Message: 1
Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 13:43:42 -0000
From: "altemeister2001" <daniel_au_japon@hotmail.com>
Subject: GR Dice have no memory VII
GR Dice have no
memory... but we do.
Part 7.
This is a game started
in
Axis: Chris Merner
Allies: Daniel Feldmann
Game is speeding up
because I'm about to leave
Setup 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 Rules
Rules at the very end.
THE GAME
Beginning of the game
proved more original than expected, which decided me to write this GR.
Setup.
Most of Germans against Poland. Japanese strong in Manchuria. No oil rule
allows CW to start with around 15 reserve CPs.
1939: long SO. Germany
suffers some casualties and does not finish the Poles. Netherlands conquered.
Active Italy sends TRS to the Baltic. CW invades Portugal. French navy enjoys
repeated successes. Japan builds up on Russian border.
JF-MJ40: Germany
finishes off Poland and spends an OC to reach the gates of Paris through
Belgium. Axis suffers very heavy casualties to air combat and Allies counter
strokes. USSR takes East Poland but Germany DoWs all Baltic States before
Russia can grab them. CW conquers Portugal and all hostile African territory
except for Ethiopia. Libya and Sardinia are conquered. French score another
naval victory against Italy while CW hits the last Italian TRS of the Med.
After a strong build up,
Japan DoWs the USSR and easily takes resources and Vladivostok.
JA40-ND40. France falls
early July. Italy installs Vichy: all colonies except Syria join Free France. Chinese
garrison Indo-China while Japanese garrison Albania. Japan does not attack
anywhere. First strategic bombing of Germany. CW invades Sicily and promptly
puts 4 corps there. Active Russia receives tons of reinforcements and packs up
the border. Axis player almost out of time in ND40.
JF41-MJ41. After
horrendous weather in JF, long turns of nice weather. Kriegsmarine rebased to
Brest. CW conquers Siam and garrisons all that needs to be in Asia. USA vote
oil embargo in MA, which in turns forces Japan to DoW CW. Well prepared
invasion of Canada fails on an unlucky DR while, in the Med, Italians cannot
join the IJA in the Egypt campaign. Japan tries to compensate failure in Canada
by all out assaults in China, but with no more success: Chinese liberate
Shanghai and Canton. Royal Navy suffers big losses to Euroaxis in the Med. And
Germans get ashore in Harwich, England.
JA41-ND41. Fine weather
until mid October. Germans promptly pull back of England, losing the AMPH.
Heavy strategic bombings of Germany (5PP/turn). First convoys casualties to
Axis SUBs in the Atlantic. Japan conquers NEI. Italians reinforce Sicily thanks
to partisans. Chris out of time in SO and ND (5 min/impulse). The USA gear up
in JA, pass war appropriations in SO, DoW Japan in ND, conquer undefended
Marshals Islands, Saipan, and reinforce Philippines. USSR DoWs Germany and
advances in the Hungarian Carpathians. American DoW on EuroAxis fails.
JF42-MJ42. Japan takes
Manila after 2 attacks. The USA invade Truk. First big fleet battles, with mild
results (1CV lost each side). All the partisan force pool is in China. Germany
DoWs and quickly conquers Yugoslavia. The USSR attacks Rumania, grabs the oil
but can't attack Bucharest before end of turn. Russian navy defeats Kriegsmarine
in the Baltic Sea. German SUBs intercept British TRS in BoB. CW invades kneel
of the Italian boot but bounces on Tarento. W.Allies make OCs.
JA42-ND42. Germany
clears East Poland and Baltic States of Russians but does not enter undefended
Ukraine. Bucharest and Ploestli are taken and retaken. Red wings suffer huge
casualties. CW conquers Italy, cracks its first OC to take Rome and moves north
up to Ancona. Some aircraft stacking problems in the boot. No strat bombing.
Vichy collapsed. Japanese hunt regenerating Chinese partisans and shorten their
front line. The USN sails 4 CVs to the China Sea but no search
roll succeeds. Chinese
SUBs meet CV fleet instead of CPs (bye bye).
