Sun, 18 Jun 2000
by DMAWalker@aol.com
Subject:
Game Report "The September from Hell"
This is
"The September from Hell" game from Lansing, MI.(Yes it has been a LONG time
since the last GR; this has been the Year from Hell at work, and I've had little
time for writing Game Reports.)(Any reader who would like to see earlier GRs,
please contact me off-list.)
Players
Rules Synopsis
J /A 1942 J / F
1943 M / A 1943
The Players, their Bids, and Countries:
Jim
Halstead, (+2), GERMANY
Bob Rutherford,
(+1), JAPAN / ITALY
Russ
Craft, (-2), USSR / FRANCE
/ CHINA
Don
Walker, (-1), CW / USA (along with Joe Baldwin)
Russ and I have
played WiF since Third Edition. Bob joined our group during the closing
days of the WiF5 era; Jim is our rookie, having started out with us in early
1997 when we began to play WiFFE in the "Pax Romana" game. Bob,
Russ, and I played together at both WiFCon 97 and WiFCon 98, and we reprised
that role as the Lansing
team in the Pittsburgh-Lansing Rematch game (now finished). We are also
the Capital Area team in "Michigan
in Flames". ("Toe"-Joe Baldwin is one of our honorable
opponents from West Michigan; he's sitting in
with us, helping Don play the USA/CW in order to gain WiFFE experience outside
his home group.)
Rules:
-
RAW2 (RAW3 when sensible and agreed to)
-
Optionals NOT in play are: 4, 6, 12, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 32, 38, 41, 42, 43,
45, 48, 49, 51, 63, and 64 (also 29, 57, and 67 omitted as irrelevant).
-
Optional Rules modifications:
(7)
Engineers for combat only
(16)
Original WiFDeluxe Lend Lease planes rule (have to ship a build point)
(31) Save
build points only
(40)
Chinese attack weakness affects only leg INF, GARR, and MIL
(70a)
Unlimited convoy points
(70b)
Include MiF corps/armies and divisions
(70c) Include
both Classic and SiF TRS, CONV, AMPH, and SUBs.
Synopsis:
September 1939
is an utter disaster for the Allies- Germany takes Paris, Warsaw, Copenhagen,
and Sofia; Italy turns the tables on a CW DoW and runs the British fleet right out
of the Med.; Japan DoWs the USSR, taking Vlad. (all of this leads Russ to call
the game "The September From Hell".) However, once the turn
ends, the Axis momentum slows- Vichy is declared, but Indochina goes Free,
securing the Chinese southern flank; Japanese attacks in China meet with only
moderate success and are punished by US reporters filing stories of atrocities;
with Russia active, the CW sends aid and a massive garrison appears on
Germany's eastern border; German forces in France move south, but bad weather
and distractions elsewhere prevent a DoW of Spain before spring; Italy
collapses Vichy in March.
May 1940 sees a
German DoW of Spain, but it goes poorly for the Axis- Spain is aligned with
Free France and holds out until S/O 40; Hitler is forced to cancel his planned
S/O 1940 Sealion. The Axis has more success in the Med., where they take Malta, Tunisia,
Algeria, Greece, Egypt,
Palestine, and Syria
against token resistance; IT aligns Yugoslavia,
and, in J/F 41, Gibralter falls to a German
OC. (During the
Greek campaign, Greece is
aligned to the USSR,
giving Russ CPs and a CA, but giving Jim the unilateral option of breaking the
Nazi-Soviet Pact whenever he wants. Having out-Crafted himself, Russ has
little choice but to pull his Red Army back to the Dnepr-Dvina line.)
The fall of
Gibraltar puts Sealion back on the table, but, with England sinking under the weight of
CW corps, the Axis demurs. Instead, they DoW Portugal
to secure a fine base for the Kreigsmarine in Lisbon,
align Iraq and Persia, capture Kuwait, and send a large army east
to the Pact Line. The Allies brace for Barbarossa, sending a BEF (Gort
and 2 corps) to Murmansk and increasing economic
aid to the USSR.
But Hitler decides not to come. Instead, Japan shocks the world by DoWing
the CW and Free France in September, 1941.
Fortunately for
the Allies, the "September from Hell" luck god decides to curse the
Axis this time. While the Japanese Super-Combined has its usual success
at invading everywhere, most of the surprise turn naval searches come up
empty. And the USA DoWs the Euro-Axis on the next impulse, saving the
CW's hide! Working together, the Western Allies manage to throw up enough
hasty defenses to prevent a Japanese walkover in South
Africa, Australia,
and New Zealand.
But the Axis continues to press the attack on other fronts; the Germans drive
through Morocco to finish
off Franco in Cisneros; the Italians capture Aden;
the Japanese invade India.
Even the USA's DoW of Japan in January 1942 is not enough to prevent the fall
of the Phillipines, Burma, and the Free French in Indochina; the West can only
build up land forces in Dakar and take some comfort in both the capture of
Kwajalein by US Marines and the smashing defeat dealt to the insolent
Kreigsmarine in Cape St. Vincent by a joint US/CW carrier force.
By May, Hitler
has had enough of letting Mussolini and Tojo have all the fun. With the
cry "Liebensraum" foaming on his lips, he launches Barbarossa (and
the world really DOES hold its breath!). The Duce and Mannerheim join in
the fun, but while the Wehrmacht easily overwhelms Stalin's border guards, it
runs into a temporary check just short of the Dnepr and Dvina
river barriers. However, a new turn and three Axis OCs bust the Russian
defense line at Kiev
and soon the Germans are galloping wildly into the steppes. With the
southern line broken, the northern Red Army group has no choice but to fall
back to defend Smolensk, Pskov,
Moscow, and Leningrad. By the end of October, the
Germans have taken Kiev, Kharkov,
Dneprtrovsk, Kursk, Minsk,
Stalino, Gomel, Byansk, and Rostov. The Crimea is isolated and the Caucasus looks very vulnerable.
It is now July,
1942. Initiative is +1 Axis and the Axis wins ties. The USA has aligned Central America and Brazil, but not Mexico. The Free French government
is in Senegal.
Germany has two OCs on map; Italy and Japan each have one. Japan has been accelerating CV production; the USA has built
two extra factories and
the Synth plant
and will deploy 5 Essexes, the newly-reconditioned Saratoga,
and 2 Iowas
in September. All 6 on-map US CVs are in the Atlantic; the Pacific fleet at Pearl consists of BBs
only. India
is in VERY deep trouble; what can the newly-arriving Mountbatten do? Partisan
bands continue to roam the Greek hills, and
continue to
sabotage production in Shanghai.
Russia has held, at times by
a thread (I don't know what would have happened to Red Army morale if the Finns
had taken Leningrad),
but Russ now fears the consequences of an Axis double-move, as Jim and Bob
finger their OCs.
J/A 1942
Axis
initiative, Axis goes 1st.
