Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002
23:21:34 -0000
From: "king666blitz"
<fc@kemi.dtu.dk>
Subject: Euro WIF con table II
Italy/Japan,
James Baker (
Russia/China,
Dan Kroyer (DK)
USA/France,
Thomas Bisballe (DK)
CW,
Frederik Cappeln
Noteworthy
options
new 2d10
table with
MIF
MOT/MECH divisions
Chinese
Attack weakness
Carrier
Planes in Flames
LIF and
Annual units (except leaders and heavies)
Noteworthy
options not used:
Variable
Reorg
Defensive
Shore bombardment
Carpet
bombing
Pacific ZoCs
Intelligence
USSR
declares war on Japan and capture 2 resources and Vladivlostok. A single attack
on a mountain hex in northern China is successful and the Chinese retreat.
Ge
declares war on the Netherlands, Denmark and Poland. Poland still stands after
the first turn. CW lands in Rotterdam. Poland alls in N/D after two assaults, the later
being a 3/1 result.
Germany
has lost 5 units in Poland.
Italy
declares war on France (only) and lands in Algiers.
Ge attacks
Belgium in M/A after killing the CW in Rotterdam the turn before. The Germans
don't quite make it into France except for the capture of Nice by their Italian
Allies.
The
Russian/Japanese war has bogged down with the Japanese in possession of 3
resources and Stalin unwilling to surrender. The China war basically ends with
the fall of Si-An as Japan has no men to expand.
Germany is
supporting the Italian build-up from Oran into Morocco with several units,
including the Rundstedt HQ-ARM.
In M/J the
combined effect of this allocation of troops and earlier losses is seen as
Germany struggle to find reasonable odds for attacking in France. The CW has
build up a line in Morocco (and declared war on Italy in M/J damaging a TRS in
a portstrike). M/J ends with Germany just inside France. The German
Amphib is sunk trying to lend support to an attack on the BEF.
In J/A the
Germans decide to take out Lille on a land offensive chit.
The
cut-off BEF (TRSs occupied by putting new troops in Maraca) decides to go down
with honour and assaults and captures Antwerp killing of the Von Leeb HQ and 2
aircraft. Still the turn ends with despairing little progress apart from Lille.
Several low-odds assaults across the Marginot has inflicted furter losses on
Germany, who are down to 2 ARM for blitz units in France.
S/O saves
the German army. 5 straight clear impulses with desperate attacks and counter
attacks finally ends up with the Germans in Paris after an
impressive breakthrough move (after spending an o-chit to refresh the HQs along
the way). The losses in particularly land units have been horrible (including 1
of the 2 arm this last impulse).
Vichy is
installed and the only available home country for Free France ends up being
Madagascar. The CW manage to get 5 bps to FF before Japan enters the war and
get the 2 factor French ENG DIV build (a must for the new 2d10 table).
J/F sees
the collapse of Vichy France and teleportation of CW troops to various parts of
Africa. Rundsted takes possession of Morocco and Von Leeb visits Vichy Syria.
Morocco is heavily reinforced with Axis naval bombers and fighters.
First
search roll in Cape st. Vincent turns out a '1' for the axis and a '10' for the
allies. The rocks is put out of supply, flipped and paradropped on successfully
(+9 attack). Lines of worry run across the brows of the allied team. Spain is
aligned to Italy.
Then follows
a year of axis expansion. The CW with a decent sized army and an offensive chit
wards of any attempts of a sea lion though. Iraq is eventually aligned, Suez,
Aden, Greece and Saudi Arabia falls to hungry Axis forces. USSR conquers
Persia.
The US choose
the war appropriations bill in M/J 1941. Japan - fearing the worst - play their
OC for a super combined and declares war on the commonwealth taking Batavia and
Raboul and landing next to Singapore. The US enters the war against all Axis
countries the next impulse. Japan is in trouble from day one, partly due to
being understandable ill prepared for this, partly because of a remarkable
string of successful US search roles.
Even the
humorous appearance of the Deutschland CA in the Bay of Bengal can't help the
Japanese as an Italian invasion force headed for Ceylon are intercepted and
sunk by an American fleet, thus leaving the Italian navy out of range from the
convoy sea zones of Japan. Free French volunteers (madagascar TERR) and south
african forces protect the new french homecountry.
Japan and
Russia comes to peace with the Japanese giving up what they took.
The Convoy
war is raging full scale with many naval actions from Germany, Condors based in
Lisbon and the completion of many former Vichy and German ships, including the
carrier. CW is defending fiercely but must shorten its convoy net as losses
build up. US helps with resources supplied by south American nations. The
Germans respond by placing a fort hexside in Buenos Aires and happily announcing
that the Chilean and Argentinean navies look very nice.
Barbarossa
begins (Ge has 3 o-chits and will reinforce one every turn until J/F). Initial
screening forces are easily swept aside and an impressive German army. second
impulse is a German super-combined and Norway is attacked (Germany has 2
amphibs and a 2 trs despite having lost their initial amph).
