Europe Aflame: Telumar vs Heldenkaiser (Axis AAR)

Telumar

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You add 9 ports in Spain and conquered Portugal to the list of palces to defend; they are on mainland Europe, but pretty far from the main theater, so an Allied landing could occur anywhere from Cadiz/Malaga all the way up to Calais. That's quite an Atlantic Wall to defend. And it leaves you open to, say, a landing at Cadiz and a beachhead around Gibralta/Malaga sucking up a lot of your troops and then a landing at. say, Bilbao driving between the Ebro and Pyrennes to Barcelona making all of Spain a giant pocket.

Offsetting that, I expect that taking Gibraltar and closing the staits would make the Med an isolate Axis lake and would free up troops from within the Mediterranean basin. How, BTW, is the campaign in Iraq going?
9 ports versus 19 ports alone from Sicily to Perpignan. I would say that's a good exchange. Plus the small, but worthy Spanish army. Plus the additional seatransport.

Cadiz and Bilbao have no Allied supply points, landing there would be a very bad idea. Also, even if they were in supply i doubt the Brits have enough resources to cut off the Iberian Peninsula via Bilbao. What they are capable of is maybe to break the naval blockade i want to put up and reinforce Gibraltar. Or, if/when Gib falls they could re-invade Gibraltar later that year. Invasions on mainland Europe will need supply points and there are only supply points at Calais and Normandy. And Lisbon. In the Med, there are much more possible Allied supply points: Sicily, Anzio, Marseille, Tunis, Algiers, Malta, Salerno, Genua.

Then, now is the only reasonable time for such an operation. In these few turns before the mud cease fire much can't be gained in Russia anyway, plus i couldn't afford diverting that many troops in the midst of an eastern summer campaign.

The war in Iraq? Stalemate. The last action there was when the Brits unsuccessfully attacked an Italian Armoured Corps some turns ago. Before that, in late summer 41 iirc, i tried to cross the Tigris river east of Baghdad to cut off the British, but that failed, too.
 
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Mark Stevens

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Let me guess - these naval units will appear even though Dierk, respectively the RAF, sunk the Vichy navy.. oh well :OHNO:
He didn't 'sink' every single vessel - they were driven off and scattered but, like Arnold Schwarznegger, they will return...
 

Telumar

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He didn't 'sink' every single vessel - they were driven off and scattered but, like Arnold Schwarznegger, they will return...
yes.. understand... :upset: I may talk to Dierk, once he's done the turn.

... (as a cheepy chappie :p) i may propose to put this on the to-do list for future updates..
 
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Telumar

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Turn 137

February 8th, 1942


Enemy Activities


Almost nothing. More Soviet reinforcements. In the Atlantic a Royal Navy TF engages the Bismarck Group which gets badly mauled.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Overview


Operation Herkules has begun. As a welcome surprise the Spanish Army is reinforced by their Armored and Mech Corps - didn't expect that. On the Eastern front our attacks in the Melitopol sector and near Grozny are all repulsed. The situation hasn't changed at all, so there is no use for a screenshot.

The main action has been in the Med this turn, naturally:


Spain

In the San Sebastian region (Atlantic coast, French-Spanish border) we had to secure the railroad against pro-allied partisans. At the moment this is the only railroad that German reinforcements can use to enter Spain. The Spanish Armored and Motorized Corps' have entered Portugal and are heading for Lisbon. German III. SS Korps and a Panzer Korps are assembling near Sevilla for the attack on Gibraltar. We're flying in substantial LW forces, mainly JU-87s and Fighters. The Italian Navy continued to shell Gibraltar Airfields while the Kriegsmarine and the Spanish navy block the western approaches to the Med. Bismarck Group has been withdrawn to St.Nazaire in France.




France


The pro-Allied forces in ex Vichy France are stronger than anticipated, but this doesn't seem to be a problem. Italian troops have reached the outskirts of Marseille while German forces are approaching Vichy. A German Division is also marching on Perpignan to secure the second rail line into Spain.




North Africa


The situation in North Africa is under control. German Fallschirmjägers land near Casablanca and isolate that city from the rest of the mainland. Together with the capture of Tunis by 90. lcht. Div Vichy forces in North Africa are out of supply. The Spanish occupy Tangiers.

Algeria and Marocco:



Tunisia:




The Levant


 

Mark Stevens

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As a welcome surprise the Spanish Army is reinforced by their Armored and Mech Corps - didn't expect that.

