Sudden Carnage - A CptEasy multiplayer AAR

[Baltasar]

Commies and Allies were ... allies, until axis fell, and never were in actual war against each other, and as the balance of the game is as is... Well, it's not reasonable to expect Allies and Comintern to go to war against each other, at least until Germany surrenders, and few MP games go on to that point, and even fewer go beyond, sadly.

What I mean is that it is unreasonable to assume that war is inevitable for the Axis. There is no logical reason not to ally with the Allies or the Commies against the remaining faction.

And juv, I still don't understand how it'd push US away from allies? Soviets are not member of allies, their attacking someone only pushes USA away from Comintern (which it won't since US won't be so close to commie corner as to be affected by their threath anyways)

It should push the US away from the Commies which is ok. Problem is that it pushes them into the Allied direction, which is rather one-sided. They should be pushed towards a mid-Allies-Axis position instead.

[Baltasar]

I would love to see a "real world" WWII ending with diplomatic and strategic games between the Allies and the Comintern regarding the invasion of Germany etc.

I would love to see a totally different style. Up until now, basically all MP games just repeat history to some degree. Details vary, but it generally ends in Axis vs the rest of the world.

[Traks]

I would love to see a totally different style. Up until now, basically all MP games just repeat history to some degree. Details vary, but it generally ends in Axis vs the rest of the world.

I am finw with that, as Axis anyway win most of the times. So having less than whole world is even less challenge for them.
Also SU is pretty invincible to Allies, as East usually is taken by Japan, and landing in Baltics against SU bypassing Germans?
In ideal world it would be each player for his own country, but eh, it is fine enough.

[Baltasar]

Or possibly a MP game without humans playing Axis.

[Traks]

Or possibly a MP game without humans playing Axis.

That is golden idea, as Axis AI will struggle, both factions will rush to Berlin.
I do think that Axis will be finished by 1941, which is around the same time as it is now in MP.

[CptEasy]

I think with the current patch the Polish army would have helped you great deal if you had had the choice to puppet them. Its quite large if unmodern. Of course all AI nations are quite wortless so in the long run it might not be so great but should be a great short stop solution for scaring the russians.

I feel something is seriously flawed with this diplomatic model. I suppose that attack would prevent the USA from entering for a long time so maybe that is the balancing factor...

About the Poles – well, yes. Their army could have secured my back when GER took care of the west. BUT – I do have very little trust in the AI. I’m afraid the Russian player could have eaten through them pretty quick – and if not – I would still have the problem later on with polish units spread all over the place, sucking up supply and add to the “coincidence factor”.

Yes, I really like what the model aims at, but it have several major flaws. You would think that a dramatically raised USSR threat would actually lessen US will to attack Axis. We have House Ruled that away by hampering USSR possibilities for unlimited DOWs – but in this case, HR is a fairly blunt instrument.

Now that you've retreated to a defensive line along the Rhine river, crossing it back towards the other side will prove to be a challenge. I wish you good luck in pushing the Allies out of Germany. They certainly seem to be unafraid to waste large amounts of manpower.

All this looks perfectly like WWI. Remember 2-front war for Germany, right?
Surely, we shall see how it works out. But I doubt you could reach success now in the West (because of a many cap-a-pie armed Allied troops galore )

The French/British are attacking with abandon, seemingly wasting manpower. You know, so far we have really only seen this from the Axis perspective. It could be that this is the Allies plan to go for a quick victory. The French player knows that if you send a few more troops to the West and a armor division or two, the tables could easily turn. If France loses the initiative and is pushed back, he could be wiped out in weeks. This is especially true so long as Netherlands/Belgium stay out of the war.

Defeated France = Soon-To-Be Defeated SU

My guess is that this will be a quick war, one way or another.

It will probably be hard attacking the west. My hope is that eagerness make Allies chase too deep too fast into Germany and that I can surprise them and pocket part of their forces. If not, I will simply have to hammer them back which will be costly and time taking – especially if they don’t do any mistake.

