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This AAR definately needs some more updates. And monumental ones. Been waiting for weeks now :-(
Sorry for keeping y'all waiting. It is partly due to me traveling a bit right now but even more due to the fact that we are really struggling to find dates where everybody in the group can play. Demanding jobs, kids... Life. But it's coming... in due time. Actually, I plan to post a new chapter later today. Cheers.
Chapter XXXXII - Operation Blitz of Legends
Players: SOV, 2xUSA, UK, 2xGER, JAP, ITA
Recap: Operation Blitz of Legends is in full swing. The Allies seem to be retreating but the outcome is unclear. Just as in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Total Annihilation, simply driving the Allies back onto the transport ships will not do. Encirclements are a must. And speed is of essence. The Red Army has entered the Fatherland from the East and the German forces there are in terrible shape.
September 12th, 1943
Except a British infantry division which got surrounded in Paris, the Allies managed to keep their forces together in a somewhat orderly retreat. Several battles are costly for the Axis but it is all leading up to this moment – the battles along the coast. No Axis navy will try to intervene in the Channel, as some naval battles in August forced the IJN to repair in Italian ports, and the Allies still pretty much rule the skies. It is up to the Axis land units and the coordination between the three commanders (the German Commander of the East excluded as the Red Devils gave him full hands…)
The Axis commanders had been pretty sure this situation would materialize. This time, however, they had planned rather carefully how to kill a Flying Circus on retreat.
September 16th, 1943
Huge Allies formations are being pushed together on the beaches. Many are still in good spirit and do not prove easy targets. Allied air forces fills the skies like mosquitoes and the water team with steel hulls and smoking barrels.
Alas, they are facing the Panzers of Legends…
September 19th, 1943
1. The German Commander failed to do a trap here – but the Allies will nevertheless be pushed to awaiting transports and take painful losses in the process.
2. A holding attack is initiated against huge contingents of Allied troops in Calais. These must not be allowed to flee. As there is a big port here, their escape can be very quick if not attacked. So far, the holding attack is a tough one for the Germans.
3. The trap is set. This is the belly which is ready to digest Allied soldiers.
September 23rd, 1943
After a few days of hard fighting, Calais fell after Axis reinforcements joined the battle. The pretty coastal city was devastated. More than a full army group of Allies was now on retreat towards Boulogne. But Boulogne itself was under attack from a multitude of directions and the roughly 10 division strong defense force had problems. A British armor division was already retreating towards the “belly of death” in Abbeville.
September 26th, 1943
During one of these rainy autumn days, when the world trembled with fear and anticipation, the Yanks launched a desperate rescue operation. Although it may be desperate, it was actually quite strong. The main staging areas for the Axis joint attack on Boulogne got under heavy attack from sea, land and air (red arrows), but the Axis did not want to quit their attack on Boulogne which was the key to their price – consisting of as much as 20 divisions including those who had already fled to the “belly of death (yellow circle). This would be a test of will.
September 27th, 1943
The Eastern Allied holding attack was inefficient and the Yanks were thrown back into their landing crafts. Although the amphibious Western Allied holding attack was still ongoing, it did little to hinder the furious Axis attack on Boulogne.
Finally, the Allied forced broke and fled into the Belly of Death. The Allies tried stubbornly to open up an escape route towards the coast. It appeared however that when the Axis sorted out the chaos in this province, retreating out with several divisions, the remaining got the better of the situation and pushed the attackers back to the beaches and beyond. The Americans broke of the attack and with that the troops in the Belly of Death was without any hope of survival.
The rough estimation is that the Allies lost another 20 divisions during the Blitz of Legends.
September 7th, 1943
The legendary panzers had once again been cutting through the Allies like butter – but it had once again been a massive force concentration. The East had once again been left weak on troops and planes.
Jozid Ztalin was not the one to sit back and wait. Well accustomed with the German force concentrations he urged his hordes forwards, knowing the enemy for his temporary weakness.
Once again, the Red Army made a breach in the thin German line and once again the German Commander of the East used V-rockets to stall his opponent.
September 9th, 1943
The Germans lost more and more of strategic grounds. In Johannisburg (black arrow) the Germans fought desperately hoping to tire down the enemy and gain time. But there was a price in blood, which was a currency the Wehrmacht had little of, especially now during Operation Blitz of Legends which was quite a messy affaire.
The Breszt fort had fallen (blue circle). Thousands and thousands of men had perished there as the Germans had held it against all odds. In the end, in the last skirmish, the Germans retreated after short battle. The Bulge of Breszt has simply been too dangerous to stay in.
