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CptEasy, I’ve read all of your multiplayer AARs and have yet to comment--until now. I must say that all of your AARs are some of the most fascinating I’ve read. It’s so interesting to see players match wits. Sometimes single player AARs are like watching a Grand Master play a junior high chess club; but not so with your games! Another wonderful thing is how different all the games play out, and the different perspective we get as you play different nations. The varied play styles really keep the AAR exciting; for instance, your German play compared to its previous player’s strategy, or the current UK player compared to your previous strategy. I really applaud your efforts!

As for presentation, that’s terrific as well. Having been in some dire economic straits in HoI3 before, I felt a familiar tension as your Rare Materials stock dwindled! And the relief when you secured a new source!

I do have a question, though. I’ve never played multiplayer, but I noticed those Japanese para divisions are still under the Japanese player’s control. Isn’t that a hassle for that player, micromanaging two divisions on another continent, and having to coordinate so precisely with the German initiatives? Wouldn’t it be easier to place them under German control while they took part in German offensives?

Anyway, keep up the great work! I can’t wait to read the further developments of this world war.
 
I've got the impression that the imbalance of forces in the Pacific area is once again going to be decisive for the game. The UK player alone cannot hope to contain Japan while he still has to concentrate on Europe. So the Axis will slowly but surely gain an advantage.
 
Very exciting events in deed. The capture of Amsterdam 1 day before your industry would have had to slow down was really epic. Sure running the industry slower for a week wouldnt have mattered that much but it would have made Hitler "bunker-angry" :)

The allies seems to have lost the initiative after operation hammer and sickle. Constantly harassing UK convoys have to spill over to the production rate for RAF or RN.. It would be interesting to hear from the SOV player at this point. The stalled invasion of Russia and fairly slow progress in the west must be a light in the dark for the Russian Bear? When is thoose T34s leaving the factory?
 
This operation was a major success.
All things considered, the prospects for the Japanese expansionism are good.
I agree fully. As we have seen in previous games, as long as US is not in the war – it’s only a question of HOW quick Japan expands.
7000 rares is not much, but if you have daily plus (or very small minus), it will be sufficient for all goals.
I am just slightly wondering about SU being so quiet. Bad move, they should be constantly attacking in 1-2 places, burning manpower and rotating troops.
So yes, Axis prospects at moment are better than month before. Now Germany can think about France.
7000 is still more than I have had for a good while – but if I can’t renew the deals with the Dutch, they will drop pretty quick. SU being quiet was a surprise for me too. Maybe he is waiting for spring or a DOW on Belgium? That’s at least what I thought.
Absolutely brilliant stuff! The expression in English for picking up 7000 units of rares with only 1 days supply left in your stockpile is "Jammy" :D
Heh heh. That sums up pretty good how I felt :)
Be prepared in the east though as they are likely to initiate their mass assault when they see most of your forces tied up in the West. However, I think you should have sufficient forces to hold them in the east now with the Netherlands puppeted. Those Jap paras should come in very handy too if you get caught in a tough spot :)
You are too optimistic. IMO Germany's position would be very difficult if the Soviets DOWed Lithuania.
It seems to me that it is a total stalemate, and only one that will slowly tip away from the Germans. In the end India is not vital to the British war effort, and Africa is already secure, taking South Africa would merely be a waste of threat, annexing or puppeting will push the US closer to war and for such a weak nation that is most likely not contributing anything to the war in Europe.
Time is really not on the Axis side whereas the Allies have plenty of it. Halting a japanese advance would be as easy as logistic bombing the one province giving them supplies, then holding the line. With the lack of airbases in Central Asia it would be unlikely that at this stage INT's would have the range to cover the front line from airbase to airbase so there isnt much that Japan could do about it.
I felt I had saved Germany (and Axis) from a sudden doom with the successful Operation hammer Sickle – but I did not know how strong they had become. SU have war economy and have been building for quite some time – and so has France and UK. That’s a lot if IC. Well… we’ll see soon enough… As Marks sais… time is on the Allied side in the short run (having more ICs) but on the Axis side in a longer perspective as US will not join very early. If Axis can break a threatening stalemate, then things look pretty good.

