Difficulty: General, chess mode
My plan was to achieve a DV in V1.9. I made this with an earlier version in 99 rounds. My goal was to make it in shorter time even if the mod became more difficult in the past.
Plan for 41/42/43:
Land troops in England (south coast) in winter 41/42.
Land troops in Syria near Aleppo in winter 41/42.
Rudel will immediately fly to Malta in the hope to defeat the fortress even before winter 41/42.
The Afrika Korps shall capture Tobruk and defend it against all British counter attacks.
The attack on Russia will not be postponed. Even without main core of the experience tank forces (6 divisions will be used in England/Syria and Stugs, artillery, Grenadiers) I will try to capture first Moscow, later Leningrad to decrease the Russian prestige income.
Kiev pocket will be ignored. The Caucasus will be ignored.
The German U-Boote and some surface vessels will not harass the Allied convoy routes but immediately go in position to support the operation Seelöwe in the English Channel.
In the west the elite of the Luftwaffe will take on the fight against the RAF in France and England.
Plan for 43/44/45:
With the troops at Aleppo move east to capture the British oil fields. After securing the oil fields the troops will have to move west again to capture Syria and Palestine.
Defeat England.
Stop operation Torch in Tunisia with the Tiger division.
Stop second British attack on Tobruk and then move east with the Afrika Korps to capture Egypt.
Resist the strong Russian counter attack starting winter 42/43 mainly with infantry and PAK. Afterwards advance to Stalingrad and Archangelsk (enforced by tank, anti-tank, Flak troops coming from England and Africa).
Reach the strategic cities at the Volga River before round 99 and defeat the Soviet Union.
Defeat the British Empire and the Soviet Union before round 99 to get a DV.
Round 15 (January 42)
A beach head was established at Aleppo with two Gebirgsjäger and IIIJ tank (the rest of the invasion force is still on the way to the Syrian coast). Cyprus was captured to have the airport in spring 42.
A beach head was established south of Bristol including the air field. Two IVF tanks and 2 StugIII artillery.
Heavy fighting south of Tobruk to stop the British tanks.
Fort of Malta not defeated yet (shot down to strength 6). One ship of a British convoy sneaked through my blockade triggering new Briritsh fighter planes at Malta delaying the bombing of the fort by Rudel.
Wehrmacht reached area south west of Moscow. By upgrading all light tanks to III tanks and Flammpanzer I spent already all my prestige. I had 6 IIIx tanks at the Ostfront all involved in the attack on Moscow.
Round 20 (March 42)
Malta captured. Sent Rudel to Tobruk to support against the British tanks
Round 22 (May 42)
Troops in Syria reached the Euphrates River but still long way to Baghdad.
Western defense of Tobruk destroyed but still British tanks in the area preventing the Korps to enter Tobruk.
Bristol captured. Now 15 divisions fighting in England.
Moscow captured. Orel and Kursk in German hands. Plan is now to send 2x artillery and 2x Flammpanzer via ships to Finland to support the Finnish attack on Leningrad from the north.
Round 25 (June 42)
Tobruk captured by the Afrika Korps.
Round 40 (January 43)
Baghdad and the oilfield captured by the Wehrmacht but the airfield still in British hands.
German troops reached Liverpool and Manchester. It is essential to defeat England quickly to send back the tanks to the Ostfront where they will be urgently needed soon.
Northern part of Leningrad captured by the Axis.
Continuous Russian attacks to recapture Moscow. I left three IIIL/M in the Moscow area and sent the three others south to Kursk and Karkhov.
Expected strong Russian counterattack hits German defense line at Donets River (Kharkov, Izyum, Stalino)
Round 48 (May 43)
England defeated. Start to send back troops to the continent. Used harbor of Plymouth after removing one of the sea mines with destroyers and tactical bomber.
Round 50 (June 43)
In Iraq the Wehrmacht is on the way to Basra to capture the second oil field (lifting the oil shortcut for the heavy Axis battleships)
The Afrika Korps is on the way to Mersa Matruh.
In Tunisia the Americans reached the Axis defense belt around Tunis. Main Axis defense forces (16 divisions) are the Tiger, a StugIIIG, 2x 88er Flak and 2x artillery. Plus a strong Airforce including Rudel’s Stukas.
In the east near Moscow the front line is stable. Also in the center near Kursk the front line is (still) stable but under heavy pressure as the Russians bring more and more artillery in position forcing more and more German infantry to surrender. Two Panther D divisions defend Moscow.
In the south the German front line crushed and was taken back to Dnjepopetrovsk. Also Kharkov was lost. A Panther D and the Ferdinand try to bring the Red Army to a halt.
Mid game I was very satisfied with the situation. Tunis and Tobruk well defended. Iraq soon to be captured completely. The drawbacks in Russia were expected due to the lack of tanks. England defeated and now 50 rounds time to finish the Russians. Easy going? I thought but I was so wrong.
