My idea for this mini-AAR was originally prompted by rkr's suggestion that we do sGame Summary Reports for GS 2.1.
viewtopic.php?f=78&t=35215
This isn't meant to be a full AAR, but it does contain my impressions from key parts of the game and a little behind-the-scenes glimpse into how I've played the Axis. I originally planned to post this as a mini-AAR or Game Summary Report after the game was over. But since richardsd is doing an AAR or our game (which I'll be interested to read when we're done), I thought it might be more enjoyable if I posted what I have so far. So here goes!
ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
Moderators: Happycat, rkr1958, Slitherine Core
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
How we got here.
1939-Fall of Casablanca (early 1941)
My original plans were somewhat different than the strategy I ultimately pursued. I was unable to land in Norway due to bad weather in Fall of 1939, but there was an inconclusive engagement there in which I also hurt British forces dispatched to counter-land. I began to consider the decline-Vichy option when I sunk a French heavy fleet in this engagement. Bad weather continued through the February turns of 1940, delaying my attack on Belgium and France. I commenced the attack when the weather cleared.
Before France fell, I weighed the decline-Vichy option. On the plus side, the French army was basically destroyed or surrounded. On the minus side, the French fighter (barely) survived to fly another day. What finally decided it was the success of the Italians in Algeria, bolstered by the lack of Allied naval power in the Western Mediterranean. The Italians feinted toward Tunis initially, drawing away the French land forces, leading to the fall of the Algerian ports. Considering the position in Algeria, I felt that I could then take Tunis and march on Casablanca with time to spare if I declined Vichy. I did not take Paris until August of 1940!
Generally, things worked out the way I had hoped. I rushed German reinforcements to the Mediterranean. Tunis was isolated and ultimately fell to amphibious attack supported by airpower. The Allies dispatched a strong force to Casablanca, but I was able to overwhelm them in approximately May of 1941. By that time, Axis forces had also invaded Egypt. The British had generally left garrisons in the cities and pulled back to Iraq.
1939-Fall of Casablanca (early 1941)
My original plans were somewhat different than the strategy I ultimately pursued. I was unable to land in Norway due to bad weather in Fall of 1939, but there was an inconclusive engagement there in which I also hurt British forces dispatched to counter-land. I began to consider the decline-Vichy option when I sunk a French heavy fleet in this engagement. Bad weather continued through the February turns of 1940, delaying my attack on Belgium and France. I commenced the attack when the weather cleared.
Before France fell, I weighed the decline-Vichy option. On the plus side, the French army was basically destroyed or surrounded. On the minus side, the French fighter (barely) survived to fly another day. What finally decided it was the success of the Italians in Algeria, bolstered by the lack of Allied naval power in the Western Mediterranean. The Italians feinted toward Tunis initially, drawing away the French land forces, leading to the fall of the Algerian ports. Considering the position in Algeria, I felt that I could then take Tunis and march on Casablanca with time to spare if I declined Vichy. I did not take Paris until August of 1940!
Generally, things worked out the way I had hoped. I rushed German reinforcements to the Mediterranean. Tunis was isolated and ultimately fell to amphibious attack supported by airpower. The Allies dispatched a strong force to Casablanca, but I was able to overwhelm them in approximately May of 1941. By that time, Axis forces had also invaded Egypt. The British had generally left garrisons in the cities and pulled back to Iraq.
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
Mid-1941 to Early-1942
The fall of Casablanca brought in Spain and opened up options for a landing in Britain. The British had invested in the Casablanca venture, much of the British fleet was away, although the British still had some defensive forces. Unfortunately, the Axis had also been busy spending much time, effort, and commitment of its best troops to Africa. I began a build-up for a possible Sealion, watched, and waited for a few turns.
Sealion commenced with a landing by both paratroopers isolating and attacking Norwich, which held out the first turn (barely). At the time, the forces assembled were rather rag-tag, with strong Axis minor airforces supporting a growing Luftwaffe. The next turn Norwich fell easily, and the Germans landed good ground forces while blocking naval intervention. I then had (1) a supply source, (2) ground to land additional troops, (3) the ability to move toward London from the North, but unfortunately no port! I basically landed as many high-quality troops as I could before bad weather hits to expand the beach-head and isolate London. I burned a ton of oil keeping the second-rate Axis airforces hard at work as the Luftwaffe gains some strength during the operation. (Remember much of it was fairly far away at the time.) In the meantime, the Axis continued the offensive in the Middle East.
What was my plan if I didn’t do Sealion? As I say, I waffled on whether to attempt it but was ultimately persuaded for the reasons above. I think my Axis would have been in a weaker position, but I don’t think that would have meant “game over” for me. I would have been able to devote current resources used in Sealion to help in the invasion of Iraq. I think this would have made it much more rapid and meant a much stronger German force in this theatre when Russia was attacked in 1942. On that point, I would also have had a stronger force to attack Russia with in 1942 and more oil to burn.
