WAR DIARY
Initial Plans
This is my first game with the Germans in CWIE. I am playing in one other game as the Allied player, which has reached summer 1941 and I have also watched Kevin play a few turns of the invasion of France in a pre match warm up. My initial strategy is to play fairly historically. I aim to knock Poland and Denmark out by winter. France will be the main target for 1940. Longer term I need to be ready to invade Russia as soon as the mud clears in 1941. The fighting on the eastern front will decide the victor of the game. From the correspondence I have read on an Internet mailing list I know that it is standard practice for either the German or Allied player to invade Norway on the first turn. I have decided against this as I want to preserve my navy until the spring. As for my building plan I want to build sufficient naval forces to at least threaten an invasion of Britain and tie down some of the British forces. The invasion of France will be much harder than it was historically and the Allies are quite capable of gaining air superiority so I will put maximum effort into building my air force. I will build enough U-boats to have some effect on Allied production and everything else will go into the army.
As the Allies we can mainly only react to Axis moves. Poland is a lost cause.
9/3/39. The invasion of Poland starts.
10/1/39. One armoured brigade taken for redeployment to Danish border.
10/2/39. Warsaw is captured. Apart from some early exchange results this was as good as I could have expected as Poland has fallen with minimal casualties.
No more that we could have expected either. Any German casualties are a bonus.
10/3/39. Denmark invaded and occupied.
Not much the Allies can do about thus either.
10/4/39. All set for a winter of production and an assault on France in spring 1940.
11/4/39. A complete surprise as the French have not garrisoned the Italian border and I have the option of Italy joining the Axis. Seems too good to be true but none the less I accept as I want to have the Italian airforce available to gain air supremacy. I hope that I have not overlooked some blinding allied strategy that will knock Italy straight out of the war. You will never know how long I spent looking at the implications of this expecting some cunning plan!
Well, that was a mistake so we reversed the game so that the French-Italian border remains fully garrisoned.
2/5/40. Builds now complete. My plan is to put every effort into gaining air superiority and knocking out Belgium and Holland as soon as possible. I will be attacking with my right whilst masking the Maginot line. I do not intend to attack Norway as I don't want to waste any assets there. If the Allies invade I can put enough into Southern Norway to hold the country until France is defeated.
4 divisions of the BEF move into Belgium in an attempt to stem the German onrush. No surprise that his main weight is on our left flank. We hold the Allied air forces back to keep the Germans guessing.
3/5/40. The assault went according to plan and Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam and The Hague have all fallen. Losses were taken in Belgium by the motorised infantry which was painful. No sign of the Allied airforce so I have elected to keep the majority of the Luftwaffe on air superiority which only leaves a minimum on ground support.
1/6/40. I have now deployed the majority of my Panzer forces on the right flank. Lille is captured and part of the BEF surrounded.
Drat. Two British divisions are cut off and destroyed in Belgium as the French units on their right flank collapse. The remaining two British divisions take the train to Bordeaux and safely home. Meanwhile the French build a strong (we hope) defence line on the Somme.
3/6/40. To keep the momentum of my attack going I have decided to use my airborne forces to help breach the Somme river defence line which the French have constructed.
With seeming impunity the Germans break the Somme line with the aid of their airborne units. They take heavy casualties, though.
4/6/40. I am now completely over the Somme and have also beaten off Allied attempts to gain Air Superiority. I have also taken some aircraft off ground support to bolster the air defences. If I can inflict heavy losses on the Allied air then I will be guaranteed air superiority before the attack on Paris.
The Germans consolidate their bridgehead over the Somme. We ship 5 more French divisions from Africa. The Germans are only 3 hexes from Paris.
1/7/40. My amphibious unit arrived this turn. The British appear to have made a minimum commitment to the defence of France so I will not attempt to invade Britain and will keep this unit plus my airborne as a threat.
More German airborne assaults crack the next line of defence, again not without German casualties The Germans are only 2 hexes from Paris. In the Egypt the allies assembles a combined Anglo-French force in anticipation of war with Italy.
