Battlefield Europe V2.4 AAR

[GeneralWerner]

AAR for McGuba’s Battlefield Europe V2.4, General, realistic+, chess mode

After a longer pause (5 years) I wanted to play Battlefield Europe again. I installed the current version V2.4 and am eager to see what all has changed in the last versions.

After playing so many strategic variants in the past, for example with naval landings in Ireland/Scotland, in the Caucasus and in Palestine to beat the computer AI (see AAR “Operation Valhalla” or “Operation Unthinkable”), this time I want to stay near the historical path. Like it was in my first AAR 2018 (that even made it in McGuba’s Battlefield Europe Library as an example how to loose ). The minimal goal therefore is a draw. Ideally, the Soviet Union can be defeated.

Battleplan:
There will be no Sea Lion to prevent D-Day and no short cut via the Black Sea to the Caucasus to capture the oil fields early and shorten the oil crisis. I will not send significant reinforcements to North Africa. Rommel has to use mainly the forces he got from the beginning to capture Tobruk and defend it.

Different to the historical path, I will try to capture Malta and Moscow in 42 to get the prestige boosts. Typically, they are both urgently needed to replace all the losses of winter 41/42 and make mandatory upgrades.

Rommel will stay in Tobruk and try to defend it as long as possible. That means that Tunis will be lost for sure, and later Sicily will be lost to the Allies too.

I will try to safe my German battle fleet in the Atlantic to hinder the D-Day landing mainly with naval and air forces. Hopefully, the weakened Allied forces, that will be able to land at the Normandy beaches can be repelled by a smaller but well-equipped Wehrmacht force, because the main force will stay in the East to capture the Caucasus, Stalingrad and defend all the land that was stolen from the Soviets.

The main infantry units I plan to use are Gebirgsjäger (especially powerful in the Caucasus), so I will upgrade many infantry units to Gebirgsjäger early.

Most important artillery units will be the Wurfrahmen that I will use aggressively as an attack artillery unit. I plan to use the Wurfrahmen in pairs, so they can protect each other, if attacked. Also in defense, they will perform well, protecting other units with powerful artillery strikes. The only drawback will be that they have only 3 ammo.

I will use mainly towed AT guns because of their cammo trait that is devastating if enemy tanks are running in the hidden AT gun.

Most important tank type is the Panther, so I will not risk my Pz.III models aggressively, to be able to upgrade them in 43 to Panthers and get finally superior in tank battles.

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Round 14 (January 42) shows the setup for the battle of Moscow. After closing the Minsk and the Kiev pockets the best troops moved in direction of Moscow. The Stukas and the high number of artillery units will guarantee the success in 42. The flanks are protected by infantry and tanks.

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Also round 14: Continuous bombing of Malta with Italian tactical bombers (Rudel stayed in the East). The problem is the protecting British fighter unit. If has to be defeated by the weaker Axis fighters or distracted away from Malta. If the Allied fighter is leaving the coast of Malta, the Axis planes can prevent it from coming back by blocking it. Then every round the tactical bombers can hit the fort twice unhindered by any Allied planes.

[GeneralWerner]

End of winter 41/42 at the Ostfront is very hard. Prestige is low and many units are down to power 6 or even lower. I used the proposal to exchange up to four bombers with fighters in Vienna. That leaves only 80 points of prestige in some rounds that by far does not help to replace the losses. However, having four more fighters for the Ostfront will help to protect all future main battlefields with fighter escort. Additionally I sent two 88 Flaks to the East.

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Round 27: In July 42 finally the border of Moscow is occupied with tanks. The tanks are safe from infantry counter-attacks because they are protected by the Wurfrahmen. Attacking with infantry would be much harder because Moscow is heavily protected with artillery. The Luftwaffe is already mainly fighting in the south around Kursk and around Rostov.

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Also round 27 (July 42). It took a long time to reach and capture Rostov to finally open the gates to the Caucasus. It is important to bring sufficient troops to the south because a counter attack with strong Soviet tank forces is expected in winter 42/43. It will be a disaster if the Red Army can recapture Rostov and cut off Army Group South in the Caucasus. The infantry will be safe in the hilly Caucasus terrain, but the huge plain area north and southeast of Rostov must be defended with tanks and AT until the Red Army winter offensive is exhausted.

[faos333]

thanks for the AAR sharing, two comments

"Important artillery units will be the Wurfrahmen" the idea of using them in pairs is excellent.

"That means that Tunis will be lost for sure, and later Sicily will be lost to the Allies too"
Why not defend Tunis? US air force will be devastating if Sicily falls.
Some Gebirgsjager transported by air and supported with flak and artillery can do the job in Tunis.
As for the air force, Goose, try it, with no air units in Tunis and went well.