In the center (pink arrow) the Red Army which had passed through the breach is threatening Warszawa – only weakly defended by a depleted division.
Authors note: As you can see, many of my leg inf divisions are just a joke by now…
September 18th, 1943
Ztalin could simply shrug his losses away, replace them and keep on attacking. As Johannisburg fell, the Red Army came one step closer to put a noose around Königsberg.
They have also widened the breach and although the Germans had sent troops to Warszawa, the Red Army is sending more and more troops into the bulge. The German Commander of the East is suffering a hard time with all his paper divisions.
September 27th, 1943
It is obvious; Ztalins target is Warszawa (green circle). Slowly but surely, the Red Army has mopped away all German forces around three of the four sides of the important city. With the attack on Pultusk (black and top pink arrow) the Soviets hoped to limit the supply-route to the city down to one province (pink arrows). Warszawa is not only morally important – it is also of high strategic value mostly due to its air fields and good defensive properties (and VPs). It would be bad if it fell in Soviet hands.
The Red Army also has air superiority. A problem is that the German manpower situation is now so bad that even the prioritized air force have problems getting new men. This means that even mechanized infantry must be un-prioritized. It will soon be difficult to man the front at all (the two full leg inf divisions in the battle just came from the West and must have slipped pass my “un-prio all leg inf raid” – dammit).
October 9th, 1943
The German Commander of the East did not have the kind of troops to stop a serious Soviet attack at this point. The Red Hordes crept around Warszawa like locust and finally launched a powerful attack on the former Polish capital. Even though many of the German formations had had time to dig in, they were painfully few as the Soviet infantry stormed with abandon. The hope was that the elite panzergrenadiers would be able to inflict decisive damage to the inferior infantrymen of the Red Army. Nevertheless, the German Commander of the East knew the defenders were too few and would try to send reinforcements. In any case, this was a good place to delay the attacker until such a time, hopefully, when the Panzers of Legends would return to the East.
October 17th, 1943
The battle of Warszawa is still raging on after more than a week of hard battle, but the defenders are slowly draining away in the ruins of the great city. However, the first army corps of the Panzers of Legends has arrived (blue circle) and the German Commander of the East has immediately put it to use by attacking into the open fields south of Warszawa.
German spies have reported that Soviet manpower once again is down to levels that could imply their stock in flesh is not endless. Also, Luftwaffe is seeing some major upgrading. All planes are refitted with jet engines and dive- and tactical bombers are upgraded with radar guided ordinance. If Axis can manage to secure air superiority over the eastern front – these deadly weapons can be put to use on the Soviets in earnest.
As the German Commander of the West once again stands without an enemy to destroy, he will once again take command over the Luftwaffe and win back the air.
October 17th, 1943
The Allied forces based in United Kingdom seem to be about 7 infantry divisions with some support units, 3 marine, 1 division of paratroopers and some 10 armor divisions. Although the rather high amount of armor is worrying, 20 divisions are still too little to be of any significant threat. But more is likely inbound. The Allies will come again.
What is interesting is that the Yanks have used all of their available youths. More will come, of course, but they can’t speed train and put huge armies on the field like before. We will likely see more armor rolling it, but perhaps a little too few infantry to protect their flanks or to defend important locations. The Brits, however, seem to have no such problems. In any case, Axis is hoping the Allies will need some time to recover.
A clear proof is the over-stacking of the air fields in Dover. They clearly have not had the time to sort this mess out after losing all the air bases in the Ruins of France. The German Commander of the East has suggested a couple of V2s on the air fields of Dover just to make things a little bit trickier for the cursed Allies. Radar is showing that most of the British air fields are more or less full (and old reconnaissance remember lvl 10 fields up north being over stacked with old Polish planes).
October 17th, 1943
The remnants of shattered and remnant divisions in Berlin. They are so sad even disbanding them is pointless out of a manpower perspective. As said before – the Heer is bleeding away….
..........................................
………………………………………………
So. It is late mid October 1943. We have less than 2 years left of the war. They Allies have received a heavy beating loosing huge amount of troops. They are not likely to do something big before 1944. They will need to sort out the mess from Operation Blitz of Legends, get more troops from USA and prepare something new – whatever that might be. The Rus lost an awesome amount of troops in the Romanian Gamble and will never be the same. That does not mean he will be weak, and he will spam much more new units than Germany can hope to do.
German manpower is in a desperate situation. More desperate than ever. There is a risk they will soon not be able to man the border in a decent way. This will be the death of the blitzkrieg as the Panzers of Legends will be forced to defend.
So what is next great operation?