2/7/40. I want to get my spearhead units adjacent to Paris this turn to trigger Italian entry into the war.
The French are driven back to the Seine so the Italians decide it is safe for them to join the war.
3/7/40. Having achieved a Panzer spearhead adjacent to Paris my aim is to capture as many hexes as possible next to the French capital so that I can launch an assault on the first turn in cycle 8. An expensive exchange result this turn has seen two Panzer divisions reduced to battle groups. I cannot afford many more results like that. I continue to hold air superiority but the Allied air forces are inflicting continuing attrition despite my numerical superiority.
The French line in front of Paris collapses but not before inflicting more casualties on the Germans. In hindsight we should have kept a stronger BEF in France in order to hold France as long as possible In the Middle East the Allies advance into Libya and surround Tobruk.
4/7/40. Paris is surrounded and ripe for assault next turn.
A rare victory as the Anglo-French desert force captures Tobruk and advance further into Libya.
1/8/40. Paris taken by assault and Vichy France comes into being. The Allied player is making inroads into Africa. My aim here is to initially establish a defensive line near Tripoli.
The final assault on Paris inflicts a 15 strength point loss on the Germans. The British reach the outskirts of Bengazi.
2/8/40 to 4/8/40. Troops relocated to the Yugoslavian border and some reinforcements sent to Africa. I had been considering an airborne assault against Malta but have decided against it because the island has been reinforced by at least one extra infantry unit and I don't have enough air transports left, after my losses in the French campaign, to land a full 4 unit assault.
Bengazi captured. Our intelligence sources indicate an Axis build-up in the Balkans. Looks like Yugoslavia is under threat.
1/9/40. The assault begins. I can take my time and avoid unnecessary losses,
as I don't intend to attack Greece. I wouldn't be able to capture the country
before the mud arrives which would mean an extended and costly winter campaign.
Nothing must distract from the Russian campaign.
I have landed a single German unit in Albania as I know that Kevin will find out
about this and it may distract his attention from a westward advance in Africa
if he anticipates landing to support the Greeks.
3/9/40. The invasion of Yugoslavia is now complete. I have decided not to
invade Greece as I do not want to have to garrison the country and the returns
are minimal. The down side of this decision is that Italy will not be allowed to
deploy units onto the eastern front, so a lot of the Italians will be having a
relatively cushy life in occupied France.
In Africa I have decided to commit a modest amount of German armour and some
infantry. I had considered abandoning Africa completely but the thought of
waiting the whole winter before rolling some electronic combat dice is not
appealing. In game terms I guess it is the political price Germany must pay to
keep Italy out of Greece. My strategy is to concentrate my army in defensive
positions around Tripoli and hope the Allies overextend themselves in the
approach march giving me the opportunity to counter attack.
It appears that the Germans are not putting a lot of resource into U-boat construction. Early in 1941 the German surface navy sorties into the Atlantic but is swiftly dealt with by the Royal Navy. By 5/41 UK production is 15% greater than normal.
4/9/40 to 2/5/41. The main activity during this period is the build up of the German Army for the attack in the east. Sadly the Allies have decided not to overextend themselves towards Tripoli. The Allied front line is advancing at the end of this period but air recon has shown a considerable number of Allied units and what looks like a well protected supply line. I have therefore decided to withdraw all German forces from Africa. There will sadly be some Italian divisions who cannot escape.
British units are 12 hexes from Tripoli with 10 divisions. The final capture of North Africa by the British is overshadowed by the expected German invasion of Russia.
3/5/41. The main strength of the German army is now committed into the USSR as the weather clears. The Luftwaffe is kept fully busy attacking the Soviet airforce (I had forgotten to allocate the aircraft to their combat positions the turn before). The German strategy is to try and capture Leningrad before the snow arrives. In the centre I want to establish a line ready for a strike at Moscow in early 1942. In the south I have committed a large amount of my armour in an effort to move east as far and as fast as possible to seriously disrupt the large amounts of Soviet production in this region.