Reinforcements:
The CW puts
Mountbatten and the Ind. 5-3 INF in far northern Peshawar
and deploys another FTR in South
Africa.
Lending:
Impulse 1
Weather Roll: 2
(Fair everywhere but N. Monsoon Rain).
Actions: JP takes
a Combined; IT declares a Super-Air (Balbo); GE declares a Super-Land (Rommel).
JP SUBs take up
their usual blocking positions in the Cape
Basin; a JP MARDIV rides the Kako from
Truk to the Polynesia 4-box. 2 IT NAVs fly to
the Caspian, activate, but miss. Italy strat. bombs Baku with 11 factors (roll 9); 3 oil
resources are lost this turn. Balbo (in E1932) orders intensified GS missions
against Kiev and E1632; additional GE/IT
missions are flown against Kiev, Dneprtrovsk,
E1531, and E1530; the Red airforce responds to Kiev and Dneprtrovsk. There are no losses
over Kiev;
although many planes are aborted on both sides, the IT Stuka gets thru and
flips the entire hex (7-1 and 6-1 GARRs, along with a SKIDIV). Dneprtrovsk is
not bombed; IT loses a FTR and GE a LND-3 (both pilots die). In E1632, the IT
bombers flip a 7-4 wp INF and a 2-3 INFDIV; a 5-3 INF stays faceup. In E1531,
the Axis flips a 5-4 MOT and a 2
pt AA, missing a MECH. In E1530, an 8-1 GARR is flipped;
a MECH and a MOTDIV are unscathed. 2 GE units are railed to the southern front
(incl. the 7-3 INF from Gib.); an 8-4 SS MTN is railed to Gib. (joining a 6-4
MTN there). HQ-I Model moves west to relieve HQ-I Bock; HQ-A Manstein moves to
E2634. The SS schweirpunkt oozes around Kiev.
Farther east, two JP 4 movers crawl one hex forward in rainy India, while the JP MARDIV auto-invades Pago Pago. GE takes a 7-1
(+3) assault on Kiev
(automatically a */2S, killing the 6-1 GARR and the SKIDIV and sending the 7-1
GARR to the prod. circle), and attacks E1533 at 5-1 blitz, roll 2(!) (1/R),
losing an SS MECH DIV and flipping; an amazed Kiev MIL unit falls back
(flipped) to E1532, where it joins the Timoshenko HQ. The 22 pt. SS stack does not
advance, remaining in E1534. 2 IT FTRs rebase to the front; so does a GE ATR;
JP brings long-range NAVs to Truk (within post-strike distance of Kwajalein). Balbo reorgs his 6 planes; an IT ATR reorgs a
7th; Rommel, unable to revert the scheirpunkt, reorgs a Stuka! In Persia,
Badaglio reorgs the IT Strat. bombers, leaving the entire Regio Aeronautica
faceup (except one ATR).
Impulse 2
Actions: USA, CW, and Free France go Naval; USSR and China go Land.
A B-18 bomber
flies extended to the CSV 4-box; a Dauntless covers the East Coast 0-box. The US
TRS in Kwajalein carries the MAR back to Pearl
while the Dutch TRS carries a 6-4 wp INF back to Kwajalein.
The other US TRS in Pearl
sails to the West Coast 0-box, where it picks up a Devastator. The ex-Spanish
FFR TRS carries the US 8-5
wp MOT to Tenerife. US TRSs from Tenerife and Dakar are sent to the Brazilian Coast
to pick up the Brazilian INF and MOT. US TRS in Cisneros, CW TRS in Freetown, and 2 CW TRSs in Gambia move to the East Coast,
where they pick up the Can FTR, 2 US FTRs, and the NY MIL. The Queens sail home
empty from Gambia to
Liverpool, while the CW TRS in Liverpool delivers a FTR to the Cape Verde Basin 0-box. Mass movements of convoys
and escorts set up more lend-lease routes to the USSR. The USSR GS of Manstein's
HQ-A in E2634 misses. Dneprtrovsk factory is railed to Murmansk. The Red Army manuevers to wall off
the SS penetration near Kiev
and does what it can to improve the rest of the defenses. The CW FTR in Cape Verde is landed in Cisneros; the Ind. FTR
rebases north to Peshawar.
The US FTR in Cisneros rebases to Mogadar. In England,
an Anson reorgs the Queens and Alexander reorgs 8 CPs in Plymouth.
Impulse 3
Weather Roll: 6
(Fair everywhere but N.Monsoon Storm).
Actions: IT
goes Naval; GE goes Land; JP goes Combined.
An IT FROG is
intercepted in CSV and sunk, but a 2nd IT FROG slips thru, sinking the FrFR
TRS, damaging the Idaho, and aborting the New York in Tenerife
harbor. A JP TRS carries the Tokyo MIL to the Polynesia 0-box; an empty SCS
accompanies it and picks up the JP MARDIV from Pago Pago. Another SCS carries a JP INFDIV to
the Bengal 0-box. The bulk of the IT Navy
moves to the Arabian Sea with troops embarked;
2 IT SCS carry DIVs to the Azanian 4-box; an IT SUB moves to the CSV 4-box. IT
activates the Caspian Sea, but the search
misses. GE GS of E1531 misses after AA fire, but an IT GS of E1632 flips a RU
INF. An SS DIV is railed to Gibraltar. The JP
DIV lands in As1717, while the MIL lands in Pago Pago. GE manuevers but does not attack;
V.Leeb HQ to E1731; Manstein HQ to E2332. Another ATR is rebased forward. GE
then flies 2 ATRs to reorg the flipped SS schweirpunkt; the USSR
intercepts, an IT FTR responds, but the ATRs clear through and the SS unflips.
Impulse 4
Actions: USSR goes Air; CW and CH go Land; USA goes Combined,
while the FrFR pass.
US SUBs from
Brisbane to S.China and Bismark Seas (no find), from Calcutta to Bengal
(US=1,JP=9; 10 SPs for US vs. 0 and 1 boxes; surface combat sinks the Atago and
aborts the 2 CPs; US SUB aborts). The London MIL takes Petsamo; Mountbatten's
HQ moves into China,
accompanied by an Ind INF. CW and US
troops move up
the African coast; some flip due to distance and are reorg'd by Ike and the
CW's C-47. The Ind. FTR rebases to a railhead in Soviet Central Asia. Gort
reorgs the CW garrison that moved and flipped adjacent to Petsamo. The USSR
repositions his airforce and reorgs planes.
Impulse 5
Weather Roll: 8
(Same weather).
Actions: JP
goes Naval; GE goes Air; IT goes Land.
