Fall Grün 1938 Heldenkaiser vs. Nemo

[Heldenkaiser]

Well, West Front is over and Stefan has disappeared from our EA game ... since having no DAR to write is clearly no fun, I'll do one on my new "Fall Grün 1938" game with Marc (Nemo). It's only 20 turns, it looks like I'll lose it in 5, and it's a less well-known scenario, so it's very little effort and maybe interesting to at least somebody. And besides, I do it for my own fun.

Alright, T1 is a cease-fire turn to deploy the armies. The Germans are massing on all invasion corridors, which means everywhere except on the high mountains. Defending Bohemia against anyone is a challenging proposition. The only important defensible terrain features are the mountains themselves, and they are all on the border. Which means the usual Napoleonic maxims on warfare do not apply. I have to defend the mountains at all cost, all of them, and use as many troops as it needs, for there is no worthwhile second line position anywhere, and no buying time by trading space, as I lack the troops to defend the open plains. Now this would apply in any case ... with a second-rate, infantry-heavy army against the highly mobile German Wehrmacht it's even worse so. But we make the best of it.

Some things to consider:
- I must not lose Ostrava (Ostrau) or Bratislava (Pressburg), as this will reduce my supply level. The problem being that both are on the border itself. So, defence in depth there as much as possible, and hope I'm not being flanked.
- There will be Sudetendeutsche partisans, apparently mainly in the northern border areas. So I must somehow guard cities and bridges there.
- The initial deployment of the Czech forces looks good, in principle--they're guarding the main invasion routes. But it seems that the troops to space ratio is best in 4th army in the southeast (basically only from Bratislava to Znojmo) and worst in 1st army which covers 3/4 of the perimeter from Znojmo in the south over west, north to northeast at Glatz. 2nd army has only the gap from there to the Polish border. I resolve to shift 4th army right a bit to allow 1st army to keep some reserves in the south looking west where it's thin on the ground. Of course, this is mostly mountainous terrain ... but see next turn.
- OK, all three armies can afford some reserves in the second line, but in some cases these are indeed second-line divisions with the regiments at half-strength.
- There are all-in-all about six independent tank battalions, these are kept in key cities behind the main front line for counterattacks. Not that 50 Pz 35t would make much of a show ...
- Finally there is the only modern unit in the army, the fast division, a couple each of cavalry and mot infantry regiments, two tank battalions, a bicycle regiment, and it's at 70% proficiency, not the usual (abysmal) 52%. My only useful counterattack force, I will need it soon enough, but for the moment I keep it in Prague to not waste supplies.

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Czech Turn 2 / 18th September 1938

It starts extremely badly to be sure. Maybe I am already a bit disappointed by the scenario ... in any case I am shocked! :angry: The Germans seem to have absolutely no intention, or need, of coming through where I expected them. The mountains don't seem to stop them the least bit. SW of Plzen, armored and mech forces are moving right through several hexes of forested hills, north of Prague and near Glatz infantry is coming right over the (rocky) mountains. Worse, my all-infantry force of course has no recon at all, the Wehrmacht has plenty, so the Germans are simply pouring through all the gaps. At Karlovy Vary, a German regiment is slipping right through my lines, evaporating the artillery brigade of the 1st Division, only being stopped by the weak 24th Division in second line. My troops might as well not be there, for all they're worth. Only in the south do the Germans have to do some real attacking and do well in that too, except at Bratislava, which holds. 2nd army is hardly attacked at all in front, nor are in fact several divisions of the 1st, as the Germans are groping for the gaps instead.
Well, seeing how the mountains are useless unless I physically occupy them everywhere, obstructed terrain be damned, I am basically now breaking down all my regiments in two to cover more ground. Of course that will make me more vulnerable everywhere, but at least I'll stop this casual infiltration. The entire tank reserve of 1st army is used to stop the armored breakthrough SW of Plzen.
The only real positive feature of this turn is (hard to believe at first glance, but you'll see) that Marc dropped two para regiments right into Prague where they landed basically on top of the fast division, which, with the second-line 27th division as the anvil, proceeded right away to eliminate them and succeeded almost completely, leaving only a single weak battalion to be mopped-up next turn. Why is this is so great? Well, for one thing I was extremely lucky not to have moved my mech forces out of Prague on T1, secondly I am rid of an enormous threat to my rear areas, but thirdly and best of all, according to the scenario briefing losing elite units like armor, SS and para troops means severe VP penalties for the German side. So ...
Still, there might be a second wave.
The only other actual counterattacks are by my tank reserves against the German spearhead (a draw, no ground gained) and by the 24th Division near Karlovy Vary against the surrounded German 41. I.R. No success, I lose a battalion.
Air situation bad, interdiction attacks frequent, I am one point behind in the loss penalty (2:1), but still an OV. 18 more turns ... hard to believe I'll hold even half as long against the mighty Wehrmacht.
Shouldn't the mountains be more of an obstacle to the Germans?

