T052-053: Third Reich 42-45 - Mike (Allies) vs Ken (Axis)

T052-053. 30 April - 6 May 1943

Strategic Update

The next moves will be a new offensive near Vyazma, and an airborne operation to capture Sardinia. Details to come.

Mediterranean - Calabria

After getting wrecked by the combined Axis Mediterranean fleet the first 50 turns of this game, I've finally started hitting back, but from the air. For the last four turns, I've send bombers to raid the Axis fleet in port, first at Messina, then at Bari. Over the course of these missions, hundreds of bombers have hit the enemy ships. But the biggest victory is the destruction of three(!) Axis battleships. In order to minimize the chance for the Axis to destroy an amphibious invasion fleet, I had to get rid of those battleships. Now there's only two left in the fleet, down from five. They've been hit so hard, Ken has been forced to move extra anti-aircraft batteries to cover the port.

Eastern Front - Bryansk-Orel and Rostov-Stalino

The slugfest continues. In both operations.

T051: Third Reich 42-45 - Mike (Allies) vs Ken (Axis)

T051. 23 April 1943

Eastern Front - Bryansk-Orel
Operation Pickaxe

Not a huge update, but I briefly lost control of the two empty hexes south of Orel before retaking them fully this turn. Now, if I can hold them through Ken's counterattacks, I'll have the first solid gains of the offensive. This comes with the gains in the north near Bryansk, two hexes now in Soviet control.

Eastern Front - Rostov-Stalino
Operation Annoyance

The Axis counterattack here last turn did moderate damage to the gains made previously, smashing the tip of the wedge. But with some rested units returning to the front, some of the ground was regained. The 2nd Guards Airborne division was dropped to help shore up a hex gained south of Voroshilovgrad. It was a very low-risk jump, since the last airborne operation was destroyed. The 2. SS Panzer was withdrawn for refitting, eliminating one significant division from the Axis defenses. My forces just didn't have enough gas in the tank to really make a push this turn.

T050: Third Reich 42-45 - Mike (Allies) vs Ken (Axis)

T050. 16 April 1943

Eastern Front - Bryansk-Orel
Operation Pickaxe

Driving the wedge continues near Bryansk, with the 2nd Guards Tank Army leading the charge. Casualties have been high on both sides, but I can replace them more easily than the Axis. Now that the Soviets have seen months of continuous combat, the proficiency of units is rising. Against stronger panzer and panzergrenadier divisions, the Soviets are making gains on a consistent basis. Reconstituted units are also returning to their formations. They will move into the front line positions within a turn or two.

If I had more fresh divisions at my disposal here and were able to push the Nazis back earlier in the turn, I'd be able to exploit the holes the Soviets are punching in the enemy lines. By the end of this bloody turn, the Soviet armor was able to blast its way to clearing three hexes, easily the largest single-turn gain of the operation. But only one of those hexes was outright captured in the end.

Eastern Front - Rostov-Stalino
Operation Annoyance

Quite the "flying V" here as the offensive continues westward. The northern attack has also made good progress, enough that I've started committing more forces to the sector. One of the notable bits of intel gathered this turn was the participation of the 21. Panzer Division of the Das Afrika Korps. I don't want to read into it too much, but on the face it seems Ken is pulling divisions from other fronts to bolster the defense of the southern Eastern Front.

T048-049: Third Reich 42-45 - Mike (Allies) vs Ken (Axis)

T048-049. 2-9 April 1943

Strategic Update

The mud has arrived across Europe, putting all movement to a stop. That of course didn't discourage me from launching  a few more attacks on the Eastern Front just to keep Ken thinking. But overall things are quiet. I've disbanded the early refit options for the British X and XIII Corps. They will be withdrawn on Turn 51. The first squadron of B-17s have arrived in England, giving a nice boost to the strategic bombing campaign. Once the US Eighth Air Force is full strength, those elusive net gains in EEV will start to materialize. Oh, and I got antsy, so this happened in Turn 49...

Mediterranean - Crete
Operation Montauk

The sea transport was available and the Commonwealth had several divisions at full strength. Crete was lightly defended and key to either an invasion of the Balkans or as a diversion for the invasion of Sicily. I set Operation Montauk in motion to land the 7th UK Armoured Division, 4th, 5th, 44th, 56th, and 1st/50th Infantry Divisions, an anti-aircraft battery, and several squadrons of fighter support immediately flew onto occupied airfields. The huge break in this operation was the lack of any defense at Heraklion. The landing forces strolled into port, then moved quickly to attack the other smaller ports on the island. Because the 7th UK AD and 1st/50th Div will withdraw for refitting in two turns, I'm giving those units the quicker missions of taking and securing the eastern portion of Crete. The remaining four divisions will attack west, where most of the Axis defenses are concentrated. Once Crete is secured, I'll ferry different units to garrison the island, as those main line divisions will be needed for larger operations.

T047: Third Reich 42-45 - Mike (Allies) vs Ken (Axis)

T047. 26 March 1943

Strategic Update

I'm narrowing down the next steps in the Mediterranean, and the first thing that was cut from the list was an invasion of Sicily anytime soon. The island is too heavily defended, and I can't muster enough air cover with just the air fields in North Africa. Taking Corsica and Sardinia seem like the logical solution, with the closer air fields to Sicily. As for completely different ideas, there is a supply point in Athens, so an invasion of Greece is possible. But it's a serious bottleneck once any invasion force starts to move north. It would have to be coordinated with landings at non-supply point ports elsewhere in Greece, which is risky, and bring overwhelming force to bear so that any opposition can be swept away quickly. The closest major supply point after Athens would be Sofia, which is very far away. I'm also concerned about the rugged terrain in the Balkans. Though it could really destabilize the entire Eastern Front if the West can land and threaten the Nazi oilfields.

Eastern Front
Operation Annoyance

The Soviets are making slow but steady progress, though it appears Ken is setting up a defensive stop line back near Stalino. The number of front-line units still facing my main offensive force leads me to believe he's going to fight this one out, unlike North Africa. Operation Pickaxe is basically the same as it's been. Little progress, big casualties on both sides.

T046: Third Reich 42-45 - Mike (Allies) vs Ken (Axis)

T046. 19 March 1943

Strategic Update

The Eastern Front remains mostly a stalemate, despite the offensives ongoing at Orel and Rostov. I'm hoping the constant combat in these sectors wears down the Axis forces and sucks up some replacements they were building while I was assuming Ken would stay on the offensive. Frankly, I'm surprised he only wanted to take Murmansk and Leningrad then go immediately to the defensive in the East. Sure, it seemed he was entertaining the idea of going after Arkhangelsk, but that's all I could see from his strategy. In this scenario, the southern Eastern Front is ripe for the picking by the Axis player early on, as in every other time I played this one. The Soviets are of poor quality and poor strength in the beginning, and the Axis player must take advantage of that. Pushing the front as far away from Berlin is the only way to ensure a chance for victory. And opening a whole new region of action in the Caucuses is typically the best way to do that.

On the Western Front, I'm well ahead of schedule. Too ahead, actually. The X and XIII Corps refit disband is still a few turns away, while the Operation Husky disband doesn't appear until late Spring. So right now I can't do a whole lot in the Mediterranean. Opening up a new front to take pressure off the East is almost out of the question.

Eastern Front
Operations Pickaxe and Annoyance

Pickaxe is still a real brawl. One sector will make a breakthrough as another gets pushed back. Ken is suffering losses he wont' be able to afford down the road, while I can keep throwing wave after wave at the Axis defenders. It's also keeping pressure to a minimum for Annoyance in the south, which is gaining ground, albeit slowly.

The airborne operation was technically a success, ripping up the railroad and delaying reinforcements to the Axis front. But those two paratrooper divisions and headquarters unit were completely destroyed in the process.

T045: Third Reich 42-45 - Mike (Allies) vs Ken (Axis)

T045. 12 March 1943

Strategic Update

Woof. Not good at first, but something decent toward the end.

Eastern Front
Operation Pickaxe

The northern attack is still struggling mightily to break through the Nazi line. I'm running short on reserves to send into this sector, as all available armies are being moved to the Orel sector.

The southern attack is continuing to punch holes into the enemy lines, only to be pushed back soon after. This time, at least, elements of the 4th Guards Tank Army advanced into the breach. As I said to Ken when I sent this turn, this is turning quickly into a meat grinder. But looking more closely, it's more like a black hole.

Operation Annoyance

The airborne operation finally happened, with two divisions landing right on target along the rail line from Stalino. There was no opposition in either air or ground to the assault, so neither unit became scattered during the jump. For the moment, they're digging into the abandoned Axis entrenchments. But it appears they'll soon be needed to march east to link up with the ground force that managed to open two holes in the Axis position west of Rostov. Ken left very few reserves in this area, but one very strong panzer division temporarily halted one emerging breakthrough by the Soviets. This operation, not the originally-planned main offensive up north, could end up yielding the most positive outcome. Knowing there is little in the rear areas to mount an effective counterattack, I'm going to push very hard here and bring up any and all units to help keep pressure on the enemy.