If you are thinning out your lines in the East, I'd be wary about a potential Soviet offensive through the Baltics. Lithuania cannot offer much resistance. That already looks like a disaster waiting to happen. What works for the Germans in the west, will also work for the Soviets in the east. ;(

This is actually an option I hadn’t considered so far. Not that I think they have spare troops at the moment, but that might change when they seem me bash against the allied wall…

Push Soviets to Ural and don't let those ugly Allies cross Rhine river

Wishful thinking

I agree with Traks here. It’s just no way I can do both at the moment. I need some kind of a break-through, a strike of luck… something. Grinding away at the Red Army will give me nothing.

I would love to see a "real world" WWII ending with diplomatic and strategic games between the Allies and the Comintern regarding the invasion of Germany etc.

Or possibly a MP game without humans playing Axis.

That is golden idea, as Axis AI will struggle, both factions will rush to Berlin.
I do think that Axis will be finished by 1941, which is around the same time as it is now in MP.

Or – IF Axis falls and wishes to surrender, THEN these Axis players are split up either on Allied or Commie-side and the game continues. It could prove a long lasting game with some new features.

[Maxyboy]

Greetings, this is the UK player from this game. I'm usually commenting frequently in CptEasy's AAR's. I've been busy in real life spawning another strategy gamer and barely found the time for our gaming sessions. But here I am.

Once again credit to CptEasy for so vividly reporting from our ongoing campain. A true masterpiece.

All right, where to start. First off, someone mentioned the stress factor of an unpausable multiplayer game. I'll be the first to vouch for that. Having multiple active fronts will keep you extremely busy and if you don't keep a cool head you are bound to make mistakes. This is actually a tactic used at several instances in our games, to simultaniously attack a player to put him in this situation. In the end you'll porbably end up prioritizing. You'll focus where there is most at stake.

Next, there was a lot of comments about a passive UK (and France) at the Polish campain. To tell the truth I wouldn't dream of an operation Trident against Germany in this game. Remember, CptEasy "invented" the move, and I'm not sure it was a good one to start with. If the german player from that game hadn't accidently railed his counter strike force (thus giving them reorganize penalty) CptEasy would have failed badly. I knew (without even scouting) that CptEasy had forces ready to smoulder any such plans. Remember, several of the players in our campains have litterally known each other for decades...

Plus, I'm a very defensive player. Quite a few of my forces was already deployed around the world to be ready for the Italien and Japanese entry into the war. Only participating with air force and throwing advice at the Polish player seemed safe. :-)

Then ther was the matter of timing the USSR entry into the war. To be perfectly honest, I didn't expect Germany to attempt a "Russia first" strategy against our two front assault. But this was of course what we hoped for. From my point of view France must go down first (unless US entered the war already as in Wildfires). I could motivate this for hours if needed, and with the active readers we have... I'm afraid I might have to. With that in mind we just wanted CptEasy to start his strategic redeployment towards the west (in order to get the reorganization penalty) and by judging by CptEasy's comments Daphne timed it just right. If we waited until the German DOW on Belgium (which would have been the other option) I doubt CptEasy would have even considered "Russia first".

The Belgian tug of war became really interesting. They actually have quite a lot of troops, at least compared to some of UK's potential minor allies. AND they are aready deployed at the front line. Adding those to our front would be priceless. Especially since it would provide a safe escape route if the tide should turn as well as a good defensive line. Just about the time the AAR reached now, they were actually available to invite, and I tried... but they foolishly refused!

Also, I've seen a lot of comments about French manpower. Man, if there ever was a resource to waste (from a HoI point of view) French manpower would be it. There is just no way they will ever run short within the life span of France... unless Germany think that France is saftely left alone.

I think it was Cypveb (did I get the spelling right?) who suggested the allied should try a "spearhead" assault in the west rather than advancing on a broad line. A solid suggestion and to some extent we tried. But with the doctrines (and reorganization time) we had it was very difficult... especially with a mobile german opponent. In the end we were left trying to find or create weaknesses in the German line of defence. A slow advance. But we knew that if the current situation prevailed we would eventually win a war of attrition against the German player.

@Zid: I didn't opt for putting up a similar defence in Kauching since that was done in the last game, and I flet you would be ready to counter that. The bombing of the Singaporian fleet was a true scare to me. You got it disorganized and when I tried to get out, it got hammered and retreated to Singapore. I couldn't believe my luck when my air force later scouted an empty sea outside Singapore and I managed to make an escape.

[FinnishFish]

Wishful thinking only thing that can make change here are Japanese in India, and that is in medium term.

Jeez don't depress him ^^

[Forgiven]

Indeed, and actually I find the fact that France has such large manpower 'wrong' considering I somehow remember that the French military was rather strained due to losses they had taken in the First World War and were seriously lacking especially in available manpower...
But of course, I might be remembering my history wrong

[Traks]

Well. Like Poland, they had virtually everyone in army.
So on paper they had huge army, many of them older age, which brought additional challenges.
But old tired man who have seen WW1 don't hold up to tanks much.
Manpower is slightly too huge, but it simulates what can happen if Blitzkrieg slows down.

[Forgiven]

Aye, but if they had virtually everyone 'allready in the army', where's this manpower reserve coming from?

[CptEasy]

Chapter XIII – Operation Hammer Sickle, Part I











Countries played by humans: UK, France, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Japan









Recap: After the break-out of the two-front war, Germany have concentrated on the Soviet Union. Now, with Operation Storm losing momentum and the defense in the West buckling, Wehrmacht must renew their strategy and focus on the West…












October 22nd-24th, 1939

A week long French attack on Blumberg ended in a German victory. The German forces had plenty of medium panzers and infantry supported by engineers and the French troopers knocked themselves out completely as they struggled day and night until they were exhausted and had to pull back. The German leadership was now well aware that the French front was weak. That was not a knowledge they would let pass by.












October 26th-28th, 1939

The fourth battle of Donauschingen started even before the battle of Blumberg, about the 10th of October. Two and a half week later, the carnage was over. The French had thrown wave after wave against the already devastated province. The Germans had used the forts, forests and the river to the fullest and as the French finally pulled back, more than 14 000 men lay dead – not including civilian casualties.

With the first battles of Donauschingen from mid and late September included, more than 25 000 men had died here of which 19 000 were French. And the border hadn’t moved a meter in the end. Still, with the victory in Blumberg in fresh memory, the Germans knew that the French in this part of the west front was weak as well. Maybe they could be pushed back even before the reinforcements from the eastern front came…












October 27th, 1939

::Johann Keller was at yet another party in Berlin. He’d come here more often now. With the war growing in size the need for food was endless. He made his money, and they money opened doors. Maybe it help that he had such a typical German name, such a typical German look and a typical southern German dialect that people in Berlin found reassuring in some way. Johann himself though it was because he was skillful, eager and creative.::

::His interest in the army itself grew over time and was strengthened by the letter he received from his dear friend Heinrich Hahn. He missed Lucas, but he knew the grown up boy wouldn't write. On this party, only for members of the Nazi party, he ended up talking with a desk officer working under Hjalmar Schacht, the armament minister. It was here he actually heard that they didn’t get hold of rubber and some specific materials in the amount they needed and that I could be a problem quite soon in the war. The desk officer wouldn’t, or couldn’t, say if they had any solution to the problem. Johann could hardly believe his ears but felt worried indeed. How could they win the war without enough raw materials? He suspiciously eyes the people around him. They all drank, ate finger food, laughed and made gossip. The desk officer must just overdo the story. It couldn’t be that bad. Still, he knew himself how prices on some goods had peaked beyond any reasonable prices, so something was not as it should.::

::To get away from the troubling topic, Johann brough up something he had started to think about when reading Heinrich Hahn letter about the differenses between the survival chances betwwn the tank crew and the motorized infantry. Johann argued that it would be better if the infantry as well had better protection. Only with his experience from farm wehicles, he claimed, he could design a wehicle that protected the infantry better than a truck but still with a good speed. The desk officer smiled a knowing smile.::

- I think there’s somebody you should meet.












28th-30th, October

As the French pulled back from Donaueschingen, Luftwaffe, who know enjoyed quite some freedom in the west, made a reconnaissance mission over Baden. As expected, the French troops were in a miserable state. As the German had taken quite some pounding as well and had lesser reserves, the German leadership was reluctant to pull any large scale offensive tricks.

