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Menschenfresser -> Europe 47 Allies(me) vs Axis(PO) (11/30/2019 2:01:18 PM)
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I've wanted to play this for a long time and I'm glad to see Silvanski has not let it fade. The scenario is a work of real imagination and research. Playing against the PO is always if-y. It rarely surprises you and 8 times out of 10 shoots itself in the foot before leaving the barracks. However...
I didn't mean to start an AAR of this when I opened the file some days ago. Some interesting developments have convinced me to post comments in order to advertise the scenario. This probably won't be a regular or thorough AAR.
The Axis player starts with an enormous amount of strength at their disposal. I came into this scenario thinking the Allies have the upper hand and it was up to me to pick apart the European fortress. That is not the case. Well, that is not the case when Elmer's at the wheel.
By the end of turn 3, the Germans and Vichy French navies have gone to the bottom of the sea, taking most of the Home Fleet and French fleets with them. On T3, the Germans unexpectedly invaded Perisa and Northern Iraq. Falschirmjaeger land behind my lines. Turkish troops are pushing into Palestine. The British are falling back and scrambling for reinforcements, dashing my plans to invade Crete.
On turns 1 and 2 the Russians punched through the German outer defenses, but the swift counterattack has stalled the offensive down much of the line. Supply is already terrible at the front.
French armies take Morocco and southern Spain, freeing the Straights from interference. The Germans are attacking Portugal but I'm unwilling to commit more to Spain or Portugal (I have two French Armies in southern Spain already).
Winter shock ends on T11. I'm stockpiling US Corps for an invasion of France from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
The air war is even-stevens. I might have pulled ahead with a few reinforcements, but the Allies are everywhere. It is hard to concentrate AS except in the UK.
I suspect that the PO will exhaust itself faster than a human player would. But I have no idea what kind of losses the Germans can endure. The Russians receive 2000 rifle squads each turn, but I've lost 17,000 already which is about 9% of currently assigned Soviet squads. What's worse, I've got 5,000 on hand, which means rebuilding works slower than training.
Only design comment so far: theater recon might be a little high (at least for the Allies). I'm seeing a lot of Axis units well behind the line and even more during enemy turns. I would consider reducing it slightly (even ahistorically) as that will provide more of a challenge for the human player.
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