JF43. CW COMPLETELY
CONQUERS ITALY. AMERICAN NAVY DEFEATED.
Allied Initiative.
Turns start with an
unexpected fine impulse, then turns to snow and ends horrible. Most of the
action occurs the first two impulses.
After building up in the
Pacific for turns, the impatient American goes search the Japanese. The bushido
code leaves no choice but to reply to this provocation and more than 30 CVs
engage in a long and difficult battle. Although dominated in A2A, in surface
and in AA, Japanese experience pays off: America better ships are manned with
rookies. Japan finds first round. A2A battle is quite balanced; AA is not
(Japan: -2/4 roll aborts 2 American points; US: helped with newly designed
tracers: +2/4 gives 15 points). Yorktown II and Saratoga sunk, vs. Zuikaku and
a couple of surface ships. Japan finds second round. This time, no US air
clears through. American lose Yorktown. They need their revenge. They stick
around. LBAs have almost all been shot down or aborted. The 5 US CVs are on
their own, against 8 CVLs and 3 CVs. They get surprised again. Lexington II sunk.
Time to go back to Truk. Someone said reverse Midway?
[Rational behind this
battle. Japan had lost 5 CVPs the turns before and was not at her max. The USN
dominated all aspects of the fight by one or two columns. Losing control of the
China Sea would have put Japan in a dire situation: no supply to the
Philippines and the continent, limited resources etc. Japan therefore had to
fight with no choice but to win. After the battle, the USN is still stronger
than the IJN, but marginally. Some constants of the fight: Japanese AA always
miserable. American AA always awesome. Americans failed all their saving rolls:
Japan had 4X totally and got them all].
While the heroes of the
Bonin battle are celebrated in Tokyo, Chinese offer a consolation lot to
America. Their SUBs, under stormy weather, empty the China Sea of Japanese
convoys twice (total: 8 CPs sunk) cutting Japanese production to 8 BPs.
The Red Army counter
attacks Ploestli (taken by Germans last impulse of ND42, +10 blitz, DR=8) but
do not try to break the German line in Rumania. In the Baltic States,
Timoschenko takes Riga (+10 assault, DR=8, German MIL defeated) and Kaunas to
build a line along the Neman. When snow comes at last, Yemerenko liberates Lvov
(+11 blitz, DR=9, no German casualty). But snow turns into blizzard and all
action stops.
It's now time to finish
off Italy. CW invades Tirana (Gort+PARA), killing the heroic Japanese defenders
of the city (+14 assault, DR=11). Badoglio and German MTNs approach the city to
try an emergency counter attack. Bad weather prevents any attempt. CW
completely conquers Italy, wiping off 90BPs of units from the table, including
14 planes and 4 HQs.
[Back in 1940, when CW
was running wild in the Med and Italy had no TRS, Chris sent two Japanese WP
GAR to hold Tirana and secure an alternative Italian home country. But Chris
also sailed Japanese SUBs to the Med, and one of them RTB to Tirana, where it
could not be reorganized. This face down SUB prevented EuroAxis units to give
any support to Tirana. CW waited for the right moment to take it, knowing it
could not be reinforced].
No partisans
Losses: Ch: 6 BPs, Ru:
18 BPs, Ge: 19 BPs, Jp: 36 BPs, CW: 5 BPs, FF: 1 BP, USA: 33 BPs. Italy: 90
BPs. A grand total of approx 208 BPs for
a JF turn!
Noticeable builds:
Chinese OC. US: 5 Essex class CVs face down.
MA43. YUGOSLAVIAN
PARTISAN CUT MOUNTAIN RAILROAD
As the title suggests,
this turn saw little action. Weather was bad except for first impulse. Allies
got the initiative in spite of a reroll.