Two divisions, of which one came from the reserves and was fully rested, launched an attack against Baden. The British defenders was somewhat worn down and responded slowly to the attack and part of their front units became initially surrounded. After taken some losses, they recovered and arranged a fairly strong defensive line. It did not look too good for the attackers, but it was assumed that the 161st division would reach the front a lot quicker than the French reserve. Also, Luftwaffe continued to have the air superiority for now.












October 30th, 1939

8 infantry divisions had left the east front together with one HQ to strengthen the West Front in what would be the great push to free German soil of tea-drinkers and frog-eaters. The upcoming Operation was called “Hammer - Sickle”. Operation Hammer Sickle got it name for two reasons. One was to fool enemy spies that it was a mission in the east. The other reason was the two important parts of the operation. The first part, the Hammer, was hammering back the Allies to France and retaking the West Wall. The second part would be the Sickle…












November 1st, 1939

The French air force made a go at challenging the Luftwaffe for air superiority. Due to reinforcements of Bf109s and the obvious lack of RAF, who probably was both licking wounds and been pulled to other theatres, the French fliers were chanceless. Soon, bombs fell over the Allied troops in Baden again.












November 1st-2nd, 1939

The battle of Baden did not become neither long nor epic. As the French armor division failed to reach the front to support the Brits, the 163rd Infantry Division got the upper hand, even if they lost plenty of men along the way. The Brits fought well for every meter - but with continuous bombings, first by German Stukas and later by Japanese tactical bombers, the Brits just could not cope. As two more fresh German infantry divisions reached the front, they quickly managed to breach the weak British line. As the German troops poured in behind the defenders line, they shattered and fled.

Only two provinces remain before the southern part of the West Wall is re-captured.













Authors note: The combination of massive production of ground troops and vicious combat made the officer ratio drop rapidly from reassuring 140 to 110 after the war started. Now, as I had reached several important levels in my research, I made a massive investment in officers.












November 4-6th, 1939

The French leadership did not like to lose Baden at all. The same moment as the haggard 163rd division took hold of the province they were attacked by two infantry divisions and a fresh light armor division. They had fought weeks in Donaueschingen, they had conquered Baden and now they were under heavy attack again. The 26st Infantry Division was still on the far side of Baden and had no chance of immediately support the 163rd that came under immense pressure.

To aid them, two divisions attacked the French in the flank in Hinterzarten. The French ended up in a dreadful position. For a while, they fought on as the 163rd was weak in Baden and they themselves had good protection in Hinterzarten. Still, a two front battle with German panzers in the back was nothing the French could stand very long and after two days of battle, they retreated from Baden, giving the 163rd the first real rest in a month.

When the French consolidated their defense of Hinterzarten it became more than a mouthful for the two German divisions. The German leadership was still afraid of a French counter-strike and did not want to exhaust his troops. They retreated from Hinterzarten.












November 7th, 1939

::Johann Keller’s sat alone on a crowded beerhouse in central Berlin. His life was spinning faster than he could comprehend. He had met the armament minster Hjalmar Schacht himself and had a conversation with the man. One of the Führer’s closest men. It was close to unbelievable. It appeared the minister had similar ideas like Johann concerning better protection for the infantry and he was very interested in what he had to say. The way Johann combined the knowledge of heavy vehicle with Heinrich’s observations in the diverse 1st panzer division followed by Johann’s insights in economic calculations and logic reasoning had made an impression on the minister. Johann was immediately offered a place with military rank in Hjamlar Schacht’s staff to work with a new project they just started. In a rush, Johann had made his second man in his growing food enterprise take over the main operation. He drank deeply from his jug and dried the froth from his lips with the back of his hand.::

::Around Johann, the mood was steaming hot and merry. It did not seem possible to the general public that Germany would fail this time. Their belief in the Führer was total. Johann believed as well, and dreamed of getting the chance to meet the man in person. Still, he knew that everything was not right. Rubber and some other rare materials had become even more scares which was a bad sign. He didn’t know how bad, though, and hoped he would soon find out. During another business dinner he had met a Dutch merchant who’d just had secured a major deal with the Germans. Johann knew, however, that the Dutch were pro-Allies, so it was dangerous to rely on them to much.::