I've got the impression that the imbalance of forces in the Pacific area is once again going to be decisive for the game. The UK player alone cannot hope to contain Japan while he still has to concentrate on Europe. So the Axis will slowly but surely gain an advantage.
Yes. I agree. We are discussing how to adjust this to later games. One thing would be forcing Jap player to quit deals with US when DOWing Allies. Another would be allowing a US player earlier – thus making them stronger and probably joining the war earlier.
Hey!
Nice to see Netherlands puppeted, though 'rares race' is exaggerated a bit IMO :)
Nothing special would happen if you had a shortage for a few days. As long as you have enough supplies of course.
Heh, well, I don’t agree. After the DOW of Netherlands I think I lost about 30 Rares a day. That would mean a loss of 30 ICs when the stockpile was gone… which is about 10% of my entire production. Not the end of the world – but surely not good.
The allies seems to have lost the initiative after operation hammer and sickle. Constantly harassing UK convoys have to spill over to the production rate for RAF or RN.. It would be interesting to hear from the SOV player at this point. The stalled invasion of Russia and fairly slow progress in the west must be a light in the dark for the Russian Bear? When is thoose T34s leaving the factory?
I would like to know the same :) Hopefully we can get some comments from the Rus player…
CptEasy, I’ve read all of your multiplayer AARs and have yet to comment--until now. I must say that all of your AARs are some of the most fascinating I’ve read. It’s so interesting to see players match wits. Sometimes single player AARs are like watching a Grand Master play a junior high chess club; but not so with your games! Another wonderful thing is how different all the games play out, and the different perspective we get as you play different nations. The varied play styles really keep the AAR exciting; for instance, your German play compared to its previous player’s strategy, or the current UK player compared to your previous strategy. I really applaud your efforts!As for presentation, that’s terrific as well. Having been in some dire economic straits in HoI3 before, I felt a familiar tension as your Rare Materials stock dwindled! And the relief when you secured a new source!
I do have a question, though. I’ve never played multiplayer, but I noticed those Japanese para divisions are still under the Japanese player’s control. Isn’t that a hassle for that player, micromanaging two divisions on another continent, and having to coordinate so precisely with the German initiatives? Wouldn’t it be easier to place them under German control while they took part in German offensives?
Anyway, keep up the great work! I can’t wait to read the further developments of this world war.
Hey Nuarq. Nice with some comments. Thanks a lot for the praise :) To your question – we don’t allow switching control of units (except a small Africa Corps for historic reasons). So I simply have to yell at Zid over the skype when I have an air mission in the pipeline. I guess that’s the whole point with a multiplayer set up. But you have a point of course – it gives Zid one more thing to deal with. But he has to trust me for keeping an eye on his troops and suggest drop zones.
Nice to have you on board.


….

Will try to post later tonight. Must fill my belly with something first…
 
Sudden Carnage

Chaper XXI – The Act of a Genius








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








Recap: Operation Hammer Sickle is over and was quite successful. What will Germany do next? Well, the world is not waiting quietly for them to decide. All over the globe, the war is raging. Soon though, a new brave German Operation will be named…











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February 5th, 1940

The Red Army had grown bold after their recapture of Shepetivka and attacked Równe. It was hardly unexpected. The German leadership had expected the Russian forces to attack them viciously already during “Hammer”, but it did not happen. The hardly did anything during “Sickle” either – and the attack on Równe was far from worrying. Instead, the Germans were surprised the attack was so light. It made them suspect a secondary target. Still, an attack on the Third Reich could not go unpunished…











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February 6th, 1940

To take some pressure off the troops in Równe, the German forces in Dobno attacked into Shepetivka… for the second time in this war. Several of the Red Army units in Shepetivka were involved in the attack of Równe and the German attack in their flank must have been quite unsettling – if hardly unexpected.

Also – several brigades of self propelled artillery (Hummel) had been deployed on the east front. Both panzer divisions were due to get a unit incorporated. Rommel’s 1st had already gotten theirs and Model’s 3rd was on his way to rendezvous with his. 1st Panzer had to release the brigade of armor cars who had served them so well and many good friends had to say their goodbyes. The armor cars were instead transferred to a division of motorized infantry (visible North West of the Russian fighters).

Visible is also the Italian troops guarding the southernmost part of the East Front. Except a minor Russian attack, they had had a very peaceful winter… so far.