JP moves
escorts into S.China
Sea. 2 SCS carrying DIVs
try to run S.China; US SUB intercepts; one stops; one slips thru. The SCS in Polynesia returns to Truk with the MARDIV. 2 more SCS
with DIVs move into Bengal. The JP Strike
Fleet moves to the Marshalls
2-box and activates in Storm, but no find. The US
activates
S.China in Storm (US=2,JP=2; Surface combat aborts CA Nachi and a US SUB; 2nd
round US=2,JP=10; 11 SPs to US; Sub combat sinks JP CVL Chitose (w CVP) and a
CP; aborts 3 CP; 1 US SUB is sunk; 3rd round, no find). IT Strat-bombing of
another USSR
oil misses. Italian troops move into India,
sticking to the
non-stormy hexes to avoid flipping. GE rearranges his airforce for next time.
Impulse 6
Actions: USSR goes Land;
others Pass.
A GS of the SS schweirpunkt
in E1534 leads to the shooting down of an IT FTR (P lives), but nothing gets
flipped. The Kursk
factory is railed to Sverdlosk. Lines are adjusted but the turn continues.
Hitler is indisposed, so he turns over command of the Reich to Manstein. (New
game session; Jim can't play because he is recovering from surgery; Bob takes
command of all Axis forces.)
Impulse 7
Weather Roll: 8
(Same).
Actions: GE
declares a Super-Land (Manstein); JP goes Combined; IT goes Air.
JP sends a TRS
with a MAR from Batavia to Bengal (1 box); 4 CPs
to S.China Sea. After indecisive air battles, GE GS
of E1534 flips a RU CAV; IT GS of E1532 misses a RU ARTY; a joint GE(ARTY, not
2x) and IT GS of E1531 flips a RU MOT. GE rails a GARR across the strait to Rabat and air transports his PARA corps to Estonia. JP
troops disembark into Philippines
and China.
GE attacks E1534 at 5-1 (+1) blitz, roll 8=>9 (*/2B), killing a MOTDIV and a
CAV, INF shattered; GE attacks E1632 at 6-1 (+2) blitz, roll 10=>12 (*/2B),
killing an INF and INFDIV, Siberian shattered; GE attacks E1531 @ 5-1 (+2)
blitz, roll 8=>10 (*/2B), killing a MECH and MOT, AA shattered. GE rebases 2
planes from the static Northern front to the South, where the crack in the
Soviet lines is starting to widen. JP rebases two more planes to India and one to Manchuria.
Manstein reorgs two planes. The Turn does not End.
Impulse 8
Noting the
Russian debacle, Churchill and Franklin ask Stalin if he wants them to open up
a second front (or should they just continue to Pass like weenies?). Stalin
consents to the Allied operation.
Actions: CW and
USA go Combined; USSR and CH go
Land; FrFR goes Naval.
The US Atlantic
Fleet (4 Yorktown-class CVs and escorting CAs) leaves Dakar
with a US MARDIV embarked on Pensacola.
IT SUB in CSV misses its intecept roll, and the TF continues on to Biscay
(3-box). There it is joined by 2 CW CAs and the QE/QM, with the CW MAR
embarked. A FrFR CP goes to the Biscay 0-box. Meanwhile, Force H (with two
embarked DIVs) goes to CSV (2-box), joined there by US CVs Ranger and Wasp. A
US TRS from San Francisco moves empty to the Caribbean 0-box. IT declines to activate CSV. The CW
strat-bombs Paris, Brussels,
and Metz,
missing all three. The Ind FTR is railed to Murmansk;
the Chicago MIL is railed to New York; the Kharkov factory is railed
to Perm. The Atlanta MIL flips into Washington,
while the CW GARR flips into Petsamo and an Ind TERR in Patna
flips into Benares. US MOTDIV takes two
coastal hexes adjacent to Mogadar; US INFDIV moves into Dakar while the US ARMDIV enters Af2533. The
CW MAR corps auto-invades Vigo
while the US MARDIV auto-invades Ferrol (Don explains to Bob that his Yugo HQ 3
hexes away cannot supply GE notionals on the N.Spanish coast). The Red Army
takes two attacks- a desperation attempt to try to stem the German tide by
attacking the SS ARM alone in E1634 (3-2 blitz, roll 1, 2/-) and a spoiling
attack in the north against the GE MAR in E2445 (3-1 blitz, 1/-). RU loses INF,
MECH, and ARTY and flips. The CW rebases a FTR-3 to Tenerife and a Wellsley to Dover. The Turn
Continues.
Impulse 9
Weather Roll: 7
(Same weather).
Actions: IT
goes Combined; others go Land.
1 IT and 2 GE
FTRs to Biscay (2-box). IT activates; Axis brings in 3 GE and 2 IT NAVs (to
2-box); 3 CW FTRs react to 0-box; search rolls are IT=1,US=1; 1 SP to
US. In a2a, 1 US CVP is shot down (P dies); 35 ackack vs. 5 planes (1/2), roll
of 9,2 aborts 1 NAV and 4 a2s do not press for a result of XDD vs. 16 ships; X
on QE/QM is saved (damaged); Ds on San Francisco and Yorktown are not (both
damaged); the Allies abort out of combat, with the US fleet returning to
Washington and the CW ships returning to Liverpool. GE ARTY GS E2340 misses.
Model's HQ is railed to W2422, along with a GE INF; IT MIL rails to Salonika. IT INF moves next to Vigo; Yugo MTN approaches Ferrol. JP pursues
the retreating Ind. TERR and rearranges in China. GE attacks E1535 at 4-1 (+2)
blitz, roll 7=>9 (*/1B), killing a CAV and shattering a MOT; GE attacks
E1532 at 4-1 (+2) blitz, roll 10=>12 (*/2B), killing Timishenko's HQ and the
Kiev MIL; breakthru overruns a fd FTR. The leak in the Soviet dike is becoming
a torrent. The Turn does not End.
Impulse 10
Actions: USSR goes Land;
others Pass.
The Red Army
makes desperation repairs, sending Zhukov to E1437. (Quote from Pravda-
"There are no Germans behind our lines; the Red Army is behind THEIR
lines!") Russ prays for a "5" or less, but the Turn End Roll is
a "6".
Impulse 11
Weather Roll: 1
(Fair everywhere) giving JP a dilemma; should he push in suddenly clear India or go Air
and take port strikes?
Actions: JP
goes Air; others go Land.
JP port attacks
Kwajalein with 2 NAVs and Pearl Harbor with 7
CVPs. At Kwajalein, rolls are JP=7, CW=4 giving
2 SPs to CW (not enough!); results vs. the Dutch TRS are DDA after the shift;
both Ds fail to save; the TRS is sunk. At Pearl, JP=4, US=3 giving 2 SPs to US
(again not enough!); 19 ackack vs. 7 planes (-2/5), rolls of 1,5,6,6,9 give 6
total, shooting down 1 CVP (P dies) and 1 a2s does not press; final a2s total
is 24 vs. 7 ships shifted down to XXDDAAA; X sinks the TRS, X sinks Arkansas,
Ds on California and Arizona are saved, Tennessee takes 2As and is aborted, New
Mexico saves the last A. (Bob's decison is validated; he wanted the TRSs and
got them.) JP GS vs. As 2027 flips a TERR, vs. Bombay flips an Ind. 4-3 INF. GE GS of E1433
fails. Bock's HQ rails to Kiev, from which a GE
MOT rails to Madrid.
