RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3)

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/2/2017 2:55:29 AM

DQ2004

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It is now January 1940 and to the surprise of the Western Allies a large German force has assembled on the border of Hungary.
Of course, there is a large force in Belgium too, but regardless of what happens in central Europe there's not much they can do about it.
They collectively shrug their shoulders and forget about it.
Meanwhile, a large quantity of fuel, supplies and ammunition has been delivered to dumps near Rundstedt's HQ.
Even though it is snowing, the glory of the Reich and it's revenge, cannot be delayed!

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/2/2017 2:59:14 AM

DQ2004

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The French detect a large group of German aircraft heading towards their lines in Belgium.
Despite the obvious risks, they cannot allow this to happen. Every available French fighter is sent to resist.
Unfortunately the German Stuka bombers have a similar sized, but manifestly superior escort.
The proof lies in the results; the Morane-Saulniers are savagely torn from the skies. The reward for their sacrifice is that the Stukas are forced to abort their mission of destruction.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/2/2017 3:02:02 AM

DQ2004

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The German offensive goes in.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/2/2017 3:04:17 AM

DQ2004

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However in a disastrous mistake, no escorting fighters are flown to the scene of the battle, and a lone French bomber wing provides crucial support.
The result is almost a total failure; the only saving grace being that the French are forced to retreat.
The offensive has been an horrific waste.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/2/2017 3:51:10 AM

DQ2004

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So I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, what was going on at the Hungarian border?
Well, what happened was this.
Our new Austrian friends, who'd overwhelmingly voted to join the Reich in recent times (and who could blame them?), had made it pretty clear to us that in fact it was the Hungarians who were largely to blame for the failures of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918. So we could not have them as allies. Ohh no. And in fact, they had that juicy red factory sitting there pretty much for the taking, and well, we wanted it. And without the bothersome and rather useless armies and planes that might have otherwise come with it.
So to help assuage our Austrian friends from their despair over the Great War, we prepared for vengeance!!
And a great effort it was!
Tragically, yet again, the Wehrmacht came up short - we'll let the pictures tell their own story...

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/2/2017 4:06:53 AM

DQ2004

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In Southern China, even though no one actually cared, the Chinese had decided to retreat from Chang-sha, feeling that it was no longer defensible.
The retreating armies left behind one unit, possibly the worst unit of the game, and it was duly surrounded and destroyed.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/2/2017 4:08:24 AM

DQ2004

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In Northern China, the poorly placed Nationalist militia unit, there to help bolster the communists (why would you do that?), was targeted and eliminated.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:05:19 AM

DQ2004

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Mar/Apr 1940
Once again the turn ended early (unsurprising for Jan/Feb) and agonizingly for our vengeance, Hungary remained independent!
Thus the unit that was shattered plus the Budapest Militia arrived to hold up (albeit temporarily) the German advance.
The Allies won the initiative too, and decided to take out their frustration on a much more vulnerable (and innocent!) target: Italy!
A massive Royal Navy fleet sailed in to the Italian Coast and put paid to any alleged plans the Axis may or may not have had for 'Mare Nostrum'. In the force was at least three carriers and half a dozen battleships along with plenty of cruisers of course.
More RN task forces went to the Western and Eastern Med sea areas and eliminated the Italian convoys there, although they failed to find the one in the Italian Coast.
Unfortunately we failed to screenshot any of this.

But Bomber Harris' RN had decisively thrown down the gauntlet in the Med, ensuring that the Italians would start on the defensive, not the offensive. Vengeance was not going to be easy here...

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< Message edited by DQ2004 -- 1/14/2017 4:39:31 AM >

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:11:05 AM

DQ2004

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After losing all their semi-OK fighters the French were forced to place a wing of lousy Potez 631s into the field.
They were lucky not to be shot down in their first battle.
Italy sailed its fleet into the Eastern Med but I'm afraid we didn't screenshot those battles. They were not particularly spectacular, or decisive. The huge RN fleet in the Italian Coast failed to find the small Regia Marina force and their convoys.
France at the beginning of the Mar/Apr 1940 turn in the Germans first impulse:

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:14:26 AM

DQ2004

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In the desert, the Italians began moving into an undefended Tunisia (Axis 2nd Impulse).

