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golden delicious -> RE: Fall Grau 2.13 Jeremy vs. Ben (3/9/2021 6:14:49 PM)
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Turn 49:
There we go. Kansas City is out of supply this turn- though only by a hair's breadth, as one hex is empty and in an Axis ZOC. I'll counterattack to evacuate what I can (there are in particular two armoured divisions down here) but I don't think the situation can be restored and I will in due course lose Kansas City. This was expected and can be tolerated, and I will still hit my 112% replacements next turn, with this remaining over 100% unless and until Jeremy can reduce Albuquerque. This will be crucial for my air force, which has not worn well during the high intensity fighting over the past several turns, and is currently at about 1:4 against the Luftwaffe.
I use my large body of armour outside of the pocket (9 divisions) to put heavy pressure on Jeremy's lead troops on the western side of the salient, whilst the National Guard advance into the gap to try to keep the top half of it open whilst I rescue as many of the trapped units as possible.
Jeremy did reinforce northwest Kansas on his turn, counterattacking and destroying a battered armoured division which had breached his line. However he's still weak here, and with the addition of numerous fresh armoured divisions this offensive should continue to yield rich rewards on a broad front. Further west in southern Colorado, Jeremy has pulled together two Italian and two Japanese divisions to block the northern flank of his siege lines at Albuquerque. I'm able to cut off three of these four divisions with my Commonwealth armour and intend to destroy them all this turn.
In Canada, Jeremy has attempted to reduce the positions I have in front of International Falls. I'm able to heavily reinforce here from my troops further south, where the line is rock solid and in no danger. I'm also able to extract one more armoured division for Colorado, as well as this turn a number of tactical bomber units.
As I slice through the shattered units on Jeremy's front line in Kansas (one division starts the turn as a 7-3, then after combat is a 4-2), I do encounter some fresh infantry (and I note that more of it has come up by rail this turn). I'll try to go around where possible; but near here I am approaching the rear of Jeremy's line in Nebraska. Here I see the advantages of targeting Jeremy's infantry; he's resting a 5-3 brigade on the line here, and I'm able to russle up some National Guard to attack it. Unfortunately I'm not able to shift it, but I do knock it off fortified status, suggesting that this part of the line will need to be pulled back on Jeremy's turn; otherwise I'll cut off two divisions at the end of it.
My counterpush this turn should be enough to ensure I can extract more or less everything from the Kansas City salient (the two armoured divisions are already free). It's also entirely possible that I will keep the city itself in supply for one or two more turns, but I don't think I can hold on to it. I'm also successful in destroying the three divisions in southern Colorado (one of which was motorised), as well as routing the fourth. I never intended it as such- but it may be that this force in fact serves as a relief effort for Albuquerque. I only see eleven Axis divisions in this area now, and though there may be more there'll all in bad condition.
Once the battle of Kansas City has come to an end and I've extracted what I can from the salient, I'll shut this front down. Already most of the line here is fortified and I doubt Jeremy will plan on further offensive operations here. I will transfer the armour and National Guard over to the west as it becomes available, whilst any excess regular infantry will be used to swap out National Guard on the line in the East, or recombining up into divisions if possible. Now I'm on the offensive I have the choice of where my losses fall, and I still have a good 20,000 squads of replacements waiting around for the National Guard.
No doubt Jeremy will rest some troops whilst sending a large portion of his strength to meet me in Kansas; he may also make a play for Omaha, still only two hexes from the front. If I were him, I'd also see if a corps could be found to assault Washington D.C. It's right on the front and he can get a flanking bonus, and at this point those 25 VPs are well worth the cost. It would be trivial to send some Japanese here instead of marching them across the Plains.
Having a general offensive for the first time in this match opens my eyes to how low my rail repair is. I have a huge number of broken rail hexes which aren't getting fixed. Reoccupying the whole West- which is my current plan- might turn out to be problematic. If this is the case, I may switch strategy. I see two options;
1) the coup-de-grace at Quebec which I noted above
2) an offensive down the west coast of Mexico. I still hold the rail line to within a few hexes of Culiacan, which fell a couple of turns ago, and have a regiment of irregulars blocking the road onwards. If I were to suddenly start shifting my weight down here, it might take Jeremy a while to react- and this is the shortest road to Mexico City. Once I'm there, not only do I have an extra 50 VPs (and the corresponding units) but I also have a supply point locally which can support the mopping up of the rest of the country.
Still. It's a long way even from Culiacan to Mexico City, and I'd be prone to having my supply lines cut unless I provided a huge force to screen the flank. I think I'll continue in the west and see if the supply situation becomes a problem. If it does, I'll switch to Quebec.
Axis forces scramble to resist the Allies as they sweep across the plains- and away from their supply lines
[image]local://upfiles/1060/E0C4C86A08B8405CABFFB2846D77FCBE.jpg[/image]
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