Reap the Whirlwind - A Defending the Reich AAR

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Defending the Reich is a game by HPS Simulations that covers the RAF night bombing campaign against Germany from August 1943 til May 1944.  The player assumes command of either the RAF's Bomber Command or Germany's Nachtjagddivision.  I am playing as the RAF.  I've set all game options to historical settings.




Each game turn lasts one week and the player is presented with various tasks he can assign during that week.  Each task consumes a number of command points which are drawn from the player's command point pool.  This pool starts at 10 points during the first week and is replenished at the end of each week.  The player can sometimes be awarded with additional command points should he do well during a turn.  He can also have points taken away for various reasons such as poor performance or resource reallocation for other parts of the war effort.  Unused points can be saved up for the next turn.

The game starts with the planning phase in which the player is presented with a map of NW Europe.  Possible target cities are highlighted in blue boxes.  Luftwaffe airfields also appear on screen as either yellow if in use or grey if not in use (hard to see on the map at this resolution.)  The blue line around England shows the extent of British radar coverage.  The red line shows the boundaries of Germany's coverage.



There are a series of buttons along the left side of the map which allow the player to access information in order to effectively plan raids.

I start with R&D.  You're allowed to assign a maximum of two command points per turn to R&D but that doesn't guarantee a breakthrough.  Points that fail to achieve a breakthrough in one week carry over to the next week through so they aren't lost.





I decide to try to improve my doctrine as it will help to limit losses and I put two points towards that.  I get lucky and succeed in improving bombing doctrine on the first week.




Next, I check the status of the bomber squadrons under my command via the Unit Status button.



From this screen I can inspect each squadron and determine what type of aircraft they operate, how many of their aircraft are operational (Fine/Not fine column), their overall effectiveness, their morale, and their current assignment (alert, training, or resting).  I can also spend command points to repair damaged aircraft, assign additional aircraft to a squadron, upgrade aircraft type, or change the squadron's current assignment.

My eventual plan is to phase out all the Wellington and Stirling bombers and replace them with Halifaxes and Lancasters respectively.  As such, I won't bother to repair or replace losses to Wellington or Stirling equipped squadrons.  I do spend 4 command points repairing planes in the Lancaster and Halifax squadrons with the most damaged aircraft.

Next I check the weather.  Scattered clouds and a half moon means there'll be a lot of light for tonight's raids.  That's not good as it'll mean that the Luftwaffe will have an easier time finding my bombers.  Based on this information, I decide to plan shallow penetrations for a quick turnaround time.



I go back to the main map and check target status.  This changes the blue boxes that highlight the target cities to colour-coded boxes showing how much damage each city has suffered.  Green means minor damage, then yellow, then orange, and finally red indicating major damage.  The map also has a drop down menu showing city names, damage taken, total acreage (it's easier to hit the big cities in bad weather) and flak density.



I decide to plan 2 raids.  Each raid costs two command points to plan and I have 4 points left.  I decide to throw 595 Lancasters, Halifaxes, and pathfinder Mosquitos against Wilhelmshaven and a diversionary raid of 164 Stirlings and Wellingtons against Emden.

The diversionary raid against Emden will take off at 2050 and reach target at 2320.  The main raid against Wilhelmshaven will take off at 2100 and reach target at 2340.  I'm hopeful that the night-fighters will be scrambled against the diversionary raid thus allowing the main raid to slip past and hit the target with little interference from fighters.  The diversionary raid will hit Emden then turn right around and fly out of radar coverage, hopefully limiting their exposure time and preventing too many successful intercepts.  The same goes for the main force raid.  I plot the inbound and outbound flight paths to limit time exposed to radar coverage.  This means the bomber stream will be turning around over the target, increasing the amount of time they're exposed to flak (the red ring around the city) but Wilhelmhaven has only minor flak coverage so it's an acceptable risk.

The light green line indicates the inbound flight path while the dark green is the outbound.

[KyzBP]

Thanks for writing this up, SDR!  I've owned this game for years and really want to learn to play it.  Unfortunately, it's one of those games I fire up, become instantly overwhelmed, then quit for something I'm more familiar with.  I'll be watching and learning.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

With planning completed, The two raids set off.  The met forecast was off and there's a high overcast.  This is good for me as it cuts illumination down to 40% and will make interception more difficult.  It'll also make my bombing raids less effective but my goal is force preservation.



The diversionary force jumps the gun and departs at 2040 instead of 2050.  They have an uneventful flight over the North Sea but night fighters are scrambled the moment the Stirlings cross into radar detection range.




