Looking back at this play-through, there is a rather obvious trend of activity. The summers tend to be uneventful, frequently even dull, while autumns tend to be action-packed. 1943 may be the most extreme example of this trend yet.
A Slow Collapse on the Eastern Front
In my last post, I predicted that the European Axis forces might completely collapse by the end of the year. The situation did not deteriorate that quickly, but only due to heroic efforts of the Germans and Hungarians to sustain a cause which is now quite obviously hopeless.
In the far north, the Germans have maintained a dogged defense of Leningrad. The Soviets have made aggressive efforts to recapture the city; failing that, they have switched tactics to attempt an encirclement of the city by capturing Varna. Even this effort was only barely fended off by the Germans. The Soviets have now switched focus even further south, attempting to encircle the entire region by capturing Riga. They are not successful before year-end, but the ultimate success is a matter of time, and I expect this will be the death blow for the Germans.
In the southern portion of the line the Soviets are much more successful. The Romanian army collapses completely in October, and the nation is annexed outright on November 1st. This is repeated by the Bulgarians, who surrender on the 29th. By the end of the year, the Soviets have occupied Salonica on the Aegean Coast, and are within 30 miles of the capture of Athena and Tirane.
By the end of 1943, the front now stretches from Athens to Leningrad, and is as long as it possibly can be. The front will begin to shrink early next year as the Soviets advance in the Baltic States and in the Balkans. This will cause a concentration of force which favors the Soviets, who will be capable of maintaining continuous attacks against the exhausted Axis forces. I do not foresee the Germans surviving past June.
Idle Invasions in Central America
During the summer, I began transporting troops to Central America in preparation for the beginning of the invasion of the East Coast of the United States. This is a lengthy process, so I decided to employ my idle troops with invasions of a few countries in the area. Costa Rica came first, way back in May. That invasion, taking only a week, was not worth mentioning even in the uneventful summer. The operation against Venezuela came next. Venezuela is a tricky country to invade, because its capital, Caracas, has no nearby port. Normally when I invade Venezuela, I don’t have to worry about the Suriname/Guyana area either, since I typically have already conquered the Allies completely, or have not yet declared war on them. These provinces, then, also complicated matters.
With a fair amount of time to kill, I decided to be thorough about the invasion. I deployed my LXII Rikusentai Gun to Cayenne; from there they marched westward, driving gradually to Caracas. While this was going on, I landed LI Gun near Maracaibo, the other victory point province in the country. After lengthy marches and a respectable amount of fighting, Venezuela surrenders on November 2nd. The Rikusentai continued westward to arrive (eventually) at Maracaibo, to begin amphibious landings in the Caribbean. LI Gun headed south to form the core of my force against Columbia. VIII Gun was sent to Maracaibo, in order to occupy Cartagena, while VII Gun maintained a defensive position on the Panama Isthmus.
My forces were in their launching positions on December 20th, and I declared war against Columbia. This invasion went smoothly, with little fighting in Cartagena and none on the Panama Isthmus. LI Gun occupies Bogota on January 9th, forcing the government to surrender. LXII Gun, meanwhile, makes short work of a few minor Caribbean nations, forcing the surrender of Haiti on January 4th and the Dominican Republic a week later. I plan on a landing near Washington DC soon, so the Central American campaign is placed on the back burner for the current time.
Operation Head-Up-The-91-Until-You-Hit-The-215
With our spies reporting that the Americans are nearing the bottom of their manpower pool, I decide that I have nothing to lose by beginning an offensive in the San Diego region. In the best-case scenario, I can inflict losses so heavy that the Allies completely crumble and flee headlong across the continent. Worst case scenario, I have to break the attacks off early, losing a few men for no gain. The most likely result is the infliction of a moderate amount of casualties on both sides, which I can afford, and the Americans can’t. I can live with that.