The theory being that the Germans, delighted by Franco finally putting his money where his mouth is, immediately release the supplies, equipment and advisors to allow Spain to operate a small mobile group. Remember the German Condor Legion had been supporting the Spanish Nationalists in their civil war until early 1939
Their main strength is Panzer Is, so don't expect too much.
 

Telumar

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Indeed time for an update...


We're currently on turn 146, the first turn after the Mud Cease Fire. Hostilities have resumed again. In the few turns before the mud, the developments of significance were the surrender of Portugal, the Luftwaffe's victory against the Royal Navy in the waters off Portugal and the defeat of Soviet troops south of the Terek river which resulted in the Terek pocket (5 Soviet Armies trapped). And the new Allied bomber offensive aimed at cutting raillinks between the east and Central/West Europe.

As of now, turn 146, the situation in the various theaters:

Spain


Gibraltar still holds! Though i ecpect it to fall soon, the attack this turn inflicted heavy losses on the defenders. In northern Spain, the Partisans now control vast areas and are really becoming a threat. German security units will have to be brought in next turn from southern France. During the Cease Fire and in this turn, most of the Luftwaffe units that had been used in the Spanish campaign have transferred back to the Eastern Front.




France


Almost all resistance has been crushed this turn, which allows shifting most of the security forces to Spain. Only one 'Maquis' unit is still active in the southern Alsace region.

I have moved Flak Divisions to vital bridges all along raillines from Spain to the Eastern Front. These Divisions not only add additional air defence, but also significant repair capacity as all Flak Divisions have 'some' Engineers assigned:



They are positioned in a manner to protect one continous railline and some side lines through Central Europe to the East as can be seen in the screenshot from northern France (there is a Flak Div under the Army Group HQ near Metz). More Flak Divisions can be seen in the screenshots from the Eastern Front.




Eastern Front - South


During the mud i assembled a strike force in the Kiev area which will ..strike.. The plan is to break through the Soviet Defence east of Kiev and to advance towards Kharkov before turning south thus rendering the entire enemy Dnjepr line untenable. Luftwaffe and artillery (i received two fresh artillery divisions and a Werfer unit) are concentrated for this effort. The aim is to force a general withdrawal and to catch the retreating enemy in the open, instead of banging against his fortified positions. Maybe a bit too ambitious, but we will see.
I have come to the conclusion that at this point of the War in the East it's more important to crush the Red Army where it is possible than to take strategic objectives. See this as a confession that the Soviet Union can't be knocked out of the war (anymore). The Red Army has become too strong, its air force is successfully contesting Luftwaffe air superiority and the strategic cities of Moscow and Stalingrad honestly are out of reach for this summer's campaign. Not to mention Leningrad.




Eastern Front - North


Still on the defence. Panzer Lehr, 90. and 164. leichte Division act as mobile reserves.




Kaukasus and Kuban


The Terek pocket has been significantly reduced, only the Caucasus Front HQ still holds. Here we will attack from Grozny to the northwest. Maybe it's possible to envelope part of the western Terek defence line, but the whole operation has more a diversionary character. In the Kuban i will stay on the defence, the Soviet build-up is immense, he might be even thinking about an own attack there, i don't know.

 

Telumar

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Long time not seen... First, apologies for not updating the AAR for so long. I just didn't find the time. But i think it's again about time to post some screenshots and comments in this phase of the game.

We're at turn 154 and the Axis summer offensive on the eastern front is in full swing. As mentioned in the last post of the AAR, the objective of the Summer campaign is to destroy a significant part of the Red Army. Although we've broken the Soviet line east of Kiev and have reached the gates of Kharkov this has not materialized yet. Dierk managed to deliver a fighting retreat without losing too many units and has been constantly pulling units out of the hat right into our way.. This turn saw significant gains south of Kharkov (yellow arrows) and due to a weakness in the Soviet defence (a Soviet unit left in D after relieving another Soviet unit in the frontline), the Melitopol front finally has become active:



I think we discovered what could be a second Soviet defence line, running south from Kharkov towards the Mius river. This line has already been flanked south of Kharkov and i plan to push towards Rostov behind this line, along the western bank of the Donets river. The two SS PzKorps south of that penetration will probably have to turn around. If it is possible to take the heavily defended Kharkov whithout weakening the thrust towards Rostov i yet can't tell.


In the Caucasus it's been almost impossible to advance across the river Terek line which is well backed up with two of his dreaded Artillery Corps (only one is visible in the screenshot - the other one has been or still is two hexes further southeast). Instead we somewhow managed to slip through and advanced along the north side of the Caucasus with Mountain troops so that his Batumi front could have been cut off this turn (for the time being..). A supporting offensive out of the Kuban bridgehead along the Black Sea coast succeeded this turn (after three turns of static battle) in breaking through and reached Tuapse. Thanks to the Regia Marina which managed to un-entrench an enemy artillery Corps and is now positioned to support the Gebirgs-Division in the Batumi plains against the expected counterattack.




