<I have never ever written an AAR before and have no idea if any of you will like this. If you do then of course I shall write more, but feel free to tell me to get back to playing HOI 2 badly and leaving the forum in peace 
>
The Romanians ran through the streets of Amsterdam at full speed, equipment slapping noisily against their sides as they pelted towards cover. The French had cleared the coast facing Leeuwarden of any shelter, and so the divisions of infantry were forced to simply run as hard as they could to the outskirts of the city still standing.
Snipers picked their targets as the Romanians approached, French marksmen in the church towers and tallest homes of the city slowly thinning the front ranks of the advancing troops, any real cohesion lost now as huddles of men leap-frogged between scraps of cover, a collapsed wall here, an over-turned car there.
But the French were not new to this, and the fifth assault on the city would fare no better then the first four. The prepared positions of the French opened fire, machine gunners placed strategically across the front line pinning down pockets of resistance before the French armour, limited in number but untouchable by the lightly equipped infantrymen, forced them to surrender or flee back to the opposite coast.
It was December 16th, 1939. And the Allies weren’t going anywhere.
---
General Sanatescu sighed as he read the final report. It was the morning after the assault, and he would shortly have to make the phone call to Bucharest outlining why they had failed yet again. Three fresh divisions had been assigned to the attack in the hope that fresh blood would spill less easily, or so it seemed, but they had failed just as swiftly as the old hands who had survived always did.
Armour, what the General needed was armour, and he was heartened by the knowledge that come the Spring offensive that seemed to be brewing, he would finally have some.
He was just putting his signature to the report when there was a knock at the door, three rapid taps followed by a patient silence.
‘Enter.’ Sanatescu said as he pushed the report to one side.
‘Good morning, herr General.’ Announced Karl Luftnicht as he entered the room, closing the door behind him before removing his driving gloves and giving the General a firm handshake over his crowded desk.
‘Karl, please sit down. I assume you’ve read the report?’ Sanatescu was smiling as he spoke, he had always enjoyed Karl’s company since he had first been assigned to the General's staff on his entrance into Germany four months ago.
‘Of course herr General, but I still don’t see why the assault was launched’ He lit a cigarette absently before offering one to the General, who waved him away before dismissively shrugging his shoulders.
‘The politicians, my dear Colonel. In Bucharest they don’t seem to grasp the finer subtleties of warfare. That is, they don’t understand that without armour we may as well piss at the French for all the good our attacks will do.’ Karl nodded, taking a long drag of his cigarette before offering his opinion.
‘There was nothing you could do, my friend. Your forces have done more then enough this year already.’ Karl was right of course, if it were not for the timely intervention by the Romanians on the Western Front the German High Command may have had to have faced the indignity of a Christmas with vast swathes of Northern Germany under allied occupation. The Summer campaign launched out of the Netherlands had caught the Germans completely by surprise as they reorganised after the successful annexation of Poland. An emergency call for reinforcements had gone out to their allies, and with the Slovaks forces pinned down with garrison duties in the East it was the Romanians who had stepped in to fill the void. With three quarters of the entire German armed forces inexplicably tied down opposite the Maginot line by Hitler’s personal orders it had been up to Sanatescu and his small Romanian expeditionary force to solve the problems. Eventually, after the Romanians had cancelled their planned annexation of Yugoslavia and redeployed their forces, the predominantly French presence was almost pushed entirely out of Northern Germany. Skillful use of the large Romanian cavalry force and the stubborn capabilites of Sanatescu's second-in-command Constantinescu had assured the destruction of the Dutch forces and the liberation of Northern Germany. Then, in October, Hitler had finally freed up his southern divisions, leading to the semi-encirclement of Essen and its Belgian garrison.
As it stood at the moment, the bulk of Romanian forces were in Leeuwarden, watching Germany’s extreme northern flank, with a corps of mountain divisions anchoring the German line in Dortmund. The Germans were pushing hard in the centre, with Rommel taking steps to seize Essen back for the Reich as soon as the conditions were right. In the meanwhile, Sanatescu’s main concern was with dealing with insane directives from the politicians in Bucharest.
The General sighed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. Karl had stubbed out his cigarette and put his gloves back on.
‘Perhaps next Christmas will be better, herr General. I hear Christmas in Paris is quite… wonderful’ The colonel smiled as he stood, before giving Sanatescu a smart salute and heading towards the door.
‘I’ll see your men get their gifts and extra rations in time for the big day my friend, you have my word on it.’ The General was sat up again, watching Karl open the door.
‘Thank you Colonel, and a have a good christmas, as good a one as you can have under these circumstances. I expect to see you at the General Staff ball for new years, we shall be toasting to the victories Spring shall bring. That and the new armour of course.’
‘Ah, now that would be something to celebrate.’ And with that he shut the door.
