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janushm -> Europe Aflame Janushm vs. MarGol: looking back at 351 turns of SLAUGHTER (1/1/2014 2:47:30 PM)
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Over the past couple of years I played a full game of Europe Aflame with Martin Goliath playing the Axis and me the Allies, this is how I recall it.
1939: No extra build ups, in the years heading up to the fighting. Germany attacked Poland in in august and swiftly dealt with them. Norway and Denmark where invaded but at a cost to the Wehrmacht as several units where caught by the Royal Navy after failed landings. Norway fell in early to mid 1940 but excellently delayed the axis advance. Meanwhile Stalin had started a campaign against Finland and the Baltic states. The latter surrendered quickly but the Finnish conflict would drag on for almost a year, until a gap was created in the western part of the Finnish line (Baltic coast, near the Swedish border)
The first year of war went by relatively quiet as the phony war set in on the western front.
1940: the first winter of war was a harsh one but it would be forgotten because of horrors to come. After this quiet winter Norway fell and Germany started it’s campaign against France and the Low Countries. The Netherlands and Belgium fell relatively quickly but France put up a decent fight, the BEF was evacuated rather quickly and didn’t make an impression in this campaign. Italy joined the war as France was about to fall and immediately started it’s drive into Egypt only to be stopped at El Alamein. The African Front turned into trench warfare for the next three and a half years as the British, Italians, Germans and later Americans slugged it out over mere yards of terrain. As Paris was taken the French set up a new collaborist government at Vichy.
As the war in the west was slowing down the allies expected Hitler to attempt an invasion of Great Britain, this never materialized as the Luftwaffe redeployed to Austria, East Prussia and Poland. Germany and Italy attacked Yugoslavia with the help of their Balkan allies and pushed trough to conquer Greece. This campaign concluded with an invasion of Crete and Cyprus. Bulgarian forced would be deployed to these parts to oversee the occupation and crush the communist guerillas that roamed the hills.
Italian east Africa fell quickly and the British forces involved where redeployed to El Alamein.
The year ended much like it began, relative quiet on all fronts and a winter that would soon be forgotten.
1941: as soon as the mud cleared the war in the east started. German, Rumanian and Hungarian forces poured into the Soviet union and swept aside the first Soviet defenders. Later on the fighting would get tougher and Germany and it´s allies came to a halt at a line roughly running from Riga to Velikye Luki to Vyazma in the north and continuing to Bryansk, Gomel and Kiev in the south. The Dniester wasn´t proved a formidable obstacle to the Rumanians and wasn´t crossed. The entire Russian campaign was focused on the road running from Brest-Litovsk to Moscow, the area from Minsk onward proved to be a meat grinder for both the Germans and the Russians but reinforcement arrived to plug the gap time and time again. The Russian counter attack in managed to push the Germans back in a few sectors but an effort was made to conserve these troops as Stalingrad, Leningrad and Moscow weren’t threatened. The Russians did successfully launch an overland offensive in Norway and liberated Narvik. The British responded and landed a division in south-western Norway. OKH decided it would be unable to hold Norway and evacuated the country. This was an unexpected early victory for the allies. US forces entered the war in December ’41.
1942: German forces continued their assault on Moscow, attacking the tip of the pocket in a desperate attempt take the city. During the first year of heavy trench warfare the Wehrmacht advanced as far as Rzhev and almost took Kaluga but Stalin never needed to leave the city. As Russian infantry formations where bled in the defense of their capitol artillery and armored formations assembled at the base of the pocket to take advantage of the winter shock. There was fighting in other sectors, Riga was finally taken by the Germans and Kiev was taken after months of street fighting but the Axis only advanced as far as Chernihiv. In December the Soviets launched their winter offensive with two masses of armor attacking the German pocket. An excellent retreat saved most of the German forces and the front line settled on a line running from Vitebsk to Gomel. In the south a second, simultaneous attack was made across the Dnieper as Rumanian forces where taken by surprise. Russian forces managed to advance a couple hexed but failed to trap any significant formations.
In the west Franco joined the war and swiftly took conquered Morocco, Algeria, Portugal, Tunisia and Gibraltar. The Italians launched operation Hercules and Malta fell. Fighting continued at El Alamein and Syria was conquered by British forces.
1943: trench warfare, Russian forces attempted to launch several offensives this year but to no avail. The axis realized victory would be impossible and adopted a defensive posture. American, Brazilian and British troops liberated Cyprus, Crete and the Peloponnese but where halted at Corinth by German and Bulgarian forces. The majority of these forces where withdrawn after the frontline settled. This campaign marked the first use of allied paratroopers.
A single unoccupied port cost the axis the war in Africa. Allied forces occupied Tangiers and raced towards Casablanca. Once supply was secured the French, British and American forces involved pushed towards Tunis and took control of the city at the end of the year.
