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I sure hope you have some troops left on the Polish border. It's a frighteningly short walk from Poznan to Berlin...
 
thanks for reading!

i am really enjoying your AAR keep up th good work

Are you planing on lots of allies or as few as possible or do you intend to release some puppets later in the game?

Thanks for commenting! To be honest, I haven't really decided. Since Hoi3 has done away with military control of allies, I have absolutely no way of coordinating with my allies - although I will probably try the new feature in Semper Fi of setting "targets" for my allies. It would be interesting to see how Italy reacts if I give them Cairo as an objective? ;)

I want Romania in the Axis for the oil - but whether as a puppet or an ally only time will tell. I read some place that releasing a puppet will reduce one's threat because other nations see you as beneign, but I think that ship has sailed by now :rofl:

Enjoying this AAR and interested to see how this ahistorical timeline plays out. Engaged in Czechoslovakia and Poland at the rear seems a daunting but a plausible prospect if the Wehrmacht had encated Fall Grun for real!

Glad to have you onboard! I am no expert in Polish-Czechoslovakian relationships, so I can't really say what Poland would have done, had Fall Grün been put in motion in 1938 or 1939. I have a hard time imagining that the Poles, who AFAIK only stood up to Hitler once they got the reassurance of a guarantee of independence from France and the UK, would go to war over Czechoslovakia.

I sure hope you have some troops left on the Polish border. It's a frighteningly short walk from Poznan to Berlin...

Not a lot. Will it be enough? You will see in the next couple of updates :)
 
Episode 11

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire


Damn you, Poland!!
The new alliance between Poland and the United Kingdom is nothing short of disaster because although the UK event is meant to guarantee Poland's safety in regular games, in this game where the Allies have already declared war on me, the result is war with Poland! :(

"So what?", I hear you say - "you can probably defeat Poland too". And I know I probably can. The real worry here is the Soviet Union. I have absolutely no desire to start an early conflict with the Soviets but that is exactly what this course of events could lead me to, I suspect. If the AI is anything like in Hoi2 then conquering Poland without the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact will prevent the Soviet Union from grabbing the Baltic States and starting the Winter War with Finland.

Not having the annexed Polish territories as a buffer on the border with Germany could make Stalin extra jumpy and he might very well decide to strike me before I have the forces necessary to counter the Red Army. I might stand a chance if I strike the USSR first but this is essentially now an arms race in which both Germany and the USSR will strike as soon as either side feels it has the advantage in men and equipment.


Strategic Considerations
I am contemplating how the rest of the war might play out. Japan sits squarely between Germany and the Soviet Union and is knee-deep stuck in her campaign in China. The United States is still neutral and ever so slowly moving towards Germany. It will be a long time, at this rate, before the United States will be in a position to be invited to the Axis, and even if that succeeds I am not sure it is possible if they are still democratic.

I still have a ways to go before Romania is within reach of the Axis and Hungary, who has a bilateral alliance with Italy, is moving towards the Comintern. Yugoslavia has so far rejected the alliance proposal of France, but I have to have a contingency plan in case Yugoslavia one day finds Italy and Germany so threatening that she joins the Allies. I really have no idea which way Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Nationalist Spain might go. Portugal will probably end up with the Allies.

At the moment, I'd like to get Japan and Romania into the Axis as quickly as possible to give the Soviet Union more fronts to worry about. Japan in the Axis could possibly make the British shift forces to defend Asia - or it could seriously mess up the Japanese AI if Japan still isn't victorious in China and is forced to fight the British and the Chinese at the same time. Of course I'll also try to keep the United States neutral for as long as possible.


Immediate Concerns
Most important at the moment, however, is the defeat of Poland. I have only 11 divisions guarding my border with Poland and there are huge gaps in my lines. On the other hand, the Poles were probably neither expecting the war nor the new German-Polish border in former Slovakia, which looks completely undefended. Therefore I think I will have a few days while Poland shifts her forces around before I have to fear any offensive Polish operations against Germany.