Japan slowly evacuates
China. Yamashita and another corps are embarked from the Tsing-Tao area (Tsing
Tao itself being under Communist control). Peking and Tsien-Tin are left little
defended. Mao attacks, but bounces (+9 assault, DR=4). When storms cover the seas,
the US surface fleet comes hunting the China Sea but cannot find. A DIV
liberates Menado, overrunning a face down Japanese ship.
British successfully
ground strike Kesselring and Manstein, both on or close to the front line north
or Rome. Skilful defense let them escape from following attacks (-/R result).
CW loses her first STR over Milan.
The Kriegsmarine resumes
convoys through the Baltic Sea and sinks a Russian SUB.
And the main event is
the surprise revolt of elite partisans in Yugoslavia. A 4-2 steps on the
railroad connection, blocking 2 resources and threatening supply to the
Rumanian front (Russian block one of the Transylvanian railroads and ZoC the
other).
Losses: Ge: 6 BPs, CW: 6
BPs, Jp: 6 BPs, US: 5 BPs, Ru: 2 BPs.
MJ43 CHINA LIBERATED,
JAPAN INVADED
Initiative goes to the
Allies thanks to a reroll. Fine weather all turn long and immediate end of
turn.
The trench warfare
continues in Rumania, except that both sides now use offensive chits. Zhukov
boosts Vatutin in an attack against Bucharest badly coordinated with the air
force (all ground strikes missed). +8 assault, DR=15, the city falls again. Von
Bock enjoys his own OC to counter attack, again without any air support (+17
assault, DR=16). Thereafter, although both sides are mostly face up, nothing
moves. Russia also grabs another mountain hex in the South Carpathians, which
will be all the territorial gain of the turn. Various air battles all over the
front end up with more German losses than Russian (TACx2, STRx1, FTRx1 vs.
TACx1, FTRx2) but little flips. And the Bismark is damaged in a naval battle in
the Baltic Sea.
[Because of the
Yugoslavian partisan making supply unsure, Germany could not afford to lose the
secondary supply source Bucharest. Germany has 2 more OCs on board.]
Von Leeb takes command
in Italy after Kesselring and Manstein are dispatched to Yugoslavia and East
Prussia respectively. He builds a line in the La Spezia-Florence mountains,
giving up one resource. Gort tosses an OC to assault Florence (+13 assault,
DR=16), killing nothing more than the defending GAR but taking the hex. Germans
step back to the Po river line. Ike and a couple of green units are now in UK.
Pacific theater. Turn
starts with most of the fleets in port. A DIV MAR sneaks through the China Sea
to Foochow, from where ot walks to Taiwan's resource hex. At the same time, the
newly arrived CW task force clears the China Sea of CPs so that the Japanese
Philippines air force, which supports strong defenders of Manila, cannot intercept
PARA and MTN air transported to Taiwan. The bushido code leaves no but to reply
to this provocation. A strong fleet with maximum lift carries reinforcements to
the island. But an isolated Catilina escapes both Japanese FTRs and AA (-1/2 AA
gives 1 point aborted), and scores an A on the TRS carrying Yamashita. This
lowers the counter attack significantly. (This Catalina is shot down shortly
after and joins 3 of the 4 CW SCS that had dared patrol the sea). Who cares,
the attack can't be called off (the bushido code etc). +7 assault, DR=7 (rainy
weather). 3 of the 4 attackers die. Americans take control of 2 more
hexes of the island,
capturing a CVL and damaging an AMPH.
Seeing the main Japanese
fleet committed, and noticing that Japan itself is only defended by a 4-1 GAR
and face down Yamashita, while Bonin Islands and Philippines are almost
overstacked with red units, Mc Arthur orders to strike where they ain't. An
invasion fleet sails the Japanese Coast to hit the beaches of Nemuro (extreme
north of Hokkaido). +11 assault, DR=6, successful landing. The news can't be
kept secret and Japanese population panics. Whatever is left of the fleet
evacuates DIVs from now secondary theaters to defend Tokyo. Americans promptly
extend their beachhead, sending Clark and as many air as can be stacked in the
mountains (supercombined).
