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

[VonMudra]

Personally, I'm talking about air power's ability to knock out armour, less than it's ability to affect troop movement, which was highly substantial of course. Like I keep saying, it was highly effective at destroying infantry columns and vehicle columns, but very very poor at actually destroying tanks. It did however carry a severe psychological effect against tank crews, however little the chance was of actually being hit.

So basically, if I had to translate it to Hearts of Iron, it should disrupt organization of heavy and medium tank divisions, but barely scratch them manpower wise.

 

[Cybvep]

IMO air power should deal much more ORG damage than STR damage in general. It's not that the enemy is just standing still, waiting to be destroyed. Also, I doubt that we want to see CAS Death Stars again.

Oh, and zero-ORG armour is an useless piece of junk with the sole purpose of draining your supply and fuel reserves.

 

[VonMudra]

Sounds good to me

 

[Baltasar]

It's not like STR is that important anyway since land battles are generally won via ORG.

 

[Cybvep]

It's not like STR is that important anyway since land battles are generally won via ORG.

Yes, but you only drain the enemy's MP and IC by destroying unit strength. Even if units are reinforcing fast, like they do in Vanilla (reinforcing is slower in HPP), they are still losing MP and require IC and MP to be replenished. Winning battles is one thing, draining enemy's potential is sth slightly different.

Germany cannot afford big losses, because the combined MP and IC potential of Germany's enemies is greater.

 

[unmerged(88697)]

. . . {CAS is} very poor at actually destroying tanks. It did however carry a severe psychological effect against tank crews, however little the chance was of actually being hit.

In a recent documentary on the battle of Kursk a Soviet tanker reported that an attack by Stuka's stripped all equipment off the tank, but did not damage the vehicle itself. Also, he reported seeing several tanks disabled after they fell into craters made by the bombs.

 

[Cybvep]

In-game effect is the same. Some people tend to forget that this is a STRATEGIC game, not a TACTICAL one. Tactics is represented by abstract modifiers applied on the operational/strategic level. IRL there was a difference between disabling a tank, abandoning it or destroying it. In-game this means either STR or ORG drop and there is no other distinction. This concerns hundreds of other things, too. You don't aim for side armour in HOI3, you don't fight for control over individual villages, hills or railway stations, you don't concern yourself with weapon's range or the differences between direct or indirect fire, there is no tank desant etc. All this is abstracted in the form of modifiers (soft attack, defensiveness, doctrine bonuses etc.) and by its very nature they are bound to be imprecise. What the devs should try to accomplish is to limit the inadequacies of the game's abstract systems to the minimum in order to achieve plausible results IMO (so things like mass paradrops on VPs, massive hit&run amphibious invasions or 3xLARM+1xAC divs wouldn't be effective/practical).

 

[unmerged(88697)]

December '44: The Jet Age

AIR WAR OVER EUROPE:

(above) Allied bombing activity continued over several cities. Allied interceptors drove deep inland to engage Axis interceptors over their main base at Frankfurt. Amazingly, there was no Soviet activity this month at all.


STRATEGIC MISSILE STRIKES

(above) Missile strikes continued, but the effectiveness is somewhat questionable as the USSR still has over 300 IC's by the end of the month. Beginning next month, more missiles will be deployed, and more targets will be engaged. .


MEDITERRANEAN FRONT

(above) The Allies changed tactics and landed at Pola, easily swatting-away a lone HQ. The air force attempted to bomb the invasion flotilla, but it was one of those super stacks that is nearly impossible to take-out. Least we now know where the entire Allied fleet is.

An armored corps stationed in northern Italy was immediately dispatched to deal with the threat (gray arrow). The rest of the army in Italy remains dug-in behind the von Runstedt line (white arrows).

Logistical strikes continued against Taranto and Napoli, but air and submarine activity was halted due to bad weather and to perform necessary upgrades. A new strategic offensive is planned for the spring of '45 that will include submarines in the North Atlantic.


ROCKET INTERCEPTORS: First Combat

(above) Rocket-powered interceptors are a temporary bridge between conventional and jet engine aircraft. Moving at 1000KPM these tiny craft create havoc among strategic bomber formations.