The Germans make deep penetrations into Russia as the Russian army scrambles to keep an intact front line while attempting to defend in depth.
4/5/41 - 4/6/41. The opening German assault has gone very well. The front line lies approximately from Odessa to 4 hexes east of Kiev, due north from there to about 4 hexes west of Leningrad. The pace of the advance was far quicker than I had expected and the insoluble problem I am now faced with is one of supply. The limited number of available mobile supply units are completely unable to provide a supply line to any of the front line units. I have 5 teams converting rail hexes to European gauge, but they will not move far enough forward to make much difference before the mud arrives. Attacking whilst out of supply is ruinously expensive as you always have to take casualties equivalent to the defenders strength and also attack at half strength. The German army simply cannot take such casualties and remain a viable fighting force.
1/7/41. After much thought I have decided to concentrate my limited logistic capabilities to support the drives on Leningrad and Moscow. Leningrad will be relatively easy to supply because I have captured the Baltic ports which will reduce the length of my supply line. I do not think that I will be able to capture Moscow so will continue with my initial aim of setting up a start line ready for a realistic assault in summer 1942. In the south I will aim for limited advances to try and keep the Soviet defence line stretched. I will consider myself very fortunate to capture Orel and its personnel centre. I have written of f my attempt to get to the Crimea.
4/7/41 The German attack towards Leningrad is relentless. A counter-attack with massed artillery reopens the Moscow-Leningrad rail line, if only for a while. We are really feeling the pressure all along the front. The Germans have adopted a tactic of attacking out of supply and taking the losses with Hungarians and Rumanians. Not fair!!
1/8/41. The northern drive is going very well and I am almost within artillery range of Leningrad. A failed low odds attack in Finland has finished my chances of applying pressure on the city from the north. The other fronts remain out of supply but some limited advances have occurred in the centre, as the Soviets slowly withdraw, and in the south.
Actually the Finns and Germans cannot cross the border at Leningrad until the city is captured from the west. If I had known this I could have boosted it's garrison. Leningrad surrounded.
1/9/41. Leningrad has fallen to the first assault. The city was isolated by a
Panzer column moving east and then fell to a direct attack. My northern force
will now aim to eliminate the Soviet troops pocketed against the Finish border
and move the front line as far to the east as possible to reduce the chance of
the city being recaptured by a Soviet winter offensive.
In the centre the supply lines have caught up with the front line units and I am
ready to move forward again. As well as establishing a base for a 1942 assault
on Moscow I want to destroy as many Soviet units as possible here as I think
that Kevin will deploy his best troops to defend his capital and the production
centres in Moscow's vicinity.
In the south I have stopped the assault against Orel and diverted the armoured
troops to support the assault by Army Group centre.
The situation is looking grim for the Soviets. If the Germans could see the paucity of reserves we have he may push harder to collapse the front before the weather turns.
1/10/41. The eastern front offensive is now going very well. The northern
panzers have broken through the Soviet defence lines and are heading southeast
towards Moscow. Army Group Centre has broken the Soviet line and taken Orel from
the north and Tula. One unsupported panzer division is within sight of the
Kremlin on the outskirts of Moscow! This unit has cut the supply lines of the
main defence line west of Moscow leaving the infantry to blast a path through. I
may get one chance for a low odds attack against Moscow before the mud.
Unfortunately my Ju 52 fleet has been completely destroyed so I am without para
support.
In the south Kharkov is now surrounded by a thin panzer line and my aim here is
get sufficient supplies and infantry up for an assault by the end of the month.
2/10/41. The western allies have landed in Norway so I have shipped over the few German infantry divisions available in the Baltic ports to defend Oslo. The Luftwaffe is fully committed to the eastern front and the Mediterranean so is not available to interdict allied convoys where the allies have air superiority.
1/11/41. Kharkov and the western most hex of Moscow have fallen. My aim during the mud is to rearrange a supply line to the units around Moscow.
1/12/41. I have managed a limited attack in supply and captured another personnel centre to the east of Moscow. Things must be getting desperate for the Soviets now.
You bet!
