WAW Walk Through (German Perspective)

The following is an AAR from a game with Stuart, graphic artist extraordinaire. It should give you a good sense of the strategy of the game.

Turn 1. September 1, 1939

1. Research ‘Own People production – 75%’ to start gearing up economy.

2. German U-boat fleet turns off anti supply and tries to sneak out past the UK

3. Set Berlin product to 20 pilots, 40 steel, 30 engines based on a long term production ratio of 1 fighter to 1 dive bomber to 1 med tank to 2 artillery to 1 truck (2 pilots:4 steel :3 engines)

4. Shore bombardment of Danzig followed by 3 hex assault from 4th and 3rd armies.

5. 3rd Army clears hexes N and NW of Warsaw via assaults.

6. 4th Army from the north and 8th Army from the south converge and capture Poznan. Note that I use tanks, infantry and mechanized infantry to clear the plains hexes. The city assault uses infantry only (avoid tank assaults in city when possible.

7. 10th and 14th army take Krakow through a series of attacks. I used mechanized forces to clear the plains to the north and then exploit the hexes north and east of Krakow (cutting off Lublin).

8. Half of air force bombs Krakow with the other half bombing Warsaw. Attack on Warsaw is designed to limit counterattack. Also, I make sure every front line mech infantry ends it’s turn with an armored unit.

9. Casualties: Infantry (355 Poles - 50 Germans); Guns (58 Poles - 0 Germans); Trucks (0 Poles - 7 Germans); Tanks (3 Poles - 7 Germans), Planes (34 Poles - 7 Germans). Note that you will see higher truck and plane casualties than in AT when on the offensive so build accordingly.

Positions at end of turn:

Turn 2. September 25, 1925

1. Warsaw is captured without too much difficulty after a series of assaults from the 3rd Army from the north and the 10th Army from the south. My entire air force is used against Warsaw in preparation for the assault. I also attack units outside of the remaining cities in order to build experience. I invest Lublin and Lodz. The units there will surrender next turn. Total casualties this turn are infantry – 221 Poles to 21 German; guns – 32 Poles to 1 German (lost to counter battery which is turned on); trucks – 0 Poles to 10 German (forward mech units end up in a lot of assaults); tanks – 17 Poles to 3 German; and planes – 1 Poles to 13 German.

2. For research, I research both ‘Euro People 50%’ and then ‘Euro People 75%’. The Poles (as well as the Axis Minors) are all Euro people. I want to gear up their production as well as my own. The cost of production research is a function of the base production being improved so this research is much less than the research to improve German production.

3. I also research a coup in Argentina and Brazil. Each has a 25% chance of working with a 10% chance of counter coup. A Latin American coup will give me a good base for U-boats. Unfortunately, my uboat fleet was discovered and destroyed.

4. I start to move my Army west.

5. Note that German aircraft losses might appear high relative to AT. However, this was done intentially. Historically in the Battle of Poland, the Luftwaffe lost, to all operational causes, 285 aircraft, with 279 more damaged (wikipedia) or about 15% of the planes deployed.

Turn 3. October 19, 1939

1. With Warsaw captured, the units in Lublin and Lodz surrender. Poland is complete.

2. My coup attempt in Brazil is thwarted but succeeds in Argentina. Argentina is an amalgamation of Spanish speaking South America. The oil field of Venezuela is nice (while it lasts). At least it gives the Royal Navy something to do over the winter months.

3. Winter will come next turn. It starts a turn earlier in the extreme weather zone (e.g., Siberia and Canada). I can see that it is changing. Winter does not affect units in cities or fortifications so it is important to get my units into winter quarters.

4. I see also that the Allies lobbied Roosevelt. I do the same. I have to make a decision on my general R&D strategy. I think I want to get both my own people production and Euro people production up to 100% and then start on tactical R&D with a focus on fighters, guns, infantry and tanks.

5. I also have to think about Denmark / Norway. You want can try to take it by coup or by conquest. I think I will hold off until Paris falls.

Turn 4. November 12, 1939

1. The Royal Navy has moved into position off Venezuela to intercept supplies from Caracas. I split my unit in 2 in order to see it I can quickly grab Georgetown to the East but find it garrisoned. It is always crucial to have a port in order to successfully invade so the writing is on the wall for Caracas.

2. Winter has come early in Northern Europe. I move my army to winter quarters (e.g., all units in cities or fortifications). Units out in the field will take an additional readiness penalty. I also set up a network of fighters to prevent any bombing. (See below)

3. Last turn, I set up a 1 unit bomber unit to probe the British air defenses near Edinburgh. I found that there were fighters in range so I aborted my main bomber run. Note that as a tactic, it is always better to probe with a lone bomber than risk flying into a fighter trap. Bombers are expensive (costing 2 engines), so you do not want to be careless with them.

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