There is none. The German Commander of the East need to push the Red Army back to a suitable defensive line and hold (if no great opportunity arises). Then the MP-situation need to be sorted, the Panzers of Legends, at least, need to be 100% as well as the Luftwaffe – and then Luftwaffe need to bear down on the enemy and keep the tired Germans free from enemy bombers. Also, Japan will need to bring more infantry to Europe. This is where the last battle will stand.
In any case – this game will continue into 1944 and that is awesome in itself. I honestly believe we can win although the odds are not in our favor. The MP issue for Germany is obviously the most critical issue, and the fact that all our enemies will close in on our technology advance as well will not make it any easier.
Players: SOV, 2xUSA, UK, 2xGER, JAP, ITA
Recap: Operation Blitz of Legends is in full swing. The Allies seem to be retreating but the outcome is unclear. Just as in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Total Annihilation, simply driving the Allies back onto the transport ships will not do. Encirclements are a must. And speed is of essence. The Red Army has entered the Fatherland from the East and the German forces there are in terrible shape.
September 12th, 1943
Except a British infantry division which got surrounded in Paris, the Allies managed to keep their forces together in a somewhat orderly retreat. Several battles are costly for the Axis but it is all leading up to this moment – the battles along the coast. No Axis navy will try to intervene in the Channel, as some naval battles in August forced the IJN to repair in Italian ports, and the Allies still pretty much rule the skies. It is up to the Axis land units and the coordination between the three commanders (the German Commander of the East excluded as the Red Devils gave him full hands…)
The Axis commanders had been pretty sure this situation would materialize. This time, however, they had planned rather carefully how to kill a Flying Circus on retreat.
September 16th, 1943
Huge Allies formations are being pushed together on the beaches. Many are still in good spirit and do not prove easy targets. Allied air forces fills the skies like mosquitoes and the water team with steel hulls and smoking barrels.
Alas, they are facing the Panzers of Legends…
September 19th, 1943
1. The German Commander failed to do a trap here – but the Allies will nevertheless be pushed to awaiting transports and take painful losses in the process.
2. A holding attack is initiated against huge contingents of Allied troops in Calais. These must not be allowed to flee. As there is a big port here, their escape can be very quick if not attacked. So far, the holding attack is a tough one for the Germans.
3. The trap is set. This is the belly which is ready to digest Allied soldiers.
September 23rd, 1943
After a few days of hard fighting, Calais fell after Axis reinforcements joined the battle. The pretty coastal city was devastated. More than a full army group of Allies was now on retreat towards Boulogne. But Boulogne itself was under attack from a multitude of directions and the roughly 10 division strong defense force had problems. A British armor division was already retreating towards the “belly of death” in Abbeville.
September 26th, 1943
During one of these rainy autumn days, when the world trembled with fear and anticipation, the Yanks launched a desperate rescue operation. Although it may be desperate, it was actually quite strong. The main staging areas for the Axis joint attack on Boulogne got under heavy attack from sea, land and air (red arrows), but the Axis did not want to quit their attack on Boulogne which was the key to their price – consisting of as much as 20 divisions including those who had already fled to the “belly of death (yellow circle). This would be a test of will.
September 27th, 1943
The Eastern Allied holding attack was inefficient and the Yanks were thrown back into their landing crafts. Although the amphibious Western Allied holding attack was still ongoing, it did little to hinder the furious Axis attack on Boulogne.
Finally, the Allied forced broke and fled into the Belly of Death. The Allies tried stubbornly to open up an escape route towards the coast. It appeared however that when the Axis sorted out the chaos in this province, retreating out with several divisions, the remaining got the better of the situation and pushed the attackers back to the beaches and beyond. The Americans broke of the attack and with that the troops in the Belly of Death was without any hope of survival.
The rough estimation is that the Allies lost another 20 divisions during the Blitz of Legends.
September 7th, 1943
The legendary panzers had once again been cutting through the Allies like butter – but it had once again been a massive force concentration. The East had once again been left weak on troops and planes.
Jozid Ztalin was not the one to sit back and wait. Well accustomed with the German force concentrations he urged his hordes forwards, knowing the enemy for his temporary weakness.
Once again, the Red Army made a breach in the thin German line and once again the German Commander of the East used V-rockets to stall his opponent.
September 9th, 1943
The Germans lost more and more of strategic grounds. In Johannisburg (black arrow) the Germans fought desperately hoping to tire down the enemy and gain time. But there was a price in blood, which was a currency the Wehrmacht had little of, especially now during Operation Blitz of Legends which was quite a messy affaire.
The Breszt fort had fallen (blue circle). Thousands and thousands of men had perished there as the Germans had held it against all odds. In the end, in the last skirmish, the Germans retreated after short battle. The Bulge of Breszt has simply been too dangerous to stay in.