Elsewhere things have been quiet. Except for the relentless Allied bridge bombing campaign in Germany, France and the Balkans. And of course, cat and mouse in the Bosnian mountains.

Finally a not so encouraging look at infantry losses:

 
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Telumar

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New Graphics and a short update..

Turn 161 - July 27th, 1942

The whole war still concentrates on the southern part of the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union. Except for minor Partisan activities in the usual places (YU and Spain) it's been quiet in the rest of Europe since spring (when Vichy fell and Portugal was occupied). Our main objectives are still to hurt the Red Army as much as we can and to grab the oil of Maikop (soon to fall) and Grozny (achieved). Now, with Dierk's front north of the Caucasus disolving, a beginning Soviet withdrawal out of the Caucasus region, the occupation of Rostov and subsequent crossing of the Don to the south and also northeast of the city, Stalingrad comes into reach. But it's only around 12, 13 turns until the mud.

Dierk has executed an excellent delaying/withdrawal manouever in Ukraine. He prevented excessive losses, traded space for time and denied me any sort of real breakthrough (though i think this quite wore on his nerves..). Somehow he didn't manage this in the Caucasus region: this turn we finally achieved 'operational freedom' north of Grozny! South of Rostov traffic jams were more of a problem than the Soviets and northeast of Rostov we're stalled before Kamensk despite enemy weakness. Two fresh Motorized Korps and two PzKorps are ready to enter action next turn. I hope to see more progress then. If i can push down fast enough from Rostov while heading north from the Georgievska area, maybe combined with airlandings i think it's possible to cut off a significant part of his North Caucasus Army already next turn.
 

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The quiet northern part of the Eastern Front. Note that a small area of East Prussia is still in Soviet hands. This while the German Army advances towards Stalingrad.

View attachment 36825
 

Ruppich

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Hi,
i just found out that you captured malta.
can u give me a hint how you managed to do that?
Bombarding with ships seems risky and ineffective and my invasions are beaten off.
Any tipps?

Same think with gibraltar im very exciting how you get it done.
 

Telumar

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Hi,
i just found out that you captured malta.
can u give me a hint how you managed to do that?
Bombarding with ships seems risky and ineffective and my invasions are beaten off.
Any tipps?

Same think with gibraltar im very exciting how you get it done.
I can't exactly remember the details. But Malta was a several turns affair. Firepower. Mere and brute force, there are no elegant techniques.. I believe i hit that island with air strikes, plus the Italian navy shelled the airfields and defenders. Several amphibious assaults, with a split up PzKorps (Africa) in one case. Finally the Italians did it. Be prepared for losses. I almost lost that split up PzKorps after the failed assault to the coastal batteries.

Gibraltar was taken by land (i activated Spain). It resisted several turns. If you want to take it, you can't without one of the rare artillery units. The usual assault saw one German Elite Korps (SS/Pz/Mech), supported by one artillery division, air support (a lot of) plus the Italian and/or German navy. You must not abate in the intensity of your attacks as Gib contains a supply point and if you don't hit the Rock every turn - and be it just by air and/or naval bombardment - the Allied units will recover fast, making your previous turns' effort nil.. That would probably not have been enough if i hadn't been able to deny the Allies to reinforce the "Rock". The Med was completely in our hands and the German navy blocked access from the Atlantic with two TFs.
 

Ruppich

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The Med was completely in our hands and the German navy blocked access from the Atlantic with two TFs.
Sorry to ask, but what is a TF?

Anyway, shouln'd the royal navy be potent enough to blast anythink that the german could muster out of the sea?
 

Telumar

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Sorry to ask, but what is a TF?

Anyway, shouln'd the royal navy be potent enough to blast anythink that the german could muster out of the sea?
TF = Task Force. In this context a naval TF.

Following the activation of Spain there was indeed a sea battle off Portugal/Spain. Dierk made the error and got within reach of my Ju-87s which is not such a good idea, especially in TOAW. The RN got defeated in that battle, but it can and will recover for another fight. Without the Stukas (and a better naval combat model) however the outcome would have been vice versa.
 