GE overruns the flipped Stalino MIL in E1434 and kills a flipped FTR in E1530.
IT MTNDIV auto-invades As3014 (S.Comoros Isl.); IT INFDIV auto-invades As2814
(Forquar Isl.). IT attacks Bombay
at 5-1 (+1) assault, roll 8=>9 (*/2S), killing the INF and the Bombay MIL.
GE takes auto-blitzes vs. E1635, E1543, and E1433, killing RU INF, MOT, MECH,
and CAV. He completes the rout by attacking E1431 at 4-1 (+1) blitz, roll
10=>11 (*/2B), killing Vatutin's HQ, INF, and FTR. There are no Red Army
troops left between Zhukov and the remainder of the original Southern front
from Dneprtrovsk to the Black Sea (Pravda
quote- "The Situation has Stabilized"). GE FTRs and the BV-222 rebase
forward into the Ukraine; GE
NAV flies from Reunion to Jibuti. Once again,
Turn Continues (roll 6).
Impulse 12
All Pass. The
Turn Ends (No Shift, Init. is +1 Axis).
Aftermath
PART roll is 6,
and Greece
gets a third PART (a 2-2) which joins its brethren on the resource hex;
Japanese-conquered
Siberia gets a PART (3-2) in Khabrovsk (China fails to get another).
The USSR places an offensive garrison chit vs. Japan; Japan places a "2"
defensively.
CW TRSs RTB in
Liverpool with Wash. MIL and 2 US FTRs; Force H (w 2 DIVs) and an empty CW TRS
RTB in Plymouth. US TRSs RTB to Washington
(empty) and Panama (w NAV);
Ranger, Wasp, a CA, and a TRS (carrying Can FTR) RTB in Pembroke, UK.
IT Fleet returns to Bombay.
Production
|
USSR
|
|
4 MIL (8)
2 GARR (4)
1 CAV (2)
2 MECH (10)
2 FTR-2 (4)
2 pilots (4)
Debt** (2)
|
|
China
|
|
|
|
Free France
|
|
|
|
CW
|
|
1 INF (3)
1 PARA Div (3)
1 FTR-2 (2)
3 CVP-1 (3)
2 pilots (4)
QE/QM repair (2)
1 TRS-2 down (2)
Formidible up (2)
Shropshire repair (0)
Australia repair (0)
2 SUB-1 down (2) (2 DDs used, 5
remain)
|
|
|
|
2 HQ-I (Clark, Macarthur) (10)
3
PARA (15)
2
ATR-3 (6)
1
CVP-1 (1)
Yorktown repair (2)
5 SCS-1 down (5)
1 SUB-1 down (1)
1 SUB-2 up (2)
Save (1)
|
|
Italy
|
|
2 MIL (4)
1 LND-3 (3)
1 CVP-1 (1)
2 pilots (4)
Roma up (3)
1 CV-2 accel down (3)
2 SUB-1 down (2)
|
|
|
|
1
GARR (2)
1
INF (3)
1
ENG Div (3)
1 ARTY (4)
1 CVP-1 (1)
1 NAV-3 accel (4)
1 pilot (2)
1 CP (1)
1 CV-1 down (1)
1 SCS-1 down (1)
1 SCS-2 down (2)
|
|
Germany
|
|
2 MIL (4)
1 MOT (4)
1
MECH (5)
2
FTR-3 (6)
1
LND-2 (2)
1
LND-4 (4)
2 pilots (4)
1 OC (15)
|
Notes: (*) CH
had 1 more bp in M/J. (**) Apparently Russ had overbuilt w USSR in 1939.
He and Bob worked this out; your reporter knows nothing.
Germany conquers Estonia (Latvia
and Lithuania were conquered
last turn); Italy has taken Bombay and Germany
has taken Kiev.
This was one
ugly turn for the Allies! (For pictorial evidence, see Tom Cleaveland's web
page. Tom has graciously agreed to post the pictures of the game that Bob has
been taking with his new electronic camera.)
Anyone who has
played against Bob recently and thinks he only rolls poorly should review his
die rolls for this turn (Kevin, you might want to show this to David).
Bob is still
concerned over how to take Calcutta,
which is defended by a 5 pt.
MOT, a 5 pt. GARR, and a 1 pt. DIV. He e-mailed Michael
Panzer for advice. Michael's response- "Roll a 10!" Somehow, given
current trends, I'm not too confident about holding Calcutta!
The Axis also
uses the summer of '42 to grab both the Netherlands
and the NEI, Bombay and Calcutta,
just about every island in the Indian Ocean, and all of Madagascar
except Diego Suarez (stubbornly held by a wp SAfr. MOT). The CW evacuates
what it can from India by
marching/flying out over the Himalayas.
The USSR forces peace with Japan but is still obligated to defend a 2nd
front against GE/IT forces coming north out of Persia. Meanwhile, the USA counterattacks in West Africa, CW forces
near Murmansk enter Finland,
and, in a series of swift combined operations, CW and US Marines grab toeholds
in Galicia and Andalusia. Axis naval airpower massed near Lisbon proves ineffective
in driving off the invaders, so OKW is forced to recall two HQs (Model and
Balbo), an Army Group, and some Luftwaffe assets back to the West. The US
Navy surprisingly deploys TF-58
in the Atlantic to support the Spanish operations, but,
as October draws to an end, 9 US CVs, 2 BBs, and 7 CAs rebase to Capetown,
South Africa, from which they can instantly create a confrontation zone in the
western Indian Ocean, where Italian forces have been drawing a noose tightly
about besieged Diego Suarez. November storms provide cover for the CW to
slip a wp GARR into Diego; the remainder of 1942 passes quickly in bad weather.
It is now January,
1943. Initiative modifier is 0; the Allies win ties. The USA has aligned Central America and Brazil, but not Mexico. The Free French
government is in Senegal.
Germany and Japan have OCs on the map; Germany and Italy have one apiece on the circle.
Japan has been accelerating
CV production; the USA
has built two extra factories and the Synth plant. Partisan bands
continue to roam the Greek hills. And, with a +2 again carrying over on
the weather roll, the forecast has gone from BAD to WORSE.
J/F 1943
Lending:
USA lends 5
res, 5 bp to CW, 1 bp to Free France; Free France lends 1 res to CW; CW lends 1
res, 2 bp to the USSR; GE lends 3 res, 2 bp to IT.
The Axis
wins the first initiative roll; the Allies demand a reroll (Russ fears the
double move); the Axis wins the Reroll and goes 1st (back to Axis +1).
Impulse
1. Weather Roll 1=>3 (BIG THAW! Storm in Arctic,
Rain in N.Temp and S.Mon.). IT and JP take a Combined; GE takes a
Land.