1944: An invasion of Sicily was attempted but no sources of supply could be attained, allied forces later withdrew.
The invasion of western Europe happened on the sixth of June, in Normandy. Cherbourg quickly fell but a vigorous defense of Caen prevented a allied break out for months. In an attempt to lure away Italian forces the allies landed at Salerno and quickly took the south of mainland Italy. German and Italian forces fought for the remainder of the year but in late winter the allies broke through on the east coast and where only stopped by a hastily organized German line north of the river Po. The Rome pocket fell after several weeks of fighting. Italy was the first axis nation to surrender.
As the allies broke out of Normandy a new line formed running from Le Havre to Le Mans, Bourges and the Swiss border. German forces retreated largely intact. In southern France elements of allied forces encountered the Spanish. Initially the Spanish where to be ignored and allied forces stopped their advance on the northern banks of the Ebro. These allied forces consisted out of parachute divisions, recon and AA units, armored brigades and divisions.
In the east the Germans had started a gradual, controlled retreat. Whenever the line was broken the entire defense in the area would withdraw and dig in one or two hexes closer to berlin. Russian forces where severely depleted in the trench warfare and would not recover before the end of the war. Attacking with soviet forces would almost always mean a quick end to my turn as all rounds where burned.
1945 and 1946: Once the fighting in Italy slowed down a large number of troops were transported to Greece. Most German formations had been diverted and only the Bulgarian army was left. Two months later American forces took Sofia and British forces had liberated Albania and where chasing the Germans out of Yugoslavia. The Rumanian army left their positions on the River Pruth to defend Bucharest. This withdrawal created a gigantic hole in the axis line and Bucharest was surrounded rather quickly.
The last three months of war where marked by the complete collapse of the Germans in the west. As the allies made two more landings on the French coast the axis where forced to withdraw. France, Belgium and The Netherlands where liberated in a matter of weeks. The Germans where unable to hold the Siegfried line and the Rhine proved to be a mere speed bump. On march 16th 1946 British forces where driving unopposed into southern Germany and American forces occupied positions on the west bank of the Elbe.
Apart from the surrender of Rumania and Bulgaria the eastern front remained relatively stable. German forces gave up ground but remained largely intact against soviet formations. Konigsberg was taken and the soviets took Warsaw, the latter only because the Germans shortened their line and abandoned the city. Heavy fighting did take place between the Transylvanian Alps and Budapest but the Hungarian capital remained untouched.
Turn 351 was played more than three and a half years after the invasion of Poland. I think we could call it a draw as Germany managed to hold on an extra year.
Three things i wish i should have done differently:
1. I should have invaded Morocco and Algeria as soon as Spain entered the war. This would have enabled me to invade Italy earlier and tie up German troops.
2. I should have invaded France earlier. German forces where not positioned in fracne in the early months of 1944. This would have saved me from the Caen slugfest.
3. I wasted way to many soviet troops in 1943 and 1944 on local attacks. Didn’t give them enough time to regain readiness and supply. The losses I sustained in this period hampered me until 1946. An early second front would have helped.
I don't know if i already mentioned it but MarGol conducted an exellent, carefull defence of europe and managed to conserve his forces.
Allied losses:
Light Rifle Squad: 414805
Rifle Squad: 12377
Rifle Squad AT-: 11981
Heavy Rifle Squad: 1234
Heavy Rifle Squad AT-: 72299
SMG Squad: 112792
M4/75 Sherman: 13872
M4/76 Sherman: 6919
M5 Stuart: 7463
T34/76 early: 8583
T34/76 late: 26887
T34/85: 5443
B17: 3385
Avro Lancaster: 2041
Mustang: 3073
Hurricane: 4885
Spitfire: 4127
La 5: 1466
Il2 Sturmovik: 2507
Axis losses:
Light Rifle Squad: 28007
Rifle Squad: 92435
Heavy Rifle Squad: 175222
Heavy Rifle Squad AT: 52296
SMG AT Squad: 5066
Pz IV : 10723
Panther: 5760
Tiger I: 1603
Tiger II: 721
Maus: 102
Stug: 7700
Jagdpanzer IV: 417
Jagdpanther: 405
Jagdtiger: 359
Me109: 21458
Me110: 4463
Me 262: 571
Fw190: 8779
Stuka: 4904
He111: 3755
Ju88: 4672
European front
[image]http://i.imgur.com/J65zAsZ.jpg[/image]
Eastern front
[image]http://i.imgur.com/XbxzD3a.jpg[/image]
Southern front
[image]http://i.imgur.com/eTNeIPb.jpg[/image]
Western front
[image]http://i.imgur.com/56UIzG6.jpg[/image]
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