<Ok, please comment if you managed to read through it. I'll take anything you say in good sport, I promise And it won't be the end of my world if you tell me it's rubbish either >
>The Romanians ran through the streets of Amsterdam at full speed, equipment slapping noisily against their sides as they pelted towards cover. The French had cleared the coast facing Leeuwarden of any shelter, and so the divisions of infantry were forced to simply run as hard as they could to the outskirts of the city still standing.
Snipers picked their targets as the Romanians approached, French marksmen in the church towers and tallest homes of the city slowly thinning the front ranks of the advancing troops, any real cohesion lost now as huddles of men leap-frogged between scraps of cover, a collapsed wall here, an over-turned car there.
But the French were not new to this, and the fifth assault on the city would fare no better then the first four. The prepared positions of the French opened fire, machine gunners placed strategically across the front line pinning down pockets of resistance before the French armour, limited in number but untouchable by the lightly equipped infantrymen, forced them to surrender or flee back to the opposite coast.
It was December 16th, 1939. And the Allies weren’t going anywhere.
---
General Sanatescu sighed as he read the final report. It was the morning after the assault, and he would shortly have to make the phone call to Bucharest outlining why they had failed yet again. Three fresh divisions had been assigned to the attack in the hope that fresh blood would spill less easily, or so it seemed, but they had failed just as swiftly as the old hands who had survived always did.
Armour, what the General needed was armour, and he was heartened by the knowledge that come the Spring offensive that seemed to be brewing, he would finally have some.
He was just putting his signature to the report when there was a knock at the door, three rapid taps followed by a patient silence.
‘Enter.’ Sanatescu said as he pushed the report to one side.
‘Good morning, herr General.’ Announced Karl Luftnicht as he entered the room, closing the door behind him before removing his driving gloves and giving the General a firm handshake over his crowded desk.
‘Karl, please sit down. I assume you’ve read the report?’ Sanatescu was smiling as he spoke, he had always enjoyed Karl’s company since he had first been assigned to the General's staff on his entrance into Germany four months ago.
‘Of course herr General, but I still don’t see why the assault was launched’ He lit a cigarette absently before offering one to the General, who waved him away before dismissively shrugging his shoulders.
‘The politicians, my dear Colonel. In Bucharest they don’t seem to grasp the finer subtleties of warfare. That is, they don’t understand that without armour we may as well piss at the French for all the good our attacks will do.’ Karl nodded, taking a long drag of his cigarette before offering his opinion.
‘There was nothing you could do, my friend. Your forces have done more then enough this year already.’ Karl was right of course, if it were not for the timely intervention by the Romanians on the Western Front the German High Command may have had to have faced the indignity of a Christmas with vast swathes of Northern Germany under allied occupation. The Summer campaign launched out of the Netherlands had caught the Germans completely by surprise as they reorganised after the successful annexation of Poland. An emergency call for reinforcements had gone out to their allies, and with the Slovaks forces pinned down with garrison duties in the East it was the Romanians who had stepped in to fill the void. With three quarters of the entire German armed forces inexplicably tied down opposite the Maginot line by Hitler’s personal orders it had been up to Sanatescu and his small Romanian expeditionary force to solve the problems. Eventually, after the Romanians had cancelled their planned annexation of Yugoslavia and redeployed their forces, the predominantly French presence was almost pushed entirely out of Northern Germany. Skillful use of the large Romanian cavalry force and the stubborn capabilites of Sanatescu's second-in-command Constantinescu had assured the destruction of the Dutch forces and the liberation of Northern Germany. Then, in October, Hitler had finally freed up his southern divisions, leading to the semi-encirclement of Essen and its Belgian garrison.
As it stood at the moment, the bulk of Romanian forces were in Leeuwarden, watching Germany’s extreme northern flank, with a corps of mountain divisions anchoring the German line in Dortmund. The Germans were pushing hard in the centre, with Rommel taking steps to seize Essen back for the Reich as soon as the conditions were right. In the meanwhile, Sanatescu’s main concern was with dealing with insane directives from the politicians in Bucharest.
The General sighed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. Karl had stubbed out his cigarette and put his gloves back on.
‘Perhaps next Christmas will be better, herr General. I hear Christmas in Paris is quite… wonderful’ The colonel smiled as he stood, before giving Sanatescu a smart salute and heading towards the door.
‘I’ll see your men get their gifts and extra rations in time for the big day my friend, you have my word on it.’ The General was sat up again, watching Karl open the door.
‘Thank you Colonel, and a have a good christmas, as good a one as you can have under these circumstances. I expect to see you at the General Staff ball for new years, we shall be toasting to the victories Spring shall bring. That and the new armour of course.’
‘Ah, now that would be something to celebrate.’ And with that he shut the door.
<Ok, please comment if you managed to read through it. I'll take anything you say in good sport, I promise
And it won't be the end of my world if you tell me it's rubbish either >