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February 8th, 1940
When 1st Panzer linked up with the infantry who attacked into Shepetivka, they had already made good advance into the province. The Red Army’s attack on Równe had been cancelled and thus, the whole reason for the attack on Shepetivka was fulfilled. Still, as the Russian defense of the province already seemed to buckle, the charge continued.

::It was all good that the infantry already had cleared the westernmost part of the province and the panzers could charge right ahead. When they linked up with the frontline, the Soviet infantry was in some disarray and under heavy pressure already. With the intel from the infantry at hand, the 1st Panzer could blitz right into a weakness in the Red Army’s defensive line. As Heinrich carefully steered his armored beast past the last line of friendly infantry, he gazed out from the small opening in front of his face. It was a narrow tunnel-view which had stressed him out in the beginning, but now he was used to it. He knew that Bobby and especially Michael had a better view and trusted them to check the flanks. As long as they were fired at from affront, he was not too scared but it was important that no Rus got a shot at them from the side. Now, he missed their armor cars. They were outstanding at keeping a close watch on the perimeter and spying ambushed before then launched.::

::They opened up with a spearhead attack on a rather narrow front line. The received some AT-fire and Heinrich saw a fast light Panzer explode and a medium Panzer get its right tracks blown off. One or two other Panzers got stuck in the icy mud and after several failed attempts to break free of the earth’s grip they simple stopped and provided covering barrage as best possible. Heinrich maneuvered skillfully around the muddiest areas and when Bobby managed to hit a quite skillfully camouflaged AT-gun they breached the Soviet first line. Several panzers followed the lead of Michael Wittmann’s cunning planning and Heinrich’s supreme eye for the best ground. It was actually a knowledge he had brought with him from the autumn harvest in Southern Germany. Sometimes it got very muddy and it was very embarrassing to ask a neighbor to pull your tractor out of the mud. Things like that was the talk of the town for weeks. After a while he learnt to tell the properties of the mud by just looking at it very carefully. The way a deer’s tracks looked in the mud was a good help too. Here, he saw no deer-tracks but well the tracks of Soviet boots.::

::They were about eight panzers who got behind the first Soviet line and the fell into their backs and tore up their lines at the same time as the German Infantry attacked from the other side. It was a strategy they have used before, but it worked almost every time. The Red Army retreated to the second line but just as they reached it, Michael Wittmann used their new support brigade and called in artillery from the Hummels. It was a mighty barrage and the panzer crews shouted with joy and they saw the hellfire surge over the terrified defenders. A problem, though, was at least of fourth of their Panzers was stuck in the mud. It would take some time, and some hard work, to get ready for another push. Heinrich muttered to himself. Working with the Panzers in this freezing temperature made his fingers ace. Oh, how he longed for warmer weather. But he couldn’t complain too much. They’d actually been passive for most of the winter, and that was good indeed.::











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February 8th, 1940

In Ed, beside the Red Sea, an army corps of Italian troops had been outmaneuvered. They were cornered along the coast and attacked by Brits who were inferior in numbers but superior in skill. The Italians here would last a while and delay the British advance – but they could not hope to win.

A few weeks later, some 25 000 Italians surrendered.











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February 9th, 1940

In Tarabulus, however, the British siege was just a bad memory. Regia Aeronatica had made a massive effort to win the air superiority and then bomb both Brits and their supply depots to oblivion. Now, the Brits gave up dislodging the Italians from North Africa and retreated to Benghazi.

Strategically, this was important as the Brits could not create a secure front here and even if the Italians in Tarabulus were far from really dangerous, they were still a nuisance… and something that pulled at the British attention now and again. Very good!











