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 The Allies have invaded Normandy, but we're not going to let them get beyond the beaches.  We've mostly held our ground for nearly a month now, and if we can just last a few days longer, we'll have made the Western Allies realize this invasion is going to be a lot tougher than they thought. Right now we stand a good chance of retaking Caen. That's mostly because all the enemy forces are bearing down on St. Lo. It's likely they will take it, but we'll hold them off as long as we can. Cherbourg might well stand, and that will be the biggest blow to the Allies; without it they really have no ports to deliver supplies for sustained combat, and that would spell their eventual doom. Axis Turn 11 : June 26, 1944 Overcast (Dry)  The counterattack at Caen sustains minor casualties, but is successful; we simply have more units than the enemy here.  Over at St. Lo we continue to move our tanks along the road in a delaying action. For the first time in weeks we dare to bring out the bombers to stifle the mounting assaults from the west. Allied Turn 11 : June 26, 1944  The Allied attack on Cherbourg seems to have stalled.  Even our flak guns seem to be more effective.  The roadblock holds, but one tank unit finds a route through the countryside and surprises our defensive artillery.  Other than shelling from offshore to remind us that the British Navy is still around, Caen is not bothered by any enemy units. Axis Turn 12 : June 28, 1944 Clear (Dry)  We make a bold counterattack out of Cherbourg. If this succeeds, the city will be safe for at least several weeks.  After one last big fight along the roads, we are forced to pull our tanks back.  At Caen we will be prepared if the enemy returns. Allied Turn 12 : June 28, 1944  Cherbourg sees more bombing raids, but they now seem as if they're trying to keep us from attacking instead of weakening our defenses.  We're still putting up resistance at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, but the Americans are able to move a lot of troops past us to St. Lo regardless.  The Allies finally come at us with a full armored force at the head of their attack.  A probe at Caen is easily repulsed. Axis Turn 13 : June 30, 1944 Clear (Dry)  The assault on Cherbourg has failed. We can mop up the remaining forces easily.  St. Lo may not hold out for very much longer, and we keep an eye on the enemy to see what other direction they will push towards next. Allied Turn 13 : June 30, 1944  The air raids at Cherbourg have lost their bite; the Allies are no longer committing heavy bombers.  For the second time, Periers repels a tank assault.  In the town of St. Lo and throughout the surrounding countryside, the Allies are swarming all around our units. Axis Turn 14 : July 2, 1944 Overcast (Dry)  Although we know the battleships are waiting just off the coast, we still can make a move on Bayeux to get an estimate of the enemy ground forces.  The Tiger II can do reasonably well against the British Firefly tanks, but there are just too many of them for us to take them all down.  We prepare defenses farther inland. Allied Turn 14 : July 2, 1944  The naval vessels can still shell us as we reclaim the peninsula.  Despite heavily outnumbering us, the Americans squandered their artillery assets, and run into difficulty when it comes to the actual assault.  Only enemy infantry remain near Bayeux. That won't be enough to drive off even our recon vehicles. Granted, some of the German recon vehicles are practically light tanks. Axis Turn 15 : July 4, 1944 Clear (Dry)  It's just as bad an idea for us to attack the infantry in bocage as it is for them to go after our tanks in the open.  We eliminate the remnants of an American fighter squadron.  St. Lo can likely only hold out for another few days. But if we can last that long, the Allied invasion will be unable to push any farther inland for quite some time. Allied Turn 15 : July 4, 1944  The enemy ships continue to bombard us, but that will not let them capture the port any time soon.  Casualties are heavy, and our artillery has been pushed back from the town, but St. Lo holds on for one more day. The invasion of Normandy has not been as bad a disaster for the enemy as Dieppe, but they surely did not expect such a slow advance inland. We have managed to hem them in, and with their supply constrained by the English Channel, it's likely they won't be breaking out for some time now. This was technically a Major Victory, but it feels more marginal than that. Many of the core units were lost, and there is hardly any prestige remaining to improve it. Still, a decent cadre of battle-hardened forces remain, and we even managed to salvage a few air units. Ending Prestige: 146 
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| ← # ? Apr 22, 2016 18:18 |
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