Europa Games and Military History

Category: Second Front (Page 2 of 5)

Game Reports of “Second Front”

Sep II 1944

(special turn skipped becasue the axis needed all the help they could get)
C, C

Axis Player Turn

Replacements and reinforcements are sent to Arnhem and the Westwall. A withdrawal is made to the Rhine in the Netherlands. Munich is garrisoned by Viennese Hitler Jugend and LW criminals with Artillery support. Cossacks and SS units form the Bavarian reserve to seal any Allied breach.

In Norway, bicyclists, Panzer Grenadiers and LW AA units head to Forde to throw the Allies into the North Sea. The KM in Hamburg rebase to Stavanger under the umbrella of lots of AA.

Allies Player Turn

A troop convoy bound for Forde sets off from Scotland. Despite intensive searching and sorties by the KM Battlefleet, it slips its cargo ashore safely to the curses of Berlin. A bitter battle inn the mountains results in a HX but this allows the RMAS and 36 Armoured X to advance to Galdhopigg Mountain.

In Germany, the front is alight with battles. The Allies have a worried eye on the long range meteorological tables and fear poor weather conditions may slow the advance. In a desperate attempt to blow open the front or at least mortally wound the Nazi war machine all available units are thrown into battle.

In the hills north east of Trieste the defenders are forced back while in the Mountain approaches to Klagenfurt an EX is made on some low level Reserve units. At Innsbruck the repositioned and strengthened Allies get a HX on the city’s defenders. Munich falls to an EX result, but the city’s AA aborts 2/3rds of the Allied Ground Support – not pretty. NE of Augsburg the Germans suffer a DH while at Esslingen and Hedenheim DRs occur. Stuttgart falls to a 5:1 Canadian attack thanks to the RE funnies while a joint Candian-French attack clears another hex of the Westwall.

East of Maastricht two US Corps attack the Westwall. Again the LW is foolish enough to try to intercept and the RAF destroys all 250 intercepts (killed). South east of Aachen another Westwall fort falls to the US while an unguarded narrow strait from Roosendaal to outside Rotterdam is crossed by angineer and artillery units to the surprise of the local commander. He is hauled away to Berlin and chastised for this blatant breach. No Iron Cross for him!

In the exploitation phase, the US push across the Rhine and seize Wesel while in Austria the US 1st Armored, fresh from victory at Innsbruck, races to Salzburg while other units push towards Leoben in the Alps. British units head towards Nurnburg and seixe Regensburg and the Sudentenland is entered. Various units “ooze” their way through the gaps in the German lines.

Sep I 1944

C, C

Axis Player Turn

The Luftwaffe melts away leaving few servicable units to contest the skies. WK VI, VII and XVIII and the Netherlands Garrison are called out. A withdrawal is made to behind the Albert Canal. A strengthening of the Westwall in the north is made, the mountain passes over the Alps are blocked and a withdrawal made to Tieste and the Ljubjana Gap. Another hasty line of defences is thrown up running from Stuttgart to Augsburg.

Allies Player Turn

Mopping up occurs in Italy of stragglers while at Innsbruck the Allies are beaten off by Rserves and Training units. Attacks towards Augsburg drive the defenders back towards the city while at Esslingen a battlegroup based on the Das Reich XX hold off the Guards and Canadian Armoured Corps. Metz falls to the Brazilians and Portuguese in a sneaky conga-line attack.

In Belgium, an attack across the Albert Canal makes a breach courtesy of the RAF maintaining air dominance. The new Tempest aircraft murdered the LW heavy fighters (a sight that was a terrible beauty to behold – successive snake eyes rolled to the anguish of the LW commander) and the Allied GS pushed the odds up high enough to destroy the enemy. Antwerp is also seized, unfortunately the port is destroyed by the retreating Luftwaffe and Eastern Troops.

Elsewhere disbanding of several Polish and British units occurs to try and get some extra RPs.

Forde, in Norway. The 6th Airborne XX, Belgian and French SAS parachute into the town from their bases in the islands off Scotland. Surprise is total and the area secured without loss. The war has come to Scandanavia at last! Berlin threatens to unleash a wave of super weapons on the impudent Allies! King Haakon promises the restoration of democracy to Oslo via radio from London.

