong Axis forces were by then between Kiev and the Dnepr bent.


In turn 78, (November 19, 1943), Germans counterattacked 2xS of Dnepropetrovsk, destroying Soviet 42nd Army and restoring front line there. Severe Winter started at the end of Axis turn.


Referred location (2xS of Dnepropetrovsk) was going to be a hardly fought one during several turns. Due to the strong Soviet armoured presence in this sector, losses in Axis infantry were being considerable but positions were being held rather well.


In turn 80 (December 29, 1943), Soviets attacked on a wide front from Black Sea to Cherkassy. Wide river crossings close to referred city had commenced in the previous turns with Soviet 3rd Guards mountain Army occupying one of the hexes. Aim was to take the city but defending German XL AK, although halved, held. Anyway, Soviet strong push in this sector had succeeded in killing Romanian II Corps located 1xSE of Cherkassy. Meanwhile, S of Dnepropetrovsk, the much stronger Red Army units, widely supported by VVS, had destroyed 2 Axis units: Romanian cavalry and German HQ veteran IX AK. Images below shows front line situation before and after Soviet attacks.

Before:


After:



1944 arrived (January 18, 1944, turn 81) and brought first German counterattacks: veteran HQ (Hoth) XIV PzK counterattacked and destroyed Soviet 4th Tank Army retaking once more the location 2xS of Dnepropetrovsk. Nearby Soviet armoured forces this time could not afford to fail and, in a joint action, they destroyed Hoth's unit. The 2 participating armoured units became Guards.

This first round of combats around the Dnepr had showed that Soviets were going to have to work hard in order to breach Axis defenses along the river.

We continue in the Eastern front.

In the new year, Soviets were going to keep on trying to cross the Dnepr. In turn 82 (February 7, 1944), there was another serious attempt to take Cherkassy, stubbornly defended by German XL AK. Again, referred Axis unit held. Besides, all what Red Army could do in other sectors was to deplete several Axis units like Romanian III Corps and battle hardened German LXIV AK:



Image is at the end of Allies 82 turn.


Given the stiff resistance that Germans were offering in Cherkassy sector (furthermore, Germans swapped depleted XL AK with the stronger VII SS mech), Soviets would have to wait for good weather for trying a new assault there. So, in the following turns they focused in clearing of Axis units the lower Dnepr eastern bank. In 2-3 turns they did so and, as a result, Crimea was cut from main Axis supply.

Battle for the Dnepr had just started.

Western Front, first half of 1944.

After the failed British 1942 landings, Wehrmacht kept a strong army in Normandy. Spotted by USAF and RAF, this 'Normandy army' stood throughout 1943 there. You can check that in the post above referring to 1943 Allied strategic campaign.

Having discarded a landing in Western Front in 1943, Western Allies waited for 1944 to launch such operation.

Obviously, landing operation would have to wait for fair weather to be launched. Britanny was the sector of Western Front coastline chosen. First wave of landings would be an only-American thing. This way, in the Allied 83 turn (February 27, 1944), which had been mud in central Europe, 7 US LST units moved to the coasts of Britanny, hoping for a plausible fair weather turn in March.

Fair weather came in March and with it, the extended spotting range of Allied air units showed this:


Picture above corresponds to turn 84 (March 18, 1944), before Allies moves. You can see how the Germans had used bad weather turns of 1943-44 Winter to send many more Wehrmacht units to Normandy-Britanny sector. The number of Panzerkorps units had been raised from 2 to 4 and Germans counted now with plenty of mobile units either. Germany seemed poised to strongly oppose any Allied landing in this sector.

In light of the above, Allies called off the landings. It wasn't only the strength of German land forces that deterred the Allies from getting ashore but also the unknown strength of Luftwaffe forces in Western Europe. So instead of the landings in Britanny, it was decided to mount a landing operation in Belgium-Holland whilst softening up the potent Wehrmacht units through RAF and USAF attacks.


Then Luftwaffe appeared:


Image is from turn 86 (April 27, 1944), after Axis moves. It shows how a powerful German air force fleet located in France, mounted a big attack against Allied air forces based on the UK. Luftwaffe attacked both fighters and bombers halving many of them. Also, transports that were due to land in Belgium were attacked by German TAC's. In Allies turn, landings in Belgium were called off either whilst Allied air forces did their best to counter Luftwaffe slaughter.


Intense air warfare then stood for couple of turns, both sides sustaining high losses on their air units. Anyway, it was clear that as long as air superiority wasn't achieved by the Allies, no further landings could be tried.

Seemingly, Western Allies will have quite hard to get ashore in Western Europe.