In the center (pink arrow) the Red Army which had passed through the breach is threatening Warszawa – only weakly defended by a depleted division.
Authors note: As you can see, many of my leg inf divisions are just a joke by now…
September 18th, 1943
Ztalin could simply shrug his losses away, replace them and keep on attacking. As Johannisburg fell, the Red Army came one step closer to put a noose around Königsberg.
They have also widened the breach and although the Germans had sent troops to Warszawa, the Red Army is sending more and more troops into the bulge. The German Commander of the East is suffering a hard time with all his paper divisions.
September 27th, 1943
It is obvious; Ztalins target is Warszawa (green circle). Slowly but surely, the Red Army has mopped away all German forces around three of the four sides of the important city. With the attack on Pultusk (black and top pink arrow) the Soviets hoped to limit the supply-route to the city down to one province (pink arrows). Warszawa is not only morally important – it is also of high strategic value mostly due to its air fields and good defensive properties (and VPs). It would be bad if it fell in Soviet hands.
The Red Army also has air superiority. A problem is that the German manpower situation is now so bad that even the prioritized air force have problems getting new men. This means that even mechanized infantry must be un-prioritized. It will soon be difficult to man the front at all (the two full leg inf divisions in the battle just came from the West and must have slipped pass my “un-prio all leg inf raid” – dammit).
October 9th, 1943
The German Commander of the East did not have the kind of troops to stop a serious Soviet attack at this point. The Red Hordes crept around Warszawa like locust and finally launched a powerful attack on the former Polish capital. Even though many of the German formations had had time to dig in, they were painfully few as the Soviet infantry stormed with abandon. The hope was that the elite panzergrenadiers would be able to inflict decisive damage to the inferior infantrymen of the Red Army. Nevertheless, the German Commander of the East knew the defenders were too few and would try to send reinforcements. In any case, this was a good place to delay the attacker until such a time, hopefully, when the Panzers of Legends would return to the East.
October 17th, 1943
The battle of Warszawa is still raging on after more than a week of hard battle, but the defenders are slowly draining away in the ruins of the great city. However, the first army corps of the Panzers of Legends has arrived (blue circle) and the German Commander of the East has immediately put it to use by attacking into the open fields south of Warszawa.
German spies have reported that Soviet manpower once again is down to levels that could imply their stock in flesh is not endless. Also, Luftwaffe is seeing some major upgrading. All planes are refitted with jet engines and dive- and tactical bombers are upgraded with radar guided ordinance. If Axis can manage to secure air superiority over the eastern front – these deadly weapons can be put to use on the Soviets in earnest.
As the German Commander of the West once again stands without an enemy to destroy, he will once again take command over the Luftwaffe and win back the air.
October 17th, 1943
The Allied forces based in United Kingdom seem to be about 7 infantry divisions with some support units, 3 marine, 1 division of paratroopers and some 10 armor divisions. Although the rather high amount of armor is worrying, 20 divisions are still too little to be of any significant threat. But more is likely inbound. The Allies will come again.
What is interesting is that the Yanks have used all of their available youths. More will come, of course, but they can’t speed train and put huge armies on the field like before. We will likely see more armor rolling it, but perhaps a little too few infantry to protect their flanks or to defend important locations. The Brits, however, seem to have no such problems. In any case, Axis is hoping the Allies will need some time to recover.
A clear proof is the over-stacking of the air fields in Dover. They clearly have not had the time to sort this mess out after losing all the air bases in the Ruins of France. The German Commander of the East has suggested a couple of V2s on the air fields of Dover just to make things a little bit trickier for the cursed Allies. Radar is showing that most of the British air fields are more or less full (and old reconnaissance remember lvl 10 fields up north being over stacked with old Polish planes).
October 17th, 1943
The remnants of shattered and remnant divisions in Berlin. They are so sad even disbanding them is pointless out of a manpower perspective. As said before – the Heer is bleeding away….
..........................................
………………………………………………
So. It is late mid October 1943. We have less than 2 years left of the war. They Allies have received a heavy beating loosing huge amount of troops. They are not likely to do something big before 1944. They will need to sort out the mess from Operation Blitz of Legends, get more troops from USA and prepare something new – whatever that might be. The Rus lost an awesome amount of troops in the Romanian Gamble and will never be the same. That does not mean he will be weak, and he will spam much more new units than Germany can hope to do.
German manpower is in a desperate situation. More desperate than ever. There is a risk they will soon not be able to man the border in a decent way. This will be the death of the blitzkrieg as the Panzers of Legends will be forced to defend.
So what is next great operation?