My plan works a little too well and the diversionary force is able to fly in, bomb Emden, and escape back past radar coverage before the Germans can intercept.  They did manage to draw off some single engine fighters but the twin engine fighters are all vectored towards the main force raid as it crosses into radar coverage.

The diversionary force suffers damage to two planes from flak over the target but manages to escape unharmed apart from that.




Things go less well for the main force as they get intercepted while still over the sea on their way to the target.  The tail gunners are alert though and manage to bag a Do-217 and damage an Me-110 right off the bat.




The bombers reach Wilhelmshaven in good order and absolutely paste the city, destroying 350 acres for the loss of 1 bomber downed and 7 damaged from flak





Things get much worse from there however as several hundred night fighters are vectored onto the bomber stream.  (the grey coloured chits are night fighters.  My bombers are the brown chits.  They little yellow vector lines on the fighter chits indicate vectoring towards target.  Red lines indicate vectoring for home.)




The twin-engined nightfighters dog the main force almost back to the English coast and manage to down 19 bombers and damage several dozen more before turning for home.  They do pay a price though and manage to lose 24 of their own, including an ace, from a combination of defensive fire and accidents from landing in poor weather.






Wilhelmshaven suffers heavy damage and can be crossed off the target list for quite some time.  our losses are an acceptable 2.6%  (5% is the threshold).  We're off to a good start.  I don't expect that to last too long though.  I lose 20 bombers to combat and 5 due to accidents while landing. 

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Thanks for writing this up, SDR!  I've owned this game for years and really want to learn to play it.  Unfortunately, it's one of those games I fire up, become instantly overwhelmed, then quit for something I'm more familiar with.  I'll be watching and learning.

If you can manage a full campaign of WiTP, this will be a cake-walk.  It's a much simpler game.

[Staggerwing]

Nice write-up SDR.  O0

I've also owned this game or years and never played it since the first abortive attempts after getting it. Now I too have the urge to go dig it out of whatever storage box it it is and try it again.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Week 2.  Aug 8-15.  Short nights, clear skies and a full moon all favour the Luftwaffe.  As such, I decide to spend the bulk of my command points on R&D and aircraft replacement. 

The report from the Met office confirms my fears.  The forecast indicates that it'll be a perfect night for intercepting bombers.





First, I put two points into researching air-based countermeasures.  Luck is with me and my scientists come up with a breakthrough.

 


Next, I have a look at how my squadrons are doing.  I decide to give the squadrons that are suffering from low morale the week off.  Those with decent morale but low effectiveness are sent for training.  I then spend 4 command points to replace damaged aircraft in those Halifax and Lancaster squadrons with the greatest losses.  I don't bother with the Stirlings or Wellingtons this turn.




Next, I plan some raids.  Again, due to the short nights and clear weather, I try to pick a target that will minimize the time I will have to spend within German radar coverage.

I decide Kiel looks good.  It's a fairly large city and it hasn't been hit that hard yet.  I will be able to fly across Denmark and only have to spend a relatively short time in hostile skies.



I give the Stirlings and Wellingtons the night off and assign only Lancasters and Halifaxes.  I plan the raid for later in the night than the previous week's raids.  I plot the raid to go well north of the radar zone, then come from north to south over Denmark so as to avoid the vast majority of German airfields.




In order to give the main raid the best chance of getting through, I decide to plan a spoof raid consisting of a small number of Mosquito fighter-bombers.  They'll target Emden and take off an hour prior to the main raid.  They'll then take a southerly route back to England and stay in radar coverage.  The hope is that the German ground controllers will send the bulk of their fighters up against the Mosquitos and they'll be low on fuel and out of position by the time the main force raid is detected.



That uses up the last of my command points.  With that done, I send off the bombers.


The weather is even better than our meteorologists predicted.  It's a full moon and there's hardly a cloud in the sky.  I don't feel too great about the chances for the 386 crews of the main force raid at this point.




However, things seem to go according to plan.  The Mosquitos reach Emden and drop their tiny bombload.  The spoof raid doesn't pull up as many night-fighters as I'd hoped but it does pull up some.



They try in vain to intercept the faster Mosquitos.




As the Mosquitos turn for home, the main force raid crosses into Denmark and turns towards Kiel.  The German ground controllers seem confused and only throw up a handful of interceptor squadrons.