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February 12th, 1940

::It was a great moment for Johann Keller when their project was finalized at last. They had been at it for quite some time and several theories were well ahead of common practice (it’s a 1941 technology). The Führer himself had a personal interest in the project and invited the armament minister, Hjalmar Schacht, and some of his closes officers to a ceremony. Hjalmar asked Johann join in.::

::It was a great moment for a farmer and cheese producer from southern Germany to suddenly be presented to the ruling elite of the Großdeutsches Reich. The reception was in a fairly cozy hall in central Berlin. The Führer was there and several of his closes men of which Johann recognized most of them. He felt both honored and dwarfed by their presence. Hjalmar and his men held a short briefing of the project, the building stones of a mechanized division and of course - a more through description of the various brand new vehicles. Johann had his five minutes of fame when he went through the specifics of the multipurpose vehicle – the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 (the half track). He was nervous like hell, but kept cool during the presentation and even made some anecdotes from his experiences from his earlier days as a farmer. He heard several appreciating murmurs – regarding both the specifics and the anecdotes.::











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Some of the pictures Johann used in his presentation

::After the presentation, the Führer himself came up to the project staff, shook their hands and said a few appreciating words. It was a magic moment for Johann. Being so close to the man behind the German greatness was truly stunning. The man was nothing like the furious man he had seen a television or heard on the radio. Instead, he was calm, focused and with a demi-God aura that left Johann deeply affected. He had been very critical about the lack of a decent stockpile of goods before the war, and he had been all over critical about the war as such. Now, he felt wide open to the man – and liking the feeling.::

::Hitler then held a speech to the research staff and the other guests – both Goebbles and Göring included. He started by praising the researchers in several sentences which Johann came to remember the last one best.::

“In this world, is not the act of a genius always a protest against the inertia of the mass?” (Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf)

::Johann liked to believe that ‘protest’ to be the reason for him not being satisfied by the simple life as a farmer. It was like Hitler was talking only to him. Then Hitler increased the temperature in the room by cursing Marxism and to promise to have them kneel before the German superiority. He was also annoyed by the Allies and the way they interfered with his plans. Later, Johann remembered a stark verbal attack.::

“Democracy, as practiced in Western Europe today, is the fore-runner of Marxism. In fact, the latter would not be conceivable without the former. Democracy is the breeding-ground in which the bacilli of the Marxism world pest can grow and spread.” (Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf)

….

::Johann Keller walked in a haze the next few days. The meeting with Hitler had pushed his earlier thoughts over the top. He just couldn’t stand staying behind in Berlin and attending various parties, happenings and civilized meetings while his friends and the majority of the German youth where out there in the mud fighting and bleeding for the future greatness of Germany. For the sake of his own sanity – he had to get out there too. And he had a plan for it too. Hjalmar wouldn’t be very happy though…::











29-3.jpg

February 15th, 1940

::The winter was over on the East Front. Instead came the worst part of the spring. It was still cold, freezing during night time, but damp and wet during day-time. And now a thunderstorm had blown in from the west. 1st Panzer have had the luxury of not manning the immediate front-line. They had infantry for that, and moreover, their brigade of Hummels hadn’t had the chance to really integrate with the division yet.::

::After the last victorious battle of Shepetivka, 1st Panzer and most of the army corps was order to stay in Dubno while a lone mountain division moved into Shepetivka. It did not take long until STAVKA realized this and sent the Red Army too take it back. The poor bastard mountaineers had to retreat immediately. Heinrich Hahn was so happy that he got to stay put and take care of his panzer instead of driving back and forth over a mud-filled Shepetivka. It was enough the first time. He wondered how many times the battle would rush to and fro. But alas, they had no reserves so he knew it was impossible with a break-through any time soon. The question was, and the rumor was wide spread, when would the Red Army come big time? The soldiers were quite nervous about this. Especially the infantry. Heinrich didn’t bother too much. He knew the Russian AT was far too weak to pose any real threat.::

::Heinrich used these rainy days to huddle with his mates but also to take of the tracks, go through them and put them back on. It was time taking indeed. When it cleared up for a few moments, Heinrich and Bobby borrowed a jeep from head quarters and went to the new self propelled artillery brigade and inspected them. They were marvelous pieces of warfare. The soldiers manning them, however, were all fresh but eager enough. It was great honor for them to serve with the 1st Panzer.::



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Some rookies trying to camouflage their Hummel in Dubno. The last snow still visible on the ground.











30-3.jpg

February 17, 1940

On the West Front, things had settled down. The Netherlands did not struggle but rather welcomed the new order. Wehrmacht was in a quite good order after the orderly attack on the Netherlands, but still needed a few days to reorganize. Even though the German leadership had been worried about the attack itself and the outcome of it, they still had a plan for the next phase - Operation Vice.