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Czech Turn 3 / 22nd September 1938

It's a disaster, plain and simple. I am doing what I can, but the designer of this scenario seems to have been convinced that a German invasion of the CSSR would have been a complete walkover. Three turns, and I am losing entire divisions faster than I can count. At Svitavy in the 2nd army sector, the 23rd is practically cut to pieces. The 17th, south of Ceske Budejovice, is completely routed. My tank battalions are simply brushed aside without a fight--that btw is how I lost Svitavy. And every hex not physically occupied is an autobahn into my rear, as my troops have no recon at all and obstructed terrain doesn't seem to disturb the Germans in the least. As a result, the left flank of overextended 1st army (from Vimperk to Ceske Budejovice) is practically gone and 4th army is shifting right even more to cover the gap. At the same time, 4th army is also preparing to fight with a reversed front, i.e. to the northward although it's looking south, as the weak left wing of 2nd army (between Svitavy and Krnov) is completely giving way. Two weak divisions of 4th army (the 25th and 28th) are thus moving north via Brno, but what the can positively accomplish against the German steamroller is at least severely in doubt (to be optimistic). Also, the air situation is horrible, and my arty and HQs are easy prey for any attack. And the Germans don't seem to tire or run low on supplies at all. They're all green and fresh and strong. :OHNO:
Well, what can I do? Plugging gaps as best I can, of course, but what can weak battalions achieve against strong regiments, I wonder? Straightening my lines and falling back in places to achieve that means disengagement attacks that in two cases evaporate whole units. The only positive events are the annihilation of the last German para battalion in the Praha area and the throwing back of two German engineer battalions in the mountains in the northeast by concerted counterattacks of two regiments in each case. (You see, by not setting my sights too high I can still have an occasional sense of achievement. :clown Oh, and I evaporated the nasty German Kriegsmarine flotilla that was sailing up and down my lines in the south.
But really, this war is lost. There is still my last reserve in the fast division in Prague, which can try a last-ditch defence of the capital, but other than that, I have already used up all my reserves with any fighting-power.
Loss penalty 4:4. We lost one objective, thus 65 of 70 VP, still O.V. The promised severe VP penalty for two lost German elite units does not seem to have materialized though.

 

[Sker]

I think that this scenario is very unbalanced: a good german opponent is able to deny any chance of victory by exploiting his huge superiority.

With quite modern equipment mountains are not that formidable obstacle when they are undefended: in order to be somehow effective in delaying your enemy you should at least garrison them with weak units.
Deviding your unit is very important: you will lose some strenght but, if you are able of not being overrunned, you can hold more ground or you can afford in some crucial sectors multiple lines.
And finally I would not counterattack, unless your oppent gives you great opportunity: dig in your unit as muchas you can in the best defensive terrain you can find.

This way you can maybe make the game continue for about 4-5 turns.

