TAIFUN (Axis) vs crispy131313 (allies) 1939

[Taifun]

Generals and Commanders,

A new AAR is starting resuming our current ELO tournament game, me as TAIFUN playing the bad Axis invaders versus crispy131313 playing the honorable Allies. This AAR will lag behind the current turn about 12-15 months, so now that we are currently in March 1941 I will start with a resume of the first year of our European war. I think you all know Chris by now and his superb Fall Weiss II mod. I think that it is going to be a very hard fought game, as we are both quite experienced. Please feel free to comment or question at any time. My English is not as good as it used to be but I will post images to help the understanding.

[Taifun]

The invasion of Poland involved all the units initially scheduled to participate near the Polish border with exception of the 2 motorized German Armies, that were operated by rail to the French border with our best commander, General von Rundstedt.
On the second turn, this 2 motorized units attacked trough Luxemburg towards the Briey Mine complex in France. To our big surprise the mine was empty and was occupied without a shot being fired!

[Taifun]

Verdun is attacked the following turn, October 3rd, and the French Army defending this key town takes a beating. But the French counterattack is very well executed and destroys the German Army south of the mine complex! Ouch! This was not in OKW plans...

[Taifun]

Poland fell on the second turn. But here something out of the normal happened, the Russians did not enter Poland. At first I thought that I had made a mistake with the options, but soon the OKW realized that the Soviets did not Honor the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact! That was unexcepted! We soon decided to Annex Lithuania...
During the following turns the Stalin strategy was clear as they chose not to attack Finland in the Winter War (and obviously learned the lessons of the Winter war via DE411) and the French communist's were not detained... They got 40% activation at the end of the French campaign... A lot of MMPs arrived each turn to their economy. I will attack the Bolshevik colossus from an advance position but they will be stronger than ever...
Anyway, on the 3rd turn the Allies invested heavily in Diplomacy and responded accordingly. 250 MMPs were invested in Iraq and it was a Bingo on the next turn, November 16th, as we got a 22% hit and the Iraqi convoys stopped right away! A small victory that will hurt the British Industry on the long term.

[Taifun]

November 16th was also the date of Operation "Peñon", a Kriegsmarine attempt to enter the Mediterranean Sea with 2 U-boots and a Heavy Cruiser. As it turned out the operation was a complete fiasco, the Strait was heavily defended by French-British naval units: both U-boots were heavily damaged and the Deutschland Heavy Cruiser sunk!

[Taifun]

On a rainy March 23rd the Germans invaded Belgium and the Netherlands. The operation, hastily put together (it rained again next turn!), was not brilliantly executed and it took 2 turns to defeat the Belgians and 3 turns to occupy The Hague...
This shot was taken April 3rd during the Allied turn.

[Taifun]

The Allies counterattacked effectively and a second German Motorized Army was destroyed...

[Taifun]

By 6th May the German offensive was in full swing. The B.E.F had being reinforced by 2 British AA units but no tanks. We pushed North trough Calais to threaten the BEF and the Northern flank and trough Auxerre the Southern flank near Paris.
The key city of Chalons was still French occupied...

[Taifun]

During the Allied next turn we had a small crisis at the Fuhrer bunker as we expect a heavy allied counterattack South of Paris with the French Heavy tanks and the British BEF Army that could had destroyed the German Para unit south of Paris and that could had isolated the second para unit close to Orleans. But to the OKW surprise the French tanks went North and counterattacked the German Corps South of Calais that had formed a Bridgehead across the river near Amiens! It was annihilated and a memorial now stands at the river bed!

[Taifun]

The French campaign ended the third week of July when the French Capital was visited by the Fuhrer in person. It was far from a perfect campaign, with 2 mot Armies destroyed plus an infantry corps. All the British units were able to escape unscathed in one piece, some of them we will find and fight again in the hot Libyan front in a few months. The good thing was that we did not loose any of our 3 tanks corps and that the Luftwaffe loses were light.
We started and ended the Campaign without any new units, as all the MPPs were invested in tech and Diplomacy.

