RE: Ports in Sealion
Just completed a Campaign as the Brits a few weeks back, we played until about turn 105 or so. The British definitely do not have a prayer of throwing the Germans back into the Channel, any more than the Germans had a prayer of throwing the Allies back into the Channel on D-Day or for that matter any other landing in WW2 (they all succeeded if they were designed as more than a raid). The British must play the long game, and from Turn 1 play with an eye towards winning "tomorrow". I fought a slow withdrawal to the GHQ line, saving everything I could even if unit was down to a single man it's worth saving because the British Replacement Advantage will pay dividends in the end. If a German unit is in a town or village shell it or bomb it for RUBBLE, blow bridges at bottle necks. I started building the GHQ Line by planting minefields immediately after taking down the bridges; the Germans got to the Line but never through the line. If you can keep the Germans from breaking through the GHQ line eventually all of your reserves will release, once that happens you will out gun the Germans by a considerable number. The German supply situation starts to drop the longer the game goes, and between blown bridges, RUBBLE, and your irregulars you can knock a large chunk of the German forces into Low Fuel and Ammo Status every midnight forcing them to constantly regroup. If the Germans refuse to attack into the teeth of your defenses you will attrition the to death. If they attack they will need to be lucky and fast otherwise you'll grind them down with artillery they can't match, and their air strikes will be useless against stacks of 24-36 AA guns everywhere. I offered my opponent a surrender on Minor Terms instead of playing another 60 turns watching me shave 50-60 VPs a turn off his score from artillery supremacy. Yes the Brits can win, but you've got to fight the war like Monty would....slow, methodical, conservative, boring and successful.
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