As all diplomatic intel calculated that Belgium would join Allies within short, it had been the German leaderships hope, all before Hammer Sickle, to be able to launch a preemptive strike at Belgium before they actually joined the Allies. All through Sickle, and the diplomatic chaos that followed, the Germans worried about Belgium. They had worried about Belgium since the summer. Belgium had actually been a pain in the butt and one of the drivers behind Operation Hammer Sickle. Now, they would get an operation for themselves. Operation Vice. The German leadership looked forwards to launch it, to punish the Belgian upstarts and to close in on the damn French who have had the nerves to trample German heartland and kill its populace. They had hell coming their way.

Author’s note: Honestly, I was surprised over how smooth Sickle had gone. It had actually gone exactly according to plan (thanks again to well organized Japanese amphibious attacks in the East Indies) – and that is bloody unique. So, when everything had gone my way I just let the snow ball tumble further ahead down the hill. Now, when I was attacking Belgium, my greatest fear was the Allies quickly linking up in the easy defendable Belgian countryside. So, I planned to use paradrops to cut them off. But it all depended on how Belgium (AI) had positioned their troops and how much "on their toes" the Allies were.


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


By the way, guys - if you would like to give me some cred for this ARR, plz go in the AARland Choice AwAARds and put a vote for Sudden Carnage on "Favorite Gameplay AAR, HOI3". Thanks :)
 
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My impression is that a game where the USA is played by the AI (which means that the USA will do nothing or almost nothing) is extremely unbalanced in favour of the axis.
At least in Europe. The only thing that the Axis has in their advantage is overpowered Japan which can swallow China in several months and go on conquest spree unopposed without ANY US reaction.
 
You have my vote, man!

Thanks Cybe, and the rest of you guys voting for Sudden Carnage. Appreciate it a lot :)

Darn it CptEasy, why must you leave us with endless cliff hangers!? ;D

That’s the trick, eh? ;) I’m just happy that our game always give me a lot of cliff-hanger situation…

Good stuff again.

Thanks Uber. Doin my best :)

My impression is that a game where the USA is played by the AI (which means that the USA will do nothing or almost nothing) is extremely unbalanced in favour of the axis.
At least in Europe. The only thing that the Axis has in their advantage is overpowered Japan which can swallow China in several months and go on conquest spree unopposed without ANY US reaction.

Yes, I agree more or less with Cybe, here. The problem is not USA but Japan. USA should be slow starters IMO, and build a lot of shitty coastal defenses and that crap. But Japan should not join the war this early and they should have more problems in China. We have discussed House Rules a little for next game, but it’s tricky to House Rule this situation. If Japan is not allowed to attack UK until say, summer 1940, then UK can just empty Asia on troops until then. So it’s easier to adjust it with earlier US player, I guess. But we’ll see how we’ll fix it. We have not decided. Please make suggestions if you have clever ideas.

New post during the weekend.
 
Most definitely sort out the West before East, but beware of running into a stalemate in the West and offensives in the East gaining ground, its a tricky decision.
 
Whats going on with Japan?

Check out last chapter. Now, I guess they are reorganizing after taken Dutch Indo China. Soon enough, you'll see more action from them.

@Thinker- Yes, it was tricky. Now, however, the die is cast....

New post within short.
 
Sudden Carnage

Chapter XXII – Operation Vice Part I








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







Recap: Operation Hammer Sickle is over and was quite successful. Netherlands is now a puppet of Germany. In the East, the Soviet Union is making noise but fail, so far, to push Germany back. Soviet themselves have problems in the Far East where they lose ground to Japan. Japan have been successful in Dutch Indochina and are now reorganizing their troops, making them ready for new conquests. The question is where. United Kingdom has not shown much strength in Asia, but has made plenty of initiatives in Africa. The Italians are losing ground fast in East Africa after a terrible defeat in Ed. Still, in Tarabulus (Libya) they have managed to hold on and repel the Brits. In the Med, United Kingdom is more or less the unchallenged ruler above the surface. Italian navy have been playing hard ball but are now dwarfed by their opponents and have to play safe. Still, the Italian submarines are still active in the Med, raiding Allied convoys. The Allies are also losing a lot of convoy tonnage around the British Isles, outside France and Spain due to German U-boats. Now, however, it is time for Operation Vice. The attack on Belgium.