[GeneralWerner]

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Round 37 (December 42). Another important battlefield in the East is the siege of Leningrad. I used the minimal number of units to hold the siege over many months and weakened the defense belt around Leningrad from the northern side with three artilleries. Now the Finish troops enter the city from the north. East of Leningrad the Wehrmacht already cleans the area to be able to attack further northeast and north.

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Also round 37 (December 42) in the very south of the frontline. The first light tanks and scouts of the Red Army winter offensive are approaching the Axis defense line. Especially southeast of Rostov a well set up defense with AT, artillery, and tanks in the second row is waiting for the Russian tanks as here is expected the strongest counter attack.

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Round 41 (February 43). Kursk. Army Group Center. Here comes the Russian main strike of winter 42/43 (fog of war off for this screenshot to see what all has to be repelled in the next weeks). Entrenched infantry, cammo AT guns, guarded by artillery have to stop the steamroller from the East. The approaching Tigers will help to keep this front line stable, because the pressure will be immense. There will be many retreats, so it is important to keep empty space behind the main front line units. If the weather gets better, the Stukas will find their prey in this area. In the very south of this battlefield, already a troop with AT guns, Stugs and Marders is prepared to counter attack the Russians from the south when their artilleries show up.

[GeneralWerner]

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Round 52 (July 43). After repelling the Red Army counter attack near Rostov and west of Grozny the troops can approach the Grozny oil field in a pincer attack from west and south. The movement speed of the Gebirgsjäger pays out in this terrain.

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Round 52 (July 43) in Africa. Tobruk is well defended … BUT ...

Round 52 is the round, Sicily is falling to the Allies. That has an immense impact to Italy, disbanding its whole fleet and many more valuable units. The outcome can be seen at Tobruk in round 53 immediately.

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Decision is now to send more German troops to Africa or to retreat with the Africa Corps back to Greece. Without any more naval power in the Mediterranean Sea and air superiority of the Allies, it is wise to give up the African campaign. Even now, it will be a risky travel to bring the valuable units via naval transport back to a safe harbor in Europe.

[GeneralWerner]

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With this new situation in the South it is time to have a strategic look at the map. Round 56 (September 43)

In the East can be seen a stable front line with defending (blue) and attacking (red) front segments. Most important is the attack in the Caucasus on Grozny that will be captured soon. After that, Baku is the next target (even if winter will come) to secure all Russian oil fields for the Reich.

The attack on Stalingrad will happen after winter 43/44, because then Panther tanks are available. The front segment west of Stalingrad will be taken back to have a better defense position. Otherwise, the units west of Stalingrad can become victims to the Russian tanks crossing the frozen rivers.

In Italy it is planned to hold the Gustav line at Monte Cassino against the Allies.

The strong Italian fleet is gone. The German fleet is hiding in the Atlantic and in Norway until it will be needed (yellow). In the British Channel, U-Boots occupy the space so that the British cannot close the channel with their mines.

The situation in Italy got even more difficult because many partisans interrupted the railway connections. It took some time to open the railway again (green), but now reinforcements can be transferred to Italy unhindered.

The remaining units of the Africa Corps try to sneak back to the continent through British mine fields and luring submarines (purple).

From September 43 the Panther A is available. Nearly each black dot in the Reich is an upgraded Pz.III that will go back to the front lines now.

[GeneralWerner]

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Round 56 (September 43). Near Rome I try a massive aerial strike against the Allies to destroy their air force and weaken the battleships before winter 43/44. If this will work, there will be no bombardment from Allied capital ships in the next weeks and the German defense line with infantry and artillery can hold back the Allies.

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Also round 56 (September 43). Army Group Center already has crossed the Don River in the north and in the south. Goal is to capture Lipetsk too and then hold the eastern Don River shores against the Red Army winter 43/44 counteroffensive.

[GeneralWerner]

Starting from round 72 (D-Day), the battles get more and more lossy. The Axis troops (and I) are overloaded, fighting in the East, in the Caucasus, in Italy and soon in the Normandy. The Allies bomb German cities nearly unhindered and attack the oil fields in Romania. Both generates prestige loss. Transporting units from East to West and to Italy is painful. Partisans everywhere. It is time to clench the teeth and fight on.

