Boromir
09 Jul 03, 17:20
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Tried to keep it short and simple so here goes...
After Action Report Operation Sealion40,
Faramir:
British Forces: Defending from invasion proved easy. With the absent of any surprise the invading force landed on the southern beach heads. From there on it was only a matter of bottling the attack then slowly closing it. After turn six victory seemed certain and the rest of the operation sealion seemed hopeless.
German Forces: I attempted to thwart the enemy's superior forces (in Britain) by achieving multiple beach heads. My plan was to have a beach head on each corner of England. This would force the British player to address each one individually and thus make his forces defending London weaker and more open to the true attack. After a few turns however the many beach heads I had was to be lessened to two, one in the north, Liverpool or Hull area (unless they could be joined) and in the South close to London. The forces withdrawn from the beachheads would be transported to the London beachheads along with the rest of Wehrmact. Initially the strategy did work. By landing in the Liverpool and Hull beach heads in force I forced the British player to react in turn. The plan went lame when my forces weren't getting any supplies and I couldn't pull them out or send in reinforcements, thus they were left to wither away (I had no understanding of sea transport capacity never having done a sea invasion before - much to my chagrin). I believe the plan could have worked if sea-transport capacity wasn't a factor and I could freely move my men as I pleased but of course this could not happen, thus my plan was fundamentally flawed because it spread my forces to thin. Saying that, it is extremely difficult to achieve anything close to a success or even draw playing as the Germans. The British have an equal army present in Britain which has no supply problems and the Germans I can assure you do. Also the Luftwaffe is not strong enough to do much damage to turn the tide in any way. They have to be massed entirely to achieve a devastating effect which means only one target at a time can be attacked. In order for the German player to win they not only have to be genius and lucky, but they have to face a stupid opponent.
Boromir:
German Forces: My plan was a two pronged attack southwest and east of London. I planned to land my glider and paratroopers at tactically important points behind the assault beaches. Some of these turned out terrifically however most did not. The plan called for a drive to the west and north of London to block any reinforcement from the rest of England but the drive stalled from the get-go. Two of my assault divisions were stopped on the first turn. One out of shear stupidity on my part and the other because a division with an attack factor of 12 was stopped by a HG battalion that had only a defense value of 1. Both of these divisions were destroyed on the water when the RN found them.
I pushed slightly into the interior however I couldn’t reach the paratroopers who were holding bridges that were supposed to be reinforced by turn 3. I did not foresee such a strong British Army and I paid dearly for it. Two isolated Para Battalions were annihilated and the other isolated unit survived but only barely.
A stable line was formed from Southend to Portsmouth. I had further echelons waiting in France and I launched to what amounted to two Corps into the open flank south of Southampton. Two beaches were left open and I though I could take advantage. I broke through quite nicely and expected to either force the British to pull back towards the London-Bristol line or get a their left flank destroyed. This however did not happen. More British units kept pouring in and now my (hasty) advance was jeopardized and by turn 6 I was in serious trouble. The entire force sent eventually was destroyed and was the main factor in my static holding of the line onwards. I did not have the strength to push forward and wouldn’t risk getting driven into the sea.
A main reason for my defeat was the RN they blocked the beach at Southend and gave the Kriegsmarine a good walloping. Therefore I sent the Luftwaffe and rendered the RN useless as a fighting force by the scenario’s end. This however did nothing to solve the inherent problem of the failed landing at Southampton and the hasty drive north. Those divisions could have been better utilized in reinforcing the existing Southend-Portsmouth line. Whether they would have made a difference is another matter.
I made some serious mistakes while playing as the Germans. My Paratroopers were thrown away for nothing, the two divisions stuck out in the water after turn 1, and the foolhardy landing at Southampton. I tried to level the score with repeated attacks versus the RN but my attempt at Operation Sea Lion was over before it reached to first furlong.
British: My plan while playing the British side was a simple one and based on Napoleon’s ‘central position’. Finding out the hard way that the Brits did indeed have a sizable force I knew I could rely on the strategy. The only question was how fast I could react to the coming assaults and how hard I could hit them back.