In the exploitation phase, there is some shuffling about Innsbruck and Augsburg is entered. Ominously for the defenders of Stuttgart, the 79th Armoured XX funnies arrive outside the city. Nijmegen is entered by US Motorised forces.

Aug II 1944

C, C

Axis Player Turn

The Piave line is reshuffled with RSI Units taking over from SS Mountain units who are sent north to the fatherland to join the Battle for Mannheim where PzG units attack the French cadres holding the city. A massive air battle occurs as the Luftwaffe attempts to gain air superiority. The Allied air command is soundly thrashed and numerous LW bombers attack the city. French AA is totally ineffective in holding off the GS Aircraft and the Germans confidently launch their attack at 5:1. An AS is rolled when -4 ATEC is accounted for. Rats.

Units are pulled back to the Meuse River defence line and into the Westwall with an all out effort made to seal the breach over the Rhine. In the exploitation phase C/M units are able to block in the bridgehead, but with only limited defence strength.

At Roosendaal the probing Americans are soundly defeated by a quick German counterthrust and all are destroyed to the satisfaction of the German High Command. Their backs may be against the wall, but their sting is strong.

Allied Player Turn

The Americans smash into the Piave line, casulties are horrendous but Churchill willingly fills up the breaches with dead cardboard, a trick he learnt from Stalin on a visit to Moscow. Two breaks are made to the groans of dismay from Berlin…. At Trento, the Poles, Indians, Springboks and Kiwis assault the mountain fortress with the help of massed USAAF ground support. The criticality of this sector cannot be understated as behind trento there are no troops until Innsbruck, so the Luftwaffe again sacrifices itself in air combat. At 4:1 odds, an EX is the result and the poles graciously take the losses to allow motorised units to press into the mountains and onto the outskirts of Innsbruck. The Alps a barrier? Only if defended!

On the Westwall, the remaining training and reserve units south of Baden are cleared away by the Allies, only a lonely looking 21st SS Mtn cadre is left.

At Pforzheim an Anglo-French attack gets an exchange on the defenders. The German High Command can only pray for more of these results to slow the British down…… At Montmerdy British Armour eats up a SS/Heer Corp while the last pockets of resistance in Paris and northern France are mopped up. Osteende is cleared while US Army starts to clear Belgium. Fighting is fierce right across the frontline with the Germans generally coming off second best. DH result occur east of Charleroi and in Brussels itself where the Belgian capital is taken thanks to combat engineers – again more than 50% of Aircraft were aborted or killed by defensive AA! At Roosendaal an attack goes off poorly planned and half the assaulting forces are massacred to the chagrin of SHAEF.

In the exploitation phase, the Czechs race down the Swiss border to be 32 miles short of Augsburg while British Armoured and recon units race to Ulm. The bulk of the British Mechanised/Motorised units cross the Rhine while at Montmerdy the survivors of the earlier battle are overrun and the British units push north into the Ardennes to just south of Liege.

Aug I 1944

C, C

Axis Player Turn

Italy – a retreat is made to behind the prepared forts of the Piave River and into the mountains around Trento, but several units are unable to make the safety of the defences and are left behind to face the Allied juggernaut.

France – all available units are sent to the Westwall, German High Command is facing a crisis with only a few units available for manning the forts between Strasburg and Luxembourg. Wehrkreis V and XII are called to arms and sent into the Westwall positions. A new line is set up in Belgium with all C/M units in the area making it safely to the positions but many units are left dotted in the landscape of MR 1, 2 and 6. Paris and Lille are declared Festungs by Berlin and orders are issued for every man to fight to the last and turn the cities into deathtraps for the Allies. To threaten the British advance a Pz/PzG group gathers just outside Luxembourg.

Allied Player Turn

Massive waves of Allied fighter and bomber support swarm across northern France. The US Army flexes it muscle and attack Brussels, Gent, St Niklaas, Dunkirk, Lille and mop up numerous units in MR 1 and 2. Brussels holds but most other units are destroyed by the Americans. The numerous losses of US dog-faces is ignored by Churchill who merely swigs more brandy and points at his US RP pool. British units drive on Amien and link hands with the advancing US forces. In Paris Canadians and British forces supported by the funnies of 79th Armoured XX seize two hexes of the French capital, accidentally shelling the Eiffel tower into oblivion in the massive artillery bombardment. Sacre bleu! A large gap has developed between the seperate arms of the British advance from Paris to Nancy and several units struggle to find good defensive positions in case of a German counter-attack. The British abandon Luxembourg and swing south to cover the Franco-British Assault on Baden-Baden and Colmar. The Canadian Armoured Corp arrives in Nancy to provide a mobile reserve and exploitation force.