[Taifun]

By the first week of August a heated discussion took place at the Berghof. All options were now being studied and no final decision could be taken.

- The OKH (Oberkommando des Heeres) headed by Field Marshal von Brauchitsch and directed by General Halder wanted all the troops to proceed with all speed towards the huge Soviet Union border to start an early Barbarossa as soon as possible (weather permitting). This option was favored by all the panzer commanders and was the cheapest one. The Bolsheviks, being the most dangerous enemy, had to be hard hit in the next campaign with all available troops, all other options being a waist of resources.

- The OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) headed by Field Marshal Keitel and run by General Alfred Jodl (chief of operations) wanted to seize Malta trough aerial assault by the main units of the Luftwaffe. Goering favored this option of course. With Malta in our hands, the problem of supply in North Africa will disappear and a possible offensive towards Egypt will be in cards. If no offensive developed at least we will defend in equal terms the African Italian Colony against the British Empire. This option only required the operational movement of a HQ towards Sicily (as the planes could fly to the new bases in the South) and the aerial losses that the British AA unit would inflict upon us (estimated 100-120 MPPs at most). (This option will not come as a surprise to the British as 90% of the Axis players attack Malta)

- The Fuhrer himself wanted a joint operation with the Italians aiming Greece and the island of Crete. An early invasion through Albania will come as a total surprise to our enemies. In a blitzkrieg campaign of 2 tuns, they will not be able to reinforce Greece from Egypt. Our troops will be later available to take part in the big attack against the Soviet Colossus or reinforce Rommel in North Africa towards Suez and Cairo. This campaign will be expensive as many troops will have to be rail operated to Italy and then moved by ship towards Albania…

No conclusion was reached this turn and no main troops moved, the big fighting units were replenished and reinforced.

[Taifun]

By August 22th the Fuhrer had made up his mind. The Italians finally decided to declare war to the British Empire (August 1940! And with Vichy France in place…) and Mussolini offered troops and ships for the Greek adventure. Working on a tight schedule all the earmarked troops were in their positions ready for the attack by October 3rd. Two elite panzerkorps, and elite Para unit, an Infantry Corps and General von Rundstedt plus several understrength Italians Corps will take part in the operation. The Luftwaffe deployed powerful units in the area of operations.

The final cost of the deployment was 319 MPPs: 122 MPPs the troop rail movement to Italy, 57 MPPs the Amphibious embarkation of the German Corps and 140 MMPs the transport of the troops to Albania. It is a significant investment but the Greek surrender will give us back 120 MPPs. Final cost 200 MPPs plus losses.

[Taifun]

In 2 turns the Greeks are defeated and Crete falls in our hands without a fight. Unfortunately due to a logistical issue the Capital Athens can not be occupied at the end of the second turn (16th November) and falls in German hands finally December 8th. It is always difficult to operate in mountainous terrain due to lack of supply in the forward area.

[Taifun]

For the months of September and October the Libyan frontier was hold by a couple of Italian Armies and a tank corps under the command of General Gariboldi. The British forces launched intense aerial attacks with a unit of heavy bombers level 1. The damage was severe as there was no aerial opposition and the City and port of Tobruk got hammered as well as the cities of Gazala and Derna. The supply situation was dire and only the city of Mekili was still at 5 supply in the forward area. At that moment a powerful group of Commonwealth forces entered Libya and started the assault of fortress Tobruk.

[Taifun]

An additional Italian infantry corps was sent to Libya arriving Benghazi unharmed. The next turn November 27th the Allies attacked in force simultaneously assaulting Tobruk and capturing Msus behind our lines. A thin screen of garrison troops shielded the HQ of General Gariboldi who now was in grave danger of being surrounded at Mekili with the remainder of his troops.