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Czech Turn 4 / 25th September 1938

The scenario description says "France, USSR and Great Britain are allied with Czechoslovakia, and will declare war on Germany when it invades Czechoslovakia. If the Czechs put up a good defense, its allies may send reinforcements or threaten Germany into withdrawing units, replacements and reserves to bolster its defenses in the west. If the Czechs seem to be losing, its allies may falter and seek negotiations."

Yet this turn the news had that the SU cannot spare troops and that the French are discussing a "solution to the Czech problem" with Germany. So apparently the present situation is "the Czechs seem to be losing" in the terms of the scenario designer. What the hell does he expect? I am facing an overwhelming number of high quality, highly mobile troops with a third-rate infantry army, yet it's T4 and I am not only still alive, but I hold an overwhelming victory with all objectives and 75 of 70 VP. If that isn't "the Czechs put up a good defense" then what the hell is?? :angry:

Of course it's a first rate disaster, I don't deny that, even though it's not yet evident from VP, objectives or loss penalties (Czech 5, German 3). In the SW at Vimperk and Ceske Budejovice, in the W at Carlovy Vary, and especially in the E from Hradec Kralove to Krnov, my lines are practically pulverized, with a large number of regiments routed. By breaking down the last remaining full regiments and shifting a large number of individual units around I am just about able to plug the worst gaps at least for the moment, but of course these are stopgap measures in no way designed to last. It is, afterall, a question of time only, and if I cannot hope that by surviving for a short while longer I can induce the Allies to help me, I am lost. But seriously, how could anyone ever expect the Czechs to hold this juggernaut for more than a handful of turns? It's taking all the skill I can muster (maybe that isn't a lot!) just to achieve that. :OHNO:

Right, back to the report. In the Praha sector, with the 1st division gone, I am scraping together a second defensive line with second line units (how fitting) and by recalling the 13th division, save one regiment as a rearguard, from the border north of Teplice where it was about to be outflanked anyway. Around Svitavy reinforcements from 4th army (25th and 28th divisions) arrive just in time to contain the large German breakthrough in 2nd army sector. Since the south is critical, but not as critical as the east (it's really just different degrees of catastrophy that we're talking about), I am withdrawing another division, the 19th, from 4th army to be in reserve behind the 2nd. At Ceske Budejovice, 3rd and 17th divisions are trying to escape from almost complete encirclements. And W and SW of Klatovy, 1st army tank reserves and 7th division are shifting around to contain some minor breakthroughs.

I am still not ready to commit the fast division. It's my final reserve, and in the end I will probably need it just to defend the capital. If I use it up in a meeting engagement outside Praha, I won't have a garrison left for the city itself. Of course that's nonsensical to the utmost--using my only mobile unit stationary. But that's probably the deployment error I made--not using a second line division as garrison of Praha. Then of course, a second line unit would not have taken care of the German paras so easily, or maybe not at all, and I would have lost the war on T1 or T2.

I suppose I'll just have to give up ground and shorten the perimeter to have a better troops to space ratio. But falling back from a highly mobile, high recon force with a slow, no recon force is of course highly risky in itself. :upset:

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Czech Turn 5 / 29th September 1938

I am also simply having no luck at all in this one. Granted, the German attacks have become somewhat less overwhelming (supply running low? an initial shock effect wearing off?), but I feel in no way confident I can withstand them for another 5 turns, let alone 15. Nevertheless, I am stabilizing my lines as best as I can, and--here comes my severe disappointment this turn--I had even decided to counterattack in a few places (see map) where German units were exposed enough to be vulnerable to a flank attack (wait a minute, I forget that due to some goof we're playing old flanking rules--I could have attacked in a lot more places :angry. I even used my precious fast division (and most of its supply) to surround a German armored regiment at Klatovy and SS Leibstandarte NW of Vimperk (those elite units whose elimination would get me extra VP which I sorely need!), even denuding Prague for that chance. But all in vain. As chance would have it, my turn ended after the first two combats, and I wasted one of those too, because the German Schützenbrigade I had trapped against a super river south of Mlada Boleslav escaped onto a bridge hex in spite of having no road connection, something I'd have thought impossible. So bottom line, I wasted my turn and my sole mobile reserve for nothing. :OHNO:

The map tells most of the rest of the (sad) story. Routed units and broken lines everywhere, although not as bad as last turn--the situation, as I said, has slightly stabilized. About the only real good news however is that at Ceske Budejovice, the nearly-surrounded 3rd and 17th divisions somehow escaped with most of their units intact, or else I wouldn't have a line down there at all by now. On the other hand, I lost Svitavy again.

