Over the Reich - McMonkey vs. JPetroski

[JPetroski]

@McMonkey and I will be playing a match of the newly-released "Over the Reich". We will report our progress against each other and post the save in this thread as well as communicate any issues we are encountering in the game here.

We have also each agreed to create an "after action report" or AAR thread where we will let you, the observer, in on our strategy and the finer points of the game. McMonkey and I have a gentleman's agreement that we will not go into each other's threads until the game is over. We would ask that you respect this and not spoil the match for either of us, though you're of course welcome to read both threads.

I will post a link to my AAR thread once I have played my turn and created it. I assume McMonkey will eventually do the same.

We figured it would be better to get this subforum up and running rather than flood the Scenario League.

Edit: Here is the link to the Allied AAR thread

 

[JPetroski]

Allies Turn 1:

-The RAF launches "Operation Millenium" and strikes at the heart of Cologne. 2 urban centers are set on fire, but it's not without loss as German flak defenses make reactive attacks against the bomber stream, destroying 2 Stirlings and damaging several others.



I wouldn't worry too much about making a mistake here or there or not min/maxing, McMonkey as it's a long way to 1000 points for me, but if you have any questions please let me know.

Also, I have already noticed a problem - the barbarian units I painstakingly added to the map for neutral territory all seem to have deleted. I didn't notice until the end of a long turn (and am not sure how to fix it or if it can be, anyway) but we should not fly over Sweden, Ireland, or Spain.

 

[McMonkey]

Understood regarding neutral countries. I've read the history of Swiss Me109s intercepting both Allied & Axis aircraft during the war. There are photos of ranks of impounded aircraft that were obliged to land when accidentally flying over Switzerland. I believe the pilots were housed in alpine holiday homes, though as they were not guarded with the same diligence as they would have been by the warring factions, many managed to escape and make their way back home to fight another day!

I'll make a start now and I anticipate posting at some point during my night shift tonight, provided things in the real world don't take a turn for the worse & compel me to do some actual work

 

[McMonkey]

Axis - Turn 1

Finally done. It took a while to get a feel for everything & to formulate a strategy but I think this dilligence will serve me well in the long term. No point rushing, starting off on the wrong foot & regretting it for the rest of the game!

Four Stirlings shot down by 88mm Flak & two by Me110 night fighters around Cologne & along the Rhine.



In the Atlantic two Allied Freighters are sunk and one U-Boat lost when it ended its turn near a destroyer & its captain decided he may as well attack as he was probably going to get depth charged on the Allied turn anyway.

 

[JPetroski]

* Heavy action in the Battle of the Atlantic - 5x U-Boats sunk (4x in or near convoy zone and 1x in Bay of Biscay) and 1x Destroyer also sunk just outside of convoy zone.

* Bomber Command presses home the attack in the Ruhr and finishes off an urban center.

* 1 Schutzen is destroyed north of St. Nazaire and a 2nd is badly damaged.

Edit - 1x radar destroyed Pas de Calais

 

[McMonkey]

Axis - Turn 2

Two Stirlings near Dusseldorf shot down by Flak88. Southeast of Brussels an Me110 happens into a damaged Stirling and finishes it off.

In the Atlantic two Destroyers sunk by U-Boats.

 

[JPetroski]

ALLIES TURN 3

-Beaufighters shoot down 2x Me110 near Brussels
-I attack a Fw200 covering a U-Boat with carrier-based aircraft but can’t destroy it
-1x U-Boat sunk in Bay of Biscay
-1x Radar attacked near Brest but not destroyed

Remember that you can press "7" or "9" to call up where combat happened. Press "8" to see the details. Unfortunately you need to close the details screen before you can cycle through again.

 

[McMonkey]

Axis Turn 3

Stirling shot down by Me110 south or Rouen. A damaged U-Boat manages to take out a hunting Destroyer & two other Destroyers are sunk for the cost of two U-Boats in the Atlantic corridor. One Freighter sunk off the NW coast of Ireland. I think I've done something wrong with my Condor aircraft. They seem to have only 1 move each turn. Is this an effect of being in the Atlantic corridor? Is there any possibility I could have safe passage to limp them out of the box if that's the issue as I naturally wouldn't want to leave them sat there as sitting ducks!

A Spitfire is shot down by Fw190s near Brest but it looks like the damaged Hurricane will escape. A Mosquito PR is intercepted & shot down near Vannes AF/St Nazaire. I wonder what they could have been spying on>

Two Beaufighters shot down by my Me110 near Brussels, but a third is just out of range for an interception this turn.

Apologies for the delay playing. I'd got 80% through but it's my eldest daughters 17th birthday today & I took her & her friends out to dinner. Don't they know there's a war on!?!

 

[Prof. Garfield]

I think I've done something wrong with my Condor aircraft. They seem to have only 1 move each turn. Is this an effect of being in the Atlantic corridor? Is there any possibility I could have safe passage to limp them out of the box if that's the issue as I naturally wouldn't want to leave them sat there as sitting ducks!