AAR099.jpg

Von Reichenau's XI. Armeekorps and 51.-55. Infanterie-Division
List's XII. Armeekorps and 56.-58. Infanterie-Division
Von Wietersheim's XIII. Armeekorps and 61.-63. Infanterie-Division
The HQ of von Brauchitsch's 3. Armee


My forces, sadly, are miles away from the new front and preparing to invade Hungary. That invasion is out of the question at the moment. It would be folly to start a war in the south that can easily wait while neglecting my defences in the northeast. So I immediately turn all my forces around and head them in the direction of Poland.

This will not be a neat campaign, where I attack from well thought out positions carefully using the terrain to my advantage. In fact, it will have all the finesse and grace of a bar brawl - with tanks. :D


The Road To Victory
Poland has 6 victory point (VP) provinces: Danzig, Warszawa, Grodno and Lodz in the north and Krakow and Lwow in the south. Had I planned this campaign carefully, I would have placed the majority of my forces in the Königsberg enclave - within easy striking distance from four of the VP provinces. As it is, I can hardly hope to defend the enclave with only five divisions, let alone mount an offensive against the Poles.

Thus, my main thrust will have to be a head-on charge from the current positions of 4. Panzerarmee and 5. Armee in (former) Czechoslovakia into southwestern Poland - hoping to overrun the Poles before they mobilise fully and set up effective defences or get reinforcements from the UK or France by sea. I briefly consider declaring war on Denmark right now to close the straits into the Baltic Sea but I can't find the necessary troops without leaving some areas vulnerable to invasion.

AAR098.jpg



Up Next: Fall Weiss
 
Episode 12

Fall Weiss - Race to the Front


June 3 - June 7, 1938


Although I never meant them no harm, on June 3, 1938, the treacherous Poles agree to an alliance with the Allies, led by the evil United Kingdom. Immediately, Poland declares war on Germany and start moving her forces in preparation for an attack on German soil. I, of course, seek a reasonable solution to this dastardly betrayal of our love and friendship for the Poles. I intend to crush them with 45 divisions.


More Good News
June 3 has been a long day. It started with the defeat and total annexation of Czechoslovakia. At 4 pm Poland declared war on us and just as Adolf Hitler is preparing to leave the office, another note is slipped under the door.

AAR100.jpg


This new alliance does not, thank God, mean that Portugal is joining the Allies. But it is definetly a hint that they are moving in that direction. Oh well, I have always dreamt of conquering the Azores and using them as a base for V2 rockets targeting New York and Washington. Perhaps in this game, I will get my chance? :D

As night falls, finally some good news arrive from North Africa: my Italian allies have made their first land gain against the British in Egypt!

AAR101.jpg



A New Day Dawns
It is June 4, the first day in my new, expanded Germany and I am pleased to see that even with the destruction of battle my new IC is 172/305. Unfortunately, all of my resource flows are negative. That is eased a little bit when Nationalist Spain and Yugoslavia agree to trade with me. That is good because at the moment I am loosing 11 $ a day!

AAR102.jpg


I decide to start influencing Japan away from the USSR. If I need to annex Poland all the way up to the Soviet border then I need some kind of assurance that I can threaten Stalin with a two-front war. The two research projects that are put on hold are Improved Security Units 1 (resumed on June 6 when other research is completed) and Single Engine Airframe 1.

AAR103.jpg


02:00 hrs:
France sinks another of my transports with crude oil from Venezuela. I shut the trade down to avoid impact from Strategic Warfare and to save money.

AAR104.jpg


06:00 hrs:
My first police division arrives to take up residence in Praha

13:00 hrs:
All of a sudden, Luxemburg is mobilising their army

AAR105.jpg


Interestingly, they appear to be more afraid of United Kingdom than of me. I suspect that the UK might also have gotten +40 globaly to their threat when they declared war on me. That, I believe, is poetic justice :p

AAR106.jpg


17:00 hrs:
Poland also imposes an embargo on poor Hungary

aar107.jpg


21:00 hrs:
My joy at my Italian allies proved premature. The Italians look defeated in Al Bardi and fleeing towards Tobruk… :rolleyes:

AAR108.jpg


In the west, however, they are advancing into French Tunisia!