31-2.jpg

February 19th, 1940

Operation Vice is launched. The Belgian defense is even weaker than expected. Hopefully, a few provinces can be taken quickly, before any potential stalemate. Interceptors flew out to scout the Belgian country-side. The Success of Operation Vice would depend on finding unprotected and strategical targets for the paratroopers – without endangering them too much. They German leadership refused to risk the same fate as what happened to the 1st Paratroop division who perished in Poland when fighting the Red Army.

Germany had recently deployed a full army corps in Kalkar (east, north of the lone Hummel brg) consisting of 3-brigade infantry divisions with either an engineer brigade or a heavy artillery brigade attached to them. It was 50 000 men getting ready to swarm into Belgium and crush all resistance. They just needed some more time to organize.

Authors note: I also built a little too many SP Artilleries so a few is still without divisions…











32-3.jpg

February 20th, 1940

24 hours later, several victories were won and the three Axis paradivisions had landed safely. The German paradrop in Leuven by the 2nd was especially fortunate as this province had the potential to be a very defendable province. The victory in Brugge (west) was also of sensational value as Heer now threatened France itself – hopefully making them nervous. The Japanese paradrops stopped the Belgian divisions to retreat south to France. The plan was to destroy them once and for all.

All in all, the attack on Belgium went better than the most hopeful prediction. The German leadership was surprised that UK and France did not back Belgium up better. So far, the British motorized in Bruxelles was the only visible supporting force on Belgian soil.











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February 21st, 1940

::Falling though the air in late February was somewhat better than in January, but his jaws were still rattling when he landed. Lucas Bauer landed in the outskirts of the city of Leuven itself and as soon as the company had assembled, they moved in to secure parts of the city and especially the universty. During the world war, the Germans had burnt it down causing a global outcry of protests. Not wanting to re-do the same mistake, it was important to secure the library from any kind of sabotage or misunderstanding.::











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::Lucas thought it was an amazing building and preferred to guard that rather than shoot at Belgians. Many of the higher officers seemed to bare ill will against the Belgians as they had chosen to align towards the Allies, but to Lucas they appeared to be like most people. The paras found some deserted barracks but other than that the city seemed untouched by the war. After a few hours of hectic preparation to secure their perimeter and set up the company HQ and platoon structures, things became calm. It seemed similar to their drop in Netherlands and Martin and Hans started yet again to argue if this could be classified as a combat jump. Hans, eager to prove himself after his shortcomings in St Wendel (due to his sprained ankle), was visibly annoyed by the lack of resistance.::

::Lucas didn’t share Hans feelings. After the charge over the River Rheine against the French defenders, Lucas thirst for combat was quenched. As he, Martin, Hans and one other soldier guarded a street leading to the university he noticed a pub that was still open, even though they didn’t have too many costumers. He pondered on weather his D-Marks were good here and if Belgian women went to the pub. This was good living, he summarized, jumping to new places in new countries, seeing a lot of spectacular things - and without firing a shot. He couldn’t think of a better way to live life and for a brief second he wondered how things always turned out so good for him all the time. Then he started to think about the Pub again.::











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February 25th, 1940

6 days into the attack on Belgium and the north was taken, and Bruxelles was under attack – but yet held out pretty well. The 2nd Paratrooper Division in Leuven had been relieved by troops from up to three army corps. The main German attack was towards Namur but it was hard going as the Belgians had superb defensive positions. In the east, the Belgian defense of Bastogne was crumbling. UK had sent another motorized to aid the Belgians, but the French still stayed in France.

The new army corps in Kalkar had now started to move through Venlo (red ring). These fresh 50 000 men were eager to fight but the German leadership, stressed and also surprised by the fast advance, was unsure were to use them best.











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February 26th, 1940

The Soviet attack on the Axis had affected the Greeks. Further diplomatic efforts from the Axis paid off when Greece wanted to join the Axis. Good! The Italians was already struggling in the Med and needed help.