1 IT and 2 GE
FTRs to CSV 2-box; JP NAV to Marshalls
4-box. IT Home fleet (which is rather small actually, but it includes a
CV!) goes to the W.Med. 3-box. The mongo JP fleet from Truk goes to the Marianas 3 box, with its embarked troops. The Marshalls sea zone is
activated; search misses the US CP there. IT activates CSV; the Axis
flies in GE/IT NAVs to the 2-box; the Allies react in 5 FTRs to the 0-box and a
22 range Catalina to the 4-box. In fair weather, US=5, IT=6; US has 5 SPs
and avoids combat. An IT GS of W2513 misses, but GE ARTY hits the same
hex, flipping a wp CW INF. JP CVPs manage to flip the wp US INF in Kwajalein. A GE GS of Stavropol fails. JP
invades Kwajalein, with MAR-assist from Enowetok; odds with the notional are
3-1 (+2); assault is chosen; roll 2=>4 (2/1); JP loses MARDIV and MOTDIV and
flips but US loses INF and Kwajalein. GE
assaults Stavropol at modified 5-1, roll 1
(2/1); GE loses a ARTY and the SS ARMDIV; GE flips; USSR loses a GARR. GE/IT
attack W2513, leading to bloody day/night air battles; in the day battle the US loses a Bolo (P lives), CW loses a Hampton (P lives), IT
loses a FTR (P dies) and a CVP (P lives); at night, GE loses a FTR (P dies),
while a CW Blenheim clears through. Final attack is a 4-1 (+1) blitz;
roll 9 (*/2B); CW and US each lose an INF; Axis reclaims the hex next to
Gibralter. The Allied beachhead in Andalusia has been reduced to a
toehold at Cadiz.
Impulse
2. China
(?!) DoWs Tibet.
No one bothers to defend it, so it surrenders. Fr FR goes Naval; everyone
else goes Land. CW puts its NAV back in the Faroes 4-box; Fr FR navy
escorts where it can. CW/US land forces swarm NE through Morocco; Russian reinforcements move south; CH
GARR enters Tibet
from Sinkiang (shortest route to follow on the long march back to the front);
the Indian evacuation resumes. CW/US forces auto-kill the IT TERR in
W2708. 2 more Allied FTRs rebase south from Galicia
to Cadiz; Lord
Louis reorgs the evacuees.
Impulse
3. Weather Roll 4* (A little bit colder- Snow in Arctic,
Storm in N.Temp, Rain in S.Mon.). JP and IT go Air; GE goes Land.
JP NAV to the Marshalls
0-box; activates and kills the US CP there. IT activates CSV; US/CW react
more FTRs to 0-box; US=2, IT=4 gives the US modified 5-box 4 SPs vs. the IT
modified 3-box; avoid combat. IT GS of Diego Suarez flips one of two
units. IT strategic bombing of Moscow
(7 factors, roll 6) kills 1 PP. GE auto kills the Minsk MIL, which has
been hiding in the Pripets. More IT FTRs and LNDs rebase to Spain.
Impulse
4. US goes Naval; CW,
USSR, and CH go
Land; Fr FR Passes. 2 US FTRs execute RTB missions from CSV, ending up
stacked on the Eisenhower HQ. The US Navy struggles to cover the convoy
lines; US SUBs put to sea around the world. 2 US AMPHs from New York
carry the MacArthur HQ and the Chicago MIL to the East Coast 0-box; 2 US TRSs
from Washington carry the Clark HQ and the Atlanta MIL to Dakar; 2 US TRSs from
Washington carry ARTY and SPG units to Cisneros; 3 other US TRSs move to CVB
0-box to do reorgs. US
SUB activations- China Sea in Storm (no Find); Bismark Sea
in Fine (a JP NAV reacts to 0-box): US=1, JP=8, JP CP sunk; W.Indian in Rain
(JP NAVs react to 0-box and 3-box), US SUBs down periscopes. The CW
Indian evacuees continue their trek north with the lead unit approaching Alma
Alta. CW forces move south in Finland, reaching the northern end
of the Lap railroad. Trailing CW forces move forward in Morocco.
The CW's C-47 unit is ordered to fly a night reorg mission to Diego Suarez; the
lightly armed air transports are intercepted by a crack JP Zero FTR unit, but
they are cleared through and their gunners respond by rolling a "20"
(FTR shot down, P dies)! The flipped unit is reorged in Diego; Ike reorgs
the two FTRs that RTB'd to him; 3 TRSs in CVB reorg 2 TRSs in Dakar and 1 TRS in Cisneros.
Impulse
5. Weather roll 2=>3 (Warmer again). JP goes Naval; GE goes
Land; IT goes Combined. JP Strike fleet and the IT fleet from Aden roundevous in the
W.Indian 3-box. JP restores CP supply lines and returns a TRS from Rabaul
to the Home Islands to pick up reinforcements.
IT activates CSV; IT=8, US=4;
US avoids combat. US flies its 2 faceup FTRs as day/night CAP over Cadiz; IT sends in a day
GS that clears through and flips one unit. A JP GS of Diego Suarez with 2
CVPs misses. The GE advance in the Ukraine is slowed by the mud.
GE kills a RU SKIDIV behind the lines in the Baltics. Bob mulls it over
and declines to take the available low-odds shot at Cadiz while it stays in supply.
Instead, he rebases 2 Piaggios from the Ukraine
to Spain.
Impulse
6. Fr FR goes Naval; US and CW go Combined; USSR and CH go Land. A US TRS
takes Clark's HQ from Dakar
to Capetown. The CA Chicago goes to the Mozambique Channel 4-box; TF58
then runs the SUB blockade there (interception roll fails) and ends up in the Azanian Sea 4-box. The CW does 2 escorting
moves. The US
activates the Azanian; JP declines to react in NAVs w/o FTR cover; TF58 kills
the lone JP CP in the sea area. An Indian FTR is railed from Alma Alta to
Murmansk.
In Morocco, the Allies come
up to Casablanca
and take a net 5-1 assault; roll 8 (*/2S); a GE GARR dies and Ric's American
Cafe reopens. 2 US ATRs rebase across the Atlantic; one goes to
Southampton, where it mates up with the British airborne corps; the other to Tenerife. The Turn Ends; no shift (Axis +1 box).
Aftermath.
PART roll is 3; Belgium, France, Indochina, and the USSR all fail
to get a PART. The USSR
and Japan
place chits (no record of face up or down). Almost everything but CPs and
their escorts RTB (except one GE in CSV 1-box); Japan's
fleets are concentrated in Manila and Truk; most
of the Italian fleet is in Aden with SUBs in
Gibralter; GE fleet and SUBs continue to use Lisbon; TF-58, with 3 more CVs, is at
Capetown. The CW TRS in Diego Suarez remains flipped.
