Normandy '44 AAR

[CountryBoy]

Turn 49. 20:00 10 June 1944

Jumping ahead a little bit to 10pm on the evening of the 10th of June. Visibility is just one hex so only adjacent enemy units are visible.

Starting in the Caen area as usual, and not too much activity around Caen itself. However, we are having an intense battle over the village of Troarn, east of Caen, which has changed hands a number of times. While the British paras are very strong and entrenched on a rubble hex, I have six nebelwerfer units on site, providing artillery support. Between them they have 120 guns, all aimed at Troarn. 



Further to the west, around the Bayeux area, I have gone for a zoomed out shot of the front as there has not been too much change here. Elements of the US 29th Infantry Division are making an attack west of Trevieres. Opposing them are German paratroopers, the 77th Infantry Division and a few units of the Panzer Lehr. This is a bit of a weak spot in my lines - although my units are numerous, they are mostly low quality.



Moving further west and things have changed radically around the Cherbourg peninsula. As I had expected, the paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st have smashed through the German defences and are racing up the eastern coastline of the peninsula. I have begun a withdrawal of all troops from the peninsula, although I will be forced to leave a lot of fixed guns behind. I'm just hoping I can avoid being cutoff and surrounded as I withdraw to my defensive position I have been working on for the past few turns.



A more zoomed out look at the peninsula shows the defensive lines and my attempts to extricate as many men from the peninsula as a I can. I realise I am giving up my valuable VP hexes around Cherbourg, but I prefer to try and keep my army intact.

The red arrows show the intended lines of withdrawal for my units. It is going to be tricky to pull them all back into a fairly small area. My biggest concern would be an Allied push due west at the point where the two defensive lines meet - if they pushed through here they could cut off all my troops north of la Haye du Puts. That said, I suspect they are pushing north west towards Cherbourg, which may allow me to withdraw in order.



Looking at the jump map, and you can see the push by Allied paratroopers towards Cherbourg quite clearly. 



And finally, the VP screen. Both German and Allied losses seem to be increasing rapidly.

[CountryBoy]

I thought it would be interesting to post this situation map of the actual extent of the Allied advance by 10 June 1944, as comparison to our game.



It's a little difficult to see, but it seems to me that my opponent is well ahead of the real Allied advance in 44. He is far more advanced on the Cherbourg peninsula and much further south of Bayeux. He has also made more progress east of Caen than the Allies did in real life to this date. Very interesting. My German positions are fairly similar to 44, with the 21st Panzer around Caen and 2nd SS on its left flank and Panzer Lehr on its left flank. 

The full image can be found here:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701s.ict2...87,0.238,0

[PlanB71401]

He may have captured more ground, but the fact that you will likely be able to evacuate your forces from the Cherbourg peninsula will make up for it. That and the multiple defensive lines, it will be a slog for him to advance any further

[CountryBoy]

He may have captured more ground, but the fact that you will likely be able to evacuate your forces from the Cherbourg peninsula will make up for it. That and the multiple defensive lines, it will be a slog for him to advance any further

Yes, at best all I can really do is make it a slog. The final result is a foregone conclusion, it's really just a matter of how difficult I can make it for him. My main goal is to avoid an Operation Cobra-style breakout, which would effectively wipe me out. This scenario is definitely not one for those players that love an open, free-flowing game! Still, I am enjoying the experience. Not every game you play has to involve hordes of tanks racing across open deserts or steppes.

[CountryBoy]

Turn 53. 08:00 11 June 1944.

To Turn 53 and visibility is still restricted to just one hex. Disrupted units are highlighted in red.

Starting in the Caen area as usual, and not too much change here. The 21st Panzer and 12th SS Divisions are still on station and relatively unmolested by the British units in the area, the 3rd Canadian, 51st Highland and 50th Northumbrian.



Moving further west and to the Bayeux area, and the Allies are almost non-existent in this part of the front. The 12th SS and Panzer Lehr divisions are in a good position here. Both British and US units are here, including the US 1st Infantry Division opposite the Panzer Lehr. You can see in the screenshot below my spaced defensive lines, now three rows deep, and even four deep in some places.



Moving further west, and here is a big change as we see the first use of Allied armour in significant quantities. The US 29th Infantry Division is making a big push here, supported by tanks from the US 2nd Armoured Division. This is a smart move by my opponent as this area is mostly held by the weak 77th Infantry Division and some German paratroopers. I am going to have to move some Panzer Lehr units here, which will stretch the division to dangerous levels.