The 1st wing of rocket fighters were deployed at Bitburgh airfield, and immediately saw action over Luxembourg. The Allies sent in a Lvl 4 commander with four (4) wings of bombers. The bombers held an efficiency advantage of 61 to 45 over the fighters, but were still damaged by the attack. There was no 2d wave against Luxembourg as the AI seems to be giving Bitburgh airfield a wide berth.


ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

(above) After recent combat events the Wehrmacht finally achieved veteran status. Unfortunately, Germany is in no position to take advantage of the situation.


PLANNING—Goals:

Looking at victory conditions it seems the road to success runs through Moscow. Therefore, emphasis will be put on beefing up the Eastern front forces and readying the panzers for yet another campaign. The next offensive is scheduled for the Spring of 1946, and this time it will be either victory or death because Germany's manpower is fairly depleted after six long years of war.

(above) The build-up of the Eastern front continues over the Spring of 1945 with Rommel's Army Group of Eastern Germany next in line. All sixteen (16) of his infantry corps will be upgraded with artillery.

There are still a number of panzers and tank destroyer's in the build queue, which will finish filling-out existing mechanized formations. Beginning in the Fall an upgrade to full Armored Infantry will begin. As well, the '46 offensive will have at least two new panzer corps.

(above) The Lufwaffe remains virtually unchanged from six months ago except for the addition of a wing of rocket interceptors. Now it will receive two (2) wings of rocket interceptors as well as two (2) wings of naval bombers. Naval bombers will serve to improve practical for medium bombers, which is currently down to around 2.2.

Strategic missile production will be ramped-up to put increasing pressure on the Soviet Union.

Upgrades to bombers and CAS are in progress, and are expected to be completed in March of '45. April 9 is the expected date of completion of Jet Engine Research. From that time forward ALL conventional aircraft will be retrofitted to jet-power. Heil Axis!


Next Time: A Winter Victory

 

[unmerged(88697)]

January '45: New Years Technology




Happy New Years. Having survived a dreadful 1944, German scientists and engineers were spared from daily bombings, and are now set to roll-out a series of new weapon systems that should bring a close to this war in the near future.

AIR WAR OVER EUROPE:

(above) Allied bombing activity continued over several cities. There was increased confrontation between German CAP and Allied interceptors as the enemy tried desperately to break-up Axis air cover.


STRATEGIC MISSILE STRIKES:

(above) Missile strikes continued, but effectiveness is now called into question as intelligence shows continued attacks on the same targets are having no effect.


MEDITERRANEAN FRONT:

(above) The Allies landing at Pola is rapidly engaged by armor forces from the army of Northern Italy. If the Allies can be driven from their port, the enemy will be cut-off from supply and easily dispatched.


NEW WEAPON SYSTEMS:

(above) Night-fighting equipment. Germany can own the night if enough of these Infra-red detection systems can be deployed. Upgrades to all mountain, panzer, and paratroops will begin immediately. Eventually, all infantry on the Eastern Front will have this capability.

(above) Surface-to-Air (SAM) missile systems. SAM sites are now available all over Germany, making shoot-down of enemy bombers that much more effective.

(above) Air-to-Air missiles. Over the next month all interceptors, fighter, CAS, and Tactical bombers will be retrofitted with the new missiles. The Luftwaffe will soon be regaining its swagger.

(above) Acoustic Torpedoes are finally available, and will be quickly deployed with all long-range and deep water submarines. All submarines in the Mediterranean front will also be outfitted with this weapon.


Next Time: Winter War--Crisis at Murmansk

 

[misterbean]

happy new year to you too. glad to see you regaining some level of air resistance.

 

[Cybvep]

Shouldn't you start bombing other IC provinces?

 

[unmerged(88697)]

Shouldn't you start bombing other IC provinces?

Yes, it seems so.

Most likely a rotating set of targets, possibly a 3-month rotation, would work better.

Am getting the longer range V-2 next session, so am phasing-out the older model. February was a short month, so next session will combine with March. The new rotation with all new targets will begin in April.

 

[Stuyvesant]

Good to see that you're regaining air superiority over Germany, that should ease the pressure on your IC. Speaking of which, a shame that the strat rockets aren't doing too much against the Soviets.