Crossing the Rhine

The French attack over the river relying on long range fighter and bomber support. Luckily the weak German Reserve and Training units are no match for the Goums of Algeria and the town is seized for some minor French losses (HX). At Colmar the British are repulsed by storng defences for minimal losses but in conjunction with another French Corp, the British 7th Armoured XX crosses the Rhine into Mulhouse after destroying some weak German units armed with pea shooters and hope. The Rhine and Westwall are breached beyond repair.

In Italy, the US Army mops up the rearguards and takes Vicenzia and Treviso. Units are shuffled about and the thin crust of forces around Trento are eyed speculatively. Indian and Polish mountain troops announce they are up to the task of attacking into Austria…..

Exploitation Phase

The gap yawning between Nancy and Paris is partially filled and a lose net thrown across the front line, the main hope is that the Germans are more concerned with defending what they hold that any death or glory charge by the remaining C/M units in Belgium. The French Armoured Corp goes slightly crazy and overruns their way into Karlsrue and Mannheim, catching a bomber fleet on the ground and destroying it. The Canadians, British and Indians expand the bridgehead further while at Mulhouse the Czechs, Tank Brigades and AA IIIs slip over the river into the Black Forset, where they are promptly lost and need to follow a trail of breadcrumbs.

July II 1944

C, C

Axis Player Turn

In Italy all surviving units are now “secure” behind the Po and Adige Rivers. Despite this, more forts are constructed behind the Piave River. Hitler declares there will forever be a part of Italy that is German! But then he was a nutter. Cossack cavalry enters the Vosges region of France accompanied by SS Mountain and OKW light units. Around the Flanders beachhead units are shuffled to try and maintain the line while some are slipped off to man the Seine and Marne lines. Two hexes are abandoned to avoid three stack US attacks. The beachhead grows…..

Allied Player Turn

“The Breakout”

In Italy the allies make an effort to break the Po Line. the Luftwaffe is slaughtered trying to prevent the massive allied air offensive. Flooding of the canal intensive hexes fails miserably, obviously due to the height of summer being upon the region (rolled unsuccessfully for all hexes). South east of Rovgio a US attack goes in and despite rolling a DR, the thoughtful positioning of SS Political Police just behind the trenches turns the battle into a blood bath and wipes out the defenders for the cost of a few thousand easily replaced US infantry. North east of Ferrara defensive AA aborts 5 out of 6 GS aircraft and causes the attack to fail (AS). At Legnago the Poles are crippled in a brutal EX roll which cadres two German C/M units.

The line holds, but it is battered and smoking, with a nasty gap near Rovigo.

In France around Dijon, the British advance has sucked most of the German motorised and mechanised units towards it. Three British Corps attack the 9th Pz XX and cripple it with a DH result. North and South of Dijon, French and British units attack two SS corps in concentric attacks with lots of GS flown overhead. Both stacks are surrounded and destroyed for HX results. Berlin explodes in fury and spins about on the bunker floor and blames the bolshevik-jewish alliance for providing loaded dice. The 1st SSF slides through the gaps to enter the mountains north of Besancon. West of Beavais, Canadian and British infantry polish off a weak Corp again courtesy of SS Political Police turning a DR into an EX. Hitler orders that all Political Police be round and shot. They spend the next few weeks arresting one another before Goering intervenes and stop the silliness. in the Bordeuax region, the Portuguese and Guards Corp finish off an isolated German Corp in Areachon.

Around the beachhead, the US Army gets serious and batters the defenders. North east of Lille two US Corps attack some paratroopers, infantry and a Panzer cadre rolling a DH on them. At Arras, despite AA beating off a third of the GS aircraft, the defenders are bounced out for a HX result while west of the town the Germans are pushed back with a DR to the Somme (despite two thirds of GS aircraft being beaten off – a curse on AA!). A 32 mile gap is blown in the line and the US Tank crews start salivating at the thought of the upcoming exploitation phase…..