With
rebased air the Germans begin to advance on the proper Russian lines. after an
intermezzo near Odessa involving a GBA Kiev is taken on an offensive chit. Army
group north takes Pskov.
J/A 42
USSR is
severely shaken by the offensive chits played by Germany. The full punishments
comes this turn where the armys are up close and personal. Super-combined
actions are the German recipe and it has the advantage of not letting the
convoy war slide away (the CW would lose 50 convoy point through the game). The
German army found her good attack rolls and the Dneipr line evaporates. Vitebsk
and Smolensk are mere speed bumps. Gomel is even left empty. Paratroopers
capture Sevastopol. Novgorod falls and the siege of Leningrad commences. The
Russians use speed bumbs to hold of the Germans and get enough time to rail out
factories but this is getting expensive and USSR losses are 50-60 bps each for
M/J and J/A.
An allied
crisis meeting ends up with agreeing to save the Russian army by retreating to
the Asia map with promises of an effectful landing in Europe in 1943 and the
possible lend lease through near-defeated Japanese waters into Vladivlostock in
1944 for a come back.
The allies
get a break when rain start falling in the Arctic late August and the turn ends
early.
S/O-J/F
are the great mopping up turns where strongpoints such as Moscow, Voronetz and
Rostov are assaulted and taken. Leningrad holds out. A German paratroop landing
near Turkey succeeds (-/1) but the flipped PARAs are killed. USSR creates a
strong line behind the Volga and its reasonably well defended in the Baku area.
Persia is weakly defended and so is the USSR/Turkish border. By the end if the
year the German army starts heading for the Asia Map.
Meanwhile
the Japanese are having trouble defending their perimeter and getting oil back
to Japan. Japan did manage to finally kick the US out of Philippines but gave up
on Singapore. Raboul was liberated without much resistance. Truk fell N/D 42.
Low on oil, build points, luck and morale the Japanese watch submarines,
lighnings and NAVs abort and kill their convoys in the last impulse of the turn
many times.
M/A-M/J
German production is high and she is playing a supercombined per turn. German
forces close in on the Volga line to find a determined USSR defence (at last).
Germany does align Turkey but any further advances must be expected to be paid
for in the west. The Essex class carrier fleet from America is brought in to
help with the well-sized Axis navies. Germany and Italy lose many ships now.
The allies
land in the Vigo/Porto area in the hopes of helping their USSR ally somewhat. A
beachhead is established and Lisbon is captured opening the way to Gibraltar.
The drive into Russia has been powerful at the expense of the western front
garrisons. A second invasion in the two hexes east of Brest opens up a second
landing zone for the throngs of American and Commonwealth reinforcements. The
first allied super-combineds are being taken.
In France
the Germans quickly withdraw behind the Seine on the Paris.
American
forces manage to cut the rail in southern France and take Vichy. Germany is
sending HQs and other reinforcements from the eastern front but the tide has
turned.
In Spain
Montgomery captures Seville and cuts of 2 corps in Cadiz who die in a counter
attacker after having established sea supply. The Wildebeest NAV beast
the odds and manage to cut supply in the western Med sea two times even after
the Lightning escort is aborted. Tangier is flipped and paradropped on
successfully at +9. The turn ends with everything in Spain and the allied
double move lead to the liberation of Gibraltar (+14 attack)
At this
time the table agreed to stop playing (well actually only the gib attack rather
than two full supercombineds). Our Russian and Japanese players where not
having a great time.
Italy was
weakly garrisoned and would probably fall in 1943. Obscene American production
from the early entry and limited effort required against Japan would create a
sledgehammer through western Europe. The Axis team graciously called it an
allied win but it was not a sure thing with the Russians on the pacific map
(that sounds ridiculous but if you had seen the western front it would not seem
so silly). The USSR had saved its factories and if it could hold on to Baku a
comeback could start in 1944. It wasn't quite dead but of course had a LOT of
land to get back. Honestly, I have never played through an end-game like that.
It was a
game we probably should have lost but didn't - through luck with US entry and
pacific map search rolls - that made the pacific war easy for USA.
I have
tried to keep this as neutral as possible but... well.. I was the Commonwealth.
The eastern front is a bit hazy to me except it was a disaster and the northern
lend lease line was cut in J/A (gulp!).
Likewise
the pacific was briefly noted to be a huge success in my book (imagine getting
annoyed at whiteprint Australian reinforcements in 1942). Any comments you
might have would be much appreciated but my ability to answer specific
questions will be limited by the above.
Our game
was rather slow - mostly due to many supercombineds and a huge eastern front.
Maybe we should have used a chess clock. The new 2d10 table modifiers.... well
paradropping is easier... the SS and eng city bonuses was NOT the reason why
Russia fell i think.
Let me
finish by adding that Richard and James played like true English Gentlemen and
that I would never hesitate to play with them again (even if I run a risk of
getting spanked). Watching, playing, learning - EUROWIFCON is great and a big
thanks to organizers Harold, Markus and Andreas. And sorry for the bad English.
Frederik
Cappeln