Production:
USSR
(15+2) 5 INF (15), 1 FTR-2 (2)
CHINA
(4) 1
MECHDIV (3), Save (1)
F.FRANCE
(1+1) Save (2)
CW
(29+5-2) 1 HQ-I (Crerar) (5), 3
FTR-3 (9), 4 pilots (8), 1 CV-2 down (2), 2 AMPH-3 down (6), 2 SUB-1 down
(2) <3 DDs remain>
USA
(57-6+1) 1 MAR (5), 4 CVP-1 (4), 3 pilots
(6), 7 CV-2 down (14), 2 AMPH-3 down (6), 2 SUB-1 down (2), OC (15)
ITALY
(21+2) 1 MIL (2), 1 TERR (2), 1 GARR
(2), 1 MECH (5), 2 FTR-2 (4), 1 CVP-1 (1), 1 pilot (2), Leonardo da Vinci up
(3), 1 SUB-2 up (2)
JAPAN
(32) 1 MARDIV (3),
1 GARR (2), 1 NAV-3 (3), 1 CVP-1 (1), 1 pilot (2), CV Karyu up (5), 1 CP (1),
OC (15)
GERMANY (51-2) 1
GARR (2), 1 INF (3), 1 MOT (4), 3 MECH (15), 1 SPG (6), 1 FTR-2 (2), 1 FTR-3
(3), 1 LND-3 (3), 1 LND-4 (4), 3 pilots (6), 1
SUB-1 down (1)
Japan has evil
intentions toward Hawaii, but the USA is oblivious (Bob is in a state of panic
that I will take note of the long-running "Pearl Harbor" discussion
on the WiFList; he is emailing Kevin off-list trying to get him to have Mr.
Monsour be quiet before he spills all of Bob's plans to me; this is all
unnecessary, as I am not paying any attention to the List- it's Year-End in
real life, and all I am thinking about is insurance company Annual Statements).
Stalin grumbles
about only getting a paltry 2 BPs of lend lease when Archangel
was open; Churchill tells him to get better weather forecasters.
Meanwhile, the CW C-47 crews hoist their cold ones in the only pub in Blantyre, Nyasaland-
shooting down a Japanese ZERO; it was GLORIOUS!
M/A 1943
Reinforcements:
4 CW SUBs appear in Plymouth, 3 US PARAs in Washington, CW PARADIV in Southampton.
Lending:
(Stalin literally begs for lend-lease. Unfortunately, Il Duce doesn't
have his camera in hand, so the WiFList can only imagine the scene of the
Crafty One on his knees in supplication.) USA
lends 5 res to CW, 4 bp to the USSR,
1 bp to Free France; Free France lends 1 res to CW; CW lends 1 res, 1 bp to the
USSR, 1 bp to the USA; GE lends 3
res, 2 bp to IT. The Axis wins the first initiative roll and
Bob DEMANDS that they go 1st.
Impulse
1. Weather Roll 5 (Storms in Arctic and N.Temp.,
Rain in Med. and S.Mon.; Fair in N.Mon. and S.Temp.). THE AXIS GOES
NAVAL!!! 2 FTRs (1 each from IT/GE) fly to the CSV 2-box. The Rum
DD-flot covers the Black Sea from the 4-box;
the Rum CP goes to the 0-box. The GE Home fleet (2 CV, 1 BB, 1 CB, 2 CA,
loaded AMPH) moves to the Baltic 3-box; Bs cover the 2 and 1 boxes. The
GE Atlantic fleet (1 BB, 2 BC, 1 CB, 2 CA) heads for the
N.Atlantic
3-box. 6 GE SUBs go to the Faroes Gap 3-box; 2 GE SUBs go to Biscay
3-box; GE SUB goes to Mozam.Chan. 2-box. GE TRS goes to W.Med. 0-box,
picking up an IT GARR. 2 IT SUBs move to Cent.Atlantic 3-box; 3 IT SUBs
spread over CSV (4-, 3-, and 2-boxes). IT TRS from India moves to
E.Med. 0-box with an IT INF embarked. 1 IT CP moves into the
Azanian. (Main bodies of IT fleet remain in LaSpezia and Aden.) A JP CA port-to-ports an INFDIV
to Kwajalein. 2 JP CAs to Marshalls 3-box, picking
up the INFDIV and a MARDIV. Combined Fleet (6 CV, 7 BB) to Marshalls 3-box,
escorting 2 TRS (w MARs) and an AMPH (w 7-3 INF). Strike Fleet (7 CV, 4
CA) to XMAS 2-box; Advance Fleet (3 CV, BB, 3 CA) forms up in Hawaiian
2-box. 2 JP CA go to Clarion 3-box, 2 JP CA to Mendacino 3-box. 3
JP SUBs move into Mozam.Channel, 2 to the 2-box, 1 to the 3-box. (JP has
2 CV, 6 BB, and CA left in Truk.) GE activates N.Atlantic, where the Fr.
FR have escort duty; search rolls are GE=4, FR=2; FR gets 2 SPs; GE vs. FR: X
on Tourville (sunk); FR vs. GE: D on Hipper (damaged), A on Hipper (aborts), A
on Blucher (saves), A on Gneisenau (saves); 2nd round- No Find. IT
activates Cent.Atlantic; No Find. JP
activates
Clarion; JP=2; CW CP sunk. JP activates Mendacino; JP=1; CW CP
sunk. JP activates Hawaiian; JP=1; CW CP sunk. JP activates XMAS;
JP=3; US CP sunk. GE activates CSV; Axis reacts in 2 IT and 3 GE NAVs to
2-box; Allies react in 1 US
NAV to 4-box, 3 CW and 1 US FTRs to 0-box; SUBs commit; NO FIND. GE
activates Biscay; GE=1; 1 CW CP sunk. GE activates Faroes Gap where
Sheffield is escorting; GE=2, CW=2; GE vs. CW: X on Sheffield
(sunk); CW vs. GE: D on SUB (saves/aborts); 2nd round, No Find. Hawaii is o.o.s. but the
main CP line has come through intact (so far). A JP Betty rebases to
Kwajalein and an Emily returns to Tokyo; a GE
FTR rebases to AG South in the Ukraine;
another IT FTR rebases to Spain.
(Bob and Jim repair to the kitchen for snacks while Don plans his Allied
Naval.)
Impulse
2. CW, US,
and FrFR go naval; USSR
goes Combined; CH goes Land. The CW, US and FrFR move to escort the
convoys, with occasional interception attempts by the GE SUBs in Biscay and the
Faroes. Assured by Jim that the entire GE navy has been committed, Don
has an unescorted US TRS carry a PARA into the Denmark
Strait. 3 4-range US TRSs sail from Tenerife
and Cisneros, avoiding the Cent.Atlantic and ending up in the East Coast 0-box,
where they pick up 2 more PARAs and an ARTY. The US TRS in Capetown sails
to the CVB 0-box; another from Dakar carries an
INFDIV to Tenerife. The US TRS in Panama carries
the TBD NAV to CSV (0-box). The CW TRS in Murmansk is slammed empty into Scapa.