These tremendous events
push the Chinese news to the interior pages. Nationalists and Communists rush
for the prestige of killing the last Japanese defenders. Chiang takes the
coastal resource (+4, DR=10 but defender called blitz). Mao first liberates
Peking (+11, DR=3 but defender called blitz again) then Tsien Tin (+10 assault,
DR=13). Communists even enter Manchuria. The Hiroshima MIL is left inland
China. To generate partisans.
Turn ends prematurely.
Axis both wanted a short turn and a little more time. Germans, who had flipped
all their HQs early, cancelled the reorganizing OC, but Japan did not have time
to sail any CP and their production is cut to 5 PPs (=10 BPs) from the continent.
On the other hand, nothing could have stopped Americans from taking a couple of
more hexes in Hokkaido. They only control 2 now. It is interesting to note that
Japan was in position to play a naval OC, which, by unflipping the lift in the
China Sea, would have permitted massive reinforcement of the home country.
Partisans: Yugoslavia (a
0-1 PART this time), India.
Losses: Ch: 3 BPs, CW: 6
BPs + OCx1, US: 17 BPs + OCx1, Ru: 19 BPs + OCx1, Ge: 36 BPs + OCx1, Jp: 29
BPs.
JA43. ALLIES INVADE
NORMANDY.
Axis initiative
As the Italian campaign
has made stiff progress, CW could transfer its projection units to UK in MJ.
There is a (deliberate?) hole in the Atlantic wall on the historical hex. In spite
of 3 failed ground strikes, Allies invade the hex [it would have been a 2 hex
invasion had the ground strikes on counter attacking units succeeded. I decided
to make it one hex but to save the Navy for DSB]. Model is quickly railed to
the front with reserves (OC) but fails to push the invaders at sea (+5 blitz,
DR=9). Allies mechanically extend the beachhead following impulses, taking all
of Brittany. A German SUBs helps out: by initiating and finding in the North
Seas, it allows all the CW lift to abort the zone, reorganize and bring more
troops to the front. Thank you Kriegsmarine!
The Russian front is a
replay of the impulse before. Vatutin attacks Bucharest boosted by an OC (+5
assault, DR=19), takes whatever is left of the city, and is pushed back by Von
Bock (OC, +13 assault, DR=10), all with some air casualties but not a single
successful ground strike on either side. Kesselring kills the nasty 4-2
Yugoslavian PART. German cities are severely bombed by English long range STR.
German pass to hasten the end of turn without effect.
In the Pacific,
Americans secure all south of Taiwan and surround Sapporo in Hokkaido, but do
not attack. Chinese attack a mountain hex to prepare the assault on Port Arthur
but bounce (+4 assault, DR=4). Japanese pull of out Chita and reinforce
Vladivostok. Some naval skirmishes in the seas around Japan for a few Japanese
naval casualties (sunk: AMPHx1, CVLx1, CVx1, BBx1) and the loss of a precious,
long range NAV.
Losses: CW: 11BPs, Ru:
12BPs (+OC), US: 29BPs, Ch: 5BPs, Jp: 37BPs, Ge: 28BPs+OCx2, FF:2
SO43. US CONQUER TAIWAN.
Initiative Axis thanks
to a reroll
Although weather is
fair, little happens in Europe. Axis SUBs sail out to intercepting positions
and do intercept any TRS that wanders around (including the one carrying
Bradley), but no actual naval combat occurs. 3 corps and some massive air join
the Allies in France, where Ike, Crerar and Monty lead the way. Germans build a
line along the Seine. British strategic bombings are still powerful (-6 PPs)
but the first carpet-bombing of the game is a miserable failure (1 US STR
lost).
In the Pacific, Nimitz
easily takes Taiwan, only defended by the Taihoku MIL after the 8-3 INF was
shipped back to Japan. Mao now takes that mountain hex NW of Port Arthur (+8
assault, DR=11). The Russian Siberia army, made of 4 CAV corps and all 2 and 3
points MIL, moves around Chita and blocks the rail to the East. Japanese lose
another TRS in a surface battle in the China Sea.