AAR109.jpg



Europe Prepares for War
It is probably too little too late, but I try to send spies to Poland to Disrupt their national unity, which is 82.5

02:00 hrs:
Denmark is mobilising!

AAR110.jpg


06:00 hrs:
A police garrison arrives in Brno

I order my 1. Truppentransporterflotille to Stettin and move the Baltische Flotte out into the Southern Baltic Sea to protect the transfer of more troops to the Königsberg enclave.

11:00 hrs:
The Netherlands is mobilising!

AAR111.jpg


18:00 hrs:
My police garrison arrives in Ostrava.

Al Bardi has fallen to the British, who seem content and on the way home. I did not see if they attacked Tobruk also or not.

AAR112.jpg


In the west, the advance into French North Africa continues. It also looks like the Italian subs are trying to put the squeeze on Malta.


Artillery + Speed = :D
On June 6 I finish researching Self-propelled Artillery brigade. This means that the research into police suppression goes active again. It also means I can produce sp-art brigades for my waffen ss-divisions and other future elite formations.

AAR113.jpg


In Netherlands they executed one of our spies (I have adjusted message settings to keep an eye on stuff like this)

AAR114.jpg


I complete 6 new infantry divisions. I immediately form 5 of them into the XIV. Armeekorps of the 3. Armee and prepare to ship them to Königsberg. The 6th division is added to the List’s XII. Armeekorps in charge of defending the northern border against Poland – a thinly manned sector to say the least. As soon as the XIV. Armeekorps is formed under Blaskowitz I ship the 5 divisions + HQ to Königsberg. I send the Baltische Flotte in ahead of them, just in case the Polish fleet decides to leave Danzig…

10:00 hrs:
Now Belgium is also mobilising!

AAR115.jpg


12:00 hrs:
General Von Kluge makes Bratislava the new headquarters of the 5. Armee – I forgot to move him towards Poland :mad:

16:00 hrs:
A police garrison arrives in Bratislava. 2. Gebirgsjäger-Division takes up position in Samorin on the Hungarian border.


Getting Japan into the Axis May Prove Difficult
It is June 7. Japan is only drifting back towards me extremely slowly – because of my threat – but at least I have stopped their movement towards the USSR for the time being.

AAR116.jpg


Romania is drifting towards the Axis with a value of 9.09. What does that mean? Is that daily? They are 92.94 away from me and need to be under 50 to come into the Axis. I guestimate that if I subtract their movement towards the Allies and Comintern, they are still moving towards me with a value of 5-6?

I check Hungary and see they are drifting towards the Comintern – Bolsjeviks the lot of them - I knew it! ;)

07:00 hrs:
Poland is shifting armoured forces towards Krakow

10:00 hrs:
My troop transport has completed its mission of delivering the corps to Königsberg and has returned to Kiel. Looking at the map, I am amazed that Danzig appears to have been left completely empty? This is an unusual mistake by the AI but one that I am not above exploiting. I decide a quick seaborne invasion is in order. I load my division in Kiel - the 3. Infanterie-Division - onto the troop transports and send them to invade Danzig!

AAR117.jpg


16:00 hrs:
My HQ in Slovakia for the police divisions arrives safely. I can see he is out of effective range of Praha so I must move him again later on.

21:00 hrs:
Il Duce pulls of yet another master stroke – he places an embargo on Portugal driving them towards the Allies and creates an alliance with Albania. Apparently he has forgotten his ambitions to annex them?

AAR118.jpg


23:00 hrs:
Italy gets a historical battle event? It does not seem like they lost any ships however – but they have sunk a French troop transport.

AAR119.jpg


I decide to send my two subs north around the UK to hunt convoys in the Atlantic.


Will an amphibious landing in Danzig succeed? Are there more Polish armour beyond my intelligence range? What will all the mobilised neighbours do next? Stay put and find out!!

Up Next: Fall Weiss - The First Battles
 
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"Accidentally I spot what looks like a British Rocket Test Site in northern Egypt of all places?"

I just wanted to mention that, in my current game as Japan, UK has built a Rocket Test Site in India. In the province named Meerut just east of Delhi.
 
thanks for reading!

Oh noes!!! The Dutch killed a German spy! :eek:

And he is far from the last to get wacked... :rofl:

I just wanted to mention that, in my current game as Japan, UK has built a Rocket Test Site in India. In the province named Meerut just east of Delhi.

Welcome to the AAR.

Strange. I have no idea why the AI does that. I loaded the '36 scenario again to check that it wasn't a setup mistake, but no. They built it... in Egypt.

loving it! plus bar brawls with tanks are worth quoting. keep posting more

I humbly take a bow - thanks for reading and commenting!


Please vote in the AARland Choice Awards
I was approached and asked to help promote the Hoi3 AARs competing in this edition of the AARland Choice Awards, hence the new line in my signature. It seems the Hoi2 AARs are still getting a lot more attention than the Hoi3 ones, so the organisers would really like to get some more attention on the writaars who have taken the new edition of the game to heart.

You can vote for any AAR started before July 1st 2010 (because it is the Q2 round of the tournament). Thus, my own AAR is not up for nominations in this round but a lot of other good ones are. I haven't made up my mind which ones I will be voting for, but when I do I will also mention it briefly here.


How do you like the format of the AAR?
I got a warning from a moderator today because my signature was too long and that was the first time that I considered that perhaps not everyone has a wide 24" screen like me (which reduces most of the paragraphs in my AAR to just 1-3 lines). So, I'd really like some feedback from you on whether the paragraphs are too long, too short etc. Are they readable or annoying? Is there anything else that you would like to comment about the format? Then please do so :)

And please keep commenting - I really appreciate the feedback!

Next episode in a couple of hours. Have a nice weekend everybody!


P.S. By Googling, I found out that not even the weird name I came up with for this AAR is original :(

.
 
everything looks and reads fine on my ten-year-old 17" monitor. sometimes, with big screenshots, i have to go to 72% or so, but that's no problem as far as I'm concerned.
besies, I love big posts. gives me more to read:D
 
your layout is fine, and I am looking forward to seeing how the early war plays out
 
Episode 13

Fall Weiss - The First Battles


June 8, 1938


First Shots
On the morning of June 8, 1938, my Baltische Flotte and 1. Truppentransporterflotte arrive off the coast of Danzig - Poland's main port city. Having deserted the city in order to bolster their southern defence line, the Poles have left the city wide open and the 3. Infanterie-Division from Kiel begins its landing at 7 am, while the battlecruiser KMS Schleswig-Holstein shells the coastal forts at the harbour entrance.

schleswig-holstein-2.jpg

KMS Schleswig-Holstein fires the first shots of the war against Poland

At the same time, tactical bombers of the Luftwaffe swarm across the border into Poland looking for prey. I am mostly just looking to see what is behind the front. At 7 am an air battle starts over Slupca airfield when two wings of German interceptors encounter resistance from the Polish Airforce.

AAR120.jpg


At 8 am I try to bomb the Polish fleet still anchored in Danzig, but because I haven't researched a single doctrine in the naval bomber tree (I suppose) I can't find any targets - let alone find the harbour itself! :rolleyes:

Poor doctrines and a rain storm in Danzig Bay does not prevent the Polish Airforce from attacking my ships, however. I did contemplate this before I sent the invasion force and I decided to use all 6 sea transports so the division would not drown immediately if their ship was blown from the sea beneath them. Now I am wondering if I have doomed all of my transports instead? :eek:

AAR121.jpg


At midday two wings of Polish interceptors pounce on one of my tactical bomber wings that was doing recon over Sieradz behind enemy lines. Unescorted and outnumbered, my bombers are easy prey...

AAR122.jpg


Two hours later, at 2 pm, the Polish bombers return to bomb my fleet in Danzig Bay again. This time the rain has stopped but it is still overcast weather.


Panzers Across the Border
At the same time, major general Walther Nehring’s "ghosts" - the 7. Panzer-Division - is the first unit to reach the Polish border – one week after blitzing through Bratislava.

GermantanksatPolishborder.jpg


Earlier in the day, I tried to get Kesselring's KG 30 to do a recon flight (Ground Attack) over Krakow, but for some reason he failed to go on the mission. Thus, without knowing what lies ahead I send the 7. Panzer-Division first into harm's way. Her two sister divisions, the 8. and 9. Panzer-Divisions are a few hours behind.