Good luck with the Allied landing in Yugoslavia - is that a Nationalist Chinese division I'm spotting further inland?

 

[NERFGEN]

I thought rocket interceptors would be a tad more effective. But good job getting some sort of air parity going.

Chinese infantry unit in Istria (By the way, how is Japan holding up?)

I also agree with those who say maybe a rotation in strategic targets in the east.

On a side note: I just went through you r Italian Navy OOB aar. I just have to note that Corsica is a french island to the north of Sardinia.. the one you defended so heavily

 

[unmerged(88697)]

re: landing in Yugoslavia - is that a Nationalist Chinese division I'm spotting further inland?

Yup, and I don't know how the AI does it. Japan has already conquered Chunking and most of China.

Anyhow, the official line is: the "colonialist" powers are beginning to run short on manpower.

 

[unmerged(88697)]

On a side note: I just went through you r Italian Navy OOB aar. I just have to note that Corsica is a french island to the north of Sardinia.. the one you defended so heavily

Good catch. I'd been meaning to go back to fix that.

 

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February-March '45: Doctrine and Technology Improvements (continued)




Surviving 1944 was a major accomplishment for Germany. The reward for this effort is an infusion of new doctrines and technology, But there is still much work to do.

AIR WAR OVER EUROPE:

(above) A new air base was installed at Brno in eastern Germany (former Slovokia) to support CAP over the eastern front. Allied bombing raids slackened somewhat. There was a huge air battle over Frankfurt won by the Allies, but the Lufwaffe continued to control the sky's over Germany.


STRATEGIC MISSILE STRIKES:

(above) Missile campaign was expanded slightly. The new base at Brzesc Litewski was repeatedly struck by logistical bombing attacks forcing the missile wing to remove to a new base at Lida.


MEDITERRANEAN FRONT:

(above) The port of Pola was captured by a mechanized infantry corps from Italy. The panzers then swung around (red arrows) to isolate and catch the Allies in a classic pincer move. The enemy was forced into isolation on the island of Cres.

(above) Undaunted by their losses in Yugoslavia, the Allies launch an invasion of Toulon. Only a few Bulgarian reserve infantry are available to defend the port, and the Allies eventually gained a foothold.

Armored infantry from France (blue arrows) arrived to isolate and liquidate the Tulon pocket. Unfortunately, the relief force is still awaiting panzer and tank destroyers replenishments in the build queue.

Allies launched fresh invasions west of Marseille to break containment around Tulon and flank Axis forces. A relief column of infantry from Italy arrives just in time (red arrow) to halt Allied eastward advances at the port of Nice.


NEW WEAPON SYSTEMS:

(above) The Strategic Rocket Program received improved missile components to extend their range to just short of Moscow. Further advances are ruled-out temporarily as they either reduce missile range or payload.

(above) Improved navigation RADAR for fighters and bombers will improve targeting of enemy ground forces.

(above) Tactical bombers get more lethal payloads, also setting the stage for the RADAR-Guided Bomb.

(above) Newer and more powerful engines are now available for panzers and tank destroyers. (Note: Upgrades include new night-fighting equipment introduced just last month.)

(above) New doctrines for sniper corps and auxiliaries provide a boost in moral.

(above) Central planners improve Germany's counter-attack doctrine and re-organize the artillery arm

(above) War college introduces a new battleplan calling for increased special forces organization.

(above) Delay doctrine continues to be refined for all ground forces.

(above) Wargames result in a new mass assault doctine that greatly improves infantry moral.



Next Time: Winter War—Fall of Murmansk

 

[Stuyvesant]

So, in Pola, the Allied invasion force is basically undefeated yet stuck? In southern France, the situation looks more serious. They still need to capture a port, but there appears to be a fair number of units on the ground.

 

[Baltasar]

Except that there is not other ports in southern France and he is holding both of them. If he can keep the Allies away from them, their attack will petter out into the landscape and the units can then easily be picked off.

Is that a National Chinese unit in France?

 

[loki100]

you're doing pretty well in the West both on land and in the air. Each of those allied invasions will end up costing them quite a lot. But your bombing campaign against the Soviets is only mildly scratching their IC?