The plan is fairly simple, and has no particular goal. The attack will be initiated by IV Gun moving to Mexicali (from Tijuana), and attacking northeast to El Centro. III Gun will attack Coachella, and II Gun will attack Riverside. I and V Gun will anchor the flanks, in Los Angeles and Mexicali, respectively. If the initial attacks are successful, V Gun will attack eastward to San Luis Rio Colorado. Newly recruited corps may be brought over, and added to the offensive later.
 |
| The San Diego Front in early December 1943 |
The attack kicks off on December 8th. The fighting, predictably, is very heavy. The bulk of the American forces are armored, as are some of my divisions. The fighting rages for three full days before we start to see progress. On the 11th the defenders at Riverside fall back; we lose 1,400 killed, and inflict nearly 6,000. Southward, the defenders put up a more dogged defense. The defenders at El Centro hold on until the 14th, inflicting 3,172 casualties on us and suffering over 8,000 themselves. The defenders at Coachella hold out an additional day; the battle there ends with 2,243 dead on our side and a staggering 10,417 on theirs.
The AI will generally attempt to reinforce a province under attack. If they are unable to get the reinforcements to the front in time, they have a bad habit of simply converting the reinforcement to a counterattack. This usually fails badly, as the now-attacking force is generally inadequate for the task. I see quite a bit of this scenario during this offensive. The first case erupts when II Gun arrives at Riverside on the 15th; the attacking Americans, which we outnumber, collapse quickly, losing 3,500 men in the effort, far more than the meager 700 I lose. III Gun meets a similar situation upon arrival in Coachella; they lose over 1,500 defending the province, and inflict over 6,000 on the would-be attackers.
Around the 18th, newly-formed XV Gun arrives in Los Angeles. Thus, with the center of the line secure, I decide to press offensives on both ends. V Gun has a surprising amount of success at San Luis; I expected the Colorado River to pose a formidable obstacle. Happily, we are able to match the results we had elsewhere, losing a tolerable 2,249 killed, while inflicting 7,143 casualties on the combined Mexican and American forces. This, sadly, marks the end of lopsided successes.
By the 26th, I Gun has had such little success attacking Pasadena that the attack is cancelled. I pay over 6,000 casualties for this attempt, inflicting slightly fewer. Eastward, II and III Gun make similar attempts against Barstow and Twentynine Palms, which are likewise cancelled. The casualties in these battles are lower, with around 5,000 total for us and around 7,500 for the Americans. Despite the casualty disparity, our organization is reduced significantly. The Americans are not slow to take advantage, and immediately begin an intense counterattack at Riverside. II Gun is forced to withdraw on the 24th after suffering another 2,500 dead. Newly formed XIII Gun is ushered in to attempt to keep the province. They arrive in time, but the attackers maintain a withering assault, eventually driving my recruits back on the 30th. The corps suffers nearly 9,000 dead, proving they are dedicated, if not skilled. I’d rather have skilled.
Both sides stand down to take a much-needed breather at the end of the year. The total figures for the operation are jaw-dropping. In a short three weeks, we lost over 33,000 killed in action, far more than in the previous eleven months combined. The Allies fared even worse, losing over 60,000, roughly an entire corps, not including losses from air strikes. Overall, this is not a bad trade-off; my losses are replaced within days, and part of his will never be replaced. Manpower reserves aside, however, one lesson is clear. The Americans still have many more divisions, and thus much greater front-line strength than I have in this area. Even after lopsided victories, I was unable to persist in the attacks in a way that could guarantee cascading victories. Instead, my troops were forced back onto the defensive and were pushed back to their starting points by overwhelming counterattacks.
Apparently, the need for a second front is as great as ever. My forces in Central America, then, are sent to staging areas for an invasion of the American East Coast. My plan is for an amphibious assault directly at Washington DC. This will allow me to capture a massive stockpile of supplies, while keeping those same supplies from the Allies. More importantly, it will draw forces from the West Coast. This will allow me to resume a steady offensive in that region; meanwhile, it may take months for the Allies to redeploy, during which time my troops should have an impressive superiority in the East. These factors, combined, should bring a (relatively) sudden end to the American war effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment