Normandy '44 AAR

[Ricky B]

How do the allies not have any naval losses but are down 69 pts?

Good question. I know I did hit some of their naval support with land based artillery which damaged one of their ships. So I guess it should be showing some form of a loss to represent the hit (I think ships have 'turrets' which are their version of men/vehicles).

Exactly right. A turret or two were knocked out, but  a ship is not lost until all turrets are destroyed. Each turret is worth points, the ship is more like an entire unit, which unlike other units is only counted when totally destroyed.

[lezgo killemall]

How do the allies not have any naval losses but are down 69 pts?

Good question. I know I did hit some of their naval support with land based artillery which damaged one of their ships. So I guess it should be showing some form of a loss to represent the hit (I think ships have 'turrets' which are their version of men/vehicles).

Exactly right. A turret or two were knocked out, but  a ship is not lost until all turrets are destroyed. Each turret is worth points, the ship is more like an entire unit, which unlike other units is only counted when totally destroyed.

Thanks guys.

Cheers

[CountryBoy]

Turn 73. 08:00 13 June 1944

Visibility is just one hex. Highlighted units are disrupted units.

Situation summary:

So it has been one week since the Allied landings and the German army is hanging in there. A defensive position has been established running roughly straight across the map, from the base of Cherbourg to Caen. The German defences rest on a number of key divisions: 21st Panzer, 12th SS Panzer, Panzer Lehr, 17th SS Pzgr and 2nd Panzer. There are another 5 or 6 infantry divisions in support, but they are really only making up the numbers as they are mostly very low quality and are unable to hold the line for long.

In detail, starting with the area east of Caen as usual. Not much change here, with artillery doing most of the work. I am focused on taking Troarn as it does command a view over of much of the area here. However German infantry here are weak and I'm fortunate the Allies are not pushing harder here.



Further west and looking at Caen itself and the area to its west. This area is defended by 21st Panzer and Panzer Lehr. They are well dug in with multiple lines of defence. The Allies have made only a little effort here and this section of the front has not changed for some time.



Further west again and we are looking at the area south of Bayeux. In the past few turns the Allies have increased activity here, with the US 1st Infantry and UK 50th Infantry starting to push south (highlighted by the yellow circles). You can see quite a few disrupted units on both sides here. That said, the German defensive line is at least three deep, although the terrain is only average in terms of defence. In the bottom right hand of the shot you can see me extending the defensive line so that it is 4 deep. 



Further west again and we are now north of St. Lo. This area is a problem, with the US 2nd Armored and 29th Infantry divisions still pushing hard. I have had to give up considerable ground, evidenced by the empty trenches north of the German lines. As soon as the frontline defenders are disrupted I have no choice but to retreat, trading hexes for lives.

Defending this area is a mish-mash of units, including Panzer Lehr armour and paratroopers.



The next shot is a zoomed out look at Cherbourg, where most the action has been taking place (as in real life). My plan to pull back to the base of the peninsula is working well thus far, with no units having been trapped by the Allies. You can see some units still making their way south, keeping a step or two ahead of Allied paratroopers.

The big problem here, which precipitated the withdrawal from the peninsula, is the push by the US 4th and 9th Infantry divisions, who are driving south and south-west. I'll have to try and collapse the salient while 17th SS Pzgr and 2nd Panzer stop the Allied advance. There is a gap south of St Jean-de-Daye which is defended by inferior German infantry, which is a bit of a concern, but so far the Allied advance has been limited here.



The next screenshot is a very zoomed out look at the entire battlefield. I'm not sure how useful or interesting this is, given the scale, however I have tried to show the general front line and positions of key German units.



A look at the jump map shows a similar situation. You can see the German defensive line taking shape. In parts it is up to 5 or 6 units deep.



And finally, a look at the victory points. German men losses have been mounting in the past few turns due to the now fairly widespread Allied push. German gun losses are high, although many were fixed units left behind in the retreat from Cherbourg.

[NikolaiB]

Sweet! Is the overall plan to bleed the allies as they attack the deep defensive lines? Oh, and just one more question, when the front line units disrupt, can you rotate in undisrupted ones? Or is it too late by that point? Thank you for the AAR!

[CountryBoy]

Sweet! Is the overall plan to bleed the allies as they attack the deep defensive lines? Oh, and just one more question, when the front line units disrupt, can you rotate in undisrupted ones? Or is it too late by that point? Thank you for the AAR!

As unexciting as it sounds, yes, bleeding the Allies as they slog through the defensive lines is pretty much the strategy! This scenario is not one for those who want dashing moves, flanking attacks and breakthroughs! That said, there is something satisfying to be derived from trying to set the perfect defense, construct an impregnable line and shifting units around to maintain a continuous front.

To answer your second question, occasionally I do shift in replacement units to replace disrupted units, however in most cases Allied direct fire and artillery fire usually causes disruption in the replacement unit, which renders the action somewhat meaningless. I do try where I can to place armor and infantry together - usually the infantry disrupt first and I might try and replace them with another infantry unit, trusting that in a worse case scenario the replacement unit gets disrupted but the existing armor unit does not. Allied firepower is incredibly strong and German direct fire or moving into contact is best avoided.

[NikolaiB]

Sweet! Is the overall plan to bleed the allies as they attack the deep defensive lines? Oh, and just one more question, when the front line units disrupt, can you rotate in undisrupted ones? Or is it too late by that point? Thank you for the AAR!

As unexciting as it sounds, yes, bleeding the Allies as they slog through the defensive lines is pretty much the strategy! This scenario is not one for those who want dashing moves, flanking attacks and breakthroughs! That said, there is something satisfying to be derived from trying to set the perfect defense, construct an impregnable line and shifting units around to maintain a continuous front.

To answer your second question, occasionally I do shift in replacement units to replace disrupted units, however in most cases Allied direct fire and artillery fire usually causes disruption in the replacement unit, which renders the action somewhat meaningless. I do try where I can to place armor and infantry together - usually the infantry disrupt first and I might try and replace them with another infantry unit, trusting that in a worse case scenario the replacement unit gets disrupted but the existing armor unit does not. Allied firepower is incredibly strong and German direct fire or moving into contact is best avoided.

Makes sense, thank you for the reply!

[CountryBoy]

Turn 78. 18:00 13 June 1944.

Visibility is one hex. Highlighted units are disrupted units.

Been a while since the last update. The game has slowed down a fair bit since the action moved to the bocage. It's very much a slugfest now.

Starting as usual with the area to the east of Caen, and as per previous updates there is not much change in this area. The 346th Infantry division is holding off British airborne troops but they are not pushing too hard here.



Further west and we're looking at Caen itself and the area west of Caen. Again, not much change here. The Allies are content to make only minor moves here, despite the terrain being unfavourable for the defenders. A good thing I guess.



Further west again, and we are now south of Bayeux. The big change here is the appearance of the UK 7th Armored Division - the famed Desert Rats! They are making a fairly big push straight into dug in elements of the 12th SS Panzer Division. I'm reluctant to commit my tanks to this battle, the main concern being Allied artillery power. Fortunately Allies airpower is grounded, which might perhaps let me mount a little counterattack. Further along the line though I have pulled back (where the yellow arrows point to gaps between the two forces). This is consistent with my strategy of slowly giving ground while preserving my forces as much as I can.



Again, further west and now we are north of St Lo. The big change here is that the US 2nd Armored Division has pulled back, hopefully scared off by armor from Panzer Lehr which I had rushed to the area. However, I have had to pull back the front line in places anyway due to infantry attacks by US forces.



The next shot is a zoomed out look at the Cherbourg Peninsula. The strategy here to pull back my units to my new defensive line is working well. It is helped by the fact that the Allies have been very slow to push up, giving me plenty of time to withdraw my units in good order.



Next is the entire battlefield map and you can see the development of a reasonably straight defensive line running roughly west to east. The only risk is the units in the Cherbourg Peninsula making their way south, but as already mentioned they are doing so in good order. 2nd Panzer Division will be taking up position to the west of 17th SS Pzgr.



The jump map shows a similar look at the situation.



And finally a look at the victory point situation. Without any detailed analysis it seems like the difference in losses is remaining reasonably steady.



Overall I think things are going according to plan. Most of the army is in good shape, defensive lines are extensive and in depth. At this stage my biggest worry is boring my opponent into quitting!

[NikolaiB]

Thank you for the update! Given the space and time constraints, can you keep on pulling back until turn 700 or do you have to make a stand somewhere?

PS. I really like the more zoomed out maps that give a sense of the whole front.

[CountryBoy]

Thank you for the update! Given the space and time constraints, can you keep on pulling back until turn 700 or do you have to make a stand somewhere?

PS. I really like the more zoomed out maps that give a sense of the whole front.

I don't think there are 700 hexes to the bottom of the map, so giving a hex per turn won't work. Then again some positions hold for 4 or 5 turns, so at that rate I may not have to make a stand at all and can just slowly retreat south.

The real problem is that our turn rate has dropped drastically. Once we were exchanging turns every day or two, but now it is once per week. At this rate both my opponent and I are likely to do old age before Turn 750 rolls around!

[NikolaiB]

Oh, damn, that's going to take a long time. I look forward to when you make your stand!