Normandy '44 AAR

[CountryBoy]

Turn 41. 02:00 10 June 1944.

Jumping ahead a little bit to the very early morning on the 10th of June. As usual, starting the Caen area, which is still very quiet. I still think this is surprising as the terrain in this area would suit an attacking force. That said, I have built up some solid defences in this area, in some cases three or four hexes deep. I still have the 21st Panzer (to Caen's east and north) and the 12th SS (to the west of Caen) in position here.




Moving further west to the area around Bayeux, and again there has not been much action here. The Panzer Lehr division has taken up position here, bolstering the 352nd Infantry Division and the Schnelle Brigade of 84th Corps. Both of these units are very weak so the Panzer Lehr arrived just in time.



Further west again, and looking at the area south of Omaha Beach (although the beach is quite far away now). This area is also the responsibility of the Panzer Lehr division, which is a little worrying as they are stretched a little thin. The brown units in travel mode at the bottom of the image are elements of the 77th Infantry Division, which was one of the first reinforcement to arrive at the front, although they are mostly on foot so it took an age to get them to the front. It's not the best unit, being mostly C morale and many units took a beating from Allied air interdiction on the trip to the front. Most units lost up to 20% of their men on the trip.



Further west again, and I have a zoomed out shot of Carentan and the area to the west. This is to show my plans for this region. I have moved the recently arrived 17th SS Division here (the blue units). I have them forming the basis of a defensive line which runs roughly due west from Carentan straight across the Cherbourg Peninsula. My reasoning here is that at some point I am going to lose the peninsula and would like to extract as many men as possible before that happens. This defensive line will be the area I will withdraw to, forming a (somewhat) straight defensive line. The 17th SS is a pretty good unit, although nothing better than B morale.



In terms, of Cherbourg itself, the 82nd and 101st airborne troopers are grinding their way north along the coast. I have plenty of men here but they are low quality and can't stand up to the paratroopers. This has prompted my decision to give up the peninsula and try and withdraw my men in order - fortunately I don't have to deal with a mad dictator telling me to hold Cherbourg at all costs!



The jump map shows the big picture. You can see my defensive line across the peninsula taking shape.



And finally, losses and VPs. Without the benefit of Plain Ian's more precise analysis, it seems to me that Allied losses have started climbing again. I think this is most likely losses in the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions, which have been taking heavy losses as they push up the coast, mostly where they stack on beach hexes and my artillery is much more effective.