::At the same time on another place of Germany, Lucas Bauer packed up his backpack. This morning, they had left Suwalki and been flown westwards in the big Ju-52 transport planes. They ended up in Kassel which was not too far away from home. Well, it was not very close either but compared to Suwalki this was practically on the other side of the hill. Even though most of the paratroopers were disappointed to never have had the chance to make a combat jump against the Russians, they were still happy to be back in the Fatherland. They all knew they would have the chance to recapture what they Allies had conquered.::

::Lucas, Martin and the rest of the company where based around a farm house. They had their quarters in the empty, and luckily well cleaned, stables. It still had the distinct smell of horse though, but it just reminded Lucas of home and gave him comfort. He didn’t miss home too bad. He knew it would not be like before anyway. But he missed his friends. He had got letters from them but hadn’t written back. He was a man of the moment. Writing letter was just something he didn’t do even though he liked to receive them. He missed his girlfriends in Suwalki but had hoped to get into Kassel and have a good night out. Unfortunately, their presence in Kassel was supposed to be a secret so they didn’t get to leave the farmstead. It was a bummer. Lucas, Martin and kleine Tobias had successfully stolen a barrel of beer and now the platoon had a good party. Kleine Tobias could play the harmonica and the half-drunk soldiers danced with each other in the light of the shift made fireplace. They were laughing like crazy when Lucas mimicked being a girl, which was hilarious due to the fact that he was the tallest man in the platoon. It was a good night and the war, which none of them had experienced, felt distant.::

Also, two Japanese paratroop divisions had arrived too and been based outside the air field in Frankfurt am Main. Moreover, 4 brand new panzer divisions had been deployed behind the northern part of the front along with a few Infantry Divisions. Operation Hammer Sickle was building up the momentum…


......................

[Cybvep]

It's good to see some victories in the West. Your kill ratios are good - at least on the defensive. Your offensive actions in the West have not been very spectacular so far, but if you continue advancing in that way, regaining the control over your lost territory is a real possibility. You also seem to have air supremacy, which should aid your offensive efforts.

Still, I doubt that you want to attack the French troops on the Maginot Line head on. Since the prospect of attrition warfare is very real, your MP and IC are too precious for that. Naturally, it shouldn't prevent you from exploiting potential enemy's blunders. Those PARAs look nasty

[Zid]

@Zid: I didn't opt for putting up a similar defence in Kauching since that was done in the last game, and I flet you would be ready to counter that. The bombing of the Singaporian fleet was a true scare to me. You got it disorganized and when I tried to get out, it got hammered and retreated to Singapore. I couldn't believe my luck when my air force later scouted an empty sea outside Singapore and I managed to make an escape.

Yes, that would be the short interval between two fleet exchanges. But only because your annoying spitfires wouldn´t leave my carrier air groups alone! As expected, I was quite annoyed when the "prize" slipped out of my fingers. The RN and IJN still havn´t really tested each others mettle.

[Baltasar]

Japanese aircraft an Paras in Germany, now that's something new. Though small in number, I wonder why the Japanese player didn't use them himself vs the Soviets. I imagine the Paras would do him good in cutting off more Soviet units or occupying strategic provinces.

[Traks]

Maybe he has enough for both fronts
There are no good provinces in SU until near Urals.
Those paratroops could be handy in India though, which is very rich place.

[CptEasy]

It's good to see some victories in the West. Your kill ratios are good - at least on the defensive. Your offensive actions in the West have not been very spectacular so far, but if you continue advancing in that way, regaining the control over your lost territory is a real possibility. You also seem to have air supremacy, which should aid your offensive efforts.

Yes, those victories were somewhat unexpected as I hadn’t planned any offensives until the reinforcements from the East Front had arrived. So, spectacular or not, I’m happy I’m not retreating at the moment…

Japanese aircraft an Paras in Germany, now that's something new. Though small in number, I wonder why the Japanese player didn't use them himself vs the Soviets. I imagine the Paras would do him good in cutting off more Soviet units or occupying strategic provinces.