The fall of Casablanca brought in Spain and opened up options for a landing in Britain. The British had invested in the Casablanca venture, much of the British fleet was away, although the British still had some defensive forces. Unfortunately, the Axis had also been busy spending much time, effort, and commitment of its best troops to Africa. I began a build-up for a possible Sealion, watched, and waited for a few turns.
Sealion commenced with a landing by both paratroopers isolating and attacking Norwich, which held out the first turn (barely). At the time, the forces assembled were rather rag-tag, with strong Axis minor airforces supporting a growing Luftwaffe. The next turn Norwich fell easily, and the Germans landed good ground forces while blocking naval intervention. I then had (1) a supply source, (2) ground to land additional troops, (3) the ability to move toward London from the North, but unfortunately no port! I basically landed as many high-quality troops as I could before bad weather hits to expand the beach-head and isolate London. I burned a ton of oil keeping the second-rate Axis airforces hard at work as the Luftwaffe gains some strength during the operation. (Remember much of it was fairly far away at the time.) In the meantime, the Axis continued the offensive in the Middle East.
What was my plan if I didn’t do Sealion? As I say, I waffled on whether to attempt it but was ultimately persuaded for the reasons above. I think my Axis would have been in a weaker position, but I don’t think that would have meant “game over” for me. I would have been able to devote current resources used in Sealion to help in the invasion of Iraq. I think this would have made it much more rapid and meant a much stronger German force in this theatre when Russia was attacked in 1942. On that point, I would also have had a stronger force to attack Russia with in 1942 and more oil to burn.
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
- Jan. 42, After Fall of London
- January1942 Cropped.JPG (153.12 KiB) Viewed 6940 times
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
January of 1942, start of Axis turn. With London falling after a lengthy siege (thanks to a very tough defense by the British troops there and the weather), the Axis is focused on taking Liverpool and then mopping up resistance. Richardsd’s garrison-heavy strategy really slowed me down in England and burned a ton of oil, but it also didn’t cause much losses to the Axis forces. The key is to get England locked down and prepare for the best Barbarossa I can muster, building troops I have neglected to build while focused elsewhere. The oil situation is a little concerning, but I think I can lock down Iraq before Russia gets involved and then march on Tehran when Barbarossa starts. I did make one significant mistake that was really annoying – and that was accidentally moving a troop into Iraq about 3 turns before I was ready to invade – cutting off the Russian oil gift to Germany!
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
- July of 1942 Duncan's Plan
- July of 1942 Oil.JPG (183.27 KiB) Viewed 6937 times
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
July of 1942. Situation is serious, but not critical yet. After a big initial bump in oil production thanks to the mid-East fields coming online, the Russians unleash their fiendish plan to cripple the Axis war-machine. This was what I would call a small surprise – not a big one as force pool totals had indicated the Russian airforce was rather huge. I should have done a couple things to initially help counter this, such as put a fighter in Ploesti and put the fighter in Iraq on one of the fields there. Ah well – the objective of Armee Group South is to push forward, regardless of cost, and keep the Russians away from Ploesti. I have placed the strongest Axis forces in a position to do this. I will try to keep 20-30 oil at the end of each turn so that (hopefully) the Russians don’t initially realize how serious my oil situation is. I will also occasionally waste a few points of oil with this same end in mind.
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
- Case Blue 1943 Plan
- CaseBluePlan.JPG (144.37 KiB) Viewed 6934 times
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
- Case Blue Forces and Estimates
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Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
May of 1943 - Case Blue, 1943 Style.
Over the winter, the Axis saved up enough oil to be somewhere in the mid-300’s. This was helped in part by Ploesti coming back, poor weather in the mid-East, and great progress in German industrial tech during 1942! German economy is humming along at about 210-225 or so, depending on bombing. Italian economy is about 42. Still, I expect 1943 to be increasingly tough for the Axis, and I would not be surprised to see something of a collapse in 1944. The objective for 1943, then, is to take advantage of current Axis land superiority in numbers and quality. My review of the total force estimates has been very helpful in this respect – indicating the Russians were very weak in 1942 in terms of land troops in Russia (hence my aggressive behavior and willing to initially trade to get the upperhand – the other reason is that the bombing of Ploesti coupled with Russian bombing in Persia/Iraq would have quickly crippled the Axis despite improving industrial tech). They’ve come back in some respects, are still much weaker than the Axis in Russia itself (at least I think so)! An offensive here should help keep the Soviets away from Ploesti until 1944, which is very important to maintain enough oil to fight. A spoiling attack in Scotland is already underway, but is tougher than expected thanks to Allied air. In Persia, I can’t see that I can do much more than try to hold the Russians off. Significant reinforcements over the Winter kept them from making much progress, but the Allied sub attack this turn may make further reinforcement difficult. Still, I’ll try to spare a few more units as the Russians are currently fighting at a bit of a disadvantage thanks to supply concerns. Note that additional forces have been built and will be arriving in theater to reinforce the operation!