The German attack was not as heavy as first anticipated and a stable line was formed quickly. However soon enough the Germans performed a cheeky strategic flanking attack at Liverpool and Hull. Knowing the abilities of the Germans helped me greatly and the strength of the RN ensured that I would prevail however full marks to the tactics employed in achieving a wonderful surprise.
I was able to rush reinforcements from the Southern Command to the beachheads within two turns at the most. In many cases they were there within one turn. Therefore the beachheads were easily contained though it gave some worry about possible breaks in the southern sector. This could not happen however as the RN massacred the German divisions at Hull and the redcoats did a wonderful job at holding along the Mersey River.
The Germans overstretched themselves and I knew that they faced disaster when my attacks started proving profitable. I closed the Hull beach within four turns and the Liverpool/Birkenhead beachhead was finished off soon after.
I held the line south of London quite well and after a few breakthrough attempts were held by the New Zealanders and Canadians the German invasion was stopped.
Scenario Critique:
A well designed scenario and well researched however both Faramir and I have the same problems especially while playing as the Germans.
i) The Luftwaffe surely should have more power than just 1. Though there are many planes they would certainly be force multipliers if the RAF were defeated. The bomber squadrons should be given more power.
ii) The Kriegsmarine “Covering Force” consists of 2 Battleships and 50 destroyers in one unit. This should be split up as the RN is and make the Kriegsmarine more flexible. Putting them all into one unit makes them too vulnerable and at times useless since they only can cover one hexan.
iii) It happened to both of us that a powerful Infantry Division was repulsed by a Home Guard Battalion at a beach. This is absurd. The cream of the German Army getting repulsed in 1940 with aerial superiority by one makeshift battalion just doesn’t make sense.
iv) Brits seem to have too many units. The Germans had many more men in under arms in 1940. They should have more divisions to send (or it seems they should) if the British force is not decreased then the German forces numbers should increase.
Both of us feel that unless the scenario is fixed to level the playing field then it should not be used for play in the tournament. Meaning more units for the Germans and give their Navy and Air Forces a little more bite.
Cheers
Tried to keep it short and simple so here goes...
After Action Report Operation Sealion40,
Faramir:
British Forces: Defending from invasion proved easy. With the absent of any surprise the invading force landed on the southern beach heads. From there on it was only a matter of bottling the attack then slowly closing it. After turn six victory seemed certain and the rest of the operation sealion seemed hopeless.
German Forces: I attempted to thwart the enemy's superior forces (in Britain) by achieving multiple beach heads. My plan was to have a beach head on each corner of England. This would force the British player to address each one individually and thus make his forces defending London weaker and more open to the true attack. After a few turns however the many beach heads I had was to be lessened to two, one in the north, Liverpool or Hull area (unless they could be joined) and in the South close to London. The forces withdrawn from the beachheads would be transported to the London beachheads along with the rest of Wehrmact. Initially the strategy did work. By landing in the Liverpool and Hull beach heads in force I forced the British player to react in turn. The plan went lame when my forces weren't getting any supplies and I couldn't pull them out or send in reinforcements, thus they were left to wither away (I had no understanding of sea transport capacity never having done a sea invasion before - much to my chagrin). I believe the plan could have worked if sea-transport capacity wasn't a factor and I could freely move my men as I pleased but of course this could not happen, thus my plan was fundamentally flawed because it spread my forces to thin. Saying that, it is extremely difficult to achieve anything close to a success or even draw playing as the Germans. The British have an equal army present in Britain which has no supply problems and the Germans I can assure you do. Also the Luftwaffe is not strong enough to do much damage to turn the tide in any way. They have to be massed entirely to achieve a devastating effect which means only one target at a time can be attacked. In order for the German player to win they not only have to be genius and lucky, but they have to face a stupid opponent.
Boromir:
German Forces: My plan was a two pronged attack southwest and east of London. I planned to land my glider and paratroopers at tactically important points behind the assault beaches. Some of these turned out terrifically however most did not. The plan called for a drive to the west and north of London to block any reinforcement from the rest of England but the drive stalled from the get-go. Two of my assault divisions were stopped on the first turn. One out of shear stupidity on my part and the other because a division with an attack factor of 12 was stopped by a HG battalion that had only a defense value of 1. Both of these divisions were destroyed on the water when the RN found them.