Exploitation: “The Charge”

In Italy the 2nd Armored, 34th Motorised Infantry and an AA regiment overrun a cadre of Croatians and push into Padova, breaching the second line of the Po network. Millions of Reichmarks of fortifications are made redundant.

In France, French and British Motorised and Mechanised units sprint into Nancy while a British Corp pushes in to liberate Luxembourg. Out of the beachhead the US Army pushes into Valenciennes and onto the outskirts of Brussels.

The German line is in tatters and suddenly the units around Paris and the Seine are looking isolated from the rest of the Fatherland. The borders of Germany lie open from Luxembourg to Strasburg and those units that could make a difference are caught behind the spreading tentacles of the US Army in Flanders.

Time to call out the Hitler Youth……..

Jul I 1944

C, C

Axis Player Turn

In Italy the withdrawal to the Po continues, Bologna is abandoned and Light, Mountain and cavalry units are sent over the Alps towards France.

The Seine line is strengthened and the defences around the US units in Flanders are shuffled about to try and spare some units for the south. Paris is declared a Festung and reinforced by more units while a screen is thrown up across the Marne river to prevent a rapid British breakthrough to the beachhead.

Allied Player Turn

32 Transports and Gliders gather in the UK, along with a bundle of special forces and paratroopers. The German High Command spits and dares them to land in Berlin. The Guards Armoured Corp is rebuilt in Spain and starts marching to rejoin the main battle line. The French endeavour to crush the Avignon pocket and courtesy of surrounded ZoCs are successful in destroying the Germans. A joint Canadian-British attack near Rouen over the Seine is able to push over the river but at heavy losses to themselves (HX rolled) while south of here another attack is blocked by the fortified defenders (AS). Elsewhere the British have a slight pause while it deals with rogue German XXs running about in their rear and wait while the slower moving support units snake their way up to the front line. Paris remains untouched, to the mortal indignation of De Gaulle who demands the city be liberated toot sweet! Churchill ignores him and swigs another brandy.

The US Army begins its delayed breakout by slamming into an SS Corp defending Abbeville and forces them out of the town for heavy US losses (EX) while at Bethune a corp of SS and Heer are forced out of the town (DR – despite 8:1 odds!!). The defence holds, but cracks are beginning to appear……….

In Italy, Brescia falls to an overwhelming allied attack while US units try and seize Ferrara but are repulsed by some SS police armed with truncheons. The big victory of the turn is the surrounding and capture of various units fleeing Bologna by US forces. AT Verona a British, SA, NZ, Polish attack fails to budge the defenders despite massive GS from the USAAF thunderbolts. In a rare show of defiance the LW actually try to intercept but are generally ineffective.

Jun II 1944

C, C

Axis Player Turn

In Italy 35 REs worth of units arrive from the South East. The Allied commander groans and curses his recklessness the turn before. The reinforcements are mainly SS Mountain, Lt Infantry, Cavalry, engineers and artillery. The forts along the Po are manned and Florence abandoned. Troops in the west scuttle to Torino and a shield is thrown around Bologna. RSI Static units are positioned as speed bumps in the way of the Allies.

In France a Westwall Emergency is declared (British in Dijon) and a general retreat is begun from the Loire, Brittany, Normandy to the prepared line of fortifications along the Seine River. C/M units (assorted SS and Heer riff raf) head to Dijon while a temporary stop line is set up around Orleans to slow the British advance. Overhead the remnants of the LW rebase into Germany while positional AA takes up posts in the Westwall itself, ready to provide cover for the planned defenders.

Allied Player Turn

The US begins to lurch out of the beachhead (rapidly in danger of becoming a beached whale) by forcing the defenders of St Omer back and seizing the town. The Orleans stop line is shattered as some cadres are destroyed by advancing British units who now have Paris in their eyes. At Dijon a joint Canadian/British attack pushes the SS defenders back but fails to make a significant breakthrough. Every where British units push ahead to catch the retreating Germans but are delayed by blown bridges and carefully placed rear guards.