AAR123.jpg



The Fall of Danzig
At 7 pm on June 8, 1938, Danzig falls to my 3. Infanterie-Division without a shot fired!! My transports are returning to Kiel and the Baltische Flotte stays put to see what happens to the Polish fleet. Twice during the day the Polish Airforce has bombed my fleet but I have only suffered some very minor damage.

AAR124.jpg


The fall of Danzig is a 20.90% surrender progress for the Poles… Meanwhile my Luftwaffe is still getting its a** kicked over Sieradz. For some reason I thought that my tactical bombers would flee without being ordered to after a few hours of punishment but that does not seem to be the case - perhaps because I have put them on "Aggressive" stance instead of "Defensive"?

AAR126.jpg


At 8 pm the Polish Airforce comes back a third time to bomb my fleet. At the same time we engage the Polish Fleet in the Danzig Bay. The Polish “fleet” is 1 destroyer, 1 sub and 8 transports, so I hope I can take them. I am considering ordering the Kriegsmarine into the Danish waters to catch them if they escape from the Baltische Flotte.

AAR125.jpg


At 10 pm I get a most disturbing message: my Luftwaffe Bf-109d's have lost an air battle against the inferior Polish Airforce! :mad:

AAR127.jpg


I really don't get it, because my units appear largely unscathed? :confused:

At nightfall all my Luftwaffe units return to Breslau to rest, rearm and refuel. It is at this time that the AI decides to show me the folly of stacking 10 air wings in the same airfield. When the Poles attack, my stacking penalty is so enormous that combined with the night penalty any defence is utterly impossible :rolleyes:

AAR128.jpg


Nice one, AI! :p


Up Next: More battles!
 
thanks for reading!

everything looks and reads fine on my ten-year-old 17" monitor. sometimes, with big screenshots, i have to go to 72% or so, but that's no problem as far as I'm concerned.
besies, I love big posts. gives me more to read:D

Thanks for the feedback!

your layout is fine, and I am looking forward to seeing how the early war plays out

Thanks for the feedback and welcome to the AAR!

Sorry that the update took a few hours longer and is a bit shorter than expected. I will post more later tonight but right now I've got to get some supper in me :)

Stay tuned!
 
have no fear. despite current setbacks, I've always found German Generals usually manage to pull it through due to superior skills. (though that last screenshot looked bad)
 
i'm pretty sure the aggresive/defensive ai settings just affect if they are attacking territory or defending it. i dunno though. mine is always set to aggresive :D

on format: its fine and dandy. no problems.

why would you use the AI for anything? They are only good for wasting and being dumb
 
Episode 14

Fall Weiss - The Ground War Begins


June 9 - June 11, 1938


The Polish Corridor and Successful Naval Battle
June 9 begins on a pleasant note; gaining control of Danzig unexpectedly gives me the Polish Corridor event / strategic bonus: Naval organisation +5% and supply throughput +5%.

AAR129.jpg


I check the interface and see that after a week of war, my IC requirements for reinforcements has dropped from 33 to 14 – hopefully that means that my forces will soon be fully mobilised.

At 3 am I defeat the Polish Navy and get the “Successful Naval Battle of Hel” historic event with the possibility to chose “We have sunk their battleship” which will increase the support to the ruling party or “The navy has done a great work!” which will rid me of dissent for a month! I spot an opportunity to cut back on consumer goods, so I chose the latter.

AAR130.jpg


We won the naval battle in Danzig Bay without losses on either side. I withdraw the Baltische Flotte to Königsberg but send in the Kriegsmarine to finish the Poles (if I can find them again).

AAR131.jpg


I ground the damaged TAC wing and rebase two interceptor wings from Hannover to Danzig to see if I can gain air superiority over Poland.

Already, Polish interceptors are swarming over my bomber wing over Wieruszow. :mad:

AAR132.jpg



Recon over Krakow
After yesterday's failure to get Kesselring's KG 30 to attack Krakow, I try a new approach and set him to attack the installations in Krakow. Kesselsing discovers that there are 2 HQ brigades and 2 light armour brigades in the city waiting for me. The territory type is urban, which is suicide for attacking tanks, so I will have to bypass it with my armour and surround it I think.


Italian Breakthrough in France!!
I am amazed! After a week of intense air battles and frontline fighting, Italy has actually managed to break through the French fortified line at Briancon – in a fort 3 mountain province!! Impressive. I am not sure, but it looks like the French units are still horribly under-strength. Nevertheless this is a surprising turn of events for me.

AAR133.jpg


The rest of the day is quite uneventful. The 7. Panzer-Division captures the province of Zywiec without a shot fired and the 8. and 9. Panzer-Divisions are close on its heels. Two of my tactical bombers from Stettin attack the remains of the Polish Fleet in the Baltic Sea but hardly inflict any damage. A garrison unit arrives in Kosice - the easternmost VP province in former Slovakia. And finally, I rebase my Stuka wings to Breslau (the only place their poor range is any good) and pull most of the tactical bombers back to Praha and Wien from where they can still operate with their 525 KM range.

At 5 pm we get a message from the Abwehr: Poland introduces an embargo against poor Albania (presumably for being allied with Italy).

AAR134.jpg


As the day changes to June 10 I am pleased to see that my plan is working: the bonus from the naval battle allows me to not produce consumer goods at all and still not suffer dissent. Thereby I save 18 IC / day! :)


Enemy Panzers Dead Ahead!
At 1 am on June 10, the 7. Panzer-Division captures Rabka-Zdroj and immediately ahead of me I see enemy panzers. It must be the light armoured brigades from Krakow now moving east. I am now faced with a dilemma: shall I fight and suffer the attack delay penalty for the absolutely fastest unit in my Heer? Or shall I avoid combat, thus being able to keep up the speed of my advance?

It turns out pausing the game and halting the advance for an hour works - the Polish armoured unit continues east without engaging me. I allow it to continue while I wait for the two next panzer divisions to catch up and engange the Poles, so I can continue the blitz.

AAR136.jpg


Looking at my map, it becomes painstakingly clear that my HQ units are much, much too slow to keep up with a motorised advance (they move 4 KPH). I will need better doctrines if they are ever going to help me in a real blitzkrieg campaign. :mad:


The Ground War Begins
At 3 am my six Stuka wings begin a deadly rain of fire and steel upon the Polish border defences in Tarnowskie Gory, followed by a ground assault by major general von dem Bach-Zelewski’s 61. Infanterie-Division one hour later. He has been ordered to create the breakthrough in the Polish lines that will allow my motorised infantry and armoured divisions moving up from the southwest to blitz into Poland, cut off Krakow and continue north.

AAR135.jpg



At 3 pm, after 11 hours of fighting, we have defeated the Poles in the front line and punched a hole for the tanks to rush through. The question is: what awaits beyond?

AAR137.jpg


In the final hours of daylight at 6 pm my bombers attack a Polish force moving south from Gorlice – perhaps to invade Slovakia?

AAR138.jpg



The War of the Atlantic Can Begin
A few days ago I moved my two submarine squadrons out into the North Atlantic. Now they have finally arrived and I move them south to hunt Allied convoys. One squadron goes to the Western Biscay Plain, the other to Northern Celtic Shelf. This way I hope to choke off some British and French convoys.

GermanU-boatscommunicate.jpg



June 11
The next day begins with more good news, as I finish Interdiction Tactics 3. I don’t start new reseach because I am one slot behind due to increased Leadership use on diplomatic influence.

AAR139.jpg


At 2 am the RAF Strategic Bomber Command is back bombing Hannover. I scramble my interceptors from Wilhelmshafen to intercept.

An hour later I discover that the Polish armour has moved out of our way east of Krakow and at 4 am I find them again when I once again bomb the infantry in Gorlice. Because of this I give the order for all three panzer divisions to press on. The Poles will be cut off. (Can you already sense the hubris here? :p)

AAR140.jpg


Meanwhile, the RAF are taking losses over Hannover - a total of 16-17 aircraft already! The air engagement ends at 6 am.

AAR141.jpg


At 9 pm Turkey refuses to grant Transit Rights to France!

AAR142.jpg


I am somewhat confused as to why France would even need that since they can't walk from Syria to the Italian islands near Greece and the Turkish coast but perhaps it is a French ruse? :D

Italy is finally moving towards Sollum and taking back their lost land at Al Bardi.

AAR143.jpg


Once again, the 7. Panzer-Division is in the lead, capturing Limanowa and moving into Tarnow!

Model’s 5. Panzer-Division arrives at the Polish front in Falkenberg and I immediately order him to blitz through Tarnowskie Gory and beyond to close the pocket around Krakow. An hour later, at 10 pm, the 80. Infanterie-Division (mot.) also arrives in Falkenberg. I set it to attack Lubliniec at dawn the next day to protect Model’s flank.

AAR144.jpg


At the end of the day, I am surprised that Poland is emptying the entire front south of Danzig? I am, sadly, too weak militarily to exploit it.

AAR145.jpg



Up Next: You guessed it - more battles! :D
 
Episode 15

Fall Weiss - The Spearhead Splits Up


June 12, 1938


Attack on Lubliniec
As dawn breaks, the sirens of my Stuka dive-bombers wake up the Polish defenders in Lubliniec. While they are strafed and bombed from the air, an artillery barrage alerts them to the coming attack and at 4 am the German 80. Infanterie-Division (mot.) under major general Höpner smashes into the Polish lines. They are heavily dug-in, however, and the attack is met with fierce resistance.

AAR146.jpg


At the same time, von Arnim’s 4. Panzer-Division also arrives in Falkenberg and I send him right on Model’s heels into Poland to wreak havoc.

One hour after Höpner's attack begins, the Polish Airforce begins bombing my attacking forces in Falkenberg! It is nice of the AI to remind me in this manner of the importance of having air superiority not only above the land you are about to conquer but also covering the advance of your own forces! :rofl:

Once again, it takes 11 hours to finish off the Poles. At 3 pm, Höpner's motorised infantry is pouring through the Polish lines and the Poles are in full retreat.

AAR147.jpg


At 5 pm, the 7. Panzer-Division is the first to capture its 4th province – Tarnow – and with no enemies in sight, it continues north to complete the encirclement of Krakow.

AAR148.jpg


An hour later, at 6 pm, German infantry captures Tarnowskie Gory from the Poles.

AAR152.jpg


At 8 pm the 9. Panzer-Division reaches Tarnow and continues northwest to Busko-Zdroj.

AAR153.jpg


Meanwhile, the 78. and 79. Infanterie-Division (mot.) reach Falkenberg and push into Lubliniec and beyond.


Opening Polish Offensive
While all this has been going on in the south, in the north the Poles finally appear to be doing something offensive: moving towards Woldenberg and Schneidermühl. I order two tactical bomber wings from Stettin to bomb the advancing formations.

AAR154.jpg



More Bad News for the Luftwaffe
All day I have tried to get my interceptors to engage the Polish Airforce over Lodz in an attempt to damage them so severly that they will be grounded, which will allow me to crater their runways and put them out of business for the rest of the campaign.

AAR149.jpg

The air battle at 3 pm

AAR150.jpg

And at 7 pm...

But at 9 pm I am once again told that my interceptors lost an air battle! :mad: This is maddening because I have good techs and doctrines and we hardly took any casualties? I must confess, I do not understand it.

AAR151.jpg



The Spearhead Splits Up
Meanwhile, the advance in the south is progressing well and the 8. Panzer-Division reaches Tarnow, so I feel like gambling again because I have 5 motorised infantry divisions moving up behind the advance of my three light panzers. Therefore I send the 8. Panzer-Division east to capture the city of Lwow, a Polish victory point.

AAR155.jpg


Just before midnight, von Falkenhorst’s motorised infantry – the famous conquerors of Praha – arrive in Falkenberg and move into Poland.


Up Next: How will Hitler react to a Polish offensive? Can the German spearhead maintain momentum once it begins to split up? Is there even any reason to be concerned about the Polish forces on the Slovakian border?

Stay tuned and find out! :)