I pushed slightly into the interior however I couldn’t reach the paratroopers who were holding bridges that were supposed to be reinforced by turn 3. I did not foresee such a strong British Army and I paid dearly for it. Two isolated Para Battalions were annihilated and the other isolated unit survived but only barely.
A stable line was formed from Southend to Portsmouth. I had further echelons waiting in France and I launched to what amounted to two Corps into the open flank south of Southampton. Two beaches were left open and I though I could take advantage. I broke through quite nicely and expected to either force the British to pull back towards the London-Bristol line or get a their left flank destroyed. This however did not happen. More British units kept pouring in and now my (hasty) advance was jeopardized and by turn 6 I was in serious trouble. The entire force sent eventually was destroyed and was the main factor in my static holding of the line onwards. I did not have the strength to push forward and wouldn’t risk getting driven into the sea.
A main reason for my defeat was the RN they blocked the beach at Southend and gave the Kriegsmarine a good walloping. Therefore I sent the Luftwaffe and rendered the RN useless as a fighting force by the scenario’s end. This however did nothing to solve the inherent problem of the failed landing at Southampton and the hasty drive north. Those divisions could have been better utilized in reinforcing the existing Southend-Portsmouth line. Whether they would have made a difference is another matter.
I made some serious mistakes while playing as the Germans. My Paratroopers were thrown away for nothing, the two divisions stuck out in the water after turn 1, and the foolhardy landing at Southampton. I tried to level the score with repeated attacks versus the RN but my attempt at Operation Sea Lion was over before it reached to first furlong.
British: My plan while playing the British side was a simple one and based on Napoleon’s ‘central position’. Finding out the hard way that the Brits did indeed have a sizable force I knew I could rely on the strategy. The only question was how fast I could react to the coming assaults and how hard I could hit them back.
The German attack was not as heavy as first anticipated and a stable line was formed quickly. However soon enough the Germans performed a cheeky strategic flanking attack at Liverpool and Hull. Knowing the abilities of the Germans helped me greatly and the strength of the RN ensured that I would prevail however full marks to the tactics employed in achieving a wonderful surprise.
I was able to rush reinforcements from the Southern Command to the beachheads within two turns at the most. In many cases they were there within one turn. Therefore the beachheads were easily contained though it gave some worry about possible breaks in the southern sector. This could not happen however as the RN massacred the German divisions at Hull and the redcoats did a wonderful job at holding along the Mersey River.
The Germans overstretched themselves and I knew that they faced disaster when my attacks started proving profitable. I closed the Hull beach within four turns and the Liverpool/Birkenhead beachhead was finished off soon after.
I held the line south of London quite well and after a few breakthrough attempts were held by the New Zealanders and Canadians the German invasion was stopped.
Scenario Critique:
A well designed scenario and well researched however both Faramir and I have the same problems especially while playing as the Germans.
i) The Luftwaffe surely should have more power than just 1. Though there are many planes they would certainly be force multipliers if the RAF were defeated. The bomber squadrons should be given more power.
ii) The Kriegsmarine “Covering Force” consists of 2 Battleships and 50 destroyers in one unit. This should be split up as the RN is and make the Kriegsmarine more flexible. Putting them all into one unit makes them too vulnerable and at times useless since they only can cover one hexan.
iii) It happened to both of us that a powerful Infantry Division was repulsed by a Home Guard Battalion at a beach. This is absurd. The cream of the German Army getting repulsed in 1940 with aerial superiority by one makeshift battalion just doesn’t make sense.
iv) Brits seem to have too many units. The Germans had many more men in under arms in 1940. They should have more divisions to send (or it seems they should) if the British force is not decreased then the German forces numbers should increase.
Both of us feel that unless the scenario is fixed to level the playing field then it should not be used for play in the tournament. Meaning more units for the Germans and give their Navy and Air Forces a little more bite.
Cheers