AAR - PBEM Game 3

[GBirkn]

ORIGINAL: MButtazoni

how can you guys reading these AARs stand NOT having this game in your hands to play?

Experience. We've been through years of torture waiting for War in the Pacific to come out, so by now it's old hat. [;)]

[MButtazoni]

quick math on SU factories and resources:

Japan: 1 Fac, 6 Res captured
Germany: 6 Fac, 8 Res captured
Soviets: 6 Factories (this does not count any Factories SU "might" be building), 18 Resources (2 are from Persia)

[Hanal]

ORIGINAL: GBirkn

ORIGINAL: MButtazoni

how can you guys reading these AARs stand NOT having this game in your hands to play?

Experience. We've been through years of torture waiting for War in the Pacific to come out, so by now it's old hat. [;)]

Add to the list, Empires in Arms, Guns of August (since it's ADANAC days) and World in Flames (since God knows when) and you have a grogs experience in waiting....[;)]

[Normal View]

ORIGINAL: MButtazoni

The green arrow indicates the newly opened supply route.

just wanted to make sure you aren't in for a nasty surprise next turn, Normal View... the Persian region has no rail

I'm aware of that. But, once supply is moved there it can be moved further north to rail access either in the Causasus or Western Kazakhstan during my next turn.

[Oleg Mastruko]

Japan - not much to report, we took another resource-producing province in Siberia, but we do feel first supply-related problems. We are spread very thin over enormously huge area. Once the US enters the war we're toast. Our aims right now are akin to Kamikaze weapon - we will help Germans beat Russia to pulp, and if we have to die in the process so be it.

Oleg

[mavraam]

how can you guys reading these AARs stand NOT having this game in your hands to play? To me, it's the best computer game since Harpoon I.

Its simple. I CAN'T!

Tried to get on beta team but never heard back. [:(]

Must be full!

[neuromancer]

ORIGINAL: Oleg Mastruko

Japan - not much to report, we took another resource-producing province in Siberia, but we do feel first supply-related problems. We are spread very thin over enormously huge area. Once the US enters the war we're toast. Our aims right now are akin to Kamikaze weapon - we will help Germans beat Russia to pulp, and if we have to die in the process so be it.

Aha! Just as we thought.

You can take it, but you can't keep it. Any determined counter-attack, and BOOT, you're outa there!

And definitely have to have the Germans in the West keeping SU attention, or JA gets squished.


However, the Kamikazi war may not be a good idea. In Game 2 when JA got squished so fast by the US, it meant that the Germans were SOL. The Axis has to keep WA attention split between two theatres (once the US is in the war).

[MButtazoni]

j campbell is back now, so who is doing the SU turn Normal View or j campbell?

Oleg, who did you email the turn to?

[Oleg Mastruko]

ORIGINAL: MButtazoni

j campbell is back now, so who is doing the SU turn Normal View or j campbell?

Oleg, who did you email the turn to?

Mailed it to NV. Will there be a coup in the Politburo, with comrade Campbell ousting Normal View? [:D] We'll see, Soviets must be pretty desperate now anyway [:D]

O.

[MButtazoni]

ORIGINAL: neuromancer

ORIGINAL: Oleg Mastruko

Japan - not much to report, we took another resource-producing province in Siberia, but we do feel first supply-related problems. We are spread very thin over enormously huge area. Once the US enters the war we're toast. Our aims right now are akin to Kamikaze weapon - we will help Germans beat Russia to pulp, and if we have to die in the process so be it.

Aha! Just as we thought.

You can take it, but you can't keep it. Any determined counter-attack, and BOOT, you're outa there!

And definitely have to have the Germans in the West keeping SU attention, or JA gets squished.


However, the Kamikazi war may not be a good idea. In Game 2 when JA got squished so fast by the US, it meant that the Germans were SOL. The Axis has to keep WA attention split between two theatres (once the US is in the war).

[:D] isn't this the exact thing you want to see in a strategic game? does this sound like a game full of replayability? man, i love this game...

[neuromancer]

ORIGINAL: MButtazoni
[:D] isn't this the exact thing you want to see in a strategic game? does this sound like a game full of replayability? man, i love this game...

Oh agreed!

That is the joy of strategy games, trying out weird strategies and finding out if they work, or not (such as trying an 'East First' strategy in Totaler Krieg). And the nice thing about this game is it is fast enough playing that you can try out new strategies, and see the results in a reasonable amount of time. And then next game try another strategy, but it won't be so far off you no longer remember what you did last time!


At the beginning of this AAR it was felt that the USSR was too weak in the East and that Japan could take it too easily. Hwever, as I think this game has been shown, that was too simplistic a statement. By ignoring China, they were able to become a pain in Japan's big red butt. And there is a lot of the USSR to take, and holding it spreads Japan pretty thin. Plus of course the wonderful logistics issues - probabbly one of the strongest features in this game over many other strategy games - is making the Japanese Siberian Adventure a lot more interesting than Japan would probably like.