Loss penalty 6:5. 66/70 VP, O.V.

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Czech Turn 6 / 2nd October 1938

The end of this turn finds me about as exuberant as the end of last turn found me depressed. Hard to believe, I got my second chance at the kills screwed up by last turn's early end. Marc may have become somewhat overoptimistic, or in any case he failed to read the writing on the wall ... rather than extract his surrounded units, he advanced them further into my rear! I feel ashamed to say that I almost botched it anyway. Two units that rushed to surround his armor near Klatovy moved through the ZOC of his 1. Schützenbrigade sitting in my rear and did not make it; and one relatively fresh regiment of 7th Division that was to be the main strike force against surrounded SS-LAH was accidentally dug in together with its HQ and arty brigade. (How I hate the "dig in entire group" order! :angry So I had to substitute a weak battalion and two armor companies. On the other hand, this time I didn't count on multiple rounds from the start, so at least I got all my combats done. Hard to believe, but I eliminated both units--the tank regiment and SS Leibstandarte. I won't be so quick to deplore my bad luck again.

And independent of that success--more important for my personal morale than for the military situation in Czechia, I admit --I have begun to feel more optimistic. The positive trend (compared to the initial turns) continues. Admittedly I lost two surrounded stacks, but a lot more units returned to good order this turn than were thrown into reorg or routed; in other words, I am getting units back. And the frontlines are shortening. I've been able to withdraw an entire division and parts of two others from the frontline in 2nd army sector to form a second line or reserve. I haven't had that since T2. And the German attacks are definitely weakening. I am still suspecting some sort of initial shock, or maybe the Germans are beginning to be somewhat fought-out. Afterall, loss penalties are close (7:6).

Well, the score stands, 66/70 VP, objectives held 65/70. Since I am 1 VP back on losses, why am I 1 VP ahead overall? A mystery. BTW the promised VP bonus for destroying enemy elite units doesn't seem to have materialized so far, unless it's only 2 VP for Germany's entire airborne force (hard to believe).

 

[desert]

Shouldn't the mountains be more of an obstacle to the Germans?

Tell that to the French and Belgians.

What I find most amusing is that on Turn 1 you were so worried about losing Ostrava and Bratislava, while on Turn 6 they are the most secure areas in the country!

 

[Heldenkaiser]

What I find most amusing is that on Turn 1 you were so worried about losing Ostrava and Bratislava, while on Turn 6 they are the most secure areas in the country!

Well, it may sound amusing, but in fact it's quite logical. Because I was (and am) so worried about losing these two locations, these are the only areas where I did not reduce the original troops to space ratio. Whereas on the rest of the map I am happy to have a battalion per hex of frontline, At Bratislav I have a regiment in each hex and another regiment on "T" behind each hex, and at Ostrava it's nearly the same, only a bit deeper (the terrain is more obstructed).

So that these areas still hold is just a reflection of the priorities I set earlier.

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Tell that to the French and Belgians.

Right. Though there's mountains and mountains. The Sudeten rise to over 5,000 ft. The highest elevation in the Ardennes is just over 2,000 ft. The Ardennes, though forested, are basically a settled and cultivated area traversed by plenty of roads. The Sudeten can only be crossed by way of long and deep mountain passes which, if defeded, are major military obstacles. Or at least they should be.