Over the winter, the Axis saved up enough oil to be somewhere in the mid-300’s. This was helped in part by Ploesti coming back, poor weather in the mid-East, and great progress in German industrial tech during 1942! German economy is humming along at about 210-225 or so, depending on bombing. Italian economy is about 42. Still, I expect 1943 to be increasingly tough for the Axis, and I would not be surprised to see something of a collapse in 1944. The objective for 1943, then, is to take advantage of current Axis land superiority in numbers and quality. My review of the total force estimates has been very helpful in this respect – indicating the Russians were very weak in 1942 in terms of land troops in Russia (hence my aggressive behavior and willing to initially trade to get the upperhand – the other reason is that the bombing of Ploesti coupled with Russian bombing in Persia/Iraq would have quickly crippled the Axis despite improving industrial tech). They’ve come back in some respects, are still much weaker than the Axis in Russia itself (at least I think so)! An offensive here should help keep the Soviets away from Ploesti until 1944, which is very important to maintain enough oil to fight. A spoiling attack in Scotland is already underway, but is tougher than expected thanks to Allied air. In Persia, I can’t see that I can do much more than try to hold the Russians off. Significant reinforcements over the Winter kept them from making much progress, but the Allied sub attack this turn may make further reinforcement difficult. Still, I’ll try to spare a few more units as the Russians are currently fighting at a bit of a disadvantage thanks to supply concerns. Note that additional forces have been built and will be arriving in theater to reinforce the operation!
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
You captured lots of ground, but IMO it will bite you in the ass, because you are too overstretched. Killing Allied units is good, but without the ability to concentrate your strength in one theatre there is only so much you can do... The biggest problem is that the Sea Lion took much time and that the Allies have a foothold in GB. However, as long as you control southern GB, you keep the Allied STRATs away, which means that you should have enough oil to survive thanks to synthetic oil plants.
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
I don't think there will be any major biting of the Axis's posterior, after all! I planned to post something about 1944, but it has been relatively noneventful. What I do have is some casualty reports. The first is from the beginning of 1944, which reflects the bloody battles of 1943. As 1944 began, I was thinking that it could be a difficult year but that I had captured a lot of ground and had much room to retreat. So my plan was generally to inflict some losses and sieze opportunities that were presented against the Allies. To this end, I plan on taking advantage of the qualitatively much superior dogfighting skills of the Luftwaffe, which does get some reinforcement!
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
Here is that early '44 casualty report - from near the beginning of the year. Note the significant Allied airlosses. Air is my friend. Airlosses cost a lot of PP's, which I have, but very little manpower, which is beginning to get tighter. I also have excellent quality dogfighting skills, which I have been focusing on for a long time. Note also the significant Soviet losses from the bloody battles in Russia and Persia.
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- 1944Casualties.jpg (68.51 KiB) Viewed 6833 times
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
One last screenshot to give you a flavour for the last, relatively uneventful year. Unbeknownst to me, the Allies had reached a bit of a tipping point by mid-1944. I was actually able to do some offensives in Russia ane Britain during the last year of the war. Nothing spectacular, but it was interesting (from my standpoint). Here is a screenshot that shows force totals (and estimates) from the Axis side near the end of the game.
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- Nearendforces.JPG (61.13 KiB) Viewed 6782 times
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
And that's a wrap! The game ends with the Axis in control of London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin - so it is an Axis overwhelming victory. It didn't feel too overwhelming, however, during 1942-1943! richardsd is a great opponent, and this game was a bit of a nailbiter during the middle period! He is also a good sport for playing 1944-1945 out.
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
Wow, congratulations. It's hard to get anything other than Minor Victory against a good opponent...
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
except he wasn;t playing a good opponentCybvep wrote:Wow, congratulations. It's hard to get anything other than Minor Victory against a good opponent...
I messed up with teh Russian builds very badly - lesson, don't assume!Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
I wouldn't see yourself so short. You kept me on my toes until '43!
But I'm sure you're right - the Russians went a little too heavily toward airpower. If you had more ground troops, it would have been much tougher! I also think tech played a big role. I think in a game where the Russians are having to do the heavy-lifting, they really need a few good tank units in the mid and later war.
But I'm sure you're right - the Russians went a little too heavily toward airpower. If you had more ground troops, it would have been much tougher! I also think tech played a big role. I think in a game where the Russians are having to do the heavy-lifting, they really need a few good tank units in the mid and later war.
Re: ncali v. richardsd's Allies GS 2.1 Mini AAR / GSR
richardsd wrote:except he wasn;t playing a good opponentCybvep wrote:Wow, congratulations. It's hard to get anything other than Minor Victory against a good opponent...
Is this the Richardsd who had beaten me down on the ground ??
Good luck in next game !