The CW SUB force in Plymouth
deploys to both the W.Med. and the E.Med (2 SUBs to each, one apiece to 0- and
2-boxes), where there are naked Axis loaded TRSs and CPs. CW/US CPs from New Zealand and the West Coast ports attempt to
reestablish supply to Hawaii
using multiple routes; 2 US SUBs take up positions in high boxes of Clarion and
Mendacino. Other US SUBs spread out into the Red, Arabian, and China Seas.
There are 5 US BBs in Pearl;
they sortie individually through Hawaiian Isl. sea zone; JP successfully
intercepts all 5 (they stop in the 0-box). TF58 divides itself into 4
groups; TF 11 (Ranger, Wasp, and 2 CA) goes to Mozam.Chan. 4-box; a single CA
goes to the Red Sea 2-box (Axis SUBs in Mozam.Chan. decline to intercept), TF
16 (Lexington, Saratoga, Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown, New Jersey, and 3 CA)
runs the SUBs (intercept roll misses) to the Azanian 4-box; TF 17 (Essex,
Intrepid, Bunker Hill, Lex II, York II, Iowa, and 3 CA) is intercepted (GE=3)
and elects to fight through from the 0-box; US=9 gives the JP SUB in the 3-box
9 SPs; he picks Surface for 4 SPs and uses 3 SPs to pick the York II; JP vs.
US: D vs. York II (damaged), D vs. Minneapolis (damaged); US vs. JP: D vs. SUB
(saves/aborts); US elects to fight another round; GE=1, US=9 gives the Axis 10
SPs; they pick surface again and target Intrepid and Essex; GE/JP vs. US: D on
Intrepid (saves/aborts to Capetown), D on Essex (damaged); US vs. GE/JP: X on
GE SUB (sunk), A on JP SUB (aborts), 1 JP SUB is left; US elects to fight
again; No Find; a shrunken TF 17 joins TF 16 in the Azanian (the original intent was to
send TF 17 to the Arabian Sea, but losses left it too weak for that mission, so
it rejoins TF 16). Russian SUBs sortie into the Baltic. CW activates
E.Med.; No Find. CW activates W.Med.; GE FTR-3 reacts to 0-box, IT LND-3
to 2-box; CW=1, IT=5 gives the CW 7 SPs vs. the 0-box; CW picks Surface and
picks the TRS for a target; CW vs. GE/IT: D on the loaded TRS (saves/aborts to
Oran), A on CP (aborts); 2nd round; CW=1, IT=4; last IT CP is sunk; with only
air left, SUBs down periscopes. US activates Red Sea;
No Find. US activates Azanian; No Find. US activates Arabian; JP
NAV reacts to 0-box; No Find. US activates China Sea;
No Find. USSR
activates Baltic; RU=1, GE=3; Sub combat vs. GE CPs sinks 2 and aborts 2; 2nd
round; No Find. GE activates Faroes; GE=2, CW=3 gives no net SPs for CW
4-box vs. GE 3-box; CW vs. GE: D on SUB (damaged), D on damaged SUB (sunk), AAA
on 3 SUBs (all abort); GE vs. CW: X on Java (saves/damaged), A on Java
(aborts), AA on York and Cornwall (both abort); 2nd round; GE=2, CW=6 gives GE
SUB 7 SPs vs. the 0-box in Sub Combat; Allies vs. GE: X on the only SUB (sunk);
GE vs. Allies: XD sinks 3 RU CPs, A aborts 1 CW CP. GE activates
N.Atlantic; No Find. JP activates Marshalls;
No Find. A US CVP from TF 58 GS the Farquar Islands,
but misses all 4 units there (I needed 2s). The TBD rebases to Tenerife. The CW C-47 flies back to Diego Suarez
and reorgs. the TRS there. Clark's HQ reorgs the Intrepid; Wavell's HQ
reorgs the ATR; US TRS in CVB reorgs the TRS in Tenerife.
Impulse
3. Weather Roll 6 (Storm in Arctic, Rain
in N.Temp. and S.Mon., Fair otherwise). JP and IT go Combined; GE goes
Land. Another IT FTR flies to the CSV 2-box. IT TRS and AMPH from Seychelles to
W.Ind. 2-box. JP CV, 2 BB to Solomons; US SUB misses intercept; the JP
ships continue on to the Polynesia
2-box. A JP CA moves to the Bering Sea
3-box. JP activates the Hawaiian Islands sea zone (where 5 US BBs and a
CP skulk in the 0-box); JP=1, US=10; JP has 13 SPs and goes Naval Air; SPs
prevent any effective ackack; JP has DDAAA vs. the US ships: D sinks the CP, D
vs. Arizona (saves/aborts to Pearl); A vs. California (saves), A vs. Tennesee
(saves), A vs California (aborts to Pearl); the remaining 3 BBs run to Seattle
(no one sees the native war canoe from Kauai that carries Adm. Nimitz to the
Tennessee before it leaves). JP activates Marshalls;
JP=5 finds/sinks the CW CP there, leaving Hawaii o.o.s. again. IT activates CSV;
IT=2, US=6; IT has enough SPs to pick SUB combat and sink the elusive FrFR CP,
putting Cadiz and Morocco o.o.s.; 2nd round, no find. The USA declares that Eisenhower's HQ will provide
emergency HQ supply to 4 planes and he sends 2 FTRs to fly day/night CAP over Cadiz. GE/IT
bombers get through anyway, but miss the GS. JP GS of Honolulu (4 CVPs) flips all 3 units (AA, wp
GARR, wp MAR). (US
actuaries at the Pentagon decline to calculate the odds of success for Bob's
die rolls- he made them, so he will be able to profit by them!) GE/IT GS
of Stavropol misses. IT ARM moves to As2912 Madagascar); the GE INF in
the Baltic lands in Finland
at Vaasa.
GE attacks mountain hex E0926; the Soviets fly a night mission, but it is shot
down; final attack is a 7-1 assault; roll 4 (*/2S); RU loses an INF and a
MIL. Finally, JP invades Honolulu with his MARs at 3-1 (+4) assault; roll
6=>10 (*/2S); all 3 US units are destroyed and 2 BBs are overrun; California
is scuttled, but Arizona escapes to the Hawaiian Isl. sea zone, where she is
intercepted (JP=2,US=3; JP has 5 SPs and gets a D result
on her; she
saves/aborts to Midway. IT TRS/AMPH in W.Indian are used to reorg the IT
ARM in As2912.