In Italy Turin falls to a British Corp while a fratricidal battle occurs between RSI Static troops and Allied Italians (supported by the Poles) and a nasty EX results. Elsewhere a German Infantry stack is eaten up by a polygot force of Poles, NZ, SA, British, Indians and US west of Mantova. This attack allows a turning of the Po River line and traps the German 2nd Pz XX in Brescia. In the exploitation phase, US units seize Modena, trapping units in Bologna and breaking the heart of the German commander.

In France, the exploiting British overrun units in the southern part of the Seine line (not fortified) and wheel north to arrive just outside the city of Paris.

June 1944 Special

C, C

Axis Player Turn

In Italy a few units slip into the mountain passes leading across into France while the Arno line is strengthened. Theatre Command designates La Spezia a National Socialist hero city and forms it into a western redoubt, anchoring the line against the Allied advance.

In France around the allied beachhead at Cannes a slight withdrawal is made. Toulon is abandoned to its fate with 2nd rate troops holding the fortress while Marseilles is garrisoned to hold as long as possible. the cadre in Lyon is strengthened by the arrival of a SS PzG XX and Tiger battalion while the area around Clermont is abandoned as the Loire line is reinforced as more and more infantry units arrive. Around the smoking beachhead on Bolougne the Germans withdraw 16 miles to avoid a three hex attack on their position to the boos and hisses of the watching allies. From Dunkirk, V-1 rockets scorch across the sky and impact into London docklands, requiring Fighter Command to beef up its defences.

Allied Player Turn

Calais is assaulted by US infantry and engineers who destroy half the defenders and force the remaining Eastern Troops to flee along the coast.

At Nantes a joint Canadian-British attack surrounds and destroys the defenders, cutting across the mouth of the Loire and threatening Brittany. Around Tours several attacks wipe out some German static units unfortunate enough to be caught in the growing British advance in the region. Stragglers around Clermont are gobbled up and spat into the dead pile.

A French attack across the Rhone west of Avignon fails to dislodge the German defence, especially annoying is the Aborting of 4 GS aircraft by a single LW AA unit.

The beach head around Cannes is expanded further as toulon is assaulted for a HX result and the Paras push north west towards the Rhone over the broken country side.

In Italy, caution is thrown to one side as the border is crossed from France to outflank the German line.

In the mountain passes several defenders are crushed while Pavona is overrun by the South African Armoured and other motorised odds and sods while a Motorised 82nd AB XX attacks and seizes Genoa.

At Festung La Spezia, Poles, Kiwis and Brits attack the city and seize it courtesy of some heavy GS flown by the USAAF. So much for the invulnerable redoubt theory. East of Florence, Indian and Polish Mountain units force back the RSI/SS defenders in the mountains while on the coast of the Adriatic a US Corp treats harshly a joint RSI/PzG stack and blows it away for a HX.

In the exploitation phase Milan falls to the Springboks with Mussolini escaping just in time to take up residence in Trieste. The US 1st Armored and 34th Motorised Infantry enter Ravenna before swinging inland towards Bologna.

In France the Canadians advance to Nevers and the 7th Armoured to Dijon. The bridgehead over the Loire is expanded near Tours and the 1st Armoured enters Rennes while recon units enter an empty Brittany to seize some minor ports along the Channel coast.

Jun I 1944

German Player Turn

A national emergency is declared and all replacements are diverted for use in the West, North and South front. Goebells proclaims Total war and demands the utmost from German workers in producing supplies for the front.

France – Units are reinforced and strengthened. Britanny is stripped of defenders who admin move/rail to the Loire line. The Strategic LW is called out again, the fourth time for the year and is used by the Germans to launch a series of desperate attacks. The Allied commander in his bunker outside Madrid sneers in disgust as news begins to arrive from the front of frantic German activity – surely the death throes of the nazi regime!

Carefully hoarded Pz and PzG units are unleashed onto the unsuspecting US units in the beachhead. Three attacks are launched, the first at the salient south of Le Treport by several corps of German Pz and infantry units – with +1 AECA the US forces are thrown back in a 1.5:1 DR result causing numerous casulties as troops are captured unable to squeeze past the german patrols (ZoC scam!)

The second attack is by the reformed Pz Corp based on Lehr and 21st XXs attacks Boulogne which is defended by a single infantry XX, engineers and seige artillery with no Anti-tank units. The LW holds off most of the allied DAS and the town falls again to a 1.5:1 attack (DE).