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Turn 162 - August 2nd, 1942

Turn 162 is what i would call 'missed opportunities'. An early turn end after the first combat round due to a battle south of Rostov (PzKorps vs Infantry). Dierk has surprisingly not begun with a general withdrawal from his exposed positions at the Kuban. Instead he tried to plug the holes, supposedly with all that was at hand, no matter the quality - we've run into a screen of security and irregular units at Elista, while there is still a gap northwest of the town. But.. let's begin with the map (huge screenshot). I've numbered the significant events and situations.



Kamensk (1) - I am very disappointed as we well could have opened the direct road to Stalingrad at Kamensk this turn. Two PzKorps, two fresh, rested, fully equipped elite PzGren Korps and one Infantry Korps were ready to exploit towards the east.

At (2) there is a significant Soviet force (1 Tk-, 1 Mot. and 1 Rifle Corps plus an Art.Div.) that poses a danger to the Fallschirm and Glider units that have landed at (4). Due to the early end the attack by the 17-11 PzKorps against this threat couldn't be carried out. Also, forces at (3) couldn't link up with the airborne troops. The point of the landing was to cut off lines of communications of the entire Soviet Caucasus Front. If things stay as they are now, this objective would have been achieved. But i think Dierk will re-open lines somehow.

At (5) the Soviets have relatively strong units which are supported by two artillery divisions. Thanks to the early end our forces opposing them are not dug in and the units at Georgievsk, that would normally have been free to move after clearing an encirclement in the first combat round, could not have been brought up to strengthen our positions and eventually attack that enemy line. East of this weak spot we advance further into the Steppe, take Elista and encounter the previously mentioned screen of security and other 2nd line or irregular units at (8). Some of these RBC, but as elsewhere, further exploitation was not possible. (7) shows the same picture, we moved up, but couldn't fully attack. Probably a good chunk of these Rifle Corps will escape towards Astrakhan.

At (6) planned attacks against unfortified Soviet positions at both flanks (!) of Maikop did not materialize. But we closed the pocket in the mountains south of Maikop that the Soviets had opened in the previous turn. Note that the Soviet line opposite Krasnodar consists mainly of 'trash' units.. but fortified trash. Without artillery there is no way to crush the line within one turn and acceptable losses , not even with a PzKorps.
 

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Turn 163 - August 9th, 1942

Enemy reaction (Allied turn 162):

As expected Dierk re-opened lines of communications to the Kuban front. Our airlanding troops get between forces retreating from the Maikop/Kuban area and forces that Dierk sends down south from Stalingrad. 7. Flieger Division is destroyed (yellow X), the other two airlanding divisions are in danger to share 7. Flieger's fate as they're cut off from supplies and in contact with superior enemy motorized forces:




Axis turn 163

Taking some risks - the suspense continues.

Again i have numbered the important events on the map as the situation still is complex and might appear confusing.. At (1) the Bulgarians clear the Stalino pocket. Normally i would have starved the fortified units in the urban ruins some more turns to minimize our losses, but we needed the railhub asap to increase supply flow into the Steppe and the Don bend (Kamensk area). There, at (2), two full strength PzG Korps rip apart the Soviet front and advance into the enemy rear, one of them stands in front of Kalach now! This all by RBC (sic!). The most forward Korps might be a bit too exposed, but i am willing to take that risk. The Tk Corps and split-up construction engineers to the SW have no MPs left as they've been 'RBCed'. As are the Soviet units north of Kamensk where we widened the breakthrough. So, it could be he won't be able to cut off the Korps. Air attacks against troop transports at Stalingrad fail under heavy losses by a surprisingly strong VVS.

At (3) our cross-river assault fails despite the Luftwaffe being successfull in digging out enemy artillery support. At (4) our relieve attempt fails in the face of 12th Mech Corps inspired resistance. 22nd Airlanding is doomed. East of the road, in the Romanian sector, a number of enemy units are destroyed.

At (5) we cleared the encirclement south of Maikop (we need the units in the Steppe) and manage to cut off the city. Thirsty for oil, the Wehrmacht immediately attacks, but can't enter the city. Yet.

From the Elista sector (6) we advance in three directions. To the west to reestablish contact with the airlanded 5. Gebirgs-Div., probably the only unit that will escape the 'Market Garden' in the Steppe. To the north towards Stalingrad where we encounter resistance by several Soviet Tank Korps. Former PzGruppe Afrika attacks successfully, splits up and continues its attack just to expose the vanguard Kampfgruppe in a similar fashion as the PzG Korps at the Don bend. However, we have the chance to achieve a "strategic envelopment" thus creating a yet unseen desaster for the Red Army. The attack towards the Caspian sea to finally cut Terek front's retreat path achieves not too much.