There is none. The German Commander of the East need to push the Red Army back to a suitable defensive line and hold (if no great opportunity arises). Then the MP-situation need to be sorted, the Panzers of Legends, at least, need to be 100% as well as the Luftwaffe – and then Luftwaffe need to bear down on the enemy and keep the tired Germans free from enemy bombers. Also, Japan will need to bring more infantry to Europe. This is where the last battle will stand.
In any case – this game will continue into 1944 and that is awesome in itself. I honestly believe we can win although the odds are not in our favor. The MP issue for Germany is obviously the most critical issue, and the fact that all our enemies will close in on our technology advance as well will not make it any easier.
Wow. Awesome chapter as always - it's almost like we're following a real life desperate Second World War... live.
Oh yeah. This is just like taking heroine!!
with your Divs so under strength Jap would need to bring a lot of men to Europe in order to hold the lines. God I would crack under the stress of the pressure on the eastern fount.
with your Divs so under strength Jap would need to bring a lot of men to Europe in order to hold the lines. God I would crack under the stress of the pressure on the eastern fount.
Absolutely amazing!! I can't believe you (axis) guys are holding out against such superiority in men and material. Especially considering the other (allied/Soviet) players are crack veterans as well.
Godspeed to all of you, and may this game continue into 1945! Given your victory rules, what are the odds that victory will in the end be decided by the clock? I.e., by whether the axis are still standing when the historical V-E day rolls around?
Godspeed to all of you, and may this game continue into 1945! Given your victory rules, what are the odds that victory will in the end be decided by the clock? I.e., by whether the axis are still standing when the historical V-E day rolls around?
While it was tempting to go for France for the allies, it was clear that the Germans could strike against them with ease again. It would have been far more valuable to attack Spain, free Gibraltar, preventing Japanese fleet from intervention in the Atlantic, threathening Italy. Also an invasion in Spain would make the Germans bind more troops and have longer strategic moves from the East to counter. A stalemate at the French board would also have been fine for the allies.
ps. the move at the coast to force the allies to retreat inland must be even more gamey than the V1 attacks in my opinion. No real world commander would have done that.
ps. the move at the coast to force the allies to retreat inland must be even more gamey than the V1 attacks in my opinion. No real world commander would have done that.
I still think that the Axis will lose, eventually. I think that Axis' chance of victory depends on the number of mistakes that the Allies will make. Nevertheless, this is a very interesting game 
.
.True, but since evacuations are so easy, it's one of the few things that the Axis players can do to limit the Flying Circus.
Yeah, given how incredibly easy evacuations are, I'm 100% fine with a bit of gameyness on that front. That kind of move might not be realistic, but the kind of evacuation that the allies generally make use of are even less so.
Yeah this is less like D-day and more like the viking invasions with machine guns and tanks. (And God would I play a mod about viking-era warfare with machine guns and tanks).
Why the allies don´t have air superiority or rockets to destroy IC is beyond me. How was the air war over the pockets in Normandy?
I don't think the Allies would want to destroy German IC - that would, after all, cost them a lot of effort while Germany is out of MP anyway.
Now, hitting Italian IC, that might be useful.
Even if they can´t destroy IC, they can destroy airbases with them, which is (not surprisingly) what the Axis is planning as well.
I thought Cpt stated that the Allies had air superiority though. In any case, here goes the seesaw effect again. But Cpt is out of MP, and a brutal air war with the Reds (as is upcoming) is going to mean he won't have a functioning Luftwaffe soon. Good thing that rockets will get the HR treatment in the next Carnage, though. LL should allow at least the Italians o be vastly more efficient, especially if/when Germany runs out of MP and they can shuttle the spare IC to Italy.
If CptHardAsNails can get a breather for a few months and do some major upgrading, he can bomb the Russian hordes into ruin. How badly did the Russians and Allies get exsanguinated?
I wish I could be as optimistic as you Cpt. Fact is that you're scraping the barrel a long time already, hence your many units with next to no manpower. I'd disband those to get some more units worth sending into a fight, actually. The intelligence reports on foreign MP is anything but accurate. I'd trust any of these reports less than one I made up myself with after a bottle of rum and a good deal of dices in my pocket.
Congratz on another successful operation! Considering that Sov and USA also seem to have manpower issues (even though they recover so much faster), it makes sense to g all defense on the East Front. Attach is after all more costly, and there are no obvious pockets that can be created. But the allies will be back in France for sure, maybe even sooner they we all hope.
Any updates from the other Carnage players, how is Asia looking, is Japan close to being invaded itself?
Any updates from the other Carnage players, how is Asia looking, is Japan close to being invaded itself?