Round 52 (August 43)
The decision was made in Tunisia. Wehrmacht destroyed four American tank divisions in one round breaking the neck of the Amercian Torch operation.
Round 55 (September 43)
Basra and the second oil field captured.
Leningrad captured.
Increasing losses especially of infantry at the whole eastern front line. Already 26 core slots free.
Round 65 (January 44)
Started to attack the British defense west of Egypt with a Panther A plus 4 artilleries.
The Tiger has left Tunisia via ship to go to the Ostfront.
The Wehrmacht captured northern Iraq moving back west.
Now 32 core slots free but it looks like the main Russian troops in the east are defeated. Wehrmacht stands east of Moscow and in the very south the Wehrmacht starts to recapture the lost terrain. Next goal is to reach Stalingrad as quickly as possible.
Round 75 (July 44)
Wehrmacht is capturing Beirut.
German Panzerspitzen reach Cairo from the west.
All heavy weapons from Tunisia are on the way to the Ostfront.
Now 40 core slots open and in the last 10 rounds to further approach at Moscow due to more and more Red Army tanks coming from the east.
From Leningrad some infantry and artillery divisions try to move east to reach Vologda but also here T34 are coming.
In the center no chance to cross the Don River east.
Only in the very south the troops can move undisturbed to reach Stalingrad soon. But the city is well defended with entrenched Soviet troops.
In the far north two Finish divisions, two Flammpanzer and an artillery try to cross the Onega River to reach Archangelsk.
Round 82 (October 44)
The British Empire is defeated. Now 18 rounds left to finish Russia. Every tank, anti-tank, Flak, bomber, plane from Africa and Near East will be sent to the Ostfront.
In the far north the Axis starts to attack the Red army defense at Archangelsk.
Full stop at Moscow! On the Red Army side I see 3x IS-2 heavy tanks, several T34-85, ISU-152 and SU-100 plus countless infantry and artillery. The rest is hidden in the fog of war. I have sent my best troops here including the Tiger and 3x Panther D. More I can’t afford because in the whole central frontline also Russian T34-85 tanks move west binding 3 of my Panthers and 3 anti-tank divisions to stop the Red Army breaking through at the Don River to the west.
Prestige is sufficient but time is running out. My strategy is to force surrenders in the Moscow area by flooding the battle field with Hetzers. 9 are already active in the Moscow area and two more near Kursk.
A second idea to get a quicker decision in the center is to retreat from the Don and allow the Russians to bring their troops on the western side. There the superior Panthers can attack from multiple sides destroying the Red Army.
The rest of the troops including massive artillery forces will start the attack on Stalingrad next round.
Round 90 (January 45)
Main core of the Near East armies landed at the beaches south of Plovdiv in Romania to move east via rail.
Stalingrad is captured.
Vologda is captured by the troops coming from Leningrad.
In the far north the Axis reached the city of Archangelsk.
East of Moscow the Wehrmacht is slowly pressing back the Red Army with 3x Panther, Tiger, 10x Hetzer.
In the center the strategy to fight the Red Army in open terrain worked and the Don River will be crossed at Voronezh.
There are only 10 rounds left to reach Astrakhan, Saratov, Kuybyshev (most difficult), Uljanovsk and Gorky. The plan is to reach Gorky first with the troops from Vologda and Moscow and capture it quickly. This will open the way to Uljanovsk. From Stalingrad an army has to move south east to reach Astrakhan. And the main core from Stalingrad has to move north to reach Saratov. If the Russians have still some reserves in this area (as expected) a wonder will be needed to reach Kuybyshev at all until round 99.
Round 96 (May 45)
Gorky was taken quickly and the troops moved quickly to Uljanovsk to attack the city with tanks and bombers (no time to move artillery or infantry there).
Astrakhan was captured and Archangelsk, too.
Saratov is attacked from the west with tanks and even Hetzers.
As expected there are strong Russian forces on the eastern Volga River side that prevent the Wehrmacht from Stalingrad to move north. But on the western side tank forces can move quickly and nearly unharmed north. But the western side is the wrong side to reach Kuybvshev because the Volga River can’t be crossed except in the defended cities.
The plan for Kuybvshev is to destroy the fort with tactical bombers and let jump the Fallschirmjägers (from Crete) directly in the city to save the DV.
Round 97 (June 45)
It became clear that the tactical bombers will not be quick enough to destroy the fort in Kuybyshev. So the Fallschirmjägers parachuted near the city but came under immediate Russian attack.
By attacking Stavropol from west and south with tanks it was possible to destroy the Russian defenders opening the way for the Hetzers.
Round 98 (June 45)
One Hetzer reached Kuybyshev and with the help of bombers destroyed the fort. In round 98 the Fallschirmjägers entered the city and defended it against the Russian counter attack.
Total victory in round 98! Mission accomplished
What could be improved:
@McGuba. Pls. make the Ferdinand and the Jagdtiger repairable. Again thanks for maintaining this mod!