Losses: CW: 6 BPs, US:
14BPs, Jp: 23 BPs, Ch: 4BPs.
ND43.GLOBAL WARMING:
AXIS BLACK AND BLUE
Allied initiative.
After a relatively calm
SO43, Allies now resume offensive. The USA have 4-stockpiled OCs, Russia 2, CW
3 and China 1. As the title suggests, weather is mostly fine. Not a single snow
impulse for Russian winterized.
The first impulse of the
turns sees 3 successful attacks on 3 different fronts. Mao tosses an OC to take
Port Arthur under rain weather (+13 assault, DR=7). Clark assaults Sapporo (+11
Assault, DR=16) supported by maximum shore bombardment. And Gort breaks the Po
line in Venice (+7 assault, DR=12), supported by insufficient SB (I had
forgotten to pick up the big BB from Malta). Axis replies with naval moves
(last sortie of the Italian fleet and evacuation of Honk-Kong and the Philippines).
Later, the Kriegsmarine sails to the Atlantic and hits CW CPs badly (-CPx6) but
lose the Graf Zeppelin.
Weather is still fine
end of November. The Russian bear wakes up with a super combined. Ground
strikes give lots of flips in adjacent hexes, especially in Rumania and
Hungary. However, the renewed Bucharest assault fails (+7 assault, DR=3, I love
OCs). Germans step back in big stacks in Poland, slowly prepare a strategic
retreat from Rumania (Von Bock moves to Bulgaria), and build a kind of line Budapest-Danube.
Weather is fine again in December: Russians reorganize HQs and attack all that
is still flipped. Zhukov now relays Vatutin against Bucharest (+8 assault,
DR=16); Konev wipes out goods units in Hungary (+? Blitz, DR=18) and
Timoschenko liberates Brest-Litovsk (+15 assault, DR=19). That was a true
offensive chit. Germany has lots of holes to plug but thanks to EoT=2, Russians
won't enjoy an exploitation impulse.
In France, after again more
troops, including Mountbatten, are poured in from the UK and the US (US: super
combined), both sides camp on a different bank of the Seine. An INF DIV runs to
the Med to cut the shipping to the Spanish resource to Germany.
Under strong,
multinational LBA cover (NAVx3, FTRx6, with US, Chinese, Australian and Indian
planes), the Allies surprise the weak Japanese forces at sea, sinking
CVL+TRSx2. Japan is down to 1 TRS, which safely picks up the last defenders of
unbothered Rafael.
Rumania is (at last) conquered.
Losses: Jp: 25BPs, Ge:
59 BPs, Ru: 3 BPs+OCx2; Ch: 12BPs+OCx1, US: 0+OCx1, CW: 10BPs, FF: 2BPs.
Time: Allies: 14h52min,
Axis: 15h02min.
We both exceeded the 12h
allocated but without suffering any penalty.
JF44. RUSSIANS TAKE
HARBIN
Allies get the
initiative but weather is not mild anymore (DR=10, horrible)
The US toss an OC for a
logistics super combined. McArthur calls off the attack of Manila after all
ground strikes miss and Japan resumes supply. The IJN suffers in another little
naval battle (CVL and SCSx2 sunk).
Konev enjoys an OC when
snow comes at last, for an all out attack in Hungary. Results are
disappointing: the Red Army takes a couple of hexes but Germans retreat in
order. Zhukov moves West along the Danube in Rumanian and undefended Bulgaria.
The US liberate Lyon.
British take a 2nd hex on Milan (+12 Blitz, DR=5). Massive strategic bombing of
Germany.
And the Russian Siberian
army steps into undefended Harbin and Blag (hence getting a supply source in
the area).
Partisans: 4-2 in
Yugoslavia (again); 3-3 in France.
Losses: Ge: 22BPs, Ru:
20BPs+OCx1, CW: 1 BP, Jp: 10BPs, US: 0 BP+OCx1.
