Air Force OOB Planning for Germany, The Wunderwaffe 1944-49

misterbean said:

can your manpower hold out long enough until you're ready to retake the initiative?
Finland falling is bad news indeed, but not unexpected.

Click to expand...

Yes, manpower is a critical resource. Allied and Comentern air forces have complete air superiority over the battlefield, and if they continue to press their tactical bombing advantage it will completely drain Germany's manpower reserves. Fortunately, security services have been fairly effective in keeping this information from the enemy.

August '44: Fall of Finland




AIR WAR OVER EUROPE:




(above) The Allies bombardments slackened somewhat as Axis intercepts became more efficient. The Soviets went unopposed in hitting hitting targets in Eastern Prussia and Slovokia.



(above) German fighter intercepts become more efficient. This formation under Air Marshall Porter is headed for Dortmond. It was intercepted three times; once inbound over Osnabrook, over the target itself, and on the outbound route over the Frisian Coast. The high attack and defend modifiers helped Allied bombers survive the mission.

ITALIAN FRONT—Fall of Roma:



(above) Cruise missile strikes from Albania and Slovikia hit the ports of Naples and Taranto destroying supplies for the Allied armies. Missile strikes combined with naval bomber and submarine sinkings of transports were very effective in trimming Allied supply lines.



(above) Rome finally fell on August 24th. A new line of defense called the von Runstedt Line was established (white lines) using rivers and mountains to contain any Allied advance.


FALL OF FINLAND:

General Ringle secretly assembled two armys around a core of eight (8) divisions of mountain troops for a push on the strategic port of Murmask. To create the armys, mountain troops were strategically deployed from Italy and the Balkans to ports on the Baltic, then quickly ferried to Northern Finland (green arrows).



(above) While the Axis was successful in cutting-off and defeating all Soviet divisions in the north, a major Red Army offensive over-ran much of Finland including the traditional capitol (orange arrows).

After the capture of Murmansk, General Ringle began fighting a series of disparate holding actions. It was all he could do to hold onto the northern part of the Finland and preserve the fragile Finnish Government. Some reserve infantry from Norway was SR'd to the border with Sweden to shore-up Ringle's western flank.

Although the Soviets now control of 80% of Finland, this is yet another front in the war. The further Soviet forces are spread out, the less effective they become.


Next Time: Victory in France

Baltasar said:

Did you see any direct result from your logistical strikes in Italy in combination with your attacks?

Click to expand...

Yes, discovered a lack of supply and fuel in Naples, which is believed to be the Allies main supply base in Italy (below):

misterbean said:

I never used V1 or V2 rockets myself. are they worth it?

Click to expand...

Still too early to tell, but also it depends on which faction is using them.

There are material costs to consider. The Allies have all the rares, metals, and fuel necessary to build and sustain conventional bomber forces, but the Axis does not.

Time of construction weighs heavily in favor of missiles, which can be cranked out serially at one per month. Germany in the '44 scenerio simply cannot wait a year or so to produce enough bombers to go on the offensive.

Haven't crunched the build costs for V1's vs tactical bombers. Such calculations might involve missile construction costs vs. cost to repair or replace bombers. But, Germany has no strategic bombers, so there's no comparision to make there. Considering the Allies would easily defeat conventional bombers though, missiles appear the only viable alternative.

The above answers are rather vague, but the question is open-ended as well. In WW2 the V1, V2 programs were deemed a failure because they diverted resources from a jet figher program that could have changed the course of the War.

In this AAR, missiles are used somewhat sparingly at first, with production ramping-up only as they become more useful. In the next installment V-2's get a technological boost, and so expect more in the way of an outcome-based analysis in later reports.

September '44: Victory in France




AIR WAR OVER EUROPE:




(above) The Allied and Soviet bombardments continued to be effective over select targets, but one Allied bombing force was effectively intercepted and turned-away over Onsabruk. The Allies continue to challenge German CAP over central France, fighting a series of running battles that generally end with the retreat of German aircraft.

STRATEGIC MISSILE ATTACKS



(above) German V-2's were finally unleashed to attack Soviet industry. As predicted, Soviet air defences were absolutely powerless to prevent the attacks.



(above) Intelligence reports the net effect of strategic attacks on the USSR was a loss of 5 IC's.


WESTERN FRONT—Victory in France:



(above) Allied attempts at a second landing near Calise were foiled by new Coastal Armor units. The combination of heavy panzers and paratroops is a new design, created just for this purpose. Both brigades have high toughness, and when the unit is positioned behind sea fortifications it is extremely difficult to dislodge. Heavy panzers and paratroops are also highly resistant to attack from the air.



(above) Anti-air reserves are brought up to help protect Coastal Armor units from air attack. As Allied and Comentern bombs become more effective, these units will come to be deployed along every front.



(above) Reserve panzers were finally released on September 1, and would take a week or so to get into position. The opening attack on Allied positions began in mid-September. Caen fell on October 9, and by mid-October the operation was in mop-up phase.

After this loss the Allies are expected to be set-back a year or more. Rommel's panzer units are to be immediately transferred to the eastern front to shore up weakening defenses of Army Group North. Eventually, all that will be left in France are port guards, AA, coastal panzers, and paratroops.


SUBMARINE WARFARE—Upgrade:



Submarine technology breakthrough includes new air warning and Sonar units. The submarine fleet will be gradually upgraded beginning with its long-range and blue water submarines.

MANPOWER RESERVES:



Continued attrition by fighting on multiple fronts has reduced German manpower reserves to critical levels. Continued research into agriculture is a priority as Germany will be unable to go on the offensive until manpower levels recover.


Next Time: Fuel and Resource Crunch

misterbean said:

off-topic question, but I didn't want to ask in your naval OOB AAR, since it's finished.
anyway, I'm trying to use your top-down approach to design the kriegsmarine in 1936. Which ship stats (apart, obviously, from max range and speed) are totalled in-game and which are averaged?

Click to expand...

Most stats are sum total except ORG and Positioning, which are averaged. Speed and Range use mininum values, while Firing Range uses maximum value.

NERFGEN said:

Nice one in Italy (did you use only troops available there or did you take some troops from France? (sory if I missed it in your writing)

For the air war it looks like things are sour. You could use more planes. Any chance of building some?

Click to expand...

The units guarding the south of France were moved to Italy. Some motorized infantry were re-positioned from Croatia but that is all. Bulgarian infantry were SR'd to post guard on French and Italian ports from Marsailles to Genoa.

Yes, Germany is building more fighters, and in the next installment the CAP is reorganized. But, the reserve system seems to be doing the job fairly well as damage is taken the Reserve unit takes to the skys.