Aussiematto (Allies) v amandkm (Axis) AAR 1.07 full game

[amandkm]

And now comes round two, swapping sides, can I manage to change History?

Japan moves cautiously, advancing upon Changshi, overwhelming an exposed Chinese Corps. In the Mediterranean, the Italians take advantage of relative peace to get some needed training time.

News of Polish outrages leads to war, and the Luftwaffe, having crept into forward positions, leads the way with a three-wave assault upon Warsaw. Combined with Infantry and Armor strike, the Capital falls in short order. Surely surrender will soon follow, but the brave Poles do not yet capitulate, even with the heavy losses suffered.

[amandkm]

A second series of attacks destroys several Polish formations, leading the Rydz-Smigly regime to sue for peace. In the west, a French advance into the Saar is repulsed and a riposte nearly destroys a French army in the field. Central China is the scene of the bloodiest fighting in the east, as a Chinese army cowering behind fortifications, is routed. The Axis are content for their performance to date, but the entry of several of the Commonwealth nations into the war is sobering news indeed.

[Aussiematto]

Outrageous fascist aggression in Poland cannot be ignored. Even Chamberlain demands action. France and Britain "come to Poland's aid" by sitting quietly in their barracks and ports, aside from the desultory advance into the Saar, followed by a hasty retreat. Poles are not surprised, given the history of their nation, and nevertheless continue the fight until utterly overwhelmed. China reacts like a lumbering sleeping dragon, slowly getting itself into position to avenge the brutal invasion. Raw consscript peasants, armed with muskets and a few rifles, are no match for Japanese skill. Changsha looks doomed!

Meanwhile Stalin initiates 5-MONTH plan for technology development and wonders if it was wise killing off all his generals except the dumb party loyalists...

[John B.]

Hooray for another AAR!

[amandkm]

More slow, but measurable progress in China, as two more armies are mown down by the Veteran Japanese Army. The Chinese have a seemingly bottomless well of manpower, though.

In the West, forces freed with the fall of Poland are given leave to visit home. Funny how many seem to live near the Low Countries, though...

[Aussiematto]

China reels at the onslaught! General Feng marshalls a defence of Yanku, and sends emissaries to Mao pleading for help. General Zhu holds Chengchow, throwing back an overeager army at the northern defences. Peng maintains a watching brief opposite Wuhan... armies there not yet engaged in their deep defences. And China dispatches Xue to provide command in the south, where Changsha is under severe threat from elite armies: he ordered III Corps to make a heroic sacrifice in front of the city, knowing all too well this unit will be tossed aside and every man killed. Nothing yet threatens Nanning, but the troops look nervously over their river line to the quiet Jap forces there.

Spies reveal that, contrary to some forecasts, the Axis forces are focused on immediate building and deployment - limited new research is currently being undertaken though in time that will change, no doubt.

No real sign yet of the U-boat menace: is the Kriegsmarine plotting something more daring or hiding its strength for later? Equally the RN is comfortable to let Norway earn its keep propping up the Nazi economy... they will keep!

And now Tommy waves across the Libyan border to some Italians who are enjoying a late-year holiday in the sand. Hm. I wonder what they are up to?

[Aussiematto]

III Corps has been duly sacrificed to defend the women and children of Changsha... utterly destroyed and yet, now the 12th Army steps forward to seek glory in total war. Furious research efforts are underway to build weapons that might give China a fighting chance, even as its paltry airforce is shot from the skies by IJN pilots, practicing no doubt for a sterner foe in the Pacific in coming years. The SHQ ponders the battle field - so far, Japan is moving slowly. The 3-army and air assault on Changsha is as many predicted but the cluster of armies defending Tsingyuan is a surprise. Perhaps they mean to assault the north? And, south, our trade still survives - no sense yet of Nanning being a target and Chnegchow has been probed but not attacked

Everywhere else, it's the phony war...

[amandkm]

Early snow freezes the Western front, given the lack of allied action, perhaps they intend to sue for peace? That foxy Chamberlain could be up to something...

Combined air and land strikes send the 12th army into the undying lands to join their fellows, yet perhaps their sacrifice was not in vain, as they manage to shoot down a number of Japanese planes. Combined Fleet HQ notes with concern just how slow their pilot training programs take. Perhaps some thought should be paid to that?

[Cpuncher]

I nominate this one for the best AAR award. Very pleasant to read and gives a clear picture of the situation. It will be nicer though if there can be a month/date associated with the actions. Also we are still demanding screenshots (like the old saying: a picture is worth 1000 ...).

[amandkm]

Feb 1940, Brussels falls and French forces are pushed back, the remaining Belgian forces mopped up in short order. A probing corps takes Lille and finds a line of British Defenders from the Channel to the neighborhood of Paris. Tommy is making a stand.

In the east, two more Chinese armies are gravely damaged, but neither destroyed. (Note: I had destroyed one in my first move, but the PBEM server didn't upload the move, so I had to redo it, with lesser results)

Also, I had a picture, but it was from the first move, so have to wait a month before I am able to illustrate the offensive/

[amandkm]

Mar 1940, The blitzkrieg continues, as a demoralized French army disintegrates under German attack. Off Kenya, the Graff Spee sights a flotilla of transports and, after ordering them to heave to, opens fire, sending the Smuts HQ to a watery grave.

Weather in the north of China freezes the lines in place, but continued attacks off Changsha claim another Chinese army, and the last line of fortification screening the city are destroyed. Surely the city cannot long hold?

[amandkm]

April, 1940. The German push continues, with the maginot line being pierced and French armies screening Paris being swept aside. A panzer division, under sustained air assault, reels backward in disarray, but reserves are deployed to sustain the assault.

The RN belatedly finds Graff Spee and does significant damage, but not quite sinking the raider.

In China, no armies are lost, but heavy losses are inflicted upon the Chinese defenders.

(Tale of the tape, Chinese losses stay above the MPP line, so they are getting weaker

[Aussiematto]

So the fight continues.

In China, Xue commands a line of corps, holding Nanning, Kwelin, and Hengyang, with no real,pressure there.General Peng is responsible for Changsha where all the action is. The forts are gone and armies hold the city and the road to the west. New forces are being thrown in there. A brave thrust disrupted his medium bombers and now the battered corps retreats to safety. Zhu n Feng hold the north, both responsible for Chengchow. A single Japanese army is battered but survives. I have ordered some limited offensive action there but worry about losses and morale. My engineers are hard at work in the south where the main pressure will soon breach my line. Thinking ahead, SHQ is planning a retreat to the mountains around Chungking. While losses are worse than new troops, I have made a decent defence I think.

Off Africa, we find the Graf Spee and sink it and now go after the Deutschland, sighted off Capetown. The loss of Smuts is a heavy blow, however.

France is a mess. April, heavy rain, and the french army is in tatters. Only the Brits stand between Paris and the nazi horde. Last ditch recruitment stiffens the line but the end is near. Meanwhile Mussolini seems to be gearing up for war ... what to do?

[amandkm]

May 1940, A British Corps is shattered, but buys time for the French defending Paris to... what? Reports are reaching High Command of French troops abandoning their positions holding the Maginot line. Heartened, the offensive presses on.

A quick thrust into Egypt seizes the Siwa Oasis.

In the Indian Ocean, the Graf Spee is avenged as a British Cruiser joins it on the bottom.

China sees another month of dead and dying Chinese defenders. They are holding up the attack, though, and Tojo is beginning to have doubts, as the Chinese have a seemingly bottomless well of manpower.

[Aussiematto]

Stalin receives reports of the growing fascist menace and while, for now, he hides his forward armies in the digital fog, he orders intensive preparations to be made, investing in certain technologies which might prove useful, while ordering other wasteful research to stop, due to the objective conditions of correct historical development. It is not giving too much away to say that, as in other parallel WaW universes, the aircraft engineers have been retrained as trench diggers! But, as for the rest, Beria keeps all secrets secret indeed.

France deploys its last hope, a heavy tank regiment to defend paris. C&C is shot, with one HQ busted and another barely functioning. Brits run from paris and the last army moves into their defensive works. Meanwhile, Weygand orders all troops that can to flee to British territory to continue the fight, joining those sneaky Spanish engineers who are toiling in the desert of Egypt. The RN observes subs in the Indian ocean but scores hits on the Deutschland, elsewhere its carriers hammer a foolish Italian corps probing into Egypt, just 1/10th of the corps remains after bombers and infantry smash it.. no doubt to beat a retreat!


Japan gets keen, testing and probing along the line but China holds and another army of brave peasants is raised, deployed, and prepares to die. Basically, every time the three elite armies from Japan kill an army outside Changsha, i replace it. Not perfect but ... holds them off for now. I rebuild the casualties of the last brutal battle and strengthen the line in the north. So far, so good. Probably Yamamoto is benefiting, with shiny new naval toys!? Lots of research, not much building.

Meanwhile, great relief in Allied ranks. Now iceland has joined, victory is assured!

[amandkm]

Curses! The Rakehells from Reykjavík shall be our doom! Unless, just maybe, Iraq rallies to our side?

[amandkm]

June, 40

Continued movement in France, but at a slowing pace. Allies are doing a good job of slowing the inevitable. Meanwhile, French North African forces attack the Italian Garrison in Libya, and cruisers in the Indian Ocean bleed each other- but the British are closer to repair than the Deutschland.

In China, another Chinese army defending Changsha is obliterated.

[Aussiematto]

Let's focus on France. It's the end of June and, broadly speaking, I am pleased with the defence so far. It's likely Paris falls next turn but, possibly, France will hang on until August since the Italians are just doing a holding operation and Lyon and Marseilles look safe for now. I have not been doing screen shots (too much to give away) but if you look back at the nice graphic from amandkm, I will step you through what happened.

The Char-bis tanks of the heavy mob attacked the paras - 3 hits to 2. This is good. reduces that para unit nicely. I reinforced everything else as much as I could and just am hanging on to Paris. 4 entrenchment by the start of amandkm's next turn but, sadly, the bombers will do their work and the city is doomed. The Brits, sensing that all is lost, are running for the coast in an unseemly rush. The garrison in Le Havre will provide cover even if it is destroyed. The RAF redeploys to the UK to stave off Sealion should that be on the cards. My hunch is not, since amandkm is playing cautiously but let's see. Can I get the BEF and its corps in support out in time?

The RN is doing good work. The Deutshland blundered into a naval asset off Madagascar and has been sunk. The sub is now being shadowed by a destroyer. Meanwhile a cruiser that attempted to sneak into the Channel has been bombed, shelled and torpedoed to the bottom. Oh, the French navy did help a bit . No reason to hide it, I've also now deployed the RN to cover the seaborne retreat just in case the Kriegsmarine is massing somewhere. There's no sign of the majority of the subs (no action on the convoy lanes) so one needs to be careful.

Meanwhile in Africa and the Middle East...

Iraq has indeed decided to establish at Baathist regime and we are punishing it with sanctions, while the Indians prepare to occupy it sooner or later. The Italians are holding in the Libyan desert, having nearly smashed my desert recce force and we are building strength there while the commonwealth troops start to destroy the East African Italians. Carriers deploy into the Gulf to lend support as Platt leads a Sudanese corps against the eager East African garrison which, surprisingly, moved against Khartoum. Massawa will be easier as a result. Boers engage the troops in Ethiopia but it's not decisive. The decision to fight hard in France has meant we are underresourced there. I am doing the usual supply interdiction in the med while the French have attacked Tripoli without limited success. That was probably an error, despite me using 2 corps (covering Tunis with the Madagascan garrison to keep metropolitan morale high). I am wondering if, instead, I should have shifted an HQ there and the airpower? They never seem to do much good in France. The Italian destroyer has escaped into the gulf, by the way, which was a side effect of having to chase down the German cruisers. The carriers can deal with it.

China continues to be a bloodbath at Changsha. Without entrenchments, another army crumbles and the IJN is getting good at close air support (I am realising that massing the IJN carriers near Nanning is useless - the terrain bonus is too high - so good play by amandkm to hit units in open fields). But, we are rebuilding all the time, and some new tactics have been deployed, improving morale. China's holding action is, most likely, just ensuring that the IJN is at full strength for the pacific war: I am not so much defending China, as amandkm is not attacking it.

The game feels neatly poised. While not every game ends up as a Russo-German death match, this one looks like it will (I have one at the moment vs another opponent where it is September and my Russkis are entrenched on the Dnepr, still holding Smolensk, Kiev, Dnepropetrovks, Polotsk, etc, and the only threat is massed panzers breaching the defensive works near Leningrad one turn earlier than expected ... but, in that game, the Brits have taken terrible naval losses and are desperately holding Cairo - only my decision to build a Brit engineer unit is saving me, while the fact three Italian armies were deployed to East Africa is draining my Indian manpower badly).

[amandkm]

Jul, 1940

Good and Bad... with a little indifferent thrown in.

Bad first, France holds out! I had him teed up but launched my Paratroops too soon. If I'd waited, I could have waltzed into Paris. Now he has one more month, which will compress my Balkan timetable to an annoying extent.

Indifferent. The French attack on Tripoli does nothing, and The Egyptian Front is doubtless being fortified by French Engineers (Another annoyance of missing my timetable for France)

Good. Changsha falls, and with it, I shift the balance there further in my favor. Taking MPP away from China, adding to Japan, and inflicting far more losses than I've taken. It is a slow sort of war, as opposed to the Storms in France, but it is enough for now, to allow me needed time and space, openings for future gains, and a growing economy, which will prove vital in the coming years.

On balance, I thin we are about even at this point. I am a little behind in Europe, and a little ahead in Asia.

[amandkm]

Aug, 1940 After a ferocious defense, France sues for peace. Took about two months longer than I'd planned, so Balkans will have to be done on a tight schedule now.

Asia is comparatively quiet, for a change.