GERMANY 1945 (LAST STAND) AAR

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn in Yugoslavia. Hexes circled in green have been gained this turn. The Soviet help arrived and had an immediate impact.

[Curtis Lemay]

Turn 6

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Western Front. Green circles show hexes gained. Note that a number of German Corps from the Italian front were shifted to the Western Front. Despite that, no action by the Allies could be taken on the Italian front, and its screenshot will be skipped this turn.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Eastern Front. Hexes circled in green have been gained this turn. A weak point in the German line is being exploited. It may soon produce a real breakout. There were some attacks on the Yugoslavia section, but no ground was gained, so its screenshot will be skipped, too.

[Curtis Lemay]

Turn 7

Note that the German forces in the West are employing a “strongpoint”, rather than a continuous defense. They’re conceding that the Allies can’t be stopped & just want to delay them as long as possible. This was a short turn for the Allies. It ended after one combat phase – a Force Proficiency Check failure.

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Western Front. Green circles show hexes gained. Note that one of the Ruhr hexes was captured. Even another German HQs from the Italian front was shifted to the Western Front. Still, no action by the Allies could be taken on the Italian front, and its screenshot will again be skipped this turn.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Eastern Front. The one hex circled in green was gained this turn. There were some attacks on the Yugoslavia section, but no ground was gained, so its screenshot will be skipped, again.

[Curtis Lemay]

Turn 8

Note that the loss of the Ruhr hex reduced German replacements by 30% and supplies by 6%. There was also a scheduled 33% German and 25% Allied replacement reduction this turn.

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Western Front. Green circles show hexes gained. Only one attack was launched on this front this turn. The Allies primarily focused on repositioning around the last Ruhr hex. The German 19th Army has been pocketed. The powerful support for its front-line elements is finally visible – showing why I’ve been reluctant to assault those front-line elements until I can neutralize that support. There was still no action by the Allies on the Italian front, and its screenshot will again be skipped this turn.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Eastern Front. The hexes circled in green were gained this turn. The center of the German line is starting to disintegrate, and Soviet forces are being shifted to that area to keep that process going. There were no attacks on the Yugoslavia section, and only one empty hex was gained, so its screenshot will be skipped, again.

[Curtis Lemay]

Turn 9

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Western Front. Green circles show hexes gained. The last Ruhr hex was captured. The German 19th Army’s powerful support element was destroyed, along with one of its frontline corps. There was still no action by the Allies on the Italian front, despite still more stripping of it by the Germans, and its screenshot will again be skipped this turn.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Eastern Front. The hexes circled in green were gained this turn. The center of the German line has finally disintegrated, and Soviet forces are in place to exploit the breach. The Germans have shifted a few forces from the more secure northern section of the front, but more will be necessary to plug a breach of this size.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn in Yugoslavia. Hexes circled in green have been gained this turn. Slow progress is being made, that may soon accelerate.

[Curtis Lemay]

Turn 10

Note that the loss of the last Ruhr hex again reduced German replacements 30% and supplies 6%.

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Western Front. Green circles show hexes gained. One more of the German 19th Army’s pocketed frontline corps was destroyed. Forces freed from the Ruhr battle have been unleashed on the German strongpoint defense with some success.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Italian Front. The Germans had so stripped the defenses and enough Allied reinforcements had arrived that the offensive could finally be resumed. Some success resulted, and the Western-Italy forces (both sides) will be released next turn due to Allied approach to Torino.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Eastern Front. The hexes circled in green were gained this turn. Hexes cleared, but not gained, are shown with a dot in them. The, now disintegrated, center of the German line has allowed the Soviets to exploit the breach. The Germans had continued to shift forces from the more secure section of the front, but it obviously wasn’t enough. The Soviets are now only three hexes from Berlin. In fact, while it can’t be seen (due to the way I clipped the screenshots), there is now only a five-hex gap between the Western Allied and the Soviet spearheads. The end is near. Further south, note that the Hungarians have surrendered and their forces removed. This was triggered by the fall of Budapest back on turn 1, but didn’t take effect until turn 10.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn in Yugoslavia. Hexes circled in green have been gained or cleared this turn. There was a disastrous attack at the top, but slow progress is still being made.

[Curtis Lemay]

Turn 11

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Western Front. Green circles show hexes gained. The last of the German 19th Army’s pocketed frontline corps was destroyed. The center of the German line has disintegrated. The Allied advance is straight towards the Soviet spearheads. There is now only a two-hex gap separating them.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Italian Front. Green circles show hexes gained. Note that the Western-Italy forces (both sides) have been released, and have joined the struggle. Finally, note that the first Rail Repair units have arrived in this section and one in Yugoslavia. Progressively more will be arriving further and further north each turn, as the weather thaws.

Note that RR units have only 1 MP each. That allows them to repair an average of 1/2 a rail hex per turn (25km/week). This is done by either repairing with them or moving them at the start of each turn as the circumstances dictate. This should be the first action taken each turn, since the ability is lost after the first combat phase.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Eastern Front. The hexes circled in green were gained this turn. The Germans continue to strip previously strong lines on the flanks to try to shore up the center and Berlin. This has allowed the Soviets to finally make some progress on the flanks. Note that this shot could have fit next to the shot of the Western front. Then it would have shown the two-hex gap.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn in Yugoslavia. Hexes circled in green have been gained this turn. Slow progress continues to be made.

[Curtis Lemay]

Turn 12

Since the Western & Eastern fronts have linked, I’m going to change the way I clip the screenshots. Instead of Western & Eastern fronts, I’ll split the shots up into Northern & Central fronts instead.

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Northern Front. Green circles show hexes gained. The Germans have continued to strip their lines to concentrate on Berlin. This has allowed the Allies & Soviets to continue to decimate those lines. But the defense of Berlin is becoming formidable. That will be Hitler’s Last Stand.

Note that several air units were repositioned to stay in range. All major (dense urban) cities have airfields in them, for this purpose.

[Curtis Lemay]

The attached screenshot shows the end of the Allied turn on the Central Front. The hexes circled in green were gained this turn. Except for Munchen & Praha, this section of the struggle has little priority. So, a few strongpoints will try to hold out as long as possible, to tie up forces from joining the battle for Berlin. Note that Wien was captured this turn.