Maybe he has enough for both fronts
There are no good provinces in SU until near Urals.
Those paratroops could be handy in India though, which is very rich place.

Well, the paratroopers could be put in use in several theatres of course. Right now, this was the front we deemed to be most important. Also, the whole idea behind Operation Hammer Sickle is to surprise and shock the Allies. So we need all the forces we can get.

Still, I doubt that you want to attack the French troops on the Maginot Line head on. Since the prospect of attrition warfare is very real, your MP and IC are too precious for that. Naturally, it shouldn't prevent you from exploiting potential enemy's blunders. Those PARAs look nasty

Well, “the Hammer” in the Operation only includes taking back the West Wall – and not touching the Maginot Line. “The Sickle” is another matter – but we’ll see if I get that far. Yes, three paradivisions is a mighty flexible tool. I’m just sad I lost one paradivision in the East, in what seems to be a bug according to… Traks I think. In any case – I hope they will be able to pull one ugly trick or another on the Allies. I really need a little bit of luck right now.

[Traks]

I’m just sad I lost one paradivision in the East, in what seems to be a bug according to… Traks I think. In any case – I hope they will be able to pull one ugly trick or another on the Allies. I really need a little bit of luck right now.

That was me. I did point out it being bug or bad WAD which afflicts not only paratrooper divisions, but paratroopers can be affected with it most frequently.
It was St.Patrick's day... today I think. So I hope you put offering, asking for more luck

[CptEasy]

Chapter XIV – Operation Hammer Sickle part II









Countries played by humans: UK, France, Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Japan









Recap: After the break-out of the two-front war, Germany have concentrated on the Soviet Union. Now, with Operation Storm losing momentum and the defense in the West buckling, Wehrmacht must renew their strategy and focus on the West. Eight divisions left the East and travelled by train towards the West. New panzers where deployed in the West as well and paratroopers made themselves ready around airfields close to the border. While these preparations were being made, the troops in the south of the West front started to push the French backwards after a few self sacrificing French attacks which had failed.












November 9th, 1939

To attack Hinterzarten was difficult as the attacking German could be attacked in their flanks from other French troops. Todtmoos, however, could be attacked with all the troops from Konstanz with some back up from Blumberg. The French could attack Blumberg, but only from Hinterzarten and the German knew those troops were in bad shape and they could also be flanked if they dared an attack on Blumberg.

Todtmoos, however, was a province easy to defend. The French were dug in and had fortified bunkers to aid them. It would not be an easy battle. Japan was in charge of the air missions but was initially intercepted by the French. The German troops surprised the French and succeeded in partly surrounding their first line of defense.

Authors note: I don’t know why the hell the terrain icon is on. Todtmoos is just plains…

Authors late note: It’s due to the artillery brigade. They get about a -3% penalty in plains. Now how about that…. (???)












November 11th, 1939

In the Mediterranean, the Regia Marina was playing hardball. They rode the waves with little fear but also took some casualties, though only screens. They fought the navies of France, Britain and Russia. They Russian navy lost several ships in a great battle. The French navy lost a battleship, but the Brits, however, did not lose much in terms of war ships. When it came to convoy tonnage it was another matter. Even though the Royal Navy had succeeded in sinking a few Italian submarines they lost an enormous amount of convoys in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea. Few places, if any, were safe.












November 14th, 1939

In the initial plan, Germany was going to wait with convoy raids until ports in the west of France were secured, to avoid raiding too close to the British coast. As the Regia Marina made great effort in the Med and was met with success with the raids, the German leadership decided to initiate raids close to British coast, with u-boats based in Wilhelmshaven. They were soon met with success as well.












November 14th, 1939

North Africa fell like a house made of cards in a sudden breeze. The troops in Tobruk had failed to escape and ended up in British custody. The troops in Benghazi had better luck. The Brits made landings in the small mountainous port of Mizratah, but the fleeing Italians succeeded, with the tiniest marginal, to outsmart the Brits and continue towards Tarabulus where they planned to make a final stand. The soldiers probably hoped to be rescued there, but the Italian leadership was reluctant to try his luck with transports on the Mediterranean. The Royal Navy had already been attacking them once, luckily when being empty, and did sink a few.