 

[desert]

Well, most of the border mountain hexes are actually under German control at scenario start. The Czechs really only have mountains to defend in the north, between Teplice and Glatz.

Also, it appears that the bulk of the Sudeten Mts are along the Polish border offmap/south of Frydek Mistek (which gives you very little to work with).

By the way, is it realistic for the Germans to have 550 operational He-111s in September 1938?

 

[Heldenkaiser]

By the way, is it realistic for the Germans to have 550 operational He-111s in September 1938?

I wouldn't know about that. What I do know is that the claim the scenario designer makes in his briefing

Fall Grun pits an untried Wehrmacht and an even more unready Luftwaffe against a determined and able adversary.

is definitely not fulfilled in the scenario. The Wehrmacht is quick, hard-hitting, resilient, and overwhelming, the Czechs are slow, weak, outnumbered, and generally rather pointless. :OHNO:

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Czech Turn 7 / 6th October 1938

We're approaching the next crisis, and I hope it ain't gonna be the last. (In that if it is, the game will be over after it.) My frontline is falling apart in the SW quadrant, and I could only plug it by using most of the fast division--my last mobile reserve. So under the pressure of necessity I have finally committed it to a static role, which is probably the end of its operational usefulness. On the other hand, I guess I have to consider myself happy that it was T7 before it came to that.
Still, there is a very real danger that this German thrust, combined with the only slightly less catastrophic situation in the NE quadrant, will result in the country's being cut in half somewhere SE of Prague. And unfortunately, the smaller half with way less troops will contain the vital objectives, i.e. the two 20's in Prague and the high chance to lose the campaign with them. I have now come to realize that, given the nature of the mountains as hardly an obstacle to the German advance, the initial deployment of the Czech troops makes very little sense. A good deal is concentrated on the plains in the S and E, probably reflecting the fact that, historically, these would have been more vulnerable than the SW to NE semicircle covered by mountains. But in the game the bulk of the troops ought to be covering the approaches to Prague. I would shift troops from the SE to Prague if I still could, but there are no mobile reserves left now. Besides, moving under oppressive German air superiority would mean they arrive in a quite worthless condition.
As a matter of fact, I have hardly any troops left to shift around. Moving half-regiments (I broke my regiments in 2, not 3, as that would have made them too weak to start with--they're weak now as it is) this way and that way just about suffices to have one in every frontline hex. But they're now easily pushed aside, and wherever there is a gap, I have German units moving deep into my rear, seeing how my troops have no recon at all. The German Schützenbrigaden seem to have plenty. I just about had one halfway intact division left to counterattack against the 2. Schützen N of Tabor (but fail). The 3. Schützen N of Mlada Boleslav (that escaped my two counterattacks almost by a miracle and then routed one of my regiments! :angry and the 101. Infanterie NE of Prague have to be left alone in my rear for the moment. For the life of me I cannot find troops to oppose them. The 22nd Division is just coming up from 2nd Army sector, but out of MP.
Two counterattacks succeeded, one near Ostrava, and in Klatovy a German infantry regiment was eliminated. The fourth attack against the 1. Schützenbrigade SE of Klatovy failed too.
Loss penalty 8:7. Objectives held 65 of 70. VP total 75 (which will mean I got 10 VP for five destroyed enemy elite units, I guess--not quite as high as I'd expected, to be honest, seeing what it costs me to take out these SOB's). Still O.V. -- But in the end I doubt I'll be able to hang onto a draw. Had I pumped more troops into the NW earlier on, then maybe. But now it's pretty clear that, once the continuous front around the what remains of the country is gone, I won't be able to build a second line around Prague. It's hopeless. :OHNO:

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Czech Turn 8 / 9th October 1938