MA44. LIBERATION OF
PARIS. JAPAN LOSES 3 CVs. RUSSIANS ENTER EAST PRUSSIA.
Allies get the
initiative in spite of a re-roll.
It snows! Russians can
at last attack! Armored troops lead a nice attack against one of the last
German hexes on the left bank of the Danube (+5 blitz, DR=20) but fail near
Lodz (+2 blitz, DR=7). Zhukov secures undefended Sofia. Germans build a strong
line Vistula-Budapest-Belgrade but let Russians penetrate south Yugoslavia. The
Red Army pours in and slowly turns German defenses.
Meanwhile, Timoschenko
and Rokossovski clear East Prussia except for Koenigsberg. Although the Russian
super combined is mostly a severe air defeat (Ru loses 10 aircrafts to 3
German), followed by laughable land attacks (+7 assault, DR=2 near Budapest)
they control all hexes East of the Vistula and the Danube at the end of the
turn, including 3 hexes on Warsaw.
Western Allies demonstrate
their power in France. After another logistics super combined to land 5 more
corps and some planes in France, it's time to break the Seine. Bradley breaks a
super air. Monty a super land. Axis FTRs do not even dare to intercept the
carpet bombings (wise move: DR=1, 4, 4 for no hit) not the ground strikes
(pretty much all the German line is flipped, esp. Paris). Crerar leads the
attack on Paris: +12 assault, DR=3: Germany loses a DIV CAV... [yeah, I rolled
2 with Russians and 3 with CW on these OCs]. CW decides to take the HQ as a
loss in order to reorganize all the stacks.
Following impulse, after
Rommel has reorganized Paris defenders, Ike plays a super air but British a
standard land. No carpet-bombing succeeds [you will note that the Parisian player
did not hesitate to carpet bomb Paris at 25+ twice. However, given the result,
it seems pilots forgot to drop their bombs]. Ground strikes on Paris all fail.
And there is no more CW HQ to boost the attack. But there's nothing such as a
good roll to win the game: +6 assault, DR=6, Paris fails, France is liberated
[some might say that the inclusion of the FF DIV MAR in this attack changed
everything...].
In Italy, Gort takes
Milan where the heroic Bremen MIL takes down INF+MOT with it (+9 assault, DR=8).
Von Leeb backs up to Austria. CW and US armies link up in the Alps.
Although the USN can't
move anytime this turn (US play super airs), a big air to sea battle, with huge
Allies surprise, occurs in the China Sea. 11 FTRs and 4 NAV surprise the
Combined fleet. Kaga and Shokaku are shot down in A2A, and Allies get 2D after
AA, right enough to sink both capital CVs. Even worse, a US surface fleets
shells the Japanese at point blank a few weeks later, sinking a 3rd CV.`Another
nail on the coffin', comments Chris. Japan does manage to cut US supply in the
China Sea though, so that flipped Nimitz in Taiwan cannot reorganize at the end
of turn.
And the most important
event takes place in the South China Sea where the Mme Chiang, the newly
arrived Chinese CV, scores a brilliant victory against a Japanese CP! Mao also
takes Mudken (+6 assault, DR=15) and Manchuria is conquered.
Bulgaria and Manchuria
conquered by the USSR. France liberated.
Losses: Ge: 53BPs, Jp:
38BPs, CW: 20Bps+OCx1, US: 6BPs +OCx3, Ch: 10BPs, Ru: 51Bps+OCx1.
MJ 44. LIBERATION OF
MANILLA. ALLIES RUSH INTO GERMANY.
Allies get the
initiative thanks to a re-roll. It is the 4th consecutive turn they start
first.
Weather starts awful,
which gives time to all powers to refit their lines (all newly arrived
reinforcements to France, all new planes to the front line). Rommel decides to
give up the Seine line. A couple of speedbumps stacks are left behind while the
best units slowly move back East. Again, the Chinese navy's activity is
remarkable: the nationalist MAR walks from China to Korea where it is promptly
reinforced by Chiang, jumping from the brand new Chinese TRS (which is also out
to resume supply to Taiwan).