They reach the raid late after it's already hit Kiel and passed back out over the North Sea. In a handful of attacks the fighters down 7 bombers while the flak over Kiel accounts for another 2.  The clear weather over the target allows the Lancs and Halifaxes to do a fair amount of damage.  They destroy 310 acres of the city.




The Mosquitos do minor damage to Emden and return home without a loss.




Two squadrons from the Royal Auxiliary Air Force are pushed into regular service.  They equipped with Stirlings but we'll switch those out eventually.




We also receive a few extra command points.




Our loss rate stays at a reasonable 2.6% but tonnage dropped is down significantly this week.  Once the weather worsens in October, we'll start launching more raids and in greater numbers.

[JasonPratt]

Gawd, you hit Wilshemhaven with a small nuke!  :o 2.5+ kilotons, that'll do it.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Week 3, Aug 15-22.

The weather's still not co-operating.  I need some clouds if I'm to hit targets deeper in Germany but tonight's forecast is calling for mostly clear skies yet again.




I have 2 extra command points this turn but I'm once again going to limit myself to a single raid and spend the bulk of my points on research and squadron upkeep/upgrades.

I put two points into R&D again, focusing on bombing accuracy this time.  I'm normally not this lucky but once again, the men with the slide-rules come through.




The forecast is calling for good bombing weather.  Might be time to test out our new bombing techniques.

I have a look at the squadron roster and see that a week's rest has improved the flagging morale of the crews.  I put them back in the rotation.



I also notice the the Mosquitos in my pathfinder squadrons have taken a hell of a beating.  Two of the squadrons are down to 2 serviceable aircraft out of a compliment of 8.  I spend command points repairing the damaged Mosquitos and then I beef up the strength of the Mosquito squadrons from 8 to 12 aircraft each.

I convert one RCAF squadron from Wellingtons to Halifaxes and increase their strength to 16 bombers.  I then go through and insure that each of my Lancaster and Halifax squadrons has a minimum of 16 aircraft on their roster when at full strength.

At the end of this, I'm down to 4 command points.



I go to raid planning.  Things have been going well so far so I don't want to mess with a good thing too much but I also don't want to become too predictable.  (the manual says the AI will adapt to your raid style if you don't change it up.  I don't know if it's true or not but why risk it?).

I have a look through the target list and decide that Bremen looks like a good bet.  It's a large city (5000+ acres) and it's only slightly damaged so far (17%) but it does have better flak defences than my previous targets.  Once again, I decide to come in via the north in order to stay out of the limits of German radar coverage.

Fearing that this tactic might be getting a little stale, I also plan another Mosquito spoof raid but this time, I'll send the spoof via a much more southerly route towards Dusseldorf.  This raid will be in radar coverage for almost the entirety of its flight so hopefully it'll draw the fighter coverage away from the real target of Bremen.



I launch the raids.  The weather is just about as predicted.  The Mosquitos cross into France but the German ground controllers don't take the bait.  They send up only a single Gruppe of Bf-110s to intercept.  The Mosquitos blow right by them and drop a few tonnes of explosives on Dusseldorf before turning for home as the main force raid crosses into radar coverage. 



Once again, the German response is surprisingly muted.  They send up only a few squadrons of single engine fighters before the raid reaches Bremen.  The new bombing techniques and good visibility to target spell disaster for the city.  The 638 bombers hit the city with good accuracy and good concentration and obliterate 560 acres of built up areas.



The city is already aflame by the time the night-fighters respond.  They are vectored to the bomber stream as the follows its outbound leg back home.  They converge but reach the stream over the North Sea a little too late.  The bombers are already outside of radar coverage and the majority of the fighters fail to locate any targets.  They manage to down only 6 bombers this night.



The nightfighters may have dropped the ball this night but the flak made up for it.  As intelligence suspected, AA coverage around Bremen was intense.  Nine bombers were lost to AA fire and a further 45 were damaged.  Our bomber crews were well pleased with the results though and morale is up.  The target city was hit hard while our losses were only 2.4%






Things are progressing well but I note from the status screen that the Germans have had some scientific breakthroughs of their own and we're back to parity in the electronic war in the air.




Worse, Churchill's stuck his oar in and is demanding that I hit Leipzig with a sizable force.  That's a bloody long way to go on a short August night.  At least it'll be a new moon.

[jomni]

Never knew this game was so nice. Thanks for the AAR.  Seems to be more approachable than Gary Grigsby's Bombing of the Reich.  But not too simplified.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I find it a much more playable game than Bombing the Reich.  The interface in that game is truly horrible.

At any rate,

Week 4, Aug 22-29, 1943.