Moving further west again, and the paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st are racing across the Cherbourg peninsula. They are now only around 13km from Cherbourg itself and I am working hard to withdraw what units I can from the peninsula before they are cut off by the Allies. Fortunately my opponent hasn't seemed to have figured out my plan to withdraw west and south to my new defensive line being established by the 17th SS Pzg division. 



Regarding the defensive position, you can see it more clearly in the next screenshot. Basically I have to move my units in the peninsula to the left and down, a bit like a windscreen wiper, tucking them behind the defensive positions established by the 17th SS Pzgr division. A problem I see here is that there is hardly any German armour in the area, although the same can be said for the Allies at this stage.



The jump map shows the bigger picture:



While the VP situation is not much changed:



Overall I guess I am as happy as I can be. The withdrawal from Cherbourg is proceeding reasonably well, although I still have a job to get as many troops to the new defensive line as I can. I am worried about the thrust by the Allies in the area west of Bayeux, where I have only poor quality troops and not much armour. Reinforcements will be coming but that will take time. Thankfully the poor weather is still grounding Allied planes, allowing me some freedom of movement.

[PlanB71401]

The 17th SS has a fair complement of 42 Stugs and 28 Jagdpanzer-IVs and 12 Marder-IIIs (With McNamaraOOB). Not exactly a panzer division but that should be good at stopping an allied attack in the Bocage with fortified positions?

[CountryBoy]

Actually yes you are right, however they haven't arrived yet. They were due at 06:00 on the 11th of June, so hopefully they will arrive soon.

[Indragnir]

The 17th SS has a fair complement of 42 Stugs and 28 Jagdpanzer-IVs and 12 Marder-IIIs (With McNamaraOOB). Not exactly a panzer division but that should be good at stopping an allied attack in the Bocage with fortified positions?

As a side note: The Jagdpanzer-IVs were not available until August. By 5 August they were between Laval and Rennes, from that point they had to retreat from US forces. I plan to correct all that kind of things on my take on Normandy (eventualy)

[CountryBoy]

Turn 57. 16:00 11 June 1944.

A few hours later, in the afternoon of the 11th of June. Highlighted units are disrupted units. Poor weather is still restricting visibility to just one hex.

Starting in the Caen sector as usual, and as usual there is little action here, apart from the fight over Troarn to the east of Caen. It's not strategically important however it is an objective hex, which perhaps explains the Allied attacks here.



Moving further west, to around the Bayeux area and there is even less action in this sector. Things have been static here for some time.



Moving further west again, to the area south of Omaha Beach, and this is the sector of greatest concern. The Allies are making a major thrust here, backed by large numbers of tanks. In desperation I have moved much of the Panzer Lehr division further east to try and stop this attack. It's not so much a case of counterattacking, which is impossible due to overwhelming Allied arty, but more just using the tanks to stop disruptions and the inevitable assaults. 

The downside is that the Panzer Lehr is stretched thin, covering a very large area. I have highlighted some of the Panzer Lehr armoured units which have taken up position near the advancing Allied armour.



Moving further west to Cherbourg, and the withdrawal from the peninsula is working out well and I think I should managed to remove most troops in reasonable order. All I need to do is 'collapse' the front line before the Allies outflank mm retreating line, but there are enough static guns in bunkers around Cherbourg to slow them up a bit. Meanwhile the defensive line is taking shape, largely centred on the 17th SS Pzgr. The only issue here is that the other troops are all very poor quality infantry, especially on the 17th SS' left flank.



And a look at the jump map. My defensive line is taking shape, I'm basically aiming for a straight line running west to east, where I can slowly withdraw across the whole front a hex or two every couple turns or two. My main goal is to prevent a collapse of the line in any one place and try and keep it as straight as possible and also as deep as possible. Upcoming reinforcements include the 2nd Panzer Division, arriving on the 12th, so I will have to think about where to deploy them.



Finally, the VP situation. Not much change, with commensurate losses in both Allied and German men.

[PlanB71401]

It looks like the only place to deploy the 2nd panzer is towards the American push on Lehr's flank...

I noticed in the June 19-30 campaign that the 2nd Panzer's tanks are still not on the frontline, and only arrive later in the day on the 19th. Assuming this translates into the grand campaign, maybe it would be better to have it replace the 12th SS or 21st panzer, so that either of those 2 divisions can be sent to help shore up Lehr's flanks? Corp Attachments may make it a little tricky for a bit.