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February 27th, 1940

As the German paratrooper never had to fight in Leuven, they were ready to jump soon again. Phillipville in southern Belgium became the target as it was left undefended by the Allies. Firstly, their task was to stop the French to reinforce Belgium – even though no such move had been visible so far. Secondly, and more pressing, was the chance of creating a pocket around the soon retreating Belgians. The German leadership wanted to get rid of as many Belgian divisions as possible before the attack on France started in earnest.

At the same time, Bastogne fell and German forces charged southwards from the east.

::The platoon did not show any tendencies of being indolant as they landed in Phillipeville. They knew they now were bordering idle French troopers in the south and were surrounded by desperate Belgians on all other sides. This was not likely to be as peaceful mission as the latest two. Even so, after landing and assembling with most of the platoon, things were still calm. No hostile actions had been taken against them after the first few hours and they quickly rushed towards their positions along the Maas River. It was just one problem. They had lost Hans during the jump. It had only been a light wind but it was still easy to do mistake like interpret the ground wrongly underneath you. Lucas simply had to let it go and hope that Hans could show up later.::

::They reached the Maas about an hour later, and while the company HQ took position in a small village, Lucas platoon used a small chapel as base. It gave good cover for bombings and shelling. While about half of the platoon rested in shifts or prepared their base in the chapel, the other half took OPs along the river. Lucas stayed back at the chapel and arranged a “main gate” at the lower entrance to the chapel with sandbags and a local area telephone line to connect to the company HQ. As evening fell all quite around them, Lucas started to actually look at the chapel and marveled at its beauty.::


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The chapel entrance












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February 28th, 1940

After about 24 hours, the peace ended for the German paratroopers in Phillippeville. A French infantry division attacked from Montmédy, trying to cross the River Maas on several places. The paratroopers had obviously concentrated their defense around the bridges and the French meet heavy resistance here.

::There were no bridges close to the chapel where Lucas Bauer and his friends were based. Instead, their platoon covered about a 500 meter section of the river. For this purpose, they basically had two OPs in hastily dug fox-holes close to the river but fairly camouflaged. In the evening, when Lucas, Martin and 2 others quietly waited in their fox-holes, watching the other side, they suddenly saw the enemy. They had heard mg- and mortarfire start some kilometer away and thus were very attentive. The French came sneaking down to the opposite waterfront carrying make-shift rafts and an old rowing boat. It was at least a full platoon visible at the beach. Lucas sent one man to get reinforcements from the platoon and then waited some. As the French rowed out in the broad river, the three Germans opened fire simultaneously with an mg and a rifle. The French in the rowing boat took the brunt of the rapid fire and several men fell screaming into the water and several others ducked low.::

::Immediately, hostile fire erupted out from the darkness on the other side, aimed at the muzzle flashes of the German shooters. Bullets whistled past Lucas head or hit the ground around him. They heard the muffled “pah – pah – pah” from mortar fire and ducked in their fox holes before the grenades landed not far away with powerful explosions busting the stem of a tree that crashed down just behind their holes, ten meter away. They rose again and peered out in the dark. The rowing boat drifted with no one on the tiller. The rafting French used their paddles to get down stream and away from the ambush. What they did not know was that a similar OP awaited them around the next creek. They fired again at the raft, just barely visible in the dusk, and the French on the other side responded equally fast with screaming bullets and coughing mortars. Soon, their own platoon, with Hans eagerly up front, came to reinforce, setting up their own mortars which started to exchange shells with the French. They failed to get across this time. Hans had just managed to reach his platoon in the chapel before the skirmish started and he was mighty happy he didn’t miss that as well.::

::Lucas was relived and returned to the chapel at mid night when things calmed down. The sound of battle in the distant was still the dominant back ground sound, but it was at least peaceful on Lucas sector. He wrapped a blanket around himself and lay down on a church bench without even taking off his boots. But the sleep did not come quickly. This night-time battle had disturbed his inner peace. Except the Frenchmen on the raft, Lucas never saw the enemy. The bullets and grenades just came out of the dark, tearing up the ground around him, hungry for his flesh. They had lost none, and only one was lightly wounded from mortar shrapnel, but it had still been a gruesome night. He wished for the southing sleep to come but it didn’t.::




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You are pushing them hard. The Allies are passive and will probably simply want to save France without bothering with the Benelux. I'm surprised by this. They should coordinate their actions with the Soviets and give you as many problems as possible.