From that point on, land
action all over the place. In France, the allies ground strike the second line
of retreating Germans while killing the first line (blitz bonus are up to +9 in
some attacks). Next impulse, 4 more stacks are attacked from 2 hexes each
thanks to a couple of land OCs (Ike, Mountbatten). Rommel is captured (+13 blitz,
DR=4, but no retreat path). Rouen falls. Advanced units enter Belgium. The
German front is not continuous -no unit guarding the Rhine- and flipped stacks
hold Brussels, Lille and Metz, which would have been the next immediate
targets.
Indeed, Germany could
not retreat East as there were more urgent troubles to fix in the East. Vatutin
takes Belgrade easily (+10 assault, DR=9) and Zhukov commands a powerful front
facing north in Yugoslavia. But more critical is the successful breakthrough of
Russian T-34 across the Vistula north of Lodz (+5 blitz, DR=16, Rundstedt is
flipped retreating). Manstein expends an air OC to stop the hemorrhage.
Carpet-bombing fails but Russian spearhead in Poland and East Prussia is all
flipped (and Russia loses 3 planes to 1 German). However, this meant no land
moves: A nice 10-6 ARM ends up surrounded in Yugoslavia.
Very little happens in
the Pacific. Mc Arthur eventually assaults Manilla –without any SB but
supported by 2 paradrops- :+14 assault, DR=9. Communist Chinese rush through
Manchuria to the Korean border where the last Japanese on the continent stand.
Russians are 2 hexes from Vladivostok.
EoT was 2 when we
stopped the game. The immediate outlook was very grim for Axis. One or two more
Allied impulses would have been very severe in the West: Allies had a serious
chance to take out all Belgium and to cross the Rhine. Russians were to toss an
OC to reorganize HQs. They may have poured through their breakthrough in
Poland, trying to take Dantzig, or could have given a dicey shot at Warsaw. In
Yugoslavia, they would have marched north to undefended
Zagreb but would not
have attacked Budapest yet.
This turn was to be
followed by JA, where OCs would have been expended pretty much each impulse. I
can't say how far the allies would have made it (I lack experience!) but it
sure would have been ugly.
In the Pacific, the
campaign was over from my point of view. Japan still held 3 objective cities:
Tokyo, Vladivostok, Rabaul. Rabaul was empty and just waiting for a US naval
move to be auto-invaded. Vladivostok would probably have been liberated by Mao
(because of FTC). The USA, already in Hokkaido, had no intention to attack
Japan, which was overstacked with land units. However, any Japanese ship
sailing the seas would have been shadowed and attacked by CW, American, FF or
Chinese navy. The Japanese navy was down to 20 ships, including 7 carriers,
among which 2 3-points CVs. Japan still had an OC but did not have assets to
make use of it. The Allied Pacific fleet was something like 60 ships, without
much crap.
Final note about time:
in 1944, Allies were spending roughly twice as much time as Axis. I might have
run out of time in ND.
======================
Aftermath comments
We took some time to
discuss the strategic issues of this game last Sunday (Chris, feel free to
comment more!).
From Axis point of view,
the game was lost because of:
(a) the set of rules,
and esp. the fact we did not use the AfA USE markers. As the pact could not be
broken because of Russians packing the border, the USA started to pull 1942
chits at the end of 1941. It ruined the very conservative USE play of the Axis.
(USA DoWed Japan in ND41, but got gear up in JA41 only, immediately followed by
war appropriations in SO41. Total war as late as JF43).
(b) A failed attack
during the Japanese super combined in 41, that demoralized Axis player, and led
to non-reasonable all out assaults in China and a non-necessary invasion of UK.
(c) Allies did not make
mistakes that could be exploited by Axis
From Allied point of
view, game was won because of: (a) Germany DoWing the Baltic States in MJ40 was
countered with Russia packing the border, which (i) gave the strategic
initiative when to break the pact to Russia (ii) increased the USE average value.