The third attack is against the salient west of the beachhead by several SS c/m and infantry units. Overhead another massive air battle rages but most of the units flying DAS get through. 19 points of German AA sends several air units crashing to the ground, but enough remains to keep the odds down to 1.5:1 with no modifiers. It doesn’t matter as the Germans roll EX and with ZoCs extending to all possible retreat hexes, a whole US corp is butchered.

In Madrid, the Allied commander weeps. Surely it can’t get any worse than this? Well yes it can.

In Bourges, the Guards Corp is surrounded by the 1st LSSAH, 2nd DR, 17th GbV, 26th Pz and various German riff raff. With the corp in such an advanced position, the only effective means of supplying DAS is Mustangs flying out of England and bombers. All non-strategic Luftwaffe units fly interception/GS on the battle. British AA sees off a large amount of German GS lowering the odds down to 1.5:1 -2ATEC, +3 AECA = EX with a ZoC scam. The best of the British marches off to join their US compatriots in prison camps in Germany.

To add insult to injury, the c/m units in Italy destroy the advanced US Armored cadre south of Florence while SS, SS Police and RSI militia surround and destroy the mountain units west of Rimini in a ZoC retreat scam. They then shuffle about to restore a rather decent line in Italy and the immediate threat to Arno line is stopped.

The only spot of sunshine was a failed infantry attack from Toulon and Marseilles on US paratroopers (AS).

The Allied high command surveys the wreckage – four 1.5:1 attacks result in the loss of some 35+ Allied units destroyed, several hundred planes aborted or destroyed, the thrust from South West France temporarily blunted, the Italian defences restored and the beachhead reduced by 50% in size. The German commander offers the Allied commander a glass of scotch.

In the exploitation phase, the Loire lines are strengthened.

Allies Player Turn

The drill halls are busy churning replacements for the lost units. British AT units are disbanded and the pools of reserves pretty much drained. More US units are landed to strengthen the beachhead where the Germans in Boulogne are surrounded and destroyed by heavy GS (DH and ZoC scam).

A cautious British advance continues to the Loire valley while mopping up continues in the rear. Several advanced airbases are built to bring fighter cover closer to the lines. The drive on Lyon continues with Etienne falling to the 7th Armoured who exploits through to just outside Lyon, defended by a pathetic looking cadre. North-east of Sete a Anglo-French attack on a German corp dug in the forests fails to dislodge them.

Cote d’Azur – French Armour arrives at Cannes to join a drive by the FFL 1st towards Toulon and push the German infantry defenders back. North of here the 1st A/B XX drives towards Marseilles and pushes the German infantry back to the outskirts of the city where in the exploitation phase the French armoured unit arrives to threaten the city. Along the Italian border Mtn and Special Forces ooze along the border into the mountains. The German CinC is disgusted by such cowardly game play.

Italy – The Polish 1st Armoured attacks across the Arno at its mouth into Pisa and forces back the German infantry XX defending it. South of here the remaining german cadres are mopped up by Polish and US Infantry with the NZ Mech XX doing ZoC scam duty. Elsewhere the US forces are shuffled about ready for the offensive soon to follow to breach the Arno fully and drive onto the Po River before mud returns.

Analysis

An exciting time period once the tears had dried in my eyes. As I watched the attacks go in one after the other at 1.5:1 I was incredulous. One or even two of the attacks causing me damage I could accept, but all four! Even my DAS let me down (although admittedly it reduced odds from 3:1 or 2:1 in all cases) by falling prey to accurate AA fire. Oh well, never underestimate the enemy ability to take risks and the curse of the die. The landing at Pas de Calais lacks the AEC nullifying terrain of Normandy and it showed when a modifier of +1 was enough to force a retreat into terrain that was choc-a-bloc with units or in enemy ZoC. As for the Brits in Bourges, that was just jammy! Watch the flanks!!

The critical factor in this time period was that it again drained the British RPs and put a dent in the US pool, all this before the German can convert most of his units to higher defence strength and the really bad terrain of Holland and the Westwall comes up. The prospect of liberating Norway are starting to look slim unless the remainder of Italy can fall before mud/snow chokes up the map, but we’ll have to wait and see.