Yes, when it comes out, I will get it.

The other nice thing is that it is still basically simple enough that two of my friends that don't normally play strategy games like this, would be willing to play. But it is still deep enough that it should keep the interest of another friend of mine - and me too - despite that normally we play 'monster' strategy games.

This basic simplicty, and yet depth, is a big, BIG point in WaW's favour over something like Strategic Command, which I felt was a one shot wonder, after we played one game, we had no interest in a rematch. Even A&A had more replayability than SC (IMnsHO).

[Normal View]

Spring 1941

The Soviets were able to launch a series of counter-attacks this turn. In the south Rostov was liberated by units from several neighboring territories. Yarslavl was retaken by units from Gorki and Moscow. The paratroopers stationed in Moscow landed in Velikiye Luki and were able to capture it with the sacrifice of one infantry unit from Kalinin.

Overall the situation has improved somewhat, but I'm not confident that the defenses will hold. While the tactical situation is better our strategic situation is still unstable. It's going to take a while to repair our damaged resources and factories even if we are able to hold our current positions.

We were able to take no action against the Japanese except for ritual chest thumping across the border.

The screenshot shows the current situation and where we attacked.

[Normal View]

ORIGINAL: neuromancer

At the beginning of this AAR it was felt that the USSR was too weak in the East and that Japan could take it too easily. Hwever, as I think this game has been shown, that was too simplistic a statement. By ignoring China, they were able to become a pain in Japan's big red butt. And there is a lot of the USSR to take, and holding it spreads Japan pretty thin. Plus of course the wonderful logistics issues - probabbly one of the strongest features in this game over many other strategy games - is making the Japanese Siberian Adventure a lot more interesting than Japan would probably like.

The logistical situation is the only thing keeping me alive right now. Of course, I'm having my share of problems as well. When Archangel was captured I lost my best supply drop from the west. The only other option is Persia and that requires an extra turn to get the supplies on the railroads so they can be moved. And I don't have enough resources, or factories or units, etc...

Trying to get your forces in position to defend or attack can be nerve wracking if you don't have enough to cover everything. I'm interested in seeing how long I can stall the enemy. Only one and a half years to go.

[paullus99]

London, Spring 1941 -

Well, once again Churchill has put his foot down & an operation was launched against my better judgment & once again the Prime Minister has proven himself an able wartime leader. With the Russian situation not improving as much as we would have liked, we were ordered to take aggressive action in Western Europe.

As such, Operation Spoiler was launched - consisting of Canadian troops, our entire carrier air arm & the might of the RAF, against German positions in Northern France. Not only were we successful in destroying most of the German combat power there, we were also successful in taking Northern France itself.

The Germans will be able to easily take back the area, but it will cost them in supplies & redeployments from the Eastern Front (although plenty of German armor has been sighted in Central Europe anyway - away from the front lines).

We also continued to provide supplies to our Russian allies, hopefully allowing them to continue their offensive operations against the invading Germans & beginning offensive operations against the Japanese.

[paullus99]

China - Spring 1941

Not much to report here - some slight redeployments, but basically we're waiting for supplies. We await the Summer Campaign season - the Japanese garrisons in China are about to pay for their successes up north.

[MButtazoni]

(although plenty of German armor has been sighted in Central Europe anyway - away from the front lines).

heh, funny story about all those panzers in Germany, I DON'T HAVE THE LOGISTICS TO MOVE THEM, arrrggghhh. (please don't tell Hitler [:-]).

i would gladly trade in 3 of those panzers for 60 supply i could have produced instead. (my fingers just shake typing 6 0 !)

[MButtazoni]

Well the SU counterattack was unwelcome but he needed to do it. His supply situation looks bad, i see a lot of supply packed on wagons and burros making the trek through Persia to the Caucusus, that left very little in Western Russia. In fact he has 0 supply in Moscow. So that was my objective this turn, to take advantage of his supply situation in Moscow.

Here are my attacks fro the turn, the PURPLE lines were phase 1 of the attack to open up some space for my panzers to move, then the RED lines are where my panzers were finally allowed to Blitzkrieg into Gorki (with some Heavy Air support):

[MButtazoni]

and here is Moscow surrounded after the succesful attack, with the units in Moscow being higlighted at the bottom of the screen.

[MButtazoni]

The SU production picture is as follows:

Moscow (currently isolated) : Factories: 2 , Resources: 1
the rest of SU: Factories: 3 + 1 damaged / Resources: 15 + 2 from Persia + 2 damaged

with GE tanks adjacent to 5 of the 6 remaining SU Factoires this should put the fear of Fascism into the SU player [:D]

[MButtazoni]

Important note to playtesters: I converted this game to the new version 1.900 Alpha