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The fight in Italy at the Gustav line is hard. I loose troops every round. Only few of my units are a match for the American opponent. If my infantry comes within reach of the American artillery, it is hunted down quickly. The Panthers have to fear the American infantry in this terrain. It is good that I was able (using 80% of my Luftwaffe in the West) to get rid of the Allied battleships. The Allied Air Force left the battlefield early and did not come back in a serious number to challenge my Luftwaffe in Italy. On the other side, the Reich is bombed day and night. I decided to send no units from this battlefield to the Normandy and try to push the Allies out of Italy. I will land with two infantry units from Greece in southern Italy. Hopefully, some of the Allied units from the Gustav line will then move south.

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Round 74 (June 44). The main battlefield in the East makes me serious problems. It is decisive to close all six possibilities for the Red Army to cross the Volga River (yellow). Then my troops can recover until in winter the river is frozen. However, only two crossings are under control so far: Gorky in the north and Saratov in the east (blue). Through the still open four river crossings an endless stream of powerful battle tanks is hindering me to reach the river … and is hunting down one of my units after the other. There is a lack of Axis heavy tanks. On the main battlefield, only one Panther is active. Two are bound at Gorky in the north. The other Panthers are far away: two in the Caucasus, two in Italy at the Gustav Line, two in the Normandy together with the Tiger. My hope is that this endless stream will get weaker. Second hope is the victorious Army Group South including two Panthers, several artilleries and Gebirgsjäger, that is moving with highest speed from the Caucasus north. However, Stalingrad is in their way.

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Also round 74 (June 44). The first Allies are landing at the beaches of the Normandy. The American paratroopers were defeated quickly, because I have sufficient infantry in the area. The idea on this battlefield is to leave the sky to the Allies (it is frustrating seeing masses of planes attacking everything), but to pay back with Flaks. Except from Berlin, all Flaks were moved to France. At the coast, several Flaks are protecting my U-Boote, that I saved for this battle, against tactical bombers. The Flaks are standing in the death zone and work only passively because they have to be repaired each round. I had fifteen submarines hidden in the area and three together with nearly all mines are already gone. However, they give me the time to bring in more equipment from the East (damn partisans). In the west, the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen are fighting their last battles (oil crisis still ongoing, there is no retreat).

[GeneralWerner]

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Round 80 (September 44). It was possible to stabilize the situation on the eastern battlefield. All Volga River crossings are under Axis control and Stalingrad will be captured soon. Ulyanovsk and Saratov (blue) are strongly weakened. These cities can easily be captured at any time. And then … only Kuybyshev (yellow) is standing between the Axis and victory in the East! I try to reach and capture this last victory city in the East from the north (red arrow / it cannot be seen on this map, but there are also two Panthers and several Gebirgsjäger in the area north that can join in this attack). If this fails, the plan is to gather an army at the western river shores opposite of Kuybyshev and rush on the city at the first winter day with a frozen Volga River. Next round, carpet bombing will start to weaken the bunker. I am very confident to win in the East before winter 44/45, and then troops can move to help in the West.

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Also round 80 (September 44). Another problem in the West. The Allies are landing in southern France (operation Anvil). In the moment, I have only some few units available to try to lock in the Allies in this area from three directions (blue).

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Round 82 (October 44). In northern France, there is still no decision. So far, the Axis can hold back the Allies in the Normandy (blue). However, if they can break through they will quickly invade France. Many transport ships are still waiting, and the German fleet is gone. The first Allied units will soon land near Le Havre (yellow). I send some troops there to stop them. I urgently need more units to block the enemy. Some first reinforcements from the East are already near the Pripet Marshes and can arrive in three rounds.

[GeneralWerner]

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Also round 82 (October 44). Looks promising. A strong force can attack Kuybyshev from the north. A second tank army (yellow) is gathering to support the first attack or worst case rush to Kuybyshev if the Volga River is frozen in November/December. The Red Army units in the north are cut off. In the east of Kuybyshev there seem to be no tank units. Russian reinforcements could come only from the south, east of Saratov, but I think, they will not move, because my army in standing west of Saratov. Total air superiority of the Axis helps to suppress and weaken the enemy units.

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Round 84 (November 44). Victory in the East before begin of winter 44/45 is a very comfortable situation. Now the huge trek starts, moving many units to France, Italy, and the Near East.

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Round 89 (February 45). Using the Axis reinforcements coming back from the East the Allied army in southern France is encircled and doomed to lose.

[GeneralWerner]

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Round 90 (February 45). In Italy, the Allies are clearly in the defense. The Axis has now sufficient tanks and long-range artillery to push the enemy south. The question is: can the Axis even recapture Sicily until July 45?

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Also round 90 (February 45). In the Normandy, the big cats (Tigers and Panthers) press the Allies back to the beaches. I move in Würzburg radars, because with better weather the Luftwaffe will start to play a role on this battlefield for the first time. Without naval support, only with planes can the Allied transport ships be destroyed efficiently.