With two turns (special June turn included in this game) until I could enter northern Italy and avoid an extra 15 REs of German being released from the South-east, the German player knew this so the Franco-Italian border was manned by a couple of amputees with shotguns while five XXs worth of British and allied units waited to cross the border and flood the Lombardy plain.

The declaration of emergency is a real pain for the allies as it gives the germans the ability to rebuild a lot of units lost in desperate EX battles of in holding up the main allied advance. Oh well, Paris will be mine soon….

May II 1944

German Player Turn

France – Two SS Spanish XXs are formed up and sent to the southern French front to delay the British advance. The SS LSSAH and DR XXs switch from Italy to Lyon to support the front. A mass movement of 4-5 and 5-5 XXs in Britanny and Normandy occurs and troops are sent to the Loire River and the Le Put-Clermont axis to try and build something approaching a speed bump to the British. Bordeaux is abandoned as troops try and slip through the gaps in the allied line to the north. In a sop to Germanic pride, the newly formed 116 Pz XX slips through a gap in the harrassment shield around Reims and destroys the Para regiments in the city. Washington is outraged! Calls for the Divisional commander to be sacked are made in congress. The beachhead is surrounded with the mauled Pz XXs pulled back to Lille for R&R.

Italy – Rome is abandoned to the sound of clucking noises from the Allied lines. The Sienna line is strengthened but units are spread across the peninsula in penny-packets, disrupted by the allied air campaign. Things look grim.

Allied Player Turn

Cote d’Azur – Operation Anvil/Dragoon is launched by in theatre resources based in North Africa. Running on a shoe string budget of LCs, French Mountain Xs, US Eng IIIs and British Inf Xs land with Ranger, Commando and Royal Marine support at Cannes and Nice while the 1st and 82nd Airborne XXs with assorted French and US Special forces lands inland from the beachhead. Surprise is total and despite a short savage one-sided battle with KM ships based in Genoa, the allies land and destroy the German defenders in both areas, especially pleasing is the seizure of Cannes without damage by French and Canadian/US special forces. In the exploitation phase, British and Czech Armoured Xs, Indian 10th and Free French Infantry XXs land and the Czech push up to the Italian border in Sospel Roya (making sure no units enter Italy to avoid the 35 REs of Germans being released from the South East.)

SW France – The 1st Armoured XX attacks and seizes La Rochelle while Canadian tanks and the 7th Armoured XX attack the Clermont-Le Puy line, destroying or cadreing several German minor units. The Anglo-French attack on Sete seizes the port, but with heavy loss of life on both sides (EX). Bordeaux is seized and Canadian infantry quickly attack north out of the city destroying another German stack of units. The Guards Corp swings east to Limouges. Behind the main line, straggling German units are mopped up (although a healthy stack of isolated XXs squat miserably in the wooded swamps halfway between Bayonne and Bordeaux guarded by Portuguese soldiers). More British troops are shipped out from England to Spanish ports to form up two new corps for action in France. In the exploitation segment, the 7th enters Le Puy while the candian Corp seizes Clermont and the Guards Corp triumphantly enters Bourges, threatening the Loire line before it can patch the massive gaps in the river defences.

Pas-de-Calais – Troops head south from Le Treport to expand the beachhead towards Paris. Allied intelligence intercepts strange Axis signals that sound like sudden intakes of breath, similar to someone who has suddenly seen something occur in their favour. This intelligence is poo-pooed by the Allied CinC. Boulogne itself is attacked and falls to US Engineers and Seige artillery units landed especially for the job. The beachhead swells in size and defences eastward. The Allied CinC trumpets via the international press that the greatest landing in history is now secure and unbeatable. Cheers in Parliament from both sides of the house.

Italy – The Poles enter Rome and launch a concentric attack with British/NZ help on retreating German units 16 miles north of the city. All units are destroyed in a DE result. US units flood out of the mountains to assault those Germans unable to retreat – 3 XXs cadred, several cadres and minor units destroyed. An attack towards Florence destroys four cadres for the weakening of a US Armored XX. Mountain Artillery and Infantry battalions cross the mountains and seize a rough hex west of Rimini and breaching the last significant barrier before the Po River. In exploitation armored and mech units press up close to Florence, threatening the city. while the Polish 1st Armoured, NZ Mech and motorised 56th London XXs race up the west coast trapping more German units.

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