God damned Churchill!  Why is he ordering me to attack Leipzig anyway?  He's needlessly risking the lives of my crews and our future fighting effectiveness just to score some cheap political points.  Why can't he leave the prosecution of the bombing campaign to me?  Oh well, if I don't hit Leipzig I'm sure Lord Cherwell will start smearing my name in the Air Ministry and War Cabinet and my resources will start to dry up.  So Leipzig it is.  (Highlighted in pink on the map.)  That's a lot of hostile territory to cover....





I don't have a lot of aircraft to send out on this mission.  Flak banged up my squadrons very badly on the last run and a number of aircraft are still out of commission a week later.  ( The F/NF column shows the number of operational aircraft followed by the number that are out of service.  The worst hit squads are at the top of the page.)



I spent 4 command points ordering hasty repairs on four of the worst hit squads.  The others that are below 60% operational strength are given the week off to rest and repair.

As for the rest, it'll be an all out effort this week.  Every plane that can fly will be going up tonight.  We have two things working in our favour.  First, it's a new moon so there won't be any light which will make visual spotting harder for the Nachtjäger crews.  Second, the weather forecast is calling for heavy cloud cover and fog.  That'll make taking off and landing a dangerous proposition for the Germans and it'll give my bomber streams a place to hide.
We probably won't be able to get a lot of bombs on target but Churchill wants it done so it'll get done.





I decide that I need to try and overwhelm the ground controllers and disperse the night-fighters over as wide an area as possible in order to prevent them from converging on a single raid and pulverizing it.  I plan on hitting three cities tonight.  In addition to Leipzig, I add Osnabruck and Saarbrucken as the targets for tonight.



I plan to have the raids against Osnabruck and Saarbrucken cross into German radar coverage simultaneously at 2140.  The raid against Leipzig will cross into German territory forty minutes later at 2220.  Hopefully the two raids against western and southern German cities will draw off the bulk of the nightfighters and they'll be low on fuel and out of range of the Leipzig raiders on their run up to the city.

I assign Saarbrucken to the 157 Canadian Halifax crews from 6 Group and backstop them with a couple of pathfinder squadrons.  Their flight path will take them dangerously close to a number of German airfields but the Canuck gunners seem to have a knack for swatting Jerry out of the skies.




Osnabruck will be hit by a mixed force of 116 bombers from 4 and 5 Groups with Polish Wellingtons, Stirlings, Halifaxes, and some Mosquitos acting as pathfinders.  They have the shortest route but they also have the slowest and most fragile bombers. 




Finally, the 438 Lancasters will bomb up and hit Leipzig.  It'll be a long 1160 mile round trip flight.  They'll follow the North Sea route to minimize their time exposed to radar coverage but they'll still have to spend 5 hours under the gun.  Damned Churchill.  I hope this is worth it.




     

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

The raid bound for Leipzig lifts off at 2000 and forms up over the North Sea.

Forty minutes later, the raids for Osnabruck and Saarbrucken head out.

The weather over the targets has cleared up and the hoped for fog has dissipated.




The nightfighters are scrambled minutes after the Saarbrucken and Osnabruck forces are detected. Our dispersion tactics seem to be paying off as the fighters are vectored over a wide frontage covering the Low Countries.



As the radar picture clears up, the German fighter directors focus their efforts against the Saarbrucken raid and begin to collapse the bag. The moonless night helps hide the bombers and the fighters have troubles spotting targets.

 


Most fighter groups give up on active hunting and take up station along the Himmelbett radio beacons (fighter units circled in yellow on the map) to await intercept coordinates from ground directors.

The bombers streams reach Osnabruck and Saarbrucken in relatively good order.  The poor weather hampers bombing efforts but both targets are damaged.

The main force raid heading for Leipzig is intercepted by Ju-88s as it passes close to Berlin.  They're unable to properly penetrate the bomber stream and are only able to pick off a few stragglers.  Again, poor weather limits bombing effectiveness with only about 33% of the bombs dropped damaging the city.




Our plan seems to have worked as planned as the German nightfighters RTB on low fuel as the Leipzig raiders turn and head back out to the North Sea.




All raids return home and losses are very light considering the distance traveled.  Only 8 of our bombers are lost during the raids and another 15 are lost while landing in poor weather.  Churchill's going to be insufferable.




German losses to landing in bad weather are severe.  They lose 34 fighters and two aces.

[JasonPratt]

Wow, that victory was yanked from the teeth of disaster by some genius scheduling (and luck)!  O0