November 14th, 1939

After Japans triumphant victory in the cold lands south of Udskaya Bay, where a major part of Soviet’s eastern army was annihilated, they now met little resistance as they advanced westwards. Still, the country was extremely vast and as the weather grew colder it was even harder for troops and supply to progress.

Still, it had to be a worrying fact for the Russian leadership that only land was between Moscow and the Japanese army.












November 15th, 1939

Germany’s eastern front was totally peaceful. Not a single battle had occurred since the joint German/Italian forces had halted Operation Storm. In order to get better order in the front line, and hopefully to confuse the Rus a bit, the Italian forces moved southwards and took the command of the southern part of the long frontline. The southernmost German troops moved north. The German forces shuffled around a little, a few divisions switched army corps and the gaps from the divisions moving westwards were filled. It was a well needed reorganization and all the troops got long awaited rest. As temperatures were dropping, it was good to not move around and get the possibility to raise more permanent, if still very simple, living quarters.

How long would it take before the Red Army realized its enemy had become a lot weaker and started to test the front? The German leadership hoped it would take as long as possible.












November 15th, 1939

The French defenders suffered in Todtmoos. They had an armor division in the reserve but due to some kind of bad leadership or failing command structure, it had failed to move up to the front were the French infantry suffered badly. In the meantime, the German attackers were reinforced and pressed on savagely.

The French refused to cave in but finally their ranks broke and the fled to the safety of the Maginot Line. The Germans did not pursuit past Todtmoos.












November 17th, 1939

With Todtmoos in German hands, the troops in Blumberg could launch an all on attack on Hinterzarten with their flanks being secured. Once again, they managed to surround an entire French brigade and cause them massive damaged before they managed to reopen a connection to the rest of the division. The French had tanks too, but only light tanks, and moreover, that division had not recovered from earlier battles. The German troops, however, were well rested and eager to win the fame of being the one to have recaptured the last bit of the southern West Wall.

This all happened before Operation Hammer Sickle even had started. It was still in the move up phase. The victories in the south were just due to the opportunity of the moment. The French had pushed too savagely and underestimated the German will and capacity to counter-attack.

Still, the battle of Hinterzarten had only begun and the Allied had plenty of reinforcements behind the Maginot Line.












November 17th, 1939

While the battle of Hinterzarten savagely continued, everything was calm in the north. The Allied hadn’t done a single attack in about a month time. It was both bliss and a curse. It was bliss as the German defenders were spread too thin and had been in a quite bad state. It was a curse due to the fact that Germany had planned to lure the Allies a bit into the country to then surround them during Operation Hammer Sickle. Now, they just dug in behind the Rhine River, just as if they knew something bad was coming their way.

As a reconnaissance flight came back with photos, the Axis leadership realized that the Allies did not have a second line of defense and left strategically important provinces undefended. This was just too good not to take advantage off. The troops would soon be in place.

The main strike would be aimed at the plains in Morbach and then paradrops would secure the land behind the French front. With a quick breech, German Panzers could quickly reach far into the French line before they had time to react, or at least force them to leave easy defendable ground to avoid getting cut off.

Axis just hoped the French wouldn’t move about too much the next few days.












November 18th, 1939

Kaiser! The French must feel the foul stench of death creeping up on them. Now, it would be close to impossible to capture any of their troops, especially as they have not ventured further in the north.




.................



Soon the Fascist tide will hit the West. Will it be enough? The outcome of the next weeks will be extremely important for the outcome of the war.

[Cybvep]

Nice progress in the West - your troops are clearly superior. Also, your PARAs will be useful in forming encirclements.

Be careful, though. The Soviets may be up to sth nasty, like an attack through Lithuania. You would be forced to give up some territory in order to stall their advance and it would be hard to fight on both fronts. In fact, lack of Soviet activity in Poland and Ukraine may indicate that they are slowly moving troops to the SOV-LIT border. If I were you, I would make some reconnaissance flights there.