Normandy '44 AAR

[CountryBoy]

Turn 44. 10:00 10 June 1944.

A few hours later on the 10th of June, and poor weather conditions are keeping Allied planes grounded and restricting visibility to just one hex. Again Allied activity is limited, with most of the action still being in the Cherbourg peninsula, which I will show later on.

In the Caen area, units from the 346th Infantry Division managed to spot units from the 1st British Special Services Brigade trying to sneak across the La Dives river. These units can cross in T mode without needing a bridge. I had left this area relatively undefended, using the rivers to secure Caen's right flank, but I can see that this is not going to work. I am particularly worried about the area north east of Troarn, where I have no units and no visibility over the map. I am going to have to move some men from the 346th there in a hurry and see what they find.



West of Caen, heading towards Bayeux, and I have gone for a zoomed out shot showing the general disposition of German defenders here. Due to the weather there has been little change in positions here, with the Allied presumably waiting for better weather before attacking. With the scenario being 750 turns long, there is no time pressure on the Allies. Three strong units, the Panzer Lehr, 12th SS and 21st Panzer hold the line here, supported by a few low quality infantry units.



Further to the west and taking in the Carentan area, I have another zoomed out look at German defences. This is the defensive line I am building in anticipation of an evacuation of the Cherbourg peninsula. The 17th SS Panzergrenadier division will form the backbone of this defensive position, supported by the 709th and 243rd Infantry divisions, however both of these formations are in poor shape and can't be expected to hold out for long against the Allied airborne infantry.



The only real area of any action has been the ongoing push by the 82nd and 101st along the eastern side of the Cherbourg peninsula. You can see the progress they have made since Turn 41, capturing Aumeville. It has been costly however, with my artillery being quite effective against over-stacked beach hexes. In the screenshot I have highlighted the beach hex north east of Aumeville. You can see that the Allies have 7 units in this hex, which is a beach hex, although it is an entrenched position. The German defenders in the adjacent bunker will last a turn or two before being disrupted, allowing my artillery to pound the vulnerable airborne troops. That said, this shot does also show how many of the German units in the area are disrupted (red highlighted units are disrupted units). I suspect I won't be able to hold the Allies for more than 4 or 5 turns here before they break through.




A quick look at the jump map, and not much change, although I am solidifying my defensive line cutting across the Cherbourg peninsula and moving units into position. A snail trail of reinforcements are heading north from the bottom of the map, making the most of the poor weather and lack of Allied air interdiction.



Finally, the VP situation. Allied infantry losses are now nearly 5,000 more than German losses, again probably due to the losses inflicted on the airborne troops pushing north from Utah Beach.