This was made even worse since Japan DoWed Russia the same impulse, and the
USSR did not surrender, but instead built MILs for garrison ratio. Obvisouly,
Axis did not see it coming. I think that was the key strategic event of the
game.
(b) Axis gave much
territory for free: CW ran wild in the Med in 40, landed unopposed in Sicily,
made progress along the boot more easily than they should have, landed
unopposed in Normandy; Russians started the war already holding the excellent
defensive mountain territory of Hungary/Rumania; USA attacked Truk when
defended by a single stack, walked to Taiwan, did not have to fight much for
Hokkaido.
(c) Axis did not even
try a BoA because CW had so many reserve CPs from day one. Italians did not
built NAVs to contest the Med.
(d) I only took
reasonable risks and played quite a conservative game. My opponent being much
better tactically than I (he IS crafty), I would always secure my backyard
before trying to advance. That did not keep me from low odds attacks, but only
when I was certain I could afford the bad roll. Worked great since, although I
had a good share of bad rolls, none ever turned critical. The best example
being the loss of 4 CVs in JF43 in the China Sea: it did not give Japan more
than a couple of turn of relief.
(e) No building
mistakes.
Summary:
Europe: Poland First,
France JA40, DoW Baltic States, Russia packs the border, DoWs Germany in ND41,
trench warfare until 43, then conquest of Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and
advance in Poland. Not a single German unit ever entered Russia. Russia did not
receive any LL BP (but some resource when CW really had too many).The strongest
FF ever due to really unlucky settlements DRs (North Africa went FF). Very
helpful to cover the seas. CW takes out Libya, Sardinia, Sicily in 40, invades
Italy in 42, completely conquers Italy in JF43, progress up to Milan.
D-Day JA43. Paris falls
in MA44. Overwhelming Allied force in MJ44.
Pacific: No attack vs.
China. Japan takes out (undefended) Siberia in MJ40. Attacks CW in MJ41, but
doesn't take much (invasion of Canada fails, Suez is closed for a couple of
turns). Then turns defensive after securing Philippines and NEI. USA DoW Japan
in ND41. Japan first builds (naval gearing > 7, PARA and MAR, NAV and FTR3).
Take Truk in JF42. Aggressively looks for the big battle against Japan and gets
bloody nose in JF43. Take Taiwan and Hokkaido in 43, Manila in 44. Chinese
liberate their home country in 43. Conquer Manchuria in 44.
=====================================================
After running games that
did not make it up to 1944 in 2 years time, we decided to speed up by getting
rid of a maximum of options but could not help retaining a few. We kept: OCs,
partisans, 2D10CRT, fractional odds, SiF & PiF units, CAW, TFs (not
hidden), OCR, extended range rebasing & outclassed fighters, carpet
bombing, factory destruction & construction, LOS, DSB, isolated reorg,
"Classic" DIVs, AMPH, SCS transport and the Queens. That's still more
than 20.
We got rid of all special
units (ENG, ART, GBA, SIB, SKI, Supply, FORT, TERR, FROG, CBV etc.), of PILs
and of CVPs, of all special air abilities (tank buster, twin engines etc.), of
plenty of useless stuff and, last but not least, of oil. Of course, no LoC
Vichy. And we made an exception for bounce combat, which I got converted to by
Kevin B.
House rules: Kevin's
modified Japan-USSR peace; Vichy's production handled by side with initiative.
Clock rules (64h per
side: everything on clock inc. EoT). We decided to soften the clock rules after
Axis played on a 5min/impulse penalty for 2 complete turns end of 41. Playing
one theatre in emergency mode was possible; playing both was not. New clock
rule is: penalty applies if (1) yearly time is exceeded and (2) current time is
1.5 times opponent's. Penalty time is raised from 5 to 10min/impulse. Aims: (a)
keep a good pace of play (b) make both players play at a somehow
similar pace rather than
against a pre-set limit. "Late" player can moreover buy time back
(more details if requested).
Daniel