Note the black, dashed, two directions arrow. This is currently the only supply route for the Soviets into the Kuban and the Steppe.

 

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Turn 164 - August 16th, 1942

Enemy Turn 163:

The Soviets continue their retreat from the Steppe/Kuban/Terek regions. General retreat direction is Northeast. Dierk manages to cut off armored lead elements on the Elista - Stalingrad road (part of PzGruppe "Afrika") and a Mountain Corps that was trying to relieve 5th Gebirgs-Division together with that division, but luckily the mini-pockets repulse all attacks. 22nd Airlanding is not so lucky and gets annihilated (yellow X). I've now lost two of the three airborne/airlanding divisions. At least they delayed the general Soviet withdrawal, which might prove very valuable.



North of the Don, between Kalach and Kamensk the Soviets didn't close the gap in their lines. Are they running out of units? Reinforcements are underway, several Tk Korps advance from the north, plus Dierk rails in fresh (?) troops from the Belorussian and Baltic fronts. Two Rifle Corps arrive via train at Kamyshin. Dierk retreats from Kalach - i think this is an error, the hex contains good, defensible terrain and the retreat will put my best unit (Großdeutschland Korps) another hex closer to Stalingrad without a battle.


Axis Turn 164


Sad but true, i don't have enough units at the Don to both exploit the gap in the Soviet line and advance to Stalingrad. Naturally, advancing to Stalingrad is the option to chose. I had to scratch together all units i could to secure against the north while eliminating trapped Soviet forces south of the Kamensk - Kalach railway and at the same time reaching Stalingrad. First attacks against the city by Großdeutschland have been repulsed, but i'm confident we can take the city next turn when artillery support will be available. Another elite formation (LXXXVIII Korps) has split up and secures to the north of Stalingrad.
South of the Don we're in pursuit of the fleeing Soviets. Maikop falls, which releases forces that will probably be railed to Georgievsk next turn. The Terek pocket has been sealed off - for the time being. The positions at the Caspian sea are not too strong and exposed to flank attack, but it will slow down the enemy's retreat and i think next turn we can cut off the remainder of the enemy forces for good.
The second part of Pz Gruppe "Afrika" relieves cut off first part of the Korps, recombines and pushes on to the north. East and especially west of the Elista - Stalingrad road i expand to a) reestablish contact with the cut off Mountain Korps and 5th Gebirgs which fails short of its objetive, b) to constrict the Soviet retreat corridor and c) to simply inflict damage to the worn down, un-entrenched enemy (also most retreated Soviet units end up with 0 MPs, which makes them immobile during Dierk's turn).

 

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Turn 165 - August 23th, 1942

Enemy Actions (Allied Turn 164)

Dierk seems to have given up south of the Don. He manages to destroy the still cut off Mountain Corps and my last airlanding division, 5. Gebirgs Div and to break the containment of the Terek pocket plus several minor encirclements, but most of his units in the south remain in position. He strengthened the Stalingrad defences with two depleted Tank Korps, probably the last units that escaped the forming gigantic "Steppe Kessel". In the Chir river area - the gap i lacked the troops to exploit - he builds a new front with rushed-in einforcements.


Axis Turn 165 - Victory in the Steppe!

We finally close the pocket with PzGruppe "Africa" reaching the southern suburbs of Stalingrad. In the huge "Steppe Kessel" Recon identifies approx. 8 Tank Korps, 1 Cavalry Korps, 6 Mech Korps, 25 Rifle Korps of all kinds (Regular, NKVD, Shock), 1 Artillery Korps, various irregular units and Don Front and Voronezh Front's HQs. The total amount must be more, but as I don't see deeper into the Kessel icannot verify that. All i know for certain is that there is one more Artillery Division. This is beyond all expectations that i had when i started the summer campaign just east of Kiev. Not to speak of having reached Stalingrad with a good chance to take the city!
Though.. maybe we trapped "one front too much". As winter is approaching i cannot starve the Kessel too long, but instead should start mopping up as soon as possible. Especially these units that are not dug in should be attacked immediately. This means further losses, though in the face of this victory i can live with that. If this will be sufficient to prevent an effective Soviet winter offensive reamains to be seen. I hope so.

Situation at the end of the turn:



At the Caspian Sea coast it looks like part of the former Terek front will escape. We are unable to reach the coast again in the northern sector, but at least the enemy's southern forces are now cut off beyond hope for relieve (~ three and a half Korps and Southern Front HQ).

Stalingrad still holds. Dierk's new front north of the Voroshilov - Stalingrad Corridor is on the retreat just as they have arrived at the front.
 
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