DQ2004's AAR #2 - "Ouch. ...that hurt"

[DQ2004]

Unsurprisingly, the attack at Perm fails.

[DQ2004]

In the Faeroes Gap, the U-boat war continues. A single U-boat finds a destroys a couple of convoys in a storm.

[DQ2004]

The turn ends. Here are the destroyed units for Jan/Feb 1943

[DQ2004]

With the production multiple of 1.5, German production is now an unbelievable 60. US Production is still higher at 65, however.

[DQ2004]

The British 'scrap' the sunken Royal Oak.
This screen shows that they still have 7 carriers on the map as well as 11 battleships. So things could be worse.

[DQ2004]

Global control at the start of Mar/Apr 1943.

[DQ2004]

In the Faeroes gap, the subs find the escorts and not the convoys. But with the atlantic storms raging, aircraft are useless. The RN sacrifices the otherwise useless Erebus, whilst the Hawkins is damaged.

[DQ2004]

The Germans also lose a U-boat squadron in the exchange.

[DQ2004]

The US and Japanese fleets brace for a confrontation in the Solomons. But the opposing fleets do not find each other.

[DQ2004]

The slow build up of the British bomber wings is finally beginning to make a small impact. The Halifax squadrons don't risk the fighter defences of the Rhineland, and hit Prague instead.

[DQ2004]

The turn ends with very little to report, and not much lost either.

[DQ2004]

The Allies have the initiative in May-June 43 and their first action is a port attack on Brest. The defending Messerschmitts have other ideas

[DQ2004]

The Chinese launch another attack and this time the Japanese Army air force responds. It is the biggest air battle in China so far, and a costly one for the Chinese.

[DQ2004]

However the air support does not save the Japanese militia unit;

[DQ2004]

The Luftwaffe does to the British what they tried to do to the Kriegsmarine, a port attack on Liverpool. Rather than leave the entirety of England vulnerable to later strategic bombardment, the RAF sends up just one unit of Spitfires.
It is not enough, and they are harshly dealt with by the Focke-Wulf's.

[DQ2004]

The British ships in Liverpool are lucky to avoid damage, but Courageous and Valiant are aborted. Not such a problem as Courageous had no aircraft anyway.

[DQ2004]

In the Solomons sea area a huge naval battle is looming, a baptism of fire for the new Essex class carriers.

[DQ2004]

The US aircraft are outnumbered two to one - this doesn't look good.

[DQ2004]

And it isn't. The Japanese bombers get through and hit the USS Bunker Hill.

[DQ2004]

The US decides to hang around for a 2nd battle, as no one has any fighter aircraft left after the first battle. They get the surprise points and naturally choose the smaller Japanese group.