That's a mistake. Allied units get a bonus in the calculation if they have full movement points, but in exchange, those movement points are removed for the turn. The same thing has been done for your FW200, so @JPetroski should make the following change to convoy1UnitScore (I think McMonkey can get away without making the change).
[unitAliases.Fw200.id] = {base = 0, moveBonus = 4, germany = 0,}
changed to
[unitAliases.Fw200.id] = {base = 0, moveBonus = 0, germany = 4,}

I've updated my events (where I'm adding in the special events), but it might be a couple days before I push the update. I'll also fix it so that German units don't have their move points expended in this way in any situation (though I don't think it would matter for any other unit, unless some other changes were made).

 

[JPetroski]

Allies Turn 4

-He111 shot down near Bolt Head AFB, southern England
-1x Me110 shot down west of Ruhr
-1x Me110 shot down east of Brussels
-1x Schutzen killed
-Radar attacked but not killed near Brest
-Cherbourg radar installation destroyed
-1x U-Boat killed in convoy zone

Along with the save, attached is a new events file that has the fix.

 

[McMonkey]

Axis Turn 4

Swansea & Plymouth bombed by He111. Two Urban areas in Swansea destroyed and one in Plymouth is damaged.



Light flak shoots down Hurribomber near Brest.

Two Destroyers sunk in the box & a two-ship stack, one of them a Destroyer, sunk by a U-Boat off Calais.

One Beaufighter destroyed be Me110 near Brussels and another damaged west of Cologne by Ju88.

I took the liberty of using the cheat menu to allow my two Condors which had been stuck in the box to magic up enough fuel to get back to base. Neither had quite enough fuel to make it (error in code had reduced their movement to 1 in the past few turns).

 

[JPetroski]

Allies - Turn 5
"Blow for Blow."

The devastating attack on Swansea (after we JUST upgraded the Urban facilities) this early in the game is a difficult pill to swallow. Although beautfighters are able to arrive on the scene and shoot down 3 He111 with a 4th badly damaged, they're too late to save the city.

On heightened alert, Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force daylight forces shoot down a further 2 He111 in the Channel or near Plymouth.

The RAF immediately attacks Freiburg in reprisal, destroying an urban center.

In a daring raid, destroyers of the Royal Navy attack a radar facility in the Netherlands, destroying it, but at a cost of 3 ships.

But in what is likely the greatest blow to Germany this turn, 8 total U-Boats are destroyed in the Battle of the Atlantic. Know this, Germany: Britannia Rules the Waves!



-7x U-Boats sunk in Convoy Channel, most of which are spotted by Sunderlands and destroyed by the fleet or carrier-based aircraft
-An 8th is sunk in the Bay of Biscay


By the way - no worries about using the cheat menu when you need to in order to address a bug. Just let Prof. Garfield and I know so we can work on the bugs.

 

[McMonkey]

Axis Turn 5

In the Atlantic one Destroyer sunk and one U-Boat lost.

 

[JPetroski]

Allied Turn 6

-Beaufighter chases down German bomber on the way to land at Vannes and finishes it off
-3x U-Boat sunk in convoy zone
-Schutzen attacked by Hurricanes near Brest but not destroyed
-Heavy Cruiser shells Schutzen near Cherbourg
-Light Cruiser shells Schutzen SW of Calais
-Freiburg finished off, 2 more urban centers destroyed
-Karlsruhe attacked, but barely damaged
-Hurricane I attacks Ju87 but is bounced by FW190, presumably higher
-B-17s destroy military factory outside of Paris
-Spitfires attack Me109 NW of Paris but can’t kill it; Me109 draws blood too

 

[McMonkey]

Allies Turn 6

Two Light Cruisers sunk by U-Boats in the channel SE of Calais & one Heavy Cruiser sunk near Cherbourg with one Destroyer lost (damage done by shore battery & artillery).

Liverpool bombed - Urban III damaged but not destroyed.

One Destroyer sunk in the box.

Over Karlsruhe two Stirlings shot down. One by Flak88 and one by Me110.

Over Freiburg one Stirling shot down by Me110 and two others badly damaged.

Three Hurribombers shot down near Brest.

Around Paris two Spitfires shot down along with one B17 (damaged and then destroyed).


Sorry for the delay. I started yesterday evening but was really tired & this is not a game to attempt without full concentration!

 

[JPetroski]

@McMonkey did you forget the save?

 

[McMonkey]

I uploaded it but for some reason it didn't attach to the post correctly.

 

[JPetroski]

...Or perhaps you were just "pre-gaming" a little too hard for New Year's, eh?

Allies Turn 7

-Karlesruhe attacked with one urban center destroyed and another badly damaged
-1x U-Boat sunk in convoy channel
-1x U-Boat sunk in English Channel
-Radar shelled near Brest but defended well by Flak
-Radar on dutch island chain destroyed

 

[McMonkey]

Axis Turn 7

Four (or was it 5?) Stirlings shot down around Karlsruhe.

An Urban area of Liverpool destroyed by He111 in a night raid.

 

[JPetroski]

Allies Turn 8

-1x urban area at Karlesruhe destroyed
-1x urban area at Friedrichsaven destroyed
-1x radar at Dutch islands destroyed
-1x destroyed near same is also killed
-2x He111 destroyed near Convoy Channel by Hurricanes