[Taifun]

Next turn (December 8th) General Gariboldi decided to stay where he was as the supply situation was a mess. He got a call from Mussolini informing him that strong units of the Luftwaffe were arriving in the area to help and that the Afrikakorps will disembark at Benghazi if Gazala could be held for another turn. Gazala must be held at all cost!!
He ordered troops from Benghazi to counterattack at Msus and successfully isolated the forward Allied units in that area.

[Taifun]

December 18th
The Allied forces launch a determined assault against Tobruk Fortress, now isolated and down to 1 supply. They inflict 3 points of damage to the staunch entrenched Italian defenders. Then in a series of aerial attacks by tactical bombers against the Regia Marina they manage to severely damage 2 Italian Battleships. This action is followed by a short naval battle where the Royal Navy manages to sink an Italian Light Cruiser. The British heavy bomber unit continues to attack our supply lines bombarding Benghazi and Mekili. The Luftwaffe day fighters based in Crete and Benghazi have a field day and destroy countless enemy planes. Gazala is not attacked and the enemy forces surrounded near Msus retire toward their lines.
The DAK arrives next turn (December 30th) and is immediately reinforced to full strength. It deploys quite scattered from the Benghazi area to around Derna. The Italian forces near Gazala, with the support of the Luftwaffe bombers based in Crete, attack the British tank corps and deal a good amount of damage lowering his morale to single digits.

With the Italian Tobruk garrison down to strength 5 and 1 supply, their morale in ruins, they are in a very delicate position to withstand another heavy assault. Suddenly with the new year the powerful Allied offensive stops and all their troops start to retreat towards the frontier. The heavy air losses of the past turn, combined maybe with a feeling that they have lost the air supremacy in Libya, have surely influenced this sudden decision.

The long Allied retreat continues during several turns into the summer all the way to their entrenched position near El Alamein… skillfully carried out they do not lose a single MPP. Axis forces follow, carefully monitoring their supply lines…

[Taifun]

December 1940 general situation.
The British battleship NELSON is intercepted near the Spanish coast by a U-Boot and sunk with the help of Kriegsmarine heavy units.
The main Heer troops are slowly proceeding towards the Soviet border...

[Taifun]

The coup in Yugoslavia took place late, April 16th, and in a quick campaign of 1 turn the revels were overrun by Hungarian forces surrendering May 7th.

By June 20th everything was ready for the biggest war operation in HISTORY: Operation Barbarossa. I now will take some time to resume the overall situation in the War. (We are at present playing 4 turns ahead of the AAR and in a ferocious fight inside the USSR).

Just before the declaration of War USA stands at 49% and the USSR at 58% activation.
The German economy had collected 14255 MPPs, lost 3914 MPPs and spent 2950 MPPs in research (21%).
The British Empire economy had collected 6932 MPPs, lost 4444 MPPs (including minors) and spent 1600 MPPs in research (23%). They got 2870 MPPs through convoys losing 380 MPPs to U-boots (12%).
The USSR economy had collected the incredible figure of 3705 MPPs and spent 2050 MPPs in research (56%).
The USA spent 2075 MPPs in research so far, as many as the USSR.

So Germany was the country that invested the most in technology in this first part of the war.
The USSR bought an incredible number of land units, as of the first day of the war, the Soviets possesses the incredible number of 71 units available, almost equaling the Germans 80 units!
The exact automatic deployment of the Soviet troops was not clear to me without the Polish area, so I deployed units along the whole front. As it turned out, the Northern Soviet units where deployed in their usual position around Jelgava.

[Taifun]

The remainder of the Soviet troops automatically deployed by the computer were nowhere to be found!! And we are talking about 1 HQ, 4 Rifle Corps, 4 Mechanized Corps, 2 Fighter and 1 Medium Bomber! They should have been deployed around Proskurov and Vinnitsa but here Chris used a very good strategy. He flooded the whole area with garrison units! Proskurov, Vinnitsa and Zhitomir were completely surrounded by these units… So I deduced that these troops needed to be deployed near a city… and here is the magic…