Impulse
4. FrFR goes Naval; CW and USA
go Combined; USSR
and CH go Land. The newly-reorged CW TRS at Diego Suarez (o.o.s.) escapes
to the Cape Basin 0-box; a CW TRS from Plymouth goes to the Biscay 0-box,
picking up the Chicago MIL from a Welsh port; the FrFR BB Provence joins it
there, picking up the US MARDIV from Vigo; all of these moves are possible
without Axis interference because all of the SUBs that could have intercepted
are flipped. Another FrFR CP is stuck into CSV; US CPs RTB from Bering Sea, Mendacino, and Clarion. USA activates Red Sea,
No Find; CW activates E.Med., No Find; US activates Azanian, IT CP is
sunk. GE activates CSV; GE=2, US=4 (US 5-box vs. Axis 1,2,3,4 boxes, Axis
has 1 SP); after 1 inconclusive a2a round, the US NAV aborts back to the sea
box; 2nd round: GE=5, US=6 (IT SUB in 4-box vs. CP and FTRs in 0-box, IT has 5
SPs and choses Surface, aborting the FrFR CP to Casablanca and once again
putting the Allies o.o.s.; 3rd round: SUBs do not commit, GE=9, US=2; US avoids
combat. 2 US CVPs GS Farquar Islands but
miss all 4 Axis units there. 2 Indians move north in the Himalayas (and
flip); Gort moves 1 more hex south in Finland and flips. The
Russians readjust their lines. The US
rails MacArthur's HQ from Wales
to Hull; the Chicago MIL lands in Vigo; the US MARDIV lands in Plymouth; the Washington MIL vacates
Capetown. US and CW rebase miscellaneous planes.
Impulse
5. Weather roll 9 (Much drier- Rain in Arctic,
Clear elsewhere).
GE and JP go
Land; IT goes Combined. An IT TRS port-to-ports an IT INF from India to Madagascar (Tamatave). An IT
ARTY GS misses Diego Suarez; 2 GE planes GS Cadiz, flipping 1 unit; a night GE
GS against E0629 misses; 2 IT planes' night GS against E0727 misses. IT
HQ Cavallero rails from Russia
to W2422, taking over responsibility for watching the Galician incursion.
IT INF (in Tamatave) and ARM (in As2912) change places in Madagascar (Bob
is going to pull out his ARM while he still can?). JP autoblitzes the
Siberian PART. GE/IT attack Cadiz
at 4-1 (+1) blitz; roll 4=>5 (-/1R); US and CW MOTs die, ending the
Andalusian threat. GE attacks E2043 with a paradrop at 5-1 (+2) blitz;
roll 10=>12 (*/2B); RU loses a Siberian INF and the Yeremenko HQ.
The Turn Ends; shift 1
to Allies (0 box).
Aftermath.
PART roll is 6; no new Greeks, no Finn, no Siberians or Russians. The USSR places his
chit (at least I think he did; no record of face up or down). GE SUBs
remain in Biscay; some GE ships stay in the Baltic, but all the rest of the
Axis naval forces RTB (including everything in CSV). Seeing a clear path
for once, a US TRS with an ARTY RTBs to Casablanca; a CW TRS RTBs to Mogadar; a
US TRS RTBs to Cisneros; 3 US TRSs with PARAs RTB in Scotland (causing much
talk on the Axis side); the US (+10) NSU RTBs to Capetown. As Production
begins, the Indian PARA forms up in Southampton
from the CW PARADIV and a MOTDIV.
Production:
USSR
(17+5) 3 INF (9), 1 GARR (2), 1 CAV
(2), 1 PARADIV (3), 1 FTR-2 (2), 1 LND-2 (2), 1 pilot (2)
CHINA
(4+1) 1 MECH (5)
F.FRANCE
(2+1) 1 TRS-3 up (3)
CW
(29-2)
2 INF (6), 3 FTR-3 (9), 4 pilots (8), Implacable up (2), Anson up (2)
<1 DD used, 3 DDs remain>
USA
(57-5+1) 1 MAR (5), 1 MOT (4), 4 FTR-3
(12), 4 pilots (8), Indiana
up (4), S.Dakota up (4), 1 TRS-4 up (4), 2 AMPH-3 up (6), 1 CV-1 down (1), 2
TRS-2 down (4), 1 SUB-1
up (1)
ITALY
(21+2) 1 INF (3), 1 TERR (2), 1
MECHDIV (3), 2 FTR-2 (4), 2 CVP-1 (2), 2 pilots (4), 1 SCS-1 down (1), 1 TRS-2
down (2), 1 SUB-2 up (2)
JAPAN
(32) 1 ARM (6), 1 INF (3),
1 INF accel (4), 1 MAR (5), 1 NAV-2 (2), 2 CVP-1 (2), 2 pilots (4), 1 SCS-2
down (2), 1 TRS-2 down (2), 1 CP
(1), 1 SUB-1 down (1)
GERMANY (51-2) 3
MECH (15), 1 MTN (4), 1 MTNDIV (2), 1 GARR (2), 1 SKIDIV (2), 5 FTR-2 (10), 1
NAV-3 (3), 4 pilots (8), 1 SUB-1 up (1), 1
SUB-2 up
(2)
A great turn
for Japan;
the Emperor rolled like the god he is supposed to be!
But give credit also to
Bob's excellent planning of his Hawaiian operations.
The original US production
plan was to accelerate a bunch of CVs this turn, but Russ managed to persuade
me to forgo the possibility of seeing Midways this game (see the archives of
the "From the Bridge of the Yamato" thread for further background,
including the details of Admiral King's resignation as CNO).
Amazingly, India has not fallen yet (Delhi, the only requirement left, is defended
by a weak Indian INF and the 4-2 Indian TERR). I've managed to save the
jewels of the Indian force pool- the HQ-I, the PARA,
the 2 good FTRs, a MOT, and the two best remaining INF. Whether they can
be of help elsewhere remains to be seen. (Stalin has this strange idea
that they should be used to form a front in the USSR.)
It's beginning
to look like Bob is giving up on Diego Suarez.
My campaign in Spain and
Morroco has certainly touched a nerve; Bob persuaded Jim to send massive
reinforcements west. Hopefully, that will help Russia,
who is being
hard-pressed by two Axis Army Groups (North and South), the Luftwaffe, and the
Aerio Regio.
The Axis is set
up to give the USSR
another 3 OC (2 GE, 1 IT) pounding in this upcoming summer; it remains to be
seen if Russ can survive it. Even if he does, Allied prospects are
poor. However, we will play this game out, if only so I can get
experience with conducting D-Day and US
offensive operations against Japan.
A.D.G.
Copyright notice
America in Flames, World in
Flames and all their components and kits, in both their electronic and printed
forms, are Copyright 1985 ~ 2002, Australian Design Group.
Permission is
hereby granted to copy these rules electronically for your personal use only,
provided that they are copied in their entirety (including this message). Any
deletion or alteration or on-selling, without the express written permission of
Australian Design Group, is a violation of domestic and international copyright
law.
Please refer
questions and comments to:
Australian
Design Group
PO Box 6253
Los Osos, CA
93412 USA
or
wiflames@slonet.org.