This turn was a surprise in that the German attacks were a lot less bad than I would have thought. Practically everywhere my lines were holding. The only real problem is the nearly closed encirclement of my 15th Division in the extreme SW, between Vimperk and Klatovy. There's two regiment's worth of infantry in good order in that last stack at the end of the cul-de-sac which very likely won't make it out of there. But you know what, I have come to realize that, given the strategic situation, every unit cut off and destroyed near the border will be worth twice as much when it reconstitutes in Prague (as my units seem to do)!
Coming back on my thoughts from last turn, and given that the Germans gave me a respite to do it, I made it a priority this turn, at the expense of almost all other considerations, first, to provide for the immediate defense of Prague, so to insure against a sudden death victory, secondly, to build an inner defensive ring around Prague with whatever troops were at hand, and thirdly to shift troops from the SE half of the country into the NW half, i.e. the one containing Prague. To that end, the almost completely fresh 25th Division was withdrawn from the frontlines in the bulge NW of Olomuc and is moving to the inner defensive ring. I can not win the game by just defending Prague, as I won't be able to do just that, against determined German attacks, for another 13 (!) turns, but the present (outer) defensive frontline will collapse, at least in places, somewhere in the next 3-4 turns, I expect, and then whatever breaks through must not have a thoroughfare right into Prague.
Local counterattacks just against targets of opportunity. The nasty 2. Schützen in the center was finally taken out. The counterattack outside Plzen, unfortunately, failed in spite of coming from both sides, and I lost a battalion. Worse, the German regiment NE of Prague was attacked twice by half a mech regiment of the fast division. The second attack not only failed, but lost me the battalion, which I can ill spare. The other two attacks succeeded.
Loss penalty 9:7. Objectives 65/70. Total VP 74, O.V.

 

[desert]

Actually, your entire western outer defensive ring seems to be close to encirclement!
Have you considered transferring units from Bratislava north? It doesn't look like the Germans have much there besides a token rearguard division.

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Actually, your entire western outer defensive ring seems to be close to encirclement!

Well, this entire thing is a great encirclement!

 

[desert]

Oh, you know what I mean!

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Actually not exactly sure what you mean. But if you're referring to the fact that the country is about to be cut in half somewhere SE of Prague, I am aware of that. I won't be able to hold that off forever though, so the next best thing is to make sure that Prague is properly defended when it happens.

Should I have to fight this again (which I suppose I won't, as I don't think it has much value as a PBEM scenario), I would probably abandon the eastern half of the country to its fate right away, leave only enough troops around Bratislava and Ostrava to ensure they can hold out into the second half of the game (to keep my supply level up), and move most of my army into a wide perimeter defence of the capital, with a troops to space ratio good enough to hold out nearly indefinitely by shifting reserves into the line to rest troops and so on. Given the relative strength (both in numbers and quality) of the two armies, any attempt to hold the entire frontline is IMO doomed from the outset.

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Have you considered transferring units from Bratislava north? It doesn't look like the Germans have much there besides a token rearguard division.

Oh, they're there alright. I have seen an entire division move around Vienna in the replay. Marc is much too cunning to leave Bratislava alone. He probably just wants to induce me to weaken my defenses there.

 

[Heldenkaiser]

Yes, we're still playing. After having found some sort of a workaround for the disappearing attachments problem, I have finally opened Marc's T09 and played about half of my side yesterday night. It's of a course a complete nightmare. This turn the news was that "the Soviet expeditionary force has been cancelled". As a reminder (I posted that somewhere below), the briefing promises Allied pressure on the Germans and even Soviet reinforcements if "the Czechs put up a good fight". Yet here we are, T9 of 20, still holding all objectives but one, and still holding onto an overwhelming victory with 75 VP of 70 possible! But the scenario seems to think that isn't "a good fight". So of course somewhere down the road we'll succumb to the overwhelming German pressure, deserted by all Allies and a victim of their empty promises. I cannot help but think that the scenario designer's sole aim was to completely humiliate the Czech player. Or maybe this was never meant for PBEM. In any case it's an utter failure as a PBEM scenario. I haven't played anything remotely so unbalanced in TOAW yet. But the worst, really, are the empty promises of the briefing. It's them what makes this so utterly depressing.