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:16:06 AM

DQ2004

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Then Mussolini gets a rush of blood to the brain, and with the battleships of the Regia Marina in support, launches an attack on Wavell.
But despite reasonable odds, the attack is a disaster. Two Italian army corps are destroyed.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:18:32 AM

DQ2004

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In China, the Japanese are steadily moving up reinforcements and preparing for a return of the good weather.
This is the situation in the south:

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:20:34 AM

DQ2004

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Northern China during the Mar/Apr 1940 turn:
The Communists tried to move their cavalry division and get behind the Japanese lines, but the Japanese cavalry corps was quickly shifted into place and blocked that nonsense.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:41:39 AM

DQ2004

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So what happened in France I hear you say?
Well again we are not screenshotting quite every move, but this nice gif should tell the story well.
This time the Wehrmacht again used a large stockpile of ammunition and stores, regrettable indeed as we were trying to save that for other things. But the danger of allowing the French some respite was too great.
If further reinforcements arrived, they could have seriously delayed the Axis timetable. Thus the second offensive chit was expended. This time the attacks were successful, with the LII mechanized corps breaking through and seizing Lille, and tearing a nice hole in the Allied lines. Paras were dropped in the Ardennes, just, well, because we could.
The French were now, finally, in trouble.
The British were also forced to retreat from Antwerp.
In retreating they decided not to give up any further ground. I think in hindsight it would have been better to straighten their line, but they did not. The advancing panzers then chose to pick on the strongest French corps, the Chevallier armoured corps, which had been left in the centre on its own. The slow heavy French tanks were out-manoevred by the faster panzers, and the best French unit was gone.
Following this the French decided to abandon Strasbourg and the centre of the Maginot line. Amazed, the garrison units walked in to the forts and abandoned city.
Next the Metz militia was selected for destruction. After this the turn ended, with the French armies now desperately weakened.
(I didn't label each frame of this gif because I didn't know which impulse it was. But you can see the attacks and the results, so it should be pretty obvious what is going on).

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:44:04 AM

DQ2004

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With the turn ended, these are the losses:
KMS Blucher was caught in the Faeroes Gap trying to raid convoys. Gneisenau was also damaged in the battle.
The Duquesne was sunk by the Italian fleet in the Eastern Med, as were both of the submarines.
Whilst not screenshotted, Budapest was taken.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:45:08 AM

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Global control at the end of Mar/Apr 1940:

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:46:03 AM

DQ2004

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And the grey version (just because):

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/10/2017 2:47:19 AM

DQ2004

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The reinforcements for May/June 1940:

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/12/2017 3:31:02 PM

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Great AAR! Terrible weather! Keep it coming. :)

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/12/2017 4:06:56 PM

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Well done for giving us another AAR. Love the animations.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 4:38:49 AM

DQ2004

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May/Jun 1940:

This time we will go straight to the main game.
With almost guaranteed good weather, the Wehrmacht gets straight into the final battle for France at the start of May.
Unfortunately, again I didn't quite screenshot the first attacks, but the first frame of this composite image does show the result; two devastating breakthroughs, one towards the Seine beside Paris, the other west of Metz and to to the south.
France's fate was now sealed, and it was only a matter of time.
Seeing the inevitable, Churchill somewhat selfishly orders the withdrawal of the BEF. But aside from being a slight nuisance to the German armies, they cannot now change the outcome, so it was probably a good decision.
The French attempt to withdraw from the Maginot line trap, but those units are doomed.
Then they counter-attack the leading German mechanized corps - and destroy it, making the attack on Paris just that little bit harder. But the downside is that they lose a unit as well as having all of the survivors disrupted. Now immobilized, this is now just a case of doing the mopping up.
Sadly that is of course precisely when you take things for granted and something goes hideously, horrifically wrong.
Guderian launches an attack below Metz, and naturally makes it a blitzkrieg. The following roll is devastatingly low, and the Guderian HQ is the only armoured unit involved.... OUCH.
Vengeance is an expensive business, no doubts there.
After this, the first attack on Paris is also a disaster, with only one French unit destroyed, and all of the attackers disorganized. After mammoth efforts from Rundstedt and Von Leeb, a second attack goes in, and finally finishes the job.
Afterwards, the now out of supply and disrupted Georges HQ is destroyed (not in the gif).
France has fallen (as long as we decide to declare Vichy - and this question would be very carefully considered in OKH).

PS. Thanks AllenK and Grotius.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:03:19 AM

DQ2004

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In Southern China, the Japanese continued to make steady progress, the constant threat of being outflanked causing continued Chinese withdrawals. Inevitably though, some units were caught and destroyed.
(this gif does not show all impulses & moves but you should get the idea)

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:11:37 AM

DQ2004

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And quite frankly Northern China had become quite boring by this time, but don't worry, we'll get our revenge here too.
...not sure what the revenge is all about, but they are communists, so, you know
Somehow I missed that Mao was destroyed in this sequence (not properly shown).

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< Message edited by DQ2004 -- 1/14/2017 5:43:37 AM >

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:19:49 AM

DQ2004

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On the North African front, the stalemate continues on the Egyptian/Libyan border.
Both sides continue to fight it out at sea, with a series of inconclusive naval engagements.
Nonetheless the Royal Navy loses two cruisers, Sheffield and Belfast, whilst the Italians lose the Fiume.
Mussolini is fuming...
At least the Italian armies can boast one small if relatively irrelevant success; Tunis falls.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:29:55 AM

DQ2004

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The other thing the Italians do is wander across to Corsica.
With control of the sea areas very much in question, it simply isn't safe to try to do any amphibious landings. So with nothing better to do they decide they might as well do this. The San Marco division has no difficulties.
Meanwhile the deteriorating situation in the north of France causes the abandonment of the line in the Alps.
Gleefully the Italians march across.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:32:48 AM

DQ2004

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The abysmal force left facing the not much less abysmal Italian army leads to another rush of blood to the brain.
And thus, the Italians attack again.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:36:29 AM

DQ2004

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The attack is successful, but once again at a heavy price.
The surviving unit apart from Balbo, the elite Alpini corps, marches through the mountains and seizes Marseille.
Mussolini urges Adolf to conquer France rather than let it become Vichy, as he wants to keep the Savoy region for himself.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:42:29 AM

DQ2004

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The horror turn for the Allies finally comes to an end (May/Jun 40).
It hasn't been good no matter which way you look. In China both the Nationalist and the Communist HQs have been destroyed, a catastrophic set of losses that will take more than six months to fully replace.
But for the Axis and our plans of revenge, the defeat of France has been very costly. Italy was foolish to launch an unnecessary attack which cost yet more, and the loss of both the Guderian HQ and a mechanized unit along with the expenditure of both Offensive Chits means that we must cut our losses here and declare Vichy France.
Mussolini is furious, but of course we don't care what he thinks.
Only Japan is happy; the loss of a cavalry and an infantry corps (even though it is their best one) are definitely worth it given the damage they've inflicted.

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 5:44:52 AM

DQ2004

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Global control at the end of the May/Jun 1940 turn:

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RE: Vengeance: A Global War AAR (DQ2004 AAR#3) - 1/14/2017 6:21:51 AM

DQ2004

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Jul/Aug 1940

Reinforcements for Jul/Aug 1940:
Richelieu of course was to go straight to the Vichy construction pool.
We still don't know why the Chinese began the construction of a submarine. Trying to escape maybe?