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Round 97 (June 45). Next round the operation Overlord will end with a defeat for the Allies when my tanks will capture the last American positions. The Luftwaffe is sinking one transport ship after the other. However, there are so many involved in this Allied attack that it would take some more rounds to get rid of them all. This shows that the Axis gets in real trouble (even having Tigers and Panthers) if it cannot hold back the Allies in the Normandy and all these ships can unload their overpowered units.

[GeneralWerner]

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Round 99 (July 45). This worked better than expected.

Again, thank you very much, McGuba, for inventing and maintaining this outstanding mod.

I liked very much the new possibilities to exchange four bombers with fighters and the cheap upgrade of three BF109s to Fw190As in the first months. Also, these extra automatic upgrades if you bring a unit to a certain city makes fun.

The Fw190A helped me to protect the Reich from carpet bombing and prestige loss until round 53 when I send them to Italy. The prestige loss of maximally 300 points per round is in my opinion to less. Motivation to keep / bring back fighters and protect Germany in 44/45 would be higher if this loss would be higher or (better) if there would be some prestige reward if Allied bombers are destroyed over Germany.

I wonder under what conditions the operation Overlord would not happen in the Normandy but at a different place. I never experienced this. I had most of my submarines at this coast to slow down the invasion. I think, using these submarines to reach the convoy routes in 43/44/45 will fail. The Allies have so many destroyers to protect these routes.

V1 and V2 is really a good prestige booster. 100 prestige per hit (and 100 prestige loss for the Allies) motivates to get these rockets in the air.

Can it be that the winter 41/42 counter offensive in the East is less powerful than in earlier releases? I saw more Siberian Infantry but less T34 in this winter.

The Italian traumata: It is shocking to see all these good Italian units leaving the game after Sicily is lost. I remembered suddenly why I always have defended Tunis or at least Sicily in all my games, except the first one.

I miss a harbor in the south of Greece. This would help to bring back Italian capital ships from Tobruk to Italy after the oil crisis starts.

Except from spring 42, when I had to compensate the 30% freeze loss of all units in the East, the prestige situation was always comfortable. Capturing Malta, Moscow, Caucasus, Leningrad, Stalingrad gives a good boost at the right time.

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Finale outcome. Sicily recaptured. Fallschirmjäger and Brandenburgers helped to recapture Tobruk. In the Near East, the Axis reached Hamadan.

[Locarnus]

Well done!
I like that you intentionally left Tunisia for a more historic challenge.
And I think also did not exploit the poor AI or the flak mechanics for the bomber war over continental Europe?

Keeps it interesting!

[PeteMitchell]

Very cool that you play again!

[McGuba]

The prestige loss of maximally 300 points per round is in my opinion to less. Motivation to keep / bring back fighters and protect Germany in 44/45 would be higher if this loss would be higher or (better) if there would be some prestige reward if Allied bombers are destroyed over Germany.

Yes, I was also thinking for a while that this penalty is not high enough. Originally it was maximum 150 (50 per bomber unit over a city hex). But that was way to low so at some point I doubled that amount. Perhaps it could be increased by another 50 prestige points per bomber.

A prestige reward for destroying the bombers would be harder to implement. Also, the AI tends to let its air units run out of fuel and then the player would get the reward for doing nothing.

I wonder under what conditions the operation Overlord would not happen in the Normandy but at a different place. I never experienced this. I had most of my submarines at this coast to slow down the invasion. I think, using these submarines to reach the convoy routes in 43/44/45 will fail. The Allies have so many destroyers to protect these routes.

Overlord happens in Northwest France, not only in Normandy, due to the scale of the map. Normandy is only like 2 hexes wide, it would be too easy to block it.

The Battle of Atlantic and the use of U-boats in general may need some overhaul.

Can it be that the winter 41/42 counter offensive in the East is less powerful than in earlier releases? I saw more Siberian Infantry but less T34 in this winter.

Yes, because historically there were not so many T-34s available at that time. The large majority of the Soviet tanks were still light tanks (T-26, BT-7, T-60).


Thanks for your feedback!

Suggestions for possible future playthroughs:
- increasing the difficulty to Field Marshal (my favourite suggestion) or perhaps to Rommel, or even Field Marshal + Rommel combined. These can make a big difference and fix some of the issues mentioned
- trying the prepared game saves to start the war at a later stage like the battle of Stalingrad or Kursk - the later the scenario starts, the harder it is
- trying multiplayer

[PeteMitchell]

I wonder if other strategies still exist for version 2.4?