1/1/42. The supply line to Moscow is now established but the rest of the front line is out of supply. Hopefully I can hold on without losing too much ground in the east. On the western front allied production is now in full swing. I have gambled on winning the war in the east in the summer of 1942 and have built a minimum on U Boats in order to maximise my army. As a result the Allied production is now +50% and likely to stay there for some time to come. If I don't knock the Soviet player out the west will only be lightly defended and I am expecting the Western Allies to be in a position to start amphibious assaults by the summer of 1942.
French North Africa is occupied by the Allies (the US has now entered the war) and the Germans occupy Vichy France. The Russian front is stable during mud and the winter of 1941. During early 1942 the Russians make local counter attacks on the southern front, inflicting a number of casualties on the Germans. By 4/42 the Russians get to the gates of Kharkov but strong German forces successfully defend the city. During mud the Russians hurt the Germans more.
3/5/42. At last the winter weather in the east is over. The German front line around Moscow held solid due to the supply line. In the south I have taken heavy losses and lost some ground all along the front. The Soviets haven't managed to capture any personnel centres, which is very good news for me. My plans for the first month in the east are to iron out some of the kinks in the front prior to the SS Panzer units arriving from the middle of next month.
The British land in Sardinia during the autumn but can make no progress. As soon as summer arrives, however, they make progress and soon the island is completely in Allied hands. We take a risk and launch a combined amphibious and air assault on Syracuse, one of two major ports in Sicily. This succeeds despite losing 2 vital air transport units and the Allies have a toehold on the island. This is part of a strategy to knock Italy out of the war. However the German summer offensive in Russia is looking very dangerous and it is doubtful that Russia will survive.
1/6/42. I have successfully captured the last personnel centre in the
vicinity of Moscow and am ready to launch an assault to close up to Sevastopol
and capture the rest of the Crimean peninsular.
In the Med. I have given up all hopes of holding Sardinia and am fighting a
delaying action. I am trying to rebuild enough air to challenge the Allies when
they come ashore on mainland Europe. My U Boat building campaign is in full
swing and I am reducing the flow of allied reinforcements.
Too late, perhaps. The British have hit production limits for air units and the flow of American units across the Atlantic is unimpeded. Desperate calls from Stalin prompt the Western Allies to land near Brest to take some pressure off the Russians. The initial landings are successful, meeting only second line Germans and some Italians. The Western Allies do not have the depth of resource to be a major threat, after all it is only 1942, but we hope to draw off some German resource from their eastern front.
3/7/42. The pressure is well and truly being applied by the Western Allies. I
have abandoned my early plan of a counter attack in Sicily and I am fighting a
delaying action. In France I aim to hold the Allies in the Brest peninsular
until mud arrives. I have very few mobile forces in either theatre.
On the eastern front I have decided to commit my long hoarded paratroops to
speed up my attack. I have launched one major air assault to threaten the Soviet
southern resource areas. This has captured a port which will allow me to ship
one division a turn across the Black Sea. The rest of the troops will be
employed in some low odds attacks against Soviet personnel centres. So far I
haven't withdrawn any troops from the eastern front, but all new production is
going to France and Italy.
The southern Russian front is in tatters and there are no reserves to plug the gaps or to garrison any of the rear areas. German spearheads capture Russian resource centres, which will cripple Russian production. Effectively, the Russians are finished.
1/10/42. Kevin has decided that the Allied cause is now hopeless. The Turks
and Spanish have both joined the Axis with the result that in the long term I
will have no problems supplying my units in southern Russia. This loss of
resources will have crippled Russian production. Stalingrad and Grozny still
need to be captured to force a Russian surrender and with one month of good
weather remaining I will not be able to achieve both. However I don't see how
the Russians can effectively counter attack in the winter with their production
difficulties.
Overall I found this a very enjoyable game and can recommend the game to any of
you who haven't tried it. If you are purely interested in a historical
recreation of strategic level WW2 combat then you will need to find a like
minded opponent